You just never know when a huge ski slam like this one will happen. It can strike anywhere, anytime, so lessening the probability of serious injury with protection will keep you riding longer! Ski back protection and helmets are key.

click pic to enlarge

It's no secret that hurling yourself down the mountain at high speeds, with changing terrain, light and weather at every turn is a dangerous endeavor. Top German Newspaper Welt had a full double page spread on all the typical injuries that can plague skiers all over the world.

Top injuries include:

• skull farctures
• dislocated shoulders
• thumb sprain
• collar bone fracture
• spinal chord injury
• femur fracture
• meniscus/ knee injury
• ankle fractures
• muscle tear
• scrapes and scratches

Injury is all about PROBABILITY (not if, but when) and the more precaution you take in mitigating that probability, the more up-time you'll have on the hill, the more stoke you'll feel while shredding. Of course, who wants cumbersome protection that inhibits freedom of movement? Who really wants to lessen injury probability if it means being weighed down by bulky protective gear?

No one.

That's why it's so important to TRY different protective gear before you buy. It pays to head down to your local shop and try the various brands out... and if your store doesn't carry SLYTECH, go ahead and tell them you want to try one.

We're pretty certain that the soft, pliable memory cell foam of the Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector or the new Kevlar® infused SLAMMER PRO will provide that maximum freedom of movement and probability mitigation that you want and need to protect your spine, shoulders, and coccyx.

Priska Loving Her Slalom Jacket

Slytech believer and Swiss ski racer from Alpnach, Priska Nufer is just 18 years old, yet she's showing results in Europa Cup that will fling her into the big leagues soon enough.

She's the 2009 Swiss Junior Champion in Giant Slalom and got 5 top 10 finishes this past season in Europa Cup. Even though she's got that GS title to her name and shows promise in all disciplines, her best of late has become the Super G, in which she finished 2nd this past Thursday, March 11, 2010 in Tarvisio, Italy.

She's chosen the Slytech 2nd Skin Slalom Jacket to protect not only her forearms, elbow, upper arm and shoulder, but also her back. Usually you will see racers rock the forearm guards or pads for Giant Slalom, and while it seems as though the girls have taken Super G gates with plenty of arch these days on World Cup, there will always be a few like Priska who take gates tight, slapping them on the way down as they search for the tightest line possible.

You never know how the prospects of a World Cup start look for Priska. The Swiss Ladies have been riddled with injuries late this 09/10 season and self-admittedly had a very disappointing Olympics at Whistler.

Priska Nufer throwing down some World Cup starts next year along side her Slytech sista Lara Gut??? Not out of the realm of possibility!

Congratulations, Priska, on your successful season! Here's to many more...

Swiss Slytech 2nd Skin Ski Racer's 09/10 Europa Cup Season

Germany's Pleasure Magazine recently highlighted Wolfgang "Wolle" Nyvelt's favorite gear. His usual Salomon, Billabong and DaKine favorites are in there, as well as the Wolle Edition Slytech 2nd Skin Backprotector.

Here's the English translation:

"Slytech Backprotector
Wolle is even enticed by his Signature Series stuff. The Slytech Backprotector protects the spine, the coccyx, and the shoulder blades, as well as the important lower-back area. To keep free range of motion and comfort, this 'back caresser" avoids the use of hard plastic components. The only thing left to say is a loud 'Eööööh!"

A Snowboarder and His Toys

Wolle's Favorite Gear

Andrew Weibrecht and Bode Miller after finishing bronze and silver in the super G (Doug Haney/U.S. Ski Team)

Andrew Weibrecht is usually a speed skier, putting his best foot forward at the most opportune time. Andrew smoked most of the competition, winning a bronze medal at the Vancouver Olympic Games in Super G.

Born February 10th, 1986 in Lake Placid, "War Horse" as many call him, has been on the World Cup tour for several years and every year has gained consistently better results.  In 07, you would have seen him hovering around 30th or even 40th position, then in 08/09 around 20, and in this current season, he's been in and around the top 10, making him a serious threat on any given day.

When he came through early in the Olympic Super G and waited through the long laundry list of racers to come after him, he probably would not have imagined that his time would stick. Only Bode and Aksel bested him by .03 and .31 respectively, basically a blink of an eye.

This is definitely someone to keep an eye in the future and if you happen to catch him in a tech event, you will see him wearing his Slytech Nervous Guards.

Congratulations Andrew!