Tawny Wagstaff on his way to finishing third at a World Cup race in Vars, France.
Tawny Wagstaff on his way to finishing third at a World Cup race in Vars, France.
Take away motors and Tawny Wagstaff is New Zealand’s fastest sportsperson.
And at the age of 45, he’s also on one of this country’s slowest treks towards the Olympics.
The world-class speed skier from the little alpine village of Methven, near Christchurch, holds the New Zealand speed ski record of nearly 249km/h.
It makes him the 11th-fastest skier in history, in a list headed by the 255.5km/h set by his great friend, the French world champion Simon Billy.
Wagstaff, a self-employed stone mason, is a true sporting outlier as this country’s only speed skier and an Antipodean succeeding in a sport dominated by Europeans.
I’ve landed fourth place a few times and I knew a podium would be close. I guess it brought together all the time and effort I’ve put in including a lot more physical training back in New Zealand. It’s taken a few years to get there - I’ve been doing this for seven years.
How did you get into speed skiing?
I was born in New Plymouth, but brought up in Methven and grew up skiing at Mt Hutt. We were an outdoors family - dad was a skier and windsurfer, so it’s in my blood.
I’ve skied all my life and had a racing background when I was younger. I’ve always felt quite comfortable going fast and thought what can I do with this? After having a break I thought I’d try a little holiday and do a race in Europe.
You’ve nearly cracked the 250km/h mark - what are the speed differences compared to more common skiing disciplines?
When I was racing as a teenager, I might get up to 100km/h in the giant slalom. In the fastest disciplines, like downhill, you get speeds up to 145km/h.
Tawny Wagstaff, left, on the World Cup podium in France. Photo / Supplied
Is there a big fear factor at these incredible speeds?
It’s always in the back of your mind. At 220km/h and above, we get a lot more nervous and a lot more controlling of the mental side of things. The faster you go, the more nervous you get. It’s about controlling that fear - I use a lot of techniques like deep breathing, positive visualisation, keeping everything clear and precise, to give myself the best possible chance by eliminating doubts. Sometimes I’ll use a bit of music as well if I’m not feeling amped up enough - maybe a little bit of the Prodigy, an old favourite from way back. Sometimes if I’m a little bit too excited I’ll play something more chilled out.
What are you seeing as you hurtle down the mountain?
Not a lot. Our heads are down, knee height, and you might see five to 10 metres in front of you. As you get faster, it gets more blurry. You look up now and then but you trust the line on the track. If you look up, it slows you down because you are coming out of the aerodynamic position.
Tawny Wagstaff holds the New Zealand speed ski record of nearly 249km/h. Photo / Supplied
Give us a run down - how does it work?
The track is about a kilometre long, over a 500m vertical drop, and the skiers are timed on the bottom 100m. There are about 400m of flatter terrain to slow down. The World Cup events’ speeds are capped at about 230km/h in Vars, and most other tracks are below 200km/h.
Crashes? Injuries? Worse?
I know of one death that occurred quite a few years ago, and safety has improved a lot.
I haven’t had any crashes yet in speed skiing - although plenty in standard skiing - but I know it’s probably going to happen to me one day.
Some people get away with bruising and a bit of burning under their suits. We only have a thin under-layer. Usually, the gear gets destroyed - the skis blow apart. There are two helmets - the outer is an aero shell designed to come off so we don’t hurt our necks too badly. Some people do shoulder blades, collar bones... knee injuries are common in any sort of skiing.
Then there is the mind to take care of - some people might take weeks or months to recover, and some never do.
What’s the key to hitting top speed?
Staying low... even though the track is groomed very smoothly, there are hollows and undulations and when you hit them your upper body moves up and down a bit. Every time you bump up you catch more air - you have to fight to get the upper body back down. Also, the feet constantly want to move out from the body... flat skis are faster. It’s a constant fight to get the skis back under you.
It’s all about reducing resistance...
We’re very crouched up. Our shoulders are tucked into our helmet so there is not a lot of surface area to push against the air.
We also use a lot of wax preparing the base of our skis, to reduce friction. It’s a big part of speed skiing.
When the skis run over the snow it heats the snow, turns it to liquid, and the wax repels that liquid.
The waxing of skis is a bit of a science. We spend hours every day doing it - we have two or three pairs, and one wax does one run.
The wax is ironed on at about 150C, the excess is scraped off, then we brush it and have other additives for the different temperatures. Getting it wrong can be the difference between first and fifth place.
I probably get it right 70 per cent of the time and stuff it up now and then.
Tawny Wagstaff says the waxing of skis is a bit of a science. Photo / Supplied
Can you train in New Zealand... do you have any speed skiing mates here?
The only place to do it now is in Europe. The New Zealand mountains are a bit busy and too small - they don’t have the run-outs needed, so there are no slowing down areas.
The steeper the better – the track in Vars probably gets to 45 degrees. There used to be more places like it but Vars is the best and the world record track. Other tracks are slower - 170 to 190km/h.
There have been a few other speed skiers from New Zealand - previously there was Chris Gebbie who had the last New Zealand record of 232km/h for 18 years, which I broke last year. But he doesn’t race anymore.
Childhood heroes?
There were some extreme skiers back in the day like [American] Glen Plake. In the ′90s, skiing went from standard to freestyle and there were a bunch of guys doing huge jumps off big rocks. They were probably my heroes - guys from America with mohawk haircuts. Pretty wild guys.
I met Glen Plake when I was about 13 - he came to ski in the New Zealand winter. I got the chance to ski with him, a bit of a highlight of my youth. He left quite an impression on me.
There’s not much money in speed skiing, even if you win. I stay with [French world champion] Simon Billy - I’ve got good friends here and that definitely helps with the costs. I’m not married and I’ve got no kids - I wouldn’t be able to do this if I did have a family.
I’m a blocklayer and stone mason - my dad’s a bricklayer so I got into that at a young age. I do pretty much every type of work in Methven, Ashburton and Christchurch. I’ve been self-employed for a long time which helps.
As an outlier, how do you fit in with the rest of the snow sports community in New Zealand?
I should get help from New Zealand sporting organisations but I don’t. There are two sides to it. There’s the speed racing side which the snow sports organisation recognises when I get results - they like to put that on their website. But I don’t get any support from them.
Then there’s the coaching side of it - I coach plenty of the kids who race within the New Zealand organisation.
I’ve had quite a few people from the snow sports organisation congratulate me. But I knew when I got into it that there would be no help.
Do you like speed in general - do you drive fast?
Yeah, if I get the chance I like to drive fast. I’ve done a bit of skydiving as well and would like to do that again. Skydiving is fairly straightforward and enjoyable - free-fall is around 202km/h.
Is climate change affecting your sport?
Not so much here at Vars because the track is high up, but a lot of little ski areas lower down have problems and some have closed up for good. It is definitely affecting our World Cup races in Andorra and Spain, lower down, where there is not as much snow. There are a lot of cancellations - it is affecting our circuit for sure.
You are waving the flag for the 40-plus brigade...
Speed skiers tend to be older, with more experience. There are some 20-year-olds, but most are 30 to 40.
The future?
Speed skiing isn’t an Olympic sport at the moment but it’s looking highly likely for 2030, with the Games just about confirmed for France. That would be very cool and it will change a lot – I’ll get funding if that happens.
The more I do this, the more confidence I get. For sure, there is a fear, but I quite like conquering fear. That’s why I’ve always liked climbing mountains - some of that is scary, and I like dealing with that. I’d also like to climb in the Himalayas, but I’ll have to put that aside for a while.
Chris Rattue has been a journalist since 1980 and is one of the most respected opinion writers in New Zealand sports journalism.
