Toughest Outdoor Sports Ranked - Skiing related

http://www.outsideonline.com/2127176/definitive-ranking-worlds-toughest-outdoor-sports

Looks like Peter Minde and the other cross country guys are the toughest people here here, but there's no way I'm ever going to give open water swimming a try!

Downhill Mountain biking kind of scares the crap out of me too... I guess the lesson is you pick your poison.

BTW, Peter, do you have an AT setup yet? Looks like the race categories are expanding and the hot new segment is "vertical", racing up the hill with no descent. I like the up, but not that much.... maybe the lycra makes it more palatable?

Racing uphill with no descent?!? Ha! That's ridiculous!

I'll watch from the bar. :)

One observation is that for the most part the top positions are only obtainable for the trust funded young folks. Regular people can't afford to train the way these kids do today, people have real life things to worry about. It's amazing and awesome but the rich kid factor sort of takes something away from the achievement factor imo. I guess I've always been one to root for the poor guy underdog.

My list would look something like....

1. Wingsuit flying/base jumping
2. freestyle moto cross
3. DH mountain biking
4. Freeride skiing/snowboarding
5. ???

I read the article as being weighted much more towards physical enurance than any other factor.

Open water swimming hands down...

List is bogus if surfing isn't mentioned, nothing harder in big conditions

I can't swim very well, so, it's open water swimming, hands down.

@ ml242.  I don't have an AT setup.  Had to replace the head gaskets on my Subie, so no new skis this year.  Climb to the Castle up Whiteface toll road is my uphill race.  It's a beautiful thing.

@raisingarizona. You are overplaying the rich kid factor.  I’ve read and heard stories about US parents taking second mortgages to finance their junior xc or nordic combined skier, because USSA doesn’t give a shit about nordic skiing.  

You don’t want to know how many days I got up at 3:30 AM to work out before commuting 40 miles one way to work, or how many hard interval workouts I’ve done when it was 40 degrees and raining.  

I'm sorry to flame, but you touched a nerve with that trust fund crap.  Wing suit flying?  On one level I have some respect for those so called extreme sports, on another level, I think they were only developed for the couch potatoes who want to see someone die on TV.

Benny Profane wrote

I can't swim very well, so, it's open water swimming, hands down.

Can't swim very well but couldn't get up a 5.4 in the gunks

Peter Minde wrote

@ ml242.  I don't have an AT setup.  Had to replace the head gaskets on my Subie, so no new skis this year.  Climb to the Castle up Whiteface toll road is my uphill race.  It's a beautiful thing.

@raisingarizona. You are overplaying the rich kid factor.  I’ve read and heard stories about US parents taking second mortgages to finance their junior xc or nordic combined skier, because USSA doesn’t give a shit about nordic skiing.  

You don’t want to know how many days I got up at 3:30 AM to work out before commuting 40 miles one way to work, or how many hard interval workouts I’ve done when it was 40 degrees and raining.  

I'm sorry to flame, but you touched a nerve with that trust fund crap.  Wing suit flying?  On one level I have some respect for those so called extreme sports, on another level, I think they were only developed for the couch potatoes who want to see someone die on TV.

Well if you look at most of the athletes that excel at the mountain town type of sports funded ones make up a strong part of the population. It's an observation of mine over the years and although it tends to strike a nerve for some it's not a lie either. Sure there are always exceptions and some push through against the odds and/or are just naturally gifted that they stand out regardless but for the most part, these things are a lot more obtainable for people that don't have the stresses of every day normal poor folk life. There isn't anything wrong with that, I would take the money and run (metaphorically speaking) as well and do what I could if I were in a better position. It's sort of like Maslows Hierarchy of needs, it's hard to get to self actualization when you are stressed about eating and paying the heating bill.

I get it, you are really good at exercising, I respect and admire that but it's not what everyone's after.

Open water swimming? Is that like in the ocean with the big fish and shit? Oh hell no!

You now Peter, I thought about this conversation a little last night while laying in bed and I think I'm a little bitter. I don't want to be that guy, I really shouldn't care about stuff like that but I am an imperfect human with opinions shaped by personal experiences. Don't take it personally. Cheers.

@raisingarizona.  After I hit send, I wondered if I had overreacted. That trust fund stuff... I'm sorry but it made me see red.  The only trustafarian xc skier I've run  across was a dilettante who cried about spring conditions, despite there being 4 feet of snow on the ground.  

I am still waiting to see someone walk on water.  Myself included.