The comparison could be extended to other automobile functions. For instance, I have mentioned for quite sometime that the skis could be equated to the tires, the ski boots (and their binding linkage to the ski), the transmission, the ankles, knees and hips to the suspension hinges and the leg and abdominal muscles to their shock absorbers.
So now, where's the steering? The feet, mostly, along with the pole plant for rhythm and balance as well with the upper body anticipation and some modicum of speed. Where's the accelerator? The manner in which skis point to the downhill direction, are held flat on the snow or pressurized in a pure carving position; I almost forget the aerodynamic enhancers like the tuck position but you could equate this to a low Cd or drag coefficient on a car.
The brakes, we know them well, can range to the useful snowplow to the venerable hockey-stop with a lot of edging in between. Then there is the windshield and the vision factor, which of course is through our (clean) goggles, a good light and general visibility (so important!) and other elements like “distracted skiing” with loud music piped into one ears!
You also have the usual safety features, like the release bindings and today, the airbag, as it's used in racing. I could add to this the GoPro mounted on a helmet as compared to a dash camera, but this just an accessory, right? Finally, we could talk about the fuel as we all know too well how much a lot of skiing can work a strong appetite in any of us.
Of course what's is probably still missing is probably the “skiing license”, but we know it already; we're all very good skiers!
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