The #CrashChallenge is the Best Thing on Social Media Right Now

With so many people stuck at home right now due to the COVID-19 quarantine restrictions, there’s not a lot to do but find the bottom of your social media feeds. Luckily, the past week has seen the rebirth of viral challenges, and SKI’s current favorite doesn’t involve push-ups or Tik-Tok. Instead, it’s skiers crashing.

While most of the challenge posts are being put on Instagram stories, we can’t help but recognize how popular the static post from production company Level 1 and pro skiers Jesper Tjäder and KC Deane are becoming. And for ski racing fans, Slalom Tokyo Drift has an endless feed of falls sure to entertain for hours.

If spectacular crashes don’t exactly get you pumped up to go skiing, that’s probably a good thing considering the global pandemic and the heavy burden the virus is placing on hospitals worldwide, especially in mountain towns and smaller communities in the USA. That’s also why so many pro skiers are posting their best crashes: They are staying at home and not skiing.

If you have the proper equipment and education, the call of backcountry skiing or skiing uphill might sound good to you now, but it’s not the time to take unnecessary risks that might end up taking more time and resources away from frontline healthcare professionals.

“I got a lot of notes yesterday from local health caregivers asking [me] to shed light on backcountry skiing and high-risk activities at this time,” wrote pro skier Michelle Parker on her Instagram story over the weekend. “… more than ever all I want to do is go ski, but now is not the time to get injured as you will likely have to wait a very long time to get fixed, or you could be taking the bed and resources from someone who may lose their life as a result.”

If the parking situations at Colorado’s Loveland and Berthoud Passes over the past weekend are any indication, there are significantly more people than usual trying to ski uphill at resorts that allow it or in the backcountry right now, which means there are likely more injuries than average because of it.

So perhaps the best thing skiers can do is stay at home and watch people crash between workout-at-home sessions. And if you absolutely must go skiing, please keep it mellow and keep it to yourself. And make sure you have all of the proper equipment and a solid plan.

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And if you’re really into crashes, this crash reel from the Bridger Brigade might be the best we’ve ever seen.

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