realskiers

Terminal Velocity...isn't that the speed at which a falling mass can go no faster until another force acts on it??...Maybe Critical Velocity (the minimum speed required to get float on traditional skis) is a better term.  Just working with the basic word, I'm not sure 'terminal' is ever something I want to achieve on skis

Liam:
I had the same word reaction since it is usually used if reference to free falling objects of various mass and surface area; followed by the "well, yeah, at the speed these guys ski it would be terminal for me."

But since terminal velocity is the speed at which the resistance (wind in the case of free falling objects) is equal to the acceleration (gravity) and the body in motion ceases to accelerate, I can see Harald and John's usage. It's the speed at which the slowing effects of the turns and the snow itself equal the force of acceleration (gravity), i.e. the speed at which you stop accelerating as long as you keep making the same turns.