It's full speed ahead for one Kiwi who is training for an attempt to break not only New Zealand's fastest downhill speed ski record, but the world record too.
Tawny Wagstaff, 38, has made himself at home training on Canterbury's Mt Hutt during the closed ski season giving him access to the entire ski field for training purposes.
"There's not really any money in it, there's no prize money of any value to make it worthwhile to start chasing money, it's for love," he says.
The Methven man is a stonemason by trade and is even funding his own journey to reach his goal.
The current downhill record in New Zealand is 198km/h and the world record is currently at 254km/h.
"The perfect condition is when it's frozen up, it's very firm, but it softens up a little in the morning when the sun hits it," Wagstaff adds.
So far, Wagstaff believes he has reached just shy of 180km/h and trains on Mt Hutt because he believes it is the fastest mountain in New Zealand.
Coach Graeme Goodwin, himself a former downhill skier, is confident Wagstaff can crack the New Zealand record.
"He's definitely going to get the New Zealand record, that will probably happen this year, and then he's working towards the fastest time in the world," he says.
"If you're doing it in the wrong snow conditions, soft snow or something like that, your body will dig in, instead of sliding, and you'll really hurt yourself.
"It's a lot of mind over matter, you're going so fast, that it's so easy to get scared, you've just got ignore that feeling that you're lifting off."
He plans to travel to France in 2018 to attend the world speed skiing championship.
Newshub.
