We love to use metaphors to describe our favorite skiers. We compare them to virtuosos in other disciplines, try to sum up their style or creativity, or precision by making analogies to other cultural leaders. So I decided to illustrate a few of the most common metaphors I've seen. Let me know which ones I missed in the comments.

The most common comparison I see being used is the "skier as painter." It gets thrown around a lot in reference to Pollard and Bentchetler, obviously, because both make broad, sweeping turns, and both are artists outside of skiing as well. What skier would you describe as a painter with a roller though? Someone who charges really hard leaving a swath of tracks behind them?

When I was getting into skiing, adults described urban skiing as being similar to graffiti, vandalization of public property. And I think it is, just in a different way than they meant. Both urban skiing and graffiti reinterpret cityscapes and allow the skier or artist to add their own artistic flair. Is there a Banksy of urban skiing?

Sometimes we talk about great park skiers having "surgical precision" they can dice up a rail, adding switchups and pretzels. Or big mountain skiers can scalpel their way through tight lines. I love the idea of someone scientifically dissecting a park, laying out optimal tricks for each feature.

Finally, there's the skier as musician. For me, this one always comes back to CLAIM, and Shane McConkey shredding on his toy guitar as Saucer Boy. He skis to Jukebox Hero in that segment, and I can imagine him standing, wide-stanced with his saucer on his back, backlight by the stadium lights, the crowd roaring, cranking out a huge guitar riff as he exclaims "I'm Shane McConkey dammit, and I'm Not! Done! Yet!"

So what metaphors did I miss? And which skiers fit best into each of these categories?