Speed skiers go over 150mph, versus 120 for a flat-oriented free falling person. It's conceivable that orienting yourself to slide down a groomed black diamond ski run could be a winning strategy, too.
Maybe you should target a steep avalanche terrain with fresh snow. Not only you have a hell of a ride while falling down, you get to enjoy a ride in a snowy feather all the way down the valley! Don't forget to mount your GoPro while boarding!
Man, I wonder if we're going to end up seeing someone's free fall smartphone video someday. Not everyone is going to read this article and be prepared to survive like we now are, so what if they decide to use those couple of minutes falling to try to record a message to their loved ones? The audio would be blown out but I don't see why the camera wouldn't continue working. That would be quite disturbing to watch.
Except then you're stuck in freezing temperature, with what is probably totally inappropriate mountaineering gear and odds are you've got an avalanche to dig yourself out of.
Same with MotoGP riders. They basically slide and then they have gravel/sand catches around the turns they are most likely to fall off. Sometimes they tumble. It's not pretty but it does the job most of the time. But, it's also perpendicular. So if you're in a desert, aim for the top of a large sand dune, try to get your perpendicular velocity as high as possible.
Pretty much what you'd expect - massive injuries, sometimes death. Search Youtube for "speed skiing crash" for examples. Sometimes people get lucky and just slide to a stop, depends on how they fall.
