38 replies to this topic

[Bertie]

Am I alone in thinking that there are too many people out there who are skiing/boarding way too dangerously and just accidents waiting to happen. There just doesn't seem to be much awareness of safety, and I'm not just talking about BC but on the slopes.

[Siren]

Yes you are.

[gamera]

I don't think you are alone, if people were with their kids, they must think about it.
Just keep distace from any dangerous skiers/snowboarders.

[orinoco]

No you are not alone Bertie. Whenever I'm out there I see some pretty serious near-accidents. All you can do is try to be careful yourself.

[mogski]

No more dangerous than driving your car on the road if you ask me.

Besides you understand the risks if you partake in the sport.

[The Skiing Lawyer]

'other people' don't need a license though..

[mogski]

When did we need one to ride at a resort either?

[Mr Wiggles]

Patrol could do more (i.e., something) in beginner areas to slow certain people down or chuck em out. They do it in N. America.

The moneyspinner for resorts now is families with kids and potentially retirees, but I've never seen any proactive on-piste patrolling. All you get is the odd place putting a blanket ban on snowboarding.

[The Skiing Lawyer]

 Quote:

When did we need one to ride at a resort either?

You don't.
That's the point.

[peaker]

What would be the point of a blanket ban on snowboarding. Its the person riding not the equipment. Its just as easy to ski dangerously as it is to board dangerously.

[1]

What would be the point of a blanket ban on snowboarding??

>> Perhaps encouraging that market that might like such a ban. eg. families with kids.

[slow]

I was thinking why it's so difficult to become a qualified ski instructor compared to other sports. It's because skiing is more risky, isn't it?
I learned how to ski from exboyfriend who had a quasi-instructor license. Thanks to him, I know how to control speed and what I have to be careful about on the slope. I think I'm a safe skier.
I just can't believe some people who always start skiing or snowboarding without warm-up. That's dangerous.

[Creek Boy]

Its amazing how many skiiers/boarders dont MOVE their heads and LOOK when they turn, cut across, whatever. While skiers are just as guilty, boarders have a blind spot on their backside which makes them more dangerous IMO.

PS, slows handle name doesnt suit her skiing style

[SerreChe]

Have you noticed how many people in Japan cross the road without even looking (I have)?! I can't help but draw a parallel with the way some people board / ski.

[RayInJapan]

Yamakashi,

You're right, snowboarders can't see who is directly behind them. With that said, if someone is boarding/skiing right behind them, moving down the slope at the same/faster speed, the possibility for an accident exists.

Boarders however can simply turn their heard to the right (regular stance) and look up slope to make sure the slope is clear before making radical turns across the slope (or entering the slope from somewhere else).

Skiers however have a blind side too. They can't see whats behind them so they can't see up slope and can't see someone else coming who is moving faster and picking a line that seems to be clear until the downhill skier moves into it.

Yes - the downhill skier/boarder has the right of way. But the faster skier/boarder also has the right to pass the slower person too and sometimes that skiers blind spot aka inability to look up slope when making unexpected turns across the slope also makes for the probability for an accident.

I like to think I'm a pretty safe boarder. When the slopes are crowded, I adjust my speeds accordingly to minimize my chances of a accident. In my meager 4 seasons of snowboarding (approx 80 times so far), I've had one near miss because of my blind side. But I've had more than ten because of skiers "blind" sides.

The bottom line is that folks need to understand the blind spots of both boarders and skiers, they need to ski/board in control, and finally - remember that its the uphill person's responsibility to avoid the downhill person even if they have to slow down to do it...

[Toque]

I blame the snowbladers

They're trouble and that's that.

[SG]

I blame trees -those selfish buggers just refuse to yield the right of way

As for on main "gelande" slopes I try not to be on those slopes. I havent had a collision on there for along time, I had a beauty many years ago with a Japanese chap of all people at Mt Hutt in NZ - fool was a maniac charging like Hermann Meier on a crowded main slope.
What irks me is groups of snowboarders or even single ones who sit in the middle of slopes, often just on the other side of rollers or at the base of a bottle neck that funnels onto a Cat track - just sitting there oblivious to whats going on.

Mr Wiggles has an excellent point about pro active slope safety by Patrol. I remember in Keystone in the US, patrollers always out cruising around danger spots, telling hoons to slow down in those areas, big fluoro "SLOW" signs where there were needed. You saw them every where.
You couldnt outrun many of the patrollers there either- many of those guys could rip. I often hear stories from other people in Japan that they out ran patrol on the slopes at this place or that place.
If patrol is out there interacting with the resort guests, everyone wins.

[guzzlers-baps]

But didn't I read threads before here of people just bashing patrol for simply being visible?

[Toque]

We bash patrol for being visable when we are trying to duck in and out of the trees

[Shimba]

i think patrol bashing is more about the fact that it doesn't seem like they do a decent job. at our local resort, instead of being out there and keeping things safe like snowglider describes above, they hang out in the buildings, only coming out if someone is hurt or if they are putting up ropes and stuff - or rotating their shifts... on the other hand, the patrol at hachimantai seem to be more proactive... amazing as it may seem, you actually see patrollers out in groups skiing/snowboarding and having fun! what a concept! i have respect for patrol, but at the same time, they have to earn respect too. the patrol don't have to simply be whistle blowers that you have to try and out run.