Bertie 0 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
Siren 0 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Yes you are. Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
orinoco 0 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
A lawyer 0 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 'other people' don't need a license though.. Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 When did we need one to ride at a resort either? Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
A lawyer 0 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Quote: When did we need one to ride at a resort either? You don't. That's the point. Link to post Share on other sites
peaker 0 Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
1 4 Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 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 Link to post Share on other sites
SerreChe 2 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
RayInJapan 0 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 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... Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 I blame the snowbladers They're trouble and that's that. Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
guzzlers-baps 0 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 But didn't I read threads before here of people just bashing patrol for simply being visible? Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 We bash patrol for being visable when we are trying to duck in and out of the trees Link to post Share on other sites
Siem Reeves 0 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 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. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by RayInJapan: 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... Agree 100% and thats just what peeps, in general, DONT DO. If Im on the groomers I spend 90% of my energy watchin everybody else around me just cuz I know they aint lookin. Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 The patrol seem to get bashed by some people for simply existing. I'm not sure how some people know exactly what the patrol do all day (perhaps they are watching them all the time?) I'm all for the patrol stopping people from doing things that they shouldn't be doing. Isn't that how many accidents happen anyway? I just think it would help if people actually knew exactly what the patrol was doing before bashing them. Link to post Share on other sites
js 0 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 Not meaning to start a snowboarder vs skier thing here ... but I reckon the problem is due to the fact that snowboarding is quicker to pick up than skiing - awareness/practice of 'mountain etiquette' only really comes with time. Therefore, many Boarders don't pick up the etiquette thing until much later, by which time all the damage has been done and bad habits linger. (Disclaimer: obviously the message doesn't sink-in with some skiier too! ) Link to post Share on other sites
me jane 0 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 The patrol at GALA was pretty useless last year when my boyfriend broke his arm (one bone slid up over the other one). They took ages to get to him and when they did arrive they didn't seem to know the first thing about first aid - trying to take his backpack off by pulling it over his shoulder rather than releasing the strap, producing a sam splint but just kind of balancing it across his chest with a loose trig bandage. After a few minutes I couldn't watch any more and helped out (read "took over"). They stretchered him down and when we got into the first aid room they didn't even give him a chair. He was standing in the room with one J-girl pulling at his glove trying to get it off his swollen wrist while another J-girl tried to get him to fill in an accident report and draw an x on the map of where he had fallen. Eventually J girl no 1 decided to hack at the glove with a blunt pair of scissors and J-girl no 2 realised that I would be just as capable of drawing the x on the map. We took a taxi to the hospital which despite looking like a scene from a the Rocky Horror Picture Show with beds with leather wrist & ankle straps in the corner of the waiting room, turned out to be fantastic. The doctor obviously realigned several bones a day and the whole process was relatively painless (although everyone in the waiting room was pretty freaked out by the scream that came from behind the curtain when the Doctor pulled his bones back into position). Word of warning though - always take your insurance card with you and plenty of cash. They didn't take credit cards and as he didn't have his insurance card we had to find 80,000 yen to pay for it all - ended up having another friend take a taxi to a cashpoint. To be fair though, I had another friend fracture his wrist at Nanae in Hokkaido. As it was New Year the hospitals were "closed" but the ski patrol did an amazing job of wrapping him up. I guess it varies from resort to resort. Anyone else have any good or bad experiences? Toque, skiboarders don't have any blind spots! Link to post Share on other sites
Siem Reeves 0 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 i agree that patrol vary from resort to resort... Quote: I'm all for the patrol stopping people from doing things that they shouldn't be doing. Isn't that how many accidents happen anyway? absolutely, although there is a difference between stopping people from doing what they shouldn't be doing, and stopping people from excercising their own common sense to make decisions for themselves. saying you can't go anywhere that is "off the course" is a little extreme... and what i mean by that is a friend of mine was skiing with his son on the 5m of powder left ungroomed ON EITHER SIDE OF THE TRAIL deliberately so people can have some on course powder... but to be told "dame!" by patrol... a little strange... but like i said before, it's case by case. as far as experiences with patrol and their response to accidents, i've seen a few. one where a friend broke both legs, and another where a friend broke one leg... but if captain A is out there, it's his story to tell... but i have to say, we weren't impressed by their first aid skills... on the other hand, same resort.. the patrol came to drag my carcass from the table and were really nice and pretty good back in the first aid room... so like i said, i suppose you can't generalise Link to post Share on other sites
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