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Texting while skiing

Glenn

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I've seen it the the lift lines, lodges, on the sides of trails....but never actually skiing. Until now.

I recently saw someone skiing down the hill, no poles, both ungloved hands on the phone tapping away. Not sure what was so important, that it warranted texting right then and there. I suppose ditching poles made them ready for any texting situation that should arise. Given the attire, I made the assumption they weren't a park skier. And Stratton doesn't exactly have a park scene. Maybe this is a new look? Ready texter? Techrat?

Honorable mention: A guy going down the hill with his phone jammed between his helmet and ear talking away on a call. Maybe he was working. But wouldn't stopping and talking or going into the lodge be a lot easier?
 

BenedictGomez

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I guess the cat's out of the bag now, but in retrospect, giving children cell phones was a horrible idea.

The 9,382 negatives outweigh the "safety" aspect, which I've always thought was 99% BS. Though this may be shocking info that needs to make the 6pm national news, kids grew up just fine for several thousand years without cell phones.
 

SkiFanE

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I guess the cat's out of the bag now, but in retrospect, giving children cell phones was a horrible idea.

The 9,382 negatives outweigh the "safety" aspect, which I've always thought was 99% BS. Though this may be shocking info that needs to make the 6pm national news, kids grew up just fine for several thousand years without cell phones.
I wonder how I had a social life as a teen. I guess we made plans in advance and stuck to them. Couldn't update plans at last second or you'd have to call 5 people's houses to redo plans lol. Kid forgot something at school just now. Okay, fine I'll drop off for you. Yes, by 1030. On the way I get 3 texts "where are you". Wtf kid, I told you I'll leave in 3 mins. So figure it out. I can't be texting while driving. That is what bugs me most - they can't just accept "be there at 2" without needing to change or complicate things. "I'll text mom and tell her 2:30 instead"...so yah know...I can adjust accordingly. 20 years ago it was 2:00 pickup, fact of life. But it does allow a certain amount of peace of mind for a ski bum mom trying to manage kids while skiing :)
 

bdfreetuna

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keep the faith
Saw this at Killington under the Snowdon triple on Saturday as well.

Guy was skiing pretty well though, maybe he figured he needed to add an extra element of challenge into the sport.
 

TheArchitect

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I guess the cat's out of the bag now, but in retrospect, giving children cell phones was a horrible idea.

The 9,382 negatives outweigh the "safety" aspect, which I've always thought was 99% BS. Though this may be shocking info that needs to make the 6pm national news, kids grew up just fine for several thousand years without cell phones.

For my 9 year old's birthday he had friends over and were playing kickball. A kid is on base and texting. Worse, the ball goes into play, the kid runs to second base while still texting. I made sure my son didn't get a phone until it was absolutely necessary because of that.
 

Glenn

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To me, skiing is a nice get away. Sure, I use Ski Tracks. But not when I'm skiing. I turn it on, pause it when we stop, resume, save at the end of the day.

I'm sure I'm not alone in staying there's been something that I needed to address; be it a message or a phone call. But I'll take things inside and try not to share my convo with random people who may be sitting in close proximity.

We're so connected these days. I enjoy getting out on the hill and hearing nothing but the wind in my ears, the skis on the snow, sounds the lifts make, and conversations with my wife or some folks we chat with on the lift.
 

urungus

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I may stop halfway down a run to snap a photo on my phone, or to check the GPS on an unfamiliar mountain with poor signage. But never to make a call or send a text message.
 

KustyTheKlown

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I'm pretty constantly in my ski tracks gps map. I don't like to repeat any runs. I do like to explore into uncharted and off map territory. the gps map is super useful.
 

cdskier

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I turn my gps app on when I'm about to start skiing and then may glance at my phone once in a while to see either how much I've skied or check to make sure no one called or texted me about meeting up for lunch or something like that. 99% of the time the phone stays in my pocket. Once in a while I'll take it out to take a picture and post on Facebook that picture as well...

Texting while actually skiing is just asking for trouble...
 

speden

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Like most things, if you practice it you can get pretty good at it. Kids today get a lot of practice texting while doing other things, so probably some of them can ski and text at the same time while being fairly safe. The key is probably being able to shift your vision rapidly between the screen and the world in front of you so that you don't lose too much situational awareness.

Like texting and driving it's still a bad idea since the risk of hurting yourself and others is still there. And some people are prone to getting fixated on the phone screen or conversation, and then their situational awareness goes out the window.
 

Harvey

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I was one of those guys. I bought myself the afternoon at Magic (from 1pm until closing) by making a call on the lift. Worse yet, I'd come to the lift as a single, so I was riding with a stranger, and I spoke almost the whole ride up on the red. At the top I apologized. It was a crappy thing to do, but I got 3 more hours of bump nirvana from it. My apologies to the universe.
 

KustyTheKlown

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I don't really understand why singles join singles on the double chair when there is no line. its pretty annoying when someone hops on board for an intimate 12 minute double ride. if there is no/hardly any line, just wait for the next one
 

Smellytele

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Right where I want to be
Saw a guy today at wildcat. Holding his phone out in front of him filming all the way to the bottom. I have seen people do it with gopros on selfie sticks but never holding their phone out.
 

MommaBear

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I pull it out to respond to work calls when needed - but like Glen, I try to remove myself from others first. Clients don't know I'm on the slopes and I'm not about to tell them I'm skiing instead of doing their books! (I can do the books any time of day, so they WILL get done, just on my terms)
 

KustyTheKlown

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Saw a guy today at wildcat. Holding his phone out in front of him filming all the way to the bottom. I have seen people do it with gopros on selfie sticks but never holding their phone out.

i've done facebook live videos. last season i had a series "skiing in the woods". i refuse to participate in go pro culture. so i'll just put my poles in one hand and film with the other hand for a minute or two. no harm there.
 

BenedictGomez

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The Go-Pro fad seems to be dying out.

About three years ago, it seemed like 25% of people in line had a dang camera on them. Now I think it's more like 5%.
 
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