• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

Biggest Misconceptions Non Skiers Have About Skiers

Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
Excellent points. So let's knock off dumping on gaper clothing and gear - they're not clueless, just trying desparately to get into a sport they can ill-afford.

.

Alot of the people dressed like gapers at Blue mountain have plenty of money..they're just out of touch..lots of people dressed like gapers at Jackson Hole..and I doubt poor people can afford a ski vacation there..
 

Tin Woodsman

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Messages
1,148
Points
63
Biggest misconception I see is that non-skiers always think us male skiers have 14" penises.


Everyone knows they're only 10".
 

drjeff

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
19,430
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn, CT
Use a meter stick, it sounds more impressive in centimeters:-o

Better be carefull GSS since if I recall from your post yesterday your date tonight is a scientist. Just as long as she doesn't need to break out the millimeter ruler things should be fine ;)
 

dropKickMurphy

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2006
Messages
213
Points
0
Seriously, most of the non-skiers I know have tried skiing at some point. Many of their misconceptions are based on their experiences, some from 20 or more years ago. They tend to remember it as difficult. They remember their feet being very cold and very sore. They remember waiting in long, long, lines to ride slow lifts to the top of a solid bolierplate covered mountain.

The trick is to convince them that the sport has changed dramatically. The skis, the boots, the high speed lifts, snowmaking, and grooming all make skiing a lot easier and a lot more comfortable than they remember.
 

davidhowland14

New member
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
805
Points
0
Location
Cape Cod, MA
Website
www.frigidlight.com
Seriously, most of the non-skiers I know have tried skiing at some point. Many of their misconceptions are based on their experiences, some from 20 or more years ago. They tend to remember it as difficult. They remember their feet being very cold and very sore. They remember waiting in long, long, lines to ride slow lifts to the top of a solid bolierplate covered mountain.

The trick is to convince them that the sport has changed dramatically. The skis, the boots, the high speed lifts, snowmaking, and grooming all make skiing a lot easier and a lot more comfortable than they remember.

no, man, everything is the same. probably worse, actually. what with global warming and all, what they would have called boilerplate is now called powder.
 

mondeo

New member
Joined
Mar 18, 2008
Messages
4,431
Points
0
Location
E. Hartford, CT
-That rain in central CT means rain in central VT. People don't always realize how much difference in temperature there is; I can usually count on a 15-20 degree drop from Hartford at 6AM to Killington at 9AM.

-From casual skiers, that small hills (e.g., Sundown) don't hold any value to someone who skis much at all. Sundown is probably more important to me than any other hill, because it's the only way I'm going to get to ski as much as I need to get as good as I want to get.

-Danger. Not so much the death aspect as they expect broken bones and deteriorated knees. While I've broken two bones skiing, I've known plenty of longtime skiers who've had no such incidents. At some point next year I'm going to go into work with a fake cast.

-Enjoyment of cold. Not a bit; my preferred conditions are upper 20s, because it's as warm as it gets without deteriorating snow conditions. If there was powder in the mid-60s, that would be as good as it gets.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
-

-From casual skiers, that small hills (e.g., Sundown) don't hold any value to someone who skis much at all. Sundown is probably more important to me than any other hill, because it's the only way I'm going to get to ski as much as I need to get as good as I want to get.

.

People wonder why I bother with Blue mountain when I ski Jackson Hole every season..I can't become a fair weather..fair condition jaded skier..I have to ski whenever I can so a couple hours after work at Blue is a heck of alot better than no skiing at all..and due to our typically icy conditions..I can get mad steezy speed..plus spring skiing in PA can be had any week of the season..
 

Vinny

New member
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
79
Points
0
Location
Long Island, NY
As a group, the median age is somewhere in the 30's, depending how you count. Median statistics can be deceptive in this scenario. Many people pull out of the sport due career and family in their late 20s. They return to the sport in their late 30's. There is a precipitous drop off in women skiers beyond age 40. Majority of folks bail out in their 60's.

Here's a WSJ article about how it's getting more difficult to find senior ctizen ski deals due to an overall increase in skiers age. We're getting old

This surprised me..."While it's difficult to tell how many senior-citizen skiers there are, visitors aged 45 and older made up 31% of total ski-resort business in the last season, up from 21% seven years ago, according to a report by the National Ski Areas Association, a Lakewood, Colo., industry group."

That's a much higher % than I would have guessed.
 

drjeff

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
19,430
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn, CT
Here's a WSJ article about how it's getting more difficult to find senior ctizen ski deals due to an overall increase in skiers age. We're getting old

This surprised me..."While it's difficult to tell how many senior-citizen skiers there are, visitors aged 45 and older made up 31% of total ski-resort business in the last season, up from 21% seven years ago, according to a report by the National Ski Areas Association, a Lakewood, Colo., industry group."

That's a much higher % than I would have guessed.

Not that suprising given both the wealth distribution of the US and the large numbers of Baby Boomers compared to Gen X'ers
 

severine

New member
Joined
Feb 7, 2004
Messages
12,367
Points
0
Location
CT
Website
poetinthepantry.com
That they'd ski into a tree if they tried. (Heck, I used to think that before I tried the sport.)

And definitely the cold. Though the colder it is, the happier I am. It's easier for me to dress for colder temps when skiing than warmer.
 

Greg

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 1, 2001
Messages
31,154
Points
0
Not really a misconception, but I sometimes get some weird looks when I talk to friends or family about skiing in the middle of the summer.
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
17,569
Points
0
Not really a misconception, but I sometimes get some weird looks when I talk to friends or family about skiing in the middle of the summer.

When I first became a skier..I always talked about skiing to non-skiers and now I don't even bother...when I told my date last night how much I spend on skiing..she looked at me like I was crazy..
 

2knees

New member
Joined
Nov 17, 2004
Messages
8,330
Points
0
Location
Safe
People wonder why I bother with Blue mountain when I ski Jackson Hole every season..I can't become a fair weather..fair condition jaded skier..I have to ski whenever I can so a couple hours after work at Blue is a heck of alot better than no skiing at all..and due to our typically icy conditions..I can get mad steezy speed..plus spring skiing in PA can be had any week of the season..


nice post. the day i'm too snobby to ski locally is the day i quit skiing. I have no problem with skiing sundown 10 or more times a year. I'd go every damn night there are bumps if i was single. Keeps you primed up.

Ski snobbery is a major pet peeve of mine. It does tend to be rather noticeable online. Lots of internet experts dumping on places.
 

Greg

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 1, 2001
Messages
31,154
Points
0
nice post. the day i'm too snobby to ski locally is the day i quit skiing. I have no problem with skiing sundown 10 or more times a year. I'd go every damn night there are bumps if i was single. Keeps you primed up.

Ski snobbery is a major pet peeve of mine. It does tend to be rather noticeable online. Lots of internet experts dumping on places.

Word. Over half my days were at the mighty Sundown last season. If I count the times I was there with my daughter, I was probably there 30 days. I love that little hill and look forward to watching all our kids learn to ski there. We are very fortunate.
 
Top