Gaper pet peeve thread

[drjeff]

Okay, gapers are just a fact of ski area life, and sometimes a very entertaining one! But there are some things that they do, that just drive you crazy.

My #1 gaper pet peeve isn't an on-hill one as much as it's an on-car one. It absolutely drives me crazy when I see someone with the skis on the roof in the rack tips pointed FORWARD Just a little aerodynamic common sense should have folks keeping those tips pointing back. It just drives me crazy cruising down the highway watching those forward facing tips flop around in the wind.

 

[deadheadskier]

What about the twin tippers?

 

[severine]

What about the twin tippers?

:lol: Good point!

 

[billski]

I would much rather have my skis inside so that while they are protected from the elements, they improve aerodynamics and can lacerate and spear me in case of an accident

I also suspect that the amount of additional turbulence created by forward-tips is minor compared to the turbulence and drag caused by the racks themselves, which are of course parallel to the wind direction, creating the absolute worst aerodynamics.

 

[wa-loaf]

Gaper threads are my Gaper pet peeve.

 

[drjeff]

I would much rather have my skis inside so that while they are protected from the elements, they improve aerodynamics and can lacerate and spear me in case of an accident

I also suspect that the amount of additional turbulence created by forward-tips is minor compared to the turbulence and drag caused by the racks themselves, which are of course parallel to the wind direction, creating the absolute worst aerodynamics.

Check it out going down the highway someday. Not as much of a factor on a big SUV where the tips don't hang over the wind shield, but on a small car where the tips can get out infront of the main wind flow over the car, those thing get flapping when forward facing, where as when their pointing back, the tips are basically motionless.

Heck, it's such a pet peeve of mine that i even put my skis tips back inside of the Thule roof box

 

[drjeff]

What about the twin tippers?

Nah, I'm talking about those good 'ol pair of 207 Rossi 4SK's with the Salomon 747 bindings on them.

Most twin tips aren't long enough to get sticking out infront of the car enough to get flapping around

 

[deadheadskier]

Nah, I'm talking about those good 'ol pair of 207 Rossi 4SK's with the Salomon 747 bindings on them.

Most twin tips aren't long enough to get sticking out infront of the car enough to get flapping around

I had those, only with Marker bindings in a 195cm

 

[drjeff]

I had those, only with Marker bindings in a 195cm

I had a pair of the 207's with the blue/red old Marker M40's on them, just couldn't find a good pic of those bindings though

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

What about the twin tippers?

The first thing I thought..anyway..I have a passthrough and a ski bag...I used to have a ski rack on my old Jetta and ski racks suck and are for gapers..

 

[mondeo]

The first thing I thought..anyway..I have a passthrough and a ski bag...I used to have a ski rack on my old Jetta and ski racks suck and are for gapers..

My rear seats don't even fold down, so my skis ride up front with me.

I prefer to keep the skis inside, but if you've got a car and have more than 2 people, you're sort of stuck with a ski rack. What I don't get is how nobody ever uses a ski bag in conjunction with a ski rack; the thought of the effect that salt has during many, many hours of driving vs. the relatively low cost of protecting expensive pieces of equipment (especially considering the fact that I bet the less someone skis, the closer to list they paid,) how do you just leave those things out in the elements?

(Me fail English? But you know what I mean.)

 

[billski]

The first thing I thought..anyway..I have a passthrough and a ski bag...I used to have a ski rack on my old Jetta and ski racks suck and are for gapers..

Ski racks have their purpose.....like when you have way too many people inside the vehicle....that's the only time I put them on anymore.

 

[billski]

What I don't get is how nobody ever uses a ski bag in conjunction with a ski rack;

Funny you should mention that. I have always bagged my skis (paper or plastic? ) before racking them outside. Salt and sand not only can get in the binding, but on the edges also. Makes for a crappy day of skiing too. They used to have these things called "binding bags" which just enveloped the bindings, but I never bought into that program. I always sacked the skis (that way, it doesn't matter where the tips are, but nonetheless they were always in back.) You should see my ski bag - it is literally soaked in salt and needed to get washed on occassion.

One thing people forget to do is spread the racks out as far as they can so they don't start flapping like previously described...

I also remember the only way to mount skis outside on a coupe (a-la Mazda RX-7) was to put these clamps on your side window. That always struck me as a Rube Goldberg. Don't even ask me why people drove coupes in the winter, but they did....

 

[ERJ-145CA]

My rear seats don't even fold down, so my skis ride up front with me.

My skis ride up front with me in my Corolla 'cause I'm usually alone and that way I could look at them and caress them during the drive (just kidding about the caressing).:-D

 

[billski]

I sometimes wonder if we don't confuse gapers with people who are just plain cheap...

 

[ski220]

which are of course parallel to the wind direction,.

And how are you at perpendicular parking?

 

[billski]

And how are you at perpendicular parking?

I'm a master at hockey stops, of course

 

[Greg]

The first thing I thought..anyway..I have a passthrough and a ski bag...I used to have a ski rack on my old Jetta and ski racks suck and are for gapers..

I'm a gaper. I have a ski rack. Rarely use it unless the car is filled with passengers. Sometimes, if the roads are totally dry and I'm not going far, I'll toss them up top uncovered, but they are usually bagged. Otherwise I throw them in the back. I don't worry about the seats or melting snow. One benefit of driving an 8 year old POS. Actually I love my Cherokee.

Anyway, not much about gapers really bothers me. Perhaps the only thing that might is when they're in front on terrain they can't handle. I usually just wait and remind myself that I was that guy many, many times before. Still am sometimes probably... :lol:

 

[mondeo]

(just kidding about the caressing).:-D

I'm not...

:wink:

 

[dmc]

Perhaps the only thing that might is when they're in front on terrain they can't handle. I usually just wait and remind myself that I was that guy many, many times before. Still am sometimes probably... :lol:

Everyones a "gaper" to somebody...

In Jackson last year I spent time with some "locals"... they didn't accept me until I backed off the Pucker Face on day 1... I asked them how long it took before they skied it when they moved out here... NOBODY said day 1... They all pretty much agreed and we skied Pow 8s instead... Less of a hike...

I guess the best way to avoid being a gaper is to admit you(I) suck...