Gaper pet peeve thread

[eatskisleep]

I hate it when gapers start out or enter a trail without looking up the hill. Ed.

My biggest pet peeve right there. I can't stand it when people do this. You are enjoying your run, going at a good clip, and the guy who was stopped starts 10 feet infront of you and you needs to put yourself in danger just to avoid the other guy. :smash:

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

My biggest pet peeve right there. I can't stand it when people do this. You are enjoying your run, going at a good clip, and the guy who was stopped starts 10 feet infront of you and you needs to put yourself in danger just to avoid the other guy. :smash:

That happens to me like every freaking run at Blue mountain..and alot of the time..the person stopped on the side will look up and watch me flying down the trail and then wait until the last possible second to jump out from in front of me..and then they get dusted with a gi-normous wake of snow...I don't get these people..they're the same idiots that merge into 75mph traffic going 50mph..dumb idiots!! Some of the ski patrollers at Blue mountain pull that shit and then hog the trail from the far left to the far right...F#cking trail whores..

And I hate when people crank turns on cat-tracks hogging the whole thing..especially if it's going to flatten soon and where maintaining speed is important..those mo-fos get freaking startled when I shout on their left and thread the needle.

 

[billski]

I hate when people slam the safety bar down immediately without saying.."Coming Down" or"Bar Down"..very rude..

And on lifts with footrests, such a slammer can entirely destroy a kneecap... ouch!

 

[OppositeGeorge]

If for no other reason than the safety bar slam, my helmet has paid for itself hundreds of times over! Especially if you're tall (I go 6'3" before I step into my ski boots)

Yeah, for me the main benefits of the helmet are protection against bar slams (and I'm only 5'8") and never having to find another hat because this one isn't windproof enough. The safety thing is just a bonus at this point. Totally worth the money, totally getting another one when this one goes.

 

[orsonab]

Not only do I love my ski rack but it's a Coleman (as in the lantern people) ski rack - not even one of your fancy Thule ones. Does that mean I'm steeped in Gaperdom?

'Cos that would be cool.

 

[kcyanks1]

I'm on the short side (5'7") so perhaps that's why, but I never (rarely?) had an issue with a bar hitting my head until I started wearing a helmet; now it happens sometimes but not every day. I also didn't hit low-lying branches in the woods until I started to wear a helmet. In the woods case, I think part of it is that we somehow of some sense of where the top of our heads are, but we don't have a sense of where the extra 1" or so of padding ends. I ski in the woods more now, so that also is a factor.

 

[billski]

I'm on the short side (5'7") s I also didn't hit low-lying branches in the woods until I started to wear a helmet.

My helmet and goggles often become a ramrod to push aside small branches. Sometimes that gets me a bloody nose. Sometimes it's simply not too bright, but I'm having fun anyways.

Dunce is me...:dunce:

 

[Hawkshot99]

My helmet and goggles often become a ramrod to push aside small branches. Sometimes that gets me a bloody nose. Sometimes it's simply not too bright, but I'm having fun anyways.

Dunce is me...:dunce:

I do the same. I have a G10 MX. I has a visor, and I just lower my head a bit and the branches hit the visor instead of my face.

 

[ed-drum]

Without being too "abrasive", pulling out or starting out on onto a trail without looking uphill to yield to the uphill skier, stopping in the middle of a trail "where you can be an obstacle to other skiers", and being able to be in control and STAYING ON COURSE are part of the "Skiers code of conduct". Staying on course means not to turn abruptly without looking over your shoulder when traversing a trail. (Like looking in the mirror and putting your blinker on while driving BEFORE you change lanes). I NEVER traverse a trail without looking over my uphill shoulder. I now carry the rules with me in my pocket when some IDIOT violates them. Then I read them to him or her. People think the uphill skier can stop on a dime because of IDIOTS. NOT!!!!!!!!!! Uphill skiers should not plow into a person in front of them. But it's hard to do when some novice STOPS in the middle of the trail.The "Skiers Code of Conduct" rules are posted in every lodge that I've been in, even in Europe. Ed.

 

[WJenness]

If for no other reason than the safety bar slam, my helmet has paid for itself hundreds of times over! Especially if you're tall (I go 6'3" before I step into my ski boots)

Same here... I'm 6'4" and it seems I can't go a night at Wachusett without getting conked on the head... I haven't had a problem anywhere else... but seemingly every time I'm at Wachusett I get hit with the bar. (Thank you to my Giro G9 for saving me from untold numbers of headaches)

-w

 

[ckofer]

My helmet and goggles often become a ramrod to push aside small branches. Sometimes that gets me a bloody nose. Sometimes it's simply not too bright, but I'm having fun anyways.

Dunce is me...:dunce:

It may seem like overkill but a brush guard may be in order. I'm thinking something like a lacrosse helmet:

And now that I know what breaking ribs is all about (busted 5 & pierced my lung last summer), rib pads seem smart. I'm becoming such a wuss.

 

[billski]

Not only do I love my ski rack but it's a Coleman (as in the lantern people) ski rack - not even one of your fancy Thule ones. Does that mean I'm steeped in Gaperdom?

'Cos that would be cool.

"Gaper" implies clueless-ness. That's not you.

The fellow who pulls out into a trail without looking may not be a gaper, he may just be simply out of control. I don't think we can broad-brush mistakes as clueless-ness. When I was teaching my daughter to drive, she knew all the rules, but she still made mistakes in judgment. I didn't need to tell her driving over the curb wasn't a good idea; she already knew that, just didn't realize you didn't have to turn the wheel so much.

I just make it a point to follow the fire-truck motto when I see a newbie: "Stay back 100 feet", which in my case, I change to 100 yards.

A legitimate example of gaper is the fellow who put his boots on the wrong feet AND skied that way! This group tends to stretch the definition of the "gaper" term too far.

Now, if you told me you had a ski rack made of 2x4's and hold down skis with bungee cords (yup, i've seen them), I'd just call you cheap. Please don't tell me that...

 

[billski]

It may seem like overkill but a brush guard may be in order. I'm thinking something like a lacrosse helmet:

The cage design is downright dangerous - a branch can go straight in, get hungup and yank you around by your head. I've already had my gogs ripped off by this phenomena... No thanks!

 

[ckofer]

The cage design is downright dangerous - a branch can go straight in, get hungup and yank you around by your head. I've already had my gogs ripped off by this phenomena... No thanks!

You're probably right about that. Try this:

How sharp would that look? ;-)