Lesson learned????

[campgottagopee]

What's the dumbest thing you've ever done skiing/boarding. And did you learn from it....

Here's mine:

Back a few hundred years ago teaching at Smuggs one of our housemates was a board instructor, the only one in the house out of 7 that boarded. So as you can imagine he caught a lot of crap, albeit good natured crap, it was still crap. Anyway, one day after work while sitting around the bar we started in on him. Boarding this, boarding that, boarding so easy, boarding is for people who can't ski, blah, blah, blah. Well, he called us out on it, so we all headed to the rental shop to get boards. Mind you we're drunk, young (which equals stupid), still in uniform, and only one of us had ever been on a board before. All of us being super human, right to the top we go---Madana of all places---stupid!!! To make VERY long ride down short, as I was starting to lose control and head into the woods, I reached out for a tree to stop myself. I managed to stop myself, but in the process broke my thumb. Not only did we get in trouble by management for skiing drunk, got our a$$es chewed by the ski school director, but I had to deal with that friggin busted thumb for 3 weeks. Every time I planted my left pole I was reminded about just how stupid that act really was.

That's the dumbest thing I've ever done skiing/riding. I learned to NEVER, EVER ski after drinking and to NEVER get on another board again!!!!!

What's yours.............

 

[dmc]

Going OB in UTah and not making sure everyone had a tranceiver-probe-shovel...
Ended up having to bootpack back up the side of a big face... Was terrified...

 

[Grassi21]

At the time of this tale I would classify myself as a solid intermediate. This past season I tried skiing the trees for the first time. Let's just say the trees skier's left of Fallen Timbers at Mt Snow as not the best place for me to give it a try. After wiping out the second time in the trees a patroller almost ran me over. I'm sure he was cursing the noob who got in his way. After almost strangling my buddy we popped out somewhere on Fallen Timbers. I can handle a few bumps but like the option of a bail out area. Obviously there was no bail out area on this trail. When I met up with the group at the base I purposely fell over and laid there for a good minute. I was exhausted.

The following week I hit Berkshire East and thoroughly enjoyed the pitch and sparse trees on Blizzard Island. That is the introduction to trees I needed. I have a long way to go before I head back to the trees on The North Face at Snow but I see myself in the trees more as my skills progress.

 

[CapeSkier]

Got one for ya...This is, I swear, a true story.

January 1978 at an unnamed ski area in VT. I was with a buddy skiing the morning after an ice storm. Rain had frozen on an old, slatted, 2 person chairlift covering it with a thick coat of rime. It was a weekday and very quiet on the mountain. We boarded the chair and the liftie went back inside the shack. The chair had the old side-swing safety bars that had a spring on them, and it clamped into a catch on the center vertical bar. I thought the safety bar clicked home, but the rime ice on the latch prevented it from securing.

About halfway up the lift, I bent down to adjust my pant leg or something, and leaned forward on the safety bar. It popped open, and the spring swung it wide. My ass slid on the icy chair seat, and I slipped out. I was dangling from the chairlift, hanging onto the footrest, and nobody saw me but the guy who was with me. Being young and stupid, he thought it was the funniest thing he had ever seen. I held on as long as I could, and fortunately the chair came to a low spot above the ground. I was kicking my skis furiously, got the bindings to blow out, and had my skis dangling by the safety straps. My poles were long gone. I had to let go and chance it. I hit the hard, frozen snow, busted through the icy crust, and fell over onto the binding of my ski. I ended up with a nice cut and bruise on my butt cheek. Fortunately it was only about a 12 foot drop. The only things hurt were my ass and my pride.

Ever since that day, I have been ridiculously cautious about safety bars. The type that failed on me is now obsolete, and I haven't seen one in years, but they are probably still out there somewhere. Even so, I never trust the bar. The safety bar, that is. Nowadays, if that happened to me I would look like Humpty Dumpty or something, all busted up on the hill. Thankfully I was young and stupid. Old and stupid hurts more.

 

[campgottagopee]

Got one for ya...This is, I swear, a true story.

January 1978 at an unnamed ski area in VT. I was with a buddy skiing the morning after an ice storm. Rain had frozen on an old, slatted, 2 person chairlift covering it with a thick coat of rime. It was a weekday and very quiet on the mountain. We boarded the chair and the liftie went back inside the shack. The chair had the old side-swing safety bars that had a spring on them, and it clamped into a catch on the center vertical bar. I thought the safety bar clicked home, but the rime ice on the latch prevented it from securing.

About halfway up the lift, I bent down to adjust my pant leg or something, and leaned forward on the safety bar. It popped open, and the spring swung it wide. My ass slid on the icy chair seat, and I slipped out. I was dangling from the chairlift, hanging onto the footrest, and nobody saw me but the guy who was with me. Being young and stupid, he thought it was the funniest thing he had ever seen. I held on as long as I could, and fortunately the chair came to a low spot above the ground. I was kicking my skis furiously, got the bindings to blow out, and had my skis dangling by the safety straps. My poles were long gone. I had to let go and chance it. I hit the hard, frozen snow, busted through the icy crust, and fell over onto the binding of my ski. I ended up with a nice cut and bruise on my butt cheek. Fortunately it was only about a 12 foot drop. The only things hurt were my ass and my pride.

Ever since that day, I have been ridiculously cautious about safety bars. The type that failed on me is now obsolete, and I haven't seen one in years, but they are probably still out there somewhere. Even so, I never trust the bar. The safety bar, that is. Nowadays, if that happened to me I would look like Humpty Dumpty or something, all busted up on the hill. Thankfully I was young and stupid. Old and stupid hurts more.

WOW!!! THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY

 

[Greg]

WOW!!! THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY

I know. Gonna tough to top that one...

 

[campgottagopee]

I know. Gonna tough to top that one...

At least that was more of a mishap than sheer stupidity like mine:dunce:

 

[CapeSkier]

Thanks. Heading back to VT now for the weekend. No lifts operating, so I should be safe!