What shifts in the general skier mentality would you like to see?

[Mildcat]

2. I'd like to see an increase in the use of helmets. Wearing one should be a rule.

If a ski resort made it "a rule", I wouldn't have a problem with that because a skier would still have the choice of skiing somewhere else. If you think it should be law then I have a huge problem with that. Who are you to say somebody who skis blues and greens under control should have to wear a helmet?

Hell, lets make people wear helmets 24 hours a day. Then there would be no head injuries at all.

 

[Greg]

forget screwing up mogul lines, powder, etc...there's plenty of that to be had if you wanna get it.

Where exactly do you find "plenty" of well-maintained bump runs? Consistent moguls are the most commonly overlooked terrain feature.

 

[tjf67]

I'm glad to read this quote, because, I have been saying this for years. If more municipality's took the initiative to create local snow sport attractions. Even something as simple as a snow gun or a rope tow, at the local sled hill.It could create interest in winter sports. Imagine, the local sled hills, are over run with sledders, and the few kids who can't make it to the resort to ski/ride are building a makeshift park out of whatever is kicking around.Often, more elaborate contraptions are brought to the spot and the sessions begin. IT stands to reason that the more interest that can be garnered at the local level, the more likely people are to continue their interest in a more challenging environment. Grammy and Grampa might not make the trip to the mountain but they will gladly drive to the local spot to watch sonny boy do his latest trick, maybe even buy him a new set of skis or a lift ticket. They, in turn, inspire others, who may otherwise, never been exposed to the experience.

Sounds like a great idea. In a era of overprotection It seems doomed. I cleared out a bunch of trees behind the house. While figuring out what to do with them the neighborhood kids started playing on them. Looked like they were having a blast. One day i was on my porch and one of the moms stopped by with her kid in tow and asked me when I was going to get rid of the pile it was dangerous. I was taken back a bit and politely said. You dont like your son playing back there? She answered no. I turned the the boy and told him he could no longer play in my yard as his mother does not want him there. SHe got all huffy with me cause I made her look like the bad guy.
Less commercials on tv by attorneys may be a start.

 

[bill2ski]

Sounds like a great idea. In a era of overprotection It seems doomed. I cleared out a bunch of trees behind the house. While figuring out what to do with them the neighborhood kids started playing on them. Looked like they were having a blast. One day i was on my porch and one of the moms stopped by with her kid in tow and asked me when I was going to get rid of the pile it was dangerous. I was taken back a bit and politely said. You dont like your son playing back there? She answered no. I turned the the boy and told him he could no longer play in my yard as his mother does not want him there. SHe got all huffy with me cause I made her look like the bad guy.
Less commercials on tv by attorneys may be a start.

I get the whole liability thing, But, what I envision, carries no more liability than a skate park.
The onus of risk is placed on the participant, not on the venue. If this were otherwise there would be no outdoor public ice arenas or sports fields.
In my town I have seen the construction of all three aforementioned public spaces, consume vast amounts of public funds only to fall into disuse and disrepair, and be rebuilt again. The addition of a winter sports park seems to me like a great addition to any towns recreation program with out the costs associated with many other activity's.

 

[billski]

paranoid

Sounds like a great idea. In a era of overprotection It seems doomed. I cleared out a bunch of trees behind the house. While figuring out what to do with them the neighborhood kids started playing on them. Looked like they were having a blast. One day i was on my porch and one of the moms stopped by with her kid in tow and asked me when I was going to get rid of the pile it was dangerous. I was taken back a bit and politely said. You dont like your son playing back there? She answered no. I turned the the boy and told him he could no longer play in my yard as his mother does not want him there. SHe got all huffy with me cause I made her look like the bad guy.
Less commercials on tv by attorneys may be a start.

Over-protection has now transformed to paranoid. There seems to never be "safe enough." Shoot, if I never participated in risky behaviour (and I'm not talking about sex, drugs and booze), life would be pretty damn boring. Some of the best experiences I ever have had were all around calculated risk, rather than risk avoidance.

Businesses manage risk every day. If they avoided all risk, they'd be out of business. Ski industry is a perfect example. They really didn't want to add more risk to their business but the business forced them to - snowboards, half pipes, terrain parks are all considered risky (then again so are trees:roll:.) Did it add more risk? Certainly, but they are still in business and bringing in more customers.

Insurance companies aren't always indomitable. I heard a story last year about an ski operation , where their insurance company said remove this, remove that, remove this. Finally the resort owner pushed back when they wanted to elliminate something that was very fundamental to sport (I believe it was racing or mogul fields or half-pipe). He said "No, I might as well not be in business" The insurance company backed down. Interestingly their rate did not skyrocket.

Another interesting observation is that insurance and lawsuit costs make up only about 20% of the industry average lift ticket price. This suggests that insurance does not wag the dog's tail of current operators. Certainly there are always exceptions, always incidents that are dramatized.

If the paranoids had their way, we'd all be wearing Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man suits, skiing on 10% incline, treeless, smooth slopes, and acres of impact pads a the bottom.

The small tows are out of business for many reasons. First, real estate values made it much more worthwhile to sell out to a developer. Second, it's very labor intensive, and most people don't have the idle time they used to. Third, most of the tows were labors of love or marginally profitable. When it became a job, many bowed out. Fourth when the owners saw the need to insure, they didn't have money for the additional premiums and many closed for expressly that reason.

 

[bobbutts]

O.K. Hitler..I'm sure everybody will take lessons, wear helmets, and abstain from lunchtime beers...is this post a joke???

I think you are the joke bro. Guys who cannot participate in a sport without drinking are annoying to me too and I can drink you under the table for sure little man. I'm on the other side of the helmet debate (personal choice) but I don't see how avoiding head trauma as a policy is "Hitler". Bringing out Hitler for trivial stuff is a pet-peeve of mine too. Next time you witness a genocide you can pull the Hitler card kid. I wish more people took lessons too, it sucks to watch people struggle with problems that could be easily solved.

 

[bvibert]

More acceptance of natural terrain from the general skiing public. You always here people complain that a mountain hasn't groomed the terrain in the middle of a snow storm... :roll:

More interest in spring skiing would go a long way IMHO, I don't see it happening though..

 

[AdironRider]

1. I'd like to see less drinking + skiing. I'm tired of seeing a pack of 30 year old weekend warriors bombing down a trail with little control because they had a few at lunch.
2. I'd like to see an increase in the use of helmets. Wearing one should be a rule.
3. I'd like to see more people taking lessons.

I disagree with you pretty much on all points, minus the lessons to some extent. Ive never seen someone so completely blasted that they couldnt make it down the mtn. Frankly I enjoy a couple brews at the midstation lodge at Whiteface on a nice sunny day. Besides with how much it costs for booze on mtn, you really think people are getting hammered? Doubt it. Second, not wearing a helmet only hurts the rider themselves. Maybe its the NH in me, but Live Free or Die. If I dont want to wear a helmet for whatever reason, let me be Im doing no harm to you. Lessons are no big deal to me really, but as I stated in the lessons thread itself, you learn by doing, and just having someone tell you what to do isnt going to really improve anything, I think you're much better served just getting as many runs under your skis as you can, not spending the equivalent of three runs by yourself for just one with an instructor.


As for what Id like to see changed, this whole boarder/skier thing (which always comes up in MRG threads and probably will now... but it sucks and I dont want it anymore). I ride, you ski, we both love doing the same thing so get over it.

 

[bvibert]

I agree that the whole skiers vs. boarders thing needs to stop. There's no need, it's just stupid...

 

[CapeSkier]

I'd like to see it so you don't have to skip a house payment to take the family skiing for a week.

 

[PA Ridge Racer]

What I'd like to see differently probably does not pertain to anyone on this board. But first I'd like to see people NOT throw their trash or litter on the Mt. Empty bottles and beer cans under the lift is disgusting to me. And Mt's who do nothing about it should be doing more to clean it and enforce it.

Second...and again probably not pertaining to anyone here, I'd like to see more people embrace and support the smaller hills and not look down upon them or avoid them ... especially when they are a feasible distance away. And, locally, yes there is great skiing to be had here in Pennsylvania and we are not all 200 vert back yard ski areas and do offer some nice pitch, bumps and snow.

Third, definitely not pertaining to AZer's, Just because there isn't any snow in people's back yards does not mean the hills aren't covered with it. I would like for those people to know that just because it's warm out or there isn't any snow outside where they live, they should still consider going out and supporting the Mt's becuase there is likey lots of snow (manmade or otherwise) on the hill. They should check websites or call the Mt's and go skiing!