Why stop?

[MtnMagic]

Many times I drive by Cannon and Loon. Always, like today I see many stopped on the slope to chat. I read that skiiers are stopped on the slopes and are hit and hurt (or worse) by those coming down. Happens all the time. So why stop halfway down? Shouldn't it be a rule?
__________________
A puzzed x-c skiier.

 

[riverc0il]

not sure which way to interpert your last sentance. i wanted to interpert it was "shouldn't it be a rule that you must stop halfway down" so that you might stop on the slope and chat with fellow skiers. i've had a great many conversations on the lift and on the hill with fellow skiers. although, more often than not i only chat it up on the slope when i'm poaching something with a fellow poacher or skiing some hairy and tiring terrain that requires stopping or you'll pass out.

nothing wrong with stopping on the trail as long as you use proper etiquette. stop on the sides of the trails, don't stop below a lip where no one can see you, and don't stop in high traffic areas. it only becomes dangerous (imo) when these rules are not followed or when uphill capacity exceeds ski trail capacity, but that's the ski areas fault (imo). i don't ski areas where that is the case any ways, lol.

any ways, point being... convo and comradarie with your fellow skiers is a wonderful thing! do stop and share a smile and laugh with a stranger!

 

[Joshua]

its hard to ski all the way down and not stop, but talking and stopping for long durations does pose a risk. However, the ski code states it is the uphill skier's responsibility to avoid others

It gets bad when people are stopped behind lips or jumps

 

[Joshua]

you beat me to that post River....ill get you yet :wink:

 

[MtnMagic]

Thanks for your replies.
Uphill skiier's responsibilty? hmmm!

 

[Joshua]

its true....

 

[riverc0il]

http://www.nsp.org/nsp2002/safety_info_template.asp?mode=yrc

man, i broke rule number six more than a dozen times today! :lol:

 

[MtnMagic]

Thank you uphillclimber for elaborating and making it even more clearer.
I certainly can understand stopping to the sides of the trail. It's when I see them stopped in the middle that always puzzled and concerned me.
Many thanks all!

 

[severine]

To be fair, you'll also find people stopped in learning areas/easy trails who are new to the sport and may have just fallen there (you don't always get to pick where you fall, after all) and are working on getting their nerve back to continue down the trail. I'll admit I did that at times. Also, I've had to stop a few times in the middle of the trail because I was traversing and more experienced skiers were coming down the trail cutting across the path of my traverse. Better to stop and stay out of their way than to continue and possibly cause a collision. However, if I'm going to spend any length of time stopped overcoming my fears, I stay to the sides of the trails.
I haven't come across many skiers who stop and converse on the trails, but there are always snowboarders sitting down in the middle of the trails, oftentimes out of view from above, that really irk me. In the end, however, downhill has the right of way, as was already stated.

 

[skiguide]

5) Always use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.

FYI, it's not just snowboards that do/should use leashes to prevent runaway equipment- such devices are also quite common out west, where "deep powder" skiing is prevalent (unlike us saps out east here - if you eject out of a ski binding in waist deep powder, you might not be finding it until spring, so they come in handy for skiers as well.

i suspect it would have helped quite a few 'powder diggers' here during the storm of the century last december, where I saw numerous people pop out of skis and search frantically in the soft stuff.

agreed that common sense while stopping/skiing/starting is all that's needed.

 

[severine]

I am not familiar with leashes for skiis. My bindings have those legs that pop out when I come out of my skiis. Sounds like you'd really need them out west. Are they similar to snowboard leashes?

Even those ski brakes that are on the bindings are mostly useless. Unless the ski falls down a certain way, the brakes don't do anything to stop it.
I, too, have only seen snowboard leashes. But from what I understand, there used to be ski leashes before there were brakes on the bindings. I don't know if anybody manufactures that anymore, but it does seem like a good idea when skiing powder.

 

[skiguide]

similar to snowboard leashes, just with some variations.

when in doubt, just search google
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=ski+leashes

i agree that ski binding brakes are only marginally useful. they won't stop on east coast ice, and still doesn't solve the problem of keeping your ski nearby enough to find it easy on those epic east coast powder days.

 

[MichaelJ]

Ski leashes are still commonly used on tele equipment, which doesn't have the braking pins like alpine bindings. Of course, you rarely pop out of tele equipment, but if you do, you'd better have that leash or you have either a missile or a lost ski on your hands.

Today at Waterville Valley there were clumps of 2-4 kids, generally teenage, on snowboards sitting in the middle of the major green trail all over the place. It seems if one falls, their friends come and plop down together to socialize. Really annoying to have to be squeezing around them, especially considering the large numbers of beginners all funneling into those same spaces.

When I fall, I get up quickly and move along unless I'm injured. If I'm stopping for a lactic acid break, I get by the side or by a tower or generally not where I wouldn't want me to be.

 

[GadgetRick]

I'll weigh in...

I agree, stopping in the middle of a trail or beneath a lip or jump is against the code but, more importantly, just plain stupid. Ski over to the side of the trail or at the top of the lip or away from the landing zone of a jump. I see people stand in the landing zone below a jump in our terrain park quite often. Stupid.

Unfortunately, I tend to see more snowboarders who tend to stop in these areas than skiers. I'm guessing this is because snowboarders are, typically, younger and we all did stupid things when we were younger. I do, however, see more than enough skiers who do stupid things like this as well.

As far as a leash for a snowboard goes, I've seen many runaway boards. They can really do some damage. Luckily, I've not seen one hit anyone but I did see one hit the side of a lodge. It hit quite hard. Not a good thing.

 

[jimme]

I always try and be mindfull of where I stop. Even on the side I could be in someone's line. So, I look up often. As with driving I "Watch out for the other guy."

Jimme

 

[severine]

I always try and be mindfull of where I stop. Even on the side I could be in someone's line. So, I look up often. As with driving I "Watch out for the other guy."

Jimme

My husband thinks I look out for the other guy to a fault. Seriously, though, I am very cautious of being in other people's way. Even though I know the downhill skier has the right of way, I've had quite a few near misses with uphill skiers overtaking me. Ever since, it's made me almost overly aware of what's going on around me.
There really is no good place to stop unless you're at the top or the bottom. Different skiers prefer different lines--some prefer the edges (as I usually do), others want the middle, and everything in between. No matter what, you'll probably be in somebody's way when you stop. But at least if you're all the way to the side, you probably won't affect quite as many people.