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Do you ski with iPods???

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I don't listen to music on the slopes because I have no real desire to but I am not sure about the safety argument. It cuts out some of the ambient noise yes but so do helmets and I dont see anyone wanting to ban them. You lose part of your senses well yes but does this mean you shouldn't ski with a cold? The rules of the road are quite clear that the downhill skier has priority and most people can see perfectly well down hill if you need to hear someone then the chances are that it is them being negligent not yourself if wearing headphones.

As I say I do not want to ski wearing phones myself but I really don't see how it is negligent to do so.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
It is negligent if you are doing it with the volume so high that you really cant hear anything around you...

Adam
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I agree with T Bar above.
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T Bar,
Quote:

most people can see perfectly well down hill if you need to hear someone then the chances are that it is them being negligent not yourself if wearing headphones

Depends how far down this road you want to go. If you are injured because you didn't hear someone about to crash into you, will it hurt less?
When riding my motorbike, I am very aware of everything going on around me. If someone else's bad driving causes me to crash, I won't feel smug that it wasn't my fault - instead I do everything I can to make sure I am prepared for every eventuality - which includes avoiding stupid people. I don't listen to music while riding the bike as this would limit my awareness. This is also part of the reason why I won't listen to music while skiing. I'm not saying that it is negligent, just a personal thing.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Or another spin.... if you are hit and not expecting it, your muscles will be relaxed and you have less chance of injury..... I cant quote a reference for that, but I have heard on a number of occasions that tensed muscles are far more easily damaged than relaxed....
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buns, True (I believe). I'd still rather have the opportunity to avoid it in the first place though.
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Just my two-pennorth re negligence; if 'you are hit' then listening to music or not, surely the wazzack that hit you is the negligent one, not you?

Different matter if you are the one doing the hitting, but then that's more a 'looking where you are going' issue, unless you were so into your music that you had your eyes closed Shocked

Personally I don't listen to music while doing anything other than listening to music, but that's because I'm over 40 and incapable of multi-tasking Madeye-Smiley

(still like singing though) Cool
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Caspar,
I don't think there is no potential increased risk. But the risk is probably a small one I very rarely hear anyone else skiing when I am due to the skis being pretty quiet and any noise from other peoples usually being drowned by my own or the wind in my ears. there are lots of other risks that we take when skiing such as choosing to go down an icy red run at the end of the day rather than down loading or jumping in the terrain park. As the probably small risk in wearing headphones is largely to oneself I don't think headphone wearers should be unduly castigated. snowHead
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nah music on the piste sucks, the people is much more funny, however if you go on a mission on your own id probly need music or id need more entertainment and go break a leg
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T Bar, Indeed, that's why I think it's a personal thing. Your choice, your risk (like most things should be in life).
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I read this before my last trip - I see both sides of the argument and I'm quite safety concious but wanted to try it & figure out for myself what I thought...

I was on my own so didn't have to keep unplugging to converse with anyone... Very Happy

My experiment concluded:
Music makes me ride faster just like in the car and especially with 'System of a Down'...those boys will make me lose my licence! it keeps me company and it helped me relax... I'm inclined to be a bit jumpy when I hear people approaching but better I stay on my course than slow up suddenly & panic...
I think I was actually more aware & compensated with my eyes! Listening to my music uninterrupted and turned right up loud was a real treat usually only reserved for driving...

I give it a massive thumbs up. snowHead snowHead
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
I have one ear piece in when im skiing, mainly to drown out the endless french babble- especially on lifts. Safety argument is a load of shite, if you're an unsafe skier then you're going to do some damage regardless of whether you're listening to Hed Kandi (my playlist of choice) or not.

Last week I got taken out twice on the way down to Champaney by people who had absolutely no control, I didnt hear them coming and I wasnt wearing a helmet or headfones, so you're dammed if you do and you're dammed if you dont!
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I think the issue is getting blurred. Just because skiing is inherently dangerous does not mean the extra risk of listening to loud music can be justified. That's like saying drink makes me concentrate more when I'm driving. I've spent enough time in Moutiers Hospital visiting to know that skiing with loud music IS dangerous. No, it more than dangerous. It's reckless.

And to the argument re: wind noise, if you can't hear anything due to the wind you are probably going fast enough to avoid being hit from behind.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Hang on pass me a tin opener so I can crack open up this can of worms....

tough crowd, I do not think you have used a good analogy - it is nothing like saying you concentrate more when drink driving... rolling eyes

...but different people see things differently... and I don't think I'm being dangerous.... and I stand by that Very Happy
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Nadenoodlee wrote:
I have one ear piece in when im skiing, mainly to drown out the endless french babble- especially on lifts.


Nice to see Reading's Foreign Ambassador to La Plagne is acclimatising well ! wink snowHead
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
eEvans, well i drink a fair volume of their crappest wine, so im nice to them in other ways!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Honda Kitty, yeah should have qualified that comment - mixing my responses to two different posts.

To clarify, with regard to what you say about being more aware and compensating with your eyes and being able to ride faster: seems as though an external influence is making you go quicker (like the person who believes he's a better drievr after a couple of beers - althought i don't know many of them!).

Caspar,
Quote:

Indeed, that's why I think it's a personal thing. Your choice, your risk (like most things should be in life).

Sadly, so rarely is that the case. Our decisions more than often have implications for others.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Nadenoodlee, Yes , I noticed that you had got the taste for 'Vin Chaud' ... lethal stuff . I suspect it's really just anti-freeze with added dry spices.

Try Wagner on the i-pod!
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tough crowd, Check my earlier posts - I personally am against skiing with music in my ear (as per on the motorbike), if only for my own safety. However, it still has to be down to the individual to decide.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Caspar, i think i'll be quiet - i sometimes glaze over things. sorry.
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tough crowd, No worries - I glaze over things quite often (usually during apres wink )
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I am firmly on the fence on this one, but with time on my hands and plenty of research having completed a dissertation on the role of music in developing peak performance. Although not related directly to snowsports there are some good points made by the authors below.

This is a marmite issue some like it others hate it, just live with it.
“And it is important to note that not everyone enjoys working out to music, and some will even find it a turn-off.”
Lee Crust

“To further strengthen the statement that music has a positive effect on exercise, researchers have stated that, professional as well as recreational athletes use music to motivate and forget about mental and emotional fatigue.”

Brian C. Matesic
Candidate of Masters Degree
United States Sports Academy
Daphne, Alabama
February, 2002

Positive use of the ipod ??? end of the day, tired, burning legs??

Skiing is exercise yes, exercise is good for you, yes, music has been shown to increase brain power (Mozart effect) therefore combine the two

“preliminary evidence of the combined benefit of exercise and music listening for cognitive performance”
Charles F Emery a,b, Evana T Hsiao a, Scott M Hill c and David J Frid b,c

Would suggest that decision making might be better after listening to music, which may mean safer skiing?

“Some researchers have suggested that listening to music during exercise produces an altered state of consciousness, commonly termed ‘flow’. This state is characterised by complete immersion in the activity and a sense of effortlessness”

Surely this is what we are searching for with skiing? But just for balance
“However, it is not advisable to use music while running in busy urban areas as this may reduce your awareness of dangers in the external environment, such as traffic. And music may not be an appropriate tool if you need to monitor your physiological state, concentrate on technique,”
Lee Crust

Ethiopia’s Haile Gebreselassie set an indoor world record for 2,000 metres while his favourite song was playing in the Birmingham Indoor Arena. The athlete suggested that the music gave him a rhythm that matched the required pace of the run.

“If you employ the same musical selections time after time, your sensory system may well adapt by switching-off – a process known to psychologists as ‘sensory adaptation’. So be sure to vary your selections if you want to benefit from the distracting effects of music.”

This quote and the above point would suggest that actual type of music being listened to is more important, which would moves on to a more interesting and trivial thread on what would be your ideal play list while skiing / snowboarding
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
cant people just do as they want,


Last edited by After all it is free Go on u know u want to! on Mon 23-01-06 21:41; edited 1 time in total
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tough crowd wrote:
I think the issue is getting blurred. Just because skiing is inherently dangerous does not mean the extra risk of listening to loud music can be justified. That's like saying drink makes me concentrate more when I'm driving. I've spent enough time in Moutiers Hospital visiting to know that skiing with loud music IS dangerous. No, it more than dangerous. It's reckless.


No you haven't, you've been there enough to form an opinion, you don't "know" anything of the sort.

If you want to prove it you'll need to establish a method to prove that a skier is able to localise the sound of an oncoming skier, anticipate that skiers path, determine that a collision is likely and take avoiding action.

The barriers you'll need to overcome are the distance at which the sound can be perceived, the ability of the average skier to localise the sound and assess risk, the time these processes might take and the time that remains for any actual reaction and the likelihood that the skier can gather enough information to take reasonable avoiding action.

I'm really pretty concerned to be sharing the piste with anyone that thinks they've got this kind of superhuman reaction and thinks they're going to using to avoid collisions, it's a totally false confidence.
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Caspar, I'm totally with you on the bike thing..... can't even wear earplugs! plus I like to hear my engine!.. especially in tunnels Very Happy

ise,
Quote:
I'm really pretty concerned to be sharing the piste with anyone that thinks they've got this kind of superhuman reaction and thinks they're going to using to avoid collisions, it's a totally false confidence.

Spot on! this is how I felt when I realised I was less jumpy and actually more predictable when I was chilling out & doing my thing.... actually if I span round & tried to avoid an accident I'd be like a rabbit in the headlights and actually proably cause more chaos.
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I use my ipod when skiing alone not turned up too high i can still hear screams etc when i'm with a group its off so i can hear the generally insulting banter from friends and respond with helpful tips about where thier mother was last night. I dont see a problem with it myself but i ride my motorbike listening to it too again not turned up too high can still hear things just nice to have a bit of background music takes my mind of that tree jumping out at me or the pesky snow pixies tripping me up Laughing
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Its not for me and I wouldn't be very impressed if I was skiing with someone with cans on
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