Fess up to your most recent collisions

A snowHead

In the light of the La Plagne thread/ indignation/ FIS debate I thought a new thread where people could fess up to their most recent collisions and be tried in the kangaroo court whether they were at fault would be interesting/trollworthy

So my most recent event:

St Anton last year, very low vis whiteout. I was heading toward Galzig restaurant from the top and on a long downward traverse , a snowboarder came in on a higher traverse above me on his toe edge heading in the same direction. Suspecting what might happen I kept track of him. Sure enough after about 30 seconds of travel in the same direction (not particularly fast or kinetic) he started a heel edge turn directly into me (the lower, ahead skier) and was very surprised to find me primed to push him back with a warning. OK, slightly cruel I could have got out of his way but I kinda wanted to keep my height. Would I have done the same to a kid? Probably not. Guilty or not guilty?

A snowHead

I suppose you could have stopped and let him traverse past and get out of your way Puzzled

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Yebbut I'd have lost momentum on what was a very slow traverse . I felt a bit guilty about my degree of pre-meditation about it but I think I must have been treating it as an experiment in whether he would or wouldn't shoulder check and trying not to pre judge.

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Does skiing right over the board/skis of someone that thought it would be wise to really slowly cross right across the disembarkation zone of a chair lift count as a collision?
I had the choice of that, or take out a snowHead several years my senior. Easy choice.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Two years (I think) ago, I got off a lift above San Cassiano, there was a large, fairly flat area around the lift station which was deserted, save for one man standing quite still, admiring the view. As I set off, very slowly because it was almost flat, I skied into him. There seemed to be some kind of magnetism at work which I cannot possibly explain. Embarassed

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The kids turned into each other on the same mogul. Low speed but very funny....

After all it is free

Me tarquin and eeyore getting off the Fontaine Froid lift in val d'isere in November . No idea how it happened...we got off and the next moment we were clinging onto each other in a group hug with skis crossed all over the place. We managed to stay upright and get out of the way to untangle ourselves

At the top of the Aiguile Rouge in Les Arcs they were a couple of very attractive young ladies very tentatively skiing down the steep top section. I rear ended one of them, quite literally. If you were going to shag someone on skis I was in just the right position. The wife was not happy and the children were rather amused.

Slightly more seriously, I had a coming togther a couple of years ago with another skier but not a heavy clash. I think it was 50/50 fault wise. Neither of us were motoring.

One of my sons hockey pals (now around 11) had two legs broken a couple of years according to his grandma! He was in ski school at the time - I believe it was a snowboarder that caned him. I do worry for my children I have to say.

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I recently clipped the skis of a young lady. I was coming down an empty piste with no one below me and there was another piste running alongside and merging. She came from the left and hung a huge turn coming right across the empty piste without looking. I turned to avoid her (you could only see her at the last minute) and she just carried on turning into my new path. It could possibly be useful to look if you were going to cross a piste sideways from a hidden position GRRRRR!!!

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A couple of years ago, first run of the trip. We (four middle-aged blokes all decent intermediates) were on wide empty blue. Two guys hared off in to the distance, I thought I'd take it easy and make some nice big turns using up a lot of the piste and trying to get the muscle memory going. All went ok until a few turns in when I turned right just as ski buddy number 4 came flying past me. We both tried to take evasive action but I ended up clipping the rear of his bindings and sent myself hurtling over on to my ar$e, skis went flying everywhere. Winded, and developed a cracking bruise on my leg and shoulder.

To my mind he was at fault as he was coming from above and behind on my right but he was sceptical and thought 50:50 at best.

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Only one that I had some responsibility for, years ago on a university ski trip. A friend and I were the two "good skiers" in the group, and were doing a bit of synchro skiing (probably attempting to show off). We got a little bit too in sync, resulting in a head on collision, two black eyes, a bloddy nose and broken sunglasses ( although my friend seemed unhurt as she turned her head sideways at the key moment). Nothing since then until last month when I was hit from behind.

You know it makes sense.

Since I fessed up to a couple in my skiing career, this is my last one:

4 years ago
St Gervais/Megeve
Heading down an almost empty flattering blue run about 10 am on a perfect sunny morning, piste firm but grippy.
I see one skier a long way ahead traversing across slowly from the far skiers left.
I decide to take full advantage of the flattering conditions and wide piste to link fast short carved turns down skiers right side of the piste. The other skier is miles away and would surely get nowhere near me.
I set off and am quickly at a brisk pace. I'm largely facing down the fall line (short turns) and the other skier disappears from my vision, especially when I am on a right turn. On about my 10th turn I turn left and find the other skier RIGHT THERE having continued his traverse all the way across the wide piste. His ski tips strike just ahead of my bindings. We clip shoulders. It is a total double yard sale. I slide about 20m down the piste, sit up, collect my equipment and walk back up to check on him. He's fine, so am I. I apologise. He grunts. And we are on our way.

Technically, I think the fact that his tips struck my skis amid ships means that he was in the wrong. In the real world, I was the better skier, started from above and behind him and should have done more to make sure I knew where he was. Frankly I just didn't imagine he'd keep his unusual line right into my corridor.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Getting off the a chair lift with my nervous beginner wife. She said she was frightened she would make me fall over, I told her there is no chance of that. She rose to the challenge magnificently and sure enough over I went and she skied merrily on...

A snowHead

I'm quite proud of both myself and the guy I collided with in my last incident.

Two years ago, somewhere Swiss in PdS in perfect conditions got to somewhere that had a piste crossing, plus a chair lift bottom, plus a small hut, and finally a narrow gap between hut and a drop. Not going fast but rounded the blind corner of the hut at exactly the same time the guy coming the other was, also at reasonable speed did. All would have been fine if we hadn't both decided to be gentlemen and squeeze close to the hut to give the other room at the same instant. Queue two men hugging in the pile of snow that had fallen off the hut roof Smile

A snowHead

I've had 2 this winter already, both ran into me from behind 😫 1st a young Brit boarder, an organiser for the Rise festival according to her jacket. Her board locked onto my ski I stayed upright but she didn't. Neither hurt her friend sorted her out and enquired after me. 2nd a french guy who "didn't see me", FFS I'm not that small. I was skiing pretty straight and fast so he must have been moving. Both went down and I swore pretty profusely at him but didn't hang around as we both seemed OK. My shoulder stiffened a bit that night though 😣 Loads of near misses a lot of people haven't a clue tbh.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Been a while when I think about it - plenty of bails and fails, but precious few collisions.

I blindsided a mate on a cat-track, he shoved me back and I bailed it and then had a lovely long walk out... which served me right for not clearing my blindspot.

Other one of note was when I literally collected a young French lady on a very busy narrow merge, she skied into me on my front side, I saw her coming in and basically picked her up rather than have her collide with me (all low speed stuff). I stopped, returned said mademoiselle to the snow, and was off like a thief in the night.

Nearest miss was at Hemel, doing a freestyle course there. I had just undone the back foot to go over to the lift when some lass came down the main slope like an Exocet screaming, runs over the tail of the board and into the catch netting. She was extracted and escorted from the slope.

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A teenage Swiss idiot smashed into my wife in Verbier on piste about 10 years ago and downed her, she was really badly bruised and shocked....and he skied off laughing with his mates....a 1.2m ski pole wrapped around his head when he stopped at the next bend soon sorted that out and wiped the smile of his stupid face though. I've no sympathy for people who can't stop when out of control and don't appreciate the consequences, that idiot got a good reminder though.... rolling eyes

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@Claude B, seems to be a bit of a LDA problem, particularly on home runs (Valentin and Demoiselles). Valentin attracted skiers that couldn't cope (so there was often a danger of being taken out by someone falling from above); Demosielles attracted idiots trying to ski at Mach 1 through heavy traffic - so there was a danger of being taken out by one of the said idiots out of control. I found that generally it was better to drop down Y, or go down on the lift if conditions were poor - or I was tired. Of course that was all some years ago - so names/nature of runs may have changed. Looking forward to this year's visit.

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at EoSB, on the busy area that runs through the middle of Val Thorens linking all the lifts... I was skiing along at a decent pace but there was no danger as there was a safe distance between me and other people and everyone else was moving at same speed.

Woman on side of piste, facing away from piste, talking to her instructor. So I saw her, but ignored her on the basis that she was clearly not coming on the piste. Then all of a sudden, she jams her sticks in the ground, and pushes off backwards. Literally about a metre in front of me. I have no time or space to get out of the way and to be honest I didn't register what was even happening until she had gone airborne down the piste.

Instructor apologised a lot and then went and shouted at her in French. So I was glad that the instructor agreed that she'd been an idiot.

Middle age skier in private lesson, wearing very fashionable high end ski gear. Maybe I am stereotyping but I presume she was right from the demographic who do not really realise that other people are on the pistes and think that everyone in the world will work around their needs.

After all it is free

I haven't ever had a collision that was my fault but was close to it last year. I was skiing with an off piste group off the top of Sainte Foy. I was on very narrow traverse following someone around 50 metres behind. The track was icy and only a couple of feet wide so it was just skiing with a slight edge. It was quite steep and the snow was deep. Next thing the track must have widened a bit so the guy in front stops. The tips of my skis are scrapping the uphill with my tails hanging over the downhill if that makes sense and im not slowing. At the last minute i just threw myself almost head first to my right to avoid him. He looked at me confused and skied off but im not sure what else i could have done i was hoping hed spot the situation and move on.

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The only incident I've had occurred on the day I converted from skiing to boarding about 13 years ago. I was at the Remarkables and I was enjoying my first lesson on the bunny slope with a small rope tow. It had snowed heavily overnight and continued non-stop all morning. There was about 40 cm of fresh on the bunny slope. I manfully made my way down the bunny slope by falling leaf, took up the rope tow and then promptly ran over the helmeted head of a small boy who fell in front of me... The boy was shocked but unhurt (given the fresh snow). Clearly, as I was by then a snowboarder, I was at fault.

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Two years ago in La Plagne I was stationary on the side of the piste. I got clobbered by some kid who had apparently lost control further up the mountain. Broken thumb that needed pinning and no more skiing for six weeks.
In fairness ro the kid the snow was poo-poo, the slopes were overcrowded and I probably did something wrong in a former life so deserved it!

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No collisions ever. Hoping it stays that way. Admittedly I'm not that familiar with peak weeks and crowded pistes.

@achilles, neither of those, not at busy periods either. Just idiots on the loose.

You know it makes sense.

Have never caused a collision, in fact have never come close to crashing into someone in many years of skiing - partly luck (not had anyone appear from nowhere in front of me etc) but also partly skiing in a way that minimises the chances.

Last crash was Sass Fee - coming down the National variant on Platjen. There is a narrow gap between rocks, sort of a mini couloir, which was quite steep and icy but well within the capabilities of an advanced intermediary (black run steepness). Guy above me lost it as soon as he entered that section of slope and barrelled into me at high speed - breaking 3 ribs which took me months to recover from. He did apologise, but I wish I had insisted on getting some ID and suing or at least reporting him. It was incredibly obvious that he attempted to ski something well beyond his skill level, and then chose not to wait until the narrow steep section was empty, choices that could have had much more serious consequences. If he had hit one of my kids (and he could have as they have all skied that section many times) with enough force to break a well built man's ribs it could have been very serious or even fatal.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Jasper Carrott: "My mother in law has been driving for 40 years and she's never had an accident.

...She's SEEN thousands..."

As in my TR, I got wiped out by a boarder while carving down a blue, it was just on a steep pitch, I think he was blasting down and only saw me below the rise at the last second. (Highway Code - drive at a speed that will allow you to stop in the distance that you can see to be clear). His mate collected my belongings and checked I was OK, he stopped and apologised. No harm done other than a bruised rib for the next few days.

A couple of years ago I collected a shout from someone, I think a boarder, who hurtled past. Thought I was OK but my instructor later told me I hadn't looked uphill before starting off, so it would have been my fault.

Probably others over the years, nothing dramatic.

A snowHead

Does punching a boarder in the kidneys who was toe-siding down a piste towards our group stopped at the side of the piste count as a collision?
That woke him up.

A snowHead

Tignes 3 years ago, slowing down approaching netting coming down to a chairlift one of the crowd of mid 20's girls playing catch at the side of the piste decided to just set off without looking.

Positive missed her, negative hooked the netting and hit the deck.

Positive 4 broken ribs undiagnosed at the English Dr in resort and a&e back home didn't lose any ski time Happy

May have used the phrase "stupid cow" after eventually getting off the deck (it hurt!) getting skis on and then getting in the way of their game at the approach to the lift queue on the flat!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Ive only ever had 1 one VERY near miss (touch wood!).

Winter Park a few years back, tanking it down a completely empty, wide but tree lined run (you can see where this is going!)

when all of a sudden a father and 5ish yo daughter popped out from the trees (no track/crossing) and head straight across the piste.

With the direction I was carving there was no way I was going to miss them.

Luckily little girl fell over and I was able to jump over her.

Scared the poop out of me and certainly made me more aware of tree lined runs.

Father naturally blamed it all on me, 70/30 his fault really, I guess I should have been a bit more aware people would pop out of trees.

Dread to think what would have happened if she didn't fall over!!

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@Dave of the Marmottes, good call, this thread...so far nothing which will invoke litigation or retribution, as far as I can see.

On my part:

2015 - hit from behind by large (around the middle) Italian guy. WHAM!!! from nowhere. Nasty shoulder wrench but my back protector did its job.

2016 - hit from behind by small French woman. WHAM!!! from nowhere. Her husband shouted 'ski off, ski off' to her as she picked herself up. You have to be f.... joking thought I. And so I said so. She ignored her husband, apologised and said she had been skiing out of control. C'est la Vie, said I.

2016 - I am no gravity merchant, but for once I decided to get air (no rotation) off a lip and onto a nice steep piste to the right. Unfortunately, unsighted, a boarder to my right decided to do the same thing. We met in mid air on basically the same trajectory. Each of our immediate reactions was to say 'Desole! Desole!' whilst fending each other off with windmilling arms. We managed to avoid being entangled, stayed banging and knocking together until we landed, managed to hold it together whilst hitting the snow, and separated nicely - both grinning broadly to each other.

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Last January, Canazei/Campitello bowls, following the Sella Ronda orange. Flat section, low speed heading towards to next chair, I had a sudden realisation that I'd missed my turning and pulled up a bit sharply. The woman behind me went barrelling into the back of me and I spun and slid under the netting and over the edge.

That could've been a lot worse, but we were both fine, I was very apologetic, she was livid and then received some strong words from my buddies who had witnessed it from behind her.

I was definitely the downhill skier, but I reacted unpredictably, although she probably shouldn't have been so close on my heels that she had no time to avoid me. I always try to keep in my mind that the skier in front could fall over at any moment, even on the flat.

To avoid such an incident again, predictable behaviour is obviously the key, but for that split second I was the squirrel who left the gas on Confused

And after all that, my navigation had been correct anyway rolling eyes

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@Scarlet, Women drivers ppppfffffftttt...... Twisted Evil

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@PaulC1984, I'm still being nice, I'm still being nice, I'm still being nice... Little Angel

After all it is free

I've also had a few near misses, mostly with my own buddies, when we've ended up mirroring each other's turns on opposite sides of the piste, only to (almost) meet in the middle. I think the loss of peripheral vision through goggles/helmets means you are both in each other's blind spots. Elbows have been bumped but nothing more.

Apart for the latest being wiped out at Christmas (documented on the Les Arcs thread), daftest was a similar experience to rob@rar above, when an inadvertent synchronised set of turns on the red Reches (steep pitch just above Blanche Muree restaurant for those who know Les Arcs) led me to face-on contact with an ample German lady. Aka double yard sale.

We dusted ourselves down, collected kit and wits, checked for injuries, apologised, first to her and then her partner who was with her, and who was less than enamoured with our "closeness". We agreed that clearly we were of a similar standard, in that our turning radius on the slope was very similar.
We both set off, in opposite directions. Which in retrospect was a mistake.

One turn later, bang! Exactly the same thing.
Said partner was seriously not amused.

Mrs Roll on the other hand was in stitches.

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@Scarlet, Until the last day and then we can both add a collision to the list... Toofy Grin

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Fess up to your most recent collisions

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