Dangerous straight-lining

A snowHead

Last weekend we had the industrial dump in Switzerland. Six and a half metres at 3000m where there is usually a season high of two point five. Not all the lifts were open, due to Avi 4, and I noticed something which I had never seen before. Fine, loads of people on mega-wide planks with ABS on their backs, heading off into the forest. Lovely to watch them wind through the trees as we passed over them in the gondola. Just like the aerial shots in 'All I Can'. Perfect day. But then later, we saw Youths on same wide, huge-tip planks straight-lining the pistes at warp speed. Never seen this before in CH. They were picking lines between the people on the piste, trusting their own judgement and reactions, and just letting go, riding the backs of their skis, tips up, full bore. Sure they looked cool with their tiny poles and mirror goggles, but one error and it would have been disaster for them and the person(s) which they took out. Carving speeds are one thing but these guys were nigh on breaking the sound barrier. It was like powder-fever. Yes, there was soft stuff everywhere but what were they thinking? Friend Oliver said 'Jesus that guy almost took you out' - all I heard was a whoosh and spray of powder and saw the guy vanish straight down the red. And then that afternoon I heard a crash to my side as a guy hurtled into a piste pole on my left, crashed down the bank, recovered and regained the piste 10m below me - shouting 'desole, desole' and then resumed straightlining. Again, Oliver said '...he just screwed up a few metres behind you, then took off onto the pole, and narrowly missed you....' - and we were short-turning fast down a narrow piste, being safe as houses. Or so we thought....

Any one else with the same experience? Crans Montana has just introduced 'piste angels' to provide information, I think they should consider a small piste patrol to stop and talk to these planks....

A snowHead

@valais2, I had exactly the same problem in Serre Chevalier. Always young men in baggy trousers, and fat skis. Contrast with the very fast but beautifully controlled racers who often passed me on their way back from the Stade.

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

valais2,
Things are definitely getting worse on piste. We've been in the 3 Valleys for 3 weeks and have had several near misses and one collision.

Like you, we thought we were skiing safely. We were making consistent, moderate speed, medium radius turns at the top of a deserted Saulire piste in great snow - packed powder. Then I was hit from behind and taken out by a snowboarder. I heard nothing until I was hit.

One of my skis ended up 20 metres up the hill and I went ballistic. I asked him WTF he thought he was doing and told him he could have killed us both! He was a twenty something Englishman who proceeded to tell me that, "you should have looked behind as you cut me up." I was having none of it & told him that the annoying and worrying thing was that he didnt even understand or accept he'd done anything wrong; & that next time it could be a child.

I said to him that we were both lucky not to be injured.

His mate then arrived on the scene and apologised for his mate "going too quickly & it was his fault." We then had a less heated discussion & the protagonist eventually apologised & we shook hands on it. I asked him to reflect on things and hopefully learn from the experience.

Though I felt ok at the time, later that day I realised I'd pulled my groin and pulled a muscle in my arm. Still, I lived to tell the tale.

IMHO it's time that lift companies did something about it, particularly at busy points on the piste. We all know where the congestion points are and witness on a regular (& alarming) basis nutters skiing/riding recklessly and using other slope users as slalom poles.

So why don't resorts have ski patrollers to stop reckless skiers, issue a warning then mark the lift pass. Then, if they are stopped a second time confiscate the lift pass?

Or even just stop the crackerjacks to give them a talking to? Puzzled

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Might unfortunately be time, to ski defensively, in the hope these goons give the downhill skier a wide berth. It became so dangerous recently, we decided to angle ski poles upp, approx 45 degrees. We suddenly found speed and straight line maniacs gave us a wide berth. Not an ideal thing to do, but it worked

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

A few folk pushing things on Selaronda when we were there
I would assume trying for a quick lap or trying to do two or three laps in a day?
Difficult to control and there will not be many on here how have skied beyond their limits at some point

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@Bergmeister,

Yes, there really should be more piste control. Anyone pulled over should get their pass suspended for a couple of hours to start with, to let them cool down a bit.

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dublin2=been doing that for several years now. If some maniac wants to get to close to me, he will end up speered first.

After all it is free

Similar experience in Espace Killy over the last 3 weeks. Many straight liners of marginal ability observed. One impact; same situation as described above, skiing consistently and predictably only to be wiped out from behind. The French man responsible was suitably apologetic and claimed he didn’t see me. I ski in a bright pink jacket!
Also had a very close call at the bottom of Combe Martin ( a narrow black run) when a BASI instructor blasted by me at warp speed with inches to spare. He certainly got a piece of my mind when I skied up to him and accused him of reckless skiing. He also apologized for whatever that’s worth.

In N America that kind of behavior would result in confiscation of lift pass. I gather that the French cannot do that so undoubtedly this behavior will continue.

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I was once told that French pisteurs have the powers of arrest, Italian ones certainly do as they are the police.

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I have come to expect at least one close shave per week's skiing, though some places are worse than others. Having skied 5 blissful days on the glacier at Hintertux without incident, I soon made up my statistics on the one day spent visiting the slopes in Mayrhofen. It's not just straight-lining, it's any behaviour that assumes the skier's own right of way, such as an adult with a child in tow, joining the main piste clearly on a collision course with me. It does somewhat sap the enjoyment out of the run having to constantly watch and listen behind and take avoiding action. Are the slopes simply overcrowded?

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Agree with all of the above. I think I ski fast, but in control and more slowly when the slopes are busy. Other people are just too unpredictable. What is so alarming are the out of control, semi snowploughers who hurtle past sitting back on their skis, poles akimbo, either straightlining or putting in ineffectual turns. I often shout “get a lesson”, and I have also been known to ski up to the offender (usually male) and given them a lecture. This afternoon as I followed Mr P (a good skier) making predictable arcing turns on a blue run the at the end of the day ,when some smartarse, who was actually quite a good skier, skied around and right infront if him...missed him by a couple of feet. It was like he was playing chicken.
I hate the feeling of someone coming up behind me, be they skier or snow boarder. If I think someone wants to overtake, I tend to slow down and let them pass, then I can relax a bit more.

On the other hand there are those infront who have no sense of caution as they launch themselves to the left or right towards the edge of the piste and come to a sudden standstill, or, when starting up, don’t think to look behind them before rejoining the piste. You wouldn’t do it in a car, so why is it OK on skis?

Perfectly pisted , engineered wide slopes and modern equipment encourage very high speeds.

High capacity lifts lead to crowded runs.

Half term could see quite a few accidents.

You know it makes sense.

@motyl, @Perty, @Peter S, ...many thanks and to all for responding to this thread. It's widened in scope a bit (on Snowheads?....never!) ... I think it's valuable to see all the contributing factors and types of skiers re threat and present danger. I guess I was raising a very specific point...I've seen individual boarders out of control, skiers with poor awareness and so on. But a new phenomenon seems to be 'baggy fat-ski straight-liners' of a kind I have seldom experienced before. Sure, in 2010 there were a few guys with Salomon Suspects who were a bit mental. But the powder has brought out, in significant numbers, this weird new youth crew who sit on the tails of their skis, get the tips in the air, and try to skim over every bump and feature and just hurtle....

Their speed is crazy, their dependence on their own skills huge, and their reliance on people not to jink into their path absolute. In my humble opinion, something terrible is going to happen....

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

This is really frightening. I haven't skied in Europe yet this year, headed out next Friday with my 5 year old. I'm renowned for reprimanding idiots back in Canada, they're usually quite apologetic, but this sounds like a whole new breed! Mamabear aint happy!

A snowHead

A snowHead

Was chatting about this last night.
think it's people in general, they would act the same regardless of the sport or activity.
also an element of I'm off work and here to enjoy myself and nobody else exists.

I seen a real idiot the other day in avoriaz, big kids group snaking behind instructor and everyone checked speed and safely got past except for one plonker, full pelt down through them standing up and down on the skis and wobbling and jerking all over the place.
They were about 5 /6 years old and he was at least in 30s
what seriously goes through someone's head in that situation? Didn't even check speed, full ahead on a wing and a prayer

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

On a slightly more positive note, after 18 days (so far) on our local ‘hills’, I was struck this morning (not literally) by how many good skiers there were on the slopes.

Of course, there are always those who seem to tackle runs that are probably outside their ability levels, but they really seem to stand out against what is a surprisingly high standard of ability, generally speaking.

We’ll see what half term brings, I guess....

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Actually, I should probably add that yesterday I offered to carry some bloke’s skis to the bottom of a red run that he absolutely should not have been on (by his admission and, judging by his 3 hours worth of skiing, he was spot on 😂).

He declined the offer, proposing to slide down on his arse. Needless to say, he parted company with his skis halfway down, so I ended up picking them up and carrying them down anyway Laughing

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Standard in Sweden is good. Even the park rats are respectful. It’s only the resorts close to Stockholm that I’ve seen idiots straightlining it down - trying skiing for the day or weekend.

After all it is free

Was in Arabba for a week recently, very noticeable how much more courteous and respectful people were on the slopes compared to the big French ski areas we normally go to. I say "normally", this may change in the coming years: the Italian Dolomites are my new favourite place to ski snowHead

We had really no notable incidents in Whistler. Mrs endo was buzzed a few time on cat tracks, but that was about it. General standard was decent, courteous, to the extent of too polite in lift queues. Probably the threat of passes being removed by staff is a big factor.

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@endoman, ...CH has been like that for many years, but I think where we are the resort management has lost a grip on changing culture. The attitude to policing on the slopes is very Swiss in character - 'leave a person to make their own mistakes' - which may seem strange for a country which is characterised by masses of regulation in so many other ways (you can't own a solitary goldfish etc). I think they like to set the framework with laws and then leave people to abide, rather than police things. So the regulations are up in the lift stations and the expectation is that people will comply. But things are changing on the hill I think. I would like to see these straight-liners taken to one side and be given a talking to ... 'do it off piste at your own risk etc...' with the potential for liftpass confiscation. But with lift companies struggling to keep numbers on the hill I think no resort would be the first to adopt this N American approach for fear of losing people to other hills...

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I think if one lift company did this ...talk to straight liners, possibly liftpass confiscation etc . It might in return in the long term be good for business
Perhaps families and/or safety conscious skiers would be attracted to the area

I wonder sometimes about the effect of alcohol , and peoples tendency to ski without respect for others

There are two worrying scenarios ;
hangover induced , loss of reaction time
and
several lunch time drinks , loss of reaction time

I'm not sure what can be done about, I tend to go in Jan, less people on the slopes, and avoid Andorra

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@dublin2, yes I think that's right - we want the next generation to learn on the hill in a safe environment - families confident that the pistes are sensible places - the manic 17-25s need a bit of restraint (I recognise that people of any age can be planks) - the four year olds should be safe, so that they can grow into skilled 17-25 year olds....

You know it makes sense.

@moosepig, My experience of Madonna di Campiglio in 2016 was different. Not sure if it was because it was the only open resort and people from neighbouring areas were bussing in, as it was chaotic in some areas. The standard of skiing was a lot lower than I had been used to in France and I also noticed a lot of intoxicated people in the afternoons; a few of whom I had to shove off me on various slopes. On the final morning, I was landed on by a bloke on a mogul field who claimed not to have seen me. I saw him just as I turned a bump as he flew at me from above, totally out of control. He took me down several metres literally underneath him.

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

A snowHead

I wonder if the time has come for skiers to be taught the other use of their poles beyond planting for turns?

On a crowded half-term piste:
The start of each turn starts with the arm going out as if on a bike, indicating the turn.
Then you plant as normal,
At the end of the turn, waft the pole on the air, pointing behind you, with a flourish so that the spike flails in the air pointing behind you.

Not only is the above routine the height of style, it also puts anyone getting close enough to cut you up at serious risk of self-inflicted injury.

A snowHead

@motyl, ...I am very aware of the underlying eceonomics in our resort, skiing is a highly problematic industry re running costs and investment needs. Yes, the companies need all the skiers they can get....

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

Happens all the time in Les Arcs. I persuade them to give me wide berth but to be honest my biggest problems always get visited upon me by groups of mediocre skiers getting on to the liaison runs and slowly and erratically turning across the entire piste at pot luck intervals assuming they all have the individual right to the whole width of the slope for as long as they like. I am not advocating mowing people down but at some points it's really, really difficult to avoid these packs of traffic hazards. I've listed it here before but I've been taken out more than once by a combination of ladies of a certain age randomly turning across an entire 40m wide section of slope. Last time it proved impossible to avoid the one that turned directly into me after I was forced to swerve twice to avoid others in her party trying to take me out above her. It's not all off-piste ladies' front bottoms with planks and if you aim at them, aim at the blue rinse, blue run standard people who decide trying a red off a black would be 'fun' then can't handle it. And you know who get's the blame when one of them gets flattened .......

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@RattytheSnowRat, Has never come even close to happening to me, if skiing in control it is simple impossible to be "taken out" by someone below you on the slope. In the circumstances you describe there is little choice but to slow down and wait until there is absolute certainty of enough clear piste to pass safely. Sounds like you are somewhat unwilling to do so.

As a matter of fact, the DO "all have the individual right to the whole width of the slope for as long as they like". It is inconsiderate to ski that way I agree, but they have the right and you have the responsibility as the uphill skier to make allowances for it. Perhaps a few lessons might help improve your skills and help you avoid close calls with slope users below you on the slope?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@RattytheSnowRat, if you flatten someone, even if they are on a slope which is too hard for them, that is your fault.

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@RattytheSnowRat ,as the uphill skier the onus is on you to look out for downhill skiers, including any you feel "are packs of traffic hazards"

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@RattytheSnowRat, writing as someone who recalls being a wobbly nervous beginner, I think you are being a bit harsh. It’s not about thinking they have the individual right to the piste, they are unpredictable because skiing narrow or wider pistes is hard, their technique is not fully formed, they are sitting back, their thighs are burning and (surprise surprise) they are also worrying about the people skiing behind them. There has to be give and take. YOU don’t have any greater right to the piste then someone on their first week.

I do think however there should be an obligation on everyone to check behind before pulling over to the side of the piste or stop, and likewise when skiing off, and to stop on the side of the piste not suddenly the middle.

After all it is free

@RattytheSnowRat, I'm interested in knowing more about your persuasion techniques, I think I might find them useful.

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Dangerous straight-lining

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