 Poster: A snowHead
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@Hurtle, 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Fat George, that last video makes for a very uncomfortable watch. Supports your case for knowledge on stopping a slide very strongly.
As for falling outside Carrefour when shopping, come on man, get a grip. 
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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?
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As a complete beginner (20hrs in a fridge) there are some very interesting points in this article, however i find that as a beginner my first instinct is to try my best to stay on my feet and when that fails i go down, i dont have time to think to myself how i should fall safely i just fall, everything happens quite quickly when you fall and i for one don`t have time to think to myself how to safely fall to avoid injury
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| arrand wrote: |
| As a complete beginner (20hrs in a fridge) there are some very interesting points in this article, however i find that as a beginner my first instinct is to try my best to stay on my feet and when that fails i go down, i dont have time to think to myself how i should fall safely i just fall, everything happens quite quickly when you fall and i for one don`t have time to think to myself how to safely fall to avoid injury |
That is certainly my observation and my personal experience.
I think we can separate falling in to two different scenarios: a fall & stop; and a fall & slide (I guess there's a third category of fall & tomahawk but there's not much you can do when Isaac Newton takes charge). Most falls tend to come to a fairly quick stop. By the time you know you've fallen you've more or less complete stop, and your reactions might have been almost entirely instinctive. In my experience, it is a minority of falls that would be in the 'fall & slide' category, certainly for any length of slide (only happened once to a client I've been teaching, for a short slide on terrain that was not suitable for a beginner). You sometimes see a skier who is sliding and making no effort to bring that slide to a stop. They might be on their back, possibly skis to the side or behind them, and they just "take a ride". I think all skiers should be encouraged to regain control as quickly as they can, rather than wait for their slide to come to a natural halt.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Agree totally the "arrest" part is totally different from the "fall" part.
There are some basics that everyone can learn - try not to get you legs/knees separated when falling, let your feet slide out rather than being a rigid pivot when falling with bady weight backwards, Take a fall on your hip or shoulder rather than an outstretched arm etc. Most beginner falls aren't highly kinetic unless the person is zooming out of control in the fall line so I think anyone can "train themselves".
For more advanced skiers it is a matter of stituational awareness that you know where you are and what hazards/objects may be around you when you fall. If you've in trees and falling toward a tree well it's pretty much lifesaving to twist so that you can stay head up, equally you want an idea of whether you have a clear fall line or rocks/trees beneath you that will make a rapid self arrest imperative. Taking a ride can sometimes be ok and the least risky course of action, in other circumstances it might be fatal.
My most bizarre fall was on the glacier in Val Thorens. Very firm slick early morning piste and definitely undertuned edges. Edge slipped out and I began the slow inexprable slide down a steep pitch. No matter how much braking I could apply my edges would skip out and I could not stop. Nevertheless a father and a young child stood idly in my side path fascinated. Very late in the day they relluctantly shuffled over and I was able to stop as the pitch levelled somewhat.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Learning to snowboard in a dome, I can remember the group being told how to fall ( don't stick your hands out, collapse down and spread the impact)..though I think it was after a the first few falls, rather than "in the curriculum". Very helpful advice, which I promptly started practicing. I quickly learned not to fear a fall, just go with it and try to fall correctly... no major injuries yet.
Also early on, flopping to the ground was a very useful way of getting out of trouble i.e avoiding the ski school on the narrow cat track  . The knowledge that falling was an available option definitely helped.
Now I'm no longer a beginner, I'm conscious that my chances of injury haven't really reduced..with confidence I'm going faster, getting into more "interesting" terrain, and being silly trying new things. But behind it all is the comfort that if something goes wrong, I've learned how to fall. Beginners should definitely be shown how to fall safely.
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