 Poster: A snowHead
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Feel much safer from other skiers on a Black or Red, cruisy Blues scare the living daylights.
Just done a week around resorts near Zell am See and the most crowded was Saalbach, the smaller resorts with lass acommodation were less crowded and very civilised.
I don't consider myself slow, but what is it with speedy skiers weaving between me and the edge of the piste or track (and even more obvious when they go around skiers ahead of me), they leave know margin for error.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sounds like a congestion factor. Discussed elsewhere but no one has an intrinsic right to protect their blindside.
Far easier to let congestion clear out but plenty of people will choose to have a continuous run no matter how much traffic they have to weave through.
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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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I don't think I've skied anywhere very crowded - generally been able to avoid busy school holiday times. Most crowded for some years were the Dolomites in February - especially on the Sella Ronda, though there were plenty of much quieter bits. My lift-queue tolerance is very low. After busting pelvis in a collision (head on.....) I was fearful of a very familiar blue run when I got back on the snow and found an easy and empty black run, with nice snow, infinitely more enjoyable. I think if I were starting again, knowing what I know now, I would focus on XC skiing and get good at it when young - I started too old!
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I think that some resorts are now just too busy. The 4 Vallees is a huge ski area but gets very congested at several pinch points which, towards the end of the day are absolute mayhem.
The red down to Verbier from Les Ruinettes is known as the M25 in our family and is just as bad in the "rush hour".
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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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But as mentioned above:
"research on accidents by French authorities shows that collisions are most likely to occur on wide blue runs, and on quiet days in optimum conditions."
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| Quote: |
I don't think I've skied anywhere very crowded
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I've skied St. Anton with shoulder to shoulder ski tip to tail crowds and definately very scary. Just had the feeling that if one skier went down it would be like a peleton crash in the tour de france. Fortunatley the speeds were relatively slow and it would be unlikely anyone would die.
To me it generally feels safer on blumpy black pistes than wide empty blues. Perhaps because the only time I've been blood wagoned off was from a wide blue piste with almost no body one it and someone ran into the back of me and then skied off as quick as he could leving me with two children and a long wait before someone else came down the piste.
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I have been skiing for fifty years and I think pistes are far more dangerous.
As someone else pointed out lifts have a much greater capacity and are much faster. I recall seeing a three person lift for the first time and thought that was amazing even though it was not detachable.
Back in the earlier days if memory serves me correctly, pistes were serviced far less often, maybe twice a week at the most, meaning that high speed bombing was far less possible and more skill was required.
I think it was when American skiing became more affordable and where they groomed all their pistes every night, that the European resorts started doing the same.
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| Quote: |
Perhaps because the only time I've been blood wagoned off was from a wide blue piste with almost no body one it and someone ran into the back of me and then skied off as quick as he could leving me with two children and a long wait before someone else came down the piste.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| DavidYacht wrote: |
Feel much safer from other skiers on a Black or Red, cruisy Blues scare the living daylights.
Just done a week around resorts near Zell am See and the most crowded was Saalbach, the smaller resorts with lass acommodation were less crowded and very civilised.
I don't consider myself slow, but what is it with speedy skiers weaving between me and the edge of the piste or track (and even more obvious when they go around skiers ahead of me), they leave know margin for error. |
Anyone know if speed merchants ever misjudge that on a ‘road’ and crash off slope? Such fine margins, it only takes the further ahead sensible skier to make a slightly wider short turn.
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@richjp, another milestone was the adoption of winching steep ski runs and the move away from moguls, presumably because customers preferred smoother slopes. Now that black slopes can be groomed and snow pushed back uphill it does allow some very high speed skiing. I’m sure many of us are probably guilty of that from time to time 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I have never see anyone skiing as fast or out of control on a black. Easier blues and greens are where the super heroes set their Ski Tracks records before posting the screen shot to instagram.
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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.
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| richjp wrote: |
I have been skiing for fifty years and I think pistes are far more dangerous.
I think it was when American skiing became more affordable and where they groomed all their pistes every night, that the European resorts started doing the same. |
They don't groom all their pistes every night. There are loads of pistes with moguls and the skiing is far more varied than the icy ribbons now provided in Europe.
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You know it makes sense.
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I seem to remember in the Alpinist Alex Honnold suggested that Marc-André Leclerc crossed the line with regard to risk taking ... which has proved true so far
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Hmm. Yes but that is not putting anyone else at personal risk (other than his wife and kid's mental health).
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Poster: A snowHead
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Makes me feel queasy just watching these free solo guys…..its a no from me!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The best day I had last week in Paradiski I skied alone. Some of our group were sick and the others not keen on skiing in the low viz, heavy snowfall that day. The pistes were very quiet by comparison to the days of blue skies and bashed hard pack slopes. It was superb, basically had the pick of off piste conditions on pistes, red runs ankle and calf deep in fresh snow, got lumpy as the day progressed but so much fun and safer than any of the same runs on the fair weather days. I skied generally a bit slower and suffered not once from anyone flying past me too fast or too close, which certainly plenty did the rest of the week.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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If you want to race join a club, don't do it on a busy piste amongst recreational skiers.
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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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Are the Policemen getting younger? 
I think it was said earlier but the popularity of carving must have something to do with it.
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| sean1967 wrote: |
Are the Policemen getting younger?
I think it was said earlier but the popularity of carving must have something to do with it. |
Yep, I love carving, but recognise it as a very dangerous way to ski, too much possibility of a fairly high speed, head on crash.
Once upon a time, beginners were the only ones traversing the piste, everyone else followed a fairly narrow path of turns. Now we have people carving the full width of the run at fairly high speed.
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| Origen wrote: |
| I think if I were starting again, knowing what I know now, I would focus on XC skiing and get good at it when young - I started too old! |
What age was that?
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what age? About 60.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| tangowaggon wrote: |
| sean1967 wrote: |
Are the Policemen getting younger?
I think it was said earlier but the popularity of carving must have something to do with it. |
Yep, I love carving, but recognise it as a very dangerous way to ski, too much possibility of a fairly high speed, head on crash.
Once upon a time, beginners were the only ones traversing the piste, everyone else followed a fairly narrow path of turns. Now we have people carving the full width of the run at fairly high speed. |
A super G turn? Easy to also carve with shorter turns too. Imho.
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| Quote: |
Now we have people carving the full width of the run at fairly high speed.
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This is a good point. Some years ago my son, a very good skier was skiing with a young French guy, also very good, but definitely in the old French style, skis very close together, wiggling bum.
I was kind of bringing up the rear. It was a quiet day. The two guys were reaching the bottom of a run about the same time but my son had carved side to side and the other guy minced down the middle. My son had probably covered more than twice the ground, in the same time, so had been going at least twice as fast. He didn't crash into anybody though!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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[quote="Origen"]
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the other guy minced down the middle. |
As a carver who is also fond of a bit of mincing down the fall-line this made me spit out my coffee with delight! 
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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.
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I had a morning out with a pisteur this morning in Tignes (organised by the Owners Club). They were concerned about skiing habits and she said ski schools are partly to blame for not drilling safety (clearly not all folks take lesson). It was also mention that L2A have recruited 6 extra people this season to advise unsafe skiers. They are monitoring the results in Tignes.
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Somebody clipped the tail of one of my skis yesterday when I was stopped at the edge of a piste. No damage done to me but it could have blown a knee. The guy who did it must have been trying to turn less than a metre from my body, to me that is too close.
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You know it makes sense.
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I don't think it's reasonable for resorts to blame ski schools! A public swimming pool is responsible for having attendants who control dangerous behaviour (and petting...... ).
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Or maybe they should be blaming FD for the end of day drunken mass exodus down to Tommeuses!
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Poster: A snowHead
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I don't think it has anything to do with "carving" per se. I was carving turns back in the 80s on skinny old skule skis ...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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| rjs wrote: |
| Somebody clipped the tail of one of my skis yesterday when I was stopped at the edge of a piste. No damage done to me but it could have blown a knee. The guy who did it must have been trying to turn less than a metre from my body, to me that is too close. |
On a gentle blue run in Colfosco earlier this week, not busy, a snowboarder went right across the front of my wife’s skis. She was skiing at circa 5mph doing predictable turns. Either side of her was 20m of beautifully empty piste.
Do some of these morons do it for the craic?
We met friends here, one of them said her mum gave up skiing after both knees were ruined by a skier pulling the same stunt.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Origen, I disagree. If you have a mountain professional identifying a problem and one (of the many) causal factors then it can be addressed.
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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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I also think the chances are that the people causing the accidents have never had a skiing lesson in their life!
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@Origen, surely it is part of the role of any instructor/coach to explain the rules of the game. In this case the FIS code. Also to point out when pupils are transgressing those rules. I certainly used when I was teaching beginners. Messers Messi and co would not get very far if they could kick a ball very accurately, but didn’t realise they had to get it into that net thingy without smashing someone’s limb.
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| NoMapNoCompass wrote: |
| Or maybe they should be blaming FD for the end of day drunken mass exodus down to Tommeuses! |
Not that I am a fan of the FD, but if people are too drunk or lack the capacity to ski down 150 yards after a beer or two then it's their fault not the FD (who may, reasonably assume they are downloading to La Daile).
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I am not sure if you are dissing the poster, but I dont think he was going to fast or out of control, I think he was seeing if he could do it in one sitting.
As for those at 02:48, they should be having a word with themselves & not taking up the entire piste.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Jonny996 wrote: |
I am not sure if you are dissing the poster, but I dont think he was going to fast or out of control, I think he was seeing if he could do it in one sitting.
As for those at 02:48, they should be having a word with themselves & not taking up the entire piste. |
Hmmm ... I am no instructor so please feel to ignore my opinion but I think he was going rather too fast for his skill level ... he was skidding sideways for most of the run as he couldn't make clean turns.
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We've definitely noticed a surge in 'bad, fast skiing' (the straight legged brigade, often wearing black) over the last couple of seasons. Close passing at speed with a full piste for them to use.
Last year a pair of teenagers racing each other through the orange 'slow down' netting, crossed a piste at high speed and mowed down a lady, breaking her back. There were lots of witnesses to the incident, but these two were never traced and this woman doesn't want to ski again, as it was such a traumatic experience.
Coming into lift queues at high speed with a bad 'hockey stop', seems to be worse than ever.
Also setting off without looking has become the norm now.
I've been knocked over twice from behind and in each instance the person hitting me complained I was 'turning in front of them', not understanding the simple rule of the downhill piste user has right of way'. Most good piste users are able to read what's going on ahead'.
Agree that it's safer on a red than a blue.
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