 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
According to the news this morning, he crashed into a tree at high speed.
Condolances to the family 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
There are these types of accidents going on the whole time during the winter to British (and of course other) snow-sports enthusiasts but many simply don't get picked up by the mainstream press, for example a 9 year old British girl was killed on NY eve at la Tania.
Without any criticism of your excellent reporting skills these kind of stories always remind me of the not the 9 O'clock news sketch. Killer earthquake hits 3rd world country, British man slightly hurt... by comment about his clothes.
I'm not sure the British emphasis is right on a website that is truly international but what do others think?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
davidof, I'd say this is a british website - most posters live in britain, those that don't are often british ex-pats (or anglophiles). Not to say that people of all nationalities aren;t welcome of course
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Well, the first phrase that pops up in the self-description of this site is "global ski club".
Our discussions are conducted exclusively in the English language, and I should think that a quite high proportion of postings come from computers in the UK, with the readership is probably equally UK-focused.
The snowHeads Global News Desk is bound to glean its material from news websites written in English or American, and these will naturally focus on Brits or Americans being killed because the readership of those sites is English or American.
If the death of this 11-year-old was, for instance, not reported by the news desk then it would probably be picked up by another reader of the forum. All in all, I guess people just want to know what's going on, and why. The deaths of skiers hitting trees is certainly an issue ... and a serious warning.
Realistically, the only away around the issue you raise, davidof, would be to increase the coverage of American skiing and skiing issues, or to translate stories in French and German etc.
What a terrible outcome for a family ski holiday. I think the real value of this story is to say that any undeserved human loss of life on the mountains is a very sad affair. Poor kid - life blanked out in an instant. And a family left to return home with their child in a coffin. Every sympathy to them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
He was 11 years old and from Uffington, Oxfordshire.
Apparently he was wearing a helmet, but not a helmet for skiing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Further to my comments and those of davidof above, I've had an email from someone called 'el Hun', who is willing to supply news stories of Germans killed in the sliding fields. This seemed inappropriate, since the last thing one wants is a specialised 'death correspondent'.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| Well, the first phrase that pops up in the self-description of this site is "global ski club". |
Exactly, which is why I find the "British" focus a bit little Englander. It is not the story - tree collisions, proper ski equipment etc focus it is the "British" angle I'm commenting on. Who cares? It is a tragic loss wherever the child is from.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
How dreadful. I've only skiied in the US once (Aspen/Snowmass) but I remember scaring myself by thundering down an easy piste with trees in the middle of it and suddenly thinking how easy it would be to make a small mistake and crash into one. That combination of easy skiing and trees doesn't seem to exist in Europe, I guess because the tree line is lower, though I can think of some tree-lined runs: it was finding them in the middle of the piste that was unnerving.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Hurtle wrote: |
| That combination of easy skiing and trees doesn't seem to exist in Europe, I guess because the tree line is lower, though I can think of some tree-lined runs: it was finding them in the middle of the piste that was unnerving. |
No instead we have beginners, more fun than trees as they move as well. You have to perform a mental 3rd order differential equation to avoid them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
davidof, True enough!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
They have unprotected trees in the middle of the piste 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This news always comes as a huge shock to me !
I have 2 kids - a 12 yr old boy and a 7yr old girl. The thought of taking 2 kids away on the family trip and only bringing 1 back is absolutely horrific and obviously you can't imagine the distress the parents must be suffering.
I'll be talking to my kids about this incident this evening as part of our "see what can happen ! you must be careful !" lecturing.
Total sympathies to the family
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Hairy Boy, Likewise. I have 7yr old twin boys and 5yr old daughter. Will be skiing with them week tomorrow. Always worry that one of them will get out of control and crash.
That said, they have had (will have) lessons and learn to control speed which gives a measure of reassurance.
Plus of course with any activity there is risk and I refuse to ruin their lives by never letting them have fun by taking risks
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Boris,
Our kids have had lessons and will have lessons this year and agree this gives some reassurance.
Our boy during his lessons last year was taken (just) off piste into trees by his instructor and also snaked on and off piste a little when ski-ing with us. You don't have to go far off piste to find a tree !
Please be as safe as possible everyone - 1 accident like this is 1 too many !
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Just come back from skiing in the US with my kids - one of whom is 11 and like me he loves skiing in the trees and on steeps ( skied his first double-blacks) . So this does rather strike home.
I think we ought to remember that friends or the family of this youngster might read this thread as Google does find snowheads threads. I don't think there is any place for levity here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
When skiing the trees always fix your eyes on the white between them, never on the trees.
That advice is borrowed from a highly experienced instructor friend of mine, Chris Exall. It's an interesting piece of psychology and it seems to work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| nbt wrote: |
| davidof, I'd say this is a british website - most posters live in britain, those that don't are often british ex-pats (or anglophiles). Not to say that people of all nationalities aren;t welcome of course |
Agreed. It is only natural to have a keener interest in what happens to your fellow countrymen than others.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| David Goldsmith wrote: |
When skiing the trees always fix your eyes on the white between them, never on the trees.
That advice is borrowed from a highly experienced instructor friend of mine, Chris Exall. It's an interesting piece of psychology and it seems to work. |
It applies in any moving situation - skiing, cycling driving. Look and aim where you want to go, not the bit you you want to avoid
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
I do not think it matters what type of helmet you are wearing if you get speared through the the front of the face/mouth by a tree branch .
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
stanton,
Ever the one for sensitivity given stoatsbrother's above post...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My son is 10yrs old we were in Austria late December it is very difficult to make child undestand how important it is to ski safely and be aware of dangers as hard as we try to explain to them. I spent the holiday trying hard to teach him and making sure he understood when he had done something wrong. However we can do nothing help the attitude of a minority of selfish skiers of all ages and nationalities on the slopes who do not seem to be able to grasp that skiing is a dangerous sport and they should be considerate to others care has to taken at all times and if you cant control your speed then DONT GET OUT OF YOUR DEPTH!! As a parent skiing with children you have to aware of the dangers from others as well as making sure your young ones ski safe but however hard we try accidents will happen.I feel so sorry for the young boy and his parents and send out from my family the most sincere condolences
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
abc, not quite sure what you're getting at here, or whether that is an entirely appropriate comment on such a thread.
I have just returned from Breckenridge about two hours ago and was there when this incident occurred. The run he was skiing on was called Bonanza and was a blue run on Peak nine, home to a number of comfortable and wide open blue runs. It was also the slow skiing trail at the time of the accident, used in particular by the ski school, and monitored closely by mountain safety patrollers so that speeding skiers are kept away. Bearing all of this in mind, it was particularly shocking to think that a boy could be killed skiing such a trail.
As for suggestions that there were trees to ski between, this is somewhat misleading. On said trail, there is only one tree/clump of trees at some point on the piste, which is there by requirement - on wide trails in Colorado, where the distance from edge to edge is greater than that which certain animals are willing to cross in the open, a tree or two are required for the sake of those animals.
On peak nine there is little tree skiing of the variety mentioned above. You can of course duck in and out along the sides, but it is places like Vail, incidentally where I spent the day skiing on Thursday, where you find many long trails, at times hundreds of yards wide with trees scattered across them, but which are meticulously groomed even between close trees. Care must of course be taken on such trails, as anywhere, but in my opinion they were about as enjoyable as groomed skiing can be - truly superb, and with the invariably good surface conditions, loss of control ought not really to be an issue.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
David Goldsmith, I have heard the same advice condensed as "see tree - eat tree" and it does work. For me, skiing in trees is one of the great joys of skiing, and normally is at slow enough speed. It sounds as though this tragic accident - being on a blue run, might have entailed a high speed impact on a tree at the edge of a piste. Huge sympathy to the family.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Hi, This is my first posting here, so hello everyone.
The new Snow-finder USA describes the trail that is tragic, tragic accident on as "Peak 9's busiest blue's slightly less steepthan the blues further to the skiers left". Think we have to consider that there may have been many factors involved and speculation can be harmful.
Phil
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
Phil Keith, so right, great first post. Welcome to  s!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hurtle, Thanks for the welcome.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Hi Phil!
My condolences go out to this boy's family.
From reading reports of many tree collision fatalities in Colorado over several seasons (usually at least five per season), I have to say it seems clear that the most dangerous place on the mountain is the edge of a wide, groomed blue run between trees. More fatalities occur here than on gladed runs. The only way to solve this problem is through constant communication and education about the potential dangers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| martski wrote: |
stanton,
Ever the one for sensitivity given stoatsbrother's above post... |
Just making the point that helmets also give people a false sense of security. I would suggest tree sking most accidents occurs to the front of the head where your not protected.
I read somewhere that more people have died wearing helmets than without ( i will try to find article). This idicates to me that people are taking more risks ?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Condolences to the family. Skiing is something that should be enjoyed and not something that ultimately leads to a premature loss of life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| martski wrote: |
stanton,
Ever the one for sensitivity given stoatsbrother's above post... |
It might not be sensitive but it's a valid point he raised. A Lid is not a panacea for all potential ills, if you strike a solid fixed object at speed a lid will make no difference. Several times I've shared a t-bar with people wearing lids on Coire Cas on CairnGorm and when I enquired as to what persuaded them to buy a lid - crashing into the towers of the Cas T-bar were the sort of thing that scared them into wearing a lid. Should any unfortunate soul so collide with a T-bar tower carving up Coire Cas it wont matter if they were wearing a lid or not.
Condolences to the family, the tragedy is unimaginable, but it's important people whether they wear a lid or not are not fooled into believing oh this can't happen with the right helmet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| Winterhighland wrote: |
| martski wrote: |
stanton,
Ever the one for sensitivity given stoatsbrother's above post... |
It might not be sensitive but it's a valid point he raised. A Lid is not a panacea for all potential ills, if you strike a solid fixed object at speed a lid will make no difference. Several times I've shared a t-bar with people wearing lids on Coire Cas on CairnGorm and when I enquired as to what persuaded them to buy a lid - crashing into the towers of the Cas T-bar were the sort of thing that scared them into wearing a lid. Should any unfortunate soul so collide with a T-bar tower carving up Coire Cas it wont matter if they were wearing a lid or not.
Condolences to the family, the tragedy is unimaginable, but it's important people whether they wear a lid or not are not fooled into believing oh this can't happen with the right helmet. |
Precisely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
