 Poster: A snowHead
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A British insurance company has warned that pistes are increasing viewed as roads and motorways, inducing rage from skiers who are cut-up or forced off their line. Christian Young of Go Travel Insurance reckons that 'slope rage' can also be induced by incidents such as queue–jumping, tiredness, linguistic problems with other skiers or ski resort officials...
This report from The Scotsman.
Is this man talking sense, or is he whipping up a scare for publicity? Have you encountered, or maybe caused, slope rage - maybe as a result of a little scrape erupting into anger?
Is this a growing problem? If it is, how do we make the pistes friendlier?
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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 angriest I've got is with a French boarder (no slights on either type intended) who cut up my then very small daughter at speed. It didn't get beyond verbal volleys though. Overall, I haven't witnessed many angry scenes and thankfully no violence. Certainly nothing to suggest that "slope rage" is a syndrome in its own right!
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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 threw my board at a b'strd who skied through a lift queue in Val Claret. I'd seen him coming and thought 'he's gonna' slow down' 'he's got to stop', but he went straight though the middle, wiped out a couple of tots and their mum. Chased after him but he was going too fast and hopped a lift on the other side of the valley. Good ending though, someone else in the same queue saw him getting into a car later and gave the number to the police. Because one of the kids had a bloody nose they took it very seriously and I hear he ended up in court.
As for ‘speed kills’ . . . NO
Inappropriate speed does and there is only one cure . . . education and training. Surely it’s not beyond the bounds of the industry, the clubs, the schools and the manufacturers to introduce an international certificate of competency? (could even be multi-graded)
To enforce it? How about doubling the price of a lift ticket for those that can’t produce one – proceeds going to subsidise the scheme, and for those that reach the highest level, decent discounts on the pass price. The schools would have a better income stream and again part of that stream going to the costs and administration of it.
Off the top of my head it would probably be self funding and a real incentive to get trained and improve our skill set.
Another benefit has got to be reduced insurance premiums as you rise through the levels. After all advanced drivers can get serious discounts, why not advanced skiers who can prove it.
This isn’t rocket science, it’s just getting the vested interests to talk to each other or one ski area to start the ball rolling . . . or . . .
What’s to stop SnowHeads starting it’s own competency award system. There are enough interested parties here perhaps with connections in interesting places to look at developing a formal structure that can be recognised by ins. co.s and ski areas. Just a thought.
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Sadly and it's just another example of peoples lack of interest, even organisations such as the SCGB don't do ski tests any more, apparently due to lack of demand 
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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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Slope Rage? What a ghastly idea. But I suppose it is a natural result of pistes getting more crowded and punters measuring success by miles of piste skied.
Yet again backs up my assertion that it is safer off-piste. Less crowded, and no riff-raff (mainly because no bars).
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Correct me of I'm wrong but I believe that most serious skiing accidents derive from collisions on the piste these days. I'm probably going to be marked as a spoilsport for saying this, but personally I believe that has a lot to do with the quantities of alcohol that get consumed while skiing. A recent German documentary filmed the skiing/alcohol intake activities of a bunch of Germans in Ischgl. One group averaged 18 Weizenbier plus a few Obstler (Schnapps) during the course of a skiing day!!! This was not considered to be exceptional. Alcohol and Rage go hand in hand! If you think that slope rage is a problem, then start tackling it by doing something about the alcohol consumption during skiing!
P.S I am not a teetotaler (not by a long stretch), but 18 Weissbiers would make me a candidate for the tender attentions of a nurse wielding a stomach pump! I don't think I could stand, let alone ski with that lot in me!
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David Goldsmith, this man is not talking sens eand is whipping up a scare to generate publicity. "A British insurance company has warned that pistes are increasing viewed as roads and motorways ..." Really? Its the first I've heard of it. Move along now please, nothing to see here ...
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18 Weissbiers ? This is nothing for Bavarians. My mate worked a couple of years on a farm in Bavaria & I visited him once. They had beer deliveries every week & every morning the whole family would sit down for breakfast including granny and consume one or two bottle of Weiss.
Its a bit like have your Milk delivered, its a different culture.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I quite like Masque's, idea. Certainly has some merit.
However, given the way conditions can change from day to day, never mind during the day, and the different effect light plays according to the time of day/year, I fail to see how in practice, any sort of certificate of competancy geared to a variety of levels would work. Throw in the difficulties of getting an accord from every ski hosting nation, and then which organisation(s) administer/provide requisit training and it's hard to see how, in reality, it would work.
That said, perhaps a general level of competency could be agreed upon before newbies qualify for anything other than lift passes for green runs. A certificate would be gained by taking a practical test in which slope safety would also be covered. Having gained the required level, the certificate would then be required to be produced before full ski passes are issued.
If anyone subsequently is found to be skiing without regard for the conditions and is judged to be a risk, then the ski pass and certificate could be withdrawn and the errant skier/boarder would have to re-qualify/repay.
Personally, I'm not comfortable with over regulation of anything, especially something that offers so much freedom in so many different ways. But, if lives are saved, or serious injury avoided and it removes yet another excuse for insurance profiteering, then perhaps the time has arrived for a concerted effort within the skiing community to regulate itself more effectively.
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Rage is on the increase. Fellow in a chalet nr us last week in La Plagne got walloped from behind by a boarder and apparantly went for the boarder with ski poles (bit girly if you ask me), skiers mate stopped to calm him down but some how fell and his ski came up and smashed (literally) the pole swingers nose all accross his face by accident. Boarder rode off laughing.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Frosty the Snowman: ¿, Obviously the boarder stopped. Did he attempt to apologise before the skier went for him? Nothing implied, just curious.
Mart Hunter I think every ski school in the world has ‘end of week’ fun races and certificates for their pupils. I think it just needs a little tightening up on the pass/fail standard and IFS accreditation to make this the ‘First Level’. The infrastructure already exists to start this, it only needs a bit of good will and co-ordination to start the scheme.
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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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Masque, a good idea but would the ESF recognise certificates from other countries. I think it would be difficult if not almost impossible to get an across the board standard recognised by all resorts.
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Masque,
It sounds like the guy who skiied through your lift-queue was a pretty competent skiier (he was too competent for you to catch him) but it didn't prevent him behaving like a tw@t. What you suggest sounds like the driving test - prove once that you CAN drive sensibly and you're off. The test doesn't ensure you continue to drive to acceptable standards - the laws / police do that.
Piste patrols are the answer - it doesn't matter whether you're a newbie or an olympic downhill champion with a certificate of competency, you should be held accountable for your actions on the hill.
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You know it makes sense.
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Russell, That's why the IFS/FIS have to be part of the scheme. After all, even if we're not competing, it's still a sport. The ESF would not be able to stand there and stamp their foot, it would be the resorts and the lift companies who would be the arbiters. No cert. and you pay more BUT they're the ones that would have to accept out of town certification. If issued by an acredited ISF/FIS school, then they'd be liable for fiscal repremand if they turned away valid skiers and they lose customers very quickly as the word spread. I think it would be very self regulating and honest? This is all being writen on the fly 'cos I've not been developing this. I need to sit and do a bit of research to identify the pitfalls. But with rising numbers and shrinking seasons? something's going to have to happen and I'd rather it's the skiers/boarders who make the rules.
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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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Red Leon, I don't dissagree and if a patroller can yank a certificate so that any numbnut will have to pay double for their next pass, it's at least one more incentive to behave sensibly.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Much better to enforce things with piste patrols, especially if people had to produce ID when getting their lift pass, 1st offence if minor = warning or possibly a fine second = confiscation of pass and banning from area for resty of season or something like that
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Masque wrote: |
| But with rising numbers and shrinking seasons? something's going to have to happen and I'd rather it's the skiers/boarders who make the rules. |
The only thing that will happen if seasons get much shorter is that prices will rise sharply, squeezing out many skiers/boarders for cost prohibitive reasons. Simple supply and demand. If that happens, then the slopes may well get less crowded, thus decreasing the risk.
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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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Mark Hunter, Ever the optomist aren't we 
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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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| Masque wrote: |
| Red Leon, I don't dissagree and if a patroller can yank a certificate so that any numbnut will have to pay double for their next pass, it's at least one more incentive to behave sensibly. |
Masque, it doesn't have to be a certificate of competency (which would be expensive to administer, IMO), just require production of passport / national ID card to buy the pass. If the computer says you've been nicked (in the last year, say), you pay double. Three strikes and you're out, to deter the 'money no object' types.
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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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Masque, The boarder stopped as he had crashed, dont know if he tried to apologise. People do in general seem more short tempered these days though
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FAQ
