Ugh..embarrassing falls

A snowHead

It has been two weeks since my last confession.

I am a self-taught skier, mainly by following better skiers down a run and copying them. But youtube has played a big part. Anyway, I am a confident skier now and happily make my way down blue runs and some red. But I do have a few quirks...the first is too stupid to mention. But the second...

I don't fall if I can help it. I can handle bumps, can avoid skiers in peril, can fly and land when the M1 poma takes off. The only place I do tumble is at the bloomin queue.

When I'm facing the wrong way, HOW do I turn around in tight queue on a down hill slope. I see other people just do it. I tried pushing my sticks in to anchor myself but it didn't work. I ended up in a heap with a knee that went *click*. Short of taking off my skis and turning them around, there must be a more graceful method.
I know I should have anticipated the direction as I came down but the queue was 4 lines deep and at the end of a tight turn.

A snowHead

PS Would like to hear of everyone else's stupid mistakes. It would make me feel better.

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

Sofia, maybe I'm not reading this right, but how do you get into a queue facing the wrong way?

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Also are there that many queues that are on a slope? Most of those I've been in have had a flatter area to wait on.

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Way back in the 80s I was taught to do something called a kick turn. That would probably do the trick for you. I can't think of any occasion where I've had to queue on an actual slope though.

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Suspect Sofia means a row of people at the side of the slope rather than a queue. (e.g. http://www.alluradirect.com/Images/Nasa_Ski_Club_Group_Skiing.JPG)

... and is referring to a kickback turn.
http://www.ehow.com/how_11988_telemark-kick-turn.html

As for embarassing - many moons ago I once saw such a gap in a line up of my ski group and decided to ski in. Someone else in the group also saw the gap and tried to ski in from the other side. We hit head on and took most of our group with us. There were two other ski groups standing below ours and we managed to take most of them with us too.

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DB, ah that would explain it. I'd point out that a kick turn doesn't need telemark gear wink

oh, and if you're not super-confident about your kick turns please don't practice them within ear-slicing distance of anybody else Cool

After all it is free

i wish i was in that queueueueueue right now

There is a draglift here which, in French school holiday times, does queue up quite a steepish hill. A new chairlift has reduced the pressure on it, and I don't think it's that bad now. I can imagine a fairly new skier having a bit of a problem with it - everyone close together, pretty difficult to turn round if you end up facing the wrong way. Mind you, you can just side slip down with everyone else, then turn round down at the gate.

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The M1 poma is a cracker if you're unlucky with the tow you grab... the spring mechanism within each individual poma varies greatly. Some feed you in gently enough, a fair few of them though spring back into the barrel with enough force to lift even a 15 stone lad clean in the air.

yesterday had some belters including a chinese tourist dressed in jeans, t-shirt and biking jacket who held up the queue when he stopped to take a couple of pictures just as it was his turn to get on the tow. He then got catapulted about 6ft in the air twice before disappearing up the tow on his third attempt minus hat and goggles that flew off his head due to the sudden force of uplift - shouldn't laugh but it was very entertaining! It was obvious he could ski a little, but that was very possibly his first ever ride on the M1 poma!

Sofia, in the queue, take it easy and don't worry about facing the correct way until you get to the very bottom of the first line and you need to turn round to face the lift. just sidestep down the hill and then shuffle round if it makes it easier for you. Most people there just plant their poles and snowplough round until they are facing the other way again. You wouldn't want to do a kick turn there incase you took someones head off - everyone is standing pretty close together so there's no room to do it anyway. Don't be too shy to give people jip for getting too close either. Once you get the hang of it you'll be fine.

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Embarrassing momement 1

Last year whilst skiing at Glenshee. We decided to ski ' the Tiger' a steep black that was just ice from top to bottom. I was skiing with a friend who is a much better skiier and had grown up skiing in Scotland ( mainly Glenshee and Glencoe). He was reluctant to go on the Tiger. I told him to grow a pair and we headded to the small one man chair that takes you to the top of the Tiger. There is a sign at the bottom of the lift that said, " this lift is for experienced skiers only. It only leads to red and black runs". This sign was positioned next to the queing area for the lift. So as I approached the queue I lost control and skied straight into the warning sign. Everyone looked at me as if to say, if you crash here, then you are going to die on the Tiger. How embarrassing Embarassed

. Still went up there though and skied down the Tiger in one piece.

Embarassing moment 2

First day skiing in 15 years ( skied as a kid on school holiday as a 12 year old). Having bought an apartment in Bansko, me and a mate went for a cheeky lads holiday and left the wifes in Uk with the kids. First day there, the slopes where closed because some tree huggers had claimed that they had planted a bomb on the pistes. Turned out to be a false alarm, but they got the resort closed for a day. So me and pal went to a local bar that was showing back to back premier league football. Needless to say, at £1.00 a pint, we ended up hammered.
Next day, we hit the slopes. I was rough as a badgers ****. The plan was to ease me into skiing with a gentle trip down the 7km green run. But boys will be boys and instead headed up the mountain rolling eyes

My pal is a good skier and off he went down a steepish blue. I tried to follow and soon ended up losing it. I started to do the splits and ended up in a crumpled mess. I had also managed to split my salopettes in the groin area ( about a foot long tear).
The lesson here, is to not get hammered the day before your fist day on the slopes for 15 years, and if you do, dont go straight onto slopes that you are not good enough to ski on. Blush

Cheers
Smag

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Heh!
I wish I'd seen the chinese guy on the poma! I posted elsewhere the story of the boarder I saw yesterday who lost his nerve just before he did a jump, swerved and banjoed into the side of the jump, getting lost in the snow drift like Whylie Cyote.
I should have just stayed the direction I was facing in the queue and slid down. But EVERYONE else had turned around - I know, talked about weak personality!! They were turning to face the way the queue was clearing. And we were queueing up the gun-barrel, which if busy gets pretty steep.
Which leads to quirk number 1. The gunbarrel is a bit like a half-pipe. Very rarely (but it happened yesterday) I turn too late, and drift up to the high edge. It's all slabby and high and up-pisted. Of course I just turn and go straight down but I sometimes I get rabbit-in-the-headlight effect and think *gonna fall gonna fall*. I just have to stop and wait until that feeling is over. Because if I go when I feel like that, then I do fall.
So yesterday I waited like a lemon for about five minutes, then did the escape and was fine. Eeejit.

Saw another very funny thing on the gunbarrel whilst queueing in the M1 tow queue.

There were a lot of kids using the side of the gunbarrel to do jumps through a gap in the fence. To get of the lip of the jump though, you had to time it properly as the line in went straight across the T-bar lift line. One guy did a backflip, one did a 360, then their mate tried to follow, got his timing wrong and as he approached the gap, he noticed that there was a couple of folk heading right for him on the T-bar... he took evasive action and crashed right into the fence. That was just before the chinese lad on the two.

All very entertaining Very Happy

You know it makes sense.

Yup, I saw them doing all those jumps....is it not a bit -um- dangerous and not-right to use a lift line as your run up to a jump?

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

I have seen a couple of references to the M1 poma on various posts. Where is it?
Cheers
Smag

A snowHead

M1 poma is at Cairngorm, in scotland

A snowHead

Embarrassing incidents.....let me think. A few years ago I managed to break my leg hurtling down a blue run in Saalbach on the first day. Bad times. Perhaps not embarrassing, but painful. A few weeks ago my boyfriend (a boarder....pffft) was having a slide at snozone in castleford. Half of the slope was closed due to some slalom competition that was going on. Whilst demonstrating his best moves, he managed to board right into the netting sectioning off the slalom competition. He proceeded to then enravel himself in said netting, also taking out the majority of poles holding up the netting. By the time he stopped he looked like he had rolled himself up in a shiny red carpet. The slalom competitors were not best pleased. Very amusing.

Also, although I cannot take credit for this video, I have seen it a few times and it's rather pleasing....

http://youtube.com/v/6-6pQwo_9r4

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

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Wearing a big green matching siut and beanie and matching a pair of fat skis while about to start a class and fell over on a bunny slope in front of class! Sad

Stood up asked them to spot the deliberate mistake.

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a-haha! Tordi, I love the video and feel for the fella. Even I'm not that innocent....

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Tordi,

Brilliant

After all it is free

A couple of weeks ago, we had two days of snow, and the Spaulding Bowl area off the summit of Copper Mountain was full of fresh snow. I guided two of my group down the bowl and waited at the bottom while one recovered from a fall. Looking at our options, I thought I'd break trail for the group members, and mentioned to the one standing near me that he could follow once his companion was down.

I proceeded to push off, begin to pick up speed, and squinted out into the flat light to find the best path...

...only to suddenly stop and find myself looking at snow crystals packed to the outside of my goggles!

I hadn't fallen, per se, as I was still standing, but I had double-ejected from both skis. I stepped back and realized that I had run full-on into a seven-foot-tall snowdrift! I had stopped with a snow-cushioned jolt, and started to laugh. I laughed and laughed... and my guests joined me. After brushing off and getting back into my skis, we decided to head downhill into the glades instead of across the catwalk.

The funniest fall of my season, for sure, and probably of the past few years! snowHead

As I don't often ski far beyond my "edge of control" I don't really have many falls.

However one does come to mind in Zell 2009. As a group we were skiing at a good pace down which I think was a blue slope, may have been a red, I'm unsure. But anyway as we were skiing down, to the left of the slope in some powder there was what appeared to be a jump which had formed naturally. Considering this was a tame blue slope I thought I would mix things up by trying to get some air.

I called the jump at the sight of it and then changed my route to head towards the off-piste. As I entered the powder my speed dropped considerably and I jolted forward causing extra pressure onto the front of my skis. My right ski planted into the snow and came off, My left ski then planted with all the added pressure (but stayed attached to my boot) throwing me forward causing me to face plant within 3 metres of the jump.

Baring in mind that this was April, and the temperatures were high, I was lightly dressed to say the least. So all that snow going down the back of my huddy (which wasn't waterproof I might add) made the rest of the days skiing less than pleasant. My mates got a kick out of it though.

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Just back from a week in Austria.

I only managed to fall over properly once... reason, we'd stopped to discuss where we were headed and somehow I stood on my ski pole whilst stationary but didn't notice. Husband headed off down the hill, I went to follow and fell over the top of the ski pole in comedy slow motion landing on my side. A few curses and no damage done other than a wee dent in the base of my ski.

However, my best one was probably at Glencoe when I forgot I was on skis and attempted to use The Wall t-bar boarder style (i.e. placed the t-bar sideways between my legs), this is a bad idea on skis as they don't really slide too well sideways up the hill! Anyways, I made it about 10m up the hill trying to work out why I was being pulled in a weird way, fell off and was so embarrassed about being such a muppet that rather than join the end of the t-bar queue I slunk off to the Cliffhanger Chair instead.

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Hi, I'm not the best of skiers, but a few years ago one of my friends spontaneously said "I'll race you to the bottom" (as we all do sometimes). So I set off after him down a steep bit as fast as could and after a few seconds I remembered to pull my goggles down over my eyes as they were still resting on my forehead. Unfortunately this was just as I was coming to some bumps and a bend, and as I struggled to pull down my goggles with my poles pointing dangerously out to the sides, waving around wildly, I got my goggles down over my eyes, but my hat (which my goggles had been resting on) had been pulled down too, inside my goggles! I struggled franticly to free my hat, but seeing as I had picked up a fair old speed by then and as far as I was concerned it was pitch black out there, the inevitable happened and I wiped out spectacularly for all to see except myself! Oops!
I might add that there weren't any people downhill from me when we set off on that stretch or I wouldn't have risked having my poles sticking out at all angles.

It's already been a classic year for me... I had another one yesterday...

We had about a foot or so of new snow in the past couple of days, so we were still skiing cut-up powder yesterday at Copper. Coming down Drainpipe (a black run that starts through the gate on skiers' right just below the Resolution chair upper terminal), I was dancing through the bumps enjoying the sprays of powder as they exploded. Two of my guests were standing at the top of a pitch as I came around the trees and headed into the next set of powdered bumps. I spotted a nicely shaped bump that looked like I could use if to a bit of a jump turn. I launched and landed below the bump in a solid stance, but my skis... stopped!

I immediately double-ejected (theme here?) and went over the tips of my skis to land with a oomph in the powder below them...

...again, I got up laughing. It's just so funny! The two guests weren't sure whether or not laughing was OK, but I assured them it was. Perhaps one day I'll learn to ski... snowHead

You know it makes sense.

A few years back, I was getting on the Cliffhanger at Glencoe in front of a large crowd on a busy Saturday (at least 100 people queued-up). It was the first day of the season and a lot of the safety bars were suffering from being rusted in place after a summer out in the rain.

As the first chair came round, I spotted that all of the wooden slats were broken and there was nothing to sit, on, so stepped back and let it pass. Second chair came round and the bar was stuck down. I tugged on it with all my might, but to no avail and I had to let that chair pass too. By this time the frostiness of the exceedingly large queue was palpable. The third chair also had the bar stuck down but, deciding that I was already unpopular enough, I stayed in and fought with it a little too long before abandoning that one as well. As I stepped back, the chair snagged my rucksack strap and hoisted me into the air. The liftie was, apparently, off having a sly fag, so no-one stopped the lift and I dangled along for quite some distance before some kind soul found the big red button and stopped it. Fortunately, by this time I'd gone past the burn and was only 3 or 4 metres off the ground. By standing on my brothers upheld hands, I was able to extricate myself from my pack and jump down. It was all over WinterHighland et al the following Monday. Embarassed

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

A snowHead

I agree - but that wasn't your fault, that was an act of God....

A snowHead

stevomcd, no one will beat that ! Very Happy

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

Three years ago. Offpiste week with a group including snowball, staying in Bourg St Maurice and skiing in Espace Killy, La PLagne , Les Arcs etc. I had been doing quite well at the skiing part but then our instructor / guide decided to take us to an innocent-looking button draglift somewhere in Val d'Isere (don't ask where, I blotted it out).

I line up first or second, the cable starts unwinding...and then suddenly jerks me forward with the force, speed and empathy of a Mark I Terminator. I land on my face, with nothing hurt but my pride (and my buttocks), to the general merriment of the rest of the party. OK. Raise myself, dust off the snow, try to look dignified. Queue up again, grab the button drag, clench said buttocks...and wham! here I go a-rolling again. This time the laughter gained about 100 decibels - in fact I think the echo set out a small avalanche across the valley...

On the third try I had a guard of honour as no one else from our group would even consider going up until they could witness my attempt. Sadly, I had a total sense of humour failure at that point and refused to get back on the killer drag until everyone else did so...third time was lucky but not without some heart flutter.

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horizon, drags can be tricky for boarders Little Angel

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Eh, rayscoops, but I'm a skier ...

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horizon, ... err ... oops Blush

... never seen an experienced skier fall off a drag that many times in one go so thought you must have been a single planker wink

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After all it is free

Ah yes, I "forgot" this season's incident, in La Plagne - skiing down from Col de al Chiaupe, I'd hoped to stay high enough to cross the stream and get some nice fresh track between the two blue runs - sadly Mrs NBT has not understood and ventured too low for this to be feasible, so we skiied down to rejoin the piste. I was enjoying the last few feet of fresh snow before rejoining the piste when suddenly a huge wall smacked me in the chest.

It took me a few moments to realise that there was a very small ditch between the piste and the off-piste, my ski tips had jammed into the snow and I double ejected right onto the hard packed piste, leaving skis still quivering behind me and Mrs NBT in dire need of a loo as she nearly weed laughing at me Embarassed

Peak to Creek downhill friendly race, Bormio, this year. Competitor's numbers on, goggles, being a bit cocky.

Fell over at 5mph on my way to the gate.

Gate operator pityingly gave me a "you're going to die" look as I finally got there.

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few years ago in geilo, where there is one button lift that has to be 500m long and nearly vertical
instructor tells us all to be carefull as he always loses one here during the week
group of nine 2 blokes ,instructor ,7 girls
i am last with just the instructor behind, 400m up and i catch an edge in the ice at the edge , and proceed to hurtle down slope
passed instructor doing about 100mph, to a shout of bend you knees ( i an busy trying to dig my heels in to stop \0
as i neared the bottom i realised that what he was tryingto warn me about was the list cabin that i was now approacing at mach 2
gave up trying to stop and bent knees - hit the cabin so hard i dug the boot heels into the buttocks , and ,ade a bang so loud, it sounded like
an avalanche cannon. gets up dusts my self down collects skis ( they had followed me all the way down) , and proceeds to rejoin the que for a second attempt
- the lifty then tells me i have to go up on mu own as i am a danger to others !!!

Help!!

Ugh..embarrassing falls

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