Carving Collisions...

[brodster_57]

I have been off my carving board for a couple of seasons, but I am back at it in full swing. It didn't take long before I remembered the potential dangers of carving: Other snowboarders and skiers, who typical ride straight down the hil without turning, do not expect the way a carving board can turn and the paths we take (especially on a 15m sidecut turning GS turns). It scares me everytime I lay one over and skier or boarder whizzes by me at mach 10 nearly taking me out!. Since most of you have more experience than me, I am sure you guys have had some close calls or nasty wrecks. Now, I sit and wait for the slope to clear and always look behind me when I lay over an unexpected turn (especially in the flats near the chairlifts!)

[D-Sub]

I hate this topic. makes me nervous

heres the most recent:

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4748&highlight=collision

bottom line is, DONT trust anyone...make sure you look up hill as often as possible (safely) and realize that odds are "they" are not watching out for you

[ar(angel]

I was trying to get some pictures of myself this weekend to help fix a heelside problem I was having and the biggest hinderance to me was other people! I think if you just stick to all the common sense rules like "look uphill before starting your run" "never stop in the middle of the slope, always get off to one side or the other" "assume everyone else on the hill is and idiot", you'll be fine......:D We can never be to careful as far as I'm concerned, especially when it could be you that ends up doing the damage,

Have fun,

Paul

[Steve Dold]

I had a couple of crashes and a few near misses my last couple of seasons, so now I try to look uphill in the last half or so of each turn, and it actually seems to help the turns.

[kamran]

This is a scary topic indeed. I try to look uphill ALL the time and still something can go wrong. Let me tell you about my latest one; Last sunday I was with a few tahoe carvers on one of our favorite runs (flying carpet in Kirkwood). I started the run with another carver. Of course I ALWAYS look up the hill while I am initiating this huge carving turn that starts from one side of the slope all the way to the other side,...I took a quick look and there was nothing coming down, so I throw myself down the fall line and here I go, full speed looking ahead and suddenly there he is,..My buddy carver (Tony) doing exactly the same thing but coming towards me from the other side. Since we are both in an arc, we only saw each other very late and we both (don't know why) kept our line. We end up passing each other by less than a foot distance. Kindda felt like the blue angles acrobatic @#%$. Afterwards, we were laughing about it and joking how we should time and synchronize the turns so that we keep passing each other at close range from opposite directions. But aside from joking, it was scary and could have been ugly.

[ARCrider]

my collision this year happened even with uphill checks. I thought I was safe with no one in sight but got hit by a straightliner from nowhere. careful isn't always good enough when the braindead strap slippery things on their feet.

[mirror70]

I had a collision two days ago that has left me baffled.

I was sideslipping straight down the slope while watching a student and a woman skied over my board and crashed in to my boot. A couple of "turns" later, she looked uphill at me but she kept going so I followed her down to the lift.

When I got to her, I explained in no uncertain terms that she needs to give people more space, that the downhill person has the right of way, and that the collision was entirely her fault. How did she respond to this?

She tries to tell me that it was my fault and that I need to look up hill to avoid her coming down it. :eek: :confused: :eek:


I think it's time to institute licenses to breed.

[Jim]

Had a softbooter so enthralled by my carving group that he shadowed me through my first four turns. Was he shocked when I jammed a heelside turn without checking uphill. I carved uphill while jumping up a couple feet in the air in a failed attempt to avoid him before landing on top of him. The attempt to jump caused my carve to end up pointing directly uphill.
We both were asking each other if everything was ok when we abruptly stopped and high-fived with laughs. Just a few bruises and a nasty groove on the bottom of his board.

[Hagen]

...this looks like a common problem.

Since I got better in avoiding random skiers (by checking uphill before I get going) I'm having more trouble with people that I ride together with. I guess one of the reasons is that we think that we know what other carvers are doing... ...yet at the speeds that we are riding just small misjudgments can get us pretty close. :confused:

[b1boarder4]

wow. I know too well about colliliding with other people. i have taken more then my fair share of people over the years. i am a very aggressive rider, having raced for 5 years. although i always check up hill, and usually wait till the slope is relativly clear untill starting to ride. but there is always that one person that surprises you.

several of my many experiences:

at straton, carving a few turns on wide slope that narrows down to a traverse, i was riding next to a group of younger kids in ski school, lead by their instructor. i came around on my heelside edge and all of a sudden i was face to face with the instructor. we tired to avoid each other but it was no good. we wrapped up, but no one was hurt.

i ran into my friend while he was skiing behind me, trying to follow me. we got out of sync and i snapped a quick turn and took each other out.

just this weekend i narrowly missed a woman skiing right next to me. i cut around a knoll and she was coming down the face, just straight down and i just narrowlly passed in front oh her. she freaked and crashed, but she was all right.

or people stopping in the middle of the when you least expect them to, that always gets me.

ahh, i always get a little timid when riding in a large crowd or skiings, so i most often then not stop, breathe, and wait for them to pass.

Barret.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by b1boarder4

several of my many experiences:[snip]

Your stories read like you need to be paying a little more attention to what's around you.

[b1boarder4]

excuse me, but i do pay very good attention to whats around me. as i said before, i am fairly agressive, so i need to pay attention to whats around me. i am not proud of my collisions, nor am i bragging of them. most of my experiences has been with people coming down hill, from behind me, and as i belive the code to be, the people in front of you have the right away. im not staying that i dont pay attention to whats around me, or putting the blame on other people. i jsut have had many run ins with people, no injuries.

that being said, everyone could stand to watch out a little more. every collision in this tread could be followed by your comment.

Barret.

[tripine]

Weekends are really tough to lay em out. Too many people, we make wide turns and often don't see all around us well, and most people never come in contact with great quality carves. As I hate to wait for large wide openings, I usually don't carve hard on weekends and live on the sides. Bumps are lotsa fun!!!

[mirror70]

Originally posted by b1boarder4

or people stopping in the middle of the when you least expect them to, that always gets me.



You hit people in front of you. Your fault. Had you been as aware of your surrounding as you claim, you wouldn't have hit anyone in front of you. What else is there to say?

[kamran]

Your fault. Had you been as aware of your surrounding as you claim, you wouldn't have hit anyone in front of you

Sorry but in reality that doesn't work like you say and it is not that black and white. No matter how good you "look" around, there may always be this one other individual coming out of nowhere and taking you out. Period!

[SWriverstone]

Interesting thread, and I've been royally ticked-off at the "bottom homers" who seem hell-bent on minimizing their time actually spent on the slopes.

But I'm a bit surprised that nobody's mentioned resort policies. Yeah, I know---the majority rules, etc. But I was wondering the other night why more resorts don't have "Slope Gestapo" out when it's busy?

I say police the slopes and hand out citations! (Or dismiss people from the slopes.) It's pretty easy to spot the maniacs, and when there is a collision, I'd say it's probably easy to determine the one at fault about 99% of the time.

Around here, the closest the resorts come to policing is having someone standing at the top of the lift yelling at people not to stop in the middle when they get off (which admittedly is useful). Otherwise, it's "dog eat dog" on the slopes and the resorts don't care.

Or...why not force first-time visitors to a resort to watch a video or get a lecture or something on slope etiquette...'cause I guarantee nobody ever reads the rules when they're posted on that ice-encrusted board!

Scott

[mirror70]

Originally posted by kamran
Your fault. Had you been as aware of your surrounding as you claim, you wouldn't have hit anyone in front of you

Sorry but in reality that doesn't work like you say and it is not that black and white. No matter how good you "look" around, there may always be this one other individual coming out of nowhere and taking you out. Period!


Unless someone cuts in front of you and then stops, it is your fault for crashing in to him. If you come up on someone and then that person stops unexpectedly, it is 100% your fault for hitting him. It is black and white. There is no room for discussion.

[mirror70]

Originally posted by SWriverstone
But I'm a bit surprised that nobody's mentioned resort policies. Yeah, I know---the majority rules, etc. But I was wondering the other night why more resorts don't have "Slope Gestapo" out when it's busy?

Due to the large # of people and low number of police, most resorts do not have a set policy regarding this. Many mountain employees, however, have the right to pull someone's pass/ticket for violating the code. The problem with this is that everyone deserves a warning before losing his ticket, and without something like a license plate to identify each skier/rider, it is extremely unlikely that the same employee will encounter the same perpetrator violating the responsibility code.

[b1boarder4]

Originally posted by mirror70
Unless someone cuts in front of you and then stops, it is your fault for crashing in to him. If you come up on someone and then that person stops unexpectedly, it is 100% your fault for hitting him. It is black and white. There is no room for discussion.

yes you are right. i am not agruing on whether or not it is one persons or the others fault. im just staying that you can be paying attention to skiing in front of you and you could be going faster then them, about to pass them, and they make a sudden stop, or fall down, or whatever. and im not saying that i just take it either. i try my best to aviod every sitiuation. you cant aviod them all and something is bound to happen.

lets stop accusing people here. noone is perfect.

Barret.

[SWriverstone]

In the future (don't laugh---it'll happen!) everyone's pass will have a tiny RFID (radio-frequency ID chip). Everyone getting on the lift will be scanned automatically as they pass through. If someone gets a warning for dangerous behavior, their pass gets scanned. One more violation, and they're prevented from getting on the lift.

The RFIDs will also allow resorts to track usage patterns at each lift and/or slope. Yeah, I know---sounds like Big Brother...and no, I'm not in favor of it...but it might reduce reckless behavior.

But hey, it's only 2005---so look uphill! :)

Scott

[Hagen]

...they are doing that rfid thing already in Austria (and I guess other places back in Europe). Although I don't think they use that info to punish ski code violators.

And here in the states some resorts use a simpler method: fist offense - clip off a corner of the season pass, second offense - pass is gone (or work your way all around the pass until there are no more corners to be clipped off and then pull pass...).

Hagen.

[D-Sub]

the other day I was comin down a beginner run as a warm-down, and there were TWO patrollers standing in the middle, one about 500 yards below the other.

OF COURSE they told me to slow down, even though I was really keepin it low. its almost like the equipment and stance makes us look like we're goin fast.

btw..."www.oldsnowboards.com" is a BAD. ASS. carver.

[Chris Houghton]

D-Sub, I assume by BAD.ASS you mean Bodacious Alpine Ditchdigger . Aggressive Snow Slicer - in the future don't use the contraction unless you tell everyone what it means!

[skatha]

HaHa......
You get 50 points for using "bodacious" in a sentence!!!:D

Seriously tho....I too am nervous in a large group, just because I don't trust anybody else's skills-esp, stopping skills. Plus, since I'm a blue run rider (remember I just started 2 years ago) there always seems to be mommy and junior on a tether somewhere.
As for hill etiquette, I think since the industry as a whole has performed rather flatly over the last 10 years-skiing down, snowboarding up-the management may be closing their eyes rather than risk losing revenue. I'll hurt them in the end....

My philosophy for right or wrong is I have to avoid the collision because I will always be considered the offending party because I'm strapped to the lunch tray-even if the skiier is making a pizza all the way down the hill...

[D-Sub]

Originally posted by Chris Houghton
D-Sub, I assume by BAD.ASS you mean Bodacious Alpine Ditchdigger . Aggressive Snow Slicer - in the future don't use the contraction unless you tell everyone what it means!

jeez. my bad.

he's one of those. I thought I got a couple pics today but...uh...wardrobe malfunction I guess