Skiing Etiquette

AllyG I guess it all has to do with your timing and whose around you. My first time at Tux when I wrecked it took 5 hours (it was a crap day). The second time I wrecked I think it took minutes.

Caron,
That was pretty mean of everyone ski-ing past. Were you O.K. or had you hurt yourself? I always ask if I see someone fall over,even if they're not in my ski class.

In fact, I was ski-ing in a lesson and someone came down out of control from above, and whizzed right over the front of my skis, and crashed in a crumpled heap somewhere below me. And I still asked if they were O.K.

I've had 6 ski instructors in 3 holidays, and only one of them has told us anything about the right of way ski code, so maybe quite a few people don't know what it is, except that I have even seen it written on a piste map somewhere (in French unfortunately!).

I also think that, unofficially any way, very young children have right of way, especially if they're in a lesson. Imagine how awful it would be to flatten a 4 year old on their first ski holiday! I always try to keep right out of their way.

Ally

IceGhost,
I just saw your message after I'd posted mine.

Do you think some resorts are worse than others, in this respect? Were you in the same place both times? And were you really left lying there for 5 hours - I thought the ski patrol people check the pistes?

Ally

AllyG wrote:I've had 6 ski instructors in 3 holidays, and only one of them has told us anything about the right of way ski code, so maybe quite a few people don't know what it is, except that I have even seen it written on a piste map somewhere (in French unfortunately!).

I also think that, unofficially any way, very young children have right of way, especially if they're in a lesson. Imagine how awful it would be to flatten a 4 year old on their first ski holiday! I always try to keep right out of their way.

If I am teaching I try to make folks aware of safety from the off (even without explicitly stating the 'code').

I have joked if you are going to hit someone make it someone bigger than you, not only will they cushion your fall they are not going to be hurt as much. 15 stone of Ian Wickham :wink: vs 4 stone of Young Child would not be a pretty out come.

AllyG wrote:IceGhost,
I just saw your message after I'd posted mine.

Do you think some resorts are worse than others, in this respect? Were you in the same place both times? And were you really left lying there for 5 hours - I thought the ski patrol people check the pistes?

Ally

I believe it's all about timing, and luck

Pablo Escobar wrote:

AllyG wrote:I've had 6 ski instructors in 3 holidays, and only one of them has told us anything about the right of way ski code, so maybe quite a few people don't know what it is, except that I have even seen it written on a piste map somewhere (in French unfortunately!).

I also think that, unofficially any way, very young children have right of way, especially if they're in a lesson. Imagine how awful it would be to flatten a 4 year old on their first ski holiday! I always try to keep right out of their way.

If I am teaching I try to make folks aware of safety from the off (even without explicitly stating the 'code').

I have joked if you are going to hit someone make it someone bigger than you, not only will they cushion your fall they are not going to be hurt as much. 15 stone of Ian Wickham :wink: vs 4 stone of Young Child would not be a pretty out come.

After all those five course dinners in Switzerland, I think I am 15 stone 8) 8)

Hi Pablo,
I totally agree with you about the weight issue and finding a soft landing.

When my younger daughter was 9 years old and on her first ski holiday in Bulgaria, she went out of control on a blue run doing snow plough turns in a lesson, and I was there watching (because as I said elsewhere the teacher was really horrid and I followed the kids all week to make sure they were O.K.).

I was horrified because she was heading off the blue run at increasing speed in the directon of a very vertical-looking red run through the trees, but over to her right was a queue of people waiting for a drag lift. And I kept saying 'hit the queue, hit the queue' to myself, as a sort of mantra - she was well out of earshot - and fortunately she came to the same decision as me (my daughter is a very smart young lady) and headed as best she could (she wasn't totally out of control, she just couldn't stop) for the queue.

And fortunately there were several adults there who'd also been eating large dinners, like Ian Wickam, and they broke her fall, and she was O.K. Afterwards she told me none of them even told her off.

Ally

Pablo Escobar wrote:

I have joked if you are going to hit someone make it someone bigger than you, not only will they cushion your fall they are not going to be hurt as much. 15 stone of Ian Wickham :wink: vs 4 stone of Young Child would not be a pretty out come.

Perhaps the woman that ran into me in Val Thorens Jan 2005 had been to one of your classes. She hit me hard enough to break my collarbone with me still standing. Once inertia took hold, I exited my skis in an upwards direction and was only vaguely conscious by the time I pancaked back on the slope.

That little bit of target practice took away 16 weeks of my life, and killed plenty of nerve endings in my shoulder.

As the bones knit into a different position, I will never look anything other than a freak in a swimming cozzy.