jimb@tekcbi.UUCP (Jim Boland) (12/11/85)
My daughter is on the ski team at her high school and they had to attend a mandatory safety meeting sponsored by the area ski patrol last night. I had to drive her there and ended up listening to the presentation. There were a few major points I thought would be of interest to net.rec.ski-ers. Basically, about 40-50 cents of each ticket sold last year was for insurance. Ticket prices have gone up dramatically this year, partly due to the fact that insurance now accounts for $1.50 - $2.00 of each ticked sold. It seems that, nationally, ski accidents are on the decline but the severity of the accidents is increasing. Some ski sites are not opening because they can't get insurance. The story was told that one operator did not have insurance last year and said he'd give the site to the first accident claim that came along. Well, someone is now the proud new owner of an uninsurable ski site. Anyway, The Mt. Hood Area operators are instituting a new safety program this year which has attracted some national attention. Other areas are watching closely how it works and some are also inaugurating these measures. The mountain will be watched closely. If you are observed skiing in an unsafe manner, your ticket will be confiscated, you will be forced (?) to watch a safety flick and then be given a test. You will then have a bright (red, I think) vest to wear and you can then ski the remainder of the session. Everyone will see you and know that you have violated safety rules. That's the first time. They will also take your name and circulate it with the other area operators. If you repeat any time during the season, you will be removed from the slopes immediately and all skiing privileges at all area sites will be unavailable to you the remainder of the season. Sounds extreme, but they said they are getting serious about safety. One student asked what happens if you don't pass the test? The answer? "If you can't pass the test, you'll never make it through high school". The number one thing they will be watching for is reckless and out of control skiing. This means - fast (tucked) skiing in an area marked for slow skiing, skiing downhill such that you would endanger someone else below you even if that person were to change course (remember, the uphill skier is supposed to be able to avoid those downhill. The uphill skier is always at fault in a collision. If you are going too fast to stop when someone pulls in front of you, then you are not in control for the conditions.), and doing maneuvers which endanger others. This means things like jumping cliffs and having someone else watch and imitate you. If that person gets hurt, then you are liable(I know, try and prove it). Anyway, that is the professional paid ski patrols talking, not me. It was mentioned that at two of the resorts, if you go beyond the marked boundary, you are on your own. (National Forest Land). If you go into an avalanche zone then you are in trouble because you also jeopardize the patrol that has to rescue you. If you go out of bounds at the third site (Meadows) then you go to jail and get fined $500. (County laws, not resort rules) There were other points mentioned, but those were the key items. They summed it up for the kids by saying, "When you are on the course racing, go all out for speed through the gates and have a good time. But when you are on the slopes, slow it down." The above rules apply to everyone on the mountain. Members of ski teams are supposed to know better and they don't get off as easy. Their suspension comes faster. They expect other resorts around the country to start resorting to these types of measures,also. What do you people think??? Has anyone run into (almost run into) you from above and then cussed you out because you were "in their way" and so it was "your fault"?
jans@mako.UUCP (Jan Steinman) (12/11/85)
In article <425@tekcbi.UUCP> jimb@tekcbi.UUCP (Jim Boland) writes: >It was mentioned that at two of the resorts, if you go beyond the marked >boundary, you are on your own. (National Forest Land). If you go into >an avalanche zone then you are in trouble because you also jeopardize the >patrol that has to rescue you. This seems reasonable. You SHOULD be on your own! However, stupid, arbitrary court decisions have held areas liable when idiots ride the lift and ski out-of-bounds, leading to such idiocy as... >If you go out of bounds at the third site (Meadows) then you go to jail >and get fined $500. (County laws, not resort rules) I don't think this will hold up in court, since the area in question is not really in the county's jurisdiction. (Mt. Hood National Forest and Wilderness Area) But this does really put a damper on what I'll call "legitimate" out-of-bounds skiers -- those three-pinners who buy a single trip lift ticket in order to access the wilderness. It is, of course, perfectly legal to hike up the boudary line and ski down. What if you were XC skiing in the wilderness area, accidently crossed some obscure corner of the ski area, and went back into the wilderness? Jail time? -- :::::: Artificial Intelligence Machines --- Smalltalk Project :::::: :::::: Jan Steinman Box 1000, MS 60-405 (w)503/685-2956 :::::: :::::: tektronix!tekecs!jans Wilsonville, OR 97070 (h)503/657-7703 ::::::
wjh@bonnie.UUCP (Bill Hery) (12/12/85)
> What do you people think??? Has anyone run into (almost run into) you > from above and then cussed you out because you were "in their way" > and so it was "your fault"? I've been skied into or nearly skied into by uphill skiers more times than I care to think about. I've skied most of the major areas in Vermont, New York, and the Rockies, and three areas stand out as areas where this has happened to me the most (relative to the amount of skiing I've done there): Hunter Mt in NY. The worst I've been at, especially around the 'midstation' area. This is the only place where I've been run into by an area instructor! He was behind me on a float runout, and I made a quick parallel stop; he missed me, but skied over the tails of my skis. Killington VT. Kitzbuhl, Austria (the only place in Europe I've skied). They have a lot of not-too-steep connectinf trails that the locals go straight down and expect everyone else to do the same. If you turn, watch out! In general, it seems to me that these incidents correlate with the general level of rudeness (lift line cutting, etc.) of the skiers at an area.
patch@nsc-pdc.UUCP (Pat Chewning) (12/12/85)
A couple of years back, I read an article about a court that decided that the liability for accidents was determined by which way you were going. If you were going uphill (on the lifts) then the ski area operators were responsible. If you were going downhill (skiing) then the skier was responsible. That makes sense to me. But I guess the same lawyers are working on ski safety as the ones that are working on auto accidents in Oregon. (If someone runs a red light and hits you, you can be liable for some of the damages because you did not avoid the accident.)
peter@rlgvax.UUCP (Peter Klosky) (12/14/85)
1. Marking skiers for eventual deletion with red vests has the side-effect of causing some 15-year-old boys to make every effort to be marked. Here in the middle atlantic we have a system where lift tickets are marked with magic marker; something to brag about on the lift. The criminal mind at play. 2. While it is true that the faster skier uphill should be able to stop or avoid those being overtaken, it's not a bad idea to look uphill if you're going really slow and think you might be turning into someone's path. Due to the low altitude or something, the runs are very narrow and crowded around here.
kds@intelca.UUCP (Ken Shoemaker) (12/14/85)
All the sites I have been at out here (Lake Tahoe area) have signs up
saying something like hit-and-run skiing is illegal, not that I have
ever been run into. They also mention that skiing in closed areas
or outside the area boundaries will loose you your lift ticket.
--
remember, if you do it yourself, sooner or later you'll need a bigger hammer
Ken Shoemaker, Santa Clara, Ca.
{pur-ee,hplabs,amd,scgvaxd,dual,qantel}!intelca!kds
---the above views are personal.jtb@desoto.UUCP (John Burgess) (12/16/85)
In article <425@tekcbi.UUCP> jimb@tekcbi.UUCP (Jim Boland) writes: > >My daughter is on the ski team at her high school and they had to >attend a mandatory safety meeting sponsored by the area ski patrol >last night. I had to drive her there and ended up listening to the >presentation. There were a few major points I thought would be of >interest to net.rec.ski-ers. ... > >What do you people think??? Has anyone run into (almost run into) you >from above and then cussed you out because you were "in their way" >and so it was "your fault"? No, but I've seen many other people hit, or almost get hit and fall down wondering what whizzed past them. I may ski faster than many, but I'm ALWAYS in control, and looking out for what's coming up in front -- and to the extent possible, who's coming down on me from above. Some other safety rules I follow: 1) When entering from a side trail, STOP ON THE SIDE before cruising out into the middle. 2) Never stop after a blind drop-off (unless you or someone else falls! 3) stop BELOW your companion who is already stopped (esp. if fallen!) etc. etc. use common sense! -- John T. Burgess, Jr. (NOTE NEW JOB!) AT&T, Bell Laboratories (PY 2G-201) uucp: {ihnp4 or other NAC site}!{desoto or cord}!jtb phone: (201) 981-7119 (cornet 246-7119)
jimb@tekcbi.UUCP (Jim Boland) (12/19/85)
There were two main reasons why I posted the original article.
1. To let you know that some resorts are getting serious about
enforcing some rules (in their own way)
2. To increase awareness among those of you who will be going out
during the holidays of the need to be conscious of safety at all
times while skiing. Especially so during the holidays when there
will be many people out there who won't be concerned with safety
and many others who don't care or are ignorant of the rules, even
tho they may be on the ticket (who reads them except for the word
of the day) and posted on signs everywhere.
The responses I have received indicate that I have succeeded on both points.
Anyway, ski safely this season. Everyone else will be glad you did.