Stupidest thing you've done on skis.

[Fluffy Kitty]

That was a snarky DJ on the bunny slope!

Yeah. So, what music would you play if you saw someone having sex in a gondola?

You win.

I second that... because it could also have been in a thread titled "Studliest thing you've done on skis". Interesting how there is an overlap between these two (from what I remember of EpicSki forums... too bad it's closed).

 

[Tvan]

I can't compete with the broken ankle, but...

We were skiing at Stratton and I had to take my skis off to get up the hill to the Sunbowl lift (after skiing there from the front side.) I snapped back in, got on the lift w/ DH and away we went up the hill. We were about half way up the mountain when DH looked down and said:

"Where is your other ski?"

Turns out, it was on the chair behind me, being brought up the hill by the next guy in line on the lift. Evidently, I hadn't snapped in firmly enough, and I left it behind when i got on the chair. I didn't even MISS it until DH noticed I wasn't wearing it.

The guys in the chair behind me took bets on when I'd notice and turn around.

Um, yeah. *That* was pretty stupid.

 

[SallyCat]

Yeah. So, what music would you play if you saw someone having sex in a gondola?

 

[mountainwest]

My very first time on the bunny slope with no idea what I was doing, with an impatient group of intermediate/advanced guys who weren't very interested in showing me, I just went straight down with my legs splitting farther & farther apart until I wound up skiing down with my butt just barely above the snow and my arms out like wings for balance. It must have looked REALLY funny, because some woman was dying laughing pointing at me. And that made me start laughing so hard too that I lost the strength to try to stand back up.

 

[MsWax]

Not me, but last winter I spent a lot time early in the season on the bunny slope, teaching my 3-year-old to ski. I can't believe how many people who have NEVER skied before and don't have a CLUE what they are doing get on a chair lift!!! There was a 30-something woman who kept sliding down the hill as she tried to get up. I took pity and tried to help, telling her to point her skis to the side and offering her an arm up. She told me she had no idea what she was doing. Why don't people take a lesson??? It was pretty rewarding when my 3-year-old was skiing circles around those people, though...

 

[MsWax]

My stupidest moment was when I finally decided to have my 3-year-old "graduate" from the bunny slope to the big mountain. It was a powder day and snow was slow, so I thought it was a good opportunity. There was about 3" on the ground on the bunny hill, and he was doing great, so I psyched him up for big mountain and off we went. Unfortunately, there was about 6" on the ground at the top of the lift, combined with the steepest part of the whole trail just off the lift. He freaked out! I couldn't get him to go more than 100 ft down the trail. We had to wait on the side the of the trail for my husband to meet us (with our older kids) so he could carry the little one's skis down the mountain, and I could carry our 45 lbs (without ski clothes/gear) 3-year-old down the mountain. My arms were sore for a week!

The funniest part was I was terrified I'd scarred him for life and he'd never want to go skiing again, but we get to the bottom and he's all proud of himself for "going down the big mountain!" Thankfully, the next time we up that lift (a week later), he went down on his own 2 skis!

 

[newboots]

I downloaded SkiTracks last year and barreled down a familiar, but challenging, trail. 50 mph. Good thing nobody got in my way, because I had no control at all.

Idiotic. I didn’t use it again and probably won’t! (I did, however, save the screenshot)

 

[Tvan]

@newboots ... I have an interesting record in my Ski Tracks, too.



See that red squiggle? That's what happens when you go too fast under the covered bridge (lower left), freak out, crash and somehow slide backwards. Still can't explain it.

This was day I learned why some people don't use the straps on their ski poles. Sprained my thumb quite expertly.

 

[newboots]

@newboots ... I have an interesting record in my Ski Tracks, too.


View attachment 7573
See that red squiggle? That's what happens when you go too fast under the covered bridge (lower left), freak out, crash and somehow slide backwards. Still can't explain it.

This was day I learned why some people don't use the straps on their ski poles. Sprained my thumb quite expertly.

Ouch!

Did you crash in the trees? From the squiggle, I imagined you went uphill!

I don't have complete faith in the app. It didn't really seem likely that I was going that fast. Even for a moment or two (which is all it means - it's not the average!).

 

[VickiK]

Not watching where I was going. Skiing slowly, I turned to shout a parting 'goodbye' to a friend and skied onto a bush, stopped by my thigh hitting a branch that was too big to bend. Ouch.

 

[badger]

Falling over from a totally standing still position. I'd been observing my granddaughter in a snowboard lesson for several minutes; must have lost my center of balance while gazing into the distant part of the slope.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Falling over from a totally standing still position. I'd been observing my granddaughter in a snowboard lesson for several minutes; must have lost my center of balance while gazing into the distant part of the slope.

I've had this happen! Almost. I was skiing a pretty steep hike-to run. Friends of mine had hiked farther and were skiing an extremely steep and rocky area. I wanted to get a picture, so I was standing on maybe a 45* slope, trying to focus on them through the camera viewfinder. Started getting vertigo, bad. Tipping over at that spot would have been bad news ...

 

[liquidfeet]

I've fallen over while standing on the side of the trail, stationary, many times. No vertigo. I think it has to do with floppy feet and legs, and hips too. I've got hypermobile feet according to bootfitters, and I don't like to stand still, so I must be moving my ankles or something. I'm not even aware of it. I've dropped over while standing in a group with a trainer talking to us (in my instructor jacket no less) more than once. SO embarrassing. I've dropped over while standing on the side of a trail with a chairlift nearby, and gotten cheers. I bowed.

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

(FWIW, and having done it a few times, I'm inclined to think that falling over while standing still does not quite meet the definition of "stupid". It's usually a physiological/neurological phenomenon, rather than a result of, say, knuckleheadedness or unthinkingness, like driving too fast on slushy road. Embarrassing, maybe, but only around wrong company. Like anything one does because of actual lack of intellectual capacity or because of scarcity of good information. Of course, if there is some basic technique that would prevent it from happening, and we forget to or refuse to deploy it, that would be different.)

 

[liquidfeet]

Now that I'm disclosing, I might as well reveal that I can't walk in a straight line. I weave left-right, and sometimes stumble on flat surfaces, stubbing my toe or something. Sober.

So at this late date in my life I've realized that I wobble-walk. Whatever is causing that probably affects my skiing. And it's probably related somehow to the random falling over while standing on the side of the trail. Thank goodness I don't fall over while standing on kitchen floors.

It sure feels "stupid" when it happens.

 

[Jenny]

Now that I'm disclosing, I might as well reveal that I can't walk in a straight line. I weave left-right, and sometimes stumble on flat surfaces, stubbing my toe or something. Sober.

So at this late date in my life I've realized that I wobble-walk. Whatever is causing that probably affects my skiing. And it's probably related somehow to the random falling over while standing on the side of the trail. Thank goodness I don't fall over while standing on kitchen floors.

It sure feels "stupid" when it happens.

Do you get better if you drink? (Like Johnny Fever, in the old WKRP episode . . .)

 

[badger]

(FWIW, and having done it a few times, I'm inclined to think that falling over while standing still does not quite meet the definition of "stupid". It's usually a physiological/neurological phenomenon, rather than a result of, say, knuckleheadedness or unthinkingness, like driving too fast on slushy road. Embarrassing, maybe, but only around wrong company. Like anything one does because of actual lack of intellectual capacity or because of scarcity of good information. Of course, if there is some basic technique that would prevent it from happening, and we forget to or refuse to deploy it, that would be different.)

Standing around with feet mounted to skis for long periods of time can cause one to get bored enough to stop constantly adjusting one's stance to accommodate for the stagnation. If you're not moving even a bit, falling over is pretty easy. Quite embarrassing too.

 

[CarverJill]

As a kid I was on a lift and as it took me above an old instructor I thought it would be funny to bang my skis together and knock snow on her head. Apparently I hadn't put my ski on property and banging them together caused one ski to fall on her head!I was super embarrassed while I waited at the top for her to bring me my ski.

I agree @newboots Ski tracks can be very inaccurate especially about slope. That number specifically seems really inaccurate. I've been down the same trail as a friend and our ski tracks registered totally differently, like almost 10 degrees differently. The fastest I have had mine register is 54.6 mph I think and I was mostly in control.