Question: "No Friends on a Powder Day" or "No Man Left Behind"?

[Native Vail Gal]

But your son can ski powder....right?:D

So, in addition to my above post, I have to say that when I have brought that random person to ski, it has not been on powder days. Those are very fair weather skiers and basically I'm showing them that there is life beyond the groomers!

I FULLY agree that when you "bring" or "coax" someone to come with you.....you don't leave them behind! Not cool AT ALL!!!!!

I don't typically go skiing with people that I plan on ditching! So.....I pretty much ski with whomever happens to be on the hill with me!

 

[persee]

I don't typically go skiing with people that I plan on ditching! So.....I pretty much ski with whomever happens to be on the hill with me!

If you ditched them you wouldn't have anyone to giggle with! :ROTF: And what fun would that be? :D

 

[Pequenita]

It's been interesting to read everyone's answers. Question: Do you think that a poll of men with the same question would have dramatically different results?

Men on a message board would all respond "No friends on a powder day."

What they would do in practice, however, would depend on whether they all can really ski powder.

 

[NannyMin]

Men on a message board would all respond "No friends on a powder day."

What they would do in practice, however, would depend on whether they all can really ski powder.

So true!

 

[vanhoskier]

If you ditched them you wouldn't have anyone to giggle with! :ROTF: And what fun would that be? :D

Being an Eastern skier, I'm not the best powder skier. So, I still do faceplants on occasion and I have lost my skis. These things are laughing matters when there is somebody there to share it with, and it all adds to the fun, but they can be frustrating if you are left on your own.

Communication is key. When I ski in a group, I always make sure everybody knows whether people will be waiting at certain pre-determined points along the run, or at the bottom. Asking the question, "What are you comfortable with on this run?" can establish what everybody needs/expects.

 

[Kiragirl]

also of the Eastern realm...I'm not a good powder skiier, need to learn more. But, I was happy when I was kind of dragged over to a closed trail that had powder (last spring) and the people waited up for me. phew it was hard, but I bought the first round at HH.

 

[tradygirl]

Those that ski together on powder days stick together for safety and break off....

Whoa - for a second I thought you said "safety break". Now that, my friends, is a whole different poll....

Am I the only one who noticed the divas who answer "no friend on powder days" are all hailing from Colorado?

Hey now...I'm a pure-blooded native Utard! And no, it's not the same thing.

 

[Native Vail Gal]

Am I the only one who noticed the divas who answer "no friend on powder days" are all hailing from Colorado?

But the Colorado locals don't have that problem. They're at home in their mountain. So when it dumps, it's everyone for herself.

Nope! Wrong! On so many levels!

It's in a Coloradan's NATURE to ski with her friends and watch out for those who may be experiencing something wonderful that they are not used to!!!!

You read this COMPLETELY incorrectly IMHO!

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

With my closest ski buddies, I'm usually the one who most loves the powder. But they're all comfortable with ice, which I'm definitely NOT. So, they wait for me in ice and I wait for them in the powder. I feel it's only fair play or I'd usually be left behind which I wouldn't be happy with!!! I'm a very social ski mouse and spend more time than I like skiing alone.

 

[ski now work later]

Being an Eastern skier, I'm not the best powder skier. So, I still do faceplants on occasion and I have lost my skis. These things are laughing matters when there is somebody there to share it with, and it all adds to the fun, but they can be frustrating if you are left on your own.

Communication is key. When I ski in a group, I always make sure everybody knows whether people will be waiting at certain pre-determined points along the run, or at the bottom. Asking the question, "What are you comfortable with on this run?" can establish what everybody needs/expects.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I am a big fan of the buddy system for kids and adults alike. Still new to powder skiing, I would not feel comfortable in very deep powder without a buddy to contact for help if needed.

If I were an expert powder skier, I would still want to establish an agreement before the run starts about whether or not we'll meet up at the bottom or at points along the way -- if there is cell phone service or another way to communicate a need for help, that would help me feel safer on my own. From what I've read, it's not safe to ski near trees in deep powder without a buddy as the wells can be very hungry.

And if I were an expert pow hound on a day when I was feeling frisky and selfish, I would probably make sure I only skied with skiers at my level and above who shared my same goals/protocols for safety.

Hope I get to test that theory one day ~

 

[IntheClouds]

I try never to leave someone behind. Lots of ways of accomplishing this. The make up of the ski area has a lot to do with how it's done & each can still ski variety of terrain & levels. Above treeline open or bowl areas are certainly much easier to leave no one behind.

Since I'm growing a skier, we cover lots of what ifs, terrain,& situational stuff. Besides falls, avalanches, treewells, someone could get hit by another skier/rider & be down & hurt. If you can't see 'em, you won't know. Does the other involved person even stop ? Or are they capable of helping ? The tree skiing in fresh snow absolutely requires following the rules of watching 1 skier go down & the 1st skier watching the next skier come down. Tree wells are a high incident of death when they happen. If your partner is doing their job right, you can live. I always recall the incident Eric & Rob DesLauriers describe in the their book Ski the WholeMountain, where Dean Decas lands in a treewell. Had those 2 skiers not been following the safety rules, Dean may not be alive for them to joke & tell stories about. So, we keep to the rule of no man left behind, and even then, sometimes someone gets split up. Plan B's need to exist.

Which brings up another subject for a thread. If you are playing line backer on the slopes behind your kid, if they lose you, (like you went down or were taken out) do they know what to do or where to go for help ? Do they know where to go for Mt. Safety or Ski patrol ? They were ahead & not sure where you got behind. Do they know where the Ski patrol office is ? What do they do if they find themselves alone without you ?

And the final question : If you are not hanging together , who's taking the photos of you or you of them for posterity or posting ?

 

[IntheClouds]

Ooops, I left out the reference to the thread earlier in the season where a Diva & many other volunteers spent many anxious hours & unmeasurable hard work searching for the woman who got seperated from her ski partner & did not show up at the end of the day. They may have been skiing as partners, but definately were not using tree ski protocol & cost many people much time, effort & worry as a result. Remember the angst our diva expressed ? What could they have done better to find her sooner ?

Fun is most had when had together, experienced & shared. Communication & back up plans are key. Don't have to be elaborate but just communicated. Which lift we headed to ?

So in growing a skier, I think about the safety measures he needs to know about for the age he is at, for as long as I have an influence. We keep to them. If we don't, then how could I expect him to chose the type of ski buddies that will practice the safety rules to make sure they all come home safe ? At some point in time, my influence runs out, but safe habits will hopefully be ingrained & part of self discipline.

 

[altagirl]

And the final question : If you are not hanging together , who's taking the photos of you or you of them for posterity or posting ?

This is why I almost never have pictures of powder skiing....

Tree skiing is definitely a concern. I won't ski anywhere near a tree over in Westward Ho alone. But the trees that we ski in other areas are trimmed and don't develop the same tree wells, or the lines I ski on powder days just don't have that as a danger. It's a matter of knowing the mountain, and the people I ski with on powder days are of the same mind, I guess. I'm very comfortable skiing alone on the mountain and I know they are too, so it's just not a big deal. If someone's going to try something hairy, they'd bring someone along and that would be a different scenario. Which is also part of why I selected both "no friends on a powder day" and "it depends" because there are occasions where you want to try a new drop or technical line, or want to take pictures (often the same thing...) and therefore you would stick together. BUT - usually (99% of the time) we all have no patience for that on the first few runs of a powder day and we're all headed off to our own personal favorite lines to get as much powder as possible because after a couple runs the best stuff will be gone and there's no time.

It's interesting because I remember a similar thread about mountain biking group etiquette on MTBR. My groups always go by speed - fastest people go first and wait up at intersections or the top of a climb for the rest, and go back if the others don't show up in a reasonable time. There were people absolutely horrified that we wouldn't put the slow people up front to set the pace and make sure they're doing alright. But it's just not how our group dynamic works. I'd do it differently if I was in a different group teaching beginners or something, but that's how our group does things (same people biking or skiing...) But our group... "theory" is: You're an adult and you're reasonably skilled at what you're doing. We have a general idea where you are. Unless you go missing for an extended period of time, everyone figures you're alright on your own. Maybe that's harsh, but I think all of us in the group are doing things we'd do alone without a second thought so it doesn't make sense to be too rigid with the buddy system unless you're doing something out of the ordinary.

 

[abc]

Agree with SkiDiva on this one! The East has had some Epic Powder Days this year, two of which I had the pleasure of skiing!!

Sorry SnowHot, if you were talking about the Stowe "dump", I was there.

And it was NOT fluffy powder. Snow, yes, powder, well...

I'd be quite happy to wait (I did). In fact, I'd rather wait for it to be packed down a bit by other, more eager skiers. It was so heavy I had to straight line it on anything but the steeper blacks. And most of you who knows me know I rarely straight line ANYTHING...

 

[Native Vail Gal]

****sigh!

Alas.....I love to live in the Rocky Mountains where powder is powder and friends don't let friends ski powder alone! (We're so kind here....at least those of us who are natives....or who got here as soon as they could (SKINURSE!!) )

Gotta Love a Colorado Diva!

 

[Sheena]

Sometimes I wish I would be left to ski by myself more often.

I know that I am slower and less aggressive right now than the people who usually ski with us. - The way I figure it it would be more fun fore everyone - I could ski at my pace, and not have to worry about people waiting for me and people would not have to get upset if I am poking my way down the slope.

Of course, there were some days when Mr. Sheena was very patient with me as I try to learn to ski powder and steeper slopes. And those were fun days.

 

[Native Vail Gal]

Sometimes I wish I would be left to ski by myself more often.

I know that I am slower and less aggressive right now than the people who usually ski with us. - The way I figure it it would be more fun fore everyone - I could ski at my pace, and not have to worry about people waiting for me and people would not have to get upset if I am poking my way down the slope.

Of course, there were some days when Mr. Sheena was very patient with me as I try to learn to ski powder and steeper slopes. And those were fun days.

Nah! You haven't skied with ME yet, Sheena! You would have a BALL...AND....I guarantee un-stoppable laughter!!!!!! I promise.........

 

[Sheena]

Nah! You haven't skied with ME yet, Sheena! You would have a BALL...AND....I guarantee un-stoppable laughter!!!!!! I promise.........

That sounds dangerous.

 

[Native Vail Gal]

That sounds dangerous.

Did you mean FABULOUS??????

 

[SkiNurse]

****sigh!

Alas.....I love to live in the Rocky Mountains where powder is powder and friends don't let friends ski powder alone! (We're so kind here....at least those of us who are natives....or who got here as soon as they could (SKINURSE!!) )

Gotta Love a Colorado Diva!

I wish I was a little faster!