Skiing safely when you're the fast one on the trail

[liquidfeet]

When you are the fastest skier on a trail and you need to pass someone, what do you do? Clearly it happens to all of us. We come upon a slow beginner, or a parent with a short little child making kid-turns, or a large spread-out clump of weekenders taking up the whole trail for some distance.

What do you do to avoid becoming a weapon of mass destruction as you try to get around a roadblock? When do you stop, slow down, call out "on your right," or make a quick prediction of where a hole will appear and shoot through it? Do you consider yourself, as the uphill skier, the one potentially at fault should someone skiing inconsistently below you shoot out into your line?

I suspect people have lots of different strategies for this one.

 

[skigrl27]

I call "on your right/left" quite a bit. I'm usually the one bombing down the mountain. However, I do get a little pissed at beginners who are S turning across the entire trail - or on a catwalk making turns. While they DO have the right of way - they also need to remove their heads from you-know-where & realize they are creating problems for others.

Luckily we don't deal with too many big crowds out here - but the weekends get a bit crowded at Snowmass. So I just go elsewhere.

 

[Robyn]

Generally, I try as I'm approaching to see if the skier(s) have a rhythm that I can detect and time myself around, sometimes I have to stop to wait for them to spread out a bit and make the right hole. On a rare occasion I just squeeze myself in at the best time. It can be quite frustrating though. Especially if I'm trying to get my athletes through that clump and I've got 7 5 & 6 year olds that are faster but are nervous about making their way around the group.

 

[Jilly]

I try to figure out their path of travel or it's " a la droit" (on your right) or "a la gauche!" (left) I did hit someone 2 years ago because I thought that they were going to turn and didn't - my fault. Everyone OK.

 

[Telluride Ski Babe]

I too try to figure out their path so I can pass safely...with a lot of "on your right" "on your left" thrown in. Thankfully, I've got a nice, loud voice.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

According to the Skier Responsibility Code, the uphill skier has the responsibility to avoid the downhill skier - even if the downhill skier comes barreling out of nowhere.
I use the same verbage, but generally throw in "passing" i.e., "passing on your right" just in case the skier/rider/beginner ahead knows exactly what's upcoming and doesn't start moving right into my path on the right in case of misunderstanding.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Should also mention, as I just thought of it - was skiing toward a "funnel" (major narrowing) to a chair awhile back, group of 3 w/beginning rider ahead of me, so I just slowed it wayyyyyyy down until I could gingerly pass around. Sometimes this is just safer for all.

 

[Telluride Ski Babe]

...so I just slowed it wayyyyyyy down until I could gingerly pass around. Sometimes this is just safer for all.

Couldn't agree more! It's not fair to pass when it's just going to make someone more nervous than they already are. We all 'just learned' at some point in our life, so I really try to respect skiers' comfort levels.

 

[SueNJ]

Couldn't agree more! It's not fair to pass when it's just going to make someone more nervous than they already are. We all 'just learned' at some point in our life, so I really try to respect skiers' comfort levels.

Definitely agree! It wasn't too long ago that I was the one making those wide, slow, uneasy turns across the trails, so I always, always slow down a bit, try to gauge their turning rhythm, and let the person know I'm passing. It's a horrible feeling to have people barreling past you when you're trying to be the best beginner you can be.

 

[ski now work later]

My 11 year old still makes short radius snowplow turns when it gets steep and she doesn't know what to do, and I worry that someone will mow her down! I ski slowly and carefully around beginners and groups of teens hanging out on their boards, or whatever. Skiing mid-week gives me plenty of free space to rip without risking a collision!

Here is my youngest DD on the left in the light purple jacket:

 

[abc]

When you are the fastest skier on a trail and you need to pass someone, what do you do? Clearly it happens to all of us. We come upon a slow beginner, or a parent with a short little child making kid-turns, or a large spread-out clump of weekenders taking up the whole trail for some distance.

What do you do to avoid becoming a weapon of mass destruction as you try to get around a roadblock? When do you stop, slow down, call out "on your right," or make a quick prediction of where a hole will appear and shoot through it? Do you consider yourself, as the uphill skier, the one potentially at fault should someone skiing inconsistently below you shoot out into your line?

I suspect people have lots of different strategies for this one.

I didn't see this thread so posted about HOW I do it on the "being passed as a slow skier" thread instead. But...

I don't actually blast down the hill for the most part. So passing is more of a matter of, well, passing, SAFELY, that is.

"large spread-out clump of weekenders taking up the whole trail for some distance"

I wait. Until they're gone. If there're so many of them that they're never gone, I avoid that trail the next time.

If need to, pass on the edge of the trail. So you only need to look for them on one side. You can time you passing accordingly. Beginers don't actually ski VERY close to the edge. There're often still a narrow strip BEYOND what they consider the edge... A "safe" zone for me.

I admit I occasionally enjoy slaloming around the "trees" that moves (when they're not too tightly spaced, that is). I adopt a defensive position, always in balance so I can turn in any direction I desire. Actually, that's what I should be doing ALL THE TIME (ski in balance, not slaloming moving gate poles). :D

"Do you consider yourself, as the uphill skier, the one potentially at fault should someone skiing inconsistently below you shoot out into your line?"

Yes, there's no question about that.

I don't want to waste time argueing or educating every skier on the slope. I pick my way through, safely, so I get to ski other trails, hopefully less crowded ones. Sometimes the fastest way to get through the crowd is, well, slowly.;-)

 

[SkiNurse]

I'm also one that calls "left/right". While sometimes people thank me, others turn to "left/right"!! Yikes!

Or, I ski close to the edges or directly under thelift to give those skier room..since those are areas on the "crowded" slopes that newbies tend avoid.

In my head I play the old Atari game "Frogger". Yep, I make the sound effects. And I pretend that I am the frog trying to get across the road, avoiding all abstacles without being hit! :ROTF:

But, mostly, I avoid runs that have novice skiers and generally just have to deal with the at the end of the day.

 

[Robyn]

SkiNurse, that is so funny, I was skiing with a male friend of mine on Sunday at Copper and we were coming to the bottom of one of the runs off Super Bee and it was beyond crowded right there. In fact, I had a gaper dude come up from behind me at mach 10 ski right in front of me and then STOP, dead. Holy smokes, it's a d*mn good thing that I can stop on a dime cause I almost rammed into him. Of course, it was at the beginning of a cat track so I got to do a bunch of skating because of his move. Anyhow, I got to the lift and my friend said "Well, that was like playing a game of Frogger!"

 

[Kimmyt]

I don't use words when passing someone (i.e. calling 'on your left' or whatever). I use them when cycling, but people on paths seem to react better to them. When people unfamiliar with them hear those calls, they either freeze up or even go in the totally wrong direction. If I'm on a slow skiing trail and someone looks dodgy, I slow down, even if it's almost to a stop, then once they initiate their turn away from my I dart past them. I have found myself using hand signals though, if I'm going to execute a turn out of my line to get past someone, I may stick my arm out slightly to indicate which direction I'm headed. Guess I got in that habit from cycling and kept it up. Heck, I even do it when I run now.

K.

 

[persee]

I guess luckily I havent' been in a position where I've needed to pass close to moving targets that often, however when I have been in a situation with a skiier or boarder who was being unpredictable I'll slow to try to guage then when I am passing if I think they might turn and make a problem I'll call out "on your right/left".

The worst situation I had recently, which I would have considered not completely my fault was a situation where I wasn't really "uphill" of the problem. narrower (but not really narrow part ) slope and I'm going along at a reasonable speed - notice a snowboarder on his bum on the right side (facing downhill) of the trail. Ok he's gonna sit there so I'll just keep going. As I'm about 10 feet up, he jumps up on his board and starts going straight left across the trail at me. I floored it and got away, but damn.

I think some of the same rules that apply to driving shoudl apply to skiing - ie use care when entering the roadway (or re-entering the trail!). Similarly the uphill skiier has responsibility - well in driving if you hit someone from behind you are by default "at fault", but there are occassions when this is not true because the other driver did something that made a collision impossible despite your driving by the laws and with care.

 

[SueNJ]

The worst situation I had recently, which I would have considered not completely my fault was a situation where I wasn't really "uphill" of the problem. narrower (but not really narrow part ) slope and I'm going along at a reasonable speed - notice a snowboarder on his bum on the right side (facing downhill) of the trail. Ok he's gonna sit there so I'll just keep going. As I'm about 10 feet up, he jumps up on his board and starts going straight left across the trail at me. I floored it and got away, but damn.

I think some of the same rules that apply to driving shoudl apply to skiing - ie use care when entering the roadway (or re-entering the trail!).

That's actually the fourth point in the skier's responsibility code: Whenever starting downhill or merging into a trail, look uphill and yield to others.

I see that all the time, particularly with snowboarders because they usually have to stop after unboarding the lift to buckle in, and way too often, they park themselves at the top of the trail, right in the middle, and just stand up and go when they're ready, without looking to see if someone is coming up from behind. I have no problem speaking up when that happens.

I guess since I've been driving for so long, and since I'm also a cyclist (on and off-road), I look before I go or merge and wait for it to be safe to go. If there's 2 trails merging, I always look uphill as far as I can on the other trail to see where I should be when the trails merge. Also, if I'm making a drastic change in direction while I'm skiing, I always glance uphill before I turn. I've been tempted to use hand/arm signals at those times, too--I wonder how many people would realize what I was doing.

 

[alaski]

I just slow down until I can pass safely. I want to trip people who don't slow down on crowded trails. If you're such a badass that you need to go Mach 10, you should be on the double blacks anyway, well away from the crowds.