Tips for avoiding snowboarders

[jenniferm]

I was reading the thread on how/whether ski resorts have gotten more dangerous lately and I completely agree. I'm also at the age where I really don't want an injury, especially one caused by some jackass running into me.

Really, really don't like snowboarders ( for all the reasons listed in the other thread--know-nothing "bro" boarders, greater likelihood of boarders being drunk, high or generally out of control etc.) and thought it would be useful to pool tips on how to minimize exposure to them. First, obviously, would be to only go to resorts that don't allow them--not a realistic possibility. Second, ski during the week and avoid holidays--getting to be more of a realistic possibility as I get more seniority ) Third, no night skiing - I wouldn't do that anyway.

But are there resorts that gets lots of boarders vs. resorts that get fewer? I was at Vail two weeks ago, not a lot of boarders; I was at Heavenly last year and I'm not going back. In the East, I avoid Hunter and Killington. Not a lot at Stowe when I was there, but it was years ago; I'd be concerned about Mt. Snow and Sugarbush but have no experience with either one.

Are there certain types of terrain that boarders don't like? Realizing that the general advice is to ski the less popular slopes, but that's not so easy to do if you don't know the mountain already.

I'd be interested in what others have come up with.

For those of you who know/love/do business with snowboarders, apologies in advance for the stereotyping. I'm in a "safety first" mode these days.

 

[rhymeandreason]

I ski at Park City/Canyons and I have noticed that there are more snowboarders at Park City vs Canyons. I think it's because of two reasons - snowboarders don't like places with a lot of cat tracks and traverses and they like good terrain parks. Canyons has more traverses than Park City and their parks are not as good as Park City's.

Even if Alta ever allowed boarders, I don't think they would enjoy it as much because of all the traverses. Some areas are just not as easy to get around for snowboarders.

I teach my kids to pass boarders on their front side, stay to the middle of the trail if they can see snowboarders doing jumps off the side, and to not to assume that snowboarders can see them. I would love to hear the perspective of a snowboarder on sharing the mountain with skiers.

 

[alison wong]

Thanks for starting this tread, I have the same question myself.

Of all the times I got hit on the slopes, they were all snowboarders except one (a kid skier on an icy slope). So I can relate. I become nervous when I am around snowboarders, then I reverted back to snow plow.

If there are snowboarders on a cat track and I am behind them, I usually call out: "right behind you." So they aware and won't make sudden movements... Other times, I just wait until they pass me.

On wider trail, I try to stay on one side and don't make wide turns. Other times, I wait to let them go first.

My question to add to the above thread:
I fell few times when I got off chairs with snowboarders.
How do you "politely" decline to share a chair lift with snowboarders? Let's say it is a busy day and lift line is very long, lifties are trying to fill all chairs....

 

[Susan L]

@alison wong If you ever have to share a chair with snowboarders, do NOT ever sit inbetween 2 boarders. Choose the side of the chair that has the most space once you get off and try to get out of their way as quickly as possible. Good snowboarders will unload faster than you can stand up. It is the newbies that you need to watch out for because they almost always will unload with their board perpendicular to the slope and will fall.
To avoid sharing the chair with snowboarders on a busy day, look for 2/3-some skiers around you and ask to join them before the lifties put you with snowboarders. In the event that the lifties put you with snowboarders, just say you need more space to unload. They cannot force you to ride with snowboarders and I’d rather have eyes burning into my back than to risk being injured by snowboarders getting off the lift.

 

[Susan L]

My experience is that California/Nevada are snowboarders States. It seems that most people there think it is more hip to snowboard and skiing is for older people. I also find most snowboarders there have no idea what they are doing but think they are all Shawn White.

 

[alison wong]

Good snowboarders will unload faster than you can stand up. It is the newbies that you need to watch out for because they almost always will unload with their board perpendicular to the slope and will fall.

Thanks for the tip! I notice newbie snowboarders tend to lean on me when they get off... causes me to fall....

 

[tinymoose]

Honestly, as someone who was hit (HARD) by a boarder years ago, I could as easily have been taken out by an out of control skier as I could have a boarder. I was taken out from behind by a board that fell at Blue Mountain here in PA, which is basically yahoo central. I still take a weeknight race clinic there and the only saving grace is on nights where we're running gates vs. doing drills on trails, the trail the gates are on is closed to regular traffic.

I think in general if you want to avoid people who are in over their head but don't know it... stay off groomed blues and blacks. I've seen a lot of out of control people straight-lining groomed blues and blacks, but I rarely see them in bumps or trees (not that we have many trees or bumps in PA).

 

[tinymoose]

It is the newbies that you need to watch out for because they almost always will unload with their board perpendicular to the slope and will fall.

I find this interesting b/c I tried snowboarding for one day, in the end I ended up with a hairline fracture to my wrist, b/c while I couldn't turn for ####, the one thing I could do was unload from the lift going straight with one foot strapped in and the other behind.

 

[alison wong]

I was told by someone that it takes longer for snowboarders to stop (vs. skiers). Is it true?

 

[dloveski]

I would like to say that Boarders are like cockroaches and should be banned (extermination seems inappropriate use of language).

That said, my three lovely children (who learned to ski young) were early adopters of boarding in the 1990s and went to the dark side. But two are coming back to skis.

I guess I've just accepted some things, like boarders on the hill and have learned to adapt. And a good terrain park is a blessing for segregating some of the young and immortals.

My boarder gripes: crappy boarders who scrape off the hill on powder days. boarders who straight-line fast down a run. boarders who cross a trail and don't look to their 'blind side'.

OK Boarders: those that smoke pot in the trees. those that politely let me have my line in the trees. good ones that carve pretty turns.

 

[Susan L]

I find this interesting b/c I tried snowboarding for one day, in the end I ended up with a hairline fracture to my wrist, b/c while I couldn't turn for ####, the one thing I could do was unload from the lift going straight with one foot strapped in and the other behind.

Were you already a skier before you tried snowboarding?

 

[Christy]

Yes, some places draw fewer boarders and fewer young people in general. Sun Valley, for one. The population skews older there--there are lots of retirees. I do see more boarders and young people than I used to, no doubt due to the Mountain Collective. It used to be if I did see a boarder they were the most beautiful rider you'd ever seen. Now I see more, but not as many as most places. Locally my home resort, Crystal Mt, draws fewer because they only have a not very exciting terrain park, whereas other local resorts have half pipes or bigger terrain parks. I heard something about Alterra moving and expanding the terrain park at Crystal, which would be awful.

I suspect that in general, you want to avoid the places that teenagers and college students have easy access to. More remote resorts=good. Resorts near a metro area or college town (Mt Baker would be the classic example of the latter)=not good.

And I'm sure someone will come on to say that we are generalizing, that all boarders aren't bad, and of course that is true. We are generalizing and there are exceptions like my lovely niece.

 

[Susan L]

I was told by someone that it takes longer for snowboarders to stop (vs. skiers). Is it true?

Untrue. I can hockey stop on both skis and snowboard. Assuming we are talking about newbie snowboarders, they need more space to slow down. Most that gets in your way are usually doing falling leaf on the heel side (they are facing forward) and they usually have to sway left/right or spin their tail perpendicular to the slope to stop and which way they spin depends on what their stance is. Stance is which foot is in the front (goofy=right, regular=left).

 

[Am716]

I patrol at a very tiny hill, so one can only gain so much speed on our runs and I am brand spanking new but I ski almost everyday that we are open at least for a couple hours and I have to say that of the collisions I have seen probably about 85% of them have been skiers hitting skiers. And it’s mainly been due to not being able to control speed/turning or just totally being oblivious to your surroundings. I have found a way bigger correlation with newbies on runs they shouldn’t be on than with snowboarders when it comes to collisions. That said, I am always a little extra careful when questionable snowboarders take off before me (or get on the chairlift ahead of me) simply because I feel a new skier has a little bit more control than a new boarder.

Again, I think my experience probably differs from many since my hill is soo small and speed and steepness is definitly not there compared to most places!

 

[rhymeandreason]

Is it easier for goofy snowboarders to ride the right side of the lift and for regular ones to ride the left? Or is it vice versa?

If you get on with a snowboarder, you can ask for his/her preference and give it to him/her. If they are more comfortable, they are less likely to fall and take you down. I usually wait for them to get off the lift first.

 

[alison wong]

Is it easier for goofy snowboarders to ride the right side of the lift and for regular ones to ride the left?

Not trying to be funny.....my question is: how do you know (spot) which one is goofy and which one is regular?

 

[Cantabrigienne]

I find that inconsiderate behaviour is more a function of age & gender and *generally* not so much about 1 vs 2 planks. At least at Whistler, a 15-30yo male on twintips and/or delusions of athletic exellence seems just as likely to pop out of the trees without looking at who is already on the slopes (so the general advice to stop at the edge of a run doesn't hold here, you're liable to be knocked out by someone who cut through the trees) and/or or go at way too high a speed at busy junctions/where there are kids etc.

My most recent injuries have, however, been caused by late middle aged male snowboarders (so my age (47) up to 60 or so) tho - I chalk that up to old(ish) white guy entitlement. One guy mowed me down *from behind* at the entrance to Easy Out, the teaching green on Blackcomb, yelling "watch out!" - not "from your right!" or anything directional. (After checking I wasn't hurt, he shot off at speed and in reasonable control, so it was not like he was an out of control total beginner - he had *some* capacity for control that he *chose* not to exercise around me. I am left surmising that he really thought I should get out of HIS way, because I should know someone needed the whole slope to turn from the back of my head.)

Another caught an edge in a rut when we were getting off a chair - general incompetence I suppose - and in both cases they said "are you hurt?" which is nice, but not "i'm sorry", which again, strikes me as an entitlement issue to not claim responsibility for one's own incompetence.

I'm also leery of being reflexively negative about snowboarders esp in places like CA that have a more diverse population than many ski-oriented parts of the country. It's seen as a more accessible sport than skiing for people of backgrounds that don't typically grow up skiing - so being anti-snowboarder inadvertently comes across as rather racist in some contexts. I learnt from going around with friends who ride rather than ski to be a bit more aware of avoiding their blind spots (e.g. not to turn near them when they're about to do a shoulder side turn)

 

[Susan L]

And I'm sure someone will come on to say that we are generalizing, that all boarders aren't bad, and of course that is true. We are generalizing and there are exceptions like my lovely niece.

Me I am both a snowboarder (for 12 years) and a skier (for 4 years). I still snowboard on heavy snow days but prefer to ski otherwise. I avoid other snowboarders like the plague...

 

[Cantabrigienne]

Not trying to be funny but real talk here: how do you know (spot) which one is goofy and which one is regular?

Allison - regular stance is left foot forward (body twist to the right because when you dismount you want your strapped in foot at the front), goofy is vice versa with right foot forward.
I tried learning snowboarding before skiing, but didn't know I was goofy at the time, so I had a really hard time trying to learn with left foot trying to lead.

 

[jenniferm]

I ski at Park City/Canyons and I have noticed that there are more snowboarders at Park City vs Canyons. I think it's because of two reasons - snowboarders don't like places with a lot of cat tracks and traverses and they like good terrain parks. Canyons has more traverses than Park City and their parks are not as good as Park City's.

Even if Alta ever allowed boarders, I don't think they would enjoy it as much because of all the traverses. Some areas are just not as easy to get around for snowboarders.

I teach my kids to pass boarders on their front side, stay to the middle of the trail if they can see snowboarders doing jumps off the side, and to not to assume that snowboarders can see them. I would love to hear the perspective of a snowboarder on sharing the mountain with skiers.

Thanks—very helpful as I m planning a trip to Park City in two weeks. Except you ve just convinced me to do The Canyons instead!