Tips for avoiding snowboarders

[Susan L]

My issue with boarding was that I have very good balance, former gymnast, but my edge control was ####. Pitch forward (how I broke my wrist), pitch back. I'm glad if boarding to skiing makes sense, but I can tell you skiing to boarding is not logical at all, at least for me.

I still remember my first snowboarding lesson. We spent most of the class learning how to fall correctly lol

 

[snoWYmonkey]

My heart always aches a little when snowboarders are being bashed. I have been hit three times....all three times it was by skiers! The best days of my life on snow were chasing after snowboarders. They read the mountains like a playground instead of the monotonous lines many skiers opt for. I struggle more with idiotic skiers on wide planks straightlining on non powder days out of control, than I do most snowboarders. I find middle aged men on their ski vacations more unpleasant to deal with than the kids on their boards so stoked to be out there enjoying the mountain. Anyhow, I still ride my skis, and my husbands still skis, when he is out on his board. Maybe, though I don't really believe it, the cultures are different, but I think it is a bit like all our current divisions, more about creating differences when there really are not too many that truly matter. Thankful there are a few ski areas that ban boarders so the people that hate them so much can be kept away from the places I love to share with those who just love to glide on snow, no matter what tool they use.

 

[marzNC]

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.

I take it you've never skied in the southeast or mid-Atlantic. The smaller mountains in that region are sometimes mostly snowboarders. But there is little, if any, off-piste terrain. So not likely to have accidents involving anyone popping out of the trees unexpectedly.

 

[rhymeandreason]

Other way around - you want the dominant foot downhill because you want weight forward, just like we want on skis. That was my problem learning to snowboard, turns out I'm goofy, so when I was strapped in regular I had no control - like you I thought the stronger leg should be behind, thinking it steers and provided the main propulsion on the flats. But you will automatically put more weight on your dominant leg, so if that's the back of the board, it's just as problematic as sitting back on your skis. It was the worst of both worlds, my dumb left foot couldn't steer and all my weight was at the back of the board (right foot) so I kept shooting out of control.

Interesting! I have always heard that you want the dominant foot in back. And a quick perusal of google also says dominant in back. The fact that it doesn’t necessarily line up with right or left handedness must mean that it is more of an individual preference than handedness(footedness?).

 

[alison wong]

My heart always aches a little when snowboarders are being bashed.

I agree. I felt bad for snowboarders because they are treated like 2nd class citizens sometimes.
Last year I skied at Highlands, the mtn.ambassador (skier) ran into this snowboarder and made him fell. But he did not feel the need to apologize because the person is a snowboarder (his actual words were: "who cares, the guy is a snowboarder"....)

The best days of my life on snow were chasing after snowboarders. They read the mountains like a playground instead of the monotonous lines many skiers opt for.

Very well said....

 

[tinymoose]

I still remember my first snowboarding lesson. We spent most of the class learning how to fall correctly lol

They didn't address falling at all in mine. I think I'm a pretty good faller b/c gymnastics but when you get tired and messy after your 57th plus fall, yeah. I plan to try again but only with wrist, butt, and knee guards and it'll be terrain based learning, which locally means Camelback.

ETA: It's also possible I'm just too old at this point to learn a new trick.

 

[tinymoose]

My heart always aches a little when snowboarders are being bashed. I have been hit three times....all three times it was by skiers! The best days of my life on snow were chasing after snowboarders. They read the mountains like a playground instead of the monotonous lines many skiers opt for. I struggle more with idiotic skiers on wide planks straightlining on non powder days out of control, than I do most snowboarders. I find middle aged men on their ski vacations more unpleasant to deal with than the kids on their boards so stoked to be out there enjoying the mountain. Anyhow, I still ride my skis, and my husbands still skis, when he is out on his board. Maybe, though I don't really believe it, the cultures are different, but I think it is a bit like all our current divisions, more about creating differences when there really are not too many that truly matter. Thankful there are a few ski areas that ban boarders so the people that hate them so much can be kept away from the places I love to share with those who just love to glide on snow, no matter what tool they use.

I don't think there is anything inherently bad about boarding. There are #### boarders and #### skiers (I'm sure I'm a garbage skier compared to some). I think initially on the beginner-intermediate end, it's easier to learn how to ski vs boarding which is why I think boarders get a bad rap, b/c the low end is more difficult initially for boarding and I would say most people never invest the time to get past that. I will say, one night at race clinic, our coach invited a local boarding instructor in the course they'd set. Holy ####. The angles, and the carving on his board. Phenomenal.

 

[CarverJill]

Hmm...that is good to know. We want to one of these days to visit Heavenly but if it is full of boarders, maybe we will check out some of the other resorts around the lake...

I was just at Heavenly and there were tons of both, definitely all boarders. Big Bear AKA Bear Mountain in So. Cal. is another story.......I truly don't understand why people think boarding is cooler these days.

I snowboarded for over 10 years, started back in the 90's but haven't been on my board in about 7 years. I agree with everyone who says there are ###### boarders and ###### skiers. I have had amazing days on the slopes as the only skier among a bunch of boarders. Riding the lift with inconsiderate or beginner boarders can be tough. I absolutely hate when a boarder thinks its appropriate to sit with their foot holding up the board so it is parallel to the chair lift seats.

 

[ski diva]

I don't think there is anything inherently bad about boarding. There are #### boarders and #### skiers (I'm sure I'm a garbage skier compared to some). I think initially on the beginner-intermediate end, it's easier to learn how to ski vs boarding which is why I think boarders get a bad rap, b/c the low end is more difficult initially for boarding and I would say most people never invest the time to get past that. I will say, one night at race clinic, our coach invited a local boarding instructor in the course they'd set. Holy ####. The angles, and the carving on his board. Phenomenal.

I hate painting all boarders with the same brush, too. To be honest -- and this may sound sexist and/or ageist -- I think the most reckless behavior I see is done by high school/college-age males who are trying to impress their friends. To me, this seems to be the group that causes the most trouble, whether they're skiers or boarders.

 

[SallyCat]

I hate painting all boarders with the same brush, too. To be honest -- and this may sound sexist and/or ageist -- I think the most reckless behavior I see is done by high school/college-age males who are trying to impress their friends. To me, this seems to be the group that causes the most trouble, whether they're skiers or boarders.

Agree; though in the mid-Atlantic, that demographic tends to board more than ski, so it sort of feels as though there's something about boarders that's more dangerous. And good lord, that scraping sound behind you of a novice boarder trying to stop.....chills.

Btw, I made a dumb joke once on another forum about boarders being bad at chairlift chat and got shut down so forcefully that I stopped posting on that site. I stand by my anecdotal observations, though! Male or female, young or old, boarders are less likely than skiers to say anything on a chair and I think it's funny to imagine (i.e. totally make up) reasons why. Mwa-h-ha! .

 

[liquidfeet]

The following is from a ten-year study published in 2016:

"Collisions with another person, as a percent of all accidents, have not changed significantly over time, according to Dr. Shealy’s 10-Year Injury Study. Collisions with fixed objects (trees, lift towers, signage, fences, snowmaking equipment, etc), however, are on the decline. Roughly 7 percent of all incidents involve collisions with another person, and this rate has generally held steady since 1980. Collisions with fixed objects, however, have dropped from a high of 7.2 percent of all incidents in 1990 to 4.5 percent of all incidents in the 2010/11 ski season. Furthermore, according to Dr. Shealy’s study, skiers are more likely to be involved in a collision with another person than snowboarders. According to Dr. Shealy’s most recent 10- year Injury Study, skiers were nearly twice as likely as snowboarders to collide with another person. Of all incidents reported, 9.3 percent of incidents were skiers colliding with another person, compared to 4.8 percent of snowboarders colliding with another person."

The study was commissioned by the NSAA, National Ski Areas Association. Here's the pdf. https://www.nsaa.org/media/276230/Facts_on_Skiing__Snowboard_Safety_2016.pdf

I looked for a graph showing who causes collisions more often, but can't find that. The statistics for such a graph would have to come from lawsuits, I suppose. If settled out of court, then who is to blame would not be public. So I'm guessing there will be no such graph anywhere.

 

[liquidfeet]

The best way to avoid skiers and boarders who are out of control and likely to crash into you is to ski bumps. Snowboarders don't go into bumps as often as skiers. And most everyone skiing bumps is going pretty slow, looking intensely at where they are going.

Also, bumps are fun once you figure out how to go where you want and not shoot off to the side. At that point in your development, the quad burn also disappears. Bumps are so much more entertaining than crowded groomers full of danger approaching from behind.

The annoying issue is finding learner bumps at the mountain. If the mountain owners were serious about reducing collisions, they would leave some learner bumps on green terrain and advertise bump lessons like crazy.

 

[HikenSki]

I don't think there is anything inherently bad about boarding. There are #### boarders and #### skiers (I'm sure I'm a garbage skier compared to some). I think initially on the beginner-intermediate end, it's easier to learn how to ski vs boarding which is why I think boarders get a bad rap, b/c the low end is more difficult initially for boarding and I would say most people never invest the time to get past that.

My sister-in-law's brother boards and has been for years. He joins us every year and is great to ski with. He's around our age, has nothing to prove, and boards responsibly. He gets really annoyed as well with the same type of boarders we've discussed here.
Most of the boarders I see where I ski are of the much younger crowd. Middle and high school age packs of them with an occasional skier in the mix. College age packs drinking, hooting and hollering, and straight lining the runs. Never quite understood that. Sure, ya go fast but the runs are so short, I don't see it being worth it because you spend so much darn time in the lift line. I'm a stop and smell the roses kind of gal. Feel the skis, feel the wind, enjoy being outside...

 

[rhymeandreason]

The following is from a ten-year study published in 2016:

"Collisions with another person, as a percent of all accidents, have not changed significantly over time, according to Dr. Shealy’s 10-Year Injury Study. Collisions with fixed objects (trees, lift towers, signage, fences, snowmaking equipment, etc), however, are on the decline. Roughly 7 percent of all incidents involve collisions with another person, and this rate has generally held steady since 1980. Collisions with fixed objects, however, have dropped from a high of 7.2 percent of all incidents in 1990 to 4.5 percent of all incidents in the 2010/11 ski season. Furthermore, according to Dr. Shealy’s study, skiers are more likely to be involved in a collision with another person than snowboarders. According to Dr. Shealy’s most recent 10- year Injury Study, skiers were nearly twice as likely as snowboarders to collide with another person. Of all incidents reported, 9.3 percent of incidents were skiers colliding with another person, compared to 4.8 percent of snowboarders colliding with another person."

The study was commissioned by the NSAA, National Ski Areas Association. Here's the pdf. https://www.nsaa.org/media/276230/Facts_on_Skiing__Snowboard_Safety_2016.pdf

I looked for a graph showing who causes collisions more often, but can't find that. The statistics for such a graph would have to come from lawsuits, I suppose. If settled out of court, then who is to blame would not be public. So I'm guessing there will be no such graph anywhere.

The figure of 9.3% vs 4.3% is hard to interpret unless you know the ratio of skiers to snowboarders. What we care about is the relative rate, not the absolute rates. On a given day, I would guess there are twice as many skiers as snowboarders on the mountain. If that’s roughly correct, than skiers and snowboarders cause collisions at about the same rate.

What this study does make clear is that unsurprisingly, males are usually the ones at fault!

 

[GaSkier]

Does anyone think that a part of the problem with recklessness and safety issues by both skiers and boarders is listening to music through headphones loud enough that may make it tough to keep awareness of others? I am not against headphones and personal music, but I know that when I use my headphones to tune out the world, I really do lose awareness of everything external to my physical and mental self. I don't choose to listen to music while I ski. I like hearing the sounds around and letting my mind float. Plus I can hear others around me and I think it makes me a more considerate skier.

 

[MissySki]

Does anyone think that a part of the problem with recklessness and safety issues by both skiers and boarders is listening to music through headphones loud enough that may make it tough to keep awareness of others? I am not against headphones and personal music, but I know that when I use my headphones to tune out the world, I really do lose awareness of everything external to my physical and mental self. I don't choose to listen to music while I ski. I like hearing the sounds around and letting my mind float. Plus I can hear others around me and I think it makes me a more considerate skier.

I think it certainly could, depending how loud and how distracted one gets? I have ear pieces in my helmet that allow me to play music through it, and I do so from time to time. I keep it low, and there is nothing actually in my ears to block out noise around me, etc. I keep the volume so I can still carry on conversations on the lift etc. I don’t feel it makes me ski any differently, and therefore doesn’t make me any more of a risk to others around me. If I can’t hear someone as well coming behind me that might pose more of a danger to myself I guess, but I also can’t see behind me when skiing regardless which is why my responsibility is to the skiers down hill from me just as those behind me should be giving me the right of way as well.

 

[contesstant]

I hate painting all boarders with the same brush, too. To be honest -- and this may sound sexist and/or ageist -- I think the most reckless behavior I see is done by high school/college-age males who are trying to impress their friends. To me, this seems to be the group that causes the most trouble, whether they're skiers or boarders.

I rode the gondola with a patroller earlier this season and he commented that "the mountain would be a lot safer if we could get rid of the males 15-25 years old."

Maybe they should be required to pay more for their passes, and that extra money could be used for more speed control patrollers.

 

[HikenSki]

I rode the gondola with a patroller earlier this season and he commented that "the mountain would be a lot safer if we could get rid of the males 15-25 years old."

Ha! Much could be said of drivers of the same age group. Thus the reason car insurance is so darn high for this population!

 

[Jilly]

Back to the SB. Toe side or heel side doesn't matter for whether goofy or normal. It's the front foot. When you slalom waterski, you put your weight on the back foot and steer. In SB you put your weight on the front foot. I had a hard time with it to. The instructor kept saying forward, then it dawned on me. When you windsurf, you move the sail forward which puts your weight slightly forward. It's calle the on position. I mentioned that to her and she thought about it. When I did it, she asked me to go through it again so she would have it in her tool box of ideas.

I so agree that part of the problem whether snowboard or twin tippers is the age group. Remember we were all there once too.

 

[HikenSki]

Does anyone think that a part of the problem with recklessness and safety issues by both skiers and boarders is listening to music through headphones loud enough that may make it tough to keep awareness of others? .

Same reason I don't listen to music skiing or running. I like being aware of my surroundings. Music would prevent me from hearing the dreaded scrap of boarders or a screaming kid behind me coming up on my tail, or hearing someone coming up beside me and kindly letting me know they are passing. I know the kids are playing the music loudly. You can talk to them and they are completely oblivious. Many of them have those portable music boxes in their jacket or pack and blare music for everyone on the run. Ugh.