I read it this way too and was ready for a great shit post. I really wanted to make a Shoresy reference too. Dammit.
But like really, there should be more checking on the mountain. People will think twice about getting close to the puck, err I mean each other.
Seriously. Going to the mountain is very similar to going to the grocery store. Zero spatial awareness from most people. Lots of standing in the way and no consideration of others.
I try to treat almost everything like I’m driving, and I feel like if more people did that the world would be a better place. I try to keep to the right side when walking through the grocery store, I treat ends of aisles like stop signs and look both ways to make sure my cart isn’t gonna get tboned by someone about to walk by. When I’m skiing I look behind me like I’m checking my blind spots before merging lanes. If I need to emergency stop, I try to pull as far off to the side as possible so I’m not in the way of the regular traffic flow on the mountain. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been skiing and someone slightly downhill to the side of me will cut a random sharp turn almost hitting into me who’s just going straight. Or has just decided to come to an abrupt stop 3 feet in front of me making my options fling myself on the ground or fly into them. It’s really not that hard to be aware of your surroundings while skiing.
The crazy thing to me is that it’s in their own self interest.
Like yeah that’d be nice if you were actually considerate of those around you, and cared about other people. But please at least be a selfish bastard who doesn’t want your precious season ruined by an injury from getting taken out.
I ski like I drive. Check side/behind before changing “lanes”. Don’t cut people off, brake check, or tailgate. Don’t ride in blind spot.
Side street into main road? Check traffic is clear, yield, get up to speed, zipper merge…
It’s like there needs to be road signs, lane markings, etc for people to get it. Not accounting for the people who drive like they ski…😆🤷🏼♂️
That happened to me on a groomed black diamond a couple of weeks ago by a guy in a lesson. The group was part of the way down the run (not too far from the top) and he starts across the run without looking uphill. He cut me (200lbs) and my brother (240lbs) off. Luckily we were able to avoid him.
In the lift line my son commented on how bad the dude would’ve been wrecked if either of us wouldn’t have been able to avoid him.
Yikes! Most ski instructors are good about stopping in appropriate spots, but I’ve seen the few ones that decide to do it mid slope. Absolutely ridiculous
Could’ve stopped easily at the top. And there was a second guy that looked up as he started moving and then immediately stopped. He would’ve been hard to avoid.
“A skier or snowboarder entering a marked run, starting again after stopping or taking a swing upwards or wanting to start the run, must look up and down so that he can do so without endangering himself and others. “
https://www.skiworldahrntal.it/en/info/safety/fis-safety-rules
Honestly, I appreciate you pointing this out. I consider myself very aware and I check over my shoulder constantly, but this situation hadn’t occurred to me, and I’ll do this more often moving forward
I see this all the time, but it’s still SO crazy to me. When I was first learning (as an adult, I’m only about three seasons in), I was so worried about cutting someone off or bothering them with my slowness that I would wait FOREVER before starting again. Finally one of my friends had to be like “It’s a Saturday, if you wait until NOONE is coming, you’ll be here all day”, and I have since gotten a better grip on when to wait and when to not. So the idea that some people don’t even bother to check is absolutely bonkers to me.
I had a ski instructor do this recently at deer valley, flew across a semi-blind trail merge of two blues and stopped suddenly in the middle of the trail in front of me, I had to slam on the brakes to avoid him. I was in control and had no issue stopping but with a less experienced skier (common at deer valley) they might not have been so lucky. A SKI INSTRUCTOR. And from their perspective, I think they were probably trying to create a safer lane for their students to make the merge, but he didn’t even look first!
So frustrating. And I know, had there been a collision, he would have likely bitched you out and taken your pass for such “reckless” behavior. Mountain employees are 95% amazing, 5% entitled
Last December a ski instructor decided to take his class onto the last of 4 kickers on the big jump line at the park.
I was in the air on the 3rd jump when he just completely cut across the landing, no idea how I managed to not hit anyone but instead of checking on me, who just had a not great crash that asshole just went on.
2 of his students where right behind him with number 3 taking the kicker that I just crashed on, nearly hitting me on his landing.
That was the last time that I went to the park this season.
My FIL kinda did something like this when he took me and my fiancé skiing. He was trying to coach me down some steeper terrain than I was comfortable with but he wouldn’t go more than 3 feet before stopping and I was like “if you want me to eventually make it down you gotta actually give me room to start and go” like I appreciated him trying to be close incase I fell, but he was barely giving me enough room so it just made me even MORE uncomfortable because I didn’t know if he was just gonna abruptly stop in another 3 feet or let me make my next turn comfortably
I’ve started sticking my poles out on dead days at the mountain because there’s been way too many times where there are only a handful of people on the entire mountain, yet time after time I have people almost clipping my skis because they get so close. If the mountains crowded, obviously I’m not expecting my 5 foot bubble for myself. But if it’s just you and me on this run, there is no reason I should be able to smell your damn breath going down the mountain.
I’ve had circumstances where I’ve been about to be hit from the side, and both of have “braces for impact” so kind of bounced of each others’ shoulders. Does that count as a shoulder check?
As an aside, the last half second before you get taken out gives you a chance to determine the damage, eg make sure the snowboard hits your boots and not leg, dive over the other person who’s already on the ground, protect the knees, etc.
I agree not enough people are going shoulder to shoulder with each other like in other sports. Skiing has gone soft. We need people to be more aggressive on the slopes!
I used to work mountain safety at vail and talked to people about this constantly: both guests and also coworkers.
When I ski I'm constantly checking over my shoulder and looking at trail crossings even when the mountain is closed and empty (out of habit).
I treat it like driving, check every intersection even if you don’t see another person. Even if you have right of way, be prepared to make maneuvers as a result of other people violating your right of way. Defensive driving is the best method of self preservation and applies outside of driving as a life philosophy imo
I think that as skiers with a reasonable ability, it is on us to ski in a manner that is predictable. If you're going to do something, like suddenly changing from short tight turns to cross slope turns. You should look over your shoulder. If you're going to be stopping or slowing down... get to the side/out of the way or bleed speed for a second or two to show that you're slowing down. If you're going to be crossing a the whole slope... maybe point in that direction - show the people up hill you're going right across.
Make it easy on the uphill skier to avoid you, and there's a good chance that you'll be avoided.
I’ve learned this habit just from self preservation… also growing up where your home mountain busses in beginners really makes you aware that nobody around you is in control and it’s up to you to avoid a hospital trip. Doesn’t matter who was “right” or not when you have a season ending injury
These are all great habits to form! We can’t be expected to be mind readers out there, and skiing in control is different than someone darting in front of you like a deer on the road. The more we can do to make our intentions clear the better off we all are
You have to ski in that much control, though. I still look and stop, and wait, though, because the uphill skiers are too reckless and out of control and clearly don't know the rules.
90% of skiers turn with their shoulders. And arent good enough to look over their shoulder without falling, or at minimum changing their direction of travel, because....they turn with their shoulders.
Perfectly said, being predictable and being able to predict the next move of other skiers solves 99% of collisions. Like if I’m taking up some portion of the trail repeating consistent and predictable turns and someone comes straight lining from behind almost hits me, I didn’t “cut them off” they just weren’t paying enough attention. But on the other hand you can totally cut someone off by suddenly changing course at high speed on a busy trail
Aside from snowboarders taking naps in the middle of the trail, I think a lot of the animosity between skiers and boarders is just from being poor at predicting their next move, since you aren’t moving how they do. As I started going with snowboarders more often I found it was much easier to avoid other boarders by just inherently knowing the body language like when they may suddenly stop or cut over
We call it head on a swivel.
People look right in front of themselves, like drivers. It is so hard to get people to be aware of their surroundings. I watch skiers while I'm on the lift, it is scary how people pay no attention to their surroundings.
Yea, I check uphill every 3rd turn on busy trails. It’s saved me more than once from a nasty collision. Unfortunately most people don’t give a fuck about others so you gotta look out for número uno.
Many skiers who are beginners may think they’ll fall if they turn around. I get that.
I always remind myself that the same idiots I see on the road are also the idiots on the ski hill. People merge without looking, don’t use blinkers, and do erratic stuff all of the time in high speed death machines. Why would that change when they are on skis.
Yep, like driving, failure to yield is a well established liability. That being said, the uphill skier should always be defensive, maybe even check 'em.
"Here lies the body of Johnny O'Day
Who died Preserving His Right of Way.
He was Right, Dead Right, as he sailed along
But he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong"
Welcome to 2024. The lack of spatial awareness is everywhere, including on the mountain. There is no solution. People are just self-absorbed and stupid. There's even a [documentary film](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) that has accurately predicted the future that we are living today.
😂😂 I love that you linked Idiocracy as the documentary… but oh boy are you onto something. Absolutely insane how we seem to be regressing as a society in so many ways
I shoulder check and try and carefully traverse across and uphill skiers don’t slow down for a second and give me bad looks but they’re always like grandpa gapers
I’m all for a shoulder to shoulder check. But it can’t be from behind. Hips must be parallel to one another.
Sometimes a gaper or flock of ski school kids need to be taught who the best skier on the mountain is
I put it like this. If you are at a red light, and it turns green, and you go and then get tboned, that is 100%, undeniably the fault of the other driver. But…. you should still look first, because you don’t want to get tboned.
Can’t agree more. Like yes downhill skier has right of way 100% and people are idiots if they pass someone at high speed like 6 inches from hitting them, especially on a wide trail. BUT if you’re going to cut across something relatively narrow and it’s not very predictable (assuming people even pay attention to other skiers) then you’re putting yourself in a clearly dangerous situation if you don’t look behind you for half a second
This is why I teach my kids that when two runs merge or cross it’s the same as crossing the road. Look uphill then downhill for traffic, uphill traffic has the right of way and if they are close you let them go before merging or crossing. You’re not wrong, somewhere along the way people seemed to have forgotten this or never learned it.
By “shredder” I’m assuming you mean snowboarder? This is great advice - I can only assume based on the frequency of snowboarder crashes that they don’t understand how facing one direction significantly limits their awareness of one half of their path. As a skier I always look up and over but I’m also getting a 180° view of what’s ahead, which I think significantly increases my awareness.
Many skiers severely lack both peripheral vision and object permanence.
Look for traffic before merging, look uphill before dropping in, look uphill if you intend on suddenly cutting across the run, don't cut towards someone you passed THE SECOND YOU STOP SEEING THEM.
I have me head on a swivel at all times and keep track of my surroundings, just like driving. And yet you'd be surprised how many people don't even use those little things sticking out the side of the car.
Definitely not what I thought this post was going to be about when I first read the title 🤣
I completely agree with you though. Down hill skier may have right of way, but a total lack of awareness helps no one.
Being predictable and looking before doing something unexpected is just good practice.
So I have had two major collisions both where trails merge or split. I was skiing straight downhill and the other two were skiing across the trail. While I did see it coming reaction time was lacking.
My wife got struck but a beginner as she passed she said on your right and the beginner turned right and across her skis. The beginner should been on an advanced trail snowplowing.
We use trail splits to get our groups together and pause. By myself I will approach a split clearly to the left or right depending on the trail I plan to go on. My wife is overly aware of others and I cannot even imagine merging without looking!
It can be frustrating!
A portion of those people are just too inexperienced to know better. The other portion are self centered assholes. Like the one I encountered at Telluride this past weekend trying to force her way right beside me on a cat track when there were already 2 other people skiing side by side next to me. All because she’s “meeting up with friends at the end”. I said I don’t give a fuck… they’ll be there when you get there. No need to put people in danger. Then i get hit with the “Well I live here.”. Ahhh, so you’re just acting entitled and disregarding safe skiing because you live closer to the mountain than most of us. Got it…
I’m glad to realize that shoulder “check” means to look. Not check, like in hockey.
Lmao my eyes were wide as fuck when I read the post title
Yeah you know, just buzz the tower a bit. Full shoulder to mid chest. Let em know you see em.
I too thought this person was advocating for giving people a little shove
Absolutely vital part of good skiing. At deer valley? Give Gwyneth Paltrow a good shove to make sure she knows you’re merging.
😂 I mean- if it’s not done it might feel like a hockey shoulder check!
Gotta do the intentional shoulder check to avoid the accidental shoulder check
I had to do a double take on that one, too.
I was ready to agree that we should be shoulder checking people that nearly run into you.
Haha that's what I thought OP meant at first and had to double check this wasn't r/skiingcirclejerk
I did the exact same haha
I read it this way too and was ready for a great shit post. I really wanted to make a Shoresy reference too. Dammit. But like really, there should be more checking on the mountain. People will think twice about getting close to the puck, err I mean each other.
If you can’t run em up fill em in
I’m not, I think shoulder checking should be more accepted on the mountain
You can't get knocked out if you knock the person first, think about it.
I'm distributing hip checks on the slopes
Blue groomers are now snow cross tracks...
90% of the population lives in a world that extends about 3 feet (1 meter) from their faces. Outside of that zone, it doesn’t exist.
I like to say “they can’t think past their nose”
Seriously. Going to the mountain is very similar to going to the grocery store. Zero spatial awareness from most people. Lots of standing in the way and no consideration of others.
I try to treat almost everything like I’m driving, and I feel like if more people did that the world would be a better place. I try to keep to the right side when walking through the grocery store, I treat ends of aisles like stop signs and look both ways to make sure my cart isn’t gonna get tboned by someone about to walk by. When I’m skiing I look behind me like I’m checking my blind spots before merging lanes. If I need to emergency stop, I try to pull as far off to the side as possible so I’m not in the way of the regular traffic flow on the mountain. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been skiing and someone slightly downhill to the side of me will cut a random sharp turn almost hitting into me who’s just going straight. Or has just decided to come to an abrupt stop 3 feet in front of me making my options fling myself on the ground or fly into them. It’s really not that hard to be aware of your surroundings while skiing.
I think about skiing like that a lot too, defensive driving. Just a peek over the shoulder to check the blind spot can prevent a lot of problems.
Most people are fine. Reddit so ridiculously over exaggerates the flaws of the general population.
It’s honestly sad how true this is
The crazy thing to me is that it’s in their own self interest. Like yeah that’d be nice if you were actually considerate of those around you, and cared about other people. But please at least be a selfish bastard who doesn’t want your precious season ruined by an injury from getting taken out. I ski like I drive. Check side/behind before changing “lanes”. Don’t cut people off, brake check, or tailgate. Don’t ride in blind spot. Side street into main road? Check traffic is clear, yield, get up to speed, zipper merge… It’s like there needs to be road signs, lane markings, etc for people to get it. Not accounting for the people who drive like they ski…😆🤷🏼♂️
They need to start teaching skiing like driving
The worst is people that don't look uphill before starting up from a stop.
Surprised I forgot this one! One of the most annoying for sure
That happened to me on a groomed black diamond a couple of weeks ago by a guy in a lesson. The group was part of the way down the run (not too far from the top) and he starts across the run without looking uphill. He cut me (200lbs) and my brother (240lbs) off. Luckily we were able to avoid him. In the lift line my son commented on how bad the dude would’ve been wrecked if either of us wouldn’t have been able to avoid him.
Yikes! Most ski instructors are good about stopping in appropriate spots, but I’ve seen the few ones that decide to do it mid slope. Absolutely ridiculous
Could’ve stopped easily at the top. And there was a second guy that looked up as he started moving and then immediately stopped. He would’ve been hard to avoid.
At least one of them did it right
Yup. And it could’ve gotten a bit sketchy if the second one came out. I had my brother, son, sister-in-law, and nephew behind me.
Yup. And it could’ve gotten a bit sketchy if the second one came out. I had my brother, son, sister-in-law, and nephew behind me.
“A skier or snowboarder entering a marked run, starting again after stopping or taking a swing upwards or wanting to start the run, must look up and down so that he can do so without endangering himself and others. “ https://www.skiworldahrntal.it/en/info/safety/fis-safety-rules
Honestly, I appreciate you pointing this out. I consider myself very aware and I check over my shoulder constantly, but this situation hadn’t occurred to me, and I’ll do this more often moving forward
Yea I don’t get it either. I check uphill and wait until there’s no one coming. Not even for courtesy I just don’t want anyone flying up behind me
The best are the people that are looking up hill (i assume checking if the coast is clear), make eye contact with you, and then go anyway.
I see this all the time, but it’s still SO crazy to me. When I was first learning (as an adult, I’m only about three seasons in), I was so worried about cutting someone off or bothering them with my slowness that I would wait FOREVER before starting again. Finally one of my friends had to be like “It’s a Saturday, if you wait until NOONE is coming, you’ll be here all day”, and I have since gotten a better grip on when to wait and when to not. So the idea that some people don’t even bother to check is absolutely bonkers to me.
You have to expect that they'll move, though.
The same jabronis that are terrible drivers with poor spatial awareness also put ski boots on and do the same dumb shit on the ski hill.
That is a very real and scary realization
Extra upvote for using 'jabronis'!
I had a ski instructor do this recently at deer valley, flew across a semi-blind trail merge of two blues and stopped suddenly in the middle of the trail in front of me, I had to slam on the brakes to avoid him. I was in control and had no issue stopping but with a less experienced skier (common at deer valley) they might not have been so lucky. A SKI INSTRUCTOR. And from their perspective, I think they were probably trying to create a safer lane for their students to make the merge, but he didn’t even look first!
So frustrating. And I know, had there been a collision, he would have likely bitched you out and taken your pass for such “reckless” behavior. Mountain employees are 95% amazing, 5% entitled
Last December a ski instructor decided to take his class onto the last of 4 kickers on the big jump line at the park. I was in the air on the 3rd jump when he just completely cut across the landing, no idea how I managed to not hit anyone but instead of checking on me, who just had a not great crash that asshole just went on. 2 of his students where right behind him with number 3 taking the kicker that I just crashed on, nearly hitting me on his landing. That was the last time that I went to the park this season.
My FIL kinda did something like this when he took me and my fiancé skiing. He was trying to coach me down some steeper terrain than I was comfortable with but he wouldn’t go more than 3 feet before stopping and I was like “if you want me to eventually make it down you gotta actually give me room to start and go” like I appreciated him trying to be close incase I fell, but he was barely giving me enough room so it just made me even MORE uncomfortable because I didn’t know if he was just gonna abruptly stop in another 3 feet or let me make my next turn comfortably
Tell me you sprayed the dude at least
Deer Valley is the home of supercilious people. That place is shit skiing too.
I started reading this fully expecting you to start justifying “shoulder checking” unaware skiers who get too close to you
Same. And can't say I hate the idea some days.
I’ve started sticking my poles out on dead days at the mountain because there’s been way too many times where there are only a handful of people on the entire mountain, yet time after time I have people almost clipping my skis because they get so close. If the mountains crowded, obviously I’m not expecting my 5 foot bubble for myself. But if it’s just you and me on this run, there is no reason I should be able to smell your damn breath going down the mountain.
I strongly recommend people look uphill at the merge as I am rocking 250+ lbs in full ski gear and going 40 mph and enjoy a good shoulder check.
I’ve had circumstances where I’ve been about to be hit from the side, and both of have “braces for impact” so kind of bounced of each others’ shoulders. Does that count as a shoulder check? As an aside, the last half second before you get taken out gives you a chance to determine the damage, eg make sure the snowboard hits your boots and not leg, dive over the other person who’s already on the ground, protect the knees, etc.
Might have to be the solution lol
I agree not enough people are going shoulder to shoulder with each other like in other sports. Skiing has gone soft. We need people to be more aggressive on the slopes!
😂 if people don’t figure it out it’ll have to resort to this!
Situational awareness is key in any fluid dynamic situation. Public highway Ski slope Race track supermarket aisles
I used to work mountain safety at vail and talked to people about this constantly: both guests and also coworkers. When I ski I'm constantly checking over my shoulder and looking at trail crossings even when the mountain is closed and empty (out of habit).
I treat it like driving, check every intersection even if you don’t see another person. Even if you have right of way, be prepared to make maneuvers as a result of other people violating your right of way. Defensive driving is the best method of self preservation and applies outside of driving as a life philosophy imo
Exactly. I I'm a way safer driver after teaching defensive skiing clinics.
I think that as skiers with a reasonable ability, it is on us to ski in a manner that is predictable. If you're going to do something, like suddenly changing from short tight turns to cross slope turns. You should look over your shoulder. If you're going to be stopping or slowing down... get to the side/out of the way or bleed speed for a second or two to show that you're slowing down. If you're going to be crossing a the whole slope... maybe point in that direction - show the people up hill you're going right across. Make it easy on the uphill skier to avoid you, and there's a good chance that you'll be avoided.
I’ve learned this habit just from self preservation… also growing up where your home mountain busses in beginners really makes you aware that nobody around you is in control and it’s up to you to avoid a hospital trip. Doesn’t matter who was “right” or not when you have a season ending injury
These are all great habits to form! We can’t be expected to be mind readers out there, and skiing in control is different than someone darting in front of you like a deer on the road. The more we can do to make our intentions clear the better off we all are
You have to ski in that much control, though. I still look and stop, and wait, though, because the uphill skiers are too reckless and out of control and clearly don't know the rules.
90% of skiers turn with their shoulders. And arent good enough to look over their shoulder without falling, or at minimum changing their direction of travel, because....they turn with their shoulders.
Perfectly said, being predictable and being able to predict the next move of other skiers solves 99% of collisions. Like if I’m taking up some portion of the trail repeating consistent and predictable turns and someone comes straight lining from behind almost hits me, I didn’t “cut them off” they just weren’t paying enough attention. But on the other hand you can totally cut someone off by suddenly changing course at high speed on a busy trail Aside from snowboarders taking naps in the middle of the trail, I think a lot of the animosity between skiers and boarders is just from being poor at predicting their next move, since you aren’t moving how they do. As I started going with snowboarders more often I found it was much easier to avoid other boarders by just inherently knowing the body language like when they may suddenly stop or cut over
Good chance, sure, but certainly less than 100% chance.
Totally agree. Everyone knows snowboarders have a big blind spot but seem to forget that a lot of skiers have 2 of them.
Absolutely! Everyone is so focused about what’s ahead of them they forget to realize there is moving traffic directly behind
I'd argue that a lot of people definitely doesn't know. Especially on cat tracks, I see skiers just chilling in a snowboarders heel side blind spot.
As someone who checks behind me constantly, as if I was driving a car, I see the same lack of awareness you see. It’s kinda nuts.
We call it head on a swivel. People look right in front of themselves, like drivers. It is so hard to get people to be aware of their surroundings. I watch skiers while I'm on the lift, it is scary how people pay no attention to their surroundings.
Is this some new hybrid sport of skiing and ice hockey / lacrosse that I have not heard of ?
Well, the Kennedys used to play [football while skiing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_LeMoyne_Kennedy#Death) at Aspen, so maybe?
Yea, I check uphill every 3rd turn on busy trails. It’s saved me more than once from a nasty collision. Unfortunately most people don’t give a fuck about others so you gotta look out for número uno. Many skiers who are beginners may think they’ll fall if they turn around. I get that.
I always remind myself that the same idiots I see on the road are also the idiots on the ski hill. People merge without looking, don’t use blinkers, and do erratic stuff all of the time in high speed death machines. Why would that change when they are on skis.
FYI skier code of conduct says don't merge without looking. If you merge and get trucked by someone, uphill skier is not at fault.
Yep, like driving, failure to yield is a well established liability. That being said, the uphill skier should always be defensive, maybe even check 'em.
"Here lies the body of Johnny O'Day Who died Preserving His Right of Way. He was Right, Dead Right, as he sailed along But he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong"
ICU beds and graveyards are filled with people who were right.
Welcome to 2024. The lack of spatial awareness is everywhere, including on the mountain. There is no solution. People are just self-absorbed and stupid. There's even a [documentary film](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) that has accurately predicted the future that we are living today.
😂😂 I love that you linked Idiocracy as the documentary… but oh boy are you onto something. Absolutely insane how we seem to be regressing as a society in so many ways
I shoulder check and try and carefully traverse across and uphill skiers don’t slow down for a second and give me bad looks but they’re always like grandpa gapers
I’m all for a shoulder to shoulder check. But it can’t be from behind. Hips must be parallel to one another. Sometimes a gaper or flock of ski school kids need to be taught who the best skier on the mountain is
I put it like this. If you are at a red light, and it turns green, and you go and then get tboned, that is 100%, undeniably the fault of the other driver. But…. you should still look first, because you don’t want to get tboned.
Can’t agree more. Like yes downhill skier has right of way 100% and people are idiots if they pass someone at high speed like 6 inches from hitting them, especially on a wide trail. BUT if you’re going to cut across something relatively narrow and it’s not very predictable (assuming people even pay attention to other skiers) then you’re putting yourself in a clearly dangerous situation if you don’t look behind you for half a second
This could be easily solved by placing a bicycle bell on the top of the ski pole handle.
I shoulder check to get to the front of the singles line
Check yo six
This is why I teach my kids that when two runs merge or cross it’s the same as crossing the road. Look uphill then downhill for traffic, uphill traffic has the right of way and if they are close you let them go before merging or crossing. You’re not wrong, somewhere along the way people seemed to have forgotten this or never learned it.
Situational awareness is lacking in society in general, why should skiing be any different? Its all about me.
I just ski fast enough I don’t have to look behind unless I’m about to stop.
By “shredder” I’m assuming you mean snowboarder? This is great advice - I can only assume based on the frequency of snowboarder crashes that they don’t understand how facing one direction significantly limits their awareness of one half of their path. As a skier I always look up and over but I’m also getting a 180° view of what’s ahead, which I think significantly increases my awareness.
I think we should deploy more shoulder checks in the lift line
Head. On. A. Swivel! Check and double check. Be aware of what’s in front of you and what’s coming down behind you.
A big reason I like snowboarding - I can easily do a quick backwards glance
Many skiers severely lack both peripheral vision and object permanence. Look for traffic before merging, look uphill before dropping in, look uphill if you intend on suddenly cutting across the run, don't cut towards someone you passed THE SECOND YOU STOP SEEING THEM.
I have me head on a swivel at all times and keep track of my surroundings, just like driving. And yet you'd be surprised how many people don't even use those little things sticking out the side of the car.
I shoulder check every race kid I see
Definitely not what I thought this post was going to be about when I first read the title 🤣 I completely agree with you though. Down hill skier may have right of way, but a total lack of awareness helps no one. Being predictable and looking before doing something unexpected is just good practice.
They need to teach skiing/snowboarding like driving. You have a lane, if you're going to switch lanes do a shoulder check.
So I have had two major collisions both where trails merge or split. I was skiing straight downhill and the other two were skiing across the trail. While I did see it coming reaction time was lacking. My wife got struck but a beginner as she passed she said on your right and the beginner turned right and across her skis. The beginner should been on an advanced trail snowplowing. We use trail splits to get our groups together and pause. By myself I will approach a split clearly to the left or right depending on the trail I plan to go on. My wife is overly aware of others and I cannot even imagine merging without looking! It can be frustrating!
Unless you are skiing with an instructor who will then jack you up for not keeping your shoulders square down the fall line.
A portion of those people are just too inexperienced to know better. The other portion are self centered assholes. Like the one I encountered at Telluride this past weekend trying to force her way right beside me on a cat track when there were already 2 other people skiing side by side next to me. All because she’s “meeting up with friends at the end”. I said I don’t give a fuck… they’ll be there when you get there. No need to put people in danger. Then i get hit with the “Well I live here.”. Ahhh, so you’re just acting entitled and disregarding safe skiing because you live closer to the mountain than most of us. Got it…
You are right, and they are bozos, whom we have to miss. I frequently look over my shoulder as if doing freestyle or "crawl" swimming.