Are people on Snowblades really hated?

olly123456789 wrote:I have a pair of ski blades i think there fun for a day but skiing a hole holiday would not be he best.

The only difference is that they are sorter, slower and require no technique. As long as you have balance and a bit of guts and anyone that as skied for more than an hour will be able to turn and stop. The worst thing is they are rubbish in powder. it would be better if you had bricks tied to your feet.

I have 2 friends that use them when we go skiing. This is cuz they cant ski properly and are unwilling to spend time to learn.

But i have nothing agents them really.

Snowboarders well that is a different kettle of fish, my mate has picked up the i'm going to stop here in the way thing within 5 mins of having a board on his feet even though he hated people doing it more than me.

AllyG wrote:I wouldn't say I hate snowboarders, but they frighten me, because most of them keep falling over and seem to have very little control of their boards. This is not really the case, most beginner snowboarders fall more often than beginner skiers, but thats due to the nature of the activity not skill level. A lot of snowboarders have a huge amount of control and can get through a difficult spot/situation with relative ease.

I hate it when I'm innocently ski-ing along and I hear that nasty scccccr sort of noise behind me , and I know it's another blasted !!! snowboarder, who's very likely to crash into me and knock me flying. So I try and get out of the way as fast as possible. Very likely? You must get hit often by snowboarders, as there are a lot these days. When a snowboarder needs to lose speed quick, he or she must get the edge, and this make the noise you describe.

And I also hate it when I'm ski-ing behind one on a very narrow piste, and I know if he/she falls over there's nowhere for me to go and I'm going to smash into them. Hence I always try and give them a very wide berth. And I try not to get on a chair lift with them, because they behave in a very odd way when they get off at the top. First point is identical for both skiers and snowboarders. I used to hate blue runs through trees for this reason, now I love them and get p****d of with skiers for carving the entire width, but I accept it and would not post about it. Second point I grant you, but it's thier mountain too! A little understanding and awareness goes a long way )

I have snowboarded down the main route to Wengen to be confronted by over 10 skiers standing across the entire piste, waiting, chatting or whatever. I agree snowboarders seem to sit in stupid places, but when on a flat and thin run on a board the last thing you need is a bunch of skiers waiting for thier pals

Most of all, I hate it when they lose their board, and it comes rocketing down the mountain like a javelin straight for me :shock: Seen it once in 80 days of being on the mountain.

The people who 'ride' them seem quite like 'normal' people when I talk to them once they've returned to the normal bipedal state.

Perhaps the problem is that there are an awful lot of bad snowboarders on the slopes. Anad all skiers up there are born good??? I don't have any problems with the skillful sort, who wouldn't dream of crashing into me, None of them dream of any such thing any more than I would be likely to crash into them. We co-exist together quite happily on the slopes :D

Ally

AllyG wrote:Tino,
Snowboarders do frighten me. I'm very sorry if I've hurt your feelings. And I do try very hard to keep out of their way. I agree I've never actually had a loose snowboard hit me, or nearly hit me (that was a bit of an exageration - sorry) but I've had several snowboarders tell me afterwards that they lost their boards (when I was ski-ing beneath them).

I was actually trying to defend snowboarders - so I obviously didn't do a very good job! I certainly don't hate them.

I could also have written about some of the skiers that frighten me, but the subject was those short skis and snowboards. Plenty of other things frighten me as well, like fog, but overall I enjoy my ski-ing holidays very much.

Sorry again, for hurting your feelings, as a snowboarder,

Ally

AllyG wrote:Tino,
I'm glad you're okay. I'd never deliberately hurt anyone's feelings in any of my posts.

I know skiers can be awful sometimes. As I said, I could describe plenty of incidents where I've been frightened, or even hurt, by other skiers.

I think it's that noise the snowboarders make that frightens me, coming from behind me, and I don't know where they are or which direction they're coming from, and what is the best way of getting out of their way (because I'm not good enough to be able to ski while I'm looking behind me).

Perhaps if you could give me some guidance about what to do when I hear that noise behind me, and how not to get in their way when I get off a chair lift, it would help both of us and more particularly any snowboarders I might come across in future :D.

Ally