ise wrote:
Ian Wickham wrote:
I do not believe that you can be totally aware of your surroundings, hence you are a danger to your self and other people, last year a skier skied over the tails of my daughter's skis just think how dangerous that could have been if the skier had a distraction like an ipod.
You ise may be a very talented person and skier who can cope with the loss of one his senses, but there are some idiots out there who might think it's very cool to ski with an ipod without a care to the damage that can be done to them selves and other people.
Next time your out and about in the street just check out the people with ipods walking the streets are they totally aware of what is happening around them, answer no.
I don't want to get at you personally, you're just reflecting a widely held opinion but I read that you not being able to identify any reason it's dangerous.
What I actually I think is the most dangerous people on the slopes are those who have not correctly identified risks or have unrealistic strategies to deal with it. I don't want to flog a dead horse but if anyone thinks they can hear a skier behind them, identify their location, speed and intention they're mistaken, it's ski equivalent of tailgating someone, you really can't brake fast enough to defeat braking distances. The strategy also isn't going to work if the snows a bit softer and/or the skier is carving nicely without scraping and rattling around.
If you want to be safe the best two pieces of advice are
1) move in a predictable manner, don't make it hard for anyone behind you to avoid you, I know that might be awkward in some terrain if you're struggling but it'll make you a better skier as well.
2) look around, be like the police advanced driver have a picture in your mind of all the hazards around you, the skier at the side of the slope in front who might set off into your path, the beginner in front who might fall or miss a turn, who's behind and how quick they're going. The advanced driver is supposed to be able to give a running commentary of that sort of thing, try it skiing in your head of course )
