photodad2001 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I'm at the local bump with my daughter and I find myself monitoring all these out of control highschool punk snowboarders. It starts off with these 2 jib monkeys bouncing the lift chairs. My resort doesn't have safety bars or any other restraints keeping you on the chair, but the lift stops so these 2 bandana clad punks start bouncing the chairs as hard as they could so I wait for them at the top when they get off and calmly talk to them about respecting other people and if they want to goof off to do it on the snow and that my daughter didn't find the experience as pleasant as they might have. Later I find myself approaching an inexperienced "dive bomber" after he blazed by, half out of control, on a green and tell him to either take it to a more suitable run or to learn how to turn. And then, all in the same day, I'm yet again confronting out of control youth instructing them to get out of the blind spot they were in on the BX course. These were teenage girls giggling about how they fell doing the gap jump and were now sitting unseen by anybody above just tempting fate to happen. Now in the lodge I got into a kids face because he was running around the tables while I was trying to navigate with 2 cups of hotchocolate and he totally ran into me spilling the hot steamy drinks onto my bare hands and clothing. Am I getting old or are our youth just more stupid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortcutToMoncton Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 You're definitely getting old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 bouncing chairs can cause a derailment. explaining that should put a stop to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy Kleh Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 he he he. Teens can really make your hair stand on end! I inherited a stepson a couple of years ago and we have a great love/hate relationship. He's 16 now and has accepted the fact that I'm not going away but we still have our moments. I find that the most effective way to go is to address the problem immediately instead of letting it steam inside you till you explode. Don't yell, and treat him/her/them like adults. This doesn't always work, of course. Sometimes kids try to snake my turn in line for jumps, halfpipe, liftlines and in the cafeteria. They usually don't try it twice with me. In fact, they probably call me the Pipedragon! Are kids worse than they use to be? Maybe. They grew up in a different environment and culture than us. They've had every toy and technology at their fingertips and have been living in a world that never asked them to grow up. Enter the economic crisis our country is experiencing. No worries, they'll grow up when they try to go out into the workforce. Waaah! The few jobs that will be available will go to folks who are mature, responsible and polite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotbeans Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 You're trying to make up for the general lack of parenting nowadays. So, if we can't beat them with something handy anymore, why aren't wedgies and wet willies an acceptable punishment?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie00 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 bouncing chairs can cause a derailment. explaining that should put a stop to it. Try telling that to my students... they'll bounce even hard to see it it's possible ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shred Gruumer Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Nope your not getting old.. I remember when I was little you just didn't do schnit like that.. you know why?? because you got your asss whipped by your dad or who ever...! When the paddling stopped in schools and all this other Dr. Phil shchint started spewing out.. kid became not responsible for their action anymore.. They just need a good beating or two...! in a good way of course... RSS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tufty Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Try telling that to my students... they'll bounce even hard to see it it's possible ! Likewise for slaloming hard on drag lifts. I caught a couple of lads doing exactly that last week. First time, no worries, head over and explain the danger to them. 15 minutes later, I see them doing exactly the same thing, only harder - actively trying to derail it. Unluckily for them, my boss was with me. He pulled them over and cancelled their 2 week passes. Woops. In an unrelated note, a few weeks back I saw something I never want to see again - a chairlift derailed on 2 pylons, cable and chairs down *hard* onto a slope. Mercifully, no injuries, but 2 pylons and (probably) a cable to be replaced, just before the big holidays. Seeing a cable and 6 chairs smashed into a slope sends shivers up the spine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photodad2001 Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Nope your not getting old.. I remember when I was little you just didn't do schnit like that.. you know why?? because you got your asss whipped by your dad or who ever...!RSS Besides that, when I was 16 half the resorts didn't allow snowboarders. Once they did you had to really mind your manners because you were under the microscope. If we would have acted like this 20 years ago they would have yanked snowboarding from the resort completly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photodad2001 Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 bouncing chairs can cause a derailment. explaining that should put a stop to it. I don't know if they would have believed me. I think the protective dad approach went over pretty sucessfully. Don't mess with papa bird's chickling or you'll get pecked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubz Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I try to keep myself contained everyday I go out and it is because I am getting old , but I only live by the rules my parents and grand parents instilled in me and my siblings. Be respectful of not only your elders but everyone including yourself, mind your business, use your manners and dont be an a$$. Plain and simple. My latest thing that "gigs" me as paying patron to my hill is the teenagers smoking in the lift lines. Stinks to the heavens when it is a crowded day. I can tolerate it, but have little tolerance for the smoking when younger folks are around (sub10 years). Or the cat that lights up on the chair without asking. I get the "go to hell look" or" there arent any signs that say I cant smoke" response, but then again, nicotine must be one evil monkey on the back. For me, whether its walking thru the lot, standing in line (food and lift), on the hill, it all trickles back to Common Courtesy, which i think has gone the way of the dinosaur. If I feel like saying anything, I remian calm and ask politely, which more than likely never works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pushee Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Teens (especially boys) come with a built in "Advice Accelerator". This is similar to a Particle Accelerator. You have probably heard the old saying about some people: "Advice goes in one ear and out the other". With teenage boys, the advice exits faster than it enters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhaskins Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 In defense of the younger generation, I remember the dim past when I grew up - kids still ran around at functions and at public places, people lit cigs up anywhere they were at, including Church, there was a lot of mouthing off and general disrespect, and people did not listen to their 'rents. Don't try to make the past more gentler and refined than it was. As a kid you didn't directly push back at adults, but you sure did backbite at them. I don't see any more or any less disrespect than when I was a kid. I do see some of the younger generation with a sense of entitlement that we did not even think about when we were young. They must be the sons and daughters of mortgage brokers or something. My kid grew up giving me lotsa crap and not listening to me. 4 years in the Corps, and he is very different. He is a very respectful guy, but will not take grief off anyone, and knows how to pick his fights. He has this really calm and measured way of behaving and is a genuinely funny guy. He has not been charged with anything yet and gets in some good punching practice. Last fall some asshat in a Mercedes thought Jake cut him off with his little 2 seater Honda, so he got on Jake's tail and kept his vehicle there. Jake pulled off the road into a parking lot and the guy with the Mercedes (including wife and young kid) followed. Jake parked and the guy jumped out of the Benz, and confronts Jake. Jake is about 5'8 and this guy was over 6 foot and buff, dressed in a suit. He starts to push and shove on Jake, Jake takes the requisite 2 punches and 2 steps back, and then just pounds the guy into pulp, and holds him down until the cops arrive and arrest the guy. In front of his wife and kid. Many witnesses. Not a scratch on Jake. Stuff just like this has happened to Jake about 4 times in the last 2 years, and not one of the purps were younger than Jake who is 25, except for the 3 guys that *tried* to rob him with a knife at the atm. But that was in the hood and was a tactical mistake by Jake. On another occassion, a guy in his 50's attacked Jake outside a bank in full daylight with witnesses. The guy was pissed about a parking spot. That guy was hauled off in cuffs also after being severely beaten. These were "older" generation people that didn't have the judgement to know when to behave or the judgement when to back down or to not start a fight. Not once has any kid on a snowboad tried to hurt Jake or me for that matter. I can't say that I have seen any behavior in a lift line or on slope that would qualify for anything other than stoopid. If you think about most situations where you get pissed at someone, it is extremely easy to just walk away and say nothing. Saying anything - ulness someone is in real, proximate danger - is like tears in the rain, not effective at all. I don't even try to point out bad behavior to other people, they can't see it, and won't see it. Tolerance and having the right panty size usually will get you through these situations. People grow out of the juvinile behaviors **usually**. If they don't, it is their issue. And usally a word to the ski patrol about the idiot bouncing the chair is enuf to get it handled. FWIW. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpenn Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 You could say kids will be kids, but does that mean that the stuff we witness nowadays is the same as when we were kids (in my case, about 30 years ago)? Not sure about that. I'm sure that almost all kids are great when you're with them one-on-one, but once they're in a group, the group mentality takes over. I recently was riding a chair at the local hill and two instructor/kids/skiers were rocking the lift so bad, my life almost flashed in front of my eyes. If you have ever worked at a hill on an afternoon when the school groups arrive, there is never a moment of calm or chance to catch your breath. If you're on the hill, they're doing crazy antics there. If you're in the lodge, they're doing things like "french fry races" (dipping french fries in cheese sauce, throwing them at the windows, and seeing how long it takes them to hit the windowsill). The funny thing is I think we all know some adults who have never grown out of this! I guess what sets the a$$holes apart from the decent kids is how they respond to being reprimanded - are they contrite or do they give you a hard time. That's usually how we decide whether or not to pull their passes. - JP Need some snow here in CT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpenn Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I've gotta agree with you - the kids who are in the park, especially the regulars definitely have a great respect for the features, each other, and they feel like a part of the resort. Of course, the parks have been a boon to all the resorts 'cause just look at how many of these kids are coming in all the time. What cracks me up is this new gangsta look with the bandannas pulled over their mouths. Then they come up and say "Hey Mr. P" and you're supposed to know who they are! Even though we are all getting old, I feel as if the local kids at our resort are MUCH tamer and more respectful than some of us were in the 80s & 90s. I think alot has to do with the level or respect the kids have with their resort. Ever since our local resort (Mountain Creek) started catering towards the youth, instead of trying to "control" them, the kids have much more respect for the resort as a whole. There is much less 'chair bouncing', far less litter and just seems like there is mutual appreciation. By no means is this a "model" resort, but I feel that the overall attitude has greatly improved. Back in the 90's, the same resort was completely unruly. I remember situations where skiers, skiing under the chairlifts were pelted with ketchup, mustard, urine and even Feces! NO JOKE! There were daily fights in the lift lines, vandalism at the resort condos and just a general 'free-for-all, fvck this place" atmosphere. I'm amazed that the atmosphere at the resort is as chill at is now, even considering that the resort is rated at nearly 60% snowboard vs. 40% skier. Young snowboarders, or jibbers, get a bad wrap... while I don't agree with the latest jib fashion trends or the gangsta attitudes, they are just kids being kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tufty Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 You could say kids will be kids, but does that mean that the stuff we witness nowadays is the same as when we were kids (in my case, about 30 years ago)? No. Kids today are tame compared to the punks I hung around with. Did a lot of stuff I'm not overly proud of in my youth, and as a group we were a ****sight harder than any of the kids I know today. We were nasty. Before us it was the "greasers" of course, and the "Teddy boys" before them, and after us came the skinheads, so it's not really like it's all that new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shred Gruumer Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 I gotta say lay off the pot... no way are kids tammer or friendlier or nicer.. where the heck are you seeing this... not trying to be mean.. but I know just what I see.. then again I grew up first generation Swiss...and it was hard knox.. thats the way it was... and I didn't like it but later in life I knew my dad was right on... Kids when are out without parents on the slope are just hoodlems.. sorry I see it all the time... just fricken look at the news ,, the papers and what not... all Im sayin is a good beatin went a long way with me.. when Mom said...Wait till your father gets home.. I begged for her not to tell... thats what it was about... I never did the same thing twice.. ever!! Im not bitter over it.. Im better for it.. Not all kids are bad the few that ruin it for others.. but those few need some ... well you know.. RSS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingbat Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 bouncing chairs can cause a derailment. explaining that should put a stop to it. Very calmly explaining how I'm going to beat their asses if I have to sit on the chair and wait for the maintenance guys to climb the tower and re-set the safety gates over the wheels puts a stop to it every time. The offending chair usualy gets very quiet for the rest of the ride up as well. Bonus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 bouncing chairs can cause a derailment. explaining that should put a stop to it. hard to actually do, even then there's cable catchers on most lifts. see a couple derails, both had to do with wood coming between the sheaves and haul rope. from experience the only thing that stops kids from doing the bouncy chair is being real direct, snip snip with the leatherman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 No. Kids today are tame compared to the punks I hung around with. Did a lot of stuff I'm not overly proud of in my youth, and as a group we were a ****sight harder than any of the kids I know today. We were nasty.Before us it was the "greasers" of course, and the "Teddy boys" before them, and after us came the skinheads, so it's not really like it's all that new. yeah, the generation in their teens now seems pretty mellow compared to when I was young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolyMathMan Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 I handle it by instilling fear. I ride with a full head mask, goggles and a helmet. I look like a storm trooper. I'll be in the lift line and some kid on rental skis goes on top of my board. I lean over, and in my best Darth Vader voice say, "Get off my board, you little prick!" Word spreads. They might not be nicer with others, but they leave me alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Yeah, those little 8 year olds. Scare em away from skiing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneille Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 It's not just kids that can be mean and rude. I got head butted and pole jabbed on the lift at Snowmass by a skier without one word of "oh sorry". Snowmass seemed to have hoards of people trying to see how close they could get to the front of you also, getting to the front makes them the downhill skier and any hit would at that point would be your fault and not theirs. Daneille Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Had an old cougar refuse to let me ride 4th on a 4 man chair " I was on a carving board".Send those kids to the oshawa ski club they know how to take the smile off anyones face !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave ESPI Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 The adults are worse than the kids when the weekend warriors are out. I counted so many cases of 'tardation this weekend.... Id have a small novel if I were to repete them here. I swear the youth may be not that bright at times, but I blame the parents and instructors (if the kids had any) for not pointing out the DOs and DON'Ts of the hill. "Respect gets Respect".. 'nuff said.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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