Guest thomas_m Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I've never been one for the skier/snowboarder rivalry stuff, I only recent came to snowboarding from surfing and all the longboard/shortboard/kayaker/localism bull**** that goes on there drives me crazy. Even so, I never really talk to skiers, never ridden with any, etc. I have noticed, however, that when I'm by myself, a lot of skiers(not all) will often avoid riding the lift with me or other snowboarderss, they hang back and ride as a single, etc. Today at Crystal, the funniest thing happened, surprised me so much I didn't know what to say. Heading down to get something to eat and tighten my boots, I was jetting over to the cat-track between the top of ChinookXP and Forest Queen - was going to jump the lip into the sweet pow all down the left of Skid Road. But... a posse of baby skiers clogged the mouth and I had to scrub speed. Fuuuuuck, I thought. But... a skier came skating by and said "Want a tow?". I said "Whaaa? Hell yeah!". And that sonofabitch gave me the end of his pole and pulled my heavy ass up the slope of the cat track, fast too. I hope that dude had a HELLA good day. Anybody with that attitude sure as schitt deserves it. Amazing... Ohh, and to beat a dead horse - my Dupraz rocked the house in the glades up at the top of Crystal Mountain. The only thing holding it back was the schitty rider. It was deep pow faceshots all day. Hells yes! My new Happy Monkey alpine board looks so sad and dejected but it's been dumping this week and float is the key word. T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ak_rider Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 that's always awesome when a skier lends a pole. i've never had it happen in the US but in canada it happens a lot.I hardly ever had to skate when i lived in whistler. if only we could all just get along and all ride together. hope you enjoyed the pow, i enjoyed it here in Breck. superlight fluffy pow-pow. cold as hell though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayj Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 That's one of the advantages of a wife that skis, she gives me her poles to propel myself along a flat spot till while she can skate through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jutta Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 With a 4 year old on skis I spend a fair amount of time on two planks, too (unfortunately, I'm still a way better skier than boarder), and make a point of offering a tow to any boarder stuck on flat ground - but I rarely get takers. Maybe the typical boarder guy just doesn't want to accept help from a girl? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 When I'm on skis (which is rarely), I always offer boarders a pole on the flats (or push little kids along). I agree on the karma front. I also always stop (whether on board or skis) if someone looks at all hurt from a fall to ask that they are OK. Its great having an FRS radio so you can call ski patrol instantly if necessary. 9-11 is a great channel. It really irks me when skiers refuse to ride the lift with boarders. Especially if there's a line and we all want to get up the hill fast. I got really pissed off at a guy last weekend who could have filled a quad chair and instead took up two chairs (we were a foursome behind him). All because he didn't want to ride with a boarder. I had a few choice words for him. On hard boots with Intec I find it really easy to take my back foot out, skate, then reinsert my foot and keep going. It works well if I need to give my kids a boost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kipstar Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I remember there used to be one old guy instructor in Whakapapa that would also refuse to ride lifts with boarders at all. Or T Bars. And he was an employee! American from one of the resorts that didn't allow snowboards Aspen maybe? - this was back in 1990-1993. Dan I think his name was would have been 60 and had a string of middle aged middleclass onesie mums drooling for personal lessons each and every day. It was really weird that the mountain is trying to encourage everyone to get along, and they couldn't even get their staff to do that. So we used to make sure we stood all over his skis and stuff in the queue....ah...hold on, maybe that's why he didn't like boarders?! I have never had this in USA at all, not even once... how common is the 'I don't ride with boarders malarky' over there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tufty Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I've never had skiers who don't want to ride chairs with me, I guess I'm not the average park monkey (and having a resort jacket helps too, I think). I'm also on skis quite a lot, always offer a pole to boarders having trouble in the flats (and have been saved a few times on that myself). Here's a vaguely funny one: Last week, I was blasting down to the carpark, ski school snake blocking the route on the last 'wall' that I would have used to get a comfortable speed to get back, so stopped and then trickled down well away from them; of course this left me on the flats with very little speed. Skier dude came past, offered me a pole, but I figured I had just enough speed and said no thanks. About a hundred metres later, I overtook him in full tuck mode, and offered him a tow, causing much laughter all round. Had a coffee with him when we reached the little cafe on the carpark, really nice guy. Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfinsmiley Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Amazing... Ohh, and to beat a dead horse - my Dupraz rocked the house in the glades up at the top of Crystal Mountain. The only thing holding it back was the schitty rider. It was deep pow faceshots all day. Hells yes! My new Happy Monkey alpine board looks so sad and dejected but it's been dumping this week and float is the key word. T. Beat that horse T. I would chose to ride in powder 6 days of the week. I`m bo(a)rdering on jealously about that stick of yours. Skiers- I definately have been getting the short end of the stick. I somehow always end up pushing my skier wife while I carry my board in the other hand. How did I ever get to that:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy Kleh Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I've seen very little of it in the past ten years. It used to be quite common. The only time I experienced it recently was in the ski school last season. I did a GS clinic one morning and I was the only knuckle dragger to show up all season. None of the ski instructors would ride the lift with me expcept one black guy (I guess that says something). When we ran gates, the clinic instructor had tips for everyone except me, like I didn't exist. He never asked my name. He didn't care. But I see so much prejudice (mostly racial or sexual) in life, skier/snowboarder attitude is pretty inconsequential. Hate, ridicule and negative attitudes are so energy consuming. Why can't we all get a bong ... I mean, along? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I think I've only had very few times where a skier purposely avoided riding the chair with me. Sure, if there's a line there's no excuse for that nonsense. But if there's no line or not much of a line I can imagine a skier simply not wanting to deal with a snowboard banging into their skis the whole way up. It may not be that they think you're a hoodlum or something. One time I had a guy offer me a pole on a flat and I said "watch this!" I stepped out of my step-ins, pushed a few times, then stepped in on the fly and glided past him. His jaw dropped and I could see the wheels spinning in his head like he just saw the one thing that would allow him to try snowboarding now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjl Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 With a 4 year old on skis I spend a fair amount of time on two planks, too (unfortunately, I'm still a way better skier than boarder), and make a point of offering a tow to any boarder stuck on flat ground - but I rarely get takers. Maybe the typical boarder guy just doesn't want to accept help from a girl? Usually I say no simply because I'm startled. I'm facing forwards, skating, and then I hear somebody yell at me from behind. My thought process is usually: "Ak! No thanks! Wait, what? A tow? Sure... but you're already gone..." :) Also, with stepins, skating (especially in hardboots, where you can actually edge in, push off, and accellerate with your front foot) is faster than most, but not all, skiiers can skate. If I'm in a strap softboots I will always take a tow if offered and I can think fast enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thomas_m Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 That was me. He was a young guy, looked pretty core and it took a few moments for his meaning to get through. Oh, and on the lift thing, I'm obviously no park monkey at 40yrs old and not wearing 'big fashion' (baggies) as my wife puts it... T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jutta Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 ... my otherwise very tolerant 9 year old recently announced that she didn't want to ride the same chair with boarders. Now, in a family with several snowboards that seemed to be a strange statement, but when I asked her why, I got an entirely sensible explanation: "They all smoke and I don't like that." Now, I'll readily admit that that's a stereotype, but I've since done my own little survey in lift lines, and lo and behold, a distinctive majority of the "park rats" do smoke... Maybe that rubs off on hardbooters, too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I don't get people stepping away from me on chairs out this way, but I have noticed skiers not wanting to ride with teenagers on freestyle boards. I think part of it is also that snowboarders are prone to falling, especially when they're jammed in a quad chair with three other people ... having had a friend wreck her knee this way, I can understand ... It's always nice to get a tow on the flats, happens to me quite often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjl Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I don't like getting on lifts with giggly snowboarders. You know the type - the snowboarders who think it's fun to fall off the lift in a huge heap and giggle wildly as they sprawl on the ground and the liftie is trying to get them up and out of the way. I always feel like they are rolling dice on my front knee - roll snake eyes and they fall down and land on my board, launching me over the handlebars and breaking my (already weak) knee into pieces. Also, I generally don't like getting on a lift with thug snowboarders, but that's mostly a thing where if they start calling people f*gs or pelting people with snowballs on the lift, I don't want to be associated with them. I hate being a bigot that way :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopetool Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 That skier does deserve the "Good Karma Award". For some reason no one seems to want to ride up with me. More snow please. deeper deeper... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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