Know the Code.
Remember when every chair lift tower had a sign on it,
sponsored by the National Ski Patrol or Coppertone, reminding us almost subliminally
of the skier and boarder - Snow Riders Responsibility Code.
1. Ride in control.
2. The downhill rider
has the right of way.
3. Look up hill when
entering a slope or starting to ski.
4. Stop safely off to
the side of the run.
5. Always have fun. (My personal favorite)
Where did those signs go and why did they go away. Is this information intuitive, outdated or
did the corporate lawyers warn the resorts that they were incurring increased
liability by stating the code. There were
a few others minor items about and lift operations and using runaway straps but
these are the top five. Now the only
place you can find them is on the napkins in the lodge where you buy your 25
dollar hamburger.
Years ago I was
riding with my young nephew Lucas and I taught him these recommendations. He committed them to memory and dutifully followed
them for the rest of the day. On the
last chair lift ride, he asked me innocently and honestly, ‘Uncle Matt, does anyone
else know these rules?” I’m afraid not.
Does anyone else notice the surprisingly lack of etiquette
that pervades the resort riding experience.
Is it just me growing old and crotchety or is it the increased crowds
using our modern high speed resorts. There
seem to be more people and more diverse crowds everywhere, especially at the
resorts. Different visitors, nationalities
and age groups have different expectations and protocol but it is not just the French,
who lean on you in the lift line or the teenagers, who are temporally oblivious
to all others.
We locals are not used to riding with so many other people
on the same run, half of them going sideways.
I need lots of room and don’t like to ride next to someone I don’t know
intimately. My turns are random, wide
and swooping, as I often think the snow is better on the other side of the run
and I actively pursue it. My personal
slope Comfortable Carrying Capacity (CCC is the safe design of a slopes
capacity) is one person - me, while the corporate models CCC is more like 10,000.
I wind up riding around yelling at people to GIVE ME ROOM, or
looking at them and asking ‘Really’ or ‘Seriously’. Those are my new riding words, followed by ‘Whatever’. It used to be ‘Kowabunga’ or ‘Dude, watch
this’, but times have changed and so have I.
I was riding the other day with Matisse, a ten your old
beginner, when another rider shot across the run and hit him hard, helmet to helmet. To his credit the other rider stopped and sincerely
apologized and made sure Matisse was alright.
When we left I asked Matisse what he learned from the experience. He said defensively, ‘I had the right of way’. I asked him how that was working out for
him. ‘Not very well’ he replied
sheepishly. ‘Have your head on a swivel,
all the time’, was all I could advise. It’s
like riding bikes in Manhattan, the best offense is a good defense.
I have also found that if you wag your pole tip towards oncoming
riders they tend to give you more room.
When I stop, I hide behind trees and signs because who doesn’t know of
someone who has been hit when they were just standing there minding their own
business. I talk to people up hill and
down of me and I sing and make noise so they really see me. I signal now when crossing a slope or putting
on the breaks.
All I am asking is that everyone take personal
responsibility to Know The Code and to live it. The resorts should help by
posting signs and reminding us constantly so that The Code is second nature to
us all, locals and visitors alike. That is
not so hard to do and they can easily reduce their liability and could probably
make money doing it with advertising and good will. Snow Riding, like driving a car, is a social
contract and responsibility we all share and must respect with our attention
and diligence. Let’s keep skiing and
boarding fun, civil and safe for everyone.
Other recommendations we might live
with:
ü Inform others when passing; ‘left side,
right side, front side or back side.’
ü Your blind spot is your responsibility,
check it often.
ü If you look up hill and see someone
approaching you rapidly, let them by.
ü No texting or talking on the phone
while skiing. Focus.
ü Keep your music low enough so you can
hear those around you. Turn it off in
the backcountry.
ü Don’t clog up the entrance to the
maze of the ski lift.
ü Don’t go up to the front of the line
and then turn around and look or wait for your friends.
ü Don’t use other skiers as a moving slalom
course.
ü If I can hit you you are skiing too
close.
ü No wall hits on crowded cat
tracks. Please.
ü Don’t hit me on the head or crotch by
putting the safety bar down unannounced.
ü If you hit someone, stop and see if
they are all right, need help or want your name and address.
ü Don’t cut lift lines or rope lines.
ü Carry Transceiver and shovel in
back-country, slack-country and side-country.
Buddy up.
ü Do not traverse big bowls. Pick a fall line and ride it.
ü Do not drop in on top of other skiers
in big bowls. Ski them one at a time and
get out of the way.
ü Do not boot hike in someone else’s
ski up-track. It ruins it.
ü Do not up-track thru good skiing or
dangerous terrain. Cut one uptrack.
ü Say thank you to lift attendants and
ski patrol whenever you can.
ü Always have fun and thank god for
every day you can ski. It is a privilege
and a blessing.
