why do snowboarders sit in middle of trails?

There was a recent thread on this if you search. For most binding systems you do have to sit down to put the rear foot in. Sometimes a group of snowboarders will do this together. In all seriousness, though, in some pretty high-density areas here in the NE that may have some obnoxious (or amusing) behavior in other ways, I haven't found it a big problem. Where people are blocking lift ramps or trail entrances, patrollers and lifties are actually pretty aggressive about getting people moving though, too.

Have you considered whether you could have skated or skied around them without much difficulty, and also if you had a friendly tone of voice when you asked if they could scoot over?

The answer may be the same as "why do chickens cross the road, or who came first the chicken or the egg?

Who really knows what goes on in the minds of-------------.:

Do we have to do this ad infinitum? Just deal with it, the same way that 'boarders deal with skiers lining up vertically on the side of the hill, usually just downhill of a kicker.

While we're at it, what about all that crappy white stuff on the runs? Why does that have to be there? And the stupid lift/tower thingys sometimes IN THE MIDDLE of a run! Can you believe it? Snowguns? Don't get me started.

Powdr

Oh! I know the answer to this question

My beef.......Are those real hot ski chicks with the tight pants and stuff

Skiers (one myself) are also bad at stopping in the middle of trails so its more of a lack of common sense..

Snowboarders.. IF they dont have step in bindings have to get the board strapped.. land ets just face it.. they fall a lot.. .. and it hurts when you fall.. so they sit down for a sec to catch their breath..

boarders

while there a lot of idiots out there both skiing and boarding, i have to say, since taking up skiing this year , i have been hit by 6 snowboarders and only 1 skier (a guy in my group lesson). Also, most other collisons I have seen have been skiers getting hit by boarders (not including the easiest green runs where everyone is learning and running into eachother).
Furthermore, at Keystone a few weeks ago, as my boyfriend extended his hand to help me up from a fall, a boarder decided to use my boyfriends extended arm as a nice little obstacle to jump over. He made the jump, but missed my head by less than 6 inches. He got a slight feel for what it would have felt like if he hit my head when my friend chased him down the hill and gave him a little tossle. Unbelievably, he couldn't understand why he got a bloddy nose, but at least was very apologetic.

It may be area-specific then. I've been to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Copper, Keystone, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton, Jackson, Grand Foggee, Mt. Hood in the Summer, among other places out there and have never noticed this being an issue. I've been fortunate.

In hydraulic terms if they are really blocking the trails leaving the lift they'll soon cause a back-up that propagates all the way back to the lift exit ramp and the liftees will have to stop the lift until people clear. Is this happening, or are people actually able to flow smoothly around?

Even though we have been through this before, it is a valid question that needs to be addressed.

I realize that there are skiers who stop in questionable places. However, not nearly en-mass as the snowboarders. 80-90% of the persons I see stopping, either alone or in clusters, in the middle of a run, or at a bottle-neck, are snowboarders. If they represent 30-40% of the people on the slopes, then there is a problem.

I have skied all over Colorado, and found the problem is hardly addressed by the patrol. I am sure there are patrollers who ask them to move out of the way, but I have yet to see it. However, I have seen thousands of person being told to slow down by patrollers in slow zones.

One more time then. I stop next to my buddy. I don't stop facing his back or with my back facing him. That would be rude. I stop next to him so we can talk. When our other bros get with us, they like to talk too. Got it?

We sit for the same reason a bicyclist puts his foot down when he is stopped. Sathcel Paige didn't say "Never stand if you can sit down. Never sit if you can lie down". He did say "Don't look back, something might be gaining on you."

That is fine. However, do not do it in the MIDDLE OF THE RUN!

I ski with a friend who boards and stopping on the way down has caused us both to notice and comment on a few interesting differences between the sports.

• If he's stopped I'll stop uphill from him (something I usually do with my skier friends) causing him to have to flip around to his toe side for us to talk.
• If I'm stopped, he'll usually pull up next to my tips rather than uphill from me (creating that nasty line across)
• I'll stop on a flat if I can find it, he prefers to stop on a hill ('cause it's easier to get going)

It's natural for skiers to line up top-to-bottom with their edges across the fall line.

It's natural for boarders to line up left-to-right with their edges across the fall line.

That said, we should all try and remember that there are folks coming down the hill behind us. If you're stopped and a lot of people are saying "Oh s***" as they pass .. you're probably in a bad spot. As a skier I'll promise to try to avoid stopping on the edge under a kicker, if my boarder friends will promise not to stop in the middle just under a roller.

Let's all hold hands and sing Kum Ba Yah ... can't y'all just feel the love?

I park between the edge and the center, so good skiers can get by on the outside, and skiers like you can have "the middle".

Sitters

I've been skiing for 35 years and the only trouble I've ever had with a boarders is one I ran into, my fault, never saw her.

Regarding one post, if I skied a ski area and had been hit by 7 boarders I'd either go some where else, see management, carry a club or my 9mm or take up boarding or even maybe ski better and faster to stay out in front of them.

As to sitters blocking a path off the lifts. Yes I have seen that at Northstar at Tahoe, ridge chair and once at Silver Mt. my solution; Yell really loud "Watch your hands, coming through" and ski between them if I can't go around. No problems soo far.

I have no trouble with Boarders, some of them are even friends!!!

You took up skiing this year. The ski season in CO started 3, 4 months ago tops.

YOU'VE BEEN HIT 7 TIMES ALREADY?!

Let me apologize in advance for the forthcoming condescension...

You might want to consider a different sport, sweetie.

Seriously, this topic has been beat to death over the last 20 years. If 80-90% of the people stopped in the middle of the run are snowboarders, you've obviously wandered into the start gate of the U.S. Open. Until I see visual and/or scientific evidence of the 80-90% number, I will believe none of it.

Anyone that's been hit 7 times in the first third of their first season either A) has horrible, horrible, horrible luck; or B) is doing something wrong.

Major Gripe. Hello! there are other users. Not just your 4 buddies in the resort. Get a clue. Pay attention. I plan to to slice the two dudes with my sharpe edges who block the run with their clueless behavior as I try to squeeze my way thru. Be warned. I ski Kirkwood and Dodge.

But seriously, guys and gals think and be aware.

Ya'all give boarders a bad reputation.

Whining about boarders. So not hot today...

Tedious.

I think it probably has more to do wtih age and experience than what is strapped to their feet. Sure boarders like to sit to strap up, but the ones who have more than a week's worth of experience DO have common sense. Perhaps those who gripe about it should take a step off their high-horse and educate (politely) those who could greatly benefit from the education. They don't actually want to piss you off, nor do they want to be in your way.

On a side note about observing others around you... come to japan. A very big gripe amongst foreigners is how Japanese people tend not to be aware of those around them. Sidewalks, doorways, etc. Everyday at the school where I teach, students and teachers alike will enter a room right before me and actually close the door on my face because they didn't see me. When I catch the door, they turn back in surprise at my existence. They don't even apologize. Do I have any right to gripe about this? No, not to the japanese anyway, especially not in Japan where I am the outsider. But it fricking drives me up the wall!!!

The truth? It's not that they don't see me, it's that they're so well disciplined that they don't even realize they are closing the door on my face. They're trying NOT to disturb the room they are entering by quietly closing the door behind them. They're actually being polite and I'm a moron for getting upset about it.

Not exactly the same, but perhaps you can see the relation.
BTW- I ski.

Sounds like the Japanese believe in minding their own business.

If anyone, boarder or skier is stopped in a really dumb place and I have to evade (sometimes legit or not) I will create some spray as I go by to
"remind" them other people are trying to get by. Not massive spray stop to bury friend kind of spray, just enough to let them know that people are skiing here, and you are in the #$%#$^& way, move it.

OH Yeah BUZZY BOY --that's my thing too !!--

I just put em up on edge and let the SPRAY thing begin--its a BEAUTIFUL thing and lets remember to have a big grin and and a few Yee Haa''s too

This doesn't bother me in the least, provided it's on a wide trail and the boarders are visible from afar.

However, I have seen this be a problem on some very, very narrow trails that were full of (mid atlantic) ice, which makes getting around them extremely difficult and unsafe. Especially in the mid atlantic, where "off piste" sometimes means a drop off into mud and trees so staying on the trail is imperative!

This happened last season on my wife's 3rd time skiing EVER, and she is already complaining about boarders! It's amazing how a few idiots can ruin the reputation of a whole group of people.

I've never seen much of this problem out west, but maybe it's just a perspective thing because it's so bad here.

definitely more of an east coast thing. I rarely have issues out west with boarders. Teenagers who think they are cool. Little skills and lack of enforcement on the slopes due to revenue from boarders. It all adds up.

Seriously, ignoring the supposed "social issues" - if you are a boarder and you want to stop to chat/rest/wait, you want to stop where you can stand and slide. That is on a decent pitch. Stopping on flat brings hassles. If you are a skier, stopping on the flats before a break is easier - no sliding downhill, etc. One or two skate kicks and you are over the break. Skiers cluttering up the flats create hassles for boarders who can not afford to lose momentum...

Neither should be a big deal if people are halfway polite. No big deal. Just keep your eyes open and be responsible - regardless of what you ride...

Well Steve,

There you have it. The topic obviously strikes a nerve. In the space of 24 hours, you've got a huge range of responses from explanations to jokes to sarcasm. Is this a problem? Yes. Is this a big problem? No. Most of the time, there is a way through "the maze". Most of the rest of the time, a simple "excuse me, coming through" will get you through and avoid the sour looks. Common courtesy goes both ways in a crowd. As experienced skiers and riders, we need to show a little tolerance for those with less experience. Although we can take comfort in the knowledge that individual people will learn from experience to pick better spots to stop, hopefully there will never be a shortage of new people to take their place. We need them to keep our sport healthy.

Yes, resort staff can often do a better job educating new riders to keep the areas around the lift exits clear. But if you heard some of the rediculous complaints (e.g. "look at all the snowboarders sitting and blocking the trail" when there are clearly a greater number of stopped skiers on the same slope), it's not hard to see why patrol can seem insensitive and merely focus on the lift ramps and attempting to manage out of control skiers and riders. As an instructor at a small crowded resort, I realize that my groups often contribute to the problem. You have no idea how hard it is to just to manage a group of your own people. Often times I will advise guests who are not in my lessons that they need to move (it helps to have a uniform on), but if there is a safe way through I won't be a nag. Congestion happens when we're busy even though it's possible for people to move out of the way. If we had traffic cops everywhere to prevent it, skiing and riding would be a far less pleasant experience. Resort staff have to draw the line somewhere in between.

In the meantime, in this Epic forum, you will mainly find riders who get off the lift, pick a safe spot to get strapped in and move on. Only a small percentage of skiers continue off the lift without stopping. It is business as usual. What would you like us to do about it?

They're wimps. Not because they're in the middle of the trail. Because they stop. If that had b@!!$ they'd ride from top of the lift back to the lift line without stopping. Obviously they don't have the fitness level to tough out a whole trail. They need to spend more time in the gym in the summer to get in shape.

As to skiers and riders blocking the way at the top of lifts, at a few resorts I've been to there have been signs (little orange ones on poles, like the ones marking hazards) at the lift exit (placed a comfortable coasting distance away) that say "Please move beyond this point when unloading." My impression is that they do a remarkably good job at keeping people moving and not blocking the exit area. I've always wondered why more places don't use them.