Olympic skiing legend Stein Eriksen badly injured - Page 2

It is too bad, that the old guy got hurt, but HE did run into an other person. By all accounts HE violated the Code of Conduct. If that were a teen/young adult male Knuckle Dragger, most of you would be saying, he got what he deserved.

Legends, former medalists, WC champs, still need to respect the rest of us, no matter how great they think they still are.


My concern is for the kid.

Not trying to argue or highjack. If you pop out of the trees onto a slope, don't you have the same responsibility of checking uphill as if you were on a merging trail? Is there such a thing as a true "no fault deal"?

Thanks,

This is close to what I heard from some of the Norges at Snowmass that used to work for him. However, if the kid popped out of the trees and smacked him, it's not a no fault deal.

I guess the party was pretty good, too!

No fault deal?

If what Lonnie posted was true .... the kid "popped" ... whatever the hell "popped" ... means, but it sounds like it is as Marshall McLuhan (Canadian Philosopher .. "The Medium is the Massage) . would have said "a weasel worded" way of he entered a trail without looking up.

Now for those of you who fell asleep during "Ski & Ride 101" .... the beginners class, this is clearly covered as a "no no" and is a part of every slope safety ending of the lesson as brought to you by the PSIA.

Now, I have personally delivered that as part of my safety pitch and I'm not clever or smart enough to have made that up all by myself. That said, if you did take a class and they skipped that part, you got cheated since your instructor was supposed to go over that stuff with you.

I also detest little catch cliches ... that blow smoke around issues with cute twists of language.

:

Little Timmy who was active in his church, loved puppies, got good grades and made honor roll, was working on his Scout badges, and loved to "pop" out of places and astound people.

If what Lonnie says is true ... short and sweet ... "Little Timmy" f'd up.

Thanks for clearing that up!

He broke his shoulder. Who skis on their shoulder? He should be skiing by February, maybe March since he's an old guy.

Realism in ski etiquette / self-centered (egotistical) behavior

I brought up a few of these issues back in November, because skiing is changing with respect to skiers not observing traditional customs, a loss of sense and courtesy on the hill, too much of the old dog eat dog if you will.

The thread was dominated by cynical posts aimed at dis-ing several people posting constructive ideas.

Suggestion: the skiers code is just a beginning. Skiers might benefit from a discussion around new ideas to extend the intent of the code, safety.

It's not rule making, or governing, or over-structuring. It's awareness.

Squaw has had two deaths resulting from high speed collisions (that I am aware of, both fairly recent).

My view: it's not simply an issue of speed, speed isn't even at the heart of the problem. The problem centers around a lack of vision, awareness, and control.


Combine the skiers' ego with a lack of customs to govern behavior and you have what you've already got!::

Stein has done more to further the sport of skiing than anyone -except, possibly, Jean-Claude Killy. Stein was the guy who injected glamor, style and daring ariels into the sport (in vintage equipment best-known for leg-breaking). He popularized the sport in the 40's and 50's, and has remained an exponent of skiing's beauty for decades.

It's easy to lose sight of his contribution, and his extraordinary abilities, because it happened in another age.

Stein may have the best muscle-tone on any 80-year-old alive, which should help in his recovery.

Still, it's true that old bones don't mend well.

Stein may have been skiing faster than he should, for his age. But, how do you slow-down a guy who's fitter than most of us (skies virtually every day - and not blue cruisers).

Even if muscle, skill and coordination remain, bone density is another matter.

As Ott indicated, the challenge is to ski within your envelope as you age, without retreating into a safety shell.

It's a fine line, especially if you're a former champion.

I wish him a speedy and full recovery.

I'm sure he'll ski again. It may take a while though...

My Mom had a crash when cycling when she's 70. Broke her jaw but it healed in time just as expected by the doctor. Old bone or not.

He was probably in pretty good health so far. So he should come out of it fine.

I did not see this happen, so I am relying on 2nd, 3rd etc. descriptions of the accident. IF I have it reasonably correct . . .

If Stein was considered to be skiing too fast, many of do the same more often than not. You just can not account for being surprised.

If you are along the edge of a run or in the trees, and something/somebody "pops" out right in your line, chances are, they get hit.

That's why cars hit deer, kids should not run out from behind parked cars and you don't stop at the bottom of the on ramp.

I'm not 80, so I'll cut him some slack. I would still bet he will be skiing carefully without poles this season. You don't need your wrist to ski without poles; I skied the better part of an afternoon right after braking my wrist (radius), no pole plants though.

Oh, and before you ask, I know what a broken shoulder feels like too (broken collar bone, crushed glenoid, broken shoulder blade).

I have had the pleasure and privilege of skiing with Stein a few times. No greater Gentleman (in the true sense of the word) can be found on a pair of skis anywhere in the world.

I wish him a speedy recovery.

Excellent Post by davluri re Stein Eriksen collision

davluri makes an excellent series of comments in his post concerning the Stein Eriksen collision with a 9 yr old boy. It is ALL ABOUT the intent of the rules. Situations are fluid and rules cannot account for every potential event. Basic courtesy on the hill has eroded because more people ski now that are occassional skiers without being long-term steeped in the etiquette of the sport as "lifers" are and do not have the requisite knowledge to appreciate and implement an evolved and nuanced approach to safety.

I am a life long skier since birth and a former technical alpine ski racer that lives in CO that was one of the top juniors in the US in the late 70's/early 80's and still ski tons of days all year - all terrain all conditions including back country and heli. I have had the pleasure and priviledge to have skied with Stein Eriksen several times - and as recently as 2 yrs ago at Deer Valley where the accident occured. I can tell you that this guy can still really ski - SUPERBLY and beautifully. Just AMAZING! The guy is a total inspiration and one who has done much for the grace, romance and beauty of the sport. NOTICE: He ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS skis in TOTAL control by any estimation. He admits that he now sticks to the "groomers and just cruises around" (in his words) but Stein could do anything he wanted to - trust me. Speed and control are relative to ability, awareness, and skier traffic.

IF I understand correctly (a big IF as I was not there), the 9 yr old skied abruptly out of the trees and onto the hill - without looking uphill to check skier traffic. This is akin to a young child running out into the street from behind a parked car. No difference. How many of you would pull out onto the interstate from a stopped position on the shoulder of the road WITHOUT looking?? Only if you had a death wish.

Yes the rules/skier-code calls for the downhill skier right-of-way but COMMON sense and AWARENESS dictates that one should look up or even give a sidehill glance at the very least when ABRUPT and UPREDICTABLE changes of direction could unduly surprise the uphill skier in ANY situation or position on the hill - especially from a blind location like sidehill trees for godsakes. Let's get real here. Good skiers always ski in control relative to the variables listed above but good skiers will also frequently carry controlled speed near the trees at the edge of a run - afterall trails are only so wide in some areas - this is a fact of life and always will be - so be advised, this is a reality.

KEEPING your eyes open and always using PERIPHERAL VISION is key for all skiers - uphill or downhill. All considered I believe that the child was clearly at fault - and his parents should have instructed the boy not to ever blindly enter a run unless he is certain per visual confirmation that it is clear to jutt out into the hill unexpectedly. I have been skiing since I was 18 months old and have skied all over the world - my parents taught me from the beginning that it is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS to blindly enter a ski trail from the trees or from another trail for that matter - and to always look quickly uphill if I'm going to make abrupt directional changes. I have been preaching this for YEARS!! No uphill skier of even the greatest ability on earth carrying any speed at all could always avoid a blindside entrance by a skier period! The determining crash factor may also be at what point of the turn arc and where on-edge an uphill skier is (not only speed) when a blind skier entrance on the hill occurs. This is just a luck/chance issue as outcome determinant.

I am sad that Stein Eriksen had to pay such an awful price for the innocent but uneducated recklessness of a child's dangerous actions on the hill but I am happy to hear that he is recovering well and will back o the hill where he belongs!! I also sincerely hope that the child is unhurt, happy, and continues to love the sport - but I also hope that he and his parents learned an important lesson here. I write a long post here because this is a critical issue in skiing today as we have high-speed lifts pouring more people onto the hill each hour and all skiing on shaped skies enabling more speed on edge and in turns for skiers that previously were more limited by equipment relative to their ability.

A nice gesture would be for the parents of the child to direct the boy to write a nice apology in a get well card to Stein to help cheer him up. Perhaps he could visit Stein personally and convey his sympathies. This would be the class act move here. I matters not that Stein is a ski sport national treasure - this would be appropriate if Stein had happened to be a member of Joe Q Public.

Bottom Line: Ski areas should consider posting a "Please Look or Glance Uphill When Entering a Ski Run or When Making Abrupt Directional Changes Out of Predictable Rhythm While Skiing" - perhaps someone can dumb this down for pedestrian consuption!

Lastly re Stein Eriksen, Deer Valley and Safety:

I was skiing in Deer Valley many years ago one beautiful sunny and warm Spring day and was approaching a former stand of trees uphill near the Wasatch Lift making big turns on GS skis when I felt an impact on my backside and looked down and saw someone's ski between my skis. A high-speed out of control skier on a virtually empty run had run up on me from behind and was locked between my legs. We were now both unable to turn and were heading for trees about a hundred yds away and gaining speed. I elbowed myself free, neither of us fell, and I avoided the trees and skied to safety and stopped at the entrance to the lift where many people were watching in horror.

As we could have both gotten killed, I was beyond angry and began poling over to this guy to confront him when out of the blue I heard the distinct voice of Stein Eriksen. He was yelling "you, yes YOU out of control skier come with me" and he marched over and grabbed him by the arm and hauled him back to the lift shack and called the Ski Patrol. I heard Stein then shout "you will never ski on this hill again - you are a goner!!". An unbelievable coincidence - Stein just happened to be there, he saw what happened and then was in a position to deal with this guy! When the Ski Patrol escorted this guy off of the hill, the lift line went nuts and applauded. I'll never foget it. I filed my report with the authorities at which time I learned that he was an employee of Deer Valley and had been drinking and then decided to bomb the hill - this guy was a marginal skier and skiing too fast for any open hill. I mention this because Stein Eriksen and Deer Valley did the right thing - they both know a thing or two about safety!! Btw, I love DV as an area - DV is a great ski area with phenomenal grooming and posting, excellent patroling and safety measures and Stein is a world class skier - so they recognized the fault and did the right thing to this guy - banishment.

Happy Skiing to ALL...and look uphill please!

If the kid jumped out of the trees onto a run and Stein hit him, then it is the kids fault. One thing is to ski in control and avoid hitting people in front of you, another is to be clairvoyant.

To BuchwackerPA: DV did not pay me enough:-) Love UT skiing all around and all areas but Snowbird-Alta rules. As u know, DV is great for groomers and lunch - and after occasional special storms...peeps there don't/can't ski out pow. Mayflower has good vert and steeps and can get decent wind load - had some deeeep days there and untracked and light until sun hits it. It's goooood. Also had a 41 incher at Sundance a few years go and did laps in Bishops bowl - decent vert and NOBODY there - went back the next day and still had untracked and a bluebird - only sold 500 tickets over two days - all beginners at the bottom. Heard Powder Mtn (aka PowMow?) is good for fresh - true? When/what type of storm?

Did the Interconnect last year - was fun and worth it. Ski Utah will get my invoice

I have no idea where this happened, but there are a lot of runouts between trees at DV, especially at the bottom of Ontario bowl, where the trees are so thick you pretty much have to straightline directly onto a blue/green groomer at a right angle. This is tricky and you gotta pay attention. People don't. Same thing happened at PCMR last time I was up powder skiing. Skier was mining the pow in the trees, straightlined at a right angle onto a groomer at speed, and whammo.
And by the way, Bishop's bowl is down at Brian Head, or Taos, somewhere in Colorado maybe. Sundance is a film festival. Don't go there...

that is true about Ontario at the bottom if that's where it happened. It's crowded on that runout a lot of times and although you try and look uphill it's a 10-15 foot drop in places so there's some risk involved. Dunno but it sounds like it could be one of those nolo contendre issues.

Thread Hijack- Aldo; Seriously, Powder Mountain is so inaccessable that you can bag freshies there days after a storm. We Utards like to pretend it's a big secret, but given it's location, it won't be LCC anytime soon. If you go, hire a guide. Best $ you'll ever spend.

I have been watching this forum for a long time. I was told this was one of the best sites, but now I realize, it’s just a way for the more senior members to criticize others for their mistakes and comments .
Until now I have held back from saying anything on various topics

But with the incident that involved Stein I just couldn’t take it anymore.
Most of the members ( the knitting circle) or those who have posted comments here are acting like they are the judge , jury and executioner. WHO GAVE YOU THAT RIGHT?::

How the heck can you sit there and judge him, for something you have read, that is 2nd. 3rd. 4th. hand news? Your all quick off the draw to blame him. You also probily blame the lift operator for you dropping your hat , when you 5 towers from the loading ramp.
You all just need to shut the **** up. If you didn’t personally witness the incident, you have no right to convict him.

Have yet to read one comment here, from any of you, saying that you called Deer Valley and asked to see the report. Well ‘get er done‘. If not bury the subject. It’s done and over with. Get a life.
I’ll bet my house, that Stein is truly sorry for the whole thing to happen.

He’s not a mean spirited person, as some here insinuate he is. For a person in his 80’s to still be able to get out every day and go skiing is truly an amazing thing. Yet there are some here who think he’s told old to ski. So what ,resorts ban you from skiing if your past 30 years old? Well that’s is what some of sound like.

Ah excuse me, you’ll be 80 years old some day, and will still be fit enough to ski., but will not be able to, because many years ago , you and a group of 30 somethings got resorts to ban the older skier.

One other thing.
Stop bashing Deer Valley for something that some people love while skiing. And that is to be pampered like a king. They have a niche that over 300,000 - 400,000 people a year enjoy. But no, the KNITTING CIRCLE here, thinks the industry doesn’t needs anything remotely close to the product that D.V. offers. Why are you so afraid of being treated like royalty?
They must be doing something right, that no other resort can even touch. So what is so wrong with that? And what is so wrong with readers of a magazine votes them as the best resort in North America? So you don’t like the idea, you don’t have to ski there. You all sound like a bunch of poor sports when your favorite team loses the game. Deal with it.
Your crying and whining is getting old fast.

So if standing in long lift lines, eating cold rubbery burgers, and dealing with employees who don’t know what a shower is, then ski there. As for a few of us, we prefer the finer things in life.

1) You should have gone with your first instinct.
2) Have YOU called and seen the report? Didn't think so.
3) If you think no other resport can touch DV's "royal touch" then apparently you haven't been to Beaver Creek, that even includes real skiing versus monotonous blue groomers (and hot chocolate chip cookies when the lifts close!). And down the street from DV is Snowbasin that has lodges and food (not to mention terrain) that embarrass DV all day long. I guess I prefer better things versus DV's "finer" things- thanks anyway.

Almost not worth commenting on...


I think I'll just stay with that. Nothing says a person has to be right to post. This thread sort of proves the point.

Best wishes to Stein for a fast recovery.

Get Well Soon, Stein!
Glad the 9-year-old wasn't hurt.
Haven't been to Deer Valley, and oddly enough nobody has yet put a gun to my head and insisted I ski there.
Sounds like Deer Valley could be fun* on a powder day.
I always check uphill.
I always TRY to ski in control (I'm successful most of the time).
Being able to ski at 80 is a VERY cool thing.
Wish I'd learned to ski at 9 instead of mid-30s.
Broken bones hurt, avoid whenever possible.

* 2. a. Diversion, amusement, sport; also, boisterous jocularity
or gaiety, drollery. Also, a source or cause of amusement or
pleasure.

i just wish Stein a speedy recovery
no comments on DV or skiing rules...........

Sundance is a ski area. I will be taking a PSIA assesment there later this year and will post about the area. It looks small and very plush.

Most of us appreciate the "finer things". Those of us that can actually afford them try not to rub it in the faces of those who can't.

Welcome to Epic. I can't wait for your next post.

The reverse snobbery expressed in this thread, cut just as much as the perceived snobbery you quoted. I think its off topic for this thread and am requesting that members stop taking sideways pot shots at each other over fabricated class issues.

I love Deer Valley on a powder day.

But then, I guess I'm not too picky...

I wish Mr. Erikson a speedy and complete recovery. Few skiers are as accomplished or respected.



 

Edited by jxb - 4/25/11 at 6:42am