No Reserve on the Ski Slope

[WooHoo 0]

A few weeks ago I went for a couple of ddays skiing towards the end of the season in France. On the first day the snow was kinda soupy and I was going at a sensible speed for my skill level, when I hit some ice. I picked up a lot of speed quickly and looking for a place to turn discover a group of small kids at the exact point I wanted to turn ( I am not that great a skier and the ski's were end of season rental specials).

Now I get to that moment of Woah!!!!!! as in Woah I'm outta control. I figured if I couldn't slow down I was going to fall and it may get an injury as well. As it turned out I managed to make a turn that would not have won any prizes for style, slow down, and stop. No big deal, it got me thinking, when I mentioned that I've taken up skydiving people think it is a dangerous sport. It is a high risk sport but it is so safety conscious, people go out of there way on DZ's to look out for you, anyone will give you a gear check.

People will suggest moves to practise and most people run through their EP's before a jump. Most were helmets, have AAD's skyhooks and RSL's.

On the ski slope there is no reserve, if you don't wear a helmet and collide aor head butt the ground at 20mph - chances are it's a serious trauma injury. Whilst I was their, my friend dislocated his shoulder ( low speed fall over) a woman broke her back (fell of a T-bar) and I saw the blood truck on the mountain every day.

Yes I agree to some extend with the false impression that skydiving is dangerous, but it's high risk in terms of consequences when things go wrong.

Now skiing at the end of the season in wet snow, without a helmet, in poor visibility with other skiers of mixed ability who have no sense of safety protocols. Now that's dangerous.

In case you were wondering how fast I was going down the mountain when I wished someone had invented a reserves drouge chute for skiers , I'm guessing about 250mph, but I could be wrong.......no it might have been 270mph either way it felt way fast.

Oh I got concussed playing golf once as well - so golf too s a danger sport I guess, any others out there anyone would like to add to the list, and in so doing get off all the danger sport lists.


"I had a brilliant idea once but I think Alexander Graham Bell beat me to it" to it]

[bigway 4]

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In case you were wondering how fast I was going down the mountain when I wished someone had invented a reserves drouge chute for skiers , I'm guessing about 250mph, but I could be wrong.......no it might have been 270mph either way it felt way fast.

Mmmmm, sure you were

Considering speed skiing records are all under 160mph.

You might like to know that speed skydiving records are around 330mph straight down towards the big green monster.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
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[ChrisL 2]

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In case you were wondering how fast I was going down the mountain when I wished someone had invented a reserves drouge chute for skiers , I'm guessing about 250mph, but I could be wrong.......no it might have been 270mph either way it felt way fast.

Mmmmm, sure you were

Considering speed skiing records are all under 160mph.
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pssst! he was making a joke

__

My mighty steed

[bigway 4]

Oh, looked to me like he thought he was actually going that speed. My mistake.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
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[peek 20]

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In case you were wondering how fast I was going down the mountain when I wished someone had invented a reserves drouge chute for skiers

When I first read the subject of your post, that actually came to mind. It's not an entirely crazy idea. It would need to be attached to the hips so it wouldn't jerk you off your feet like if it was attached to the shoulders, and how to deploy it in a hurry while holding on to ski poles would be an issue....

[bigway 4]

Speed skiing to the point where you could possibly want a parachute to slow you down....I think that would mean that you were on a pretty steep slope.... So going on the thought in my mind of deploying a parachute (however you end up deploying it) from the hips, the picture i have in my mind says that the canopy will slam into the slope when the relative wind hits it, this picking up snow, or even just ripping you off your feet while it is inflating after hitting the slope.

Thinking along those lines i could picture mounting something on the back of your shoulders and having the pilot chute ( avery powerful one) deploying straight up so it can clear the angle of the slope. Keep in mind, i dont think you would want a very big cute but then also going down a slope at this sort of speed and deploying a canopy, if the canopy does inflate, (the slope being steep) you are going to lift off and be flying a canopy, then this is going to present multiple dangers of landing on snow/ice and then multiple obstacles and also landing with speed skiis strapped to your feet.

I really can not imagine any situation where this is a good idea. If you skiing at these sort of speeds you would be very well trained and i think an important part of this training would be how to fall, as well as how to slow down/stop.
The only place i can see our sporting equipment meeting skiing equipment is off the side of a cliff.

Would love to hear someone give me another situation though of how this could work and why it would help speed skiing as this has interested me.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
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[WooHoo 0]

I think I was probably going 25-30mph, the 250 -270mph was artistic licence.

I did discuss the drouge idea with an instructor who thought it wasn't going to make any difference. I also though ski instructors should use camera helmets, (never seen one on the slopes)

he idea behind this thread was more along the humor gland, I was wondering if we can make the case for apparently safe sports being dangerous and vice versa

[pilotdave 0]

When I read the subject, I figured he was talking about this video: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=3749.

Dave

[WooHoo 0]

Whihlst I am on a roll. I am surprised ski instructors don't wear camera helmets. For 20 year of very infrequent skiiing the instructor says to me "Bend the knees" No I am convinced my legs are bent, but they tell me no.

In my early AFF jumps I kept getting the straighten legs signal, and on AFF4 hired a cameraguy to film my jump, once I could actually see it I actually got it, sso I could see it in my mind.

When I offered to pay for two helmets to set up a video coaching programme through the local school, they gave me that kinds laugh and shrug of the shoulders, which translated into "It'll never work"

Anyone interested, let me know?

[sammyc 0]

My good skydiving buddy and I had a whole summer of jumping planned until a couple of weeks ago he broke his leg sking in france. He's out of skydiving until october, must be a moral to the story somewhere. Also, you had to pay for camera on your AFF? whats that all about?

[bigway 4]

I think it will work.
Something different but i was working in a pub in a remote part of scotland. There was an abselilng whitewater rafting company. I ended up making a fortune just videoing the group each day and then offering my product to the group for a certain amount each. If someone is on holiday and they are taking part of some sort of adventure/activity, they have no time to video it so i found that tourists will pay for the whole package when they are trying something.

You know a nice marketing idea might be designing a snowboarding camera helmet set up with a dv camera, chincup and cam eye and market it out on at the slopes. I have not either seen it yet, but snowboarders are like skaters and they like to video everything. I know it is done, but is their an actual product on the shelves?

Thank god it is nearly Saturday.

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
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[kelpdiver 2]

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I did discuss the drouge idea with an instructor who thought it wasn't going to make any difference.

It will do nothing for snowboarders that go into the trees and suffocate in a tree well. No help for colliions either, at least not for the person on the receiving end. No help for big air jumps gone bad as well. A certain number go flying out of control on an open intermediate slope, but not a very large number.

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he idea behind this thread was more along the humor gland, I was wondering if we can make the case for apparently safe sports being dangerous and vice versa

Why deny the truth to yourself?

[tombuch 0]

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You know a nice marketing idea might be designing a snowboarding camera helmet set up with a dv camera, chincup and cam eye and market it out on at the slopes. I have not either seen it yet, but snowboarders are like skaters and they like to video everything. I know it is done, but is their an actual product on the shelves?

I teach snowboarding in the winter at Stratton Mountain in Vermont, and hold instructor certification from the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI). Stratton is a high-end resort with some of the wealthiest clients in the northeast. I'll offer some quick comments.

Skydiving helmets work when snowboarding (or skiing), and there are some similar helmets marketed to the general sports crowd.

Use of this equipment is unusual in snowsports, but the video is good for training. Downside: the equipment is expensive, subject to damage in cold/wet snow conditions, and it requires edit space. The pay for snowsports instructors is a joke so they don't have gear that they are willing to put on slope with clients, and most resorts do not have much of a video budget. We do see some video training in advanced race and freestyle programs, but that's usually a handheld position that records each rider/skiier as they blast by a gate or feature. Some instructors and fun-riders do take their cameras on the mountain, and some use helmet mounts, but mostly it just for fun or their own use.

I'd love to have video available for my clients, but it would require a real helmet that I could trust on the mountain (not an untested skydiving helmet), there would need to be a budget someplace to cover equipment damage from falls and the elements, there would need to be an editing resource available so the tape could be packaged for the client, and there would need to be an income stream to pay the instructor. My winter clients have the dollars, and they are willing to pay USD 90.00 for a 1-hour private lesson, or USD 400.00 per day for private instruction and coaching, but they are not clamoring for video. We have had a couple of instructors try to market the service on their own, and it falls flat.
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Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[Katherine 0]

on the camera idea, when i have filmed frinds for fun when snowboarding it has been with a hand held and that works fine, as long as you don't have to look though the lens or anything. if it was attached to a helmet you would only be able to film in the direction your head was pointing, not so great when scanning the slope for obstecals/other users etc. with a camera in my hand i can pertty much keep the person in focus and centre screen while lookin around and turning at differnet places/times to the people i am filming, with a camera helmet this would not be possible.
x

Leeds University Skydiving Club
www.skydiveleeds.co.uk

[bigway 4]

Sure, but with a camera helmet you would get to experience a different view, the view of the rider. Sure it aint going to cover glamour shots or anything but it would be sick on rails and half-pipe.
I was in a go-karting Grand Prix race on an FAI race trak a few weeks ago and had my camera helmet on, I got to say the video is awesome. Started in 11th position in the final and ended up coming first place. watching that video again of passing and working the corners to pass other karts just looks wicked! Next time i think i will wear the camera backwards a different shot

.Karnage Krew Gear Store
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[Cloudi 0]

In the spirit of your original post...

I once ended up with a concussion playing Frisbee. I couldn't remember who was president when I went to the hospital!

There's no reserve in Frisbee. Skydiving is safer, in my experience.

Kim
Watch as I attempt, with no slight of hand, to apply logic and reason.

[steve1 5]

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I've taken up skydiving people think it is a dangerous sport. It is a high risk sport but it is so safety conscious, people go out of there way on DZ's to look out for you, anyone will give you a gear check.

On the ski slope there is no reserve, if you don't wear a helmet and collide aor head butt the ground at 20mph - chances are it's a serious trauma injury. Whilst I was their, my friend dislocated his shoulder ( low speed fall over) a woman broke her back (fell of a T-bar) and I saw the blood truck on the mountain every day.
]

.............................................................................
I love to ski! The faster the better. And I agree that skiing can be dangerous, but skydiving is much more so, (at least in my mind).

I think as the years pass, and the longer you skydive, you'll agree with this.

I've never seen anyone die in the sport, but I have lost five friends so far. Veterans in the sport have lost a lot more than that....Steve1