[jmpreston]

Same issue, safety and trail conflicts. The Alta ski area in UT (a fav of mine long ago) can prohibit snow boarders because some of them are pissing off skiers. These may be the same guys who piss off hikers and equestrians during the summer.

Anyway, the snow boarders tried to use the 14th Amendment to re-gain access to Alta and so far it isn't working. I doubt it will. Otherwise motorcycles could gain access to the John Muir Trail.

http://news.yahoo.com/forest-backs-ski-areas-snowboarding-ban-182820678--finance.html

 

[Bokchoicowboy]

Hmmm...playing the safety card to keep the snowboarders out...now where have I heard that type of noise lately? Oh yeah, it is the latest argument employed by the bad-attitude horse people and the hateful-old-hiker types in their attempts to eliminate mountain biking from public lands.

 

[Diesel~]

Imagine if they tried to ban barefoot hiking, since those folks are always looking down and not forward, in an effort to avoid sharp stones that may injure tender feet...

-D

 

[Fleezus]

Is this still a thing? I thought the snobby skier/anti-snowboarder thing had passed when the snowboarders started to outnumber the skiers by 5 to 1 (63% of statistics are made up on the spot). Even my telemarker, purist, older brother doesn't seem to mind them anymore. Every single friend of mine is a snowboarder and if anything, I get crap for being the only skier.

 

[huntermos]

This isn't the same as the ongoing efforts to allow biking on trails. While the argument that snowboarders pose a danger to skiers (above any of the other accepted risks in snowsports) is absurd, some of the terrain at Alta is private, and more importantly, the lifts to access said terrain are private. Thus Alta, like any other private land/infrasturcture owner, can ban certain types of users at their discretion, much like Tamarancho bans non-BSA hikers and all equestrians from their trail system. It's still a BS thing for Alta to do, but the fact that there is private property involved differentiates this issue from that of bike access on public land.

FWIW, I ski and board, and was around in the mid-80's when we fought to allow snowboards at ski areas. Despite the oft cited belief that snowboarders outnumber skiers, it's still the other way around and at present, snowboarders are losing ground to skiers in terms of overall skier numbers. That said, the ski industry in general is withering and will continue to contract from a high of 800+ ski areas in the late 70's to well below the 477 ski areas operating this season (in the US).

 

[Procter]

Agree with huntermos, a private company refusing to serve a specific type of customer is different than different user groups disputing access to public lands


I think the forest service is merely honoring alta's right to decide, not necessarily endorsing it themselves

 

[Axe]

Snowboarders do not bother me much, but they do seem to have less control on the slopes. I was skiing most of this miserable season behind my kids, as it was not much more to do for first twenty days on the slope - and they had been hit by boarders, thankfully no injuries, three times. Not a good reason, obviously, to ban them - but if one private business wants to provide certain experience to their private customers, and it is the only frigging business in the country, well, whatever.

And seems skiing making a comeback. Just a few years ago it was like half the people on boards, and growing. This year, a notable minority. I blame fat skis with rocker - got it this year, stupid easy to turn around and skid in Sierra crap.

 

[cmon4day]

I'm a life-long skier. Too old to try something new. Generally have no problem with the knuckle dragging crowd. However, when it's a powder day, the inexperienced snowboarder(s) goes up to the top of the mountain and instead of ripping it they side slip down taking out a 6' wide swath of freshie with them. It doesn't take long for the whole mountain to get skied out.

 

[8iking VIIking]

I'm a life-long skier. Too old to try something new. Generally have no problem with the knuckle dragging crowd. However, when it's a powder day, the inexperienced snowboarder(s) goes up to the top of the mountain and instead of ripping it they side slip down taking out a 6' wide swath of freshie with them. It doesn't take long for the whole mountain to get skied out.

Same can be said for a novice skiier "snowplowing" down the run

 

[Stalk]

I recall seeing movie in some rental place "Kill snowboarder" or something of that sort. Worst part about those encounters, when SBers fall, they fall on the butt and put board in front like a plow. Seen many bad outcomes from that.
However, any issue have to be handled from personal responsibility standpoint, rather than mass rejection. So rephrasing famous saying: I don't agree with that but will fight to keep all options available.

PS. I too found less boarders this season. But it maybe due to crappy weather so only die hards are riding. Majority of boarders are casual crowd who will do whatever most popular/hip at the moment. Hovewer I agree that skiing getting its cool status back.

 

[TahoeBC]

One trend I've been seeing with at least with the circles I run in, is many of the next generation of kids who's parents snowboard are picking up skiing, guess kids just like to be different

I have no problem with snowboarders, although I've given out a couple a stiff forearm's after making blindside turns into me. I'm sure I would have loved it as a kid, just seems like to much falling as an old guy to learn.

And yea fat skis make skiing powder ridiculously easy

 

[cmon4day]

Same can be said for a novice skiier "snowplowing" down the run

Yes that could be said but I've never seen someone snowplowing down and advanced run on a powder day.

 

[dagenhay]

I'm a snowboarder and I ride the terrain parks, boxes and jumps. Terrain parks specifically designed for jumps, rails and boxes. I've seen plenty of novice skiers zigzagging through the terrain parks cutting in front of both take offs and landings, having no idea that a snowboarding is already making his approach to hit the feature with the proper speed to do the feature. Too slow and you don't make it to the landing. Too fast and you overshoot the landing. Yet these novice skiers feel the need to come from the side and cut off the rider. Even though every terrain park I have been in has a sign at the top specifying the size and difficulty level of the terrain park, they still ride through it as if it were the bunny slope.

And it doesn't help when you see the ski school class off the bunny slope teaching the skiers to go diagonally down the slopes, from one side of the trail to the other in a caravan that stretches the width of the trail, making it difficult to get by/passed/through them.

 

[Zignzag]

Hmm, I suspected Alta WANTED to allow snow boarding, for the extra revenue, and wanted the USFS, not them, to take the blame for it.

 

[Procter]

Hmm, I suspected Alta WANTED to allow snow boarding, for the extra revenue, and wanted the USFS, not them, to take the blame for it.

That doesn't make sense. Let's say some percentage of skiers prefer Alta because of their skiers only rule (likely a shrinking number, this is 2014 . . . but still). So then USFS forces Alta to allow boards. Those skiers aren't going to stay more loyal to Alta because Alta tried to keep snowboarders out. They're just going to reevaluate their favorite resort in light of the new development.

 

[ziscwg]

Oh I remember when I heard one skier complaining that "snowbaorders take the snow off the moguls."

I replied in a friendly manner, "Would there be moguls if they weren't made by a skier???

This perplexed him

 

[jtmartino]

Oh I remember when I heard one skier complaining that "snowbaorders take the snow off the moguls."

I replied in a friendly manner, "Would there be moguls if they weren't made by a skier???

This perplexed him

Snowboarders make them too.


This whole debate is irrelevant. All of the complaints can be attributed to both snowboarders and skiers. Novices are novices, regardless if they're one or two plankers.

Novices inadvertently carve moguls trying to reduce speed on steeper terrain. Novices cut in front of other riders. Novices cause crashes from going too slow or too fast, or simply riding recklessly. Novices can be dangerous, and everyone was a novice at some point.

Alta has a stick up their behind. It's like golf courses and gender rules. An old-school way of thinking. As mentioned before, nowadays someone in the "hooligan" crowd is just as likely to be a skier as a boarder.

 

[TahoeBC]

Empty Beer, time to Queue up that video you made years ago at Alta

 

[8iking VIIking]

Snowboarders make them too.


This whole debate is irrelevant. All of the complaints can be attributed to both snowboarders and skiers. Novices are novices, regardless if they're one or two plankers.

Novices inadvertently carve moguls trying to reduce speed on steeper terrain. Novices cut in front of other riders. Novices cause crashes from going too slow or too fast, or simply riding recklessly. Novices can be dangerous, and everyone was a novice at some point.

Alta has a stick up their behind. It's like golf courses and gender rules. An old-school way of thinking. As mentioned before, nowadays someone in the "hooligan" crowd is just as likely to be a skier as a boarder.

Spot on. I see as many punk skiers as snowboarders nowadays. 10 years ago all the "hip" people were on boards, now it may be shifting back towards skis. I think its because skiing got its cool factor back with the younger crowd. More middle aged people are snowboarding so their kids want to do the opposite of them