From: grant@clarinet.com (Grant Robinson)
Subject: Re: Danged Resp.Code
Organization: ClariNet Communications Corp.
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 23:30:05 GMT

In article <BuFKD0.3L@apollo.hp.com> cloyd_j@apollo.hp.com (John Cloyd) writes:
>
>>To be honest, I would not call anyone who has a problem with 
>>"unpredictable beginners" advanced, let alone an expert.
> 
>seriously, it depends on how you define "has a problem with". Since you
>appear to have missed it, I'll try to clear up what I meant. In this

I was simply pointing out that they do not particularly "endanger" a good
skier.  Yes they still can be a nuisance, in that you may not be able to ski
your favourite line.   However resort skiing is a communal activity, and as
such, the wishes of the individual can not always be put foremost. It tends
to work best if everyone exercises restraint and respect, but then again,
this is the real world.

As for beginners vs. experts on certain slopes, that comes down to
philosophy.  I've been skiing most of my life, and I don't believe 
I've earned any more right to a particular slope than a beginner. 
(that does not mean that there are not slopes which are not wise or 
good choices for beginners).  

If I were a backcountry skier, I might feel more like I'd earned
some rights to a slope if I slogged some serious miles/altitude to get
there. [Then I'd get to complain about the pinheads who helicopter in]

>my concern is not with avoiding a collision with them, but with the effect
>they have on my ability to enjoy myself. 

What about their ability to enjoy themselves?  Not to pick a fight, but
everyone has different ideas of pleasure and fun, and who's to say one's
superior to another.  Perhaps you're making their existence more miserable
than they're making yours :)

>If everyone is skiing at a good speed, staying in their line, etc. it 
>works out great.  But put a group of 6 (they travel in packs, you know) 
>at various points across the trail and you have a back up. 

Sounds just like the highways around here, and no amount af policing has
made much of a dent in these kinds of problems! 

I do understand your position, but realistically, I don't think policing
would make skiing a more enjoybable experience.  Tests of skill and their
administration.  Extra staff and controlled access gates.  Extra expense
(resorts aren't going to do it out of the goodness of their hearts). 
For me, much of what skiing's about is a sense of freedom, and some of 
that would be lost if people started getting fed down hills through 
controlled access gates like slots in a pinball machine.  Perhaps this is
the way of the future, and I'm a dying breed.

>I'd like to
>see ski areas make as honest an effort to keep these people out of my way
>as they do to 'protect' them down on the blues. Is that unfair ?

I don't believe it's just the beginners who are being protected, it's 
in everyone's best interest to slow down in high traffic areas 
and cross junctures.

P.S. If you'd like to go skiing sometime, I'll show you a few good tricks
to make beginners think twice about trying to ski the big boys. :)
-- 
Grant Robinson -- ClariNet Communications Corp, Sunnyvale, CA (408)-296-0366
Newsgroups: rec.skiing