Incident at Snowbasin

Evren

Evren

New member
This video has been creating a lot of buzz the last 24 hours:
http://vimeo.com/34277693
There's been coverage in the local news :
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=186...rassment-by-snowbasin-employee-caught-on-tape
There are 500 comments on Snowbasin's facebook page and the video was viewed 70K+ times just today.

The kids are respectful throughout. Though, they are aware it is being recorded on GoPro and the ski patrol probably is not. Patrol does escalate the situation unnecessarily before backing down (does he notice the camera?) His language is uncalled for and he apologizes soon after. Boarders commenting on facebook seem to be in a tizzy over this and calling for both the patrol and the instructor's head... and moustaches :-) I couldn't really fault the instructor. And the patrol, he could just be having a bad day.

I am liable to go easy on Snowbasin because my own experience there has been very positive. But maybe I am just a skier blind to the injustices visited on boarders day-in and day-out (!)

In some ways it is a very Utah incident: I see this going very differently with teenagers from the city where I lived previously. There have been a number of previous instances where I was quite impressed with the demeanor of young people in this state.

What do the cooler heads on this board think?
 
Being both a skier and a boarder, I thought the young man could have been alittle close to instructor at the jump he went over, but, as far as speed, it didn't look fast to me. I did think the ski patroler was out of line, why not give them a warning first? My experiences at Snowbasin have always been positive, but, no body deserves to be told to F### up, by, someone who should be solving the problem, not escalating it. Just my 2 cents.
 
With out the 7-lettered "f bomb" used by the patrolman, this video becomes just another wasted video.

It seems as this is an isolated incident, taken out of context, by the cameraperson, for use to embarrass SnowBasin and patrolman Tim Taylor. It also was video'd without the permission of SnowBasin and Patrolman Taylor. This is a form of "gotcha" photography. The posting, internet wide, leads me to believe it is a direct attempt to harm the corporate interests of SnowBasin by manipulating public opinion using potential illegal or at the least questionable tactics.

The stupid remarks left on Facebook and on other social media outlets by others only reinforces my line of thinking.
 
I think if I had of acted like that patroller I would have been fired.

Maybe the kid was a little close to that one instructor just camping at the side hit. Was he riding fast? Just by the nature of what he did, no way.

The little kid on skis was definitely 20+ feet away from where he jumped. So arguing that the kid could of been hit is a not even an issue. The instructor that stopped him, should have just given him a quick talking too and left it at that.

The ski patroller was out of hand. If he still has his job he's lucky.

I've also seen numerous complaints from both skiers and snowboarders about how ski patrol at acts. This is a PR nightmare for Snowbasin and deservedly so.
 
He comes within five feet of the first instructor. While he wasn't going fast and there's a low probability that the boarder would have hit the kid, coming that close to the instructor/"entering their space" was stupid and reinforces the cliches, deserved or not, that people have about boarders.

No question, the kids were respectful and the patroller overreacted and shouldn't have told him to STFU. Giving the guy a timeout for an hour would have communicated the same message. That said, I get really annoyed when privileged white kids play the discrimination card.
 
My 2 cents:
1) The boarder that was cited was very respectful and should have gotten just a warning from the instructor.
2) The patrolman was way over the the top, needs a talking-to from his superiors about PR.
3) The guy with the camera was a bit provocative, definitely helped the patroller dig himself a deeper hole.
 
My take is this would never have happened at a Mountain Riders Alliance place. There you're required to go in 4th gear.

That being said, patrol should've given a warning, left it at that, and all would've been fine. I don't think the boarders did anything worth being stopped as they seemed well in control.
 
Agree with almost all of the above. Interesting thing is, many of the facebook commenters exhibit at an attitude just as strident as the patroller's and a much fouler mouth while ostensibly being opposed to those very same things. And the f-bomb seems overemphasized: to me there is not much difference between "SHUT UP! Give me your pass!" and "STFU! Give me your pass!" Both come from the same place, so the curse word is a technicality.
However, some of these kids have no idea how good they have it at Snowbasin overall. If people actually do boycott it (doubtful) it is full-on spoiled-brat behavior.
 
jamesdeluxe":10xncl4a said:
He comes within five feet of the first instructor. While he wasn't going fast and there's a low probability that the boarder would have hit the kid, coming that close to the instructor/"entering their space" was stupid and reinforces the cliches, deserved or not, that people have about boarders.

No question, the kids were respectful and the patroller overreacted and shouldn't have told him to STFU. Giving the guy a timeout for an hour would have communicated the same message. That said, I get really annoyed when privileged white kids play the discrimination card.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

I'll admit I was a little surprised by how quickly patrol resorted to the use of abusive language in an extremely misguided attempt to assert some authority. At first glance, however, I found it kind of hard to believe this generated any buzz at all. Patrol overreacting to young skiers/riders failing to exhibit 100% courtesy and/or caution on crowded slopes hardly seems newsworthy.

IMO, it is the use of technology to record and disseminate the incident that makes this a somewhat interesting story. I wonder if a younger patroller might have sooner tumbled to the fact that video of the incident was going to be all over the web before he punched out for the day.
 
IMO, it is the use of technology to record and disseminate the incident
Click to expand...
Indeed. I see in our future an unobtrusive wearable camera that records on an hourly loop 24/7 so one can choose to document any event after the fact. Uploading to the Cloud, of course, so it can't just be yanked off of you.
 
By the looks of the snowmaking guns the natural snow isnt happening just yet. it costs money to run those guns. If I was the owner I wouldnt want people harrasing the paying customers even if they are employees. Employees can do good for PR until you introduce them to a police state on the bunny runs. BTW if anyone ever sees me with a ski instructor jacket with a little medal on it you all have my permission to shoot me .
 
Comment on skiing/boarding in a marked "SLOW" zone/area:

Jumping is not a slow skiing/boarding maneuver... when in the process
of obtaining air, there is minimal control to the equipment from the
skier/boarder. This should be handled, by patrol, with a warning not
to attempt such a move on a tightly regulated ski run.

Bottom line: The Boarder in the video is negligent in his action while
on that run.
 
Evren":qado5x7a said:
In some ways it is a very Utah incident
Click to expand...
Why is this Utah-specific? Was it because they were boarding on Sunday? :-k

When my six-year-old son takes adaptive ski lessons, there are always two instructors just like in that video, one at the top to make sure that no one comes near him and one who's giving the actual instruction. If that boarder had done that during his lesson, he would've had a close encounter with the business end of my ski pole.
 
Why is this Utah-specific?
Click to expand...
Just the way the interaction went and the impact (real or feigned) of the profanity.
I had a somewhat similar incident at Canyons: two teenage boarders -- girl and a boy -- sitting abreast in the middle of a catwalk, me scouting for my catwalk-challenged partner coming from behind. I, maybe tersely, said, "That is NOT a good place to rest". The conversation soon devolved into "Would you talk to her like that if she was your daughter?" and something about the Xmas spirit. Which was odd, because I had not used foul language and also, I feel too young to have a teenage daughter :-) Anyway I blurted something out to the guy in frustration as I left -- nothing too serious -- that sorta justified his comment. If anybody had been filming the latter part of that conversation, I'd be the a-hole. That's the thing about video footage. It's not as iron-clad as it first seems. For all we know, patrol might have had a prior interaction with these two. They protest, "We weren't warned!" and the next minute complain how they're always the ones getting yelled at by patrol! They're clearly counting on a warning per-day-per-patrol before they change their speed.

Edit: Actually, in the message you quoted I was thinking of all the positive interactions I've had with teenagers and children since moving here. Which had made me forget the incident in this message :-s
 
I wonder if it might be just a matter of time before resort management starts requiring patrol to helmet cam discussions like this one. You know, for quality assurance purposes.
 
jamesdeluxe":ws74yb1v said:
Evren":ws74yb1v said:
In some ways it is a very Utah incident
Click to expand...
Why is this Utah-specific? Was it because they were boarding on Sunday? :-k
Click to expand...
Reread Evren's post. I think you're missing the point. He was mentioning how respectful the boarders were, esp. in comparison to the reaction of the patroller.
 
And now, this:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4027105/iPhone-Siri-tells-lad-in-Tesco-Shut-the-f-up.html
crying_boy.jpg

That's it, I am boycotting Apple [-(
 
It sums up life in the UK that a mother would give a toss about an iPhone app in a supermarket. Woopy doo and if someone in this country at age 12 has not heard it never mind said it a hundred times I'd be surprised.

As for the original footage I have to say my only immediate thought was that the boarder should not have been that close to the guy standing in what was a wide open area. It was totally unnecessary with that much space to play in.

However patrol's response was OTT but like the story in the Sun blown way out of proportion by a needy teen seeking a pointless apology.
 
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