Oh Shit...You gotta read this...

mckeeman

mckeeman

Active member
Letters to the Editor

Whistler-Blackcomb responds to rude skiers/snowboarders claim

Published Date: 2006-01-18 Time: 14:58:05

Issues and attitudes need addressing

I have just returned from a snowboarding trip for the first time to your beautiful and unique resort. I had the opportunity to read your magazine with interest, especially the article from the editor concerning tourist dollars and Mr. Romeskie receiving a snowball to the head.

Having boarded throughout the USA and my partner having been to Europe, we noticed something disturbing. Whistler-Blackcomb has the rudest skiers/snowboarders we have encountered. Also, tied into this is the conspicuous lack of ski patrol actually patrolling. We are intermediate boarders and spent a great deal of time in the "slow" zones where I experienced two purposely-executed close calls. One by a skier, the other by a boarder who felt it necessary to give me a snow shower while I was taking a rest, directly adjacent to a slow sign! Like Mr. Romeskie's "assailant", this boarder didn't have the sac to directly confront me with whatever issue he had with me (I am not the size of Mr. Romeskie, but I do have the skill to "display" my displeasure at dickless cowards such as those that inhabit your mountain).

Here in the States, maybe due to our litigious society, it is very common to be admonished on our velocities in posted slow areas. Also, instructors with small children are quite vocal about unsafe riders in their vicinity, something I did not see at your mountain, which amazed me. I guess it will take a serious injury, forbid it be child, for better patrols, eh?

When asked about my visit to your resort, yes, I will extol the beauty of the mountain and the village, but I will also mention the gist of this letter.

Love us or hate us, Americans do "vote" with their wallet, and I hope you will resolve these issues if you want more tourist dollars. If you don't want us up there, fine, but at least look out for your own children.

Paul Salcido

Irving, Texas

It comes down to respect

Re: Patrolling the People (Pique letters Jan. 5, 2006)

After reading Greg Romeskie’s letter to the editor, Whistler-Blackcomb felt compelled to respond. We were thoroughly disappointed and sorry to hear about Greg’s experience of being hit in the head with ice balls just below Blackcomb’s Spanky’s Ladder a couple of weeks ago.

Thank you to Greg for highlighting the issue. Whistler-Blackcomb Ski Patrol does have a big job in ensuring the safety of our guests from natural hazards, without having to deal with hazards created by other guests. However, monitoring the hazards created by such individuals has become a big part of Patrol’s responsibility. Monitoring speed and reckless skiing is perhaps the most predominant part of this responsibility and we have gone to such measures as to significantly expand the Whistler Mountain Family Zone in order to create a large slow zone for families and beginner skiers. Hopefully we have not reached the point where we must monitor lift lines for reckless behaviour as well.

We strongly believe in the need to provide a safe environment for play; however accident prevention and observation of safe playing conditions are everyone’s responsibility.

We use the message of RESPECT as a means of highlighting the importance of uncompromising safety. This message is threefold: Respect yourself, respect others, and respect the mountain. We sincerely hope that all our guests adhere to this simple word, with far-reaching benefits. The situation on Spanky’s Ladder was unacceptable. We will not hesitate to pull passes if such lack of respect to others is witnessed by our staff.

Bob Dufour

Whistler-Blackcomb VP Operations

Damn...The Tourists always seem to find the assholes...

 
And this is the one that spawned it all...

Letters to the Editor

Patrolling the people

On Jan. 2, my wife and I were enjoying a bluebird day skiing on Blackcomb. Heading from the Glacier Express chair to the chimney our skiing day was ended by an act of the mob waiting for Spanky’s to open. Skiing well below the line, obviously heading down slope, I was blindsided by a chunk of ice. It hit me in the back of the head, knocked me over causing me to cartwheel down hill. I am 6’2”, 220 lbs and a strong skier.

Admittedly I’ve thrown a snowball or two, but this was a chunk of ice that left me with a dented helmet and a wicked headache. Lucky I was wearing the helmet or things may have been different; I need a new helmet not stitches.

There are enough natural dangers on the mountain keeping the patrol occupied everyday. This behavior from “locals” is B.S. Patrol is on the mountain to ensure your safety from the inherent risks associated with skiing, not from other riders. Their job is hard enough; a person was killed on the mountain that day.

After asking for ownership and meeting the gaze of cowards I skied away. Just below I skied by a couple of distraught tourists who had experienced the same treatment; cursing Whistler, discussing leaving and not returning.

You can’t welcome the dollars and not the people. Last year our community suffered; this season we throw ice chunks at guests?

I welcome an apology from the individual who threw the rain-crust, if you have the balls to stand alone.

I do live and work here, see you on the slopes.

Greg Romeskie

Whistler
 
basically it tells the story of how some tourists and one other local got treated poorly by some hardcore rippers of death mountain.
 
HAHAHAHA

when i read the post and he said that he was form texas i knew that he was gonna be a newb. i like riding down the mountain and give "snow showers" to the danish people here in norway riding in their jeans and rear entry boots
 
whistler gets so many ppl that go their every year...im sure they dont give a f*ck that two people had a bad experience
 
if i saw a texan on a snowboard and jeans and a coboy hat and the key starter jacket...or just a cowboy hat, i'd spray him regardless...

fuck, it probably wasnt even a local.
 
i agree we canadians typically dont like americans whisler does like your money but watch out for the regular people on the hill looking for americans to torment
 
Spraying tourists is lame, guess who is funding the mountain to build parks and pay patrol to do avy control to open sick terrain? Not you and your $200 season pass bitch.

Throwing ice chunks at people is retarded, probably some gapers who were mad because they spent all morning falling down ruby bowl. Sucks no one pointed them out so the dude could kick their ass. Have some respect.
 
ive only been to wistler like... once, so im not really familiar, so maybe some of you bc kids can fill me in... but why would this dude get an ice ball chucked at him? did they think he was cutting a line or something?

as for the texans... well, probably self explanitory.
 
This is intolerable behaviour, but I find it funny how every year there is one instance where the tourists meet the wrath of a group of Locals. Last year it was the ski instructor cutting the peak chair line up on a pow day, when everyone had been waiting there for an hour +. They got ridiculed and another letter got written to the editor. Its almost like a surf break. Locals are very protective of what they are here for.

I feel for the dude who got nailed in the head with the ice chunk, I was there, and it was really uncalled for. Just a bunch of ADHD hopped up adrenline junkies waiting for spankys to open. I didnt see WHO, but saw what happened. Bummer it was a local that got hit, because I can bet you dollars to donuts hes got a good picture of who was in line that day, and he will get them back.
 
You can't 'cut in' the Spanky's line, it sounds like he was traversing below to ski back down to Glacier and some dickwad hucked something at him, what a loser.

I hate locals sense of entitlement. Look, just because you moved to a mountain town for the winter, or even if you grew up there, doesn't give you rights to in bounds terrain. If some gaper in jeans gets to the front of the line before you, too bad, go tour the backcountry.

Instructor cutting in line on Peak chair before opening is another thing, that is just bad taste, I hope someone got his name and complained. Instructors are losers anyway :)
 
dude read the back of your ski pass or ticket, people get treated like this becuase they disrespect the locals that live there, have you seen the trash they leave on the mtn?? Have you seen the rubbish they leave in the towns?? The idea is that basically tourism brings more people to the mountain, others have been living at those mtns for years upon years, and dont take easily to disrespect from countless tourists...i got called a rail nazi by some texan because i asked him to get off the lip of a jump so my friends could hit it...in all actuality i see greater disrespect from those who come to Colorado. They drink and drive while the locals jump on the busses...ya the disrespect is there, so i turn this on you and say you should quit skiing if its a major problem. It's going to happen anywhere, learn to deal w/ it. To end this i must say...

TEXANS RUINING ONE MOUNTAIN AND MOUNTAIN TOWN AT A TIME.
 
i would have to agree with the guy that got iceballed. i think it was the same reason that people spit off the lifts(which is discusting by the way). because they think it will make them cool, or they are 12 years old and find it funny
 
it was probably texasallstar. (the new fucked up allias on the site) check his profile.

thats my guess.
 
i dont know how you can be an agro possesed local at whistler... the place is enormous and the biggest tourist fest on earth. I thought crazy locals shit only happened at Alta or somewhere less congested.... you know where tourists in pheonix suits actually stick out.
 
Ski resorts like Whistler don't exist because of locals (who are usually just skids that moved there for a season, wow so core) they exist because of tourists. Sounds like the dude that got hit with ice was a local/Vancouver dude anyway not some gaper. Locals attitude at a resort is so lame, get off the resort if you are so hardcore.
 
Good, and I hope you do mess with me so I can charge you with my ski pole... Oh no it won't just be me, it'll be me and a few other American buddies waiting to kick some Canadian pussies who think they're higher than everyone else. Sure spray people but what the fuck? Throwing ice chunks? Oh by the way, I love Canada and the people who live there... Except for some of those French Canadians... They're bastards.
 
It's unfortante because it only takes 1 person, to give a massive amount of good people a bad rep.

Crap like that can happen anywhere, at any resort around the world. There are plenty of dicks that hang out and cause shit cause they think they own the place.

People need to remeber that your out there to have a good time, and so is everyone else, and no matter if your local or not, they have a right to enjoy it as much as you do.

and i hope the 6,2 220lbs guy finds that little ass munk that hit him in the head.

What goes around comes around, you wanna have bad mountain karma and be a dick fill your boots.

I'll be a respectful skier, and enjoy my time on the mountain with everyone else.
 
Ya there are some basic things that tourists fail to understand about riding, that is a given. And ya you might catch some heat from the occasional asshole when you correct him but hurling an iceball at someone is just plain stupid.

Two years ago some kids thought they were being funny dropping snowballs at cars from a highway overpass. Long story short: in a vain effort to outdo his friends one kid dropped a large iceball. This iceball (like a mini bowling ball) smashed through the windshield of a car and killed the woman driving it.

Skiing is dangerous enough. The last thing we need are fuckheads like 'the thrower' exerting some ill devised version of martal law on territory that REALLY DOES NOT BELONG TO THEM!

As a local i know tourists can be annoying. Dont be affraid to tell people who are standing in dangerous spots, or littering like unsightly assholes, but do so with an air of class and quality. We dont need to stoop to their level.
 
its funny because all the locals are probably complainging right now about how gay the torists are and that they sit in the middle of the slopes and before jumps and rails and on the tables and landings, and destroy the jumps to the rails in the park by taking it like a jump and going two feet in the air
 
Hahaha, "indermidate" snowboarder and he travels all around the US and Europe? He must love that piste!
 
or: TEXANS IN HIGH PLACES IN THE GOVERNMENT RUINING OUR NATION ONE STATE AT A TIME.

Also, couldn't have been just an ice chunk that got dislodged? I thought it said something about coming off a cliff?
 
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