So, you tour? Cool Story

I love the few backcountry turns I get a season, but dam when I finally started to meet others in the east coast scene for touring they walled me out acted like they were all knowing just because they had avy 1 and 10000$ worth of gear (I have about 500 max for scale) and now a year and half later they respect me because I can slay, but why the fuc did they have to act like that in the first place like bruh you should be inviting especially out here where the touring community is small never the less I found some new friends to tour with nowadays and its a great time.
 
13913097:mcswizzle said:
Okay... so what was the point of you doing this?

To prove that people that ski in the backcountry are humble thrill seekers who's obsession with the pure and overwhelming joy of skiing keeps them from growing oversized egos and looking down on other skiers? If this is your point, why are you entering the thread by demanding that its yours and posting photos of yourself?

Are you trying to say that because some people don't like being treated like idiots and novices while trying to engage in their passion they are somehow missing the point of it all? In theory, it shouldn't matter as its all about the skiing. It shouldn't matter about the gear you wear or how technical your vocabulary is in regards to snow dynamics. That's what the OP is saying and unfortunately there are a LOT of people (for context I live in Summit County, CO so this is probably a more pervasive issue than other places for a number of reasons) who's attitude is terrible. Its hard trying to get into the backcountry scene. Its a financially, physically, and mentally challenging sport that requires knowledge and careful focus even without a constant stream of naysayers. When I was just starting to get into touring, even just going into a mellow, popular zone, I had to summon my courage and hope my confidence would lead me to where I wanted to ski. If my relatively less experienced crew ran into anyone (no exaggeration) literally no one ever offered advice or beta. Most of the time it was like "are you sure you know what you're doing?" and "You guys really shouldn't be back here if you don't know the name of the line". The name of the line?? Who cares, its probably got like 12 names anyway.

Upon telling someone it was my first time skiing in the area and informing them I had a map and photos of the line, they scoffed, said "good luck", and cruised by us. Everyone knows that a map and a photo of the line is pretty much as good as you can ask for in terms of navigation, but even so, this guy saw our gear and determined we were idiots unworthy of his skill and intellect. Its fuckin hard to bounce back from stuff like this, when all the experienced, grizzled skiers that seem to know what they are doing are incredulous towards you. It'd be like if you went up to Tom Wallisch asking for advice on how to do a cork 7 and he replied "You don't know what your doing, figure it out for yourself."

This season, I went to East Vail with tons more experience than a couple years ago. I was talking to a guy and I told him this was my first time skiing the area but I had a map, labeled photos, a cell phone (with service), plenty of advice on where to go, etc. The self-appointed King of East Vail simply responded "you don't know what your doing, you can't come back here without someone showing you where to go". At this point in my life, and like a lot of people in this thread are suggesting, I smiled and nodded and my group proceeded to ski the line we wanted to. Three years ago, I would have turned around, gone home, and made a post on NS wondering why there are so many d-bags who backcountry ski. In the end, the condescending BC skier to which the OP refers can ruin the sport for people looking to experience the backcountry in the way which so many love (and is being pushed super hard by the industry right now). Yes, it shouldn't be an issue, and I don't have the space to get into why people are like this out of bounds, but it is demeaning and prevents people from getting stoked. And if skiing is all about getting stoked, which a number of people have said, whats the point of buying a bunch of gear, taking avy classes, walking miles with skis on your feet, climbing a mountain, and accepting significant risk to ski down it if people are going to rain on your parade?

tl;dr - The type of people the OP refers to are real and make it really tough to get into backcountry skiing.

You can replace this with almost every kid getting his first set of twins. For every one, I love to help new jibbers, there are ten people that bitch about kids in the park. GET OVER IT. People are ass holes. Fact. In the BC being a noob is not a bad thing, but it can get me killed if you don't know what you are doing. You climb above me, cut the wrong line and you're dead. Not every time but its not a chance I'm always willing to take. If I run into a group that is way too big, is full of dudes that claim this or that and are going into the same zone as my group, I'm not going to tell them to ski above me.

For every self appointed " king of east vail" there is the king of the park (crew). The difference is, being a dick in the park is just being a dick. SOME times being a dick in the BC can save a life. I'm not trying to be all high and mighty and trust me I have met the front range BC Bro you are talking about, yet the vast majority of BC people are out for a nice walk in the woods.

I get people asking advice about the conditions all the time. I send them to the Avy center web site. Ya I could say what my experience was a few days ago but conditions change, I wasn't in the same zone you're going and I'm not the Avy center. Some people think that makes me stuck up and not helpful. That's cool, yet the last thing I want is to give out advice and find out that something happened to that group. I don't want that on my head.

Sorry you have had a bad experience with a few people in the backcountry. That is too bad. It sounds like you've met a jerk that also skis in the backcountry not that all BC skiers are ass holes.

PS I have seen a fair amount of pro's shine on a kid just looking to bask in his glory. Not all people are cool whether it's in the park or BC.
 
13913122:snowpocalypse said:
You can replace this with almost every kid getting his first set of twins. For every one, I love to help new jibbers, there are ten people that bitch about kids in the park. GET OVER IT. People are ass holes. Fact. In the BC being a noob is not a bad thing, but it can get me killed if you don't know what you are doing. You climb above me, cut the wrong line and you're dead. Not every time but its not a chance I'm always willing to take. If I run into a group that is way too big, is full of dudes that claim this or that and are going into the same zone as my group, I'm not going to tell them to ski above me.

For every self appointed " king of east vail" there is the king of the park (crew). The difference is, being a dick in the park is just being a dick. SOME times being a dick in the BC can save a life. I'm not trying to be all high and mighty and trust me I have met the front range BC Bro you are talking about, yet the vast majority of BC people are out for a nice walk in the woods.

I get people asking advice about the conditions all the time. I send them to the Avy center web site. Ya I could say what my experience was a few days ago but conditions change, I wasn't in the same zone you're going and I'm not the Avy center. Some people think that makes me stuck up and not helpful. That's cool, yet the last thing I want is to give out advice and find out that something happened to that group. I don't want that on my head.

Sorry you have had a bad experience with a few people in the backcountry. That is too bad. It sounds like you've met a jerk that also skis in the backcountry not that all BC skiers are ass holes.

PS I have seen a fair amount of pro's shine on a kid just looking to bask in his glory. Not all people are cool whether it's in the park or BC.

Yeah man, I think we are getting to a consensus and you definitely have the right attitude to this whole deal. You might be right this is a universal trait in every niche. I'm not trying to be a bleeding heart here, its more just interesting this strain exists in the sport and its always useful to talk about how people approach things mentally in the BC ski game (human factor). Its all about balancing out having fun and acknowledging the consequences, and sometimes the fun part gets completely buried (pun intended).

Another thing, shit just gets weird in the BC. You don't see anyone and you are pushing yourself as hard as you can so its easy to start thinking you're more badass than everyone. When I finally run into someone, the first thing that pops into my head, admittedly, is "These people, who can't be as dope as me, and they are gonna snake me for my line". Its super important to overcome this line of thought, be friendly, and have some real communication with the other crew to maximize the good times and keep everyone on the same page for safety purposes. Smokin some ganja also helps keep you cruising past the haters haha.

But your definitely right to take what you hear for what it is, pay attention to what you're doing, and help everyone out there do the same. At the end of the day, and I definitely make sure to remind myself and my partners of this, there is literally an infinite amount of stuff to ski, a couple tracks in your favorite zone is not the end of the world. We all want to be safe first, have fun second, and claim the shit outta that line third.

BTW If any of y'all are in Summit County and wanna shred up some BC spots, hit me up!
 
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