Collisions are an unfortunate reality in skiing and snowboarding. We all love to point fingers and blame one person or another, but accidents can be much more complex in reality.
The video in question shows skiers gently colliding on a groomed slope at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what happened:
The skier recording the video sees another skier in a blue coat to their left. He tries to put on the brakes, but the skier in the blue coat also stops. They end up skiing parallel with each other directly towards a boundary rope that has been placed on the side of the trail.
The skier who recorded the video quickly decides to physically lay the skier in the blue coat down so that they don’t run into the rope.
Check out the video uploaded to Facebook by Nicholas John below:
I think it’s unfair to say that either of these skiers was more at fault than the other. I know the classic ‘downhill skier has the right of way’ argument that people love to throw out there, but it’s just not that simple.
The skier recording did slow down to allow the skier in the blue coat the space that they needed. It was just unfortunate that they panicked and they both ended up sort of colliding.
Thankfully, it looked like a pretty tame incident by all standards.
Maybe you disagree with me? That’s totally okay. Let us know your opinion!