There are some people in this world that just suck the fun out of skiing and snowboarding. You don’t have to be part of you their group for them to ruin a run. Sometimes you barely even need to interact with them to ruin a run. They just have this ability to bring the mood down. These are our picks for the 5 worst people to encounter on the mountain.
5. The Complainer – There’s little worse in the world than spending the day with someone like this. Everyone’s allowed to complain a bit, but every word out of your mouth shouldn’t be a complaint. These people find something negative no matter how great the day is. Slightly scratchy under a surface of fresh snow? They’ll make it sound like the mountain is sheet ice. Lift line take 5 minutes? They’ll talk about how it took 30.
4. Out-Of-Control Middle Schooler – There’s little as terrifying on the mountain as the 12-year-old missile. This kid will fly down the mountain with no ability to stop, taking out both the young and old on the way down, and then they’ll claim it was the other person’s fault for taking too wide of a turn. Bonus points if the kid’s parent is around but clearly doesn’t care if their kid seriously injures someone.
3. Rich Prick – This guy pays to skip the line on a powder day and then gets upset when people boo him. This guy calls ski patrol because he’s tired. This guy complains that the chairlift stopped for too long (it stopped for a minute because a child fell off). This guy tries to sue you for injuring him after he ran into you from behind. Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you’re a prick, but you are if you try to get your money back because the conditions weren’t exactly what you wanted.
2. Drunken Buffoon – Drinking is a major part of ski culture, from parking lot beers to après cocktails, but that doesn’t mean you should get hammered on the mountain. If you’re skiing or snowboarding wasted, you’re a serious danger to yourself and those around you. The drunken buffoon is frequently a college student or in their mid-20s, on a spring-break ski vacation, and wearing some sort of sports jersey (bonus points if their team sucks or if the sport isn’t in season).
1. The Speaker Skier – Congratulations! You own a bluetooth speaker, a phone, and some sort of music streaming service! That does NOT make you the mountain DJ! There are a lot of music tastes out there, and no matter how good you think yours is, it probably won’t appeal to the people around you. And if it does, they still probably don’t want to hear it. Yes, skiing and snowboarding while listening to music is very fun. There’s this incredible invention that allows you to be your own personal DJ without others having to hear! They’re called headphones! Use them!
