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Park Etiquette

124K views 150 replies 76 participants last post by  ridethecliche 
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#1 ·
I looked to see if I could find a thread dedicated to this but could not find one so I wanted to ask. As a newcomer to snowboarding and as one who ultimately hopes to spend a lot of time in the park, what are some things I should know so as not to piss people off or worse yet, hurt someone or myself? What is considered basic park etiquette?
 
#75 ·
I know it's been stated already in several different ways, but remember:

YOU'RE NOT THE SHIT. Chances are there's someone better than you on that mountain. Get over yourself, you're really NOT that good.

Just a friendly reminder to deflate that ego.:cheeky4:
 
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#76 ·
^agree^ wholeheartedly

1) you don't own the park. you share.
2) clear the landing. unless badly injured, it is YOUR duty to get your ass outta the way. remember to shout "clear" so the next person can get a tasta of that double kink knowing there's big clear patch of snow at the end.
3) if someone says "drop in" and raises their hand, that rail/jump belongs to said person and you are not to be a doosh by cutting in front of them.
4) safety first.
5) have fun. your soul is no less valuable if you don't stomp that double cork. nor is it more valuable if you do. the important thing is to smile and enjoy yourself, that's what this crazy sport is all about son.
 
#79 ·
I once rolled halfway down the landing of a jump. Hip was killing me like crazy. Managed to get to the edge, looked up and realized the people on the drop couldn't be seen. I swear that guy hated me, but it really hurt, I managed to get to the end of the hill with lots of falling over. I got out of there way, but they couldn't see me. Which is something you also have to look out for.
My friend who was on the drop in as well bashed me about it for ages. Not being able to stand up doesn't seem to be a valid answer.
 
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#80 ·
I remember, when I just started snowboarding, on the beginner mountain there was a little kicker, and I, of course, landed on my back. Then I went to the side of the hill, and a little girl, about 5 years old, stopped and asked if I'm ok, that was so sweet :D
 
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#82 ·
I know what you mean, just a couple days ago i was sitting in the drop waiting for my turn, and some kid comes flying out of no where. trys to hit some stupid little pile of snow against a shed to the side of the drop zone, and ends up crashing right into me and like two other dudes, didnt even aplogize... and its not like we were hidden, you've gotta use your brain, at least a little.
 
#83 ·
I know this has been mentioned tons of times but seriously. DO STOP.
I've been in a situation where I've needed help, some of the guys I thought where jerks, stopped by and gave me a hand. Even contacted someone to get a ski patrol member. It was a great help considering my best friend ignored me, got to the top, finished his run then came to see if I was okay.
There was this lil' kid on the bunny hill (we where jumping over cones) and he got himself in an awkward position, calling out for his dad, couldn't see a dad anywhere, skidded off the rope toe to help the guy get his ski's off. Got my fingers trapped.... XD
But Yeah. DO stop, because it makes all the difference.
 
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#89 ·
Lol i was boarding last night with a four person group and we were waiting to go down the park and a skier came in and did a huge snow plow stop and destroyed me with a wave of snow and ice, then he procceded down the hill. i was like wtf.
 
#90 ·
The biggest thing is be polite. If you see that you accedently snaked someones line, apologize to them, either as they are riding by or at the bottom. Then learn from your mistakes.

Also, make sure to chack your "blind side" (the heel edge side) before you hit any feature to make sure everyone is clear.

Finally, if you are hitting a feature (especially a big jump), watch the people in front of you and make sure you can see them after they have landed. In other words, if you dont see someone after they hit a jump, don't assume that they are just behind the jump further down the hill. Make sure everyone is clear. If someone does fall, make sure that they are OK before you ride on.

Ps. If it is really buisy, ride with a friend. Get your friend to stand by the feature and signal you if you are clear to go.
 
#91 ·
I devastated a skier once that didn’t look at all like he was going for the same feature I was then he cut right in front of me leaving me no time to react, I was about twice his speed and twice his size. It kicked my ass but that pore kid got laid out hard. I felt bad for him even helped gather the poles, skis, and other random bits of gear that was accelerated to shrapnel speeds. So don't be that guy and be aware of your surroundings. Granted he wasn’t completely in the wrong because this was a feature that 2 different sections of the park fed into. Anyhow I got a nice new cut in the base of my board over that experience.
 
#96 ·
Coming down Manning run on Seymour, you can go left into Velvet Gully at one point. Trouble is, you have to cross the fall line used by people doing side hits up to that point. I ride regular, so of course that's my blind side, so I've gotten in the habit of using a hand signal when I'm about to turn into the Gully. Served me well a couple of times.

No, not THAT hand signal. I use the INDEX finger.
 
#97 · (Edited)
correct me if im at the wrong...

but the other day i was lapping the park during my lunch break. I was hitting this long jump line of about 4 jumps built entirely on flow (each jump gets bigger and the following jump cant be cleared unless previous jump is landed or boosted).

[story 1]
I was coming up to the last ~50ft kicker of the line and there was a skier wedging towards the jump, about 30 yards away and in the direct line of traffic. I didnt feel like wasting the run so i yelled "drop" "dropping" "look out" a couple times and cut him off.
End of story.

[story 2]
Fast forward a couple runs and practically the same thing happens! Only this time it was a skier looking for corduroy.
I was coming in toward the last jump and the skier in front was going moderately fast (but his intentions were clearly the "im going to ski over the roller and do 'S' turns where people land", i could tell this because he didnt nearly have enough speed for the jump itself and he wasnt slowing down to stop on the side of the knuckle)
Again i didnt want to waste a run so i hit the jump with my original plan to cork-spin. At the time however the skier was just a few feet ahead of me 'S'-turning on the landing. And as you can imagine, once i land we nearly collide. The guy gets all mad and i continue to ride away.



i think good etiquette is giving the traffic behind you 100% right of way. to disrupt someones flowing line is just disrespectful and you leave yourself open to getting snaked.
 
#98 ·
Many of you are living in dream worlds =/ At my local hill you have to start dropping before the previous guy hits the first feature, otherwise you'll be staying put the whole day. In addition, you can't yell at anyone, 'cause the only ones that listen to your yelling are the small kids that aren't a problem anyway.

The funniest/most maddening thing was when I was dropping on this kicker and a guy comes in from the side skating like mad to build speed (damn skiers). I yell at him a few times like "hey" "dropping" and when he was about to cut me off I screamed "HEEEY" as loud as I could with no response what so ever. He cut me off right in front of the kicker then swung around and stopped on the knuckle and waited to drop on the second kicker. I was furious, not only because it was my last run, but he didn't even need to cut me off 'cause he stopped right afterwards anyway. Not to talk about all the skiers that gather ten metres lower down and drop from there, not even taking a single glance if there were others waiting before them. And that's how park life in Norway is.
 
#99 ·
I believe that when the park is crowded, like on the weekends, park etiquette kind of goes out the window. It's an eat or be eaten kind of mentality. Sometimes it just easier to join them in their ways instead of fighting it. However, when the park is less crowded, like during school hours on the weekdays, park etiquette can make for a very relaxed and carefree vibe among riders.
 
#100 ·
I'd say, see who's going where and if they got to a feature FIRST, let them get through unless you know you won't get in the way. I was trying to learn the half pipe and these tiny kids on skiis pop outta nowhere from behind be when I already went in. Needless to say that killed my run 'cuz I wasn't about to clean children off my board.

Another funny story was- if a midstation of a lift has a very low clearance, don't loiter in there. Me and my buddy were going to the top of the mountain and this dumb blonde was chilling right under the lift path. My friend didn't notice her and his hanging board taught her head a nice lesson lol.
 
#101 ·
I was at Plattekill Mountain, NY about three weeks ago and they have a small park there that anyone can use (ie. no park pass). So me and my friend are waiting to drop in to this rail, and there is this little girl on skis, just standing at the lip of the rail (was a ride-on-rail). We ended up skipping that rail and coming back down again 5-10min later. She was still there but her dad and im guessing her siblings were there too. Their father was taking turns carrying them over the rail and landing them at the bottom...I was speechless I didnt know what to do! LOL
 
#102 ·
A buddy and I were riding the small terrain park at Snoqualmie Central last week and these little idiots were sitting in THE LANDING of a jump, having a fucking coffee break. My buddy didn't see them and almost landed on one, hurting his shoulder....you'd think it would be common sense to not chill in a spot that people going high speeds with no breaks would be landing. I just don't get it. My buddy also mentioned it to the park staff, who surprisingly didn't do or say a damn thing.
 
#103 ·
I haven't seen this mentioned but seems like common courtesy to me.

If you see someone fall off a feature to the side of it, you should wait until they are COMPLETELY clear of the feature. Even if you know you can clear the
feature. I see this happen often. Newbie falls off rail to the side, tailgating rider cant possibly wait the 5 seconds for newbie to clear feature and hits rail with newbie inches away.
 
#104 ·
One of my favorites are the times where you are sitting at a drop in point that is really far from the jumps. So you sit and wait to make sure it is clear, then some idiot or little kid on skis takes your opportunity to go fuck up on the jump in one way or another. Then as soon as they move, some other jackass takes your turn by dropping from behind without stopping. Rinse and Repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat....
 
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