The third in our series of freeriding tips and the most important – safety.
Cometh The Iceman
Top Gun film enthusiasts will remember the exchange between Maverick and Iceman in the locker room after a combat training session in the air.
Iceman: You two really are cowboys.
Maverick: What’s your problem, Iceman?
Iceman: You’re everyone’s problem, Maverick. That’s because every time you go up in the air, you’re unsafe. I don’t like you because you’re dangerous.
Maverick: That’s right, Iceman! I am dangerous.
Iceman was cool, calculated, played by the rules. But Maverick did things his way, bent the rules and pushed the boundaries; he was wild, would take a chance, appeared fun to be with – but Maverick ends up losing his best mate, and it took a big lesson before he started playing by the rules and became someone others could trust.
Swap ‘air’ for ‘off-piste’ and ‘Iceman’ for ‘ski instructor’ and this conversation could easily be an exchange between many riders heading off-piste every week. We hear about the incidents that go wrong, but we don’t hear about the narrow escapes. They might appear as learning experiences, even stories that can be swapped over some après-ski. But for many that first ‘mistake’ may also be the last.
Let’s begin by ensuring that you as a potential freerider will be safe, not dangerous, not a cowboy, not a Maverick, taking a chance, pushing the boundaries. Learn to be an Iceman – cool, calculated, trustworthy, taking no chances, playing by the rules. Don’t let that first mistake be your last.
Here are my three golden rules for off-piste skiing for potential freeriders.
> GET EDUCATED
Get trained, get educated, book on lots of courses – hire guides or instructors, learn how to use the kit, learn about the rules, learn about the mountains.
> LEAVE YOUR EGO BEHIND
Don’t be a Maverick, on an ego trip, pushing the boundaries, taking a chance for a quick buzz, a good story in the evening, trying to be cool in front of your mates, the quickest in, first down. Be calm, calculated, back out, turn away when it’s not right and play by the rules.
> SAY NO TO PEER PRESSURE
Don’t feel under pressure. Learn to say no – learn to say no to your mates, learn to say no to yourself, learn to say no to temptation.
Off-piste skiing is dangerous, and a single mistake can be costly both to yourself and others, but you can learn to be safe, you can learn to have exhilarating experiences, you can learn to ski fantastic powder and ski extraordinary places. However, it takes education, professional advice and local knowledge. It takes the cool, calm, collectedness of the Iceman.
Be smart, be safe.
Photo: Off-piste safety training. Practicing crevasse rescue with a mountain guide.
