awareness and lead to real, positive
change in our industry,” he said.
The Johnson family generously offered
– voluntarily, on their own initiative
– to donate a sizeable amount of
money to create a safety initiative with
NSAA to compel people to confront the
consequences of reckless skiing.
Embracing
#RideAnotherDay
To be sure, the never-ending challenge
of recognizing the importance of emphasizing
safety – while also acknowledging
the risky nature of the sport
overall – is a delicate balancing act.
As an industry, we need to make sure
we do not overdramatize the relative
dangers of the sport. Clearly, we need
to grow the sport, and develop young
skiers and snowboarders into lifetimers
without undue concern that turns
many away from the sport. There is,
after all, an unfair and uninformed perception
of the comparative risks in the
sport, despite the fact that scientific
studies confirm that skiing and snowboarding
are remarkably safe (and in
the last decade alone are becoming
more safe), especially compared to other
similar recreation activities, including
boating and kayaking, swimming,
bicycling and snowmobiling.
At the same time, we recognize the
need for ongoing guest education for
all manners of safety issues and challenges:
avalanches, lift safety, tree wells
and snow immersions, terrain parks,
helmets and especially speed control
and reckless skiing. Neither our guests
nor the media may fully acknowledge
or even recognize the great lengths to
which ski areas go to help ensure a safe
experience and educate guests on safety.
But as we know, safety is a shared
obligation. To a very large extent, skiers
and snowboarders control their
own actions, and more than anything
else, it is their individual judgement,
control and respect for others that
dictates mountain safety – for themselves
and others. Accordingly, the
#RideAnotherDay initiative is an important
complement to ski areas’ individual
efforts promoting safety.
“I want to raise the level of awareness
of the importance of safety and
respect for others out on the mountain,”
said Kelli to a packed audience of
resort operators at the Intermountain
Ski Areas Association conference in
June at Grand Targhee Resort in Wyoming.
When someone in the audience
asked about Chauncy’s perception of
mountain safety prior to that fateful
afternoon before he lost his daughter,
he said he felt there was often an air of
“lawlessness” at some ski areas he visited,
where some guests acted recklessly,
ignoring the potential consequences of
their behavior.
#RideAnotherDay is the Johnsons’
attempt to change that. While some
may not understand how they can
still embrace skiing and boarding despite
the tragedy of losing their daughter,
Chauncy puts it in perspective:
“I have the opportunity to have my
#RIDEANOTHERDAY
The never-ending
challenge of recognizing
the importance of
emphasizing safety – while
also acknowledging the
risky nature of the sport
overall – is a delicate
balancing act.
FAMVELD / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM 12 January 2018 | snowopsmag.com
/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
/snowopsmag.com
