#RIDEANOTHERDAY
Johnson family, it was Chauncy himself
who said the goal of their concept
was to make sure everyone could
come back, again and again, to enjoy
what snowsports have to offer,” said
Saline. “He said he wanted everyone
to ‘ride another day.’ We all immediately
said, ‘That’s it! That’s brilliant!’”
NSAA will provide some
#RideAnotherDay posters as part of
the preseason safety materials sent
to member resorts each fall. To help
spread the message, ski areas may add
their own logos to the artwork, and
use the materials for posters in other
applications – social media, as part of
their safety information on their websites,
in printed resort publications in
hotel rooms and as posters hanging in
ski patrol shacks and other employee
gathering areas.
Saline says he expects that NSP volunteers
and ambassadors will work
with school groups, libraries, coffee
shops, local ski rental shops and other
businesses to post the images around
mountain communities.
Ski areas should include the video
(there is also a closed-caption version)
as an important part of their employee
orientation in the fall, before the season
opens, and to prompt extended
conversations throughout the resort
for a renewed effort to discourage recklessness
and promote overall safety.
Off-duty employees account for about
seven percent of all skier/boarder visits
nationally, a sizeable number of people
who can elevate the conversation at resorts
with friends, guests and families,
especially with younger skiers/boarders.
This cultural shift must become ingrained,
it must begin early and it must
be reinforced often.
“I want this campaign to actually
empower all employees at ski areas,
so that everyone plays a role in mountain
safety and policing reckless skiing,”
Chauncy emphasized. “I want the
campaign to create a new generation
of more respectful and more conscientious
skiers and riders.”
The video should play an important
role at ski patrol refreshers, too
– both for professional and volunteer
patrollers. As well, when pulling passes
from reckless riders, ski patrollers
could require them to watch the
Johnson family video before getting
their ski privileges back. This would
reinforce that their reckless conduct
may have serious, life-altering consequences.
And ski areas should include
their race teams, clubs and academies
in this important conversation. Athletes
are influential leaders on the
mountain, and studies have repeatedly
shown in other sports that peerto
peer influence when it comes to
safety and behavior – as opposed to
lecturing or other forms perceived as
scolding – is a more effective way to
change behavior.
The video should also be used with
school groups, particularly in mountain
communities, as ski patrol and
safety ambassadors reach out to teenagers
(especially young males, who are
notorious risk-takers), to stress both
the thrill and fun of skiing and boarding,
as well as the importance of safety
and controlling speeds.
“I don’t know that to this point
there’s been a specific campaign that
actually brings to light the reality of
what happens when things like our
accident go wrong,” said Chauncy
during the CPR interview. He emphasized
that he wanted the campaign
“to be able to get people’s attention
and help them look at this little girl,
my daughter, and the young man who
was riding a snowboard, that this
could be their brother, it could be
their daughter, it could be their sister,
it could be their mom,” said Chauncy.
“In that light, it just resonates at a different
level.”
Hope and chance
An important underlying element of
the #RideAnotherDay initiative is in
providing the Johnson family some
deeply needed catharsis and an opportunity
to continue their healing
process. To tell their story – no matter
now painful it may be to repeatedly
relive such a horrific experience – is a
form of therapy in and of itself.
If the family’s efforts can raise
awareness, change behavior and prevent
someone else’s family from such
suffering, they have demonstrated they
are more than willing to re-examine
that day over and over again. And
Chauncy emphasizes that their donation
and their involvement is not only
to honor his wife and lost daughter,
but also honor the life of the snowboarder.
(The Johnsons repeatedly
stress that they carry no ill-will toward
the snowboarder, who paid the
ultimate price for his actions.)
The family’s willingness to underwrite
most of the cost of the safety
initiative reinforces their resiliency,
strength and, most importantly, their
passion for what this sport means to
them.
“At the end of the day, skiing really
is about family,” said Chauncy, underscoring
in one short sentence the biggest
selling point that the ski industry
has for promoting one of the most enduring
pleasures of the sport. “Families
that play together, stay together.
That’s why we are doing this.”
THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE
SUMMER 2017 EDITION OF THE NSAA JOURNAL. IT IS
REPUBLISHED HERE WITH PERMISSION.
LIF-TRACK
The “All-Vehicle” Lift
Service your whole fleet from
Snowmobile’s to Snowcat’s
12 of our last 16 LIF-TRACK’s went
to Small to Medium Size Resorts
Mt St Louis Moonstone, ON
Improve your maintenance program,
lower your costs and increase worker
safety... and productivity.
liftechequip.com
518.461.4519
gpavlick@liftechequip.com
Find Us on Facebook LIF-TRACK
14 January 2018 | snowopsmag.com
170804-Lif-Tech_Ad.indd 1 8/4/17 12:56 PM
/liftechequip.com
/snowopsmag.com
link
