Etiquette on the XC Ski Trails

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Rebecca

For the most part cross-country skiers are awesome…but every once in a while we encounter a skier who isn’t aware of etiquette on the cross-country tracks, or just doesn’t care. As part of our cross-country ski series we’re diving into etiquette on the trails, whether they are groomed or ungroomed.

Etiquette on the Ski Trails

Rule #1: Be nice to other skiers.

Faster skiers and skiers on the downhill have the right of way. If you that’s you, it’s good to politely call out “track,” “hup,” or my favorite method “on your left,” or “on your right” to warn those ahead that you’re coming. One of the cool things about skiing is that beginners and Olympians often share the same trails. With that comes different skill levels and speeds and the need for increased communication.

Rule #2: Be nice to the trails.

It’s hard work maintaining and grooming ski trails. In a lot of communities this task falls on volunteers making it important to keep the trails nice.
We love dogs but leave that dog at home if your ski area doesn’t allow them or if the tracks are soft. If you do ski with a dog try to keep it under control. You wouldn’t want the dog chasing other skiers or knocking over old people and toddlers. And please, if the pooch drops a deuce or takes a leak on the trail do your best to clean it up.
We all fall, if you fall and leave a few massive dents on the trails or “sitz marks” be sure to fill them in and try to ‘cover your ass’…marks with snow.
Pack out any garbage.
Try not to walk or snowshoe on groomed trails, especially in classic tracks. If you do have to walk or snowshoe, walk as far to the side of the trail as possible. If you’re skating, try to avoid the classic tracks, don’t be that jerk who skates in them.

Rule #3: Go the right way on designated one-way trails.

Sometimes we get tired of skiing the same trails over and over again and it’s tempting to ski a one-way trail the opposite way for a change of scenery. But, there’s a reason the trail is one-way so try to ski the trail the right direction. In most cases trails are set up like this to avoid collisions with other skiers on a gnarly downhill or other obstacles.

Rule #4: Stop in safe places.

Cross-country skiing is hard work and we all need to stop sometimes to sip some water, apply more kick wax or calm a crying little ski baby. If you do stop along the trail, get as far off to the side as possible to allow others to ski past. Try pushing it up and over a hill and stopping once you’re done gliding on the downhill side to avoid annoying Saturday morning top-of-the hill gridlock.

Many ski areas have their own rules, and we’ve just covered the basic’s here. One of the coolest things about cross-country skiing is the diversity in ages, techniques and skill level on the trails and as a result it’s important to respect others on the trails and respect the trails.

Should we share unique places (and risk losing them)?

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Al

We started Just Trails to show people the amazing places they can go and visit. And to make it as easy as possible for anyone to visit those places. But I feel compelled to say something about not ruining the scenery and history while exploring.

As a general rule, people should take only pictures and leave only foot prints. (I think I got that from the Leave No Trace website but I couldn’t find it when I went back to look) Speaking of leave no trace; for backpacking and camping, those principles are a no brainer and can be found on their website.

Think about it. You don’t really wan’t to know how many people your girlfriend slept with before you. It’s the exact same thing for your quiet secluded campsite. You want to believe you are the first human being to ever see that particular place and so is the person who comes after you.

But the thing that bothers me so much more than poor camping etiquette is when I find what would be an awesome old historic site in the middle of nowhere and it’s been wrecked. And not the kind of wrecked that winters above 10,000 feet will do, the kind that people do.

The excitement of visiting these places has a lot to do with imagining how the people lived and learning about their triumphs and struggles by studying and reflecting on what’s left behind. But if everything has been taken, or scrawled with graffiti, I can’t do that. I feel cheated and I want to get revenge on some selfish stranger who I will never meet.

By the way, damaging or removing anything from a historic site is against the law.

We aren’t going to stop sharing really cool places. We just expect that if you visit them you will leave everything like you found it, just like we did, because we can’t share it after its gone.

Also instead of getting all preachy I think I’ll just start putting pictures of lazy, careless, and selfish outdoor behavior on a facebook album and vent there.

Mountain Bikers vs Hikers: Some People are Just Jerks.

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Al

This comes up a lot. Usually when talking with friends about which very broad and generic group is ruining the outdoors. Lately we’ve been following the question of whether or not to allow mountain biking at Big Bend National Park. I think an important point is missing in the overall discussion. The real problem is not any one group of people but rather individuals (and groups of individuals) who make bad decisions.

I spend a lot of time on the trials (615 miles of trails so far this year to be exact) and I rarely have a bad encounter with another human being. It doesn’t matter if I’m on a bike or walking. Nor does it matter if the other people are on a bike, walking, or horseback riding. Everyone is always incredibly polite to each other in the classic “you go first, no you go first” kind of way.

There are problems to be sure. Mountain bikers are easy to target, they move a lot faster than hikers and can easily spook horses. I’ve seen mountain bike tracks on trails that are clearly marked for hikers only. In a lot of ways mountain bikers are their own worst enemy because they don’t realize (or just don’t care) how other people can get a little bit nervous when they approach.

But there are plenty of hikers out there who should climb down off their pedestal. Every time I pass plastic water bottles, trail mix bags and my personal favorite, bags of dog poop left on the side of the trail I think wow, this person has the same selfish, short term mindset of a mountain biker who won’t slow down for 5 seconds to safely get around a group of hikers.

I love mountain biking and I love hiking and I believe that there is enough room in the outdoors for everyone’s preferred type of recreation. Also from what I’ve seen the vast majority of people manage to co-recreate with little to no conflict.

Too address the problems, real long term solutions are going to come from changing peoples minds on how they behave in the woods, something that is very hard to do. It is just much easier to skirt the real problems by blaming one entire group of people who happen to be different.