Message #4181

[jim-ratliff]

Agreed about preparation, and it ended OK.  They were Vail locals kids, they talked their liftie 'friends' into letting them ride back up after hours, and they managed to find him and get him down.

But, bottom line, skiing is still a potentially hazardous sport (remember the slide at A-Basin last year, inbounds) and I/we need to continually evaluate where I am on the risk/reward scale, and how much of a safety net I have under me.  For example, I would see cat skiing (like you and Gary are planning) as infinitely wiser that going out of bounds unsupported (like these kids were doing).