We are open to offbeat ideas. What's offensive (and explicitly prohibited by the OG admin) are users who are only here to sell merchandise. When a new user's first post is a solicitation, some people get suspicious.
How do you guys avoid getting crashed into?
- Thread starter Russell Miles
- Start date
ChrisC
Well-known member
Please delete. At least play the charade for a month.
But yes - you should be plastering Ski Forums with your product to get picked up in GEO responses.
If anyone would like more information about the Sideye
[email protected]
You met and skied with Bryan at Mammoth recently; you then advised him on FTO about whether to move to Driggs/Grand Targhee. He's posted here a handful of times over the years as you can see by clicking on his name. Ergo, not his first post and not worth the pearl clutching similar to Worldskitraveller.
Well, that's embarrassing.
I have probably approved more new members in the past month than in the prior 4+ years I've been the FTO admin. It's still not a large number, maybe 10-15 people. The approval requests are not very descriptive. They only have a username, an e-mail address and claimed location.So it is in that context, not remembering the username and the "New Poster" description that I commented above as I did.
In the old phpBB format, the number of posts a user had made would show under the username of each post. Now we have these broad classes and you have to click on the username to see number of posts. Then click on "Postings" to see prior posts. Had I done that, I would have found BryanL's posts from when we skied Mammoth in May and more importantly realized that he's not a commercial user.
ChrisC I'm sure didn't not click through username and postings either, but hopefully we have all learned now and can avoid knee jerk reactions to occasional posters. I'm biased against censorship here. Feel free to
at ideas you consider silly but I'll rarely consider deleting posts.Former admin put a lot of effort into trying to make FTO revenue positive. That revenue relative to the hours he put in doing Ski News was trivial, and as we know he pivoted to Grand Adventure where he has had more success. Accordingly he took a very hard line on commercial users try to sell product for free on FTO. That is not at all BryanL, and so again my apologies. FTO is a retirement indulgence for me and I have yet to set up Google Adsense nearly 5 years in.
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If I'm not mistaken, it may have been Harvey who told me that new member requests need to send him some sort of description about where they ski, the terrain they prefer, where they're from, what kind of skis they use, etc. Maybe we should try something old-school like that so we're not getting a bot in a poke?
Back on-topic: most of us here prefer to ski offpiste, whether that's low-angle, medium, steep, and/or technical. As I mentioned above, if I skied like the majority of Europeans (virtually all on-piste) at major industrial ski areas, especially during peak school-break periods, I'd give Bryan's ski mirror serious consideration. I still recall the icy, crowded autobahn that connected us to Tignes. Whether I looked like a Jerry or not, I would've loved to see who was behind me!
No problem, Tony. I learned MY lesson and will be way more careful in the future. I haven't posted much but did an article here on Solitude back in the day and occasionally pop in with TR comments. Anyway...big thanks for pointing me to GT. I spent a weekend in Driggs in June, loved it and even found a place I was interested in. But I'm spending my first full summer in Big Cottonwood since 2018 and am loving it. So, I'll probably visit GT, SV, Big Sky and Jackson on a trip during the (dry northern winter?) and postpone any move until my life settles out, as if that will ever happen. I plan to get to Mammoth next May or June too and I hope that intersects with your travels. Maybe then we'll be skiing Mammoth in August or year-round. Cheers!Well, that's embarrassing.
So it is in that context, not remembering the username and the "New Poster" description that I commented above as I did.
In the old phpBB format, the number of posts a user had made would show under the username of each post. Now we have these broad classes and you have to click on the username to see number of posts. Then click on "Postings" to see prior posts. Had I done that, I would have found BryanL's posts from when we skied Mammoth in May and more importantly realized that he's not a commercial user.
ChrisC I'm sure didn't not click through username and postings either, but hopefully we have all learned now and can avoid knee jerk reactions to occasional posters. I'm biased against censorship here. Feel free to
Former admin put a lot of effort into trying to make FTO revenue positive. That revenue relative to the hours he put in doing Ski News was trivial, and as we know he pivoted to Grand Adventure where he has had more success. Accordingly he took a very hard line on commercial users try to sell product for free on FTO. That is not at all BryanL, and so again my apologies. FTO is a retirement indulgence for me and I have yet to set up Google Adsense nearly 5 years in.
Oops. Maybe I posted the article and commented more on NYSB not FTO.
ChrisC
Well-known member
My issue remains that starting threads specifically to promote a product feels disingenuous, regardless of how long the user has been registered.
I personally avoid using this forum to advertise my own, my friends', or my family’s ski industry side-hustles. I have plenty of opportunities to promote things like friends-and-family discounts for Jackson Hole businesses (Mangy Moose) or various ski gear and concierge services, but I refrain because I don’t believe this community is the right place for solicitations.
That said, I recognize this is becoming a "new norm." With the rise of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and the declining effectiveness of traditional SEO, there is now an incentive to spam forums to build brand presence. I’m sure your website builder encourages this strategy to generate "organic" interest. Since AI models are increasingly trained on forum discussions, these types of posts are prioritized in search results, making the forum a strategic target for marketing.
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The thread was started by Russell Miles, a true new user, and was not promoting a product. BryanL's promotion of the ski mirror was a response not a thread start. Furthermore Bryan actually checked with James before doing it!
Former admin was strongly opposed to threads initiated to sell product. But we really need to review a thread carefully from the start and perhaps check prior posting history before jumping to conclusions. I did not do that this time either, but now we know going forward.
Westside Daily
New member
Honestly, there's not much you can do. Once I even moved all the way to the edge and still got taken out by an out-of-control skier.
Russell Miles
New member
One time was at a resort-type place, another was up in the mountains — the collisions were different too. At the resort one I got hit by a kid. In the mountains, some guy came straight at me. I was wearing glasses, and having a helmet plus glasses already felt uncomfortable. When he hit me, the glasses dug right into my eye socket. That one was really dangerous. Never wear glasses when skiing, seriously.
Russell Miles
New member
Are you kidding me, or are you being serious?
Please see post #24 above.
For the hit in the mountains, what was visibility like at the time? Are you talking about lift-served ungroomed terrain? Open bowl or trees nearby? Were you moving? If moving, fast or slow? Did you see him coming or did he hit you from the back?
My only close call after becoming an advanced skier (after age 55) was at Beaver Creek. I was stopped at a rope that was part of a lift maze. Heard something that made me move quick without thinking or looking. Still ended up on the ground, just being missed. My pole was under the guy's snowboard and bent. He was on the ground. He looked up and started to say something. Clearly he was going to blame me for being in his way. The place was empty . . . early season, midweek. I said quite bluntly "Are you trying to say it was my FAULT!" He realized I wasn't a kid. Quickly said "No Ma'am" and I realized he wasn't a teen or a young man. He got up quickly and shuffled as fast as he could to join the two young men he was with. He was probably the father of one or both.
Fair to say that one reason to find alternative places to enjoy skiing other than destination resorts is to decrease the risk of a collision. The death at Jackson Hole sticks in my mind.
June 17, 2026
The legal case was won recently against a snowboarder who fled the scene after creaming a woman who had just unloaded Gent's Ridge at Aspen. Her injuries were extensive: "an ACL tear in both knees, an MCL tear in her knee, a medial root injury in her right knee, a torn meniscus in her right knee, a shoulder injury and an injury to her right hand." She's a local. Snowboarder is from NJ.
August 31, 2026
www.aspentimes.com
August 31, 2026
Skier gets justice in Aspen Mountain hit-and-run case 2 years later
Anne Cassidy had just unloaded from Gent's Ridge lift on Aspen Mountain in February 2024 when she felt a jolt from behind that caused her knees to
www.aspentimes.com
Lonnie's snowboarder assailant did not leave the scene. I'm sure he'd like to know if there was a civil case for damages against the NJ snowboarder in Aspen.