Steep: Glorifying extreme risk taking?

Good thread drift, Bill. The difference between "stoke" and information differentiates TAY from TGR -- or, at least, it used to.

Most "TR"'s that are crossed posted here and there belong there. As a matter of fact, I think that cross-posting trip reports is almost always a misguided failure to recognize your audience.

Lest there be too much lamenting about the passing of the good old days, let me comment that the content of the site is (right now) incredibly informative from the point of view of a newcomer, and very useful such as for picking up a trip/partner.

Also, there are two very different kinds of stoke:

1) Look at this crazy (dangerous, thrilling, etc) thing I did and survived!
2) Look at these wonders of nature that we were privileged to see

TAY seems to mostly have the latter, and what's wrong with that?

[size=12pt]Extreme skier dies during film jump[/size]
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/01/2...p/index.html?cnn=yes

Hmmm... only the second skier to die in Warren Miller filming.   Frankly I wish Warren Miller would move away from cliff jumping.   I think I was watching Jaimie Pierre do a world record jump...  He just skied off a cliff and flopped onto his back for a record jump.  And the point is?  Warren Miller Off the Grid?  I believe. not sure, but I can find it if need be.

It's interesting how these questions arise in more than one thread at once.

I saw Steep and enjoyed it immensely.  One of my favorite parts was De Benedetti saying how he felt, "like a little superman."  I can identify with that and it's an amazing feeling.  The times I most remember that feeling, there weren't any cameras anywhere nearby other than my own.

Now what about this stoke vs info question?  The info I find most useful is the info about good snow conditions - where the turns are nice.  But even that is subject to change on timescales much smaller than a day, which would generally be the quickest response time. 

Seasonal conditions could also be useful over the course of years.  That'll depend on the year. 

Often the avy conditions are only marginally useful.  That can change so quickly.  Who here would want someone to venture into risky terrain based on their assessment of stability some days prior?  Not me.

I will say this for stoke: it's everlasting.  I can look at the same beautiful shot of skiing powder snow and get excited, over and over - days, weeks, months, years later.  I can also reminisce, sometimes most vividly by reading what I wrote (to post on the web and say "look at me"!?) about a particularly risky situation and relive that excitement.  It's better than a cup of coffee.  It adds great value to days of my life when I can't be doing exactly what I want, year after year. 

Sky brought this up to me, the idea that this site is about conditions. What I post, though, once every few months are reports that aren't about conditions, but more about my thrill of going to amazing places. It's what excites me and I enjoy sharing it. More importantly, I like sharing it here, because I know many of you and know that you guys can relate. 

Like I mentioned on powderherbs thread; I like to see long TR's that tell a story about your own personal excitement and experience. But, this site was created to share conditions. To me I'm conflicted. Conditions to me change every day; I could care less about reading about the conditions from yesterday. They are fluid.

Anyhow, different people write or post very different stories. Some may glorify their risk taking (not often), some may tell the history (like skoog does) and others tell about the emotion and experience i.e., thrill, fascination, or fear. This is the story I usually tell. Not how many miles or verticle gain. I leave that type of story for someone else (like amar who does a great job).

So, should we post just conditions? I don't know. Entertainment is important and I believe, deep down, most of us are going here just as much for the entertainment as we are for conditions, at least when we go to the TR section of this site.

Anyhow, off topic but relates to the last few posts.

Back on topic...

Glorifying risk is something that I tend to agree with. Although, all of us contribute to it. Any TR we post, to an average skier, may excite them and glorify what most people consider to be a huge risk. Many people can't believe that I hike and stay overnight, worse yet that I do it in the winter. But I post about it. Is that glorifying risk? Others may emulate it and get themselves in trouble. So what that we may not be as bad as a Warren Miller film or touch as many people as they do, but that's not what matters. What really matters is that we teach those we meet, make others aware of the risk when we can, and do our best to enjoy our lives in a way manages risk and satisfies our penchant for adventure. For all I know, those skiers on Warren Miller's films are so beyond my skills (how many of us get to ski 200 days a year), it's like me telling the non outdoor person that skiing in winter is not very dangerous. I'm not an expert at what they do (tricks, flips, massive cliffs, and straight running a 3000-ft line backwards). I'm good at ski mountaineering and I try and set a good example, just like everyone here is doing. Although, I do think that those guys take a lot of risk, but hey, we all do and people should be smart enough to take it at face value and be wise enough to educate themselves. Ha. Youth will never do it though. If it ain't a fast car or sports, we all take our risks. Better skiing than breaking into someones house.

Ha. What we need is some good ski mountaineering movies .

"Steep's" Andrew McLean (sp?)was on the Colbert Report a few minutes ago and will be replayed at 11:30pm on Comedy Central. Seemed from the last few minutes that I caught of the interview that everyone thinks we are crazy and really "extreme". Granted I do know a few crazy ski mountaineers but most of us are pretty level headed and are in it for the skiing, not the "scare ourselves shitless" part of it. Guess this movie and the title speaks volumes anyways- this is what sells and what piques the interest of the American public.

Chris