Snowboarder describes 15-hour ordeal trapped in a gondola at ski resort in Lake Tahoe

NataliePortland@lemmy.ca to News@lemmy.world – 125 points –
Snowboarder describes 15-hour ordeal trapped in a gondola at ski resort in Lake Tahoe
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People in this thread seem to think snowboarding is this nice gentle activity where you never slam down into some hard surface ever.

LOTS of people don't bring their phones when they hit the slopes. They know what they are in for, and aren't stupid enough to break their $800+ phone on the off chance the mountain fucks up an extremely basic process.

dang, I've had the same Samsung Galaxy S10 5g for years. never had a cover on it, took it boarding several times, even used it to film myself hitting some jumps with a selfie stick. I'm not even that good either, I ate shit a few times. Once while it was out on the selfie stick, and a few more where it was in me pocket. Still not a scratch on her. battery still lasts for almost 3 days on a single charge

Are they strapping it to their forehead?

I've eaten shit multiple times mountain biking and my phone, kept on my person has been fine

With any degree of speed or intensity you basically turn into a rag doll. Snow surfaces can be plenty hard enough to destroy a smart phone at those speeds.

I know plenty of people who have learned very expensive lessons when they thought their phone was safe.

If you're being pinballed down a mountain, I think a cracked screen is the least of your worries at that point.

Also, phone issuance exists for like $15 a month. Call me weird but I'll live "dangerously" with my phone for the reason that getting stranded like this would be awful

You would be amazed how much punishment the human body can take without injury.

Insurance plans don’t hurt, but even then? This isn’t a situation I expect to get caught in. The mountain tucked up big time.

This is a super weird hill to die on imo. Obviously, Heavenly is at fault here, but choosing to rely solely on others by not bringing your cell is also a decision that she made that worked out poorly.

Sure, you can break your phone falling, but I'd much rather risk a broken phone than being stuck somewhere without it, or getting lost off piste or something and only having my voice to call for help.

You claim "LOTS" of people don't bring theirs, but I'd guess that's still a tiny minority of people on the mountain overall. I tend to get over 20 days a year and go with a pretty sizeable crew, literally no one leaves their phone in the car because then you can't find anyone if you get separated, you can't listen to music, you can't take sweet pics/vids, you can't call ski patrol if you or someone with you gets hurt (obviously you can still go find them but calling is faster if you have service).