410 Forum — Opinion
Drinking And Boarding Don't Mix
By Paige Mackenzie
As I pull into the parking lot at Copper Mountain, I see a group of guys getting out of a 4Runner one aisle up. They pull on their snowboarding boots, zip up their jackets, and then out of the corner of my eye I catch them chugging Keystone Lights in the backseat. As they finish their beers and pull their snowboards out of the backseat I see at least 20 more cans piled up in the back.
This isn’t anything new, I’ve seen kids drinking in their cars a dozen times before heading up to the mountain. I can’t help but wonder, though, how safe can that be, and do I really want to be skiing the same runs as them?
Drinking before a long day of snowboarding is common, but those who participate in this activity fail to consider the potentially dangerous consequences of their actions.
Snowboarding takes concentration. It takes balance and coordination. It takes quick thinking and fast reactions. All of these crucial skills are impaired by alcohol.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, alcohol can seriously slow brain function, most commonly resulting in poor judgment, reduced reaction time and loss of balance and motor skills. This is common knowledge to just about everyone -- so why do so many people mix drinking and snowboarding?
Drinking and driving is illegal for a reason. With the impaired judgment and coordination that results from alcohol consumption, the risk of getting in an accident increases exponentially. This rule applies to drinking while snowboarding as well.
Austin Wood, a student and active snowboarder, admits that he regularly drinks while snowboarding. Wood says that on an average day in the mountains he drinks about eight beers and has a couple of pulls of liquor from a flask. When asked if he would drive after consuming this much alcohol, however, his response was, “Hell no!”
This is where the conflict lies. Wood, and others like him, doesn’t seem to see the similarities between the dangers of drinking and driving and drinking and snowboarding. In both circumstances, though, there is the potential to injure yourself as well as those around you.
This is my main concern. I don’t have any real problem with snowboarders drinking -- until they put me or those around me in danger. Snowboarding even while sober can be risky; there is always the chance of a crash or collision. These dangers are amplified when alcohol is involved.
Wood and others in support of drinking and snowboarding admit that there are dangers involved but don’t believe they outweigh the benefits.
“There’s tons of problems with it. You fall ten times more often, but it’s just more fun. It’s an excuse to relax and let loose,” Wood says.
Those in support even say that there are some safety benefits to drinking and snowboarding, arguing that when you drink, your muscles are more relaxed and you are less likely to injure yourself in a fall.
According to a study done by the American Medical Association, a low to moderate BAC may be beneficial in patients with severe brain injury from blunt head trauma, because it can reduce the extent of secondary brain damage. In contrast however, even a moderately high BAC can increase the damage of brain injury, often resulting in permanent damage or death.
Drinking while snowboarding is all too common on the slopes. Most resorts have bars and even offer drink specials over lunch. The potential consequences of snowboarding under the influence are serious, though, and it is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Having a drink over lunch is one thing, but killing a 30-rack in your car on the way up to the mountain is another. Snowboarding and driving require many of the same judgments and motor skills, so if you wouldn’t drink and drive, why drink and ride? Snowboarders have the responsibility to look out not only for themselves, but for everyone else on the slopes.
