It’s a parent’s job to look out for their children.
Even though it almost isn’t scientifically possible for a parent to always keep their eyes on their child.
As all it can take is one second of looking away for their child to escape their immediate view.
Sometimes getting themselves into serious trouble.
Redditor Helpful-Force-5711 was thrilled to take his son on a vacation.
Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when the original poster (OP)’s son became involved in an accident owing to the “reckless” behavior of another vacationer.
Unwilling to let that behavior go unnoticed, the OP felt there was only one thing to do.
But after being called a “horrible dad” by this individual, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:
AITA for calling ski patrol on a guy after he hit my son with his skis?
The OP explained why he felt it was necessary to report a fellow skier:
“My son (11 M[ale]) and I (44 M[ale]) recently booked a trip to go skiing in Colorado.”
“It was my son’s first time skiing, but he had seen a lot of skiing videos on YouTube, and he seemed really excited for the trip.”
“We also live in Florida, so this is not the trip you can just go and do whenever you like (we are not rich).”
“I grew up in Utah and I loved skiing when I was younger, and I would say I’m an expert on the mountain.”
“The first day goes all good, and my son really enjoyed skiing for the first time, even though he fell a lot, lol.”
“I made sure to be as supportive and caring as possible, even when he was struggling, because I wanted to make this as fun an experience as possible for him.”
“However, on the second day of skiing, he says he’s finally ready to ski down the whole mountain, and so we take the lift to the top.”
“Luckily, there was a way to get down the mountain while only staying on green level trails, so we took that way.”
“My son is having a blast, when all of a sudden, this guy in his 20s careens into my son from behind going on insane speeds, wiping them both out.”
“My son immediately started crying and came running to me after he got his skis off, and once he calmed down, he ran to the lodge where my wife was, and she decided to take him to the doctor’s office.”
“I immediately confront the guy for being so reckless, and he simply says that I should have been paying better attention to my kid, and then he rode off.”
“That was the final straw for me, and I called the ski patrol number in the app and told the guy the situation and what the skier was wearing, and they told me they would find him and kick him out.”
“Later on, I saw him getting escorted out of the park by two ski patrol officers, and when he saw me, he immediately started cursing me out and calling me a horrible dad.”
“I tried to ignore it, but now I’m second guessing myself if I overreacted.”
“So, AITA?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community. overwhelmingly agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for getting the skier kicked off the slopes.
Everyone agreed that the skier’s behavior was reckless and should not have gone unnoticed, and getting kicked off the slopes was one of his least severe consequences could have faced:
“NTA.”
“As a ski patroller the LAW is that the uphill skier is responsible for avoiding people, to maintain safe speeds, and to remain in control.”
“An accident on the hill has legal recourse, and they were actively breaking the law (this law is posted on all of your mountain passes, and you agree to adhere to it when you are on the mountain).”
“It is also the responsibility of the downhill skier to check uphill when merging or beginning their path but this doesn’t seem like the case from the description of the accident.”- schannoman
“NTA.”
“Thank you for doing that.”
“This could have been so much worse.”
“It’s a green trail.”
“That dude should have known better.”
“I don’t even know what he means by you should have been watching your kid… you WERE watching your kid.”
“You watched him get rammed into by this a**hole.”
“How could you have prevented what happened at all?”
“He’s the guy who came up behind your son at unreasonable speed.”
“If you were any closer to your son, you would have been hit too.”
“That guy’s just lashing out and refusing to take any responsibility for his actions.”
“You did the right thing.”
“What if he had hit into an even smaller child?”
“You’re all lucky this wasn’t so much worse.”- Money-Possibility606
“NTA.”
“Green trails are specifically beginner friendly.”
“Anyone who knows slopes would know that the path will be filled with kids and people still unsteady on their skis.”
“I’ve never even been on the slopes, and I know that.”
“He definitely needed to be more mindful and should’ve had the decency to at least apologize for potentially seriously injuring a kid.”
“The authorities at the lodge knew he was reckless and dangerous, which is why they escorted him out.”
“He shouldn’t be there if he’s going to endanger other guests, especially kids.”
“They don’t need a walking (well, skiing) lawsuit-int-the-making on the grounds.”
“I hope your son is okay and that this doesn’t turn him off skiing!”
“You’re a good parent.”- CrimsonKnight_004
“As you know, you’re responsible for anything in front of you.”
“the guy hit your child from behind.”
“It was a green run, so sure to have beginners.”
“It was a green run, so no speeding.”
“Hopefully the ban is permanent.”
“NTA.”- LadyLightTravel
“NTA.”
“Even if you were right beside your son, he still would have crashed into him because he was going too fast and not able to move to avoid your son.”
“Maybe getting kicked out will make him think twice before acting like this again.”
“Hope this doesn’t turn your son off of skiing.”- Wakemeup3000
“NTA.”
“Your son had the right of way.”
“He was watching where he was going.”
“The reckless skier is responsible for avoiding people in front, and if he was going that fast, he likely should not have been on the green run.”
“Absolutely a call to ski patrol.”- Soccermom9939
“NTA.”
“He was a menace to everyone on the slopes.”
“Your son could’ve been seriously or permanently injured beyond assuming normal (high) risks while skiing.”- Antelope_31
“He RAN INTO your child?”
“And took NO responsibility?”
“Dude, I would lose my mind.”
“Thank you for getting him kicked out to save other new skiers actual bodily harm.”
“NTA.”- Pickle_Holiday18
“NTA.”
“That dude was a reckless jerk and deserved to get kicked out.”
‘He hit your kid and then had the nerve to blame you?’
“Nah, he got what was coming to him.”- Velvetrosyy
“NTA. #1 rule on the slopes is the downhill person in front of you always has the right of way as we don’t have eyes in the back of our heads.”
“I’m 5’2” 115 lbs, and my ex had to physically restrain me once from throwing hands at a 6’ tall jerk who ran into one of my kids.”- Luluducgirl
“NTA.”
“The rule in skiing is the person higher up the hill is the one in control and, therefore, the one at fault if an accident happens.”
“This guy wasn’t considering anyone else’s safety.”
“Skiing is a sport that can absolutely kill you.”
“Him getting kicked off was totally justified, and you might have saved someone else from a worse result.”
“I hope your kid was ok, and this didn’t ruin his experience.”- Toomz01
“NTA.”
“You were on a beginner trail.”
“He should not have been going that fast.”
“I’m not sure how paying better attention to your son would have changed what happened.”
“Were you supposed to pull him out of the way?”- SoMuchMoreEagle
“NTA.”
“I can’t even stress that enough.’
“I grew up skiing in Colorado and am from a family of all expert-level skiers, myself included.”
“The number one fucking rule of safety on the hill is the downhill skier/rider has the right of way.’
“No matter how closely you watch your kid, watching them can’t stop an out-of-control a**hole from hitting them at 30-40mph.”
“You were beyond right to call ski patrol. He should have his pass pulled, and if your son accrued any medical bills from this, you should reach back out to ski patrol to get the information you need and at least threaten that jacked with a civil suit to cover the costs.”
“It’s probably not worth it to pursue, but worth it to hopefully scare him into not being a liability.”- AdSilly2598
One can only imagine that anyone going at an “insane” speed on a green slope was merely trying to show off.
Vain behavior often has a way of getting back at you.
Something this reckless skier will hopefully remember before he puts his skis back on again.