Madeline and I went skiing yesterday. The binding on one of the skiis didn’t work correctly so I took it back to the counter and asked them to look at it. They pulled a screw driver out and tried to get it to work and after a minute of fiddling around, they indeed, got it to hold her boot. He looked up at me with such pride for efficiently fixing the problem.
“Are you freaking insane?!!!!”
In my best Chinese I said…”it still is broken and very dangerous…we need a new pair”. He complied. The ones they gave us were a little better but still very stiff. The tension (DIN) settings showed ~2 which is fine for a beginner like Madeline but I still had my doubts. We just had to have a little bit of faith in the odds that she wouldn’t fall in a way that would injure her..
In the U.S. (or any country that has expensive lawsuits), ski technicians will put the boots in the bindings, make adjustments, then whack the boot out with a rubber mallet to make sure they actually work. In China, they just hand you a pair of skis and boots and send you on your way.
Skiing in China Tip 1: Do a bit of research on things like DIN settings, etc. and don’t let them get away with this dangerous practice. Take the boot, snap it into the binding and test it right in front of them. )
Skiing in China Tip 2: Bring a can of anti-fungal spray and thoroughly blast the insides of the boots. I was prepared this time. The last time I went, I had to throw away my socks afterwards because I couldn’t even keep them in the hotel room. Better yet, bring your own boots.
Like my previous entry about safety, I concluded that a few expensive lawsuits and/or (better maybe) the injury of a high-profile government official’s son would solve this problem.
At the same time, the libertarian in me would be sad to see a wholesale cultural change like in the U.S. where everything, including things only dangerous in the hands of idiots, has to be safe. Yes, my hands have some burns from Chinese New Years fireworks…but it was worth it.
