Yekaterinburg Residents Debate Pedestrians on Ski Trails

Yekaterinburg residents have hotly debated whether it is permissible to walk on ski tracks. A column by an E1.RU journalist sparked lively discussion. Irina Porozova was outraged by pedestrians who walk on dangerous sections and interfere with athletes when there are normal pedestrian paths nearby. We present various opinions on this matter.

In a poll under the publication, 77% of voters supported Irina and responded that ski tracks are for skiers, and others should walk elsewhere. Here is what people wrote in the comments:

‘I am also annoyed by the know-it-alls who walk on the ski track. They have no brain whatsoever, especially if there is a path nearby. But the park administration should also be concerned about demarcating routes,’ said a site visitor with the username olga-ivanovna.

‘The park was and remains common, but interests and needs are different for everyone. And for pedestrians in the park, many paths have been allocated. Why encroach on the skiers? What is this utterly senseless position? Those who have not learned to live in society and respect others, move to a remote forest. There you certainly owe nothing to anyone, and there will be no ski tracks,’ wrote a guest with the username ‘My Personal Opinion’.

‘Then these dear pedestrians run and complain everywhere that they are being hit by skiers. Of course, it«s piggish behavior. If a skier is going down a slope at high speed, they might not see this »stroller« at all and brake too late,’ supported Anastasia.

‘A deeply frustrating topic. In the Southwest district, there is an interschool stadium with two cross-country skiing departments, and every year, two classic tracks and a skating track between them are set up on the stadium. And it«s all the same.’

‘Every day I watch from the window as pedestrians trudge right along the skating track, and some particularly gifted ones even start asserting their rights. Children sled down an improvised slope directly onto the prepared track, packing the skating track into concrete and destroying the classic one. They«ve ridden to the point that the school has stopped even laying the track to the second gates because after two days nothing remains of it. I won»t even mention the forest park. We made signs, hung announcements — to no avail. Walking on the ski slope right on the track is a sacred matter for them,’ told an E1.RU reader.

‘I fully agree with the author. I used to go to the STTU ski base quite often, but stopped for the same reason. Due to the proximity of this base to residential buildings, people with strollers, dogs, and children constantly walk on the track. Now I go to the «Biathlon» base, there is no such thing yet, though the entrance is now paid. Perhaps it«s for the better: no random people,’ shared a local resident.

‘In Mayakovsky Park, after all, originally on the site of the track there was an ordinary road for pedestrians, and people simply don«t understand that this wide road is a track for skating. Personally, it»s not difficult for me to go around, I won«t swear. But it»s in a park, we all have to get along somehow.’

‘There are cases when you really want to call such behavior piggish. In Sysert, for example, there is a wonderful ski track made specifically for a children«s sports school. For both skating and classic. A great place, with descents and ascents. And yet there are particularly gifted ones who race on inflatable tubes down the slopes. And the hills there are serious, speeds are considerable.’

‘Okay, children don«t understand the danger due to their age. But their parents drag them there, the children aren»t alone. The other day, literally in the last seconds, I managed to avoid a collision with a little child who was flying on a tube directly across the oncoming slope. The parents stand and smile. And ten minutes later, adult louts, having mounted a tube, flew down the slope, knocking over the fence. Do you not think at all about what you«re doing? And if you collide, God forbid. You injure a child, they»ll start screaming, making claims, filing lawsuits. Everyone will be to blame except them. Whether it«s piggishness, ignorance, or both,’ said Elena.

There were also dissenters. Here were their arguments:

‘The primary word is «park», that is, a place for walks in the forest. And a ski track in the park is a seasonal snow track and nothing more. If you ski in the park, be prepared to go around pedestrians. If you don«t want to see pedestrians on the ski track — go to a ski trail, but that»s already for money. And if it«s free in the park, then don»t complain,’ wrote a Yekaterinburg resident.

‘If we walk on these paths in autumn, summer, spring, why suddenly in winter has it become a track? At the same time, runners haven«t gone anywhere. Should they run through snowdrifts now if skiers have appropriated our paths for skating? Go to Uktus,’ indignantly said Tikhii Shelest (Quiet Rustle).

‘And why not tell the other side? How in the same park, on pedestrian paths where there are no signs, the same skiers ride and disturb pedestrians. Here, pedestrians have the right to be indignant,’ commented a guest without a nickname.

‘In my opinion, the simplest thing is to make a pedestrian path next to it with the same width so that pedestrians can walk the same route. By and large, both categories are engaged in sport. Walking in the forest is also about health. Don«t think that skiers» leisure is some priority and special. Adjust your crown a bit, lady, you live in society,’ wrote another anonymous.

‘Perhaps athletes shouldn«t train in city parks, but go to a special sports trail outside the city?’ suggested one of the site visitors.

Earlier we published a selection of places in Yekaterinburg where you can go skiing, and told how much rental costs there.

Also read the column by E1.RU journalist Elena Anosova, who explained what«s wrong with the main winter venue in Academichesky. The occasion for the publication was an incident that happened during the New Year holidays. Then a girl on a tube hit a pensioner. The woman was diagnosed with a severe bruise, swelling, and hematomas on her face.