I've been reading the dog posts for some time, saying nothing because I
didn't have strong feelings either way. But today something happened
that changed my mind.

Think for a minute what it's like coming down the last stretch of trail
back to the parking lot after a fine day of skiing. You're flying along,
happy as can be. Now imagine that someone coming up the trail, instead
of stepping aside as people always do, jumps out in front of you and
runs right at you. Scary, right? But it wouldn't happen, because people
don't do that.

So why is it all right for dogs to do that? I had a wonderful time for
several hours today, but just as I was enjoying that last rush, a dog
ran right at me. The owners said nothing. Fortunately, I've been skiing
long enough now that I didn't immediately crash from fear of a
collision. As the dog got closer I stuck a pole in its direction, yelled
at it get back and managed to keep going. Still no response from the
owners, even as I called over my shoulder "This is not OK!"

The shock of the encounter and the moments of fear pretty much ruined my
sense of calm and enjoyment.

For me this has become an issue of safety. The dogs are not the problem.
They are just being dogs. The problem is dog owners who do not
understand or accept the effect their dogs have on others and who are
not in control of their dogs. Skiing is by its nature dangerous. We
accept that. But adding uncontrolled dogs into the mix is not a good
idea. Several earlier posts on this topic mentioned people who had been
knocked down by dogs. That's upsetting. There are plenty of places dogs
can go without risking injury to people who want to ski.

Perhaps there is something that could be done to keep dogs away from
steeper areas. Flat terrain is much less likely to be a problem. Or
maybe there is away to make clearer what it means to keep dogs under
control.  Even if most dog owners are responsible, and I have to believe
they are, it takes a few who are negligent, as were those today, to ruin
things. It could mean injury, and it definitely takes away from the
pleasure of skiing for the dogless. I think it also takes some judgement
to decide if a particular dog is appropriate on the trails. Ones that
run up to strangers no matter what those strangers are doing, and want
to jump up and play are not the ones to bring.

As I said, I'm not blaming the dogs for being dogs. But based on the
experience today, if someone asked me to vote right now on whether dogs
should allowed on the trails, I'd say no, with apologies to those who
have well behaved dogs. And the next time I come down that last stretch
of trail, I'll be worried. That's not how I want to ski.

Kit Anderson