Yeah, the pole thing doesn't work well either. Story B, Lola, my ex and I were skiing at Mountain Creek in NJ and and while she was standing there, poles firmly planted in front of her, an out of contol snowboarder, sliding on his back with the snowboard acting as a battering ram took Lola out. He went through the poles, snapping them like dried twigs. Fortunately Lola was OK just a bit bruised but if the snowboard was not slowing down but speeding up, it could have been much worse.