I’ve always followed others on snowboard trips before.They seem a bit taunting when looking at piste maps. Apologies if I seem simple, but are there any basic rules to getting back ok and working the piste map out.

just go for it!

as long as you ski down hill you should be fine,

You can’t beat a bit of French taunting! 😆

You’re thinking about that waaaaaay too much.

The best thing to do is get a long ball of string. If you tie one end to your hotel, and leave one end in your bag then you can always follow the string back to your hotel. There might also be an app for your Iphone you could use?

In all seriousness, as said above, just go and have fun, however, be aware that if there are lifts that are crucial to your return you make a note of when they close, and be aware they may get very busy. Make a note of any lift closures too.

Often even if you end up in the wrong village there will be a bus to return you to the resort anyway.

Have fun!

Just look to get across the map from your starting point and back again by the end of the day. Look for where one run ends, and there will usually be a lift at the end or slightly above it, which will get you back to the poinbt where you can work across. But again just relax, worst case in Europe is that you need to get a bus or taxi back 😀

Sorry to barge in with this, but I’m currently doing a course at uni that requires designing & marketing a new type of snowmobile, and we are in dire need of some opinions from people who go on winter/ ski&snowboard holidays.

[/url]

…is a link to our survey, it’s 6 questions and should take under 2 minutes to complete (honestly, we timed it!)

If anyone could find the time to complete it, it would be very much appreciated. It takes no effort and would help us out a lot. Cheeeers!

Use a Garmin Foretrex.

Breadcrumbs. Trail of breadcrumbs. That should sort it.

Unless the marmots get the scent of breadcrumbs, of course. Vicious beasts are marmots, utterly vicious. They’ll bite your arm off for a morsel of stale baguette.

http://www.firebox.com/product/2896/Zeal-Optics-GPS-Goggles

You need these…..bargain!

crispo, I had a play with a pair of those in Snow and Rock in Covent Garden a little while ago. They were rubbish.

Big, heavy, ugly, very average lens at best. Oh, adn the GPS “screen” was virtually invisible unless you pulled your eyeball out of the socket or lifted the whole goggle off your face.

Sub-optimal…..

From crispos link

These are the bomb, I put them on and I was instantly transported to the summit of Mt Everest. I did a sextuple backflip off the peak and landed in a jacuzzi, where the goggles acted like scuba goggles. All in all, pretty good.
John Freeman, Mt Everest

😀

There’s a great iPhone App which locates you on the piste:

http://www.skimapsapp.com/

It’s like a map of the underground – when you’re a nipper out with your mam on a day trip that map is incomprehensible, and you think your mum is a genius. As soon as your at the age where you want to go to Hamleys instead of H&M, you say “Mam, can I have a fiver and I’ll see you in three hours”, your need to go to Hamleys overrides your fear of the squiggles, and you just figure it out*

On a snowboard though, try and avoid the button lifts.

* I know you can walk between Hamleys and H&M now, but back then mum didn’t know that, so we always got the tube.

(Also, Holy Spam Thread Resurrection! I wonder if the OP managed to navigate his way safely across the snowy plains OK?)

What resort are you off to? They are easy to navigate unless you are rubbish at reading maps 😉 just look for the way the arrows go, indicates DH! Just don’t get stuck 3 valleys away when the last lift has gone if there are no free buses it’s a LONG walk back in ski boots or snowboard shoes (but easier!)

On a snowboard though, try and avoid the button lifts.

Wuss 😉

Wuss

True! I was so shit at snowboarding (after 4 seasons over 8-10 years) I switched to skiing this season! I’m just not rad enough…

There are many iPhone/Android apps that show your position on a piste map or even use Augmented Reality to overlay a map details using your camera.

But really the best way is use a piste map, use your eyes, keep an eye on signs (colour and piste number) and learn a few good landmarks when you first arrive.

its fine

except my missus doesnt like them, there was one really fast one last time we went away to france

we were both boarding so its extra tricky i was really careful to give her loads of space, what i ddint see was the woman getting on behind me who i edged off the side of the chairlift sonehow

she didnt say anything till she was hanging by 1 arm 10ft off the ground, the lift guy noticed stopped the lift and she dropped down i got proper abused by the lift guy

and the ride up to the top with the girls bloke swearing at me in french all the way was excruciating! 😳

True! I was so shit at snowboarding (after 4 seasons over 8-10 years) I switched to skiing this season! I’m just not rad enough…

Skiing is way more of teh rad awesomeness than boarding. FACT.

My universal navigation tip would be to follow where you are on the map regularly, rather than only digging the map out when you’re lost.

But, after years of skiing, I have to admit that piste maps are all crap. Why the flipping-heck can’t they use proper 2D OS style maps with contours etc. That would be far more informative.

Ski maps are these weird mangled projections and can be difficult to follow. Two mountains that appear next to each other, are sometimes facing each other! With some sections of trail it is difficult to know which direction is down due to the odd projections.

The key is to pay attention to the layout of the lifts – identifying them by type (gondola, cable car, 2,3,4,6,8 person chair, drag-lift), and by name. This gives you a sense of the layout of the ski area. Almost without exception, trails go from the top of one lift to the bottom of another. Plan routes by linking these up.

Look out for splits in the trails leading to different lifts. Pay particular attention to your direction when setting off from a summit or ridge, esp. if it is snowing, as you can easily go down the “wrong” side.

Some resorts helpfully put piste numbers on poles that correspond to the numbered trails on the map. Beware that in many resorts, the numbers are just a count-down to the bottom. In others you have to guess by the colour of the poles at the edge or the odd cryptic sign at the split (sometimes).

If you are not confident with drag-lifts, avoid trails that rely on them to get back up – often the case where the periphery of the ski area is in the forest rather than in a village.

The maps usually give the top and bottom height for each lift so this can help you work out the down direction of a trail in those cases when it’s not obvious.

Finally, pay attention to the last lift times posted at the bottom stations. Stay in the area immediately above your hotel as the afternoon wears on. That way you wont get stuck in the wrong valley when the lifts stop (been there!)

Hope this helps, it’s easier than it sounds. And happy skiing. 😀

*****************************************
ZOMBIE ALERT: THIS THREAD IS FOUR MONTHS OLD!
*****************************************

>but are there any basic rules to getting back ok<

None really. Just keep the number of your hotel in your jacket, locate the nearest hostelry and await rescue.

Hell everyone needs a “stranded in another village” story in their repertoire – just go for it.

I have mild survivalist tendencies and always ski with a camelback full of bivi gear, just in case…

Did anyone do the quiz?

I presume you mean the questionnaire? yup I did.