I got caught in a slide last year and ever since have struggled with confidence when out in the white fluff. Skiing used to be my life but I can't seem to regain the love. How can I MTFU and be at one with the mountain again?
How big was the slide ?
Were you doing something you should not have been ? If that is the case then ski "safer" pitches.
Or just get out on piste for a bit and enjoy that for a bit. There is naff all snow about at the moment and when the snow comes the depth hoar is going to probably cause problems. So just enjoy the pistes for a bit.
How much skiing have you done or do ?
Baz
You need to relax and get things in perspective. Smoke dope and get drunk more often. Really.
How about equipping yourself with all the relevant protective equipment? Perhaps that would help overcome your (quite understandable) fear?
Get some avalanche awareness and rescue training?
Do tell about your expriences.
I was assuming maybe wrongly that he was equipped and trained !!!
Been skiing for 30 years, and have had a few accidents in my life, I guess its something about getting older.
How about equipping yourself with all the relevant protective equipment?
Oh don't get me wrong, I have all the equipment - you shouldn't assume however that because you have equipment that you are safe though. That is the first rule.
I would say getting caught in an avalanche is more than just your typical skiing accident. I've skied about 2 weeks every year for the last 15 years and I still worry about avalanches even though I've never experienced one
Try skiing some less steep (below 28deg) where you know it cant slide. See if your love for it comes back and is enough to drive you forward.
Bottom line is skiing off piste carries a danger of death and this year has been a bad year in some resorts.
What happened? Surely if your skiing off piste you find part of the buzz is the danger, if you dont then either ski tamer less avalanche prone slopes or hang your skis up!
I have never been in a true avalanche but have caused a couple of slabs to start moving ie the snow pack shift 3 or so meters down the hill with me on it...at the time you poo your pants a little, and think this is where it ends, but then afterwards have a few drinks and laugh about how you cheated death.
LHS
please tell us more.
cirumstances,where, how big, buried, dug out by friends??
Surely if your skiing off piste you find part of the buzz is the danger
I know what you mean and agree, just never really been caught out before - anyone who knew me would know that I urge on the edge of safety (I know it doesn't sound like it)
It was just me and a buddy skiing in a local spot near Crested Butte, we were traversing around the side of a small bowl, I was following him about 20metres behind for safety, I was half way around to the ridge when very slowly the whole face just cracked and I went with it. Fortunately it was slow, and not steep and I only got taken a short distance down but was still buried up to my chest.
but then afterwards have a few drinks and laugh about how you cheated death.
There were one or two beers consumed that evening!
Jeebus - that's scared me just reading it
Get an ABS system , and one of of those AVAlungs . You are stacking the odds in your favour that way . Obviously you have ARVA transponders ( if not get those too_) and a shovel and a probe .
On PisteHors They reckon 1 man / 1 m3 of compacted snow per hour is the rate when digging down to someone. This is probably less than you could shovel, but care must be taken not to put the spade through someones head.
Scary things . moved a small slab once , and saw a big slide in VDI, it was very educational if not rather scary .
You will get back into it, start on piste and get your mojo back, then take your time going off piste when you are ready
Get an ABS system , and one of of those AVAlungs
I've got an ABS backpack but not an avalung, have seen them but not overly convinced if they would be affective. Surely you have to ski with them permanently in your mouth?
ski in france. the avalanche risk has been "1" for the past few weeks 🙂
admittedly the snow has been crap... you can't have it all - best slopes for skiing are almost always the ideal slopes for avalanches. Nice and steep, lots of snow.
It's a bit like food - the good stuff is always bad for you. damn it.
If you are pre-occupied with safety it is probably taking a lot of the flow out of your skiing. You seem quite experienced already but an avalanche course might just reassure you that you are going through the right processes, reading the weather and terrain etc. You might also just need to take a bit of time and focus on something else, and wait until you are feeling positive about skiing again.
I have had a lot of ACL problems which coincided with going from skiing 100 days in a winter to skiing about 10 or 12. I spent a lot of time rehabbing and trying to get my knee back to the same level for skiing. I didn't enjoy my skiing because I wasn't performing at the level I had become used to. I have taken a full winter off this year. I'm going back to snowboarding to take some pressure off the knee and my only expectation of myself is to enjoy my time in the mountains.
With all the care in the world, you can never truely know when this could happen to you.
Having witnessed a slide at Christmas, very close the piste, started by a class of young racers, who were with 2 instructors. It scared the hell out of me. We watched in horror and were unable to do a single thing. One lass was dug out slightly bruised, but another ended up in hospital in a coma.
I would certainly start off slowly, on piste/trails and work up to the steeper deeper stuff.
As above take some time out. Start a new hobby, then return.
Book a Heli-Ski trip, that will get you motivated.
LHS did you deploy your ABS in the slide ?
This is a bit of kit I am considering.
Has all this technology stuff actually been proven to save any lives though? The aqua lung thing may help, but all I can thing is it prolongs your death in a cold pitch black tomb.
As to avalanche courses, back in the day when I was skiing alot we always went with the locals who had the local slope knowledge. Also some will criticise this but you actually develop a sixth sense for when a snow pack is safe/not safe and you can feel what its like. Also ski proper nice steep stuff over 45 degrees and the risk drops, plus you tend to take the snow with you so you can't tell if your in an avalanche or just taking the top layer with you.
These days I am very wary off piste because I havent skied enough in the last few years to understand the snow (you loose the skill), and have lost the local contacts.
Go to france now - zero chance of avalanche in the Northen alps unfortunately. 😡