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Ah right, no sorry, I meant they are not [i]legally[/i] required or enforced by the ski patrol.
They'd certainly be [i]a very good idea[/i].
(though to be honest, I've never seen anyone use one there, including the people who were doing proper backcountry and hiking well out-of-bounds 😯 )
I've certainly heard of places where they have access control gates and sometimes ski patrol guys stationed there checking transceivers etc. Canada and America seem to be more hot on this.
The USA is a bit odd in this regard. As I understand it, because the lift company usually owns the hill they can dictate what you do.
I've heard stories of people having lift passes confiscated for going out of bounds and people being arrested for trespass whilst skinning up the hill on touring kit. Most of it is motivated by fear of litigation should either of those individuals have caused an accident.
I carry mine all the time , but you would never know . Its strapped inside my jacket so unless I walk past a test station and 'beep' you cannot see it's there.
Got a shovel as well , getting a probe this year although having tested mine its pretty accurate and 20 secs or so with the gain on lowest setting should see you to within 2m .
Its more being able to respond to others who are unfortunate to be caught up in a slide if you happen to be nearby , and decide its safe to do so . Rather than standing around waiting for the piste security guys to rock up , you can get in and locate very quickly , if they are wearing beepers.
Which transceiver do you have STM?
I carry mine all the time , but you would never know . Its strapped inside my jacket so unless I walk past a test station and 'beep' you cannot see it's there.
Is there another way to wear a transceiver? 😉
I do wear mine most of the time as well. Even if I'm just going up to mess around, I'll always end up deciding some line or other is in condition.
Got a shovel as well , getting a probe this year although having tested mine its pretty accurate and 20 secs or so with the gain on lowest setting should see you to within 2m .
The probe completes the 'holy trinity'. Without it you can easily lose enough time to make a life or death difference.
Then practice practice practice. It's impossible to over emphasise just how important speed is. I'm sure you've all seen the graph of burial time against survival rate but in case you haven't:
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In the backcountry (and even frontside off piste) the best chance of recovering a buried victim alive comes from companion rescue.
The probe completes the 'holy trinity'. Without it you can easily lose enough time to make a life or death difference.
If the victim's any depth at all, you'll be moving an awful lot of snow, and in a stressful situation, it's very easy to lose track of the point you're digging to without a probe in place.
And with the newer techniques of starting downslope and digging on the level into the slope towards the victim, rather than top down, it's even more important to know the exact depth and position. And they're not that expensive. Buy a slab of stubbies rather than a night out or two, and that's it paid for!
Thanks for the response Graham. If we'd ski out the pistes in a day we probably won't go (we don't ski like it every day but have managed 50 mile + days - ski and lifts).
Whilst we'd like to have a go at off piste our lack of knowledge and kit means it's not something we're likely to do without a guide. We could get a guide for pretty much the whole week, but it's not really something we'd want to do the whole week.
Thanks for the response Graham. If we'd ski out the pistes in a day we probably won't go (we don't ski like it every day but have managed 50 mile + days - ski and lifts).
Yep, Jasná is only 45km of pisted runs, so if you were sticking to the pistes then it's probably not worth it.
[url= http://serrechevalier.livecam360.net/cucumelle ]'Twas the day before opening, and all through the valley....TURBOPUKE! [/url]
Looks like it's been dumping it down good and proper over there!
Wow! That's rather different to the last time I looked at that webcam. 🙂
Just booked a week in Lech, Austria. Anyone been there? Looks good - lift pass covers the Alberg area
Wow! That's rather different to the last time I looked at that webcam.
Yep. Had a few very nervous emails from friends over there this week. Watching the clock ticking down to opening day and thinking, "Erm, there's no snow!"
Email this morning simply read - "Cucumelle webcam - LOOK!"
🙂
Did Lech for my 3rd week ever, years ago. Deserted pistes in December, and no shortage of snow in that region. Think they limit the number of skiers to those in a hotel/chalet etc. and those that pre-book ticket and parking. Was kinda odd going in to a Ski Boutique rather than the Rental Shop, but Courchevel has more fur collars.
Must go back sometime and do more of that area, especially as it's one of the closer areas to here.
Sounds good! Got a ski-in/out chalet as I have very bad memories of my last time in Austria (Meyrhofen lift queues)
Lech is nice and a bit posh but mostly quite tame IIRC. Zurs is nearby and really good, St Anton a bit further away and also really good.
I normally go to Austria as I much prefer the prices and the hospitality to France - might have to go somewhere else this year as the snow in Austria isn't looking great. Massive dump forecast in Saas Fee in Switzerland over the next week or so.
Pretty much everything will be essentially ski-in/ski-out. Or at least a short stroll over the road to the lift and ski back to town and a short stroll over the road to the hotel. And there will be zero queues.
Never really had a problem at Mayrhofen. 10 mins max maybe? Will go there next month too, but will have car and drive direct to Horbergbahn gondola. At Kaltenbach and Zell am Ziller lifts, i think I have had to wait for a maximum of 1 gondola, and that was because it felt rude barging in to a 8er cabin with a group 4 ahead of me. Both on same ticket as Mayrhofen. Both have same piste km.
I much preferred Zell am Ziller to Mayrhofen. Mayrhofen was very busy even on a quiet week.
Same here, although haven't been to Mayrhofen for years, which is why I'll go there for a change.
Normally choose Zell am Ziller if it's a nice day, and Kaltenbach if it's going to snow, cos they have a free multistorey carpark, which means no clearing the snow off the car 🙂
I have very bad memories of my last time in Austria (Meyrhofen lift queues)
When were you last there?
It [i]used[/i] to be a complete nightmare to get up the main penkenbahn lift. Huge free-for-all crowds all pushing up the steps/slope to get in through one set of doors. It was a proper rammy. We used to form up into a phalanx, snowboards held up vertically as shields with the women and children protected inside.
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Last time we were there it was a lot better though. More uplifts and the Penkenbahn had a swirly fenced bit to force the Germans to queue 😀
Funny thing is they still refer to the Penkenbahn as the "new Penkenbahn" gondola, even though it's been there since before my 1st time there (1998?). And it's already due for replacement with more uplift. 2015 was rumoured, but no idea if that's actually going to happen.
Zell am Ziller and Kaltenbach both have double uplift from the carpark. Mayrhofen's 2nd uplift is a bus ride away.
And the Germans all go to Kaltenbach and Zell am Ziller, cos that's where the car parks are 😉 . Mayrhofen is mostly Dutch and Brits getting totally sh*tfaced on Grolsch.
Mayrhofen is mostly Dutch and Brits getting totally sh*tfaced on Grolsch.
Ahhhh.. happy memories. 😀
Me and some mates, including a serving police officer, all steaming drunk on said Grolsch, attempting to "break in" to our Pension at 3am when we realised none of us had our keys.
[i]"Right lads, we need to find a ladder to get up to the balcony"
"Don't be stupid they won't just have a ladder lying about in th.. oh there's one."
"There's another."
"Here's one"[/i]
Cue much hilarity as drunken men attempt to ninja up to the balcony without arousing suspicion from people walking past.
Quality night.
Proposed to my wife the next day on Hintertux glacier. 😀
[i]It used to be a complete nightmare to get up the main penkenbahn lift. Huge free-for-all crowds all pushing up the steps/slope to get in through one set of doors. It was a proper rammy.[/i]
Oh, christ, that's exactly it. Only time I've lost my snowboard holiday chill! "Don't push me pal, not today". 🙁
I even caught the bus to change lifts.. as the bus drove past.. massive scrum. Then I got lost and had to walk back. As I was walking the wife phoned and said "I've broken my wrist"!!
Yeah, it was 6 or so years ago.
[i]And there will be zero queues.[/i]
Andytherocketeer henceforce becomes my favourite STWer 😀
Mayrhofen is mostly Dutch and Brits getting totally sh*tfaced on Grolsch.
Loads of Russians last time I was there - seemed like 75% Russian in fact. I think we may have been there at Russian Christmas though.
Austria, doesn't Putin go to St Christoph near St Anton, takes the whole village ! Anyway I remember bad queues in Austrai at Mayerhoffen and especially Kitzbuhl but that was in mid '80's - I imagine they've upgraded the lifts a bit since then. St Anton has a very efficient and well thought out system.
Anyone know what prices are like for food/drink in Switzerland at the mo?
Seen some quite good deals and Saas Fee looks tempting for a last-minute trip fairly soon if they get all the snow that's promised.
Been to Austria for the last few years where generally everything seems very reasonable.
Probably about as steep as the French Alps.
Forget the exact prices now, but I think a beer was 6CHF, vs 5EUR in France (or 10EUR in Courchevel, but that's an exception).
though to be honest, I've never seen anyone use one there, including the people who were doing proper backcountry and hiking well out-of-bounds
GrahamS - do you mean 'use' or 'wear'?
I'd really like to think that anybody heading back/slack-country would be wearing one + carrying shovel & probe.
Proposed to my wife the next day on Hintertux glacier
Better than proposing to someone else's wife I guess! 😉
I mean wear!
We got friendly with a few of the local seasonaires, who hiked out for longer backcountry stuff. Talked to them about beacons etc and they were basically "Yeah, we probably [i]should[/i] have some..." 😯
This was after reports of a slide in the nearby High Tatras.
I suspect it is two-fold:
- part of the reason folk go to Slovakia is it is really cheap. So they maybe don't want to [i]"waste"[/i] money on a beacon and gear.
- most of the in-bounds freeride zone stuff is pretty low exposure stuff so I guess they get complacent.
That's partly what I meant by the different attitude to health and safety! You can step off a lift there and walk less than a hundred meters to the drop-ins for those chutes I posted earlier.
(I should emphasise we don't ride that stuff. And if I ever get to the stage that I do then I'll have the gear!)
I don't carry either probe, shovel or transceiver, ALTHOUGH.., I suspect that most of the time when I'm in the slack/side country, the highest dangers are wiping out and hitting your head off a rock or tree etc, or other cases of getting hurt where an avalanche isn't in existence at all. In a large percentage of the terrain I ride, those other things seem to be more of a risk.
Just back from a week in Chamonix with Alison Culshaw of Off Piste Performance doing the Ski Performance for Mountaineers Course. Although conditions are lean we had a good week.
A word of warning though, many incuding, the renowned Alain Duclos are warning of veey unstable snowpack. We did a tour up in the Aravais on Wednesday and it was mainly loose hoar with hard patches. The hard patches were windslab sitting on top of the hoar. I'll let you make your assumptions about what fresh snow will do on top of this, but there has been a summary on Pistehors titled " Most Unstable Snowpack in the Alps for A Decade". On skitour.fr a pisteur at Serr Che says they have fired off 40 mines in 2 days and 90% were positive ( I guess that means resulted in an explosion induced slide).
As an aside and as a PSA Off Piste Performance are offering courses in Scotland this season, and I think they still have places.
Have fun but take care
Very easy to stray from perceived 'safe' slack/sidecountry into a 'terrain trap' etc. 😯
And you never know if someone is going to traverse above you puting you in the firing line.
Without wishing to sound over dramatic I reckon beacon, pole & shovel (plus knowing how to use them) are required anytime you duck under the wire in Europe or head outside the resort boundary in North America.
mugsys_m8's comments about the current snowpack instability in the Haute Savoie & Savoie areas shows just how thin the line can be ...
Be safe out there folks!
So. Ellis Brigham or Snow & Rock for boots?
I'm in Bristol, if anyone is from round these parts.
I've just acquired some backcountry goodies!
All kitted for a season of touring!
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a pisteur at Serr Che says they have fired off 40 mines in 2 days and 90% were positive ( I guess that means resulted in an explosion induced slide).
Hope they managed to knock some onto the pistes and are currently spreading it around ready for me 🙂
Piccy no worky Oli.
Aye so it seems. Doesn't like a Facebook link (from an iPad anyway!)
Odd looking shovel.
I'm massively biased wallop, but I'd head to EB in Bristol, the two girls who boot fit there (one is the current gf) are excellent and really know their stuff. I boot fitted there last winter and (with no disrespect to other shops in Bristol) heard some horror stories.
Because it's a relatively small store occasionally they'll have to order boots in for you to try, but you'll not be buying the week before your holiday, will you... 😉
Thanks for that - I'd better get a move on then!
I don't carry either probe, shovel or transceiver, ALTHOUGH.., I suspect that most of the time when I'm in the slack/side country, the highest dangers are wiping out and hitting your head off a rock or tree etc, or other cases of getting hurt where an avalanche isn't in existence at all. In a large percentage of the terrain I ride, those other things seem to be more of a risk.
You're wrong. Avalanche is far and away the biggest cause of death in the backcountry. Much more likely than trauma from a fall.
Anyone been out anywhere in Scotland yet? I believe that things are improving up there? Is Glencoe open today?
I'm hoping to head up to Nevis next Thursday and Friday.
Careful out there. 5 dead and 2 seriously injured in 4 avalanches in France and Switzerland in 48 hours. 🙁
Hi Guys, I'm lucky enough to have landed a job in Austria and have got my season card and been out as often as I can. I'm enjoying it but I think my old Ride Viking snowboard boots are shot. I'm getting heel lift of about (what feels like) 1-2inches. They are 10+years old although not been used for around the last 5 of those! Do boots 'go off' while just sat on the shelf?
Anyhow So whats good in snowboard boots for an intermediate all mountain type rider, with flow 5 bindings, size 8 (M270)?
All opinions welcome. Oh and does anyone know a decent shop in or around the soll area to try things on. I've only found skier-centric shops so far...
Cheers,
Mark
You need to go and try a load on in a decent shop really. Salomon wide boots fit my feet well but YMMV.
Over a metre in some of the Italian resorts on xmas day - and about 40-50 cm in most of the French resorts. Austria is still struggling a bit in general. Sounds like a very high avalanche risk in many places though.
Just booked a cheapo catered chalet deal in La Plagne Villages as I've got a mate doing a season round there - woop woop!