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Cheers - just checked and looks like mine's got the v2.1 software anyway 😀
Coincidently I've just this minute had an email from those lovely people at Facewest (where I bought my Ortovox 3+) regarding upgrades for S1 & 3+ ...
You can send your beacons to them for an upgrade ...
@I_Ache - nice video, fabulous conditions. Those guys aren't actually that good, they are having a lot of fun though ! If you take to snow boarding you can be playing around at the edges of the piste in your first week, that sort of powder on an open slope is just superb on a board. As I posted before I took one of my daughter's boyfriends on similar off piste after 4 days, he was a natural and a good DH MTB-er so he had the balance and was pretty fearless. Bit of self pity from me watching that as great snow like that was just how it was when I bust my knee 54 weeks ago.
Tartiflette yes, that phallic sausage no ! I will concede that the Austrian deserts are great.
that phallic sausage no ! I
You can always have it chopped up if you find a bit intimidating 😉
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Isn't Mayrhofen one of those resorts where they have roast chicken turning on big spits outside some of the restaurants? Yum.
jambalaya. I have my fingers crossed for lots of powder in the first week of feb. And also for my boarding ability to be better than my skiing. Boarding in the fridge isn't far off my skiing in the fridge but proper snow and steeper steeps will show how I really am.
Oh and please stop with the sausage pics I am trying very hard not to go to the chippie and get a battered sausage and curry sauce.
After goulash and schnitzel you've exhausted the menu
WHAT!
Tyrolean food is about as good as it gets IMHO. Every kind of animal you could ever wish to consume and not had many meals that have failed to impress.
I agree.......can't recall half of it, but we ate very heartily!
(too heartily actually! :oops:)
Tyrolean food is about as good as it gets IMHO. Every kind of animal you could ever wish to consume
As long as it is pig. 😀
I do have to say, when it comes to piste-side food, skiing in Italy was sublime!
That said, I'd love to ski Japan. The idea of Japanese food and sake at the end of a day really appeals!
I do have to say, when it comes to piste-side food, skiing in Italy was sublime!
Yep. Dolomites is great, you can slide off the hill straight into a little towns with frankly awesome pasta. Plus half of it is Austrian too so you can still get a cheeky wurst 🙂
Slovak food also rocks:
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Well change in plans/situation = an upgrade from the odd touring weekend in the 'Gorms to a week in Soll in 10 days' time, followed by a couple of long weekends visiting a mate who lives in Innsbruck to see some of the areas he skis, then an end of season jolly to Chamonix for the christening of the boy of some friends who live there...
Awesome!
Going back a little, to when we were discussing the on/off piste conundrum of the slack country, here's a great view of the lovely playground under the Vallons lift at Serre Che;
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The actual piste runs right to left, just across the top left hand corner of the pic, above the trees, then peaks out on the left again in line with the descending chair, and follows the lift closer until you reach the station.
Yeah, being honest, I'd definitely hit that without gear (since I don't have any yet) assuming that the overall avi risk was 3 or lower, there was no signs of slips and I'd seen other folk on it.
Probably isn't the BEST decision and I do completely agree it would be safer with proper gear.
http://germanfood.about.com/od/flourbasedrecipes/r/germknoedel.htm Gorgeous 'boob' pudding.
Yeah, being honest, I'd definitely hit that without gear
with or without avalanche rescue gear there's a couple of things worth considering before you droped into a slope like that ...
Assuming that knowlege of current avalanche risk, temp changes, wind loading etc is a given I'd also want to pick my line taking into account any existing 'ski-cutting' which may have dispersed pressure in the snowpack; possible fall line/avalance paths and make a mental note of convex areas; terrain traps and escape routes.
If you don't fancy a course I can recommend the book staying alive in avalanche terrain:
[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Staying-Alive-Avalanche-Terrain-Ski-mountaineers/dp/1898573751 ]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Staying-Alive-Avalanche-Terrain-Ski-mountaineers/dp/1898573751[/url]
Interesting Digby. To my untrained eye that looks [i]comparatively[/i] safe terrain and is the kind of piste-side area I often find myself riding in without much knowledge. 😳
If you don't fancy a course I can recommend the book staying alive in avalanche terrain
I do fancy a proper course but it's back to that previous issue of investing a lot of time and money in something I realistically might only get to do a couple of days a year if the conditions are good.
(that's not a good reason but I'm just being honest)
I've ridden loads of stuff off the Cucumelle and always thought it reasonably safe. Young lad died in an avalanche there on Boxing Day...
http://www.dici.fr/actu/2013/12/27/avalanche-mortelle-de-serre-chevalier-les-reactions-de-la-station
Natural half pipe on the LHS looks like fun . Although with new snow would also be a terrain trap .
TBH from that picture it looks benign and almost too flat to ski in deep powder. I think you would be poling / hiking out .
L'Arch . your vid was making my knees hurt and my thighs burn. I would love to be guided on a day like that , but fear age and ability would leave me fustrated and wobbly
TBH from that picture it looks benign and almost too flat to ski in deep powder.
That was my (untrained) thoughts - hard to tell from the photo but doesn't look steep enough to be a serious avi risk (less than 28 degrees?).
Even more benign-looking "slackcountry", [url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/snowandski/features/10552987/Ski-helmets-isnt-it-time-we-all-wore-one-on-the-slopes.html ]The Telegraph say[/url] this is the "off-piste" where Schumacher fell:
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Incidentally [url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10556567/Skiing-off-piste-Why-its-too-dangerous-this-season.html ]Peter Hardy of the Telegraph[/url] reckons that unless conditions radically change this season it is too dangerous to consider [i]any[/i] backcountry in the Alps.
that looks comparatively safe terrain and is the kind of piste-side area I often find myself riding in without much knowledge
And you probably wouldn't be on your own GrahamS!
I reckon I'm probably quite risk averse, especially when it comes to avalance terrain:
The tragic death of Keith McIntosh in 2009 who I knew through Neil McNab; witnessing an avalanche fatality in Italy on what I would have previously considered safe terrain and the sheer number of avalanche fatalities in British Columbia when I did my NONSTOP course all led to an increasing awareness and respect for the mountains.
These events haven't stopped me from enjoying the backcountry at all - far from it, but have hopefully increasing lead to more informed decisions.
hard to tell from the photo but doesn't look steep enough to be a serious avi risk
"If it's steep enough to ride ... it's steep enough to slide ..."
the sheer number of avalanche fatalities in British Columbia when I did my NONSTOP course all led to an increasing awareness and respect for the mountains.
According to that Peter Hardy article, three of the recent fatalities in Switzerland were caught by a naturally-triggered slide whilst in the closing stages of a two-day avalanche safety course with a top guide!
For Jedi
Take care off piste in La Tour Chamonix Valley as just out of bounds after getting in to the area is a spot called the "scandi trap" numerous have been killed over the years, its a convex roller into a valley, that can slip when just on the cusp of the brow.
I did a back country course with The well regarded Mr McNab and the aforementioned Keith ( who lost his life freeriding offpiste), and we, on the course couldnt wait to rip it up, but he said its looks belie its danger.
Stay safe
"If it's steep enough to ride ... it's steep enough to slide ..."
I thought the rule-of-thumb was that 28 degrees was the magic number? That is certainly something mentioned in the Henry's videos and text.
e.g.
Slope angles matter:avalanches in Europe don’t release on slope angles less than 28° (about
where black runs begin or a very steep part of a red run). In the cold continental climates like North America the minimum angle is 25°
...
A slab avalanche can only release on slopes above 28°, but there is a difference between where the avalanche releases and where you actually trigger it.
The trigger happens under your skis, but avalanche frequently releases above you. Remember, you can be on a low angle slope and still trigger an avalanche that releases on a steeper slope that is above you.- from the free article at http://www.henrysavalanchetalk.com
Obviously that's just a guide, but that's part of why my untrained eye would consider that slope [i]relatively[/i] low risk.
Is your concern from the steeper angles above it?
(absolutely [i]not[/i] trying to be STW-style argumentative by the way - I know precious little on this topic - I'm just trying to clarify the snippets that I do know)
Just to be clear GrahamS - there were no fatalities on my NONSTOP course. However, as part of it we did a really good couple of days with the 'Canadian Avalanche Association' - they gave us details of recent avalanche scenarios to analyse & discuss which was really interesting - what was sobering was how many there were in the Kootenay mountains alone!
Without wishing to sound too gloomy & morbid this avalanche happened just before I went to the Lyngen Alps in Norway 2012 - many of those caught were very experienced showing that even with experience you can be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time ...
[url= http://pistehors.com/news/forums/viewthread/1216/ ]http://pistehors.com/news/forums/viewthread/1216/[/url]
Stm, it's a whole heap of fun! There's another over by Grand Serre as well.
That bit above, on the Telegraph story, with exposed rocks like that, why wasn't it clearly roped off?
Just to be clear GrahamS - there were no fatalities on my NONSTOP course.
No worries, I knew what you meant. I suspect they wouldn't be quite as popular if they kept getting the clients killed!
Is your concern from the steeper angles above it?
lol - don't worry GrahamS - I don't think for one minute you are being argumentative.
I'm not at all familiar with the Serre Che area in question but I'm guessing that the photo flattens things out a bit - it certainly looked steeper in the Webcam that CFH posted earlier.
Certainly avalanche risk is much lower below the mid-twenties, but then how often do you have an inclinometer? And yes - the steep angled slopes could certainly effect the area - especially if environmental factors like wind loading or the sun came into play. Isn't this the slope where the tragedy occured in Serre Che last month? 🙁
Hanging the washing out is so much more fun when you get to do it wearing your NEW SKI BOOTS!! 😆 😈
Wallop, PICTURES! 🙂
Digby, it's not that steep an area overall, though some of the gullies are steep sided. However, none of them have ever felt or seemed dangerous to me. More like an ungroomed snowpark.
That's exactly where Schumacher fell, the French tv had pictures and helicopter footage. The piste is marked with posts as normal and Schumacher is a local chalet owner and skies the area every year, he knew exactly where he was.. He was just very unlucky.
There is a massive blame game going on between insurance companies and others, resort to blame, helmet company to blame, Schumacher to blame.
There are bad avalanche conditions in the alps at the minute due to a faceted layer deep in the snow pack caused by an early prolonged spell of cold weather. Only rain to the summits or a massive dump will stabilise things. It doesn't mean ALL backcountry is out (had the best powder of my life last week in PdS!) but take extra care out there and never get complacent...
So... does this mean the old 'pistes nature' will also be unsafe to ski on?
I skied the Schumacher off piste last year . We stayed in les Menuires and had a couple of top up days . One day the links over the top to Mont Vallon / Cote Brune lift were shut so we dropped back down under the bubble in the picture.
There is more fun to be had over on the far right of the picture ,with a few rock drops and features.
Does anyone know if he ejected a ski ? I have come to an abrupt halt on rocks before and double ejected over the front . do this at speed and find another rock to land on and then walk away unscaved would be very lucky indeed.
[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7352/11825218886_c7ef911fe7_c.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ukbikeskills/11825218886/ ]chamonix[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ukbikeskills/ ]ukbikeskills[/url], on Flickr
Nice, Jedi! Going to leave the avy discussion for a bit, but there's some in there for sure.
I've been wondering, do your bike training techniques help with your snowboarding? Do you find it easy to teach yourself by using the same methods, breaking down and analysing what's working and what's not, trying things out, watching others and imitating?
And while you've got my Chamonix froth on, here's a couple more.
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@ned was your mate eaten by a Yeti ?
@singletrack - the story reported in France is that he hit a rock buried under the fresh snow which threw him forward into another rock. Although he was conscious (and was so until put into a coma in Grenoble) his companions knew it was serious and called for help immediately.
@jedi - little bit of a thaw and re-freeze on the top layer ? Anyway I'm sure you're coping.
Loving it. We learned to board 2 yrs ago out here
As an ex-ski patroller with a lot of training in avalanche control and safety I offer to the masses the following:
I was skiing in a safe place with friends-big slide, 1 killed 2 badly injured. Our group were all mountain guides !
I was buried, twice, in places where based on my experience and training it should not have happened.
I could be classed as a numpty which is fair enough but at that time I was avalanche bombing, doing slope safety and teaching so I wasn't really a bunny. I have dug about a dozen people out of slides, some alive. There are random elements to it, to be fair skiing out of a slide is an amazing experience. I liked to ski in places where the snow was good and the terrain was interesting, that has risk. Above all be safe, ski within your limits and enjoy the experience.
@nedrapier - loving the top photo - was the severed torso effect intentional? 😉
@NZCol - sobering & very interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Apparently the Schumacher investigators have stated that:
..the video appeared to show "completely normal behaviour by a good skier on this terrain".Schumacher had deliberately chosen to go off piste, an area between a red and blue piste that was clearly signposted, the investigators said.
He hit a rock that was 8m (26ft) from the piste, and landed 9m (30ft) away from the piste, they outlined.
Kinda sad that blame needs to be sought here (presumably for insurance/compensation reasons). I don't really want a future where every off-piste rock has orange hazard tape around it.