Offpiste skiing

The new snow seems to of turned everyone into a potential powder hound. Have been out a few days this year (conditions are not yet great) but it did make me sort out my equipment. So what gear do you really need to seek some adventure. Here is my list, would be interested to know what other feel is necessary. Fits (just) into a 30L rucksack although 35L would be better.

Ski: Accessories
I think there is a decent argument that anyone skiing offpiste should consider having touring bindings and skins. Just seems a big assumption that you would never need to help someone above in event of injury, avalanche, lost ski etc.
1 x Skins
1 x Ski crampons

Clothing: Additional in rucksack
1 x extra gloves
1 x running hat
1 x down type jacket
1 x buff
1 x goggles (in event of face plant)

Avalanche Equipment:
1 x transceiver (spare batteries and greater than 50% charge on installed batteries)
1 x probe and shovel

Glacier Gear / mountaineering: As required
1 x ice axe
1 x crampons (Midi ridge or climbing at end of skin)
1 x belay device (only if abseil planned)
1 x single rope 60m (There seems to be a trend towards people taking 30m randonee ropes. My concern with these is the limited about of working rope if someone fall into a hole whilst roped up. Plus they are nearly always so thin that prusik loops are very skiddy on them.
2 x ice screw
2 x prusik with locking carabiner
1 x micro traction + locking carabiner
1 x harness + daisy chain or sling with locking carabiner (to be clipped high on backpack)

All of that should really be on anyone planning on skiing off the two big Chamonix lifts (GM and the Midi). From a pure cost perspective is easy to see why people are often unprepared but am not sure which part you should be leaving behind.

Interesting - that seems like a lot of kit, but it must depend on how far you're going to be from lifts and / or civilization and if you're going into glaciated terrain? Probably fair enough for the Grands Montets and La Grave, but otherwise that's a fair bit of kit to carry all day.

For me it's a pretty small subset of your kit :-

- spare gloves.
- buff.
- extra fleece layer if cold.
- foil survival blanket (so light and cheap it's daft not to have one).
- avi kit (T/P/S).
- phone and whistle, small water bottle and emergency chocolate... 8)

Fair point about skinning back up to assist a casualty but if they're that far above you, it may be more prudent (thinking about both speed AND limiting your own exposure to danger) to make yourself safe and focus on getting a heli or the piste-patrol in from above.

Just MHO, but kit to suit the route.

Does Offpiste have the same meaning as Back-country in N. America? Piste and off-piste are not common terms here, but I always thought offpiste meant an in-bounds area managed for avalanche but not groomed where as back-country is a wilderness area..

CanadianSkier wrote:Piste and off-piste are not common terms here

In Europe we don't have the "inbounds" idea; generally speaking, "off-piste" is neither patrolled or avalanche-controlled - it's very much "ski at your own risk" as soon as you step outside the marked limit of a piste (trail).

It is a little more complex, in that some ski resorts do have "freeride areas" (pretty much equivalent to your "inbounds" off-piste) that are controlled. Many resorts also have a few "un-pisted" runs which are both marked and controlled (just not piste-bashed), and others have "itineraries"... vaguely signed routes that may or may not be controlled depending on the resort...

Ranchero's kit seems like a lot to carry to get some fresh turns, but prudent I suppose if that is the environment you are in. Can you hire a Sherpa?

I'm curious to hear what the others have to day.

Definitely the glacial kit that does it. But with a lot of skiing here in Cham being on them you have no choice but to carry. Yes we have an the amazing PGHM to help and they should always be your first call but you also need to be able to stabilize a situation, if someone is in a hole get them onto a rope and some sort of anchor, ideally a screw. As well as being conscious that bad weather means you could be alone.
Midi ridge requires crampons even once roped, which leaves you the ice axe. Useful tool for making belays in event of crevasse rescue (even if skis as the anchor) and required for uphill of some itinerary.
This is where people can have some problems in Chamonix. E.g. Valle Blanche has a reputation of being an intermediate run. Yes one version is very mello but you are at 3800m on glacial terrain. My strong belief is that every skier should do a VB at some point. Only a cheap flight and transfer away. If you don't have the above then simply you need a guide who will have.
Of course you tailor depending on your plans but always good to have an excuse for being in the back seat. Plus what else is there to argue over if you don't have a rope to carry within your group.

I will post some pictures of holes to convince you about the glacial gear.

With respect, all that seems way too much for your average holiday skier to think about when venturing off piste