J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

andyhull wrote:Can you back out of Col de Mines? From skiing it last Jan, from what remember you we're committed once you started he traverse.

Think you're right. If I remember correctly (it's been a while so I might be thinking of somewhere else entirely), the traverse in can be pretty sketchy and laden with new snow is probably one of the likely places for an avalanche to start. Not a good route in the circs.

Chamonix caters quite well for all levels of skier... just not all in the same place.

Where exactly is the chalet? If it's in Argentiere then you might find it a challenge, but if it's near one of the easier areas then it could be ideal (just you and son-in-law may need to get on the bus).

Good question...

Yes, if you're leaving the piste at all then you should really be thinking about this. People die under avalanches within metres of pistes and - wot bandit said - sometimes the bits between the pistes are not pistes for a reason... and they are most certainly "off piste".

There's a lot of good stuff online and in print nowadays.

For online, the Canadian Avalanche Centre is a good resource and they even have an "online avalanche course" that is a great intro to get you thinking...

http://www.avalanche.ca/cac/training/online-course

Another good intro is here http://www.avalanche.org/tutorial/tutorial.html

Definitely spend a tenner (including postage!) on Robert Bolognesi's little book "Avalanche" from Amazon in time for Xmas. It covers all the basics and is small enough to go in a jacket pocket for a quick read next time you're waiting for a plane... 8)

Pistehors is an excellent source of information and his reviews of past seasons are worth a read.

Incident reports from the authorities, and first hand accounts from survivors often illustrate the warning signals that were ignored and the human factors that contribute to avalanches. They're also good reminders of the consequences.

Read all the above, then book yourself a day out with a guide; you'll probably have a fantastic time and any decent guide will be happy to explain their choice of slopes.

Get the gear, practice with it, and take it.

And always take local advice - the lifties are often people who know the mountain well and they'll be happy to advise. Learn to recognise the flags (that's the easy bit) and look for avalanche bulletins pinned or scribbled on boards by the lifts.

...and... "If in doubt, back out".

verbier_ski_bum wrote:what on Earth were they thinking, but in terms of being there when they were

Absolutely agree; the emphasis should certainly be on not being there in the first place. But judgement calls can be wrong (and often are, as evidenced by the regularity with which experienced guides and guide-led groups get avalanched).

Also worth remembering that even if you take a safer route, you can still get some fool above you that skis the slope you backed out of.

The kit is essential - if only to limit the time exposed to danger of the brave souls who come to dig out your body. It might help them find you early enough too.

I find it acts as a reminder of the dangers, and TBH have yet to ski with anyone who thought they could take extra risks when wearing a bleeper (and wouldn't ski with them if that were the case!).

verbier_ski_bum wrote:Had they had the equipment the outcome would have likely been the same.

Often the case, but not always. It does seem likely that the poor girl who died after the Tignes avalanche last week would have been found more quickly had she been wearing a transceiver.

And the final point (maybe even the most important) is that if you've got the kit then you can go to the help of others. One particular report from last winter has stuck in my mind; of a group who came across fresh avalanche debris and noticed tracks going under it. One of them switched to search on the off-chance... and they found and dug out (alive) two skiers.

Backing out (when in doubt) saves many, many lives every winter, but bleepers can and do save a few too.

Sketchy details emerged yesterday but it now appears that a large avalanche (on the Laub) caught and partially buried a group of 11 Swedish skiers.

More information on The Local.

Obwald cantonal police said the snow slide was reported to them shortly after 11am in the Laub area of the resort.

A 45-year-old Swedish citizen was flown in a helicopter by Rega emergency services to hospital for treatment of "moderate" injuries, police said.

Another Swede, 36, was treated for minor injuries while nine others were uninjured.

Ten of the eleven were able to dig themselves out of the snow unaided, while the other person needed help from fellow skiers, police said.

Seven of the skiers were part of a guided group.

The avalanche was described as being 300 metres wide and 800 metres long, occurring partway down the mountain on a slope identified as "off-piste" on the ski resort's map.

It occurred at a time when the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research had issued a warning for the region urging "caution and restraint."

Be careful out there folks. There's a huge amount of snow and more coming...

Two, possibly three, skiers rescued from an avalanche in the Col des Mines, Verbier yesterday morning.

Report (French) from Rhone FM

"An Avalanche took two skiers on Sunday morning at 10am in the Col des Mines in Verbier. A slab measuring 200 meters by 600 meters long was triggered at an altitude of 2,600 meters by 3 skiers, two Britons aged 24 and 22 years, and a young woman skiing off piste. Located and removed by FXB House Rescue, the first skier of 24 years was transported by helicopter in a state of mild hypothermia to Sion hospital for a checkup. His companion (22-years) was unharmed. None of the three people was equipped with a transceiver according to the cantonal police."

W.r.t. the last sentence. FFS. With the amount of recent snow... :twisted: Lucky (very) to be alive, so let's hope they learnt some lessons.

Those very nice people at Snowchains Europroducts have kindly offered all of us a 10% discount off any purchase of Weissenfels and Thule snow chains as well as Weissenfels snow socks.

To get your discount, you need to login (to J2Ski) and use the link and codes now showing in Your Profile under J2Ski Member Discounts.

Here's a little more about Snowchains.co.uk ...

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A great advantage of purchasing snow chains from us is that at a later date, should you change your car and your tyre sizes differ, they can often be part exchanged against new ones of a different size.

Snow causing problems for European Airports now, from Travelmole :-

Heavy snow across northern and central Europe is causing flight delays and cancellations.

KLM has cancelled all of its European flights until at least midday today following heavy snow fall in Amsterdam.

It said de-icing aircraft may also delay departures.

All Intercontinental flights from Amsterdam are due to depart as scheduled but passengers wanting to travel to Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany and Paris are being offered replacement ground transportation.

EasyJet has warned passengers that its flights might be impacted and said it is taking proactive measures to minimise the disruption.

"We strongly advise that passengers allow extra time for their journeys to the airport, check the status of your flight before leaving and closely monitor local weather forecasts," it said.

Ryanair warned of disruption to operations across Northern France, Belgium, Holland and Germany and urged passengers to check the status of their flight.