J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ir12daveor

Tony_H wrote:Thanks Stewart, sensible words.
Trencher, I guess you need an incident like that to make your mind up to wear one.
Interestingly, and I said this before, I have never ever in my life seen a ski instructor wear a helmet. Guides, yes, but ski schools, no. Plenty of learners in the group wearing them, but not the instructors.

I dont wear a helmet, and I dont rent skis. Is that relevant?

Are you wearing blinkers?

One of my friends is an instructor trainer here in Switzerland. He wears a helmet when he skis (not sure if he does when he teaches), and he has told me that the majority of trainees he has now wear them too.

Maybe (just maybe!) some instructors don't wear helmets when teaching, but I'd say quite a few of them wear them when skiing for themselves. I don't generally take notice of what instructors are wearing when I pass groups, but in the couple of lessons I've taken the instructor was wearing a helmet.

Tony_H wrote:

There is clearly a sway towards wearing them, mainly because of media hype over the Natasha Richardson incident. It has not been proven that a helmet would have saved her life at all.

There are quite a lot of flaws in arguments you post in the helmet debate, but to me a statement like the one above shows how little time you actually really spend in ski resorts. There has been a Sway towards using helmets for at least the last 6-7 years, probably more. There were already people wearing helmets the first year I started snowboarding in 2001, the number has increased steadily every year since. Since 2003 I reckon I visit at least 10 different resorts in Switzerland a year, this year it has already been 17. I may be talking about only one country, but in Switzerland the sway towards wearing helmets goes back many years, and certainly long before Natasha Richardsons unfortunate accident.

I think that bloke Xavier had done it before. When I was in Chamonoix two years ago the guide we had pointed to a 60deg+ slope (quite possibly the one in the video) and told us the story of two guys climbing and riding it that winter. He was saying that on the snowboards they were using their ice axes to turn!!!

Regarding the OP,

Remember human reaction times are in the region of 300ms.(It is actually quite easy to measure, I've done it for a number of projects in the past) If you are very good this reaction might go down to 100ms, but at that level we are talking about sprinters who are also to a certain extent anticipating the gun. If you have a fall at speed this kind of reaction time is not enough to save you so there is certainly no time to deploy a parachute. The parachute also takes time and distance to extend the line and inflate. In the few miliseconds it takes you to hit the ground even a self releasing parachute will not achieve line stretch never mind inflation.

tino_11 wrote:Wow, this is interesting. It's the same argument as air bags and avalungs in my opinion. At an applied but exceptionally rare occasion they may be of use, but 99.99999% of times simply useless and expensive. Even another gadget to give people confidence they don't deserve to act upon.

I am actually considering an Avalung after this weekends snowboarding, only because I found myself traversing to a closed and unpisted black run in Engelberg with a level 3 avalanch warning in place and loving it so much I did it again. There was a 10ft wall of snow cut into the traverse and evidence of 3 slides above. I understood the risk and took it, but had I an extra margin of safety I'd have used it. Difference here is that is a preventative measure not a corrective one. Correction depends on reaction, and that is the point of the OP. I don't think there is enough time in most cases. If there is, skill is likely a better option. For those without skill, education is the far better option.

Tino you realise 4 people were killed in the German speaking part of Switzerland by avalanches this weekend. Two of the 4 might have been saved if they had transceivers on and switched on! (One was wearing one, but he never turned it on!!!) Off piste alone when the risk is considerable is just silly. There are motivations in Switzerland at the moment to try to make freeriding illegal. People like the guy who was buried for 17 hours a few weeks back when freeriding alone with no safety equipment play right into the hands of the people who want it made illegal. If this happens it potentially criminalises ski-touring and free riding for the people who take safety issues into account and have had training.

I'm with Bandit, a transceiver, shovel, probe, training(and going in a group) should be the first things on your list, then think about the Avalung or ABS. I am personally very close to buying an ABS backpack because these days the majority of my skiing/boarding is away from the marked runs.

bandit wrote:

ir12daveor wrote:
Turny is good! ;-)

Wow, looks like fun, The closest I've been to there so far was the Gstaad side. The problem is that it will probably be spring snow by then, but I can see how the conditions pan out. Its only a 3h drive. :)

The height may keep the snow from a refreeze, think positive :D

Turny skis! Last winter I was skiing off piste with a pal, he was on Stormrider XXXL's (26.8m). He asked me why I did so many turns. I blamed it on my turny skis, only a little lie really :lol:
My new skis are stickered.....Made in Tunisia!

Is the event a Movement Test Day?

Yip its a test day.
They are in Zinal on 21/21 March and in Les Diablorets weekend of 10 April. They'll have next seasons stuff to play with. If you become a fan of them on Facebook all the info is there.

Posting this at 10am on a weekend, shame on you, you should be in the mountains. 20cm of fresh here! :-)

Innsbrucker wrote:I don't get the Mackonky video. It is amazing viewing. But if he falls in a steep place he ain't going to stop falling. I saw some tracks on super steep bits of mountain from the lift in Seefeld. And thought the same then.

And no one can guarantee they will not fall. Can they? Mountain climging is highly dangerous, but this is not just dangerous, looks like Russian roullette. I am wrong?

If you take the avalanche risk out of the equation then steep is relative. Think about the first time you stood on top of a blue, then went to a black. The first time is always steep, after a bit of time you wonder what all the fuss was about. This is what those guys do for a living. They are professionals. But the same thing can happen even you or me. If you fall with a bit of pace and a bit steepness you will go a long way down the mountain. Still not a true "no fall zone" though.

Turny is good! ;-)

Wow, looks like fun, The closest I've been to there so far was the Gstaad side. The problem is that it will probably be spring snow by then, but I can see how the conditions pan out. Its only a 3h drive. :)

bandit wrote:

ir12daveor wrote:
Awesome, I see you've joined the movement. :mrgreen:

It was high time, I was almost seduced back in 2006, but some Stockli's one that round. I had a Test day on some of these a little while ago, and did not want to hand them back :D

Of course they are way too good for my capabilities, I'll just be cruising around looking credible :D

I love mine too, think they'll be getting a set of big brothers next season. I'm liking the look of the Sluff at the moment. I might check them out at the test day at Les Diablerets in April.

bandit wrote:
Awww, thanks, ) but I just got THE skis for me :D



They will soon be mounted with some PX12's :D

Awesome, I see you've joined the movement. :mrgreen: