J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by tino_11

15 km open in Zermatt
45 km open on the Tux

Hmmmm, it's a long weekend next week as it's a Holiday on Thursday in Germany and a bridge day on Friday )

Funny you mention it, as I was looking at this earlier and seriously considering it for next Thursday ;)

I got up at 11am, went for a fantastic 3 course Italian lunch with a nice Chianti Classico in the sun. Cycled to a wee pub to watch Karlsruhe lose to Dortmund (in the sun), cycled home, had a two hour nap, got up and made myself presentable went for Tapas then went clubbing. Lovely day.

Risk can only be considered in anything we do when tempered with benefit. I work in the medical industry and spend every day balancing risk and benifit. We design new medical devices for implantation into human beings, which likely have to survive up to 20 years. There are all kinds of standards we have to adhere to when doing this regarding durability, design, functionability and performance. The most important standard we have to follow however is the risk management one, and the most important thing about that one is to understand NOTHING IS RISK FREE.

We have to map the function of the device in the environment it is meant to work. Then we have to brainstorm every conceivable defect that can occur. This ranges from operator mis-use to design failure. Once that is done, we have to assign a severity and occurance to the defect and work out the likely detection of that defect. From this we come up with a risk rating. Procedures state that the overall risk must be less than value x, however you are allowed to exceed value x is the benifit outweighs the risk. For example if a device carries a small risk of embolism and the 70 year old patient losing a toe after 6 months, the benifit of being alive for 6 months to lose it can be percieved to outweigh the risk.

Real life is really no different, we all do this every day we draw breath. Some are better at it than others, some do it consciously, others unconciously, however we all do.

Snow sports are interesting. The attraction to certain people (me for instance) is the risk, however that risk is largely overstated and a result of the occurance of defect/failure (detection) being more obvious. Mrs. Richardson only hit the news because of her fame, not because of her skiing injury. Her visibility and that of her accident were only high profile due to her fame. She would have hit the news in the same way if here laces had been caught in an escalator and she had fallen, hitting her head and suffering death as she did. Would that mean we should be frightened of escalators and class them as high risk? Absolutely not, the manufacturer has already done it for you, I guarantee it. The real question is, shall/will/do I get enough benefit from the activity to take the inherent risk? This is almost impossible to know without trying it.

How to measure benifit is far more difficult, as it is 100% personally percieved. Taking Aspirin is a worldwide phenomenum which carries small inherent risk when administered correctly, however one can still react and die to a single dose. The fact this occurance is likely minute amongst the general population does not actually decrease your statistical likelyhood of it happening, it merely reduces the probability. You or your doctor make this calculation without thinking as the benifit of immediate relief from pain outweighs the slight risk you will react negatively.

The benifit of skiing is exactly the same. The feeling of freedom, speed, control, danger are all positive (for me). I know I can fall and suffer injury or god-forbid, death, but I choose this risk against the risk of siiting on my bar stool complaining about how dull life is. All of the things I could suffer skiing/snowboarding I could theoretically suffer crossing the road, and all of them are probably more likely in the second scenario (not fact checked)...... The real question is "If you look at the benifit of both activities, which would you rather do?"

karen72 wrote:looks like I might actually be on to a winner this time with belle plagne.

Ok so next question.

where did you stay and would you recommend it. Is there anywhere you would avoid?

Also how expensive is it for drinks and eating out. If we are self catering and stay on a slope, technically we can eat in our apartment for lunch saving the expense for eating in a restaurant?Thanks for your repsonse.

Karen

La Plagne is the most expensive resort I have experienced. That being said it was my first trip and I was wet behind the ears, maybe there was better value to be had.

I remember 1 bar that charged 7 EUR for everything. Beer 7 EUR, Ciggies 7 EUR, Hanging your jacket up...... 7 EUR :shock:

I found myself eating a warm bagguette on a bench for lunch most days.

Tony, why don't you go to Mayrhofen?? Fits your needs perfectly )

Done both Zermatt and Grindelwald this year and loved riding in Switzerland more than France, Austria or Germany.

Do Zermatt and lunch in Cervinia every day, very cheap in comparison, you and your crew will love it.

Tony_H wrote:Nice ear muffs Tino. You wuss .... !!!!

)

Quite obviously the cold was getting to me )

Now for some piccies :)

The mountain....



The protagonists (well 2 of 'em)



Weather was terrible....



Cervinia for lunch.....



Finding it a little difficult to walk....



Looks like fun....



No being sick out the Gondola (just for Tony).....



Youth.....



Pablo and the hill.....



Again all from my phone, so apologies for the quality!!