 Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks @rob@rar. I was aware of 112 but not anything else. Will look out for alternative numbers in future. Always plug them into my phone but, to be honest, I usually carry my old-style mobile, turned off, at the bottom of my rucksac; lack of pockets, not a great phone/text maker especially when on holiday, and just never needed to use it before. This incident has made me think a bit more, and I have just finally given in and bought a smartphone, complete with case and decent camera. OK, primarily as I'm stuck at home and want access to the evil interweb to while away some hours after my hand gets sore with Angry Birds  - but from now on I think that it'll have to find somewhere a bit more accessible for it to be kept and easily extracted. I live and learn... (fortunately)
As regards people not getting up or looking in difficulty, I also try to stop, at least slow and make some appropriate gestures, say "OK?", wait for a thumbs up, etc, if I see anyone going down or not looking like they're ready to get going again. Lost count of the amount of skis which I've helped to put back on (then again, do I want to get sued for helping if it goes wrong...?), chased up or downhill, etc, etc too. Maybe it's because I'm a confident-enough skier (though I do it on a board as well); I can't see why you wouldn't want to help, and if you're able to slow, moderate your turn/direction etc then there's no harm in that at all - which perhaps explains why on some pistes many people don't/can't stop or slow and ask. Generally it certainly seems to be the more experienced and technically-competent piste users (whether in Scotland or abroad) who bother to pay attention; often instructors in mufti. Most people just seem utterly oblivious (just like they are of what people are generally doing around them, it seems), whether you're on your own or with another person - which brings us back to many a discussion on the cause of people being down in the first place...
Re the Police - our TO Rep was very surprised that they even bothered to pay any attention at all, astounded that the "Inspector" actually came out of the Station and walked to our accommodation to take a statement from me. Maybe they only get interested when there's formal hospitalisation, ambulances or whatever involved; perhaps the paperwork or requirements are different? I got to the Clinic under my own steam - sensibly or otherwise - though was offered an ambulance, and it was a private clinic not a public hospital.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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In most EU countrys if an Ambulance is called the Police are automatically notified.
In Holland if you call an Ambulance to your home or whrreever the local Police arrive as well.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Grizzler, additionally:
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Whenever you go somewhere new it's always worth checking you know how to call emergency services. In Austria at least all numbers are on the piste maps, but you can also dial 144 for general emergency (typically for ambulance, but also covers things like water rescue) or 140 for mountain rescue.
In Tirol you can also use: http://www.tyrol.com/good-to-know/mobile-apps/emergency-app
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@clarky999, a) that looks a bit complicated or my wee brain's current level of smartphone ability;
b) seems like a very good idea for those who do understand it;
c) does my phone have a gps?;
d) now I feel really stupid: what's the definiton of "Tirol" coverage?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Grizzler, 
If you have a smartphone it should have GPS. It's just an app - download, then if you need it open it and hit the button. It'll do the rest for you. Tirol coverage just means it works anywhere in the state of Tirol, Austria.
But the phone numbers were the bit I thought you might find useful, if you missed that post earlier.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Grizzler, Are you three hundred years old?
I would guess your phone has GPS. Most have done for the last decade. You just install the app and when you get in trouble press the button.
Looks light a brilliant idea. Surprised there isn't one covering all of the Alps....it would only need a few extra lines of code.
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Still think it's much better to have somebody ski to the nearest lift station, if possible.
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@rob@rar, on piste yes that's likely to be quicker - the app is designed more for hikers/ski tourers/etc AFAIK.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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After my accident i knew who had collided with me from behind, mentioned it to the insurance company who were fantastic by the way, but they asked for witnesses etc. Etc. Basically They said that its very difficult to claim ... having thought about the accident i can see where they are coming from
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Thornyhill, what on earth did we do ten, twenty, thirty years ago??? 300 years ago I would, of course, have sent my servant.
I remember moving out to the reasonably remote rural area where I live, 20 years ago, and finally deciding that Mr G and I should buy a mobile phone just in case we had a bike/car accident and needed to call for help - only then to find that we didn't have a signal. Still don't in some place; and 3G is very spotty indeed.
I remeber walking/climbing in the Dolomites circa 2004 and being told that it was so easy to summon mountain rescue, just use "the mobile" - with a mast on every summit. Wouldn't even have thought of that in the UK at the time; hadn't a clue how to use a mobile abroad if we'd even taken one with us.
As for my age: more just no need ever to move on, and that's my attitude to all equipment. If I don't have a use for it, or if what I have now works fine and fits metaphotically and literally with what I'm doing or need it for, why bother? My computers have been running Windows 95 or XP and still do (except for internet security, now on Android or W10 - yuk!), and Office 95 does everyting that I need it to do. If I need to contact someone I phone, text or e-mail according to circumstance.
I've just purchased a smartphone simply because I wanted to be able to access the internet via wi-fi and play some free games when abroad or at home and immobilised. I won't carry it as an eveyday phone, find it a lot harder to use (why are Nokia re-releasing the old style ones, I wonder?)
My vacuum cleaner is probably about 45-50 years old, many of my clothes over 30 years, a lot of everyday household stuff older than that.
I am starting to see some occasional or limited used for new tech like smartphones - in case of injury/incident in the mountains/pistes being one - maybe; though a normal phone and camera would seem to do just fine too. I have a GPS for navigation if I need it, plus a map and Silva compass or 4. For remembering numbers I have a piece of paper and a pen if not already stored in my mobile - or, as someone said, they're on the piste map (now where did I put my reading glasses...? To which point, do they have an App for reading glasses to see your Apps? )
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Grizzler, Is there an app to help you read apps? Hmm, probably. But there is a built in magnifier to use instead of reading glasses. It's better too.
As to the rest of your points, yes you could just carry an old mobile and a camera and a gps and a compass and an altimeter and a pen and a piece of paper and a million other bits of kit, or you could just use a smart phone that does most of those tasks as well or better. Like a Swiss Army knife, the more you carry it and the more you use it the more useful you will find it. It's hard to explain just how genuinely useful a smartphone is until you start to use it in earnest.
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How does the saying go - anything invented before you're 35 is great; anything after is evil. Something like that. If you know that's how your biology works then you can easily compensate. Or not.
"Nokia" aren't building mobile phones, although they are still building infrastructure. They sold the brand to someone else, which is what you see. It's unclear how much of that is a marketing stunt to sell their main Android handsets though.
I think mobiles are a mixed blessing. Kind of like fast cars or politics: fine unless idiots are involved. If you're reliant on a single unit, or mobile reception, be very careful how you pick your mountains, or how you use your transceiver.
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You know it makes sense.
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@philwig, Nokia/Microsoft have been making traditional mobile phones for a while, they work well, I bought one last year.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Nokia was sold by Microsoft in 2016. The phones which he's describing are branded Nokia but have no direct connection with Nokia, a company I know well.
The new brand owners are broadly "HMD Global". They launched a model called 3310 in Barcelona this year, but it's not actually a remake: buy one and you're getting a new phone with two labels stuck on it which have no connection with the phone itself. Probably it's marketing for their me-too Android phones. Translation: you can of course buy stupid phones, but there's no resurgence in that market likely any time soon.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@foxtrotzulu, @philwig, - yeah, all the gadgets in one place is really convenient, lightweight, etc etc - till you drop, break or lose it, get it wet, covered in snow, drop it down the loo... Always back up your backups (alpine weight be b'ggrd - sometimes). Don't let the person falling down the crevasse be the only one with all the rescue and 1st aid gear...
Still can't find the make it bigger reading glasses app on my new phone tho' 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Grizzler, the 'reading glasses' app are part of the 'accessibility' features (aka 'old and daft') on the iPhone. I fear you may not have an iPhone so I'm nit sure if the phone you have has the same function.
If you, or other SHs do have an iPhone then have a look at these instructions:
https://9to5mac.com/2016/09/26/how-to-use-ios-10-magnifier-magnifying-glass-iphone/
For those of us whose eyesight is just starting to head south this feature is brilliant. For really close up stuff it's hard to beat.
Personally,mi wouldn't want to rely on a smartphone in a mountain environment, but everywhere else it's brilliant. If you lose your address book, what do you do? I can just download mine agai to a new phone or consult it on someone else's phone or whatever. Torch? If you need one for exploring a cave you don't want an iPhone, but if you just need one for a few seconds to check in the cupboard under the stairs the iPhones are perfect. Etc.
I've just been in a three day business trip and a smartphone made life so much easier:
1. Check flight times, check in and keep boarding pass on phone.
2. Check weather forecasts regularly
3.Order and pay for taxis
4. Be instantly notified when important news items happened. E.g. Syria bombing
5. Book hotels, pay for them, find my way there.
6. Book, pay for train ticket. Ticket on phone.
7. Alarm clock
8. Stopwatch needed for work purposes
9. Link my wifi kindle to my phone to give it a mobile signal and the by download a new book that I had forgotten to do earlier.
10. Find nearby restuarants
Etc. Etc.
Yes you can do all of this in other ways, but the thought of going back to carrying maps, alarm clocks, stopwatches, paper books, endless paper confirmation slips for hotels, train timetables, etc. is pretty depressing.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Android has triple tap to magnify you can turn on in the accessibility menu plus you can set large text or high contrast text as a default.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Dave of the Marmottes, and it works! Thanks 
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