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Tips for first solo ski trip please

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Does anyone have any tips for my first solo ski trip (don't worry, I'm pretty sure I've got the not sleeping with strangers or taking dodgy taxis thing taped Shocked ) - I'm wondering if there's a protocol to let people (i.e. the hotel) know where you're skiing for the day? It might sound a bit naive but I'm just planning on texting my mate (at home) at intervals to let her know I'm ok, we've pre agreed that if I do this at the bottom of each lift and the top of each run she will never speak to me again, but just a check in from time to time so she knows I'm not buried in an avalanche somewhere.

I'm generally pretty gung-ho about this sort of stuff and I'm only going on-piste, having been back into skiing now for a couple of years after a 25 year break.

Any other top tips from snowheads out there?

Thanks Very Happy
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
If you're on piste then I'm not sure about needing to tell people where you are, if something bad were to happen then you'd be scooped up by someone. Worth having an idea of who to call in an emergency but I've never checked in with anyone when I've been skiing alone, I just enjoy it. Although I probably calm it down a bit, less likely to do any park stuff if I'm not with anyone.

I really enjoy the odd time that I've skied alone, it's really nice to just go at your own pace and ski where you want to go, stop when you want to stop etc.
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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?
Thanks Snoodles, I was wondering if being a little over-cautious Smile although hadn't really thought about emergency contact details - so than's for that one. Will stick with alienating best friend with marvellous photos. I can't wait - and yes, I won't be trying to go anywhere really fast (which let's face it, is only really fun if you can gloat at them over a beer later).
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Get a piste map and make sure you put the SOS numbers in your phone. Phone your mate every evening to let her know what a great time you're having. Job done snowHead
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Talk to people on ski lifts. You can have some interesting all be it short conversations with fellow skiers. Yesterday I spoke with a Polish man who explained why he had driven through Austria to ski in Italy with his family and why he didn't ski in Poland. Not everyone likes to talk and if they are in a group I tend not to. The one problem with this is the number of people you speak to who are staying at a friend's chalet/flat will make you wish you have better friends....
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
@Skipurple, I’ve done solo ski trips many times over the years. Enjoy skiing alone but often get chatting and then skiing with others anyway. Depends what sort of accommodation you’re in and what you prefer to do,

I have a simple A4 template for all relevant contact details. I carry one copy with me in accessible pocket. I leave one copy on bedside table in room. If mostly up on mountain alone, I hand a 3rd copy to accommodation reception, or travel rep. Useful to have this I think even when details entered on mobile phones (which can lose power, be lost, etc). Happy to send copy of you think useful.

I guess a reserve phone charger/ power bank thing useful if small enough to carry. Batteries lose power faster in very low temps.

If you really want to be tracked each day, I believe there are phone apps that do that. They can be set up to send location info to nominated devices. Personally I prefer the freedom of wandering and wondering occasionally.

When skiing alone I aim to stay on piste or within easy sight of lifts. Last but not least I carry a whistle and small LED light, both clipped to upper pockets of jacket, so easy to locate and reach on emergency. Available for about £2-£3 each at most good outdoor or sports shops.

Enjoy!
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@PeakyB, Shocked man after m'own heart re basic safety kit Very Happy I do carry more emergency and med kit than I should rolling eyes
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After an incident while skiing alone in Engelberg at the end of last season (deep snow, white out), I'm now equipped with whistle etc just in case. I was scooped up in the end, by members of a junior racing team and their coach. Emerged unscathed, happily, but one ski pole light. Hasn't put me off the odd solo trip, which can be great fun, especially when arranged at the last minute.
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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.
Pop in to the Solo Skiers group and add your details to the snowBuddy thread (http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=98245). If you're in a bigger resort there's a good chance of another SH being around.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Take a spare phone. Smashed mine once when solo and was relieved to be able to swap the sim over and restore contact with those back home. And enjoy yourself 😎.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Years ago, when I was single and lived on my own I use to go on a lot of solo ski trips at sometimes a days notice. I often never told a soul where or what I was doing - none of my mates, work or parents! Just booked time off work and away I went.
In hindsight I often think to myself if anything had happened they could still be looking for me today!
Nowadays the solo trips are more infrequent but if I was to go on one I would have all contact and accommodation details listed for wife and family and quite often ring my wife at different times through the day. Might also be a good idea to let your accommodation know your daily plans as once when staying in a hotel in Austria I decided that the snow was rubbish and drove to Italy to ski and stayed a few days leaving some stuff in the hotel room in Austria as it was still booked to me. They got a bit worried when I didn’t return and rang me to see if all ok. Luckily it was!
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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.
Some great stuff on here guys - lots I hadn't thought of (despite a stint in mountain rescue some (ahem, a lot of) years ago). I guess it's the process if you have an accident I'm not au fait with as it's never happened (and hopefully never will) but what you've all said here about contact details / whistle etc is great stuff. Much appreciated. Have put a post on snow buddies too in case anyone is in the area but I am looking forward to some time to contemplate in the mountains too. I'm a bit of a chatter (no sh*t sherlock) so watch for posts about "nuisance woman on Austrian lifts" during early March Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Toofy Grin
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I have only skied solo once and didn't enjoy it. If I was ever to do it again, I would consider:

- Joining an organized group....here in NI, a radio Station runs a ski trip every year.
- Go to a Chalet, where you have company for meals and can suss out the people and their ski level....it may then be possible to join them. I've found that people on ski holidays are generous, sociable and willing to allow others into their group.
- Joining Class lessons, are also a way of skiing with other people and potentially meeting somebody to ski with
- SCGB has ski "guiding" by their Leaders, in countries that allow it.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
PeakyB wrote:
If you really want to be tracked each day, I believe there are phone apps that do that. They can be set up to send location info to nominated devices. Personally I prefer the freedom of wandering and wondering occasionally.


Good idea, for cycling I used to use an app called Bugle but they didn't keep up to date with iOS updates. The principle was quite good, you started an 'event' with a check in time and send a note to a selected number of contacts. If you don't check in by the set time then you and them get a message, so they can alert emergency services or start looking for you.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I would have thought all the facebook updates would tell everyone where you are, what you are doing and that you are safe. I remember once that Samerberg Sue, a prodigious poster here and on FB. once went 2 days without posting. I checked she was ok! (she was)
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I go away on my own all the time and like it a lot.

Although I'm familiar with "call outs" from more adventurous sports, I don't use them for resort-based snowboarding. If you think of the scenarios that type of precaution would protect against... well I don't find it attractive. It would be more likely to cause confusion and false alarms than anything else.

You're extremely unlikely to have avalanche issues on piste - the risks of that are vanishingly small. People do die from asphyxiation in snow now and then. In neither of those cases would a call-out change the outcome.

So my tip would be to think it through and then probably do nothing.

If you're paranoid then you could use Google Timeline (it's in google maps). I use it because it's an easy way to remember where I went on a particular day. Anyway, it logs your gps signal over time. If you're at a resort with free wifi or data connexion then that is on the web without any effort. I think you can allow other people to see your timeline if you like... so they could see which bar you ended up in, if not with which strangers.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Have your details and contact others about your person somewhere, and include your hotel in there too.

A friend of mine was wiped out on a piste in Lebanon. She got concussion and lost her short term memory for a while, so didn't know where she was, who she was with, what country she was in, what hotel she was in. In fact she had even forgotten she was working in Dubai (hence the trip to Lebanon).

She was skiing with a friend who had stopped for lunch, and they only found out about her from my friend's iphone (redial)
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