 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Looks like fun. Do you straight line it?
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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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brian
brian
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78% as in,
# as a percentage: the tangent of the angle of inclination: the ratio of the altitude change to the horizontal distance (this is the more common percentage type),
or as in,
# an alternative definition as a percentage: the sine of the angle: the ratio of the altitude change to the surface length between any two points on the grade—also known as rise to run (not to be confused with the "rise over run" taught in grade-school geometry).
First calculation makes it 38 degrees, second one makes it 51. I'm assuming it's the first, second *would* be impressive though !
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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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If you do it backwards, do they call it "seppuku"?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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brian, 38 degrees looks about to me right judging from the photo.....
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Having gone up the chairlift over it, then it looks steep: but no steeper than (for instance) Normania at Silver Star. I've skied Normania many times, and it's a "do not fall" slope as at the bottom it's just across a track and direct into the stream (assuming you are lucky enough to miss the trees). At least on HK it levels out a bit before you get into the trees/stream.
PS Claims for HK went from "Steepest in the World" to "Steepest pisted in the World" to "Steepest in Europe" to "Steepest pisted in Austria" in a few weeks. So the Austrians think it's steep? Yes, but not that bad.
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What a load of old marketing b0llocks. 'Fan products for those who survive' indeed. How old do these weasels think we are? 
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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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Lizzard, I hear they're fitting a camera halfway down so you can buy souvenir pictures at the bottom.
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Ok - so how do you make sure you DONT end up on it - or something like it!!? Looks v. steep and gets steeper as it goes on....
I love trying things and pushing myself but am terrified of ending up on something way beyond me. i.e. "Black" run - even if it says for "bon skiers" only - doesnt generally mean you have to be THAT good....I can usually get down slowly...
Anyone know how it compares to say Mont Fort in Verbier? (not that I did it ... I just NEARLY had a go... does that count?)
And any tips for if you start something and find it turns in to this.... What's the best way of ensuring you are still alive at the bottom!!!!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| jayne durham wrote: |
And any tips for if you start something and find it turns in to this.... What's the best way of ensuring you are still alive at the bottom!!!!! |
Assuming that it's too late to turn back, take your time and side slip, side slip, side slip. Keep on doing it until either you get to a point where you are confident you can turn safely, but if not then keep side slipping all the way down. Side slipping is an under rated but in my view an essential skill for difficult situations.
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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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richjp, good point!!
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richjp, I disagree, side slipping can lead to leaning into the mountain, and you can easily end up slipping into a fall, my advice would be to keep the rythm and commit yourself to each turn, stopping before the turn is a killer and leads to you running out of slope.
jayne durham, You sound simular to my Mum, good skiier, but as soon as she approaches anything steep, bottles it up, technique out the window, slows down, leans into the mountain etc, and my best advice for her is the above.
Another tip, (if skiing with someone who has more experience/ confidence) then aim to follow there line, and turn at the same point from there you should find some rythm.
Otherwise, if its a steep slope with icy, scrapped snow then i would not recommend, but would probably do myself is straight line it 
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You know it makes sense.
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Liam, every skier should learn how to do a proper controlled side slip, it is an essential skill in case you encounter ice, rocks, steeps or narrow gullies....
learning how to side slip without leaning into the hill improves your turns on steeps as well
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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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Liam, like anything else, the side slip should be learned and practised on terrain within one's comfort zone. Once it's there, I'd say there's nothing quite like it for precision control. I'd liken it to clutch control on a car: sure a learner will roll back starting on a hill, but it gives a hell of a lot more control than an automatic in a confined space on a slope.
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Poster: A snowHead
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laundryman, Practised in ones comfort zone can be completely different when putting it into practise on a steep slope in which they have to depend on it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Liam, all the same, I'd be side-slipping rather than picking up speed through the fall line on turns.
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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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| Quote: |
Liam, every skier should learn how to do a proper controlled side slip, it is an essential skill in case you encounter ice, rocks, steeps or narrow gullies....
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Agreed, but this is a steep slope to a nervous skiier, surely they need to learn to ski the slope confidently first, before they begin to side slip down the slope.
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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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Liam, the question concerned this scenario:
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| ending up on something way beyond me |
"Go back to the top and choose something easier until you're ready in three years' time" is not an option.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Wed 8-08-07 13:33; edited 1 time in total
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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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| Liam wrote: |
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Liam, every skier should learn how to do a proper controlled side slip, it is an essential skill in case you encounter ice, rocks, steeps or narrow gullies....
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Agreed, but this is a steep slope to a nervous skiier, surely they need to learn to ski the slope confidently first, before they begin to side slip down the slope. |
You would never choose to get into that level of slope in the first place.
This discussion was about the situation where you have made the mistake of starting down a slope without realising how steep it gets later, and how do you then cope with the part which is steeper than you would willingly attempt.
If you can ski it normally, then there is no need to side slip.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| jayne durham wrote: |
Ok - so how do you make sure you DONT end up on it - or something like it!!? Looks v. steep and gets steeper as it goes on....
I |
There are skull and crossbone signs plastered at the top of the run 
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| Quote: |
Agreed, but this is a steep slope to a nervous skiier, surely they need to learn to ski the slope confidently first, before they begin to side slip down the slope.
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sorry but that is just wrong, side slipping is a safer and easier technique for steep slopes. As laundryman, said like all techniques it should be practiced and mastered on easy slopes first and then continually tested on more difficult terrain.
I would much rather have a nervous beginner outside his her comfort zone trying to side slip a tough situation than attempting to ski it.
if they panic and never have side slipped before i would still have them slip it.
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Liam,
I am thinking of the kind of the situation where the skier is too frightened to turn. It's all very well saying commit to the turn but people can get to the stage where they are too scared to turn, for fear of the very real consequences which may occur if they get it wrong. Even in that situation if you can finally persuade someone to have a go for it, they are likely to try half heartedly and not commit properly then fall. The other point I made is that you should take your time when side slipping and anyone skiing with someone who has got out of their depth should encourage the skier to do so. As long as the skier goes slowly, even if it's only a short distance down at a time there is no reason for them to fall. It's not infallible but the best I think you can do in those kind of circumstances.
Side slipping is an essential technique for any skier at any level in my view because for most of us recreational skiers, whatever standard you are, you are sooner or later likely to come up against a situation where your technique is not good enough to enable you to turn with the necessary degree of safety.
I remember a conversation about difficult couloirs a while back with someone I thought was a better skiier than myself. He claimed that he had never skied down many couloirs but he had side slipped loads of them. He was modestly joking about his own abilities of course but I think his point was well made. From another perspective in La Grave with guides last year, the guides insisted we side slipped into the start of a couple of couloirs either because the entry was too narrow or because it was worn and tricky.
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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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richjp, Yes, yes, YESSS! Couldn't agree more.
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Side slipping is a vital skill. It has helped me show others how to get out of difficulty in the past, and it has helped me in countless situations at all levels of my skiing career. There are some places, especially at the entrance to narrow couloirs or picking your way through rock gardens, where side slipping is the only way for any sane amateur to drop in.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I had an instructor who actually taught us to side-slip for that exact reason (you find yourself out of your depth on a slope and without the confidence to turn) He even took us to a nasty steep slope to make us do it for real  His atitude was that the prime aim of ski-ing is to get down the slope alive and if that means side slipping because you lack the confidence to turn, then that's what you do.
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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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An easy to learn "get out of jail" technique, that actually teaches you a lot about controlling the ski. It is also very good for scraping every last ounce of fresh snow from the slope 
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Frosty the Snowman,
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It is also very good for scraping every last ounce of fresh snow from the slop
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Don't worry, it's nothing to what the boarders manage!
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You know it makes sense.
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oh my... didnt mean to start a squabble!
Thanks for all the tips about how to get down. Do tend to side slip when on a short bit that feels too steep. But I dont choose to do stuff that is suicidal! - Trouble is that often until you've done a run it is hard to know quite how bad it is. Some blacks are ridiculously easy and others are hard - I suppose one of my questions was how you know which ones are really to be avoided like this one.
Are there really skull signs at the top of this one?
ps - Liam not sure if it is a compliment or an insult that I sound like your mum. Like the bit about her being a good skier - but do I not sound from my post like a fabulously attractive 18 year old then?? (I of course am not and am probably even older than your mum!!) 
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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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jayne durham, yes there are loads of signs at the top, including skulls etc. You couldn't get onto this run by accident as it's a single run rather than a branch off another. It's very steep and I saw someone fall/tumble all the way from the top, although quite slowly, he still couldn't stop himself but managed some control. He was fine - the people on the lift cheered when he got to the bottom and was ok!
I'm a 13 weeker and will ski anything pisted, but not this one unless there is fresh snow. The thought of ice on the run fills me with dread. One thing though is that it is fairly quiet and wide for a black so you can traverse.
As for avoiding some blacks. If in doubt check out the steepness of a run from the lift if possible or another part of the mountain. Otherwise check with an instructor or a  as to whether it's a true black or a red with a few steep parts. If you are still unsure, wait until some fresh snow so at least you avoid ice and ski it with some powder on top.
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Poster: A snowHead
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For anyone that knows the area, is this the piste that drops down from near the top of the Ahornbahn Cable Car, and if it's the run I'm thinking off there used to be a T-bar up it and I recall the mother of all lift pile ups, when first a derailment of the upline happened on a tower near the top, a couble of people fell and slid back, their momentum collected the people behind and ripping the t-bar from it's spring box, and now four slid down the track and took out the next two and..... time for a sharp exit as the advert says!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Winterhighland, Was in Mayrhoffen April 06 - I'm almost sure that there isn't a T-bar to the top of it. One of the chair lifts takes you alongside the run. The bottom of the run is in the area by the Snow Park.
There is a restaurant near the bottom too where you can eat your lunch and watch the idiots, ermmm experts coming down it!
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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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Winterhighland, it's on the Penken side, number 18 I think. The run on the Ahorn side is a red (but black in parts).
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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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Yep. Piste 18. It's only the top third which is steep. I reckon it would be impossible to get onto it accidentally: there are so many signs warning/publicising it.
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FAQ
