Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Hiker(s) Killed in Avalanche in Turkey

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
At a ski resort in Turkey. It's on the radio news. No details, and only saying that a "British man" was killed though said he was with hikers of other nationalities, no word about them.
snow report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Bad luck to die in a turkish avalanche I would think

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2613194

by 'hikers' they mean ski tourists.

I read today on our newswire service that 10 people had been injured by an avalanche in a sugar factory in Chelsea, NZ. Scary
snow conditions
 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?
This first-hand report from Richard Cowper of the Financial Times carries full details of the avalanche and victims.

The British victim is Alasdair Scott, secretary of the British Alpine Ski Club.
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
I'm sorry to hear about yet another tragic ski related death, but if the conditions were as they've been reported why on earth were they up there ? These are experienced back country skiers if what I read is correct they went skiing in an area with avalanche warnings and high risk of avalanche weather, madness Sad
ski holidays
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I am always sad to hear about the death of anyone because of avalanches. Sad
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
What's the technique for 'jettisoning' skis as the party leader did. Is it just a case of kicking them hard while in the avalanche in an effort to make the bindings release??

Also some instructors have said to me it's best to stay as a ball in the avalance as then you're likely to stay on the surface, while most articles refer to trying to swim in the avalanche. Is there a general consensus on what's best to do??
snow conditions
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Very sad to hear of someones death in an avalanche Sad

For anyone interesteded in the science, safety etc.. heres an excellent well written site - http://www.pistehors.com

matthew - Although I am not an expert in this area, and there is nothing on pistehors I can see regarding the " swimming " to the side of an avalanche. I seem to remember it being discussed in a Channel 4 documentary some years ago on avalanches. I even think you can get the one hour video in the shops.
snow report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I've seen refernces before to 'swimming' if unlucky enough to be caught in an avalanche. I guess the basic principle is anything that gets you to and keeps you at the surface is good, as the biggest problem seems to be suffocating once trapped under the snow.

Am sceptical if staying as a ball would be a good idea. It would reduce the risk of getting limbs broken (good !) but as a body will be more dense than snow surely you would tend to sink to the bottom (bad !)
latest report
 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.
It seems to depend on the type of avalanche that hits you, a slow wet avalanche is possible to swim in and several people have survived by doing just that a powder avalanche has the strength to destroy big buildings and can travel at over 200kph swimming is not going to work in that, if you breath in during a powder avalanche you will be inhailing snow into your lungs, it is theoretically possible you may survive by being in a tight ball with an air space in front of your face, I have however yet to here of someone doing so, the best option if you see a powder avalanche approaching is to get to higher ground or beyond a lot of trees my guess would be a good 100 ft of forrest minimum better yet a nice solid reinforced concrete structure, bear in mind with the powder avalanche there tends to be a blast wave infront of the snow itself which is capable of driving an 8" dia pine through a block wall.

Best option don't go skiing off piste if the avalanche danger is high
snow report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
DGO,I've seen a slab avalanche, which basically looked like large chunks of white concrete hurling down the mountain. Not much chance of surviving that, I wouldn't think! But are the two types of avalanche you mentioned different to a slab one?
latest report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
One or two facts in the above FT report, which I linked to, appear to be wrong. The victim's name has been confirmed by the Foreign Office as Alasdair Ross, not Scott.
snow report
 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.
Lollie Wet avalanches tend to be chunks of snow that pour down a mountain imagine pouring slightly damp caster sugar as a rough image, they still can get quite good speeds say up to 100 kph and can be quite destructive but they tend to destroy things by pushing them over.

Powder Avalanches are I suspect the most destructive of all avalanches often occuring where large overhanging cornices suddenly drop they build up speed very quickly and generate a blast wave right in front of them, it is the blast wave that tends to destroy everything in its path, the powder then settles and sets like concrete, when it is moving however it can be as fine as icing sugar suspended in the air.

Slab avalanches are something else again, here fresh snow that has crusted over breaks off and moves on an older layer of snow beneath it, imagine you have a layer of sugar that has got wet and now is dry sitting on a layer of normal sugar, as long as the top layer is unbroken it won't move when it cracks it can move easily, these avalanches can move just a short distance maybe less than 100 M and then stop, or they can carry on and break up as they move, in this case they could turn into either of the previous two examples depending on conditions or they can stay as large chunks.

Of these the most dangerous for bystanders i.e those in front of the avalanche is a powder slide, it just travels too fast to escape from, that said resorts try very hard to ensure that the on piste risk of getting hit by an avalanche is minimal, off piste skiers should search out information as to avalanche risk locally in addition to knowing just what the chances of a slip occuring are on any area that they ski.

By the way I am in no way an expert on the damm things I've just picked up information over the years and seen a few examples myself of their destuctive power.
snow report
 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
Thanks DGO. As mentioned before, I'm fascinated by them and really interested in that kind of info. Hope I never have the misfortune to meet one though! Wink
snow report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy