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!)

powder bowls

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
In the N.American brochures, much is made of 'powder bowls' . Are these to be found in Europe?
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
yes, but they are mostly off-piste in Europe and "in bounds" in America.
latest report
 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?
Off-piste in Europe is unpatrolled and not generally made avalanche-safe. The areas are often huge and you can ski anywhere at your own risk.
Off-piste in-bounds in the US is a smaller area made Avalanche-safe. What is not safe is closed. Skiing out of bounds is not permitted.
Back country skiing is something else, more like ski touring, as far as I can gather, though I may be wrong, and I don't know what restrictions there are on it.
latest report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
snowball wrote:
Off-piste in Europe is unpatrolled and not generally made avalanche-safe. The areas are often huge and you can ski anywhere at your own risk.


But, secured off piste areas are becoming more common, in big stations like Tignes and as a selling point in smaller stations like Zinal, CH for example. I think you can expect to see a lot more over the next few years and probably a few more for next season.
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
How do you secure an off-piste slope/bowl? I understand that you could patrol it, but is it possible to make it avalanche-free (to a degree which could be tested in law) so that it could be described as "safe"?
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
rob@rar.org.uk, blasting and skilled avalanche professionals. In the US, there was the first inbounds avalanche death in 30 years this year (caused by a wet snow avalanche incidentally), which sounds like a pretty good safety record. In any event, it's really just an extension of what European patrols do already - they make safe pistes which are overshadowed by avalanche terrain so it's not a great extension to say that that terrain is also safe.
latest report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
rob@rar.org.uk, well, to an extent all ski stations already operate this way, slopes that present dangers to inbounds areas are controlled right now. Some of the "freeride" areas opened up will no doubt leverage this and use slopes already made safe.
snow conditions
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Arno and ise, thanks. Can an avalanche-susceptible slope be made safe and still be usuable for off-piste skiing? In my ignorance I assumed that if a slope had been blasted/gazex'ed/etc it was no longer such an attractive proposition for skiers seeking great snow?
snow conditions
 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.
rob@rar.org.uk, that's a good question, but basically, yes, from the ones I've skied in. Making the slope safe should only require a small, localised control. At the point where there's a generalised risk across the whole slope they're going to close the free ride area anyway.These areas are quite good, they appeal to a certain sort of would-be off-piste superstar obviously, particularly the ones equipped with transceiver operated gates Very Happy
latest report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
rob@rar.org.uk, obviously, safety is all relative. the ideal is that they do the blasting as described by Ise and it turns out the slope is stable so there are no artificially triggered avalanches and you are left with a pretty much pristine slope. Even if an avy is triggered, the path is often quite pleasant to ski on even if it isn't deep powder. Skiing on the debris at the bottom altogether less pleasant however Mad
snow report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
But the brochures seem to indicate that a good intermediate could ski powder bowls in the US. Some US resorts even have blue runs to the bowls. In Europe, the 'bowls' that I've seen have very steep sides and are only accessed from scary mountain goat tracks!
ski holidays
 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.
Avalanche safe or avalanche risk relates to much more than just the snow you are skiing on. It includes all of the slopes around you. You may be skiing on sploes that "in isolation" appear to be safe but have huge dangerous slopes above them and those slopes are fragile.

The secure off piste area around the Col des Ves (spelling?) chair in Tignes is good but it is only a very small part of the total off piste area of Tignes.
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
erica2004, An ordinary intermediate can, and I did in Copper Mountain and Keystone many years ago. Lift served, off piste style bowls with a fairly gentle gradient.
ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
lots of blue sky basin in Vail are gentle slopes that are a great introduction to skiing powder/off piste.
latest report
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
snowball wrote:

Off-piste in-bounds in the US is a smaller area made Avalanche-safe. What is not safe is closed. Skiing out of bounds is not permitted.


Not entirely true; policies vary from resort to resort. Some North American resorts now allow access to out-of-bounds areas, at your own risk, through "backcountry access gates". But skiing a closed run, within the boundaries of the ski area, is still a big no-no.
snow conditions
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Martin Bell wrote:
snowball wrote:

Off-piste in-bounds in the US is a smaller area made Avalanche-safe. What is not safe is closed. Skiing out of bounds is not permitted.


Not entirely true; policies vary from resort to resort. Some North American resorts now allow access to out-of-bounds areas, at your own risk, through "backcountry access gates". But skiing a closed run, within the boundaries of the ski area, is still a big no-no.
As example of what Martin says, this is how it works at Mt Baker where I ski most. You used to be able to go out of bounds when ever the patrol opened the gates. After the big snow year of 1100+ inches when several people were swept away and killed by avalanches a new policy was instituted. You must have a transceiver, probe and shovel to go OB. You must also have a partner and know how to check snow stability. One method is digging a pit where you check how the different layers of snow interact. If you have a layer of ice with a layer of loose snow over it there probably isn't much bonding between them, that upper layer could easily slip. You might have a layer of rotten snow that could collapse under the weight of the layers above, etc. There are classes offered at the ski area to teach how all this is done, including practicing finding a buried target. You have to know how your transeiver works and be quick interpreting the signal. A group needs to know how to work as a team to cover the terrain the most efficiently. You should keep escape routes in mind, and how to ski out of a slide if possible.There is a fairly recent device called an AvyLung that allows you to breathe while buried. It is best to always go with people who are already knowledgeable. It can be VERY dangerous out there but the rewards are tremendous. If in doubt, forget it, live to try again another day.
All that being said, I don't have any of the gear so I stay inbounds. I do hope to get the basics for next season. There are some areas close to the ski area I'd love to try out.
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I think my confusion is the notion of making an off-piste area avalanche-SAFE. I can understand the desire to make an area avalanche-SAFER, but saying to the skiing public that a particular off-piste area is entirely free of avalanche activity and can be skied without fear of being caught seems to be a very bold statement to make. The series of actions which could be taken to make an off-piste area guaranteed safe would, in my very limited off-piste experience, make that area extremely limited in its off-piste appeal.
latest report
 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?
rob@rar.org.uk, there are plenty of off piste areas by the side of or close to regular pistes that are probably as safe as the pistes when it comes to avalanche risk they're just not pisted, on the other hand if one does what the US calls back country skiing it's much harder to control the risks as there are so many potential ski runs
snow report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
D G Orf wrote:
rob@rar.org.uk, there are plenty of off piste areas by the side of or close to regular pistes that are probably as safe as the pistes when it comes to avalanche risk they're just not pisted, on the other hand if one does what the US calls back country skiing it's much harder to control the risks as there are so many potential ski runs


This is what Henry's Avalanche Talks says about piste-side powder:
Quote:
Since Henry has been living in the French Alps (about 13 years), most of the accidents and resulting deaths that he has witnessed have occurred right next to the piste, due to ignorance. They could therefore have been avoided. If you are a good skier or snowboarder who mostly skis on the piste and you play around next to the piste, then you are a prime candidate for an accident. The same goes for climbers: statistics show that the typical victim of an avalanche is a male in his mid-late 20's, has a good level of knowledge about skiing, boarding or climbing, but very little knowledge about avalanches.
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
My area of uncertainty has not yet been clearly addressed. I am still not quite sure what the restrictions on back country skiing are. If the only access is through gates this suggests that most of the"out of bounds" areas are, in fact, not legal to ski, since only some areas would be accessible from the gates.
snow conditions



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy