 Poster: A snowHead
|
| Markymark29 wrote: |
@stanton, agreed, as will Rosfall and Malfontal  |
Agreed
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Never seen this place so busy, hope it calms down tomorrow. Couldn't park in Stuben at 7pm last night (well, not legally)! Tried to avoid crowds by driving to Lech today... Car parks all full, ended up parking about a mile outside Zurs near Flexen pass. Turns out that's a good place to park, easy ski down to lifts and nice off piste run back at end of the day. Snow is excellent, but v warm and sunny so need to choose off piste with care.I'd like it colder with fresh tracks but I'll take sunny and great snow cover 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
@sah, Enjoy your week Steve, looks like you'll be needing that Factor 30!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| Markymark29 wrote: |
| @sah, Enjoy your week Steve, looks like you'll be needing that Factor 30! |
Factor 30 and frequent rehydration stops:-) Glorious weather. Forecast suggests possible snow on Weds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Temperature will drop this week any Snow Wednesday wil just be dust nothing significant.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@stanton, the KK 'aint going to run itself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Hmmm, self service KK, interesting....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
@Markymark29, thanks for the invitation to ski with you, I had a great time. Had a sunny final day on Bachseite and then went over to the easier of the Schindler couloirs for a couple of runs. Back up Tanzboden and down the gulley that leads to the Arlenmahder lift but there wasn't much snow left in it so, not a great idea. Tried the run down to St Christoph but the snow was a very tracked so went back for a few more runs on Bachseite to finish the day. With Matt Dulca coming over it turned out to be four pretty much full-on days for me. Excellent. Hope Dan has recovered from his somersault and and his skis aren't too badly damaged!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
@Kelskii, great to ski with you, those runs down Maienplatts were pretty special, in fact not much wrong with any of it! Dulc took me down that Ahlenmadler couloir back in early February when there was no snow in it, pretty sketchy, not my favourite place, I prefer the Schindler couloirs. Yeah Dans skis pretty trashed, big long hole shot on the one I saw, brought them home and think he needs to take them to Jons Piste Office A&E to get them patched up! See you again hopefully, happy days! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
@gortonator, where you with a guide and do you wear peeps and carry shovels, probes etc? I can only see the occasional rucksack in the pics (which are great!!)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Is anything in particular happening on Saturday evening in St Anton? Friends arrive on Sunday so have an evening to amuse myself, which could end up in trouble...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
I will be in St Anton 19th-30th, would be great to meet up with anyone out there for off-piste excursions and apres-ski.
I have a couple of friends (a couple) from Innsbruck coming for just the weekend so have been trying to find them accommodation (double room) for just one night 21st, as you can imagine it is proving impossible through regular routes to find a room for just one night on the weekend.
If anyone that is local knows of anything please let me know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
@gortonator,
| Quote: |
You can also learn a lot about safe routes by watching where advanced ski school classes go without avi gear And it helps when you've been like 10 times!!
|
Not sure about that......I've been to St Anton 50+ times, know the terrain well, but snow conditions change daily/ hourly and I never ski off-piste, even in the slack without full avi gear, including ABS.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| Markymark29 wrote: |
@gortonator,
| Quote: |
You can also learn a lot about safe routes by watching where advanced ski school classes go without avi gear And it helps when you've been like 10 times!!
|
Not sure about that......I've been to St Anton 50+ times, know the terrain well, but snow conditions change daily/ hourly and I never ski off-piste, even in the slack without full avi gear, including ABS. |
So let's have a test case and see if the snowheads collective thinks we're being reckless ...
A favorite area for us on a powder day is offf the Trippalp chair in Zurs. Hang left and there is a 'bump/between piste' area between two runs that is (mostly?) north facing and can still hold plenty of fresh tracks on a midweek powder day well in to the afternoon. And good snow on most days. Should we have full avi gear to ski that safely?
That's the kind of terrain I mean .. and quite a few of the pics in my blog were shot there. there's lots of similar in Lech/Zurs/Warth to choose from.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
@gortonator, It's your call but there's plenty there I'd not be doing without full av gear, especially Stuben North Face.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[quote="kitenski"]@gortonator, I'd probably ski stuff like that without gear, but I wouldn't, for example, ski this face without gear and some local knowledge. I've seen that whole face after an ava down to bare ground in previous years
Which part of the face? It seems rather large to have all slid from top to bottom all the way across? and I've seen Sudhang in Lech and the ski route down to Zug slide to the ground too - they were bad years. The day we skied Stuben was a Level 2 avi day, the line into the bowl was well tracked , we stayed away from the steeper stuff on each side, and only spread out when the terrain flattens in the middle. I'm pretty sure ski schools were in there that day (memory not 100%).
Certainly wouldn't have skied there on our last day. That was a slidey day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
can't remember was a few years ago, I stayed on piste the whole week. As @Markymark29, says it's your call.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| kitenski wrote: |
| can't remember was a few years ago, I stayed on piste the whole week. As @Markymark29, says it's your call. |
Roughly 3 or 4 years ago was really bad - glide cracks and slides everywhere after serious early season dumpage on non-frozen ground. I think we did pretty much the same!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@gortonator, yeh probably the same time then!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| Markymark29 wrote: |
| @gortonator, It's your call but there's plenty there I'd not be doing without full av gear, especially Stuben North Face. |
I would bet your chances of serious injury driving to/from St Anton from North Yorkshire were higher than ours in Stuben that day. And my chances of death are higher every day I ride my bike here to work in Pittsburgh - which is every day!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
@gortonator, Like I said your call - I also wear my seat belt, regularly service my car and have winter tyres and chains for long winter journeys, plus take regular breaks so am happy I've done all I can in respect of my journey to/ from the Alps. 
Nice photos btw.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
@gortonator, with a 2 week 2 centre trip, one of which is in land-locked Warth flying is not an option, too many toys to take and trains don't go there, hire car costs a fortune, better and less hassle to drive.
Enjoy Tahoe - don't forget your bike!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
@gortonator, the stock position from the a band of regulars on Snowheads will be very cautious and arguably a bit righteous. Please note that is not a criticism or dig at such posters. It is perfectly sensible to not encourage or rubber stamp any off piste skiing on a public forum mostly full of strangers. The reality of course is that there are some skiers that possess a fair bit of knowledge, do make sensible* risk assessments and and for whatever reason do ski some off piste without ava gear**.
* Whether a person is making a sensible risk assessment is of course always open to debate. How much knowledge you have and how much information you have sourced, read and understood has a very broad range of possibilities. As does the off the piste terrain that we are talking about. The way I am defining sensible is that someone has considered the equipment, knowledge, ability and information they do and don't have and makes a decision based on it. Even if they understand that decision is fallible.
** I must admit even if I didn't do any gnarly stuff, if I skied regularly off piste I can't think of a good reason not to have ava gear. Having said that from what I've read a lot of people don't space out (so all get caught), don't regularly check their bleeper, know how to use the bleeper and or have a spade/probe that can't do that job. So there is all manner of reasons why having ava gear is of questionable benefit. But then poor execution doesn't necessarily invalidate having it in first place.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
@Layne, it's all healthy debate and I think your assessment is spot on. I ski inbounds in north america 50+ days a year (avi safe - they do happen, but lightening strikes people too) so apart from this trip each year, have no need. In many ways I suspect not having avi gear makes us more cautious. I often look at lines that would be epic and then think .. hmm .. no ... it may surprise some but I actually don't want to die skiing. That would really ruin the holiday!!
When we skied Stuben we watched a guide take a group of 4 (who couldn't ski) around the well-tracked bowl entry we took to drop off a small cornice and into a short fresh line. We watched with amazement as it definitely didn't look safe - and the clowns looked like they were going to face plant - but they had gear on. I doubt anyone would have died as the slope was stable and it was a short steep pitch, but if that cornice had gone it would have caused some carnage. We also laugh at people with air bags/gear and no helmet.
This isn't the place for it, but stats on how many skiers days there are in the Arlberg each year, how many get caught in avalanches and hurt/die might illuminate the risk a little more starkly. Driving at 90mph on a motorway is, I would hazard, much more dangerous, but I bet lots of people here do that regularly without thinking. And to be honest, I think tree skiing in North America, especially at places like Red Mountain, is a helluva lot more dangerous than what we ski in the Arlberg - I've actually had one friend die tree skiing in Tahoe. Tree skiing is also epic, so we do it ... full body permanently inflated air bags required RIP Les, BTW ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
@gortonator Hope you had a lot of fun. Eveyone to themselves. I ski off piste do not wear a helmet or carry an ABS . I like it old style Free Skiing & a Hipflask
Not going to get dragged into either side but some facts I know of in previous seasons
Following groups (even if they are with guides) can lead you into grave danger. Skiers/borders have done this set of slides & endangerd the guided group in front .
Two (maybe 3 ) seasons ago A young Russian Woman was buried & died in an Avalanche in Törli when she followed a group down.
A few seasons ago in Decemeber first week of the season In Lech am Arlberg An American was killed in a Avalanche 5 metres of the side of piste
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Chris Lee is playing in Griabli this season, why was I not informed? 23 years since I saw him playing in the old Underground and still going strong.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| stanton wrote: |
@gortonator
A few seasons ago in Decemeber first week of the season In Lech am Arlberg An American was killed in a Avalanche 5 metres of the side of piste |
Sometimes life has it in for you, I guess. A certain race driver is a good example of that.
Where in Lech was this? Was it during the massive early season dumpage 3 or 4 years ago that caused all the glide cracks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
I've skied off-piste with gortonator in the Arlberg, as well as here in WA state. He isn't the type that doesn't assess the terrain, and conditions before dropping in to something. And there's a certain someone who keeps him in check too.
Avy gear is no substitute for the gear underneath your helmet, but I think it's a good idea to carry it, even if going a few meters off-piste. Especially in Europe with the avalanche mitigation being so much less.
I also agree with stanton about following groups blindly into an area. That recipe can get you into a whole world of trouble.
I remember the first time I skied off Spanky's Ladder in Whistler-Blackcomb. Spanky's is full of steep chutes, cliffs, and mandatory air if you are not careful. And we're talking 10-30 meter drops. Cool if you're a pro Warren Miller / Matchsticks Production ski stud. Not so for me! First really big powder day of the season, so there was a bit of a frenzy. Lots of testorone that day. I just remember thinking, I'm not following those tracks because I don't know where they lead. Better safe than sorry, and don't be afraid to ask to join a group if by yourself. But group dynamics is a whole 'nother ball of wax.
The thing about skiing off-piste is what the other skiers are doing. That to me is very unnerving because there are so many ignorant off-piste skiers. I will not drop in on top of you, I will traverse in a spaced out fashion, and will have read the avy bulletin multiple times, as well as have an internal dialogue of where the wind is, what the temp is, slope aspect, etc. And if you end up buried, I have training to not only dig your ass out but to recusitate you too.
I only wish I had been with gotonator on this trip! Maybe next time...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Toadman wrote: |
I only wish I had been with gortonator on this trip! Maybe next time... |
Yep - I wish you had too. You could have rescued me
You never know, now that evil El Meano winter is gone out there, hopefully for another decade, we might just think about heading back west ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@sah, yeah but playing with a lamish band. Not quite the CCJ's
He also plays Piccadilly but had just missed the gig last week. Was only there a few days sadly but managed to see gunar a couple if times which was fine but not as good as when he played at pic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
@sah, @boabski, Is he the little guy with longish hair on the lead guitar, Gary Moore-esque.... band with female singer?. If so great guitarist, and quite a tight band but let down by vocals IMO....... We moved on, avoided the Underground too, this year - Boom Boom Boom rasta guy has left town, walked out apparently and disappeared, fell out with the Aussie woman owner Joan allegedly! (she gave me a telling off one night 2 years ago after 8-10 of us had had about 3-4 beers each on way out I cancelled a table for the following evening for 4 of us........she was fierce!!) We now drink elsewhere!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Markymark29, Re Joan. She doesnt care, that is what most folk who go in there trying to befriend her do not relaise.
Over the years she has had staff who have worked for her for more than 10 seasons & she still treats them like s h i t. They evenually bailout, a lot of the old staff are working in other places around town.
Do you think she care about customers walking out then ? LOL . In her mind there is allways replacements (multiple) !!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
