Another 10cm last night.
Overcast and flat light with gentle snow.
Hardly anyone skiing.
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.
How much, if any, was closed today due to wind? I’m in Zermatt and not much was open today. Headed there tomorrow. Looks like Thursday will be windy, though not Zermatt level windy.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Only the very top was closed,.all links open
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Talk of extending restrictions in CH so looks like the season is definitively over. Was great while it lasted with buckets of snow up top. And a perfect final weekend with first tracks down the Bec in epic conditions
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
That shot of the gang on the Bec is epic
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Our season ended abruptly when my wife on a trip with her sister tripped, on piste, and broke her arm in the Savoleyres sector, in one of those 'I've skied this run a thousand times before, sometimes in terrible conditions - why, on a sunny day, with a well-groomed surface?' accidents. Cue heli-evac to Sion hospital.
This is when you discover why your travel insurance premium is a bit more than other people's. LV= paid for me to fly out, hire a car and pick her up, and for three seats on a busy flight home, so she wouldn't be jostled. Also great treatment by Sion Hospital A&E meant she was reset really well, and fitted-out with a contraption that meant she could fly home. LV= also translated the Sion medical report and their doctors checked the diagnosis that she was really OK to travel.
And finally, got a nice letter signed by a Téléverbier Director today to say they were sorry to hear she had an accident, hoped she'd recover quickly and hope it wouldn't put her off skiing the 4 Vallées again.
And for those who don't take out evac cover - the bill from Air-Glaciers (who were great on the day) was CHF 3'718 (£3,085) which we don't pay as we've got annual Air Glaciers cover (CHF 70/yr). We actually thought we'd be more likely to call on this in the summer, as we've seen as many MTB and hiker heli-evacs off the mountain in summer as winter. Most of that is for the 30 mins flying from Sion to Savoleyres and back, which is about the shortest flight time. Heavn knows what it would cost if it was further/longer.
For info, the procedure is they work with the pisteuers on the ground to close off the run (with the aid of anyone else in the group), then the helicopter does a first pass to drop-off a doctor who does a quick diagnosis and administer morphine if needed. He'll then get the patient covered with a blanket (not for warmth so much as because so much snow is churned-up by the helicopter). Then the helicopter lands and an on-board medic and the doctor load the patient on, and flies off. Surprisingly, the pisteurs had to get quite 'forceful' with some people uphill of the accident to take another route and clear the area. This because the downdraft from the helicopter is intense: the patient gets buried in snow and anyone nearby is likely to get blown over.
Oh, and my wife is recovering well. She was lucky (if that's the right term) that it was a single clean break and no dislocation, so no nerve/muscle damage. Still, about 12 weeks to fully heal and then physio to get the muscles back in shape. We think she fell on her pole, given it was bent into a 'U' shape.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Sorry to hear but glad she’s recovering well
Ps Welcome to the Sion heli trip club
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
A club I am also a member of. Broken leg.
Get well soon!
The Air Glacier Insurance would not have been needed if she was on piste with normal full ski pass insurance.
I assume that you used an EHIC card at the hospital?
We don't bother with holiday insurance for skiing in Switz.
EHIC covers all medical costs except the chf92 excess.
Ski pass insurance covers the Heli (or ambulance) and pisteurs.
As we drive out and have our own shack the consequentials of dealing with those are not really insurable anyway.
I do hope EHIC continues, otherwise we will insure for sure.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
BobinCH wrote:
Sorry to hear but glad she’s recovering well
Ps Welcome to the Sion heli trip club
Haha...I'm a member of that club too!
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?
@rungsp Thanks, and yes, she had her EHIC on her (I have come across people who actually don't carry it with them ....). We opted for the AirGlaciers cover quite a few years ago after seeing as many summer heli-evacs as winter ones, and realised that with no CHF 5 assurance in the summer, the whole summer helicopter recovery thing was a bit of a grey area on 'normal' non-ski travel insurance. And if you think about it, being incapacitated up a mountain in the summer is possibly more problematic than in the winter (no skibag/lift/skidoo down option). So it seemed worth it and we've saved a fair bit in the interim. But I'd now agree that it's always worth taking out the CHF 5 assurance whatever other cover you have, as this avoids any to-ing and fro-ing between AirGlaciers and the insurance company over who covers what, and the potential to have to pay out £3K before reclaiming it.
I'd still echo the great service from LV= who did a lot of organising on our behalf and I've no idea how they managed to get 3 adjacent seats empty for my wife (and these weren't the usual ones at the front, reserved for injured). When I looked at the easyJet booking site, there were only 2 seats left on the whole 'plane, and those were in separate rows. In the crisis of a serious accident, and shuttling to/from the hospital and pharmacy as well as looking after the patient, they took a lot of the organising off my hands. They are also paying out the full £3K heli-evac cost direct to Air Glaciers.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Fri 24-04-20 11:09; edited 1 time in total
@LaForet, I'm glad it all worked out given the circumstances.
The real question is...did she ask for a window seat in the heli?
I was rather morphined and I asked for a windo seat so as to enjoy the view! The paramedic said I would not be in a seat, but lying down. He kindly put me in such a way as to fully enjoy the view all the way to the hospital roof.
Morphine is strange...I had the total conviction that I HAD to text every contact in my phone to tell them I had broken my leg.
The real issue was that it stopped me having a pee for a few days...forget broken bones...that was real pain!
I ended up begging a nurse for a catheterisation
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@rungsp Thanks, and she seems to have had a better reaction to the morphine than you did!
As well as carrying your EHIC on your person, what this did reinforce how important it is to have everyone's insurance and primary contact details back at their accommodation and/or with someone else in the group. A good policy means your insurer will organise everything for the injured and whoever opts to be their designated assistant on the journey home. But they can't do that if no one has contacted them ....
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.
Drove up to Mayentzet at 1800m and skinned up to about 2800m from there. Probably another 15 ahead of me on the standard route up to Attelas - a mix of serious Lycra clad ski tourers, the local freeride boyz and a few casual tourers out for a stroll. Looks like another opportunity with colder temps on Tuesday 12th May so keeping that morning free in hope...
Bike park fully open from last weekend and lifts up to Mont Fort.
Hiked up to Mont Gelé looking for a lost pole but seems the goats have hidden it...
South Couloir certainly easier on skis!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Today (13th August 2020) afternoon from Savoleyres, towards Tournelle and Verbier.
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?
LaForet wrote:
Today (13th August 2020) afternoon from Savoleyres, towards Tournelle and Verbier.
This morning (30th. Sept.) is something of a contrast to less than a week ago, when were were putting the umbrella up at breakfast because the sun was too hot ...
Tracouet - Prarion - Plan du Feu
And late this afternoon, at Savoleyres (2343) the VTT riders were out having fun ...
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
