 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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I’m in Chamonix at the moment. The couloir is pretty scetchy at the moment with evidence of there having been an avalanche down the centre of it as a result of which the centre looks very polished and icy. It’s in very poor condition.
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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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Your children are far more likely to die in the car on the way to skiing than to be buried in an on-piste avalanche. The greatest cause of death in car accidents in head injuries. So they should be wearing motorcycle helmets in the car; that will improve their life-expectancy much better than putting them in transceivers on piste.
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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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| Quote: |
Your children are far more likely to die in the car on the way to skiing than to be buried in an on-piste avalanche. The greatest cause of death in car accidents in head injuries. So they should be wearing motorcycle helmets in the car; that will improve their life-expectancy much better than putting them in transceivers on piste.
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+1 and please could we now desist from thread drift, especially into bizarre parenting notions.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yep, I've walked that trail a few times in summer, but picking it out covered in snow in winter would be another matter.
One of the reasons carrying skins in your pack is never a bad idea whatever your planning, it makes life a lot easier when you miss your exit by even a hundred metres.
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| Quote: |
| Your children are far more likely to die in the car on the way to skiing than to be buried in an on-piste avalanche |
Stupid meaningless generalisation. And I would expect untrue in the case of many skiers.
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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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@TheGeneralist, I'm assuming you've misread that statement? The chances of being buried in an on-piste avalanche are *infinitesimally* small.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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To save anyone else opening the dailyfail link, it's virtually word for word the Telegraph article, with different pics. The Mail does identify the need to include the sentence; "There was no answer at either of the million-pound family homes today" 
It's particularly sad these were two young men who appear to have had much to offer the world.
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| Val Desire wrote: |
| To save anyone else opening the dailyfail link, it's virtually word for word the Telegraph article, with different pics. The Mail does identify the need to include the sentence; "There was no answer at either of the million-pound family homes today" |
No doubt the Daily Express article would tell us how much the million pound homes had increased in value recently.
These news sources don't really add much. It is a steep couloir, like any steep slope, if you fall you can be seriously injured or killed.
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You know it makes sense.
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These news sources don't really add much
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Because in most instances they are acting as news outlets not news sources, re-hashing what they've harvested from elsewhere. The amount of actual journalism being done can't keep up with the proliferation of platforms anymore (if it ever did).
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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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Yep, I've walked that trail a few times in summer, but picking it out covered in snow in winter would be another matter.
One of the reasons carrying skins in your pack is never a bad idea whatever your planning, it makes life a lot easier when you miss your exit by even a hundred metres.
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The point about skins is a good one.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I have looked at this route a couple of times and had previously watched the video ... it does look a great run in good snow.
The exit path is shown on the IGN map but it a fair way above the cliff band (which is actually not that clear on the map) but the path is actually quite hard to see on the photos so there would be no substitute for local knowledge and experience.
Key issue is the snow conditions ... a steep icy couloir is a treacherous place to be.
Couple of years ago I took a long slide in nearby Couloir Phillipe ... fortunately OK ... but trying to self arrest on a steep slope in hard icy snow is virtually impossible. I was lucky as landed on the Pierre a Ric home run ... very shaken.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| jedster wrote: |
| Quote: |
Yep, I've walked that trail a few times in summer, but picking it out covered in snow in winter would be another matter.
One of the reasons carrying skins in your pack is never a bad idea whatever your planning, it makes life a lot easier when you miss your exit by even a hundred metres.
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The point about skins is a good one. |
Although sounds like ice axe and crampons would have been more use if you missed the exit here
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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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Also an altimeter calibrated at the lift you got off and a note of the contour of the exit path
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I think all those "newspaper" reports are simply googled down and then adjusted to fit the political agenda of their publishers.
The Scum added their world view, by describing Chamonix as "posh".
One threw in the "helmet" word, which unless they know something they and no one else is reporting is misleading and manipulative.
The French guys will produce a report and we can learn from that. Anything else... well the people here have a better chance of understanding the actuality than any number of newspaper hacks.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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As others have said, extremely sad for the families.
Other than that there is not enough information to say what they did wrong. They may have known full well where they were heading and been fully cognizant of the route and risks. As the couloir is more west facing (as it would be on that side of the valley) it would thaw very late in the day, if at all at this time of year, so not somewhere to go in icy conditions.
Follow the sun, at the moment there is excellent skiing on East and South faces above 2000 meters and very little avalanche risk if you don't leave it too late in the day. Also powder on shaded slopes.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 31-01-18 13:59; edited 1 time in total
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BASI L1 at the local dry slope? It could mean anything........
Pretty tragic whatever the actual circumstances.
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@galpinos,
Yes I thought maybe he had just done L1 but this quote which may/may not be correct seems to suggest he worked as a ski instructor for many years.
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Tinashe Padiwa, 26, who went to school with Dr Cassagneau-Francis, said: “He loved to ski. He worked as a skiing instructor for many years.”
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Yes very sad, I'm not familiar with Cham and just wanted to understand what happened if for no other reason than it might help me or someone else here to avoid making the same mistake.
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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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Wow, again different papers quoting the same thing, but one has shortened it.
The times quote...
“He loved to ski. He worked as a skiing instructor for many years.”
The daily mail quote...
'He loves to ski, I would always see skiing pictures of him. He worked as a skiing instructor for many years I think."
So the times shorten the quote and miss off the last two words, which put massive doubts as to the credibility of the "Instructor" claim.
I think both sources are using this claim as to add a more drama to the already tragic situation. However to be fair to the daily fail on this, at least the used the whole quote!
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If he trained to be a doctor I'm struggling to see how he had the time to be a ski instructor.
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40% of junior doctors are currently leaving the profession within 2 years of qualifying.....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Re the Daily fail and their ilk reporting on these things, opinions expressed on professional pilots rumour network (pprune.org) in the wake of an aircraft accident or significant (ie, ‘newsworthy’) event, not infrequently appear soon after in the press as ‘pilots express dismay that..’ etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if journos trawl this forum for juicy tit-bits from ‘experts’ in the wake of tragedies like this. Just something to bear in mind, perhaps.
The other thing is how glaring poor the accuracy is on a subject which one is well versed. Leaving you to be deeply suspicious of all reporting on subjects on which one knows less..
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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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Many years ago our local paper reported on a kid breaking his leg on the local dry slope. They reported that he was probably travelling in excess of 50 mph. We wanted to know what wax he was using....
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FAQ
