 Poster: A snowHead
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Please don't take what I read as a hatchet job on Piste to Powder, I totally agree that for most people they are excellent, and everyone who stays seems to enjoy their day. However having been on the other side of things, if you are having trouble then my experience has been less than brilliant.
Yes I could have been a bit fitter, yes it was my problem that I got vertigo on the first day, but in retrospect, I feel that if the guide on the second day had been a little more gentle with the introduction then it would have built my confidence better and I would have stayed skiing with them off piste all day.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Kramer,
You posted your experience as you saw it... who can have a problem with that..??
Sometimes these things don't work out..and sometimes they do...
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Graham Austick is one of my 4 favourite guides. We were constantly the first on a new slope when it became safe (and were often immediately followed by other guides). He also took us down a few marginal things I suspect almost no other guide might have taken us down. Really exciting but I felt he was safe. The only guide I know who wears a helmet.
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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've been with Graham when he has turned his nose up at slopes that have avalanched later that day on more than one occasion. He's also a born and bred Geordie lad but hey, nobodys perfect. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yes, I felt his instincs were very good. By marginal I didn't mean likely to avalanche - often it involved what you might call combat skiing down through trees and rocks and small drops you had to jump. (Mind you, we were down to two punters on that afternoon I'm thinking of - I doubt we would have done it with more.)
Ed: having read page 1, I should say we started that day knowing there would be two of us in the afternoon.
There may be anything up to 7 in a group.
I hope Graham did read page 1 of this thread - I am sure it would have concerned him. This season he will be in St Anton for the earlier part of the season and then going to guide at the new Norwegian lodge again (featured in last Sunday's Observer.)
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| snowball wrote: |
| Graham Austick is one of my 4 favourite guides. We were constantly the first on a new slope when it became safe (and were often immediately followed by other guides). He also took us down a few marginal things I suspect almost no other guide might have taken us down. Really exciting but I felt he was safe. The only guide I know who wears a helmet. |
About 10-15 yrs ago I knew two top St Anton (locals) qualified mountain guides. Everyone thought they were safe alas they died leading off ......Thats a fact.
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Sad but, I'm sure, true 
stanton, have you ever skied with Graham?
Just for the record - my other favourites are, Zeb Roche, Remy Lecluse and Phillipe André.
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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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I'd like to add my very positive experiences to this - despite also resurrecting the negatives associated with this thread.
I skied with Graham 19-23 Jan this year, and with Franz on the preceeding Sunday. I'd booked myself in as a level 3/4, knowing that their top level had a reputation for being pretty full on, and I wasn't sure I was up to their top level. In the end it turned out that this was the top group for the week, and I probably ranked somewhere around the middle of it. We had an absolutely fantastic time. The rest of the crew on the Sunday were East Coast US college (current or ex-)racers, and for the rest of the week we were a fairly mixed bunch, a couple of us pushing our half century down to a few early 30-something youngsters , and included a Scot, a Dane and and Aussie along with the English. I won't do much of a write up of the skiing, as Graham has done a better job than I can here. Despite what the text says, the guy barely visible through all the powder on 21st Jan is actually me. It's a bit invidious to pick out any one day above the others, but Thursday (as the bluebird powder day) was a bit special, particularly the descent to Langen with not a track in sight (until we got there). And as for the powder on Wednesday  (not that we could actually see much of it) - totally awesome, dude!
I would say that their reputation for pushing you hard is well-deserved. I was probably pushed more consistently harder than I ever have been, and revelled in it. We were skiing hard and fast pretty much all the time, and there were plenty of wipeouts from just about all of us to reflect that. Talking to several of the regulars many of them did a fair bit of mountain biking or running to keep up fitness levels. We did have one guy who really wasn't fit enough, and he dropped down a group after the first day and a half. Talking with some of those in the less experienced groups they also had fantastic times, but were also all very happily tired by the end of the day. I'd say that PtP are a great outfit if you're willing to go for it, and our group was fantastic fun (with some good robust humour throughout as well) but possibly if you want a gentler, more spoon-fed introduction then maybe other outfits are more your thing. There were people joining and leaving every day - bookings are on a day-by-day basis and several had clearly booked only odd days. If you're unsure about your fitness, then maybe booking alternate days is a good idea. The level 2 group was packed out, but Ruth and Ali were doing a great job of squeezing in those who were begging to get back in for more on subsequent days (one or two days they ran two groups at that level), and level 1 was mostly full or thereabouts. Graham himself is an ISTD as well as UIAGM (the only Brit to be so qualified - his instructor qualification was through the Austrian system not BASI - although there are rumours that there may be another one in the last year or so), in addition to a Yachtmaster - and after spending a week with an Aussie pilot it looks like he has his eyes set on a PPL too! His teaching is subtle and very personally targetted - more personal coaching than group teaching (as you'd expect at this level). Franz is also an ISIA instructor. I consider myself very privileged to have had teaching from some excellent guys over the last few years, and Graham can certainly go on that list.
As with many British outfits, many of the punters were clearly repeat offenders - and I can see myself becoming one too. This has also already turned out to be one of my more expensive weeks, as after seeing the first picture in their brochure I immediately got myself onto a week's touring from the Lyngen Lodge in March - only some days later deciding it would probably be a good idea to find out how much it was going to cost (I'm justifying it as a 50th birthday present to myself ).
Thanks Graham for a fantastic week.
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I see that I didn't post my experience of Piste to Powder. It was 2 years ago, but I'll post it anyway.
Graham Austick, the boss, took me and my (then) 12 yo kids. On the first morning, we did some on piste skiing, so he could see what he was up against, and a bit of transceiver work. At that stage, I was knackered, and we hadn't even been off piste! I was just about to suggest that I might do the little off piste run we were about to tackle and then call it a day when GA made the same suggestion, very charmingly, saying that he thought that the kids would really benefit from an afternoon off piste, with the obvious implication for me! He was right; I would have held the kids back and not enjoyed doing so. They had a great afternoon, and the following morning went out again with GA and had another great time.
I would recommen PtoP. We were in St Anton last year and didn't go to PtoP, because of the cost; 1 to 2 off piste lessons are never going to be cheap. When the kids are old enough to join a group (16, I think) we may well head back to StAnton just for PtoP.
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