 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Mark - Perhaps this is something the TO could usefully do, generate a brief set of notes to accompany the piste map. Nothing that could be considered litigious just useful commentary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Using transfer time to give clients up to date info on conditions, p.m. bottlenecks etc might also save the TO the hassle of accompanying their punters to the hospital, gendarmerie etc. I have been cautioned on a couple of occasions in N.American resorts for skiing too fast, too close to other skiers. I don't object to that as I consider it the job of the piste patrol to exercise their judgment. I feel happier there at the end of the day knowing that the p.p. and the local police are at the bottom of the mountain to deal with (the other!) speedsters. Are European patrollers only there to help the injured?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Mac46,
| Quote: |
Using transfer time to give clients up to date info on conditions, p.m. bottlenecks etc might also save the TO the hassle of accompanying their punters to the hospital, gendarmerie etc.
|
I have had a good briefing like this once from a super T.O. Senior Rep who skied all year round - moving south for the snow in our summer. But she was the exception. Most of the 'transfer reps' these days are young and inexperienced and have enough trouble dealing with the bus driver (language barrier - not antagonism) and the routine stuff like lift passes, welcome packs, etc.. It's now assumed we get all we need to know about snow conditions and the like from the internet. If we get anything at all about safety and etiquette from the TO's we should look on it as a bonus. IMO.
Ski schools should be the primary source of info on how to behave on the slopes. You are a 'captive' audience and you can often see the results of ignoring the code before your very eyes. Best way to learn - from experience.
On piste behaviour regulation seems to be very much an American thing AFAIK. In my limited experience of European resorts I've never seen a 'piste policing' role being performed. They seem to spend most of their time smoking in the lift cabins waiting for accidents to occur.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
I think part of the problem here is that large numbers of skiers are either unwilling to accept that they need tuition or that it is even necessary. I'm not singling out the Brits here, its the French, Italians etc as well. I'm not even sure that the vast majority of skiers even understand piste maps or the need to carry one. I'm not in favour of the US style of piste policing though, I believe one of the attractions of skiing or boarding is that they are 'at risk' activities, but the contradiction is that to sell skiing its availability and ease as an activity have to be promoted. In effect the education comes later when people get hooked, like snowheads!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
I'm only guessing here, but if the PP are cruising about the piste, then it stands to reason that they are ultimately going to be travelling in a downward direction. Now should an accident occur above their positions as they naturally ski down, then they then have to get to a lift, travel up, and then down again to reach the unfortunate person(s).
Surely, if they sit in their cabins higher up, or at the base of a midstation lift, then they'll be more able to react more speedily to incidents.
TO usually have a get together on the first evening to discuss all manner of things, so maybe some time could be given over for a reminder of safety aspects, supported by a handout of some sort. Ski school, as kuwait_ian, points out is another appropriate time to hammer home the safety message.
DIY skiers, I suppose, are the group from which many of the dangers come from as they're less likely to come into contact with anyone imparting any sort of safety message....
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Quote: |
I think part of the problem here is that large numbers of skiers are either unwilling to accept that they need tuition or that it is even necessary.
|
Not so sure that's true of learner skiers. Don't think you can get very far without at least some lessons. Sure you can jump on a chairlift and bypass the nursery slopes but you won't make much progress back down again standing up. But there may be an army of low intermediate skiers who never learned or were taught the codes and never go back to ski school.
Maybe it's more true of boarders. Kids who have skateboarded or surfed might well be able to get mobile on a mountain without lessons. Sitting down is a fact of life for the Darksiders but why so many of them do it in the middle of the piste below 'blind' bumps is a constant source of mystery to me.
Mark - I think you're right. The EU piste patrols are in the right place for a pure rescue service. But that's all they do apart from opening and closing pistes and fiddling with fences. They don't have a regulatory role.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| David@traxvax wrote: |
| ....but the contradiction is that to sell skiing its availability and ease as an activity have to be promoted... |
I often wonder at the eternal "blue-skies" image of the brocures. Some punters seem surprised at the possibilty of snow (!) fog, and high winds.
Bit OT, I suppose, not genrally a safety problem; though I did have to lend a hat once to a skier descending when a blizzard blew up at Tignes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
I often wonder at the eternal "blue-skies" image of the brocures
|
Nobody gets paid for taking happy snaps of white out conditions. 
But seriously I hear what you say. The other thing that surprises many - especially in USA - is how cold it can be. But how many brochures show skiers in face masks and with hood up ??
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| David@traxvax wrote: |
| I think part of the problem here is that large numbers of skiers are either unwilling to accept that they need tuition or that it is even necessary |
I've been away with people who won't get lessons, becase they say they can't afford it, and expect you to teach them and then get p***ed off when you say no. The first time this had happened I'd only been skiing for a little over a week so what I was going to be able to teach was nil and we had to tell the guy that we'd look after him in the afternoon but we were going to ski in the morning without him. I was told that I was being mean even though it was supposed to be my holiday also.
Another time I went with a large group with one beginner, same thing happened (different person but encouraged by guy from tale above) and all of us at one time or another had private lessons except for the beginner. Crazy!
Moral of this story don't go away skiing with a beginner unless they are going to have lessons, and tell them that it's essential and you won't go with them unless they do get lessons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chris Reed, How true! Once I had a holiday in Wengen at Xmas. There was officially no snow, but we could ski a little. One of the chalet guests was a complete pl***er (a dentist, not that this is relevant). On Christmas day we organised the whole chalet to have lunch at Sheidegg. Great - we all had a jolly lunch and it was then proposed to ski down to Brandegg. The idot's friends were beginners - I thought they'd been in ski school, but only for half a day. They couldn't snowplough, let alone turn, and this pl***er person said "but you're a ski teacher, I thought you could teach them". I pointed out that this was my holiday, and perhaps he'd like to fix my teeth; "oh no, that's my job". Well ............. it took about 4 hours to reach Brandegg (of course I helped), we managed to catch the last train DOWN to Grund and then had to go to Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen and back up to Wengen, arriving at around 20.30 for our Xmas dins. Natch. the plo**er had given up on his friends and skied off. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
To give others an idea of just how bad a day that must have been the run from Kline Schidegg to Brandegg normally takes beginers arround 1.5 hours using snowplough techniques, I usually take between 8 and 20 mins depending on how fast I feel like going. It's about 5km
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
easiski, I hope you sneaked down to the boot room smahed his bindings that night. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the US there are two types of patrol: the national ski patrol, made up of volunteers, and the resort patrol. The former are generally involved in giving out info and policing the slopes when necessary. People often join the patrol (by taking special training courses) when their kids start skiing, hoping to offer them a safer environment. The latter do the rescue work. Usually they are to be found in their huts at mountain base or mid-mountain, similar to their European counterparts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
skanky, I don't know about smahing - but he did get the cold shoulder from all the other chalet residents. In fact we thought we'd missed the last train and were actually discussing breaking the window to get into the restaurant when a train arrived! Thought it was going to be a night there!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Here's a story about Mt Ruapehu in NZ preparing to issue volcanic eruption warnings !!!! Just what you need to know 1/2 way up a chair lift - although that is probably your safest place - nicely up above the boiling mud flow.
This one ranks along with the recent UK Govt. emergency 'what to do' warnings - 'if trapped, bang on the pipes'. Doh - how many houses or offices have exposed pipework these days ??
Mac46, That US system sounds very sensible. Bet you ESF will find something about it to object to. (Ooops - Grammar Police needed)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
