Piste-ing of the pistes?

A snowHead

It's something they I've been curious about for the last few years in various resorts. There seems to be little if any of piste 'smoothing' by those machines that create the corduroy finish. Has there been a reduction in this activity due to the recession? I remember in previous years these machines seemed to always be put during the night smoothing out all the rough/ mougled areas??

A snowHead

Not noticed any reduction in Schladming.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Depends on the resort. I think the Swiss are far more meticulous about the nightly pisting than other countries.

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In my area (Espace Diamant in France) almost all pistes are groomed every night. The exceptions are some black runs, which are pisted every now and then, but not every night, for those folk that like moguls.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

They seem to do more of it now in Grand Massif than in the past....WISH THEY WOULD STOP IT!! Evil or Very Mad

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A lot of it is down to the timing of when it snows. If it snows through the night, into the morning, precedence is of course given to opening lifts, piste bashers and skiers don't mix, so sometimes pistes are left as nature intended. This makes some folks happy and some folks sad. Had a nice mix of this yesterday in mt chery, where the reds and blues were perfect cordroy, and the blacks were left alone Toofy Grin

. Made for a very happy day.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

It's a no-win situation though isn't it. I'm sure a poll of snowHead

would show half of us wanting groomed every day, and the other half not.

After all it is free

I think wherever there are alternate ways down, at least one way should be bashed and at least one way not. They mix it up a lot better in North America than Europe in my experience.

mozwold, Not sure. I like some groomed and some not. I would have to be on both sides. Laughing

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laundryman,

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Just back from morzine and in a week where there was about 0.6m of snow I didn't witness one 'piste basher' in operation all week? Is there a policy not to 'piste' the 'pistes' during a snowy week? Also during a week of zero snow fall, how often would the 'pistes' be 'pisted'? Probably varies from country to country and within each country there are probably variances between resorts. Can anyone enlighten me?

snow reports

Prefer them left alone really like in North America and Canada Sad

When it is marginal conditions pisting just compacts into an early morning Icy Run......... So defeats the object of the exercise really Sad

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I was in Gressoney last year and quite often saw piste bashers on the piste during the day - with baskets on the back carrying skiers back over the ridge to Champoluc because the linking lifts were closed due to wind. I do not think they were bashing as they went, however.

Wasn't someone killed recently when they were run over by a piste basher?

A snowHead

A snowHead

Grooming uses *loads* of diesel, so there's a significant cost to the resort. I think they burn something like 15-20l/hr.

The main reason for grooming is to compact and preserve the snow. If it's snowing then the runs will get bashed; although if it snows overnight then they'll often leave it because they don't want the machines on the slopes when the skiers are there - but you'll find extensive grooming at some point the day after the snow finishes.

In the absence of fresh snow, the runs will be groomed as necessary to keep them useable - pushing snow over the thin bits, smoothing out some of the moguls, etc.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Stumbler, it probably depends on the resort. I think that most of ours, except a few of the more difficult blacks, are groomed every night, whether it's snowed or not. The machines are rolling out of their garages soon after the lifts closed - once the pisteurs have swept all the slopes to make sure there are no stragglers.

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Pretty much most pistes overnight every night at most places I've been. Pds, Dolomiti, Zillertal etc.
But then it does depend on whether it snows or not.
Yes bashers do go up in Austria during the day, but it's never more than 1 basher going up the side of a piste leaving 1 stripe, and only very occasional (I've seen maybe 1 per day). Everyone stops or move to other side, so it's hardly an issue. Big red noisy thing with beepers and flashing lights are not exactly stealthy.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Austria (certainly skiwelt and Zillertal) seem to do everything every night. Les Arcs only piste the most worn bits and the easiest blues, reds get done every so often. The less steep runs didn't mogul particularly lower down when it got warmer, they just got scraped and unpleasant. The bottom of the Aiguille Rouge, where it goes blue near Villaroger was sheet ice and rocks. There seemed to be a reasonable amount of snow at the edges but there was no effort made to push snow in, cover the bare bits or smash up the ice. I have skiied Austria with far less snow (white lines on the green) but the constant tending keeps the runs in good nick.

One good thing at Les Arcs is the blacks and some of the steep reds are divided into pisted (sometimes!) and "nature" which are never pisted so you know what you are getting and there is a good chioce for all tastes.

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All the resorts we've lived in piste all the greens and blues and most of the reds every night.

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Piste-ing of the pistes?

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