 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 can see how the one across the slope works, though I think you'd need to be some distance away to measure the angle across a significant portion of a mountainside. However, how does the one down the slope work? Can't figure that one out.
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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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@pam w, you look past the pole directly down the slope. The line with the least curvature indicates the gradient. In the example above the slope is between 30° and 35°.
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I'm a bit dubious about how accurate this thing is - lots of potential for user error - but probably good for helping people get a feel for what a 35* slope looks like
Will take bar room claims of "it was at least 50* based on my poleclinometer" with a pinch of salt anyway 
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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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@altis, That is a good idea, but I'm not sure why anybody would want to know the gradient. How can it help?
(I just keep three gradients in my mind: no worries; Ooo steep; Fook that!! I'm taking the blue down)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I 'get it' but I think you'll have all kinds of issues with getting anything like an accurate measurement as there is too much variation in how a person could inadvertently position the pole.
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@ALQ, avalanches are much more likely between about 30* and 48*
it's quite hard to judge angles by eye, although you can improve with practice
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1. Why would you want it?
2. Do I presume it comes with two stick-on spirit levels without which it would be utterly useless?
3. In Madonna di Camiglio and other places too I presume, they list the maximum and average gradient of any slope on the first piste marker which is a better idea.
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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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Actually, it's quite easy to get your pole vertical. 
a) Get someone else to sight it against the landscape - easily better than 5°.
b) Pinch-grip the top of the handle above the shaft so that it swings easily.
I like that fact that it's always available and you don't need to go ferreting for something in your sack.
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@foxtrotzulu, it;s useful as one tool in working out for an off piste slope risk analysis, as Arno says above "avalanches are much more likely between about 30* and 48* "
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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It's not about pistes though, it's about off-piste, isn't it?
Still don't get the "looking down the slope" - surely it will depend on the shape of the slope - concave or convex - not to mention how far you are standing from the "edge"?
My compass has a measure of slope angle. I've been practising using it, hiking in summer, to help me learn to judge slopes in the distance. BUT not on the slope I'm standing on.
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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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I like the idea but it I think it definitely falls into the category of 'do you really need one?'
I'd imagine it could do nicely as an impulse purchase but then it would have to be easier to apply and maybe use a removable adhesive so you could remove it from the hired ski poles rather than it being all complicated and needing heat shrink tubing and the like.
I'd say he's over complicated it to try and add some value. Just a simple waterproof sticker with a removable adhesive would be fine but then it's not going to sell for very much.
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@pam w, yeah but knowing the average slope angle can be a reasonable useful thing to know it lets you make judgments about the steepness of roll-overs and the like. I use the free Avi Lab app on my iPhone which does much the same thing but lets you sight with guides through the camera.
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You know it makes sense.
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Not sure I need one, but what a great simple idea.
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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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Handy for checking my angle of lean on the way out of the bar.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| pam w wrote: |
...
Still don't get the "looking down the slope" - surely it will depend on the shape of the slope - concave or convex - not to mention how far you are standing from the "edge"?
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The shape of the slope is not relevant.
Take a candle, and a sharp knife and chop a 45 degree angle on the end of the candle. If you now look at the candle in the vertical orientation, it will appear as part of a sine wave, until you look directly down the cut. At that point, it will look flat cut again. Assuming you are holding the candle vertically, you would be able to 'sight' down the cut and check if the slope below you is at 45 degrees . This device then repeats that process for a bunch of other angles and allows you to do the process in reverse. i.e. measuring the angle of the slope against your pole.
See the first diagram on this paper:
http://www.mamikon.com/USArticles/RollingConesCylinders.pdf
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@pam w, imagine that the pole was cut off along the top edge of the red band. This would give you a reference 30° that you could eyeball against the slope - a bit like having a 30/60 set square with a spirit level on the bottom edge.
Because the pole is round, you can just use the line marked round the edge and you don't need to see the 'cut' surface. Presumably, there'll be different stickers for different pole diameters.
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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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I get how it works in theory (as, I suspect, does pam w) but the looking down the slope function seems particularly prone to inaccuracy due to standing in not quite the right place, judging where the bottom of the slope is and holding the pole in exactly the right place and angle
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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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the instructions on the website say that you adjust the height of the pole (ie lift it up and down) till the angle of your sight down is the same as the slope (ie you are looking straight down the slope). I can see that, doing that, you are judging the overall angle from where you are standing to wherever you decide the "bottom" is. so if the slope is a nice straight line, as in the illustrations, or you are only interested in the average incline (as opposed, for example, to a hill which goes down a bit, then has a very steep bit and then a flattening out in the middle, before dropping again) then it might be useful.
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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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| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
2. Do I presume it comes with two stick-on spirit levels without which it would be utterly useless?
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What for? You just hold the pole up in the air, the gravity makes sure it's dead plumb 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Also you'd have to stick it on exactly level on the pole.
You're pretty much guaranteed some inaccuracy I think, but given how bad most people are at judging slope angle it should help get a better estimate, at least.
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What if there's not a flat level bit fret at the top of the slope?
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FAQ
