Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Who skis on their own off piste or goes ski touring tout seul?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Edit


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 14-12-15 2:54; edited 1 time in total
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
edit


Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Mon 14-12-15 2:53; edited 1 time in total
latest report
 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?
[quote="horgand"]
horgand wrote:
Yes, I have & do ski off piste on my own sometimes. I much prefer skiing with friends, but when I'm stuck i have skied on my own.

I am very cautious when I do it mind, normally only skiing itineraries I've done before, normally skiing it once to case it, and then on the 2nd run skiing it at closer to full pace &intensity. also, if I come to some dodgy/isolated areas, I normally wait for some company to arrive before skiing it. Still it is really not my preference to ski alone, I don't enjoy the isolation of skiing alone or the increased risk If God forbid there was an incident. I was out in a white out last year in Chamonix (I was just passing by for a day) and had to remind myself what I would do if I fell down a crevasse!?[ That was my last run that day /quote] Embarassed
latest report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
[quote="horgand"]
horgand wrote:
horgand wrote:
Yes, I have & do ski off piste on my own sometimes. ....... also, if I come to some dodgy/isolated areas, I normally wait for some company to arrive before skiing it.


We were skiing with a guide on an itinerary when we got a "clingon" following us. He got pretty short shrift from the guide who talked to him as to a 3 year old ( "tu" ) and set him off on a farm track back to a road as soon as we got to within sight of a village! Was it you?
snow conditions
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
one of the most interesting threads on here for a while. Interesting that it was a kitesurfer who should start a post on risk.... that sport still has the capacity to scare me more, and faster, than anything else...
no-one's mentioned scuba diving - fwiw PADI (the largest training association) only relatively recently (last few years) bowed to social pressure and accepted the need to provide training for solo divers... and this in a sport where 'doubling-up' on anything safety related, and strong basic protocols, was pretty much the basis of all training. Scuba is not a statistically risky sport, but when you're in a fundamentally alien envt where an equipment failure (lack of air) will lead to death in a few minutes, having several backups is generally sensible. Perhaps more interestingly, its by no means an 'adrenaline' sport- in fact, it's generally better if enjoyed at a slow pace/relaxed manner. Sure, when you see your first shark, the heart pumps a bit, but by and large, the animals leave you alone.

I think the 'social' aspect of solo-sport is only one part - plenty have mentioned the increased risk-assessment when solo, but thats as much a factor of ability - 'my' level of solo comfort may be higher/lower than yours, whether its offpiste skiing or rock climbing... but what is inside my comfort zone is as much a factor of my ability to perform, as well as my ability to perceive risks. i.e. its relative.

whether my _absolute_ ability to perceive risks is 'good enough' is something that the mountain/ocean/mother nature will measure for me... and I'll hope she measures more often than she cuts.

Another factor is that sometimes it is being 'close to the edge' that brings the excitement - someone mentioned dreams earlier - dunno if anyone has experienced dreams or memories 'in colour' - apparently the psychs believe such memories are particularly potent.... I can still recall some of mine, a particular fave being on a small canoe rock-hopping off the welsh coast - a 'big enough' wave comes in, back of the canoe goes up, nose goes down..... and there is that loooooong split-second where there's nothing I can do and I'm just waiting to get launched. Still here to tell the tale, but it still raises the old hairs.

anyway, a virtual 'cheer's for providing a nice respite from the office grind..... wishing you all powder!
latest report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
hamilton wrote:
... fwiw PADI (the largest training association) only relatively recently (last few years) bowed to social pressure and accepted the need to provide training for solo divers... and this in a sport where 'doubling-up' on anything safety related, and strong basic protocols, was pretty much the basis of all training.
Interesting. Watching an open water BASI diver with his badges and all trying to do "buddy" things with one of my cave diving mates was amusing. Cave divers (the CDG) have to look after themselves.

PADI seemed significantly less boy -scoutish than BSAC to me.

Which reminds me that tree skiing is generally trained as a "buddy" sport, although I don't think everyone realizes the limitations of that. I'm totally happy riding trees on my own: I don't rely on a buddy to pull me from a well.
snow conditions
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
[quote="Scrumpy"]
horgand wrote:
horgand wrote:
horgand wrote:
Yes, I have & do ski off piste on my own sometimes. ....... also, if I come to some dodgy/isolated areas, I normally wait for some company to arrive before skiing it.


We were skiing with a guide on an itinerary when we got a "clingon" following us. He got pretty short shrift from the guide who talked to him as to a 3 year old ( "tu" ) and set him off on a farm track back to a road as soon as we got to within sight of a village! Was it you?


Nope, could have been though. Mind you I'm normally pretty discreet, I often actually ski ahead of groups, just to know there's a set of eye s nearby of anything goes wrong. I've never been pulled by anyone on it, as once I'm through the sketchy part I ski away, but yes I've been tailed through I itineraries alot by u unwelcome cling ons, not easy to relax with others on the snowpack above at times....oh the hardship Razz
snow report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@hamilton, that is an interesting point that it's not just about risk. I do things on my own because I like to challenge myself without that challenge being compared to anything else (in other words I'm not very competitive). Being in company or being alone affects how I ski. When I ski with my brother I know he likes to be first and so I ski behind him (he's my 48 year old baby brother after all). If I'm skiing in a group I have to be involved in agreeing where we're going and what runs to do and when to stop for lunch and what time we're stopping. When I'm at work I'm performing: as the boss or talking to customers. And I like doing that but ... sometime I like to stop being sociable and just enjoy what I'm doing and s*d everyone else. So headphone in at the gym or a few runs on my skis makes me feel happy again. And sometimes it's the only way I get to ski the runs I like.
snow conditions



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy