Thought I'd share with many here who love L'Espace Killy. As the 12 yo put it, "Dad, it's 20% on-piste and 80% off piste". Film was made in 2015, and covers some of the off-piste, like the beautiful Vallon de La Sachette/Sache where the kids got off at the last bail out exit ! Cugnai, Tour du Charvet, Grand Vallon etc. ESF instructors were fantastic with the kids. Enjoy, it's dated but sort of never gets old !
And given feedback below - thank you, here is the vimeo version. Just one fantastic place, and the avalanche danger is everywhere, sort of gets the adrenaline going.
12 yo is in the orange jacket and then black with a white strip on the sides. A lot of this was made possible because of the kids ESF guide Patrice, he really shredded it with the kids !
And while I am at it, for skier families - the Hotel Vanoise in Val Claret is unreal, costs are very reasonable, the food is country-farm delicious, the owners Sebastian, Caroline and Paul are young and seriously enthusiastic. The rooms are the treat, very basic but the design of the shelving, and hooks, made for hanging up ski gear, placing helmets, drying wet outer-wear. It's spartan but the design is exquisitely efficient. Great place.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 17-05-18 17:02; edited 1 time in total
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Seems to be copyrighted not to play in the uk. That's what my iPad says anyway.
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?
Really, YouTube gives these a global license since then allow ads which the music owners collect revenue from. Thank you for letting me know.
Vimeo version, will post in a moment, when I get a chance - it was too cool of a trip, and the place blo-dy marvelous not to drink in the terrain. Many here likely very familiar with the terrain. Opening day was Le Face du Bellevarde in deep powder and blizzard conditions !
Taking a bunch of kids off piste with no equipment doesn't seem like the best of ideas.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@boarder2020, Interesting perspective. ESF beacon-ed every single kid, and additionally they were equipped with a GPS locator device. On the day of higher avalanche risk (≈3), 12 yo was equipped with an avalanche bag, and the day it was ≈4, it was on-piste only. Think they know what they are doing reasonably well, and the instructor has been at it for 30+ years, great guy. But sure there's risk, anything is possible, it's skiing, inherently risky. One can only hope for the best, and prepare as best as one can with the right gear. Just an FYI for what it's worth.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Beacon alone is of little use. What if the instructor is buried? Or child is buried deep, it will be difficult for a single instructor to dig out alone. Or multiple burials as they were all skiing at the same time rather than in turns.
Would I trust a 12 year old to deploy an air bag? I'm not saying they can't, but put any human in a highly stressful situation requiring quick response and things are not so easy, let alone for a 12 year old.
I accept there's always some risk but this seems unnecessary high. At least take 2 instructors one for up front and one behind and also ski one at a time. Probably even worth making kids carry gear too, even if they can't use it best to get into good habits. On level 3 days I really wouldn't even consider it, I'm sure any half decent instructor can get a lot out of a days piste skiing in terms of working on skills.
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.
Ok, this is supposed to be about the joy of skiing, but I will respond once more as your concerns expressed are fair, though I do not agree with them in this situation, think they are misdirected, as they smack of suggesting the instructors were careless, they were not by any stretch, not in the estimation of the adults who were around. Also, because it is sort of hard to introduce all kinds of caveats in a video expressing the joy of skiing in Tignes-Val d'Isere.
So: On the day it was avy level 3ish, an adult was present and everyone was equipped- the whole enchilada, beacon, gps locator, bag, shovel, probe etc, and the group was 3 people, it's in the video, and it was almost all on-piste because of low visibility with some mild veering off-piste when the visibility got better.
On the days in the other off-piste terrain, those zones were avy level 1+ and in the Vallon de la Sache, a group of adults with another instructor mostly paralleled the kids, and it was a very low avy risk day, but sure it's off-piste terrain, anything is possible, we know it, you know it, the instructors know it.
The instructors consulted each other, and patrol before venturing into off-piste terrain, every time, adults actually witnessed such discussions often enough. I believe it was also a notification method so that patrol knew where they were headed.
But: Was there any risk ? Sure.
Was the risk low? Indeed it was.
Was this parent nervous sometimes ? Sure, often, deep down, but this is sort of how we live, same 12 year old, paddles 250 to 400+ yards from shore on the Pacific to wait on his board to catch a wave back in. If you see the video put up elsewhere, in the Arlberg, it was way greater avy risk, compared to situation in L'Espace Killy, and you can be sure, now 15 yo was thinking about it, and his dad was tense. But, C'est la vie. But is there an underlying tension internally, of course, and the kid involved is thinking about it too, he is quite rational.
Now if you are suggesting 12 year olds should not be off-piste unless there are at least two instructors, I cannot argue, that sounds like a very good idea. And in this situation, there were enough adults in the vicinity on the serious terrain and with all the procedures described above.
Is there any point going to L'Espace Killy where you an expert skier or advanced at the least and not venture off-piste modulo conditions ? Nope, what is the point.
The 12 yo was an expert by most standards, and so were couple of the other kids, one was the child of an instructor, and knew most of the terrain like the back of his hand, and he became best friends with the 12 yo, funny since he did not speak a word of English, just French and Italian, and the 12 yo though half-Italian, spoke not a lick of those languages ! In fact, the instructor did not take them on some interesting couloirs etc since there were members of the group who would have had a hard time on them, and this we were informed and made a lot of sense.
Now, where did WE feel avy risk was greatest ? Actually, open blue piste like the Santons, even when crowded felt eerie, or piste L, which were often closed for that very reason. The funnel effect in those gullies - terrain trap central !
Appreciate the concern expressed. Hope you enjoyed the video at least. We found the ESF team from the office to the instructors incredibly attentive, and understood the skill levels of their charges, be they kids or adults. We loved the ESF crew.
Again, hope you enjoyed the video, it is an expression of why skiing is so beautiful. Your observations are good ones, in terms of caution, but it is off-piste, and that is why we anyway, went to L'Espace Killy, and were rewarded with sublime conditions very suited to what we wanted, and we experienced a ride like no other until then in our skiing life, which in terms of number of days is quite a bit for the 12 yo.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
12 year old explores Lespace Killy: On and Off-Piste from saint roy
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
In fact, the instructor did not take them on some interesting couloirs etc since there were members of the group who would have had a hard time on them, and this we were informed and made a lot of sense.
