Seem to recall we had one going in previous years so thought I might kick this one off.
There has already been reports of skier trigged slides out in Utah and Colorado this season - haven't heard of any Euro ones yet - we need the snow!
I have seen some new tech :
A device that is meant to draw O2 from the snow pack to deal with CO2 build-up during burial - the difference with this and an ava-lung is that you don't need to insert a mouthpiece into your mouth - set to launch 23/24
https://www.safeback.no/sbx#sbx-info
Another gadget that is meant to help you find your ski when it releases in powder, though this one is being marketed as able to "prevent avalanches" - how you might ask? sending some cutting edge ultrasonic waves into the snowpack - like those anti shark surfing devices? No no - this device is also meant to provide feedback on your skiing technique and since 90% of avlanches are skier triggered - so by improving your technique and being "less aggressive" you will not trigger an avalanche - I mean I get that there is truth in that - but to market the device as preventing avalanches is a bit of a stretch!
https://tinyurl.com/2xkms72a
Lastly I leave you with some great footage released earlier this week of a slide in St Anton from winter '22
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?
FWIW:
Observation area: Val Thorens, 10th November 2022
Observer: Meteo France Bourg St Maurice
There is a good base from 2700 meters on north facing bowls composed of round crystals.
At 2850m there is over 80cm of total snow depth with a marked instability at 10 to 15 cm below the surface. (Compression Test).
It rained to 2500m with humidification due to temperatures to 2850m. Snow from early November is transforming into facets and acts as a fragile layer > 2850 m approx with about 15cm of fresh snow on top which fell with no wind, which limits the risks. Very poor snow cover for the season. Return via pistes on man made snow.
---
My comments: take care off piste below 2700m approx unless there is a a major dumpage (doesn't look likely next week). Risk of avalanche at altitude with the recent wind creating some thin windslab on cols/ridges on a wide northerly aspect. Lower down the humidification of the snowpack has stabilized everything for now - well what snow there is. You'll see the above observations have fed into the current bulletin.
TLDR: take care, risk of some small to medium slabs above 2500m where there is skiable snow on north facing slopes
Observation Area: les Arcs, 18 Nov 2022
Observer: Meteo France Bourg St Maurice
Conditions: Sprinkling of snow this morning at 1600m, 15 cm of fresh at 2000m, 20 cm on average around 2500m but very heterogeneous thickness (5cm on the bumps at 50 cm in the accumulations).
Below 2400/2500m The fresh snow is resting on a small refreeze crust in the valleys and on the northern slopes, often on bare ground elsewhere.
Above 2600m on the shaded slopes, the snowpack is more substantial but also more complex, weaknesses are present with Woufs as warnings that should not be overlooked. Survey done at the level of a first Wouf on the North side around 2750m at the level of the last wall before the arrival station of the Grand Col chairlift. The slab comes off very easily in the stability test with a very clear break on 25 cm on the first test and 40 cm a little further but still on the 5th tap with a fragile layer on the small flat side. The risk of triggering a soft slab avalanche is therefore very present at high altitude on cold slopes. Overall few places concerned but are also the best covered in snow so beware because it is also the only skiable ones at the moment when the snow cover remains poor.
Second climb to the foot of Aiguille Grive with similar conditions. On the descent pleasant snow which still catches the back of the skis a little. You must always stay on the tracks or grassy slopes because outside the snow cover remains too light. Very blown at high altitude from what I could see
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
take care with that early season resort touring, the pistes are neither avalanche controlled nor compacted
A guide died in an avalanche in the Queyras a week or so ago, but I believe he was climbing rather than skiing.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Couple hit by an avalanche ski touring l'alpe d'Huez today. Considerable avalanche risk. Probably the end of the season for the man who has a fractured femur.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Is this the start of another catastrophic season? I'm thinking complex early snow pack and lots of Persistent weak layer. I sincerely hope I am wrong.
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.
@Rogerdodger, am I correct in saying only if it's a dry year?, With a good cover that PWL will bridge. I was on an avi course on the stubai gletscher last week. sugar snow 150mm thick formed trom the ground up to a 10mm thick rain crust. with circa 30cm on top
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Rogerdodger wrote:
Is this the start of another catastrophic season? I'm thinking complex early snow pack and lots of Persistent weak layer. I sincerely hope I am wrong.
Way too early to say - depends a lot on weather for the next few weeks.
As to yesterday's incident - there was also an avalanche in Cime de Caron area (Val Thorens), 1 person buried and recovered relatively unscathed (as I understand it) - luckily, as skiing alone and pisteurs wre able to spot a hand/fingers sticking out of the snow. However: first blue sky day after quite a lot of new precip + wind (a fair bit of rain/snow here the last few days), Saturday, early season thin snow pack, everyone champing at the bit to get after it... not really too surprising...
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
I was on a course doing burial training on Saturday. I was using a Mammut Barryvox, bought about a year ago, as were a couple of others in the group. The instructor was using a Barryvox S, which also gave me some confidence. Once the Barryvox found a signal, it locked on and gave good, clear directional information, and the burials were found quickly. Some other people had older transceiver models (various brands, Ortovox, Pieps etc.) and it was noticeable that their searches were a lot more erratic. They were still well within their time limits, but there did seem to be more time wasted going in the wrong direction or around in circles.
Anyone using an old 2-antenna model should get their wallet out immediately (you know who you are!), but people using decade-old 3-antenna models should also consider upgrading, as improvements have definitely been made.
Another interesting point that came out was that one person had the highly rated Ortovox Voice device. Nothing really wrong with it, however, it soon became quite annoying, especially to a trained user who could act faster than the instructions were given. It's something worth considering if you are looking at this model.
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.
I've seen quite a lot of activity these past couple of days, and bearing in mind that the season has been quite dry I found that surprising, but as ever it's the wind that was the culprit.
Then today whilst walking around, the various types of frost accumulating, is also food for thought, with the prospect of another snowfall at the end of the week.
@Scarlet, and remember a bad workman blames his tools
I've seen someone use one of the original Ortovox's with the earpiece run rings around people with the latest gear.
And as for the Ortovox Diract voice, as per the thread last season, after I bought my OH one, and what I and others (not everyone) perceived to be a very obvious short coming, I'd be interested to see if they have addressed that or not?
But then the first observation I made contradicts the next
Suppose I should see if there's been a firmware upgrade
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Weathercam wrote:
and remember a bad workman blames his tools
Or they accept that technology has improved and it's up to them to move with the times. Personally, I prefer not to ride with people who have equipment old enough to be carbon dated, though they'll most likely just get an earful about being a tight-ass and continuous p!ss-taking until they relent or go home. YMMV, though it's hard to argue when you're dead.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Scarlet, yes know what you mean, it's like in the Spring I won't go out with anyone who doesn't have any crampons
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
And so it begins....
Said I found it a bit sketchy up there these last couple of days.
And that it was the wind transporting the snow, as opposed to fresh snow.
RIP
Ce mercredi 7 décembre, un skieur de randonnée est décédé en début d’après-midi après avoir été emporté par une avalanche, dans la face nord du pic du Galibier (Valloire).
Un homme originaire de Savoie
La victime, un homme originaire de Savoie, évoluait avec un autre skieur de randonnée lorsqu’elle a été emportée par une coulée de neige vers 14 h 40.
Les secouristes invitent à l’extrême prudence (risque à 3 sur 5 en Haute-Maurienne), après plusieurs avalanches ayant entraîné des pratiquants de la montagne ces derniers jours.
It really does my head in seeing reports like this, don't know if it's an age thing, but the 25° does seem more sensible each season, but the massive slide I mentioned in the ski-touring thread that I came across would not have taken any prisoners if you'd been skinning along the road when it happened.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Here's another frightener!
Was ski-touring on Saturday in a sector where there is often a lot of activity, but there is safe skiing to be had.
Even the Frenchies that passed us, went no further into the more exposed terrain, surprising given it was 3/5 which often does not stop them, and transitioned where we did, though we actually did another lap as it was so good
Driving back my mate, who is far more experienced in the mountains than me; he is a pucker mountaineer, and will boot pack steep Cols in the Spring to ski them, and thinks nothing of long approaches plus climbs all summer etc etc, we saw red flags on signs by the road on the avalanche signs, now you don't often see them, but they mean that there is a very real concern by the authorities that something might well slide down from above.
We were then nagging about how all around in many of the usual spots, there had been very little natural activity as there's presumably a lot still to come down as it were.
Next day I opted to XC and later Rich posts this on his FB.
I'm owed a beer! You can just see the guide and client in the first photo and in the second you can see their both still alive in the second photo.
I managed to shout up and use my dog whistle that was around my kneck to warn them the mountain on their right had started to collapse.
It gave them a precious 5/10seconds to sprint out of the way, no easy task with skis and skins on. It just missed the client 1/5m away, guide more like 10ms away.
Once I saw the client was safe then I skied down and across a slope. The av never arrived where I was standing. Tonnes of snow fell and made no noise or anything, the two in front had no idea what was happening above them.
Le Laus had an av3 and the snow was consolidated going up.
What was not normal was where are all the avalanches?
He was in the right place as the snow was good.
What wasn't good was what was above him.
I had stopped and was eating drinking more importantly watch, not talking or joking around.
What's been learnt, really important to see avalanche action in the mountains before touring.
Just because your on a good base doesn't mean your safe, spread out, forget about chatting.
Don't forget to task a whistle they save lives.
Then later, on my Strava up pops up a sortie that someone had done that day (in fact in the photos there were four of them), where we were the day before, and they had climbed up another 600m to the ridge which in places in 40%
We're back out today in another valley where hopefully nothing, if it does go, will come down across our route. I sent a Swede up there yesterday to break trail
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
The most recent HAT blog makes sobering reading.
6 avie related deaths so far ... More pertinent is that is much higher than usual.
Masses of avalanche activity around here too. Even on the classic skitours considered 'safe' like Lampsenspitz there have been multiple avalanches, natural and involving skiers.
Griesskogel, skiers went just a little to the side of the 'safe' route into slightly steeper terrain and...
Moral of the story: avoid steep slopes in the shade, especially at altitude ad near ridge lines. Sunny slopes are less problematic below ~2400m but still require caution (not just for avalanches - coverage is thin!)
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@clarky999, I would be really interested to hear more about the lower pic that you have posted.
It looks as if Lukas caught the exact moment that the second skier triggered the slide!
I sincerely hope they were both lucky and came away unharmed!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@clarky999, thank you! Quite extraordinary sequence of events.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Can I direct readers of this particular thread to PistHors.com. Read "A perfect day" and contemplate........the picture of the very attractive young lady speaks volumes to myself.
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.
Fascinating snow conditions up beyond Kleine Scheidegg (Jungfrau Region) today.
Wengen and Grindelwald are not high priority resorts for the freeride community. This provides greater opportunities for us older and less adventurous skiers to "dabble" in some off piste.
We witnessed a huge number of slab avalanches in areas which we would frequently ski.
The morning was cloudy/misty so forays into the off-piste were muted. Late morning the cloud lifted and revealed all the slides, one of which prompted an inspection from a pisteur.
Reference back to the avalanche forecast described precisely the activity that we had witnessed.
Unofficially I do not think anybody was caught in the slides.
Our area was at level 3 but the line of level 4 was immediately adjacent to us.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Level 4 day in Flaine today. Never seen what I would consider a proper avalanche in 30 years of skiing, but had a real treat watching a helicopter bomb half of the bowl triggering pretty much the full face (Tete de lindars side)by the end. The crown looked sizeable even several miles away and the volume of snow released colossal. Very spectacular and very much appreciated work!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Easter weekend possibly a time for miracles. 16 very lucky skiers/tourers caught in a serious avalanche on Alphubel above Saas Fee.
Report in Jungfrau Zeitung saying incident occurred 10:30 this morning, two hospitalised with little information on the other 14.
Major operation, report saying 5 helicopters involved with authorities fearing a bad scenario.
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.
The search continues, with the authorities checking records of stays at the nearest refuges and asking all who have stayed to get in touch and confirm they are safe. Very difficult conditions, with a high risk of further avalanches, making the search particularly hazardous.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
