 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all, how do you find trails to go off-piste? I typically hire a guide and explore them with him and then once I know them I can remember them and go with friends etc. But I recognize that some people don't do this for price reasons etc.
Is there a place that has off-piste runs marked? Kind of like an alltrails (hiking) or trailforks (biking) but only for skiing? How do you find the best off-piste runs in your resort or on a holiday?
Thanks all for your time  )
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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 typically hire a guide and explore them with him and then once I know them I can remember them and go with friends etc.
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Just checking that you realise where a guide takes you on one day could be incredibly dangerous to ski on another day?
Fatmap can be pretty good - both there suggested routes and just general scouting out and planning. For any of the more famous resorts just googling will get you plenty of suggestions and info.
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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 good thing about Fatmap is it gives you slope angles too so you can pick out bits under 30 degrees too. Obviously this limits you but keeps you in the safe(r) zone.
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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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@afterski, yes. In fact you are probably even underselling it a bit. Not only can you find slope angles but they actually have an avalanche overlay which highlights terrain steep enough to avalanche. Very useful for planning.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just took a look at fatmap, its incredible! Thanks!!
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@iskipow, personally I've not used online resource up to now other than a bit of written word recommendations/descriptions. For me it's been mostly about word of mouth, on the ground reconnaissance and trying stuff out. There are two aspects that I can think of right now. One is route finding and the other is avalanche risk. Going to the same ski area several times can help build that knowledge. Doing stuff that goes away from the lift system can be a bit nerve wracking for sure but having done it once, second and third time round gets to be great fun.
Quite rightly people will tell you to be aware of following people/tracks and assuming they know what they are doing/where they are going but equally it does give out a pointer, something to consider.
I haven't used guides too much but they can certainly but useful. When I was in Val D/Tignes we did a couple of short boot packs which opened up great slopes - something I wouldn't have known/considered. I was solo (in terms of off piste) on that trip and so guiding the only real option.
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For the Les Arcs/La Plagne area I have the book Les clés de Paradiski by Didier Givois. It's a coffee table book and the author is keen to point out it is not a guide book but it shows the line, the dificulty and risks of lots of routes in the area. With the use of maps, digital elevation models and visulisation sofware you can plan your route, learn key turn points, identify the dangerous terrain (slope angle, aspect, convexity of the upper slope) etc. and make your own plans.
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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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| Layne wrote: |
@iskipow, personally I've not used online resource up to now other than a bit of written word recommendations/descriptions. For me it's been mostly about word of mouth, on the ground reconnaissance and trying stuff out. There are two aspects that I can think of right now. One is route finding and the other is avalanche risk. Going to the same ski area several times can help build that knowledge. Doing stuff that goes away from the lift system can be a bit nerve wracking for sure but having done it once, second and third time round gets to be great fun.
Quite rightly people will tell you to be aware of following people/tracks and assuming they know what they are doing/where they are going but equally it does give out a pointer, something to consider.
I haven't used guides too much but they can certainly but useful. When I was in Val D/Tignes we did a couple of short boot packs which opened up great slopes - something I wouldn't have known/considered. I was solo (in terms of off piste) on that trip and so guiding the only real option. |
tell me more about the last part, you went solo so the guide was the only real option. I have that problem all the time and dont have the money to ger a guide everytime. Do you have any other way to find people and solve that issue other than a guide? Do you always get a guide when solo?
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| iskipow wrote: |
tell me more about the last part, you went solo so the guide was the only real option. I have that problem all the time and dont have the money to ger a guide everytime. Do you have any other way to find people and solve that issue other than a guide? Do you always get a guide when solo? |
If you are a member of the SCGB, they have Instructor-Led Guiding in certain resorts for very reasonable cost: https://www.skiclub.co.uk/instructor-led-guiding
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Wed 27-09-23 13:01; edited 2 times in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@iskipow, try Ski school off piste course or group guiding by Compagnie des Guides. In Les Arcs they post a schedule of what they are planning each week and you can book with them. OK you still have to pay but it is less expensive than getting a guide yourself alone.
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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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Do you have any other way to find people and solve that issue other than a guide?
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There are two separate issues here. Guides are not just "people to ski with". An experienced "mate", with the right gear and training, can obviously be an asset if you make a poor judgement call, or are unlucky, and one of you gets buried in an avalanche. But two or three mates, each quite experienced, with the right gear, might well choose to employ a guide to help them find some new lines to ski.
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| iskipow wrote: |
| tell me more about the last part, you went solo so the guide was the only real option. I have that problem all the time and dont have the money to ger a guide everytime. Do you have any other way to find people and solve that issue other than a guide? Do you always get a guide when solo? |
To be clear I have dabbled off piste (mellow stuff) solo being well aware of the risks and making a judgement call. I once did the Grand Couloir and told my mate to watch and wait from the piste underneath - which would have been no real help in avalanche scenario of course but was handy as a general 'things had gone a bit tits up' sort of thing.
Other than that I've just had to rely on a network of friends to try and make it work. Meeting my now wife helped a lot!
UCPA I've heard of as an option, SH bashes another. there is a board on here for soloists. I seem to recall there was a post the other day with a guy saying he could do off piste.
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You know it makes sense.
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I once did the Grand Couloir and told my mate to watch and wait from the piste underneath
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Is the Grand Couloir in Courchevel no longer a marked piste then?
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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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@iskipow, as said above ucpa is probably what you are looking for as a solo skier looking to get off piste with a guided group.
I've actually done a bit of solo touring the last few years. It's certainly possible. But you really need to know what you are doing and it's quite limiting if you want to 100% avoid avalanche terrain.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| johnE wrote: |
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I once did the Grand Couloir and told my mate to watch and wait from the piste underneath
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Is the Grand Couloir in Courchevel no longer a marked piste then? |
Flitted between marked, itinerary, off piste over the years. No idea currently. For me, I'd never done it before and my mate didn't want to so it just made sense to have him be a look out. As it happens I met a soloist, on snowblades!, on the way down.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Selfguide the easy and mid shred.
Guide for the life-or-death lines.
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