Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Keep us informed & thank you for your service
After all it is free
After all it is free
Have a great Winter
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.
Man you are having your dream time there
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
As @ninetail, I look with envy but would appreciate Idris’ take if I romanticise your job too much? Being there and doing what you do is super nice but what are the tough bits? Dealing with injuries/casualties, etc?
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
mooney058 wrote:
As @ninetail, I look with envy but would appreciate Idris’ take if I romanticise your job too much? Being there and doing what you do is super nice but what are the tough bits? Dealing with injuries/casualties, etc?
Yes, obviously there are some tough bits, like dealing with injuries, casualties even sometimes hostile locals. It can be dangerous and stressful at times. I genuinely thank Idris for his service though
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.
mooney058 wrote:
As @ninetail, I look with envy but would appreciate Idris’ take if I romanticise your job too much? Being there and doing what you do is super nice but what are the tough bits? Dealing with injuries/casualties, etc?
We had a few realy nice days of setup, with some occasionaly spectacular views
Strangely....athough not if I think about it, none of my colleagues ever just take a moment to look around and think how beautiful a place this is....they have never known any different.
I do
I leanred to drive a Telepherique, it didn't come with instructons. I just had to remember what the lifty does and then push the right buttons and turn the right switches. I was next to the pannel, so I was my turn and just expected to get on with it.
When we are doing setup and we need more people moving than fit an a snowmobile - just use a piste basher
We had a nice enough opening weekend, only a few call outs, a knee, a thuumb and a broken binding.
The weather wasn't always going to co operate.
MONDAY had a day of three of us battling wind and rain trying to puyt up snow fences and trail markers. Windy enough that sometimes I was towed by the snowmobile, and sometimes I was just being anchored by it.
And once you get to the apropraite chair, its down to the stuck people to lower them to the ground
Now friday and the weather is co operating again, time to get ready for the re-opening for the weekend.
Making as much snow as possible co cover up all that mud
And while re planting ALL the piste markers, there were a few nice views
Unfortunatley there wasn't enough snow to cover everything. So to get to the Radaz resturant, the only one than's open we spent the afternoon shoveling
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
Beautiful! Top pictures!
Tea, lunch, pushing buttons, riding piste bashers, playing Tarzan on wires - no wonder no time for work
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
From the title I assumed this was another scintillating discussion about winter tires.
...but its way better than that. Go get 'em and keep the interesting stuff coming!
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@Idris, love reading your reports.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
This is fascinating ! Thank you .
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Idris, fantastic, something I might have done in another life.....
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?
Had a tough end of day today.
Closing the Stade de Descent (Black) at Cote 2000, where if first gets close to Chamois (Red). There were 4 people laying in the snow. I think, here we go, drunks that don't want to go home. Started picking up the highest one. She proceded to fall over again but once helped, skied off fine.....but the one laying on her back facing uphill, wasn't able to get up and go home.
She had skied off the Chamois following the others and like them had crashed, but instead of a messy heap, she had done a front doubble flip.
I called my work mates, they had to restart the Cote 2000 chair to go back up and get a sled, a vacuum matteras and lifting equipment.
By broken girl had back, pelvic and shoulder pain. After a quick call to the Evergency services we evacuated her by vaccum materas on a rescue sled to an ambulance at cote 2000 to Sallanches hospital.
As she had comand over all her extremities, was not screaming in pain and her viatal signs were otherwise normal, a non heli evac was quicker than waiting....today was a busy day in the Haute Savoie for accidents and serious cases take priority.
I ended up doing the sled descent in the dark, having to avoid 2 piste bashers who had already started up. We ourselves then got stuck in Megeve traffic to get back to the office, so I got home 12 1/2 hours after I left this morning....quite tiring.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
The next two days, thngs of note.
Saturday, in holidays with great weather and harsh (concrete pistes) conditions, normaly means busy with rescues.
Morning was almost dead, early afternoon, I and 2 others did very simple rescues. Mine was a guy from northern france who'd banged his knee hard enough that skiing wasn't realy an option and he was terified of the conditions anyway, simple evacuation and ambulance.
BUT as we were closing the pistes and shutting lifts the alrm went off twice in as many min! I headed out with a vaccum matterass to help 2 colleagues with arabic guy who didn't speak any french with a badly banged (but probably not broken) hip. As soon as he was in the sled, I heded down to help with another rescue. This time a rather portly lass from Lyon who had crashed and properly broken her knee. The piste was so hard we had problems standing, let alone lifting anyone. With the help of a snowmaker and another patroler who arrived on snowmobiles (its getting dark at this point) we managed to get the now rather unhappy lass in the rescue sled. By the time we go both down to the roadside it was completely dark.
Today, new years eve. Not hhe best weather and very windy. Windy to the point of us having to wait for lifts to be able to move to go and open runs. I was on early lunch (11.30 ish), 5 min after lunch our first (of only 2) alarms went off, my buddie Roger responded (He is the other Brit on our team). He called in 10 min later needing the oxygen set, but for its measuring equipment rather than the oxygen. I arrived to find a group of Italian university students, one of whom had taken a nasty tumble and (very) upset his shoulder. When we call for Rescue help or even doctors advice they want ALL the measurements you can give them. An hour an a quater later (it was a busy day esewhere for rescues) the PHGM landed and droped off 2 resuers and a doctor. The doc couldn't put the shoulder back in place on the hill, he though the head of the humerus may be broken. 5 min later he was odd to Sallanches hospital.
The ski home tonight was in fresh snow, 10-20cm deep in a blizzard at dusk, so real skiing by braille stuff.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Respect and thanks to you and your colleagues!
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.
Wow, @Idris, that's quite a couple of days! Chapeau, as somebody already said.....
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@Idris, my God, what a job! I think most punters are completely unaware of what you actually do. Chapeau et merci!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Idris, Do you ever get feedback from the people you rescue, I don’t mean them personally but do you get a report from the hospital advising what the actual injuries were, I’m assuming no one will know for sure until X-ray.
Having been on the receiving end of an evacuation, all I can say is thanks for the great job you guys do.
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.
.
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Tue 2-01-24 20:39; edited 1 time in total
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
Jonny996 wrote:
@Idris, Do you ever get feedback from the people you rescue, I don’t mean them personally but do you get a report from the hospital advising what the actual injuries were, I’m assuming no one will know for sure until X-ray.
Having been on the receiving end of an evacuation, all I can say is thanks for the great job you guys do.
Yes.
A week or so ago we had at almost the end of day we had a snowborder catch an edge and slam to a stop on a hard surface next to one of the lifts.
She had all the signs of a broken pelvice and associated injuries. Full body imobilisation, helicopter evacuation to Sallanches Hospital etc.
We found out from her father the next day she had no broken bones or torn ligaments. But was suffciently bruised, bangged up that they were keeping her in for a seccond night!
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Thanks @Idris, we rely on your piste patrols being there.
Brother-in-law is out this week with a couple of over-confident teenagers, I am hoping they won't need your services!
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Idris wrote:
Jonny996 wrote:
@Idris, Do you ever get feedback from the people you rescue, I don’t mean them personally but do you get a report from the hospital advising what the actual injuries were, I’m assuming no one will know for sure until X-ray.
Having been on the receiving end of an evacuation, all I can say is thanks for the great job you guys do.
Yes.
A week or so ago we had at almost the end of day we had a snowborder catch an edge and slam to a stop on a hard surface next to one of the lifts.
She had all the signs of a broken pelvice and associated injuries. Full body imobilisation, helicopter evacuation to Sallanches Hospital etc.
We found out from her father the next day she had no broken bones or torn ligaments. But was suffciently bruised, bangged up that they were keeping her in for a seccond night!
The helicopter for this particular rescue. Watch closely for the deer in the first few sec!
If you ever wonderedd how a rescue sled gets back up the mountain, here is me taking my now empty sled up the Arpette 6 man chair to go back to base. When it is loaded, there is an aluminum cradle that clips into the Chair a bit like a giant version of the iso fix that child seats use in cars. With just enough room (on a 6 man chair) for me to squese in the end.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Clever! When you're not completely knackered from your day saving people, can you share how you got into this line of work please?
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Poster: A snowHead
