 Poster: A snowHead
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A quick reminder as we approach the new season, from Mountain Tracks via Natives, of the dangers of off piste skiing/boarding and the basic precautions that should be taken.
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Backcountry Safety Code – Guidelines for staying safe in the backcountry.
Never ski alone – always ski in a group and always ensure that your goals are realistic and achievable by the whole group.
Before setting out ensure you have collected information about the weather, snow conditions and recent avalanche activity. Listen to the experts and ask for advice. If in doubt, don’t ski it.
Equip yourself properly. Always check that your bindings release properly and your other gear is in good order. Always ski with the essential safety gear: transceiver, shovel and probe.
Stay humble. Keep a sharp eye and ear out and heed your own instincts. Always ski within the limits of your ability.
Pick your route carefully & be prepared to handle changing situations – with other skiers and with the mountain and the conditions.
Remember that human factors are the most common cause of accidents on the mountain - fatigue, complacency, over-confidence, single-minded lust for powder. Listen to your gut and don’t take unnecessary risks.
Take a course in mountain & avalanche awareness and have the knowledge to understand the dangers and the courage to make the right decisions.
Never travel off-piste without adequate insurance. It is strongly recommended that you ski in the backcountry with a mountain guide. |
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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PG, very sensible advice, but I am somewhat dismayed that the specialist off-piste site pistehors.com is rather more casual in its advice. It certainly seems to suggest that going off alone is OK, even as an off-piste beginner (see section How Should I Start?)
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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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davidof is perhaps best responding to that point... PM him to ask his views?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I used to ski off piste alone quite a bit due to friends not being able to the silly things we do when we don't know any better
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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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PG, been lazy I'm afraid, and hoped davidof would spot my comment and respond. I will have to PM after all......
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Jonpim wrote: |
| PG, been lazy I'm afraid, and hoped davidof would spot my comment and respond. I will have to PM after all...... |
No need, I've just been away for a couple of weeks.
The bulk of the article you are thinking of is by Volo Shahshahani - one of the original extreme skiers. I will have to recheck my notes to see if there is a mistranslation on that point. There are some ski-tours that I know of which would be about as dangerous as a jog in the park but there are many, many more that are not or are not safe under certain conditions. A lot of resort based off-piste skiing is potentially dangerous as much of the safer skiing has been exploited for pistes.
When Volo got avalanched ten years ago I bet he was glad to have some mates to dig him out.
Thanks for pointing out this inconsistency which I will take a look at. I would suggest that most visitors to the mountains should ski or board with a guide, instructor or at least go with mates who really really do know what they are doing. The problem with mates is that they may be able to look after themselves but are they competent to analyse your abilities and help you? Not always.
To be fair to PisteHors, this is the main point:-
All routes included in this work are skied at the reader's own risk. If in doubt ski with a guide. Before setting out you should be familiar with avalanche and other off-piste risks. Inform yourself of the weather and snow conditions with the resort piste patrol or guides and leave a route plan and estimated time of return. Avalanches don't distinguish between expert and inexperienced skiers, each member of the group should carry a shovel, probe and avalanche transceiver and know how to use them,
Some of the route suggestions have come from friends, guides or locals and are included for completeness. The difficulty of an individual route can vary enormously with the current snow conditions so no specific guidance is included.
but we don't like to preach to much to people, just present what information we have about dangers. A tour around the news pages since 2000 should also give people an idea of the risks.
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davidof, thanks so much for your sensible and wise comments.
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| each member of the group should carry a shovel, probe and avalanche transceiver and know how to use them |
This statement made me think. I have often gone off-piste with a guide. We all have avalanche transceivers (and enjoy showing them off in the restaurant at lunchtime), BUT I have never learnt how to use them, and the only one with a shovel or probe has been the guide. If he gets wiped out, the rest of us are useless. Time for a rethink.
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| Jonpim wrote: |
davidof, thanks so much for your sensible and wise comments.
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| each member of the group should carry a shovel, probe and avalanche transceiver and know how to use them |
This statement made me think. I have often gone off-piste with a guide. We all have avalanche transceivers (and enjoy showing them off in the restaurant at lunchtime), BUT I have never learnt how to use them, and the only one with a shovel or probe has been the guide. If he gets wiped out, the rest of us are useless. Time for a rethink. |
Off-piste hoildays I have been on have included an early refresher of how to use an avalanche transceiver for finding burried bodies - well, buried transceivers, anyway. Gets tricky when you have to find more than one. The SCGB holiday I was on last season required us all to have shovels and probes - now I've got them, they will come along with me in future.
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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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Yes Nick, I think I going to have to get some too.
Presumably S&N is as good a place as any?
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speaking of transcievers, anyone care to recommend one?
From what I've read the DTS tracker seems the best one (digital) It's recommended for inexpierenced people, they claim that at one test a few years ago it was banned because it gave a too "unfair advantage"
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Jonpim, S+R is where I got mine. Don't do what I did, and buy the night before you fly out, the choice can be a bit limited - like only one shovel. I got Black Diamond for both items. The probe's fine. The shovel - well the comment was that it would be great to know one was being dug out by one, but not to carry it! Actually, it doesn't weigh much more than the average Ortovox, one, I think, particularly if one of the handle extensions is left behind. But over a long day, every gram less carried helps.
As ever, buying at a good resort might give you the best choice and price ... if you have the time.
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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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Diarmuid, I have used an original DTS Tracker for quite a few years now, and can highly recommend it based on numerous practice exercises (including finding multiple bodies). Previous to that I had used various Ortovox analogue models which were good, but the Tracker beat them every time. I haven't tried other makes of digital I'm afraid so can't offer an opinion on them.
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[quote="Nick ZotovThe shovel - well the comment was that it would be great to know one was being dug out by one, but not to carry it! ...[/quote]
Hmm.. I might get to work on my shovel!
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You know it makes sense.
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| Hmm.. I might get to work on my shovel! |
would have been nice to see how much weight they saved with that. I'd imagine it must be around 5-10%. Worth it? 
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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davidof, thank you again for comments that are based on real life experiences.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I think the Tracker DTS is a sound choice. There is a new model for 2004/5 which is smaller and has some other improvements. Either ask for a discount for the old model or get this one. Nic-Impex also have a new dual antenna beacon coming out in November... I should be getting one on loan for next season to test and will let you know what I think.
I assume that guides who ski with clients who only have beacons and no shovel or probe are extremely conservative in their route choice.
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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 saw the Tracker DTS in a TV documentary a couple of years ago & it looked really good - I think it was still experimental then. What about compatibility though?
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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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No problems that I'm aware of easiski, and welcome back 
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| easiski wrote: |
| I saw the Tracker DTS in a TV documentary a couple of years ago & it looked really good - I think it was still experimental then. What about compatibility though? |
Compatibility is a good question, surprisingly as all tranceivers should interoperate. The Tracker DTS was released in 1997 so is pretty well tested now. They are offering a 5 year guarantee from this season so it is a solid device.
Regarding compatibility... the original (and I think current) Trackers have quite a wide bandwidth around the 457KHz center point. Without checking I believe the original Trackers had a preference for other Trackers in multiple victim burials but this has since been corrected and they will now lock on to the closest beacon. The wide bandwidth means that they will still lock on to beacons whose frequency has drifted (you should get your beacon checked every 4 years) but this is at the expense of range. There is a detailed presentation of the Tracker DTS technology in one of the ISSW papers from the 1998 conference.
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FAQ
