 Poster: A snowHead
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We're going to Whistler for Christmas and New Year and want to do lots of off piste.
We have been messing about off piste since last year, so I wouldn't say we are experienced, however we had the best fun of our lives following ski tracks where they shouldn't go off piste and wanted to take it to the next level of being shown where the exciting stuff can be found - I'm not talking about really extreme skiing down steep chutes that'll scare the cr@p out of us or walking for miles and being knackered before we even get to ski.
We want to get enough awareness of snow conditions, weather conditions, avalanche training etc, but not so we are doing that stuff all the time and no skiing.
There are definitely two of us, possibly 3 or even 5, depending if our friends have the inclination and guts to do it with us (and money probably has a factor in all this)
Please can you point out the best courses, ski schools etc either that we are part of a bigger group, or we can get it tailored to suit us just as cost effective.
looking at 3 - 5 days.
thanks in advance
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Are you aware of the differences between "in bounds" in the US/Canada and off piste in Europe??
If it were me I'd use my time in Whistler to ski as much in bounds powder as possible, and get an instruction course booked in Europe........thus maximising my time in Whistler...
regards,
Greg
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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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Extremely Canadian will do yer. The Dave Murray lot as well if it's puking.
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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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BTW there is essentially only one Ski School in Whistler, marketed in many different ways.
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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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Escape route run backcountry courses IIRC - if its just about off piste skiing without necessarily the heavy safety tuition element then Extremely Canadian or Veeight's supergroups fit the bill.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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innerspaceservices - the ski school run avalanche awareness courses and also run "backcountry taster sessions"...
...but, frankly, I'm with the guys - everything within the boundary of the ski area (usually marked by a rope) is "in bounds" and will be avalanche controlled. This will include the pistes and the "off-piste" (unlike Europe).
This won't take away terrain hazards (rocks, drops, fences, trees, sleeping bears...) - but it largely takes away the need to worry about avalanche risk. (There's always a risk - but it's very small.)
The only thing to watch is that some areas within the ski area boundary are marked as "out of bounds" - this will be where there's a terrain hazard that's hard to spot until you're on top of it, or because there's a significant danger of causing an avalanche onto a piste below (despite them avalanche controlling it).
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| Quote: |
However, the Dave Murray camp only ski on Whistler mountain. If you want to ski lessons on Blackcomb, you'd need to do a supergroup lesson/Extremely Canadian/Ski Esprit lessons
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Not true: My DM camp last year skied on Blackcomb (up Spankys and down the glacier) as well as on Whistler.
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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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| snowy wrote: |
However, the Dave Murray camp only ski on Whistler mountain
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Yes, we've been on 'excursions' to Blackcomb too, once with Dr Death. 
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| Acacia wrote: |
| My DM camp last year skied on Blackcomb (up Spankys and down the glacier) as well as on Whistler. |
Which coach did you have? I gather no one was bothered about skiing the race course? I always end up with race addicts in my class. I'm always last in the race personally - scares me to death even after taking about 15 camps...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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| fatbob wrote: |
| Escape route run backcountry courses IIRC - if its just about off piste skiing without necessarily the heavy safety tuition element then Extremely Canadian or Veeight's supergroups fit the bill. |
Its Whistler Alpine Guides Bureau (www.whistlerguides.com/) which is in the Escape Route shop.
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innerspaceservices, sorry to hijack your thread, but we are also there over Christmas and New Year and have booked on the Dave Murray camp starting on the 27th? - send me a PM if you want to meet up
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You know it makes sense.
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Snowy,
I had Tom Pro. - We couldn't do any gates because the Canadian Championships were being held at the time. We did get to see Eric Guay win the DH, though.
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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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Having done a few DM camps at Whistler the above comments mirror my experience which is that although it is marketed to an extent as a "racing" camp, in fact you can end up doing very little (or no) time on the race track especially if (1) the snow elsewhere is good and (2) someone else is on the race track who has priority eg real racers. My expereince there is uniformly excellent and I plan another camp in January 08. Based on my experience I cant see how anyone who is prepared to learn cannot come out a better skier than they went in.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
(1) the snow elsewhere is good
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Just to clarify - if there was a dump overnight, there are 2 (main) reasons why DM stays out of the gates, firstly, the opportunity to ski powder and explore off the groomers is too good to miss, plus this will challenge your skiing, learning and balance etc. much more than being in the gates, and secondly, much more importantly, the risks and dangers of injury in gate skiing in new/heavy/deep snow is greatly increased, so to keep everyone safe gate training is usually cancelled.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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veeeight, what's your view on carrying avi gear for inbound skiing?
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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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Speaking of WB in particular, in the last 5 years, we've only had around 2 major unexpected releases (and those were down to selfish/stupid skiers/snowboarders traversing in a permenantly closed area, and triggering a release which affected skiers lower down) - Class 2, one incident resulted in a broken femur.
So - in bounds, the risk is low, I personally never have carried any avi gear inbounds at WB, and I spend most (over 80%) of my time off piste.
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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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something else to add to the list of gear in the avalanche kit
pocket tissues
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FAQ
(and they do apres and give away prizes!) They always take you to the best bits to ski on.
