 Poster: A snowHead
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There was an interesting article in the Telegraph's Saturday Travel section this weekend about off-piste skiing and a course on surviving the dangers associated with treking away from the groomed slopes.
The brother of Herve Favre (who owns Evo2 in Tignes), Aime, has set up something called SPOT in Val Claret, where a lift serves an un-pisted black run that is set up to deliver off-piste conditions within a marked area that has been declared safe from avalanches. Amongst other things, the correct use of avalanche receivers is taught.
Anything that better prepares people to cope with the unexpected has to be a good idea, especially when one considers:
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| In some areas this (a recent survey) showed that as few as four per cent of skiers were carrying even the most basic safety equipment - a transceiver to help find them if they are buried in an avalanche. The highest result in the spot checks was just 25 per cent. |
Herve Favre states in the article:
| Quote: |
| a decade ago, only about 10 per cent of skiers on his (Herve's) off-piste courses were British. Now it is half. British skiers are getting better, they are also getting more adventurous. They are also getting into trouble. One British skier was killed in Tignes last year, another pulled alive from the snow after an avalanche. |
The full article from The Telegraph is available if you click here
The SPOT course sounds like a great idea, and I for one would certainly consider it. Does anyone else have experience of anything similar?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A buddy and me did a transciever training organised by the pisteurs of Tignes. Took 1-2 hours and was free. The SPOT thing is more in-depth i think. You can read about it on the tignes website.
Don't forget about http://www.henrysavalanchetalk.com/
Rogier
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Not a bad article as far as it goes. Again there is too much emphasis on the magic trio of transceiver, shovel and probe but last years stats for France should make people think about this. 17% of people were recovered alive from avalanches not wearing a transceiver and this figure rose to 42% for those people wearing a transceiver (I'm grateful to Fred Jarry of the ANENA who collected and made this information available). So you still have a better than evens chance of being killed by an avalanche. Okay last year was perhaps unusual just as this year is proving to be with only 1 avy death so far for France. Again the big driver is the weather.
The 90% figure of people being alive after a slide comes to a halt from research by the SLF but both more recent US work and the SLF's Werner Munter think that around 30% of avy victims are killed by the slide itself. It could be that transceiver wearers are taking on more risk these days - skiing more dangerous routes - Bruce Tremper suggest this as a reason.
Transceiver, shovel and probe are important tools. Particuarly for British skiers who often ski with guides or instructors off-piste. For people going it alone evaluating safer route options and knowing when to stay on-piste are just as important skills.
Regarding last years figures. There were 6 victims of avalanches in the Espace Killy not 5 of a total of 10 off-piste ski and snowboard avalanche fatalities. There were 26 avalanche deaths in total for France but falls probably present as great a danger to people going off-piste, particuarly at the moment where there are some very icy conditions early in the day and on northern slopes.
Tignes are doing a lot for safety at the moment with some interesting initiatives. The SPOT and also an avalanche beeper training area, one of the first in France (la Grave and Chamrousse also have such circuits).
It doesn't surprise me that there are some excellent British skiers in Val d'Isère and Tignes. Val is pretty much a little England, full of well heeled Brits and less well heeled ski bums who invest a huge amount of time in improving their skiing and boarding. As with Cham. and la Grave the level is very good.
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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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| davidof wrote: |
| Val is pretty much a little England, full of well heeled Brits.... |
Met a British Val d'Isère resident of some thirty years on the piste 'G' last Thursday - we were both taking photos of the FIS superG. We got on to the subject of Tignes, to which the reply was that he hadn't been there for years, "one tends to be a bit parochial, you know". I foolishly mentioned Les Arcs, which he thought was "a bit long", and when he was last there (in the 80s) it had reminded him of "a set from the Prisoner". 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| PG wrote: |
| ......mentioned Les Arcs......., when he was last there (in the 80s) it had reminded him of "a set from the Prisoner". |
I actually like the look of Arc 1800, and like the car free (or even care free!) ambience......However, it in no way resembles the magical village/folly of Port Meirion where the outside shots for 'The Prisoner' were shot.
Maybe he meant the set of (the) 'Prisoner.......Cell Block H'?!
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| Hywel wrote: |
Maybe he meant the set of (the) 'Prisoner.......Cell Block H'?! |
arf, very good. I too like the architecture of Arc 1800. It is quite well hidden by the trees from above and the appartments are nice to stay in when it is sunny. I only wish I'd bought one when they were 25K a few years back.
The people who stick just to Vdi are missing out on a lot of good skiing on the Tignes side, both on and off-piste but maybe they are there for different reasons - views, restaurants, fresh air etc.
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