 Poster: A snowHead
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So, I have done a couple of off piste lessons including some stuff in Engelberg, eg Laub.
I wanted to do either an off piste week or a mountaineering introduction and am not sure which.
Would my level be enough for mountaineering introduction courses (fine on blacks, yellows, some off piste I struggle with but there's always the stem turn)
Thinking of doing some of the mountain tracks stuff.
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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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UCPA courses? I'm signed up for the Argentiere Freeride at the end of this month. Apparently they usually have a number of off-piste groups at each centre and split the groups up by skiing standard so you should find a level suitable for you.
http://www.action-outdoors.co.uk/activity_skioffpiste.aspx
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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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depends what you think you would enjoy most
there are plenty of ski mountaineers who are ex-mountaineers and view ski lessons as a bit of a waste of time (and are therefore pretty rubbish as skiing). so your level is fine to get started but the better skier you are the more options open up for you
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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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I have about 50 days under my belt but I skied when I was a kid so learn things much quicker or so the instructors say.
My limited off piste experience includes:
Engelberg
Vallee Blanche
Now, the time I did Vallee Blanche it was cruddy in most places. I struggled a bit on my 72mm wide skis and my technique off piste definitely didn't help, so I'd like to improve this or just practice more and I think a week would be ideal. Maybe do some off piste performance and then do a try out of some touring in May. I should really try touring for 1 or 2 days first to see if I like it at all...
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a lot of off piste weeks will include a bit of use of touring kit (esp ones which are run by guides rather than instructors, although that is just a rule of thumb) so you can dip your toe with skinning from an hour or so from a lift to see whether you like it. no need to dive straight into skinning 2000m vertical, starting at 5am! not that i have ever done that - it would probably kill me!
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Warren Smith do one but it seems a bit of a mish mash of everything: carving effectively on piste, variable and free ride skiing and also zip line mogul skiing.
Dunno whether it's better to do that or specifically off piste.
All my last 5 lessons on piste have been repetitions of each other, carving, concentrating on keeping feet together and doing over and over, nothing particularly new, just practice so I felt they were a bit wasted (not entirely of course)...but...
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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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GordonFreeman, 50 days doesn't sound a lot for this kind of off-piste, but if you skied as a kid then you'll probably have a good essential balance and be better than that would indicate (you always look more natural than those of us who only started well into adulthood). For getting into adventurous off-piste I can thoroughly recommend www.snoworks.co.uk - their Backcountry courses. I'd done a bit of off-piste before I went with them (including the Haute Route), but they made a major advancement to my skiing. Their course is one day freeskiing and 5 tutored days, half of which is instruction and half of which is guided stuff. The concentration is very much on the skiing though, and mountaineering is not on the agenda. Get fairly adventurous for the top two levels (5&6 on their scale) - couloirs etc.. They normally have four of those weeks per year - two in St Anton and two in Gressoney (this year it was one in Gressoney and one in Verbier). Would often have one of those days as either a ski-tour or (in Gressoney) maybe a heli-ski.
Also in St Anton this year I had a great week with www.pistetopowder.com. Depending on the group level you'll have a varying mix of instruction and guiding. Some times they skitour, but the week I was there there was plenty of available snow so no need for more than a bit of a hike. You can book up for individual days with them, rather than having to commit to a full week, and they run throughout the season (although the boss-man Graham is now in Norway - where I'll be in a week's time  ). My limited experience (in their top group that week, level 3/4) is that they physically push you quite a bit harder than Snoworks.
Neither of the above is mountaineering. AIUI the Eagles Ski Club is where you'll find a more mountaineer's bias - they have intro to ski mountaineering weeks, and Arno is one of their leaders. I have no experience of Mountain Tracks or OffPiste Skiing, but have certainly heard Nick Parks' name quite a lot.
Re your Warren Smith comments (and I've not skied with them either), I think the best way of learning off-piste is to have specific off-piste lessons, then get back on-piste to work on technical issues that experience will reveal, then get back off again to check out what improvements have been made. There are major differences in tactics and emphasis between off-piste and on- (e.g. pure carving much more relevant to on piste, pressure turns much more relvant to off-), but the same principles of balance and control apply to both. My off-piste skiing has improved hugely as I've made major changed to my on-piste skiing.
Looking back at my records, I had my first experience of a ski tour around my 80th day on snow, on an SCGB Easter weekend in Chamonix (silver/purple standard, late April that year), as the snow was pretty horrible within reach of lifts. I'd had probably only a week of 'proper' off-piste by then and it was a bit of a struggle - you tend to get some pretty challenging snow that late in the season. It was great fun but hard work - but I wished I could have handled the conditions better. Sounds like you're about there.
If you're keen on getting dirty with the mountains, how about week long off-piste skiing courses while there's snow around, and try the mountaineering stuff during the summer - which can also be done during weekends in the UK. That way you get the best of both worlds.
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Would you thin k 5 full days off piste is better/worse than 5 half days?
I guess you'll b e skiing the whole day anyway but a whole day of lessons/guiding might be too much. Just trying to guage prices between the different operators.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Definitely go for full days. A half-day is too short to do a lot of the best off-piste missions.
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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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http://www.mcnabsnowsports.com/ have started doing skiing Intro Backcountry course. Because its in Chamonix you get a good mix of BC, Glacier travel and basic mountaineering skills thrown in.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Hi,
My recent experience suggest that technical skiing ability is more important that speed. On a recent touring trip there was not a huge amount of skiing but the important bit was tree skiing with an overnight pack on. If your a taking a course you are likely to spend more time learning about the kit and how to climb etc. rather than actual skiing so I am sure your skill level will be fine.
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there are plenty of ski mountaineers who are ex-mountaineers and view ski lessons as a bit of a waste of time (and are therefore pretty rubbish as skiing).
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Very true...
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