 Poster: A snowHead
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So there I was skiing down a piste in Courchevel (Combe de Pylones) it was all but a white out, There was masses of fresh but heavy snow on the piste and very hard work. Agroup of 3 were just in front of me, Iwas using them as a reference for steepness and where the actual piste was. After a short while I went ahead on the "Peloton" principle,
however they then left me to do all the work, no matter how long I stopped for they just hung back. Was I naive to expect a shared workload?
Just to give some idea of the visibility the first time I came up in the lift from Meribel I had turned the wrong way and ended up heading back down to the Meribel Valley! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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PsychoBabble, I'd have done the same as they did - you were obviously looking thoroughly reliable!
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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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pam w, proverbial bag of spanners technique was employed throughout, they may well have been following the trail Iwas leaving behind (I gather brown shows up well). 
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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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yeah..take it as a compliment. They could have said thanks tho...
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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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I remember a huge swathe of snowHeads coming back to VT from Orelle and being hit with a whiteout. There was a whole mixture of abilities. Some wise old sages got us together and suggested we split into smaller groups, had someone experienced at the front the same as a tail gunner. It was often not possible to see from pole to pole but the advice was excellent, we stopped every 100-150 metres and we all quite enjoyed the team building experience.
(I think JT, was one of the wise ones)
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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 was skiing with a group up on Glacier 3000 a few winters ago when we skied into the worst whiteout I have ever been in. Couldn't see a thing, the kids were instructed to shout if anything happened and we had to constantly stop to make sure we were all there. By the time we got to the lift at the bottom my group had almost doubled in size, as people kept joining onto the back of my group in the hope I knew where I was going. We also found my boss of the time, lost, disorientated and in pain from falling off a ledge at the side of the piste. The worst part was to come though, ensuring a bunch of beginners on their first weeks skiing made it back up a t-bar (one of the longest in Europe) in zero visibility. Luckily we all made it back into the beautiful sunshine at the top and didn't go back down that particular run again that day.
PsychoBabble, it is so much easier to follow someone else in those conditions, they can see if you fall down any drops/hit any bumps and avoid accordingly, but still, you should take it as a compliment because if you chose a bad route then I'm sure they wouldn't have followed you.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
(I think JT, was one of the wise ones) |
That's when you know you're really doomed 
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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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To be honest with you I'd rather lead the way myself. I'll look after my gf and any others in my party but don't like hangers on. Should be able to look after themselves. Just trust your feet I got told on my first ever ski trip when visibility vanished. I actuallyquite enjoy it, that eerie sense of alone-ness! A photographic memory for piste maps and pistes helps too!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Freddie Paellahead, told you "bag of spanners", guess my hangers on were too inexperienced to tell my level, see topic on "real" ski ability. Deffo not snowheads!
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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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hmmm, not sure I woudl follow anyone if I didn;t know them or their ability, they could be leading you anywhere. In big white this year MrHL and I got separated and I had to make my own way down. I came across a group of people who were pretty clueless, I decided to watch them to see, as someone else said, whether there were any drops or bumps, I also had a pretty good idea where I was. I just went slowly and eventually the piste rejoined the one Mr HL had gone down and the weather lifted enough so I coudl see him. Interestingly I wan't scared (first time ever in a white out) and felt quite chuffed with myself.
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holidayloverxx, very good point. There is the story (I presume apocryphal) of the skier who was lost, he spotted another skier who suddenly stopped, unpacked his paraglider and launched himself off a cliff  So never follow anyone with a really big backpack!
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