Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Avalanche searching could be revolutionised by future European 'GPS' system

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
The rescue of avalanche victims could be quickened by a new system of 'geolocation', linked to the EU's future Galileo satellite network, under development in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

A buried victim's mobile phone could be located - to within a few centimetres - by a network of antennae sited on nearby mountain peaks. Ski patrols would use this intelligence to find avalanche survivors more quickly, during the critical minutes following burial and before a victim suffocates.

Galileo is intended to rival the existing American 'GPS' network currently used for global positioning.

This report from physorg.com.
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
As was pointed out when this was reported previously, by the time Ski Patrols get there, it is usually too late anyhow.

Successful avalanche rescues are usally carried out by the victims' party.

And that is even assuming the mobile phone signal can be picked up through possibly several feet of snow.
snow report
 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?
It's one thing I'm not confident enough as a skiier to have to worry about but it's definitely a worry in general.

Im doing a similar piece of research in my masters - the use of mobile phone technology for GEO-Location and know it can be done so excellent its being implemented in such an important, time sensitive way!
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Great! so we will get our buddies mobile phone back, assuming it was not smashed when it was ripped out their pocket during the avalanche

Tux
ski holidays
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Nice to see this back again. We had quite a good chat about it back here: http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=32991#788702
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
We had an even longer discussion about this here ......

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1363701&highlight=mobile+phone#1363701
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
It's interesting that neither of those threads - dated December 2007 and November 2009 - come up by searching with the keyword 'Galileo' (both threads include that word in their texts). All I got was this (from August 2008):

Masque wrote:
Pissing off the Pope . . . "Galileo, Reconsidered"
Nice article, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/26878714.html?imw=Y . . . filled in a few gaps for me but would really like to get my hands on a copy of the biography.
I do remember trying to wade my way through bits of "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" . . . To my shame I gave up Embarassed


Has something gone wrong with the snowHeads search function since I last used it?
snow report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Or am I searching with the wrong technology?
ski holidays
 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.
The Abominable snowHead wrote:
....Has something gone wrong with the snowHeads search function since I last used it?


Yes. admin and the mods haven't bothered about thread discipline resulting in a forum which is virtually unsearchable with its own search engine. However entering avalanche search galileo site:snowheads.com into Goole, searched all the active sections bar the likes of Apres, Le Chaudron, and the Pisteurs Hut, and produced this list.
ski holidays
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
achilles,
Quote:

a forum which is virtually unsearchable
Ah. I can scarcely ever find anything and thought it was just me being dim.
snow report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
The Abominable snowHead wrote:
Or am I searching with the wrong technology?


Yes David, you wanna search, use a search engine as Achilles says.
snow report
 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.
what's thread discipline and how does it help the search feature?
ski holidays
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Obviously, from my point of view, it's embarrassing to repeat a story which has already been covered on snowHeads. The new physorg.com piece - linked above - is good and seems to contain some new detail but an update of the previous items by elHen and stanton would have made more sense. Maybe stanton posted his thread this month because he was unaware of elHen's 2007 piece.

All in all, this is not a good situation. For three years I've been searching online archives going back nearly 200 years and finding thousands of items of remarkable material. This is the essence of research. There are all kinds of reasons why news reporting and journalism generally rely upon effective search techniques (which amounted to comprehensive cuttings files before the internet came along).

This site will become increasingly vulnerable to competition if it hasn't got its act together. Maybe time to look at subscription revenue to finance this sort of stuff, if cost is a factor.
ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
davidof wrote:
The Abominable snowHead wrote:
Or am I searching with the wrong technology?


Yes David, you wanna search, use a search engine as Achilles says.


It says "snowHeads Forum Index". In my stupidity I assumed this meant it was a search engine. It's an index ... but maybe it's not actually an index. Maybe it's 'Masque's Greatest Hits'.

snowHeads wrote:
snowHeads Forum Index
Please Note - because of the impact on overall site performance of certain large queries, some search results will actually be a reduced sub-set. Try to set more definitive terms using AND or 'Search for all terms'. If you think the wrong results have appeared please PM admin with an accurate description of the search you made.


I typed in the word "Galileo". Is that a "reduced sub-set"? Is it a "definitive term"?

Sometimes I think I'd rather be a goldfish
ski holidays
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
The Abominable snowHead, Was it you under a different name that introduced the concept of Avalanche cords to snowHeads?
snow report
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
The Abominable snowHead, What you missed was the radio button on teh right hanfd side of the Search Options, which has the choice of "Search topic title only" (the default), or "Search topic title and message text".

If you select the second option, it returns the previous threads on this subject. If you leave it to the first (default) option, it doesn't.
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
The Snowheads Search function is, I believe, doing a text search in the RDBMS that runs the site. This is is very heavy on resources as it has to be done in real time so certain short cuts are taken (as pointed out above). A search engine preindexes pages and has scope for applying a lot of other nice stuff like plural/singular matching, stop word removal on both queries and indexes etc. It is much faster to make searches so fuzzy matching of query terms can be applied.

Snowheads would possibly be better using Google Site Search rather than their own database search or even running a search engine like SOLR. However that is a question for the administrators of the site.

The Abominable snowHead wrote:
This site will become increasingly vulnerable to competition if it hasn't got its act together. Maybe time to look at subscription revenue to finance this sort of stuff, if cost is a factor.


Well any website is vulnerable to competition, they are only a click away after all but in the UK general ski space there is nothing to match it. However if you think it is vulnerable to competition set up your own forum and have a go.

The "funky" nature of forums like snowheads is often a large part of the appeal. It is not easy to duplicate that.
ski holidays
 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?
Boredsurfing wrote:
The Abominable snowHead, Was it you under a different name that introduced the concept of Avalanche cords to snowHeads?


Yes it was. I use this name to introduce (or rather not introduce) more advanced electronic concepts.

I still reckon that if I'm buried and there's a few feet of lightweight red cord sucessfully floating on the snow above me, then a bunch of confused and dazed people looking for me might find me very quickly. But I've found that the majority of geeks on this forum only believe in things that bleep or flash - things which cost substantially more than a few yards of red cord.

Wikipedia on avalanche cords:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalanche
Quote:
Using an avalanche cord is the oldest form of equipment — mainly used before beacons became available. The principle is simple. An approximately 10 meter long red cord (similar to parachute cord) is attached to the person in question's belt. While skiing, snowboarding, or walking the cord is dragged along behind the person. If the person gets buried in an avalanche, the light cord stays on top of the snow. Due to the color the cord is easily visible for rescue personnel. Typically the cord has iron markings every one meter that indicate the direction and length to the victim.


No, I didn't write that!
snow report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Boredsurfing, did you have a particular reason for winding him up?
ski holidays
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Nice trolling - yep transceivers are an international conspiracy to put off piste skiing out of reach of the humble working man or yeti and designed to send red cord manufacturers into penury. We're all agreed on that shirley?

Helmets?

Snow chains?

Boots in hand luggage?
latest report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
The Abominable snowHead, to clarify a little, any site not barred to Google may be searched by it thus: avalanche search galileo site:snowheads.com. For snowheads, though robots.txt allows all, I believe that some sections, such as Le Chaudron, and Apres are barred from such search. Even so, Google remains the best way of searching this forum.
snow conditions
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
The Abominable snowHead, yep - the search function sucks nearly as much as avalanche cords... wink

No need to be embarrassed at breaking old news as if it were new. Pretty standard journalistic practice. Probably qualify you for free membership of the NUJ. Wink

Anyway - it is really nice to see you back - but please let's not start the "how should snowHeads be funded/who owns it/should it be sold" stuff again. Not worth it because we don't get a say. We are all just prisoners here of our own device.
snow conditions
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
geeo wrote:
what's thread discipline and how does it help the search feature?


on some websites moderators will lock or merge duplicate threads. I think this is what is meant. It probably depends on resources available to the site.

On other websites they'll even delete stuff that conflicts with their commercial interests.
latest report
 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.
The things you have to suffer, Doc. I don't know how you cope.

Here's an update on the Lewes Avalanche, if you're after something searchable. The person who inhabits (stuffs) this yeti suit has been helping Viva Lewes with a little article on the subject for their December 09 edition:

http://www.vivalewes.com/handbook/hb_back_issues/39_dec.pdf

Scroll to pages 16+17 ... and maybe see you at the Snowdrop Inn (under spirited new ownership) on the 27 December. The three talks will probably be at 10am, approx 2/2.30 pm and about 6/6.30pm. Free entry, with a collection for the homeless persons' charity Shelter.

Merry Christmas!
snow report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
The Abominable snowHead, nice... Wasn't there going to be a full length book?

Odd place Lewes. Hampstead meets Hailsham .Had a very good Thai meal there after taking sprog no 1 to a guitar master class a few weeks ago.
latest report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
stoatsbrother wrote:
The Abominable snowHead, nice... Wasn't there going to be a full length book?


Patience (rhymes with patients). These things take time!
Admittedly, Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in three weeks. Maybe he was prescribed something.
ski holidays
 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.
While you are waiting The Snow Tourist has a chapter on it

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snow-Tourist-Charlie-English/dp/1846270634/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259853374&sr=8-2-spell&tag=amz07b-21

David Goldsmith reviews it here

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=49672
snow report
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Quote:

David Goldsmith reviews it here

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=49672

You mean The Abominable snowHead reviewed it here? Puzzled
snow conditions
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
No need to seek logic and clarity. Just take things at face value.
latest report
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
On that note (sic) can I offer you a fiver to stop inquiring about the relationship between these two individuals? The Abominable snowHead is a student at City University and is not to be confused with any other person, living or dead:

http://citynarratives.wordpress.com

For any lurking geeks, Peter Moore's blogroll may be of interest (see right of page)
ski holidays
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
stoatsbrother wrote:
Odd place Lewes


The same area of Lewes (Cliffe) that witnessed the 1836 avalanche experienced the UK's most serious flooding in the year 2000. Its bonfire society is probably the most formidable of the several rival bonfire societies which set the town ablaze every 5 November. Not bad for a sleepy little area of town next to a sluggish river.

Appearances can be deceptive!
snow conditions
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
The Abominable snowHead, The Cliffe mob always come over to our Bonfire (unless the 5th is a Saturday) but this year we had two of the others as well... Wonderfully pagan. Harveys is a decent brewery too.

Throw another Catholic on the fire old chap...
latest report
 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?
I think the Lewes local currency ...

... was inspired by the radicals of the Cliffe.
And the man pictured on the note is Tom Paine, one-time Lewesian whose pamphlet 'Rights of Man' (1791) is said to have inspired the American Revolution.

Not a lot of people snow that
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
The Abominable snowHead wrote:
On that note (sic) can I offer you a fiver to stop inquiring about the relationship between these two individuals? The Abominable snowHead is a student at City University and is not to be confused with any other person, living or dead:

http://citynarratives.wordpress.com

For any lurking geeks, Peter Moore's blogroll may be of interest (see right of page)

Collecting the fiver might be a bit of a hassle.

So go help yourself a pint (or send it to admin) on my behave. Laughing
snow report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy