 Poster: A snowHead
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I realise the topic has been done to death but I was hoping someone could clarify as after a search i couldn't find any definite answers.
Winter sports
• Big-foot skiing, cross-country skiing, curling,
dog sledding, glacier skiing, ice skating,
off-piste skiing / snowboarding, mono-skiing,
skiing, recreational ski racing, ski touring
(including where ropes are involved for safety
reasons) snowboarding, snowparks,
snowshoeing, sledging, snow blading,
telemark and tobogganing.
Now looking at other posts there seems to be a large amount of uncertainty of just saying "off piste skiing" without giving any more details. Basically it seemed that people contacted SCGB and it turned out there were a load of get out clauses about avalanche risk and putting yourself in danger. The nearest i got to working things out was info on their cover in the US backcountry but i'm heading to Europe so wasn't sure of the differences. One person got some written confirmation about US but obviously the whole inbounds/out-of-bounds stuff doesn't really apply in Europe.
Basically i was hoping to get some confirmation on whether the off piste cover really is as comprehensive as implied by their winter sports definition.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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el nombre, I think you're covered as long as you don't do something really stupid and irresponsible.
Like for example:
1. Going off-piste when the black flag is flying.
3. Entering a closed area or run.
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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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Well that's kind of the problem, a lot of the posts are i heard this or i think that. I was hoping someone might have had some sort of official confirmation or something simililar like the person did with the US stuff.
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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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el nombre, best to ask the company directly then.
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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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Well yeah, that would seem like the obvious thing to do but there was also a lot of stuff about the call center people being pretty clueless which is also my experience when it comes to off piste specifics. One person had managed to get something actually on paper as proof of the cover. Unfortunately i've left it too late for anything like that.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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el nombre, You are right of course that the inbounds/outbounds does not have any relevance in Europe where at most you will see the boundary of the managed, patrolled area of a ski station marked. That in itself is not much of a help in defining off-piste since there will generally be off-piste within the managed area as well as everything outside it.
For what it worth, after some research, I settled on JS Insurance because I got a clear answer to my questions from someone who clearly knew what he was talking about unlike others who didn't even seem to know of the existence of avalanche risk categories.
1) All our policies cover emergency air ambulance and mountain rescue and is part of the medical cover for each policy.
2) Areas designated as unsafe by resort management refers to the areas in which the resort have indicated by no entry signs and roped off areas of the off piste areas.
3) The avalanche warning is 1 to 3 you are covered under our policy however beyond this rating you would not be covered by the policy and you should not attempt to ski off piste if the avalanche waring is 4 or 5 level of avalanche warning.
There will no doubt also be get-out clauses elsewhere in the policy to do with not putting my life needlessly at risk and so on which I expect are common to all policies. For example,if I go off-piste at level 3 and ski slopes which I should be able to recognise are likely to be unstable at that level, then I risk invalidating my cover.
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ccl, the problem with that is that one of the best days skiing I ever had was at Avvy level 4 in La Grave. At the start of the day the guide leading us explained the situation, gave us clear rules for the day, we skied safely and it was great. On your insurance I would have had to stand down for the day. As with the poster in that other thread, where you posted this previously, I'm much happier with the Direct Travel case-by-case common sense approach.
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Horses for courses, GrahamN. I wouldn't consider going off-piste with anyone at level 4 so the clarity of the JS reply suited me fine.
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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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Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Mon 25-01-10 20:49; edited 1 time in total
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Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Mon 25-01-10 20:49; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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That's my best stutter yet. Same posting four times
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Mon 25-01-10 20:50; edited 1 time in total
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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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| ccl wrote: |
| Horses for courses, GrahamN. I wouldn't consider going off-piste with anyone at level 4 so the clarity of the JS reply suited me fine. |
There are routes that can be taken even at level 4, of course. But caution is a personal thing and it does keep people out of the way for the rest of us.
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You know it makes sense.
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GrahamN, Direct-Travel has new owners, and recent dialogue with them, has left me somewhat rattled.
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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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| Quote: |
one of the best days skiing I ever had was at Avvy level 4 in La Grave.
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Last season it was 4 for about the first three weeks the lifts were open, nothing wrong with going off piste then IMO providing you are very careful and know what you're doing and the terrain you're on/near.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| ccl wrote: |
2) Areas designated as unsafe by resort management refers to the areas in which the resort have indicated by no entry signs and roped off areas of the off piste areas.
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hang on..
that isn't clear at all - as in most European resorts the off piste is marked with exactly that
like this
so I guess that actually means no off piste skiing in recognised off piste areas!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ed123, as you clearly know, those are not "no entry" signs, just signs indicating that you are entering a high mountain off-piste area, and should be taking appropriate precautions. And the ropes are to indicate the start of that area - they are not a "roped off area" preventing access, particularly as there's an entry point between the two signs.
snowbunny, yes, I followed that discussion, and got my own response to the off-piste question. I've put that answer on http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1444297#1444297
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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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GrahamN, I know that - but will the insurance pay! In Europe the entrance to most off piste- beyond rather than between the pistes is roped.
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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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GrahamN, I know that - but will the insurance pay! In Europe the entrance to most off piste- beyond rather than between the pistes is roped. So I don't see the policy as that clear.
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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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ed123, well, if we're really being nit-picky, then there's no problem as (if you can work out what's meant through the appalling English) "areas in which the resort have indicated by no entry signs and roped off areas" does not apply, and both the roping off and the no-entry signs are required for the area to be prohibited - and there are no no-entry signs here. NB there are an increasing number of permanent no-entry signs now appearing, particularly with reference to nature reserve areas - e.g. I noticed the other weekend that the trees below Retour Pendant are now out of bounds in Argentiere/Lavancher.
And back to the topic of the thread (as that wording was for a different insurer), noticed what the latest ad to appear on the site is?
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