 Poster: A snowHead
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Just seen a thread on Intrawest setting up in Bruson, reminded me of probably the scariest incident I have had whilst out skiing.
It was February 1999, we were in Verbier, arrived on the Sunday and it did not stop snowing for 3 days. It was the week of the terrible avalanche in Galtur and most of the Alps had been dumped on big time!!. Quite rightly Tele-Verbier did not have any lifts open at all except the telecabine down to La Chable – the itinery route got a bit boring after a few hundred runs, I can tell you.
Eventually Tele-Verbier opened up Bruson - I think it was the Thursday morning, no lifts open first thing in Verbier still. So we bused it down and up to Bruson, paid our 30CHF and got on the time challenged chair, which was I have to say at the base of a winter paradise after all that snow had fallen.
After queuing for some time I eventually got on the chair with another skier and off we went. The scenery was just fabulous the chair cut its way up through the pine forest that was literally dripping in loads of fresh snow.
Suddenly up ahead of us to the right there was an almighty crack and we watched in horror as a huge pine tree no more than 100 meters from us started to topple towards the chair lift, the weight of the snow on it’s branches causing it’s demise. It took at least one other tree with it and crashed across the power line that ran alongside the lift. It missed the chair lift and cable by a whisker, just some outer branches actually brushed the lift but it made us dance around considerably for some time. More worryingly it severed the power line, so the chair stopped, and proceeded to whip around in the air out of control for what seemed minutes, but was probably just a few seconds.
So we sat there thinking what would have happened if the power cable had hit the chair lift system or if the tree had derailed the cable. It was a very scary moment or two and certainly warranted getting the hip flask out and sharing it with my companion on the chair.
To finish the story:
We sat motionless for 10 to 15 minutes, the two boarders on the chair in front had quite conveniently stopped over a large snow covered mound. They just lifted the bar and dropped about 2m into the snow. We, however, were far too far off the ground to consider taking the plunge.
Eventually the chair was moved backwards very slowly, I guess they had an auxiliary motor as a backup, and we were brought back to safety after ¾ of an hour or so.
We were given our lift pass fee back and decided to ski back down to La Chable across roads, gardens and fields. By the time we got back to Verbier they had opened a few lifts so the day did have a good ending.
Hope I haven’t bored you with this, if you have a scary skiing related tale to tell then please share it – we may learn something from the experience you had. 
CP
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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CP, all I can say is I scare much more readily than you 
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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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Reminds me of a day in Verbier a few years ago, a group of 4 of us got lost and dis-orientated in some low fog which suddenly came down. In the murk we could see a sign on a rope and some poles in the distance we polled across to it believing it to be the piste.
The sign said Beware avalanche area!
As silent panic set in we did an about turn and as a group became more scared as the fog thickened, and then as we pushed in silence back the way we came, we heard Dutch voices in the distance saying that they had found the piste! They had been as lost as us, but had found a piste marker! We joined them and skiied back down going from one marker to the next.
Never was a mountain restaurant at the foot of a piste such a welcoming site!
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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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A guided route down from the Col du Lys through the glacier down to Stafal, the weather was warm and the snow very changable. One of two steep pitches onto rocks which would make a fall very dangerous - we weren't allowed to ski it and in view of the rock exposure this was prudent - but we had to cross the glacier from one side to another. The guide went first on a rope whilst we positioned ourselves above the rocky outbreak and we could hear the hollow sound our skis made over the crevassed terrain. Initially we couldn't stand close together so as to spare the weight distribution but we ended up standing on some rocks whilst the others inched forward. They got over with a few nerves and me and my buddy had to cross unroped.
The guide was concerend that the ice bridges would not be stable enough - hence the rope - but then we skied over after their safe passge very gingerly and one at a time.
Not really a scary time as per CP's adventure but it concentrated the mind well enough at the time. When we got to the bottom of the glacier the snow was like wet concrete upto the knee - impossible to ski unless with the most basic of turns. This just confirmed how warm it was and how the conditions could make a relatively easy excusion turn to a really bad adventure
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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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CP, Wow! Good story, happy ending!
I'll try and be concise...
Heli-skiing a few years back, temperature had risen, guides cautious and nervous. Couple of non-eventual slips had gone past. Snow pretty pants so no-one whooping it up.
Guide says "avoid the pitch to the right, stay well left, see you just above the trees". We follow. We assemble. He's unusually quiet.
"I will ski a line. Do not go right of it. Don't waste time. For once we're not here to have fun. When I stop, you stop. Let's go."
He skis off. We follow. Pack man (last man/girl down carrying 2nd set of emergency kit) takes an unusual time of it, but appears.
"What happened?"
"Man, just as you guys left the whole damn slope slid. I was left 8 feet above the ground on where the snowpack broke. Had to take my skis off, climb to ground then walk the rest of the way down the pitch."
Restaurant that night, question to guide, "were you scared?"
Response, (and this from a heli guide of 20 years experience...), "I have never been so (conciously) close to an avalanche in my life...". He could see it coming once he was in it but by that point there was little to do but bug out asap. Totally not his fault and a salutary warning...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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After a long boozy and very expensive lunch somewhere above Zermatt, I discovered I didn't have my wallet. Now thats scary
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ive had a few scary moment underwater a few in norway when an ice hole collasped... nothing scary about skiing though 
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Ken Lingwood, I have had one of those as well. Last February I left my rucsack that contained, my wallet, our passports and mars bars ( very important ), in a restaurant at La Rosiere after stopping for a late morning hot chocolate. I had the slowest chair lift ride followed by the fastest downhill run of my life, and to my relief it was still there on the seat.
CP
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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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Flaine, weekend, first time visit.
Got to the top...skied along the ridge for about 400 yards when down it came....total white out, and fog out too.
I mean you couldn't see your own feet!
My wife and I just inched along trying to find a piste-pole, a lift, a person...anything! The only thing I knew about where we were was that according to the lift map there were cliffs to our left that we had to ski past before we took a piste to the left.
It was cold too, really cold with that kind of wet cold that you get with fog...and the fear cold you get with fear.
We found a red pole marking the side of the piste and relayed down to the next pole: one stands still while one goes to the limit of visibility and stops, the previous standing one goes past to the limit of visibilty and so on.
After a few minutes we met somebody else...but he was alone and even more lost than us! A french bloke, very new skier, also never been to Flaine before and only wearing denim jeans and a denim jacket. No hat, no goggles, no gloves! He was in a bad way!
Lucky for him I had a spare pair of gloves and a spare hat (I had reverted to my "emergency" balaclava...not cool, but necessary!).
I lent him the gloves and hat and together we continued to inch our way down.
After a while...THANK GOD!...we found a ski class with a teacher. We latched on to them, stopping when they stopped etc etc.
The class were English.
This went on for a while and then one of the class told started to complain about us, and before you know it they are all at it! "You lot should go away, you havn't paid for this class, we have. Why should you get the benefit of our teacher when you havn't paid. Go on, bug-off!"
Nice!
Needless to say we did not bug-off until we found a restaurant...never was a cup of hot choccie more welcome.
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There's a theme here, isn't there - inclement weather. Unfortunately, for there to be snow underfoot it must have fallen from above!
Scariest experience for me was also Flaine. Eldest son was 11 and we went off together up the chair out of the Flaine bowl towards les Carroz. It kept stopping on the way up - the reason became evident only as we started to emerge from the sun-filled bowl into a blizzard. What was scarey was that I was responsible for bringing my child into this and the only way out was to ski back down. The initial pitch had such a strong cross-wind that I was able to ski uphill (That is true, I am not exagerating) and then it was straight in our faces until we were getting back down into the bowl. I tried to ski slowly in front of him to give him shelter but felt an absolutely awful parent.
Luckily it was not the last day and he was able to get some love of snow back - and needless to say he now skis better than me.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My scariest moment was the drive upto passo tonale in January 2001. We arrived and there was absolutely no snow!!!!!!!
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