Backcountry Skiing and Snowboarding

Avalanche warning with warm temperatures

2012-05-09T22:31:00Z

The rescue services have warned ski tourers to take care over the next few days with renewed warm temperatures in the mountains. There is a lot of snow at altitude and there have been a couple of recent incidents with reports of slabs, particuarly in the Ecrins region.

Carnage in the Canyon

2012-03-29T13:05:00Z

On the 13th November 2011 two skiers traversed the mid-cirque of Peruvian Gulch at Snowbird to reach the Gad Valley ridgeline, remotely triggering a 60 cm deep, 200 meter wide avalanche that covered their boot tracks below. They may not have even seen this slide in the low cloud and poor visibility.

Clipping into skis and board they skied the ridgeline then stopped. The skiers were above the south chute, a steep, rocky and tree lined couloir that drops 350 meters into Gad Valley. The first skier made three turns then - game over.

Prosecutor wants 5 year ban for ESF instructors

2012-03-20T10:01:00Z

Two ski instructors from the Ecole du Ski Français are threatened with a 5 year ban and suspended prison sentences in a manslaughter trial at Albertville court this week. Readers of PisteHors will remember the avalanche on the 31st December 2009 in Orelle which cost the life of a client, buried for 15 minutes by an avalanche while skiing off piste.

photo: kees wolthoorn

Review of the 2011/2012 Snow and Avalanche Conditions

2012-03-18T17:27:00Z

Winter 2011/12 will be remembered as cold and snowy in France, at least in an arc stretching from the Vosges in the North to the Hautes-Alpes in the south. A two week freeze February saw the coldest temperatures since 1986. Strong northerly winds made the situation worse, freezing central heating pipes and diesel and leaving hundreds of motorists stranded. However the cold was bracketed by warm, but snowy, weather.

An avalanche on the Vallée Blanche

2012-02-28T12:32:00Z

When skiing the normal route of the Vallée Blanche we tend to focus on the high mountain dangers, a fall from the ridge or a crevasse, rather then avalanches. At 12h30 on Saturday the rail line that links Chamonix to the Mer de Glace was blocked by a slide. An inconvenience for 100 passengers who had to be airlifted from Montenvers but a drama was unfolding lower down for a number of skiers descending the classic Vallée Blanche route. An account of the events by Bruno and posted on his website

Avalanche on forest trail - library photo

Rowdy airbag save caught on film.

2012-02-03T03:55:00Z

A videographer at an unsanctioned snowboard freeride event captured some provocative footage last weekend of an avalanche airbag in action:

Spain authorizes heliskiing

2012-01-25T08:49:00Z

If you enjoy the peace, quiet and savage beauty of the mountains then the Val d’Aran is somewhere to cross off you list this winter. However if you like shreddin’ the gnar and don’t care too much how then Spain could be a new destination. The Catalonian government has just authorized heliskiing in the area. Two companies will be running trips Pyrenees Heliskiing and TAF Helicopters.

Photo: Pyrenees Heliskiing

6 Deaths in a week in the French Pyrenees

2012-01-18T17:15:00Z

The avalanche conditions may be some of the most stable we’ve known in a generation but that’s not the only danger in the mountains in winter. As we mentioned in the January Snow Conditions Thread the other side of the coin is frequently hard or icy snow. In the Pyrenees there have been 6 deaths in a week as winter sports enthusiasts have lost their footing in the mountains.

That’s what I call a rain crust!

Best Christmas snow of the century

2012-01-01T21:56:00Z

The season may have started late in the French Northern Alps (the 7th of December to be exact) but Christmas looks like being the best since 1999 in terms of quality and quantity of snow. As we start the new year there are above average snow depths from the Vercors (1600 meters) in the south to the Bellecote (3000 meters) in the north of the Savoie. At Bourg St Maurice (900 meters) there was nearly a meter of snow on the ground on New Year’s eve. At the ski resort of Valloire (1400 meters) in the Maurienne there is 170cm at the bottom of the pistes.

Spring snow in the Chartreuse at 1600m

Christmas movies

2011-12-24T23:15:00Z

Here’s wishing everyone a happy and safe Christmas with a couple of films of how it used to be back in the 1970s. Long skis, spandex pants, and lots of facial hair.

Ski Sauvage - Les Grands Montets dans les 70s

Piste patroller killed by avalanche charge

2011-12-24T11:20:00Z

A 54 year old piste patroller has been killed in Klosters during avalanche control work. The patroller and his colleague had loaded a launch pipe with an 8.3cm rocket. The patroller was in the process of removing 2 safety devices when the charge exploded without warning. Standing behind the device the patroller was killed by the recoil and by shrapnel from the charge. The accident follows a another incident on the 18th December at Flégère in the Haute-Savoie. In this case the charge exploded inside an avalancheur system injuring two piste patrollers. Note: See comment from Philippe Laborde from LaCroix below

This is my winter

2011-12-12T06:46:00Z

Here’s something to get everyone in the mood now the snow has arrived....

THIS IS MY WINTER (full movie english) from TimeLine Film on Vimeo.

Ski Resorts Open 10/12/2011

2011-12-07T01:09:00Z

France

Courchevel, Tignes, Val d’Isère, Val Thorens, Bessans (ski de fond), Les Arcs, Avoriaz (80% open), Chamonix/Grands Montets, Châtel, Flaine, Les Menuires, Méribel, Montriond, Orelle, Peisey-Vallandry, La Plagne, La Tania, Valloire, grand Bornand (Ski de Fond), La Clusaz: Balme, Beauregard and Manigod.

Les Deux Alpes, l’Alpe d’Huez, Chamrousse (subject to conditions), les Sept Laux (decision Thursday)

Puigmal, Serre Chevalier

Spain
Vallter, Val de Nuria

Switzerland

Grimentz, Veysonnaz, Leysin, Verbier, Saas Fee, Zermatt, Les Diablerets - Glacier 3000 CH, Zinal

Austria

The Arlberg: St Anton, Lech, Zürs, Sonnenkopf

French Avalanche analysis for winter 2010/2011

2011-11-25T15:17:00Z

During the 2010-2011 season in France there were 29 avalanche fatalities in 19 incidents. On the face of it a fairly typical year. However the overall figures hide a concentration of fatal avalanches in the border region with Italy and in the months of December and March which saw 58% of fatal incidents. Ski touring incidents as well as the seriousness of incidents both continued the recent upward trend.

Problems with multivictim searches

2011-11-15T01:20:00Z

When searching for multiple beacons you, or your students, may have come across the following problems with the new generation of digital transceivers:

i Search beacon loses mark and leads you back to the previously found beacon
ii. Distance or direction does not change or leads the searcher in the wrong direction
iii. A Beacon is not detected

In the stressful environment of a live rescue or even an exam these kind of problems can lead to a sense of panic, lost time and bad decisions that can ultimately be fatal for the victim(s).

Untitled from James Humes on Vimeo.