Backcountry Skiing and Snowboarding

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.

HAT UK tour 2011

2011-10-25T15:37:00Z

A reminder that American avalanche expert and ski instructor Henry Schniewind is once again on the road this autumn with his popular avalanche talks, part of the Ride Hard, Ride Safe series. You can catch up with Henry and the team at the British Ski and Board Show in Birmingham from 28th to 30th October 2011 where he will be giving 30 minute talks in the theater.

3 months suspended sentence for forgetting beacon

2011-10-10T12:56:00Z

An Austrian ski tourer has received a three month [suspended] prison sentence for the manslaughter of his wife. The case centered around the use of avalanche beacons. According to the Salzburg court he was touring with his supposedly inexperienced wife with their beacons switched off and in their rucksacks.

France blasted by Artic Storms

2011-07-19T22:19:00Z

We’ve been hoping to get you some pics of the snow but the weather has been just too bad the last few days. More seriously the bodies of two climbers, one from Annecy and the other from Marseille, have been found on Monday at 4200 meters on Mont Blanc in the dôme du Goûter area. The thirty year olds had first contacted the mountain rescue on Saturday at 20h00 after getting lost on the mountain. Although conditions were good earler in the day the weather closed in later. The PGHM based in Chamonix attempted two helicopter reconnaisance missions but were unable to locate the men due to poor visibility, snow and high winds.

Mountain rescue, triumph and tragedy

2011-06-12T17:06:00Z

The Isere section of the PGHM (Peloton de gendarmerie de haute montagne) celebrated its 50th anniversary this weekend with a remembrance service in the morning and a practical demonstration of the technical capabilities of this elite military mountain division in the afternoon.

A tunnel for the Gouter couloir

2011-04-22T05:43:00Z

Anyone who has climbed to the summit of Mont Blanc from St Gervais will know that crossing the Goûter couloir is a game of Russian roulette. You look up the couloir at the same time listening for stone fall. If all is quiet you have about five seconds to cross the death zone at the same time clinging to a suspended rope to avoid slipping. It is not a place for the faint hearted and has been the scene of a number of dramas over the years.

Dome du Goûter