Snow Sports 2016/17

Unfortunately I think we can expect to see more of this sort of thing as more and more people take to off-piste, they might be merely yards from the piste but that won't be avalanche controlled at all.

Steep slope, recent fresh snow, recipe for disaster even if you have all the right kit.
 
beh;30477465 said:
Genuinely, I would love to be convinced because it would make it an easy decision. My reasons for not owning one aren't great, the expense to buy/hire, uncomfortable and frequently too warm to wear, and they're a bulky item to have in luggage. Maybe more modern helmets solve some of these issues?

How fast do you ski? Given the testing standards they don't seem to be intended for typical speeds. Is it a false sense of security that will lead to more risks being taken?

As with cycle helmets it's a interesting subject for research, although I do wear one as they're far less intrusive/inconvenient.
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I didn't wear a helmet for my first 6 seasons (wooly hat brigade). I've had one now for the last 3 (I'm a late starter to skiing). I cannot believe I waited this long. The helmet has vents so I can open them to keep cool, and it works. When it's snowing/wet my helmet doesn't get sopping wet and heavy like my beanie used to. I take carry on on to the flight with all my base layers and my helmet in the same small bag so no issue there. The main thing is I've bashed my head once and I wouldn't like to think what would have happened if I'd have had my beanie on instead of the helmet, although I'll never know. My partner is the same as me as we bought helmets at the same time, also some of them do look cool and do a job. I have a bladder in mine that is pumped up before use. I'm a total helmet convert now :cool:
 
sad yes - seems they had a guide/monitor with them and discussion on whether they inadvertetly declenched it.

On helmets - just read up on this new (to me) MIPS tech seems you can get both ski and cycling incarnations from ~£70
 
izzop said:
Many thanks for the reply and info Amp34, much appreciate it.

The reason for asking was due to seeing the following road trip itinerary: -

The Powder Trail

I appreciate the temps, well... maybe not :p Those aside are there plenty of clear days around this time of year?

These, regardless of the temp can make a big difference.
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That's a lot of travel and not much skiing. I'd be inclined to say halve the number of resorts and spend longer at them. A couple of days at each of the big resorts may be a better option?

Sun wise it's pretty sunny here! Although the last few weeks have been a bit dingy :(. That said no where near as much as UK dinginess!
 
jpaul said:
Was intrigued by Bradley Wiggins apparently fracturing leg following skiing incident on this UK reality tv show The jump, with previous incident of gymnast Beth Twaddle (vertabrae fracture, was it)
this has to be a fairly unique reality show ?

are these 'athletes' naive with respect to physical preparations for a sport different to their native one ? is the lure of the money too compelling.
Although they are notionally doing ski jumping, the shock/twisting forces, muscles empoyed cannot be too different to ski ?,
and, although some sports eg cycling are open to the weekend warrior approach, I do not categorise skiing as the same,
some gym work or appropriate exercises are needed before re-joining the slopes.
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Not really. Most people just get on the slopes once a year without any prior exercise.

I think the biggest issue is the amount of skill you need to pick up with skiing. Riding a bike* is riding a bike, you just need a bit of fitness and some training on the best way of doing it. You can't go from a beginner to competent skier in a couple of weeks technique wise however. It takes months (ski time) for your instinct to be able to save you from falling over, without having to consciously try not to for example.

There's also the fact that winter sports are inherently more dangerous (broken bone wise) than something like road cycling.

*At least on the road, mountain biking is more akin to skiing.
 
Amp34 said:
That's a lot of travel and not much skiing. I'd be inclined to say halve the number of resorts and spend longer at them. A couple of days at each of the big resorts may be a better option?

Sun wise it's pretty sunny here! Although the last few weeks have been a bit dingy :(. That said no where near as much as UK dinginess!
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Very much agree, it does seem like a whirlwind tour and certainly not one I'd be willing to do. That is, to travel all that and just spend five minutes here and there.

I'd use it as an idea/starting route and then, as you've said pick out the more favorable ones and spend longer at them.

I notice on Sunday on FB, that someone I know who moved out to Calgary just over a year ago was at Sunshine Mountain Lodge, which is one of the last stops on the itinerary I posted. It looks half decent, have you been?
 
Nope, not yet! I keep meaning to go but for some reason don't end up doing so. I've been to all the other resorts in the Banff area though.

It does seem to be a love/hate resort though, lots of people love it, lots of people hate it. If you're a border you may be in the latter as apparently there are a lot of flat bits.
 
Amp34 said:
Nope, not yet! I keep meaning to go but for some reason don't end up doing so. I've been to all the other resorts in the Banff area though.

It does seem to be a love/hate resort though, lots of people love it, lots of people hate it. If you're a border you may be in the latter as apparently there are a lot of flat bits.
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:D Unlike me, he is a border, along with the group he's with. He's also only just started, so by the sounds of it the resort would very much appeal to him at this stage.
 
Amp34 said:
There's also the fact that winter sports are inherently more dangerous (broken bone wise) than something like road cycling.
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Going downhill at speed on a road bike feels similarly vulnerable and can be quite technical. Haven't seen the stats but at a pro level the injuries in cycling seem more common and perhaps worse? Need pretty big balls for both, 100km/h + lycra.
 
Seen some horrific fatalities in the ski racing over the years, people ending with their legs facing the wrong way and worse. Cyclists seem more exposed skin wise but don't see the same sort of nasty stuff, but then it's not something I follow.
 
Yeah, exactly. What you're talking about is the equivalent of doing a world cup downhill course at full chat.

That's an entirely new level of ability and technique and I'd hazard a guess that you could count the number of people on this forum that could do that on one hand! I certainly couldn't do it and I can happily ski any (reasonably) groomed piste run at high speed.

Compare that to something more reasonable like skiing pretty much any (moderately) groomed piste at 20-30mph with control and the ability to take a jump/bump or two in your stride vs doing 20-30mph on pretty much any road on a bike. Most people in the UK could do the latter on a bike, it would take a couple of months or more of daily skiing to get to that level for most people on a pair of skis/board. Certainly not a couple of weeks.
 
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Syla5 said:
Just got back from Tignes on Saturday. The Tignes news is saying it was the Toviere area.

There was plenty of work being done with avalanche clearance while we were there with avalanche charges going off regularly for the first 3 days, after that there wasn't any snowfall.

Only our first holiday so we didn't do much off piste while we were there but we did regularly see plenty of people off piste in the Toviere area, and didn't see any signs of small slides at all.

EDIT: This site seems to show the area with the avalanche.

https://www.tignesnet.com/news/four-dead-in-tignes-avalanche-tignes-region-705798
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Spoke to a Instructor out there, Who said the avalanche was trigged by skiers at the top. very sad indeed!
 
wrt to off-piste ski-ing - on piste unless you have fresh snow like DP's lovely pictures , the groomed and often artifical (Europe) pistes can
sometimes feel like motorways/autoroutes not representing much of a challenge, so off-piste and ski-mountaineering (where you and a group of mates have to expend some cardiac effort to first climb up - packed lunch at the top and bottle of champagne) feels much more exhilertaing&rewarding
but, yes, you have take responsibility for yourself, and ensure you are not endagering others (irresponsible folks at resorts have been filmed&prosecuted)

With the commericialism of sking (or does it remain an elitist/expensive sport) although many of the skiers have a lot of skill having grown up in that region, their strength and musculature to respond if something goes wrong, is, I contend, less than your average recreational cyclist;
so the nature of ski injuries (non-pro) would be worse than cycling ?

About the powder trail, spending a few days in a resort is more fun, time to identify the challenging pistes and then try and perfect them at optimum time of the day :)
 
Pretty much wrecked my new skis in Three Valleys a couple of weeks back, put them in for repair at the weekend. That was just on-piste skiing, offpiste was a non-starter. Just looking forward to heading off to Colorado in a months time now, conditions over there are looking good, hopefully stays that way.
 
Off tomorrow, on Mt.Troodos. Don't think it'll compare to the week I had in Austria mind :(

Getting quite tempted to buy a board now!

A week in Austra - no problems. One morning on the smallest slope ever, and I'm pretty sure I'vr broke my wrist :(
 
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