HAT Report on recent day trip to Les Arcs.
We had a great day of "The Talk on the Snow" in Les Arcs with a group of enthusiastic seasonnaires from The Pink House in Bourg St Maurice yesterday.
We were reminded of three ways to manage risk - even level 2 risk 1. ski a similar slope aspect and altitude before heading off into the back country 2. Check out your ideas with the piste patrol 3. Do some simple tests with a small snowpit
See photo and Henry's snow report on the blog www.getoffpiste.com
The group from The Pink House had previously had a private talk and the opportunity to look at the online talk, the day out in glorious sunshine and moderate temperatures allowed us to go into much more depth on Avalanche awareness. We also managed to fit in some riding where the snow conditions allowed us.
The risk was only level 2 and the obvious off-piste looked pretty tracked out, so the general impression was that it was safe. However by following the HAT code of practice we were able to avoid going into difficult snow conditions which could have proved dangerous and we discovered that in the untracked areas there were still dangers and risks.
The group had two different ideas on where to go to find great snow. Go off the back of the Grand Col (was good there last week). Go down the Lanchettes where it is North Facing and the snow holds well. But to check this we did two things.
First we skied a slope that was the same aspect and altitude as the Grand Col and discovered it was pretty cruddy!
Second we asked the piste patrol about the Lanchettes and they told us the wind last night had really blasted the slope and it would be no fun and not that safe.
Then we went on some NE facing untracked slopes (see www.getoffpiste.com ) but went very carefully since the risk is level 2 and that tells you that an increased load on a steep slope can trigger a release (especially NE to NW facing - see bulletin)
When we dug the snowpit we found that there was a top layer of 20cm that was prone to shearing off. (so we were right to go one at a time and use islands of safety.
Remember stay safe and have fun
Chris Radford - HAT ezine editor.
Off Piste & Avalanche Awareness Talks: Week of 15th March:
Monday (on bad weather days) 15.30 sharp Basic Talk at the Moris in Val d’Isère Weds 18.00 sharp Basic Talk at the Pacific Bar in Val d’Isère You need to show up at least15 mins before the talk to take advantage of the deals on food & drink!
Tickets are €7.50 (one person under 18 per adult free) and includes great deals on food and drinks at each place! Pre-booking on line price is: £6 on www.henrysavalanchetalk.com (if you can’t come to a talk see our on-line talks on the web site)
HAT is taking the Talks on-snow this year for people who want to learn more in Val d’Isère & Tignes!
See www.henrysavalanchetalk.com for more info on these practical short courses.
