Backcountry Skiing and Snowboarding

Thursday, 01 May, 2008

SAM 2008

The Mountain Equipment Mondial returned to Palexpo in Grenoble last week and the emphasis was firmly on sustainable development, a subject close to our hearts. However, sustainable, for alpine skiing, doesn’t necessarily mean environmentally friendly.

sam 2008
20C and real snow!

Posted by davidof at 08:07 PM
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Wednesday, 30 April, 2008

Chamonix Freeride Days – 10th Anniversary

This Sunday is the 10th anniversary of the Chamonix Freeride Days. It is hard to imagine that the season is nearly over. The freeride days will be held at Grands Montets. The organizers want to settle the question, who is the better skier, downhill or freerider? Now we know that downhill skiers have the technique but can they ski off the groomed corduroy? What about freeriders, all speed and no skill?

freeride days

Posted by davidof at 09:49 AM
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Thursday, 24 April, 2008

Multiple burials revisited

There is quite a battle raging in the normally sedate world of avalanche research. On the one hand Team Backcountry Access says that true multiple burials are so rare that backcountry travellers should focus on shovelling and probing techniques, on the other side Manuel Genswein, avalanche educator and expert in multiple burial search techniques, accuses the other side of “statistical tricks” and says Backcountry Access are ignoring the “inconvenient truth” that the Tracker beacon is technologically“out of date”.

Posted by davidof at 04:16 PM
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Monday, 21 April, 2008

Gavarnie cut off by monster avalanche

The only access road to the Pyrenean ski resort of Gavarnie has been blocked by an enormous snow slide. A motorist travelling down from the resort was surprised by a slow moving avalanche late yesterday afternoon. The slide is some 15 meters deep and 150 meters wide. The local authorities have had to ask neighbouring areas to send equipment to help clear the blockage.

Posted by davidof at 10:06 AM
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Sunday, 20 April, 2008

Winter conditions leads to rise in avalanche deaths

A return to winter conditions has brought a smile to the faces of ski resorts as they look towards the end of the season but has also brought a significant increase in avalanche incidents. A reminder that the conditions that lead to unstable snow conditions are not confined to the winter months. There have been 15 confirmed deaths over the winter in France with 9 occuring during March and April. Yesterday an experienced ski tourer was killed in the Maritime Alpes and two other skiers seriously injured above l’Alpe d’Huez.

Pioches couloir
Couloir des Pioches, alpe d’Huez

Posted by davidof at 08:08 AM
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Wednesday, 16 April, 2008

Ubaye in shock following avalanche death

Pierre Lombard, popular owner of the Gite de Larche has been killed by an avalanche yesterday. The Gite de Larche is a favourite overnight stop on the GR5 long distance walking route. Mr Lombard has deep roots in the area, his father was a long serving mayor in the community. An experienced mountaineer, news of Mr Lombard’s death has sent shock-waves well beyond the tight knit mountain community.

Posted by davidof at 07:28 AM
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Wednesday, 02 April, 2008

The Vallee Blanche is not a ski piste

Thursday 13th of March, 2008. We’ve just done our 14th crevasse rescue and our second fatality this year after a fall of 30 meters. We don’t repeat this often enough but skiing on a glacier requires certain precautions and a knowledge of the terrain.

Posted by pghm-chamonix at 11:24 PM
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Thursday, 27 March, 2008

Salomon on strike, Look wants to buy Rossignol

The Salomon factory at Rumilly is at a standstill for a third day today. The workers are claming an increase of 150 euros per month. Salomon is planning on moving ski production from France to Austria. Meanwhile Dominique Bergin, the head of Look International, a French cycle sport company, is preparing a bid for Rossignol with the idea of keeping production in France.

Posted by davidof at 03:06 AM
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Wednesday, 26 March, 2008

La Grave cable car turns thirty

The La Grave - Vallons de la Meije ski area is celebrating 30 years of operations this March but the idea of linking the village of la Grave to the summit of la Meije goes back over a century with some madcap schemes before the very functional Creissels designed pulse gondola was opened in 1978.

Posted by davidof at 04:15 PM
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Avalanche Pic Mauberme

At almost the same time as four alpinists were killed on Pic du Midi du Bigorre (Pyrenees) on Friday, Paul Hadfield and I triggered a similar avalanche at the top of the Couloir Tartereau on Pic Mauberme just a few tens of miles further east but we were able to avoid being swept down the couloir.

Couloir de Tartereau - Les Inglis-Sharp