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

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

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!

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.