Weekly report from HAT - 13/03/08
We have new snow and much more is forecast for next week on Sunday night and Tuesday Wednesday.
We had a big powder day today, or rather an interesting mixture of powder, compacted wind snow, bare patches and some fantastic pockets of great snow. The risk level is reported as level 3 considerable. The Alpine team reckoned it was close to a 4. There were natural releases of new snow yesterday and many triggered releases today.
The risks come from 3 things
1. The frissete or cohesion less layer that the snow has fallen on top of you can see a video of Henry demonstrating the character of this snow layer.
2. Wind loaded slopes (see Henry's comments below)
3. Rising temperatures
Today there were numerous releases of slabs of snow. Many were triggered by blasting, a few went naturally, but several were triggered by skiers. No-one was killed but people had some scares.
Andreas found a slide with skier tracks going into it on the Familiale, he checked it with his beeper but was happy there was no-one there, they must have got out. There is wind loading and wind compaction and rising temperatures, this can be a dangerous combination even though much of the snow pack was humidified. The evidence from today showed that slopes released on many different slope aspects, NE to SW, so there were no simple rules about where it was safe.
Dan Egan ski clinics
Conditions look fantastic for the Dan Egan ski clinics. From 15th to 23rd March Henry is working with Dan Egan on the annual March ski clinic. Please do read Beccs review (below) of the experience and if you are interested to join in. Please contact us for a precise price based on whether you need accommodation or not.
So be careful, study the bulletins (on our web logs.) and read ski diaries from Andreas Henry and Wayne Watson of Alpine Experience.
Future ezines will be on Wednesday evening or Thursday - next one on 20th March.
Regards - Chris Radford - HAT ezine editor
Snow report from Henry
Snow report March 5, 2008
Yes! At long last we have new snow. It's been little windy & a little wet at times but for the most part it's all good.
Snow Stability
The rain up to 2200 metres or so and the humid snow up to 2500 m this past Wednesday has helped to stabilise the snowpack up to those altitudes, even if the humidity was not so nice at the time and it may have made the snowpack a bit unstable at first. Now I'm looking out for 'wind loading' as there has been lots of wind blowing out of westerly directions in the most recent storms (and a bit of easterly/southerly near the boarder of Italy). The winds will mainly be out of the south west to north west in the next storms too. As of the end of the week a total of 30-50+ cm has fallen at 3000 metres in most of Savoie and Haute Savoie. But the winds have created much bigger accumulations in sheltered areas - and this is what is known as 'wind loading'.
The weight of this new snow on steep slopes will make for instability in many places that are protected from the wind - where the snow has built up. Some of these areas will be so unstable that you can trigger an avalanche from well below them. So look out for what is above you as well as below you! Slab avalanches generally release on slopes of more than 30° above (steepness of a black run). BUT you can trigger a big avalanche on much shallower slopes if there is a nice steep loaded slope above, especially when the danger rating is high: 4 or 5. Also remember that some of these slopes can go after people have skied them and sometimes after the pisteurs have blasted them. So keep thinking out there wherever you are!
Where? For clues I'll be looking out for recent avalanche activity because recent avalanches show where the most instability is e.g. if lots of northeast facing slopes have avalanched then it is a clue that other similar slopes are very unstable. Otherwise, I will be paying particular attention to slopes that are above 2500 and north due to the layers of angular crystals, 'frisette', and depth hoar on flat and shaded slopes that have developed there during the cold clear nights that we had at times during the month of February.
These weak layers are a problem now that they are under the new snow - on shaded slopes that were not subjected to much skier compaction over the last few weeks. So that really means on north-facing/shaded slopes that have not been skied very much - this weak cohesionless snow made up the whole snow pack in some of these shaded north facing slopes before the new snow. Now, it is that cohesionless layer that is under the new snow in places described above - and that makes it unstable.
Tip of the week
Watch out for triggering slopes above you. When the avalanche rating is high you can set off avalanches above you even from low angle slopes. This is because many slopes are more sensitive now to increases in load even from one person. This is important, as most avalanche victims trigger the avalanche off themselves. I've even seen people set off an avalanche from a flat area when the rating was high. So I'll be sticking to low angle slopes to start with after each storm and I'll be very careful when I start going into areas that have steep slopes around them even if there are tracks on them - steep slopes with new snow can avalanche after dozens of people have ridden on them.
'Ride Hard Ride Safe'!
Henry
PS We're doing lots of transceiver training at the moment in Val d'Isère: £30 for a full afternoon of coaching, timed searches, basic rescue procedures & a waterproof reference card. email [email protected] or Call us 020 8144 5202 Or Call Jamie in resort on 06 23 05 75 09
This is one of the top tips for working out where it is safe to go. This will be one of the things to look out for when the new snow has fallen next week.
Signs of recent Avalanche Activity
It might seem logical to suppose that once a lot of snow has released, the remaining slopes must be stable. At HAT, we take the opposite view, where we can see a slope aspect that is releasing snow around the domain, then we assume the slopes with the same slope aspect and angle are vulnerable to release with the weight of just one skier.
Making these observations is the first step to seeing what is really going on. You can get clues from the avalanche bulletin about where to look. Today there were numerous releases. Many were triggered by blasting, a few went naturally, but several were triggered by skiers. No-one was killed but people had some scares.
There is wind loading and wind compaction and rising temperatures, this can be a dangerous combination even though much of the snow pack was humidified. The evidence from today showed that slopes released on many different slope aspects, NE to SW, so there were no simple rules about where it was safe.
Also when it warms up look our for south facing slopes where the snow sits on grass. In march and April, it is common for the whole snowpack to slide down on the flattened grass. You can see signs of this by looking out for cracks or small slides on the these south facing slopes. There has been a lot of this happening through January and February.
You can get some more insight into this subject with Henry's Avalanche Awareness DVD featuring Matt Chilton from the BBC. see www.avalancheawareness.co.uk for details of how to get this for £14.95.
A full Henry's Avalanche Talk gives a more comprehensive and introductory review. A HATadventures programme helps you to appreciate these decisions in real skiing conditions.
Report from a saisonnaire on skiing with Dan Egan and Henry
Can you really have too much of a good thing?
Wow, March already, feels like I've just got settled, comfortable with work and social life, and it's time to think about getting organised for the next season. This time of year can cause a lot of mixed feelings, you know you don't have an endless season of improving your skiing ahead but the last two months of getting out there whenever you can may have sapped some of the frenzied motivation felt at the start of it all. That combined with how crazy it's been on the pistes the last couple of weeks and an understandable mid season lethargy can set in. It's hard to not find yourself in a bit of a rut and the up Bellevarde, up Tommeuses, down to Tignes routine (my personal unbreakable) can leave you feeling a bit dissatisfied.
Well Ta Da, HAT to to the rescue! Yes, those lovely people who bring you Henry's Avalanche Talk, beeper training and a whole lot more are here with a fantastic opportunity to safely explore your spectacular mountain environment and at the same time be inspired by one of the most passionate and entertaining ski coaches around, Dan "the man" (my words, not his!) Egan of the renowned Egan brothers, (at least if any of you are fans of retro ski videos like the "Blizzard of Aah's"). The brothers made their names in a dozen Warren Miller movies and are the stars of the most used piece of Miller footage of all time. Also coaching is our own local gem Henry Schniewind, a man never happier than when out in the middle of nowhere and you will be too as thankfully he always knows the way back out!
I've been lucky enough to ski with Henry and Dan on these clinics the last two years running, the first year being an introduction to off piste skiing and awareness, a week long course exploring the science of understanding avalanches with lots of fantastic skiing. What a cool experience! Henry, an approachable and endless resource, spent his days helping us observe the effect of wind, temperature change and gradient on the snowpack, and gave us tips on interpreting these observations while Dan busied himself with improving our tactical approach to skiing in all those conditions that continue to be a challenge, coping with crusty and breakable snow (which even when having the greatest day you just can't help encountering occasionally), dealing with ludicrously flat light and being prepared for unseen changes in terrain. We got to enjoy an impeccably well organised peeps training session with the lovely Roddy and got to dig some massive snow pits with PHD qualified snow scientist Alec van Herwijnen.
I wasn't sure how Dan and Henry were going to top the amazing experiences of the year before but in 2007 I gotta say they did and how! This time it was all about the skiing, the more vertigo inducing and nerve jangling the better, (for my ability anyway!) Feeling so safe and secure with them allowed me to push my mental and physical limits many times more than I thought possible, so yet again, thank you so much guys, AWESOME!
The 2006 course was basically an extended version of what Henry, Roddy and James cover in their avalanche talks, if you haven't gone already I would very much recommend it and the controlled beeper training should be mandatory for anyone who wants to be a good mate off piste. Check out the website at www.henrysavalanchetalk.com or have a chat to Henry, Roddy or James in Dick's on Tuesday or Thursday evenings.
The 2007 clinic was one of many that Dan Egan runs in some of the greatest skiing areas in the world; you can go to www.ski clinics.com to find out more about his trips to Chile, North America and Alaska. What a great family bonding experience, well at least that's how you can sell a week of skiing powder to your folks!
The 2008 clinic
March 15 - 22, 2008, Join Dan Egan and avalanche expert Henry Schniewind for some off-piste skiing on the steeps and in the couloirs of this massive French ski resort! An epic ski vacation with top guides for your ski safety and enjoyment.
Includes: 7 nights lodging at Les Cretes Blanche, daily breakfast, 6 day lift pass to Val D' Isere and the resort of Tignes, 6 days coached skiing with Dan Egan and guided off-piste skiing with Henry Schniewind. Henry is a professional ski guide and an expert on avalanche safety.
Also includes 2 nights of avalanche awareness talks, use of beacons, probes, route finding, hazard evaluation, snowpack stability evaluation and more! Note: This professionally guided ski trip is for upper intermediate and advanced skiers. Limited to 10 clients.
The US price is $3000 per person.
You can contact us to join the programme for the HATadventures rate of £100 per person per day or £595 for 6 days. If you want accommodation then we can contact Cretes Blanches to see if they have space at their normal rates.
