Weekly report from HAT - 06/03/08
The new snow is starting to fall this week and there is quite a bit more predicted from Sunday to Wednesday (30-50cm?). So keep an eye on our blog for news of whether the frisette layer is going to be a problem. The risk level is reported as level 3 considerable.
For now you can see a video of Henry demonstrating the character of this snow layer on our blog.
The temperatures have dropped dramatically. This is improving the quality of the snow at higher altitudes. Below 2300m though it means that previously melted snow is re frozen. But 10 cm on top of this can be great. You can find this if you look.
The trick is look at where the wind came from (the west). We have had to look for the northerly exposures above 2200m that did not have rutted crunchies underfoot from the melt freeze.
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.
Regards - Chris Radford - HAT ezine editor
Skiing with Dan Egan
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.
UK offer for HAT customers
You can contact us to join the programme for the HATadventures rate of £100 per person per day or £595 for 6 days excluding accommodation. If you want accommodation then we can contact Cretes Blanches to see if they have space at their normal rates.
We have other opportunities to ski with Henry. In all these programmes you will develop better off piste skills and increase your confidence to stay safe and have fun out there. They are all about getting out into the off piste and having more fun and building confidence.
We can sell places for 1 day or 2 days if a full programme is too much or just too inflexible for you. Costs are around £100 a day per person or £70 for just a morning session.
Call us in UK +44 20 8144 5202, to enquire.
Snow report from Henry
Snow report March 5, 2008
We've had some GREAT snow in the last few days even if it has only been a very little bit. Last week I expressed myself in the following manner, "There are times when a guy will take anything he can get ...." What a difference a few cm's make! Especially in the gullies and lee slopes where the wind has blown the snow, where accumulations have built up to a whopping 15 cm! The colder temps have helped too - making the snow feather light. We didn't get all the snow that we were hoping for, but we can't complain at all.
Snow Stability
The outlook for this coming week is for a bit more snow on Sunday-Wednesday. For the snow stability: of course it has been very stable up until now. But predicting snow stability is all about looking at what we have now and at what could happen in the future. When we do get a good amount of snow we have to think about the layers of angular crystals, 'frisette', and depth hoar on flat and shaded slopes above 2200.
These layers are not a problem now; but, with the next significant snowfalls (total 30 to 40cm or more in one place), they will be a source of instability under the new snow on shaded slopes that were not subjected to much skier compaction over the last few weeks. So that really means in places that were not 'pisted off-piste' and more on north-facing/shaded slopes that have not been skied very much - this weak cohesionless snow makes up the whole snowpack in some of these shaded north facing slopes.
Tip of the week: "The most important thing to remember while riding in fresh snow is to have a smile on your face!" (a quote from my friend Andreas from HAT & Alpine Experience). Let's hope there will be something more to smile about soon.
'Ride Hard Ride Safe'!
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
Henry
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.skiclinics.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.
