Action-Outdoors.co.uk

Get Off-Piste

More and more people want to get off piste. Modern wide carving skis make it easier to get into the soft stuff and cut your own tracks.  Our sales of off-piste courses have increased every year, with people keen to learn the techniques in a safe environment. Our UCPA courses undoubtedly offer the best possible value for money way to get the right training – we have All Inclusive Off-Piste weeks starting from just £478. So what do you need to know about Skiing off piste? Read below for more details on Equipment, route finding, safety and snow conditions.

Safety

There are quite a few safety considerations when going off-piste. In the US the ski patrol will “secure” all the accessible areas of the mountain, both piste & off-piste. In Europe only the pistes will be protected, there have been several bad accidents literally 100 metres from the edge of a piste. Probably the biggest danger is avalanche, with a frightening number of deaths every year. We control our risk both actively & passively – active control is avoiding the dangerous slopes by assessing conditions (see below), passive control is by carrying equipment like transceivers, shovels & probes.

Other safety aspects are crevasses (on glaciated areas), under snow hazards (trees, rocks, frozen water, holes), cliffs or other steep drops.

Snow Conditions

Getting the snow conditions right is paramount to both safety & fun. No-one wants to be skiing in breakable crust whilst on another slope just a few hundred metres away there is good powder snow available. Factors that dictate snow conditions are – date of last snow fall, wind conditions, sun, temperature, altitude, time of day & aspect. You can get great information on a variety of websites such as pistehors; by checking the local weather forecast and by chatting to local guides or ski patrollers. On that subject – in France the ski patrollers will be more than happy to give you advice on off-piste conditions, they are not there to stop you ducking under the barriers – they are there to help you keep safe.

Every resort will publish an avalanche risk index each day. If the risk is 3/4 be very, very sure that you are going onto safe slopes. If the risk is 5 then probably there are no safe slopes to be skied, stick to the piste or stay in bed.

Route

Getting the route right is important at all levels – from avoiding an accident to avoiding an expensive taxi trip back home because you ended up in a different resort ! The piste maps are nigh on useless apart from some that may show an “itinerary route” – this means patrolled but unpisted. Get yourself a proper topo map and read some guide books for ideas. Learn how to interpret the map to read steepness of terrain – you don’t want too steep or too shallow slopes. Think very carefully about the aspect of the slopes with the time of day and expected snow conditions. That way you can be sure of some good, safe skiing without too much walking.

You need to think on a big scale & a small scale – the big scale is where will you finish at the bottom of the mountain, any big hazards. Small scale is thinking where is the best snow, interesting terrain features, gullys etc. You should think about “islands of safety”, places that you can stop that are safe – protected from avalanche, rock falls and  crevasse free.

Equipment

Skis should be fattish – about 80mm+ underfoot. Short slalom style carving skis are very hard work in the off-piste. Essential kit includes a transceiver (used to search for victims after an avalanche), shovel & probe. You should carry a small rucksack with warm gear, food & water. Within the group you should have first aid kit, map, compass, phone and/or radio. Depending upon the terrain you should consider carrying a rope, ice axe & crampons.

A fairly recent development is the use of ABS airbags in rucksacs which are designed to float a victim above avalanche debris.

Technique

Off-piste skiing requires good balance, both side to side & fore & aft. Probably the best piece of advice is to stay centred on your skis and spread your weight on both skis. You don’t need to lean back in powder snow, that will just lead to an awkward stance and sore legs. Practice makes perfect, you can start off skiing the sides of the piste, skiing between the pistes. Choose your conditions carefully – it is a skiers dream to be in waist deep powder, but actually if you are learning it will be your biggest nightmare !

Lots of people ask “how good do I have to be to start off-piste skiing ?” – difficult question to answer definitively, but if you can ski a black run, in bad conditions then probably you are at a good level to start off-piste.

Training

The best way to get the skills & knowledge discussed above is to get some training. You should be with either a fully qualified instructor or a high mountain guide, some guides are dual qualified which is ideal. If you want to ski on a glacier then you need to be accompanied with a guide not an instructor.

Be sure that you will get training in all the aspects listed above, sometimes some guides are just “follow me” and don’t bother to explain the choices & decisions that they are making.

On a UCPA Off-Piste course the aim is to make you a safe, efficient and self-sufficient skier. Most of our guides are also qualified instructors to the highest level. They are keen to share their passion for the mountains and share their knowledge with you.

Chamonix Off-Piste

• 7 nights accomodation
• All meals
• Lift pass 6.5 days
• Ski/Board & boot hire
• Full tuition/guiding
• All additional equipment - transceiver, shovel, probe

For early January in Chamonix, all of this comes to the bargain price of just £585! Add return coach travel from london for just £130 and you are all set for a fantastic week in an amazing resort. 

For all our off-piste courses, dates and prices click here