One Dead

Sad new from Laax:

Yesterday a ski instructor died while skiing off-piste on a steep slope the
day after new snow arrived. This was in the afternoon while the sun was on
the piste. Prior to the new snow it had been very cold, the underlying snow
was rock-hard.

The papers reported this as a 'Variant Skifahrer', no indication that he
worked for the ski school here. The person accompanying him (a trainee
instructor) was not hurt.

The current avalanche risk is high:
http://www.slf.ch/avalanche/rb50-dec.html

This is an off-piste area where I often ski in spring.

http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/dyn/news...er/476956.html
--
Simon Brown
www.sysgem.com www.hb9drv.ch www.laax.ch
..

One thing I forgot: the instructor was *not* local, this shows how essential
local knowledge can be.

Simon Brown
www.sysgem.com www.hb9drv.ch www.laax.ch
..
----- Original Message -----
From: "Simon Brown"


Sad new from Laax:

....

Very bad news.

I hadn't heard of any incidents for a few weeks.

Regards,

Edi

"Simon Brown" wrote in message
...
One thing I forgot: the instructor was *not* local, this shows how
essential
local knowledge can be.

Simon Brown
www.sysgem.com www.hb9drv.ch www.laax.ch
.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Simon Brown"


Sad new from Laax:

...

No, maybe because there hadn't been any new snow. Anyway it *is* getting
warmer now, expecting circa 15C here later in the week. Easter should be
very pleasant.
--
Simon Brown
www.hb9drv.ch www.laax.ch
..
"Edi" wrote in message
...
Very bad news.

I hadn't heard of any incidents for a few weeks.

"Simon Brown" wrote in message
...
No, maybe because there hadn't been any new snow. Anyway it *is* getting
warmer now, expecting circa 15C here later in the week. Easter should be
very pleasant.
--
Simon Brown
www.hb9drv.ch www.laax.ch

Hi Simon,

Not before it goes colder again over the weekend and snows a little more.

Joe

Edi wrote:
Very bad news.

I hadn't heard of any incidents for a few weeks.

The return to spring conditions will weaken bonding between slabs and
will also increase the risk of wet snow avalanches later in the day.
There have been a number of incidents over the last couple of days
including three skiers in the Savoie:

http://www.pistehors.com/comments/436_0_1_0_C/

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 09:56:10 +0100, "Simon Brown"
wrote:

One thing I forgot: the instructor was *not* local, this shows how essential
local knowledge can be.

Or a decent understanding of avalanche risks in general. Lots of new
snow, south facing, sunshine, sudden change in temperature... wouldn't
catch me off-piste in those conditions, I can tell you.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.

"Ace" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 09:56:10 +0100, "Simon Brown"
wrote:

One thing I forgot: the instructor was *not* local, this shows how
essential
local knowledge can be.

Or a decent understanding of avalanche risks in general. Lots of new
snow, south facing, sunshine, sudden change in temperature... wouldn't
catch me off-piste in those conditions, I can tell you.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the
Ski Club.

As it turns out he was on perhaps the most dangerous area possible.

Getting very warm today, we're expecting mighty avalanches and flooding this
spring.
--
Simon Brown
www.hb9drv.ch www.laax.ch
..