Freeriding around Geneva

Hello,
I am after some resort advice from those in the know!
I've boarded for about 15 days and enjoy freeriding. So far my
experience of freeriding consists of riding the fluffy stuff alongside
the pistes. I would like to develop my freeriding skills and enjoy the
delights of greater off-pisting. Unfortunately i can't afford to buy
transciever, shovel and probe this year so i'm looking for a quiet
resort that would suite my level of expertise but would not throw up
to much danger. I will be based in Geneva and would be grateful if
anyone could suggest a resort that might fit the bill?
Many thanks.

On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 17:48:29 GMT, (Savage)
allegedly wrote:

Unfortunately i can't afford to buy
transciever, shovel and probe this year so i'm looking for a quiet
resort that would suite my level of expertise but would not throw up
to much danger.

Transceiver's help you find someone else that's buried (also with a
transceiver). They also allow someone to find you if you're buried.

A probe and shovel are for pinpointing their location and digging them
out.

If you're out on your own, and get buried, you could die quietly without
anyone knowing you're there.

None of it is any use without the knowledge, and the best thing to have
is information before you go out. Better to avoid the risks, than play
the game. Lots of places have cheap or even free courses and lectures.
I'd suggest attending these, and at least gain insight into the dangers
that exist and how you can tell.


Lecture over :-) the side of a piste is OK for hitting the powder after
a fresh dump, so anywhere will be good. Apart from Chamonix, which
probably has the highest ratio of powder hound to normal piste rider
than anywhere else in Europe.

Crossing between pistes in Europe is a calculated risk. They can and do
avalanche.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

Iain D wrote in message ...
Switters wrote:

Transceiver's help you find someone else that's buried (also with a
transceiver). They also allow someone to find you if you're buried.

A probe and shovel are for pinpointing their location and digging them
out.

If you're out on your own, and get buried, you could die quietly without
anyone knowing you're there.

None of it is any use without the knowledge, and the best thing to have
is information before you go out. Better to avoid the risks, than play
the game. Lots of places have cheap or even free courses and lectures.
I'd suggest attending these, and at least gain insight into the dangers
that exist and how you can tell.

This article is pretty interesting:
http://www.adventureplus.org/avalanche.htm

The basic message is that the chances of the tranceiver itself saving
your life (or anyone elses) are quite low and that far too much reliance
is put on them. This is because the conditions in which people practice
tranceiver use are so different from the aftermath of a real avalanche -
where people panic and the snow sets like concrete. Much better to spend
your time learning how to read terrain and follow maps, than reducing
the time taken to find a tranceiver buried in 2 ft of soft snow on a
flat field!

IainD at ukme dot me dot uk

Thanks!

On Thu, 08 Jan 2004 18:15:53 GMT, Iain D allegedly
wrote:

The basic message is that the chances of the tranceiver itself saving
your life (or anyone elses) are quite low and that far too much reliance
is put on them.

I think that additionally, some people may decide to take a greater risk
because they have a transceiver, thinking it will be ok if they do get
buried.

It's comes back to the old car analogy. If every car was fitted with a
pointed spike on the steering wheel and seat belts were removed, people
would drive a lot more carefully.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

Iain D wrote in message .. .
Switters wrote:

I think that additionally, some people may decide to take a greater risk
because they have a transceiver, thinking it will be ok if they do get
buried.

It's comes back to the old car analogy. If every car was fitted with a
pointed spike on the steering wheel and seat belts were removed, people
would drive a lot more carefully.

The car analogy is good. So taking a transceiver (and knowing how to use
it) is like wearing a seatbelt. When driving a car you rely on your
skill to avoid having accidents and if you do have an accident, the
seatbelt reduces the chances of getting killed. But if you take the view
that you don't need to drive carefully and can have lots of crashes
because you're wearing a seatbelt, you probably won't last long.

If you go backcountry/off piste with a qualified guide, you rely on
their skill to avoid getting caught in avalanches. And in the unlikely
event of getting caught, the transceivers may save a life - makes sense
to take them, like wearing the seatbelt when driving the car.

But if you go backcountry *with* your transceiver but *without* the
qualified guide; and haven't learned the terrain, snow, weather skills
yourself, then you're driving the wrong way up the freeway against a
tide of trucks relying on your seatbelt to keep you safe!

IainD

Right, got it!
Cheers.