Becoming a ski bum was probably my number one goal back in the late 1990s. All I wanted to do was to pack my shit and head to the “European skiing Mecca” – Chamonix. It was in my mind days and nights, and I could just think about doing something else. I didn’t want to spend my youth just like 98% of the youngsters, which means go to work, go shopping, go home, and keep on repeating the cycle every day…
So, back in 1997 I finally landed in Chamonix, and couple of weeks later I found myself skiing some of the classic runs like Glacier Rond. Some guys went even bigger like the north face of L’Aiguille du Midi. I met a lot of fantastic people like Skipe Oivo, Jarkko Henttonen and many others. Together we killed the mountains day after day, we skied chest deep powder, we climbed beautiful mountain faces, and when the weather was bad we drank a ton of beer. It was all perfect, or may be even better.
Today it’s different. As a father and entrepreneur I can’t ski +100 days a year anymore. I just don’t have time enough, and I must prioritize my time. Sometimes I find myself thinking about moving to the mountains just like some of my fellow ski bums, but I made my decision to build my own business, so I stick to my guns. Anyhow, I will always fucking love the ski bum lifestyle.
Talking about ski bumming check the video below. Isn’t that pretty cool? These guys are in their seventies or something, and they keep riding year after year. They ski +100 days a year, which in my mind sounds unbelievable. How many people you know how are older than 60 years and ski +100 days a year? I love these guys. They don’t get bored at home, watch TV and drink beer. They ski until they die. That does not suck. Respect!
When one thinks of extreme skiing there are generally two places that come to mind – Chamonix and Jackson Hole. I am incredibly fortunate to live just 45 minutes from the former but until recently have never been to the jewel in Wyoming’s Stetson, Jackson Hole. I’ve always wanted to of course, what real skier wouldn’t? Like Chamonix, JH is synonymous with legends of the white crystals and therefore kind of symbolises a right of passage for any lover of the steep and deep stuff. As a result when the opportunity to get over there finally came around earlier this year, well let’s just say I was literally linedancing on the spot with excitement.
I’d love to do the British thing and tell you that it didn’t live up to expectations. It’d be typically UK style to build it up then knock it down with nonsense like ‘it doesn’t have the ‘charm’ of the Alps’, that ‘the American enthusiasm is insincere’, that ‘the mountains just don’t compare to Chamonix’, or that ‘that the size of portions are far too big…….blah blah blah. As I said, nonsense.
Skiing in North America and in particular Jackson Hole is truly one of the greatest opportunities that you can ever hope to experience in your mountain life. It’s not about comparisons, whose snow is deeper, whose peaks are higher, whose lifts are faster, whose beer is more expensive etc etc…….It’s about embracing something completely different and that is exactly what Jackson Hole is. It’s a fusion of old and new, it’s progressive as well as rooted in history, it’s the birthplace of extreme ski legends and the current terrain and playground of legends in the making like Sage Cattabriga Alosa and Tanner Hall. It’s real. One minute you can be riding the legendary JH tram standing next to one of the fathers of big mountain skiing, the JH Air Force, and the next you can find yourself inadvertently featuring in the latest edit by the world famous action sports filmmakers Teton Gravity Research. And all you were doing was just having a beer in the Mangy Moose – the après-bar of choice and TGR’s base for beer induced creative brain storming.
We had 2 superb weeks over in Wyoming and from a skiing perspective the overriding memory that I will take with me of the resort itself was just exactly how harsh the terrain actually is. I’m not talking about what lies beyond the ropes which is obviously extreme, but rather the inbound stuff which is also incredibly serious terrain. With hidden cliffs and chutes everywhere, if you know where you’re going it really is extreme recreation, if you don’t……well…..you’d better find out.
There were numerous occasions when shouts of ‘I’m going down here’ were almost immediately followed by ‘don’t go this way’. Unless you’re on a similar skill level to world famous pro riders such as Jeremy Jones or Seth Morrison, let’s just say it’s not really a place to ‘play’. In fact, any amateurish behaviour on the hill and JH will chew you up and spit you out like an angry buffalo. And rightly so, this is the Wild West after all……
These days ski trips about taking a punt – will the snow conditions be good, in fact, will there actually be any snow at all? Will the weather hold out, will the chalet/hotel live up to its trip advisor rating….and so it goes on. For sure if you decide to go to Jackson Hole the stake is even higher. Without doubt it’s one hell of a long journey from the UK and it’s clearly going to cost you a lot more to fly to the West Coast of the States than it is to jump on the orange bun fight express. Having said that though, I honestly think that it’s worth it……and then some.
I’m done with the unpredictable conditions of the Alps, am over the disinterested approach to customer service, and quite frankly hearts, crossed skis, and plates of bubbling cheese are well……a tad cheesy at times. After this trip, I for one would be more than prepared to make Jackson Hole my regular ski destination of choice. In fact I’d go as far as to admit that I’d be totally cool to put hand on heart and swear permanent ski allegiance to the powder gods of North America. Gawd bless Jackson Hole and all her ski in her. I’m off to get a pair of cowboy boots……
Usually we don’t post that much second hand content.
But once in a while you have to make exceptions. I did it last time with 2010 Nipwitz episodes. This time I’ll post two videos. Totally different but both also showing the “fun side” of skiing in a very nice way.
The Earlyups clip totally got me with the cosacs, daffies…and wait, did I see a twister-spread too?
Nipwitz on the other hand is all about very progressive, very high skill-level urban jibs. But still they seem to have that nice “tongue in cheek” mode on all the time. That is a really refreshing take on the ski movies in general…which often can be (I hate to say this) almost boring in their seriousness!
Åre is Scandinavian’s biggest ski resort. For many Swedes it is the holiday destination to go instead of the Alps. One can pretty much state Åre has everything a good resort should have: long season, variable terrain, well maintained slopes for both beginners and expert skiers, several different terrain parks, cozy village and busy, trendy nightlife. Even the vertical drop is not bad – 890m (over 2900 feet). And there is also pretty good off-piste skiing if you know where to look and if the weather happens to be favorable.
Åre also has deep-rooted ski culture. Annual World Cup tour race here is a tradition. One of the world’s best freeskiers, Henrik Windstedt, is born in the nearby small village, Ullådal. Åre is the home mountain for the likes of Sebastian Garhammer, Reine Barkered and Henrik Harlaut to name a few. The mountain and its skiing had also brought us major brands like Peak Performance clothing. In a way, we Finns could admit Åre has everything skiing-wise that Finland doesn’t have…(hate to say that but it is pretty much the truth)
Pics in the article: Petri Kurkiand Antte Lauhamaa (Black Diamond sponsored telemark skier) – thank you guys!
Åre Ski Resort – general resort information
Åre village has a history of tourism and skiing since the 17th century. The first funicular up to the Åreskutan was built in 1910 and first FIS Worldcup race was held in 1969. The Åre village centre has an atmosphere you can compare e.g. to the classic Alp towns like St.Moritz. The village has some 60 restaurants, cafes and nightclubs, and there is no shortage of entertaining nightlife. There are also a wide selection of specalized shops ranging from skiing and outdoors to fancy design stores.
Åre is located in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. There are about 650 kilometers drive from Stockholm to Åre. Taking railway instead of driving is another comfy option. Nearby Östersund town has an airport and straight flights come from at least Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Manchester (read more here). Åre is far away from pretty much everywhere by central European standards but if you are e.g. visiting Sweden for a longer period, the drive isn’t that bad (Note: but if you have kids – prepare to reserve enough time…)
The resort itself is diveded into four different areas: Åre Björnen, Åre, Tegefjäll and Duved. There are about 120 different pistes and over 40 lifts, serving pretty much everything a skier or snowboarder can hope, excluding only very steep alpine style couloir descents. Åre village is the place to stay if you want to be close to all the services,restaurants, cafes, shops and people around. Another option is to rent a cabin/cottage somewhere nearby. Some of the cottages are located very close to the lifts/slopes – in the morning just click into the bindings and you are skiing. Having your own car (or rented car) is a good option but not obligatory if you stay near the lifts.
Skiing in Åre
For a dedicated skier Åre ski resort offer a bit of everything. Only the most hard core steep skiers and seasoned powder hounds may disappoint. There are no huge continuous steeps. And the snow is usually hard and wind-blown. The term “Scandinavian concrete” is often used to describe the typical snowpack in Åre. On the other hand, many Åre based freeskiers state that the variable and cruddy snow is one of the key to their success. Anyway the fact is that low pressures coming from North Atlantic make the wind blow hard from western direction and due to the closeness of the ocean the weather varies a lot, meaning large temperature changes through the season.
If you like to carve well maintained slopes Åre is definately for you. In the high season thousands of skiers hit the same slopes though – be prepared for some moguls and occasional bare / icy / rocky patches. Generally the further you go from the main lifts (just above Åre village) the less crowdy it gets.
For families with children I can highly recommend Åre Björnen on the east side of the area. Cabins and hotels are located basically on the slopes – it is a real “ski in, ski out”. There are tens of slopes and routes designed solely for kids, ranging from “magic carpet ride” for grommets to “mini terrain park” aimed at more skillful kids around 10 years of age. You also have shelters, fire places, child care rooms, restaurants with resting places (for eating your own picnic inside if the weather is bad), children play grounds etc. everywhere. It is not a huge overstatement to say that that the whole Björnen section is designed with families and kids in mind, really good work! Cross country skiing possibilities seemed very nice too and a trend seem to be skiing xc and pulling a kid’s sledge behind you…not bad for a work out and I guess kids enjoyed that too.
The resort has many different parks. The Bräckeparken in the main Åre area is the most famous. If you go to the black line be prepared for some serious airtime…or just to watch a line of very skilled kids hurling from the booters to all possible (spin) directions. Beat watching ski flicks on your sofa for sure! The red line is not bad either (and suits better for a middle aged office rat like me).
When the conditions are on, the off-piste skiing in Åre is not bad at all. There are very nice tree runs all over. For longer routes check out e.g. lines: backside of “Åreskutan” or “Östra Ravinen“, and be outfitted with normal avy gear and knowledge, or hire a guide, which is always recommended. If you happen to be on Facebook, check our Åre’s page and their update of March 24th. The pictures on this article show pretty ok conditions too, these shots are from exceptionally good 2005-2006 season when it snowed steadily through the whole winter.
-This letter was released by Professional Snowboarder Terje Haakonsen outlining many of the current fustrations professional snowboard athletes have with the current Olympic Qualifying process through the International Ski Federation (FIS). Tarje and others are proposing a qualifying system usiing TTR, Winter X Games and the Dew Tour.-
The following is shown in it’s entirety:
Letter to the Editor,
As the Olympic slopestyle/snowboarding discussion is peaking, it’s time to cast some light on this defining topic for the future of competitive snowboarding. This upcoming weekend, the FIS introduces slopestyle to their program, on the same weekend as the best slopestyle riders are competing in the Dew Tour. And the IOC is about to decide if they will include slopestyle in the next Olympic program or not. Some remarkable events have taken place in the last year. Let us recap:
After the extraordinary TV rating success of the Vancouver halfpipe contest, top cats from the IOC and NBC saw the potential in expanding the snowboarding program at the next Olympics. Seeing the golden boy Shaun White go double at the next winter Olympics (Sochi 2014) would be a ratings wet dream. In the fall of 2009, USA, Canada and New Zealand had prepared a proposition for the FIS’s annual congress in Turkey, June 2010. The idea was to prepare slopestyle for the 2018 Olympics by introducing it at the FIS Snowboarding World Championships, as the IOC requires two successful World Championships before considering new sports for future games.
By then, the FIS delegates were euphoric at the hysteria that followed the snowboarding events in Vancouver. They decided to speed up the process, bypassing the existing requirements by submitting an application to the IOC immediately – before slopestyle had been tried out at a single FIS World Championships. It is reasonable to imagine they felt confident that the IOC would react positively to this application.
The only problem was that IOC had a lot on their plate at their next meeting, in Acapulco in October [2010]. The most disturbing topic was women ski jumping; a nightmare for the Olympic movement. Women ski jumpers have been fighting for years to enter the Olympics, but have faced serious opposition both within FIS and the IOC. Many believe women ski jumping (including members of the sports media) does not have enough participants, is low on quality and does not have the necessary international reach as a sport to be a credible Olympic event. Women ski jumpers had sued the IOC before the Vancouver Olympics for discrimination, but were ruled against by the Canadian legal system.
Allowing snowboard slopestyle (as well as twintip ski halfpipe and slopestyle) before solving the women ski jumping issue probably made the choice impossible for IOC. Rather than accepting some applications from some sports and denying others, they made one statement for all: We will wait and see the quality of the sports at the upcoming world championships. FIS has several world championships coming up this season, among them the Nordic Ski World Championships in Oslo, the Snowboard World Championships in La Molina, Spain and the Freestyle World Championships in Deer Valley and Park City [ in Utah].
The only problem about this from a snowboarding perspective is that neither Molina nor Deer Valley/Park City had planned for a slopestyle! Even worse, Deer Valley actively bans snowboarding on a general basis and they do not have a terrain park. In Norway, where the snowboard federation is independent of FIS, and are part owners of the TTR/WSF World Snowboarding Championships in 2012, this whole situation culminated in a public debate. IOC executive board member Gerhard Heiberg admitted that IOC wanted to check out more than just FIS events when deciding upon the quality of slopestyle. As FIS did not have slopestyle on their Olympic program, this opened up for a new scenario in the debate: if the IOC could look at non-FIS events, could they also approve these events as qualifiers for the Olympics?
Everyone working with top level snowboarding contest knows how much the date conflicts in Olympic qualifying years is hurting the sport. This has been bad before, but in 2013, when riders are qualifying for both halfpipe and slopestyle, it has the potential to be a nightmare. And this is the fundamental problem of competitive snowboarding: it will never reap its full potential before the Olympic issue is solved. Snowboarding is not a four year cycle event. It is a daily operation where progress is happening in all corners of the world – summer, winter, spring and fall. At the moment, the Olympic halfpipe finals is only good for the podium winners, the IOC and the broadcasters. It does not help the sport as a whole.
The potential for date conflict is the most apparent problem. This was cruelly exposed when FIS all of a sudden decided to include slopestyle on the program at the La Molina Snowboarding World Championships – a mere two months before the event! This was obviously a move to impress the IOC before the slopestyle decision was made, but it was not a good move for the sport: the slopestyle contest in Molina happens on exactly the same dates as the Dew Tour stop in Killington. All Dew Tour riders, being the best slopestyle riders in the world, have been already committed to these events, meaning the FIS World Champion in slopestyle (and in halfpipe for that matter) will be crowned without the best riders attending.
Competitive snowboarding has fantastic potential. Right now, judging formats, slope design, prize money, TV production/distribution and rider services are progressing fast in TTR, X Games and Dew Tour events. These are the best events in the world. But they are outside the Olympic family. As the organizers [sic] of the biggest winter sports event in the world, we believe that the IOC holds a corporate responsibility for ensuring a workable solution for the sport. This will not only realise the potential of the sport, but also fast-track the quality of snowboarding contests at the Olympics. All of us, including event organizers, FIS, IOC and federations, should find a solution for the better good of the sport. Otherwise, the riders will be the main losers. They will be forced into making impossible choices between conflicting events in 2013 – on any given weekend throughout the season.
We believe a good solution could be a common Olympic ranking, not sanctioned by FIS or TTR, but a joint ranking list based on results from the best events in the world. By embracing this, the IOC would take a credible position for the youth of the world and take charge in the ongoing action sports revolution. We are willing to talk to find a good solution for the sport. But we are also willing to keep fighting for snowboarding like we have done for over a decade. The Olympic system for snowboarding is wrong; preserving the status quo is not an option.
I received an interesting package the other day. Aki from Volver Creative had sent me his latest design product for review. ThinKing is a credit card holder, but not just any random credit card holder. I believe this is the very best credit card holder for skiers, snowboarders, surfers and other action sports enthusiastics. Let’s find out why.
I opened the package to get this sleak looking product in my hands.
ThinKing comes inside of a small black box which opens by pushing from the bottom. There is a short description of the ThinKing credit card holder in the backside of the box, both in Finnish and in English. ThinKing is a Finnish design product, so that’s why two languages.
ThinKing is made of anodized aluminium, and it is available currently in eight colours. All models can be seen in ThinKing online store. The colour of my credit card holder is “titan”, although I really like the black one. I’m a skier, but I’m also an entrepreneur, so black credit card holder fit well with my black Armani suit (he he..). Quite frankly pink credit card holder is pretty sweet or what say ya?
According to ThinKing website this product has a unique, patented construction and it can hold up to four cards securely inside. Although the inner material of ThinKing keeps credit cards in place, it’s not difficult to get them out either. I don’t know what the inner material is, but it really works well.
ThinKing credit card holder feels nice in hand. It’s leightweight and fancy. I used to carry a huge wallet with tons of stuff, but not anymore. I prefer having only the minimum amount of cards with me, all packed inside ThinKing credit card holder.
“ThinKing’s beauty lies in its smooth functionality and small size. Being both lightweight and slim it is easy to carry in any pocket or purse“, is said in ThinKing website, and I totally agree. Once you have started using ThinKing, you won’t carry your huge wallet anymore.
If you are a skier, snowboarder, surfer, mountain biker, base jumper or any other action sports enthusiastic, you MUST get this product. It’s so much easier to carry max four credit cards than a wallet full of stuff. ThinKing protects your credit cards from so that they won’t break in action.
It’s a beatiful weather here in Helsinki right now. It’s almost 4 pm, and I’m about to leave office. In couple of minutes I’ll take my ThinKing credit card holder and Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, and will head to the bar. I’ll impress all the ladies with my stylish look.. HA HA!
You know the type. The ones who always seem to have ‘bad’ stuff happening to them. Everyone knows someone who fits the mould. A conversation with them will reveal that they are currently recovering from their 3rd bout of flu this week, undergoing their 4th ligament replacement in as many years and dealing with the break up of their 5th glaringly obviously flawed relationship.
More often than not they can be found telling you how lucky you are, that your life is so much better than theirs, and if it wasn’t for their wife/kids/mortgage/job/dog they’d be doing exactly what you’re doing. It’s exhausting having to listen to it, let alone what it must be like actually being one of them. These are the people that drive me potty. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you – the victims.
Don’t get me wrong, I have feelings and am most certainly capable of distributing large doses of sympathy and empathy. In fact I can do compassion in tsunami-esque proportions if I think it appropriate but when it comes to the victims, I don’t just struggle to give it out, I point blank refuse. The difference between the victims and those who need and deserve support and encouragement is that the former just want their ‘life is shit’ attitude validated. The latter refuse to see it that way and battle onwards regardless of what hand they’re being dealt. Essentially it’s the old glass half full analogy – how you choose to see your life is how your life actually is.
You see the thing is that if you decide that you’re going to focus on the obstacles and difficulties in your life, the chances are that you’re going to attract yet more of these into your world. Its not exactly complicated stuff, anyone who has been mountain biking, skiing etc has been taught these same lessons from day one in their sport. If you choose to concentrate on the giant rock in your path or the cliff edge that runs alongside your track, it is extremely likely that you will find yourself magnetically drawn towards it and consequently, on your arse.
The very fact of giving a problem your energy or attention somehow gives it power. Instead if you acknowledge its presence, decide how you’re going to avoid it and keep your eyes unswervingly focused on the direction that you want to travel, you have every chance of a fast, smooth and awesome ride. It’s really up to you.
In this world there is very little that we can actually do about what happens to us. If someone wants to break your heart, fire you, run you over or steal your dog then there is very little that you can do about it. These are the external forces and they are not for us to control. Trying to do so will only result in a forcing of the natural tide of life and can transform your time on this planet into something resembling a shit fight.
What we can do and where we can play a part is how we look at events in our life and with the right head on, everything is possible. The key to it all is perspective. Perspective has movement and momentum. Resignation and the victim mentality are static, powerless and conjure up images of sitting on your bum in sludge.
With the right outlook, anything that confronts us can be viewed as a learning experience and if we learn, we grow. If we grow, we expand and if we expand, there is room for more good stuff to come in. And herein lies the genius of the whole thing. By simply adopting a positive, curious attitude to life one can create space which will then only fill up with yet more intriguing shiny stuff. The victims of course do the opposite and as a result continue to attract grey, miserable drizzle into their time on this planet. And yet another tickly throat.
We asked him how he managed it and what it is like?
We had been successfully running cultural and trekking trips in Afghanistan for years but the idea that skiing could be possible first came to mind in 2009 in a small shepherds hut in the Wakhan district in Afghanistan’s far North East. I met an enthusiastic aid worker named Ken who was hiking with his girlfriend. He told me of a small group of ex-pats who regularly skied the Salang Pass that links Kabul with the Northern Provinces. His pictures looked amazing and we agreed in principle to try and run a trip.
The more I tried to work on the details of the trip the more it seemed like an idea that would never come to fruition. There are no lifts, no equipment and crucially no guides. It was fine for ex-pats to ski in the hills but ski touring in uncharted peaks needs professional expertise and just when we were ready to pack it in help came through a project to increase tourism in the Bamian region in Central Afghanistan. Famed for the once having the worlds largest standing Buddhas carved into the rock above the town, Bamian is home to the peaceful Hazara people and is one of Afghanistans most beautiful regions. Bamian and the stunning nearby lakes of Band e Amir regularly see plenty of tourists in the summer but the winter is a very quiet time. A local NGO thought that Bamian could be a future ski destination and is in the process of training local guides using the services of Nando, an IFMGA qualified guide from Italy.
Clearly I was not the only one who thought skiing could be a reality in Afghanistan so we joined forces with this initiative in Bamian and the ex-pat skiers in the Salang to create Afghanistan’s first ski tour.
It is not every ski resort that sees the tourists outnumbered by journalists but that was Bamian in 2011. We stayed in simple rooms heated by traditional wood fired Bukhari stoves. Two Afghan men who I had met previously as guides now work with Nando to run a small ski rental business gathered from donations and are training ski touring guides to the nearby Koh e Baba (old man mountains) range. As well as some top ski touring with Nando our guests visited the remains of the nearby Buddhas, played football with some kids in Dragon Valley and ate kebabs and rice in traditional Chaikhanas (tea houses) in Bamian’s lively bazaar.
We then headed to the Salang Pass near Kabul for a trip up Entente Peak. So named as it was first jointly climbed and skied by a mixed group of French and British in 2003. We drove through Russian built tunnels with icicles hanging from the ceiling and snow drifting in through the holes in the concrete.
However, the highlight for me was on the second day in Bamian. At the foot of the Koh e Baba range we met Asif and Habib. Two brothers aged 11 and 12 they had seen the skiers and with the help of their father had made a set of skies out of wood, metal, and old rubber boots. They only had one pair and took it in turns to make runs. Children in Europe and America would probably turn their backs on the idea of ski touring without lifts but these two brothers had to wait their turn even to get that chance. They get ski lessons through the program twice a week and Untamed Borders hopes that in 5 years time Asif and Habib will be guiding our guests on the slopes of Koh e Baba.
We know that ski tourism is not the answer to the problems facing Afghanistan but in a small corner of the Hindu Kush it can help. The men who run the small ski rental place do need more equipment but what they really need is more skiers. With luck they will get them.
Untamed Borders has a range of trips planned with Nando to Afghanistan in 2012. Wey’ll be back in Bamian skiing the Koh e Baba as well as plans to arrange heliskiing in the Wakhan and first ascents of 6000 metre peaks.
Please visit www.untamedborders.com or contact us on info@untamedborders.com for further details on how to visit Afghanistan as a ski tourist or how to donate equipment to the skiers like Asif and Habib.
My eyes are half closed trying to shield my retinas from the burning intensity of the scorching sun and hostile glare of the glacier. It’s enough of a struggle to walk in crampons full stop, let alone trying to do it delicately and lightly so as to avoid collapsing up to your knees in the late afternoon melting snow. Its June, 4pm and I’m at the back of our group of four roped up together on the Vallee Blanche. We’re way behind schedule having spent all day climbing in direct sunlight on the Pyramides du Tacul which has involved 12 pitches of mind bending vertical, 6 hours of relentless concentration and has left me with pretty much zero remaining in the tank.
Our destination is the Refuge des Cosmiques and it does not appear to be coming any closer. When finally there is a significant increase in its size there is simultaneously a sinking realisation that it sits at the top of what will develop into yet another long, exhausting push. I want to be there but already know that recovery time will be minimal. Tomorrow we will rise at pitch black o’clock to try and make it to the summit of the Tour Ronde before that well known sparrow releases any gas from his intestine.
The simultaneously heavy and rolling status of my head alerts me to the proximity that I am currently at in relation to my limit. Let’s just say, if I were any closer I’d be invading my own personal space. ‘Hey. I need to stop and have a drink’. I call out to Jean, the guide in the making who is leading us. I am one of three test clients for the aspiring Chamonix guides undergoing examination and assessment of their ability to lead punters like me in the mountains. I’m essentially a crash test dummy and right now, I’m crashing.
My request for a break is met but oh my god is it reluctantly. At the moment the other two guides and their clients are slower than us and we are leading this merry dehydrated band towards the oasis of the Refuge. By stopping what will happen is that Jean may not be the first guide in to the Refuge and what I think this means is that the size of his….um…..’manhood’ will then be open for questioning. I on the other hand couldn’t care less about the magnitude or other of his appendage and this should be of more concern for him. Because quite frankly if he doesn’t allow me to stop right now and take on board some fluids then he is running the risk of losing the entire thing altogether should I decide to find an alternative use for my ice axe.
Yes I’m angry. I’m angry that my request was met with such an overtly negative response but more importantly, I’m angry that I’ve had to ask to stop full stop. I’m angry that the ego of the guide is so blatantly more important than the welfare, enjoyment and experience of the client. And I’m really angry that the system seems to support this as there is no indication from the examiner that failure to check on my progress will result in overall failure for the guide.
I think I need to explain this a little further – my anger does not come from feeling substandard, far from it. Whilst I’m not a hugely experienced mountaineer by any stretch of the imagination, I do know a fair bit about this world and I love it. My frustration lies in the fact that in my eyes this egocentric attitude establishes a benchmark that is totally irresponsible and flies in the face of what I consider to be of paramount importance when experiencing the mountains with a professional. What I mean is that if you have invested in a guide then you have invested in their ability to keep you safe whilst allowing you the opportunity to learn, discover, and explore an environment that you have decided that you want to venture into.
You have not signed up to join an expedition, you have not decided to pay a guide in order to see how good or fast they are, and you certainly didn’t base your choice on the size of their ……manhood. What you did decide was to invest your hard earned cash and valuable time in an experience and in so doing, you deserve for this experience to be as rewarding as you wish it to be. And most importantly of all, it should be fun.
Some will say that this is just the way that it is, that the Chamonix guides are ‘just like that’ and that very well may be the case. But that doesn’t make it ok. For sure if you are a seasoned mountaineer and you understand the dynamic of what you are getting yourself into, fair enough. But my concern is for those who are starting out. The stand out moments in my life and greatest memories I can recall have generally been when I’ve been in the mountains. I have been taught, encouraged, empowered, shown great things and I have laughed. I have been lucky. It might not have worked out like this. Perhaps if I had come across a French man packing a small baguette at the start of my mountain life, I might have swung for tiddly winks instead.
Improved lap times, greater distances covered, personal bests, participation in tougher events. Harder, faster, stronger, better. Ask any runner, biker, climber, swimmer, triathlete, yogi etc what their aims are for the year ahead and these are among the answers that you can expect to hear from those who are committed to their chosen sport.
As a skier, my own personal goal over the past couple of years has been to make the transition from piste skier to ski mountaineer. Don’t get me wrong – a resort skiing holiday is still an enormously attractive option. Spending time with friends in the fresh air, relentless consumption of gluhwein and crepes and when time is against you, crepes full of gluhwein can make for a more than entertaining week away. But for me and an increasing number of my peers, a shift is occurring. We want more.
To move outside the boundaries of the artificial world of lift accessed and prescribed pistes is a serious commitment. If you choose to go this way, you are literally venturing under the ropes and into the unknown. Avalanche bulletins, seracs, transceivers, ABS bags, slope angles, and kick turns all constitute part of a new language and culture that will surround you. Suddenly you have a hell of a lot more to worry about than just remembering to put your resort pass in your pocket before turning up at the lifts at the start of the day.
It’s a brutal unforgiving environment with no margin for error as has been brought to our attention most recently with the tragic deaths of two British skiers caught in avalanches in Val d’Isere. It is not so much a case of making sure you don’t get it slightly wrong but rather more, utterly imperative that you get it absolutely right. First time. Every time.
The word of course is how. A whole heap of them in fact. How do you know what lies beneath the surface and how can you make sure you get it right? How do you know what to do if you’re standing at the top of a slope that has slid and you have just 15 minutes to locate your friends before their chances of survival plummet to practically zero. Essentially, how is it possible to explore beyond the boundaries and simultaneously minimize your personal exposure to natural risk?
It was precisely my inability to reconcile these two seemingly opposing goals that led me to sign up for a 3.5 day AIARE Level 1 Avalanche Course in Chamonix last month. That and the crazy weather conditions in the Alps so far this winter – knee deep powder in November and skiing in t-shirts in January would imply to me that there may be a touch of the irregularity in this season’s snowpack.
I found IFMGA/UIAGM mountain guide Jeff Banks’ course one evening, signed up straight away and the following evening I arrived in Chamonix equipped with my weapon of choice – curiosity. I came in search of some kind of rules, answers or guarantees that might help transform the seemingly unpredictable into something rather more understandable. Control issues? Most definitely. But if they mean that my time spent on this earth is lengthened, then I embrace them. As may the pub and vineyard owners of France I might imagine….
The next 3.5 days were full. Fantastically full. A combination of class based and field based learning. We analysed potential avalanche scenarios, learned to identify the different types of snow crystals and to understand their implication within the snow pack. We watched sobering video footage of actual events, went outside to learn and practically apply the all important emergency rescue techniques. We went to the top of the mountain and ventured under the ropes to dig and analyze the different layers in the snowpack. We even planned a tour and spent a day out of bounds putting our skills to the test without the input of our guides.
I’d like to think our survival was down to excellent decision making, authoritative leadership, optimum route selection and coherent group behaviour. Joking aside, I think we did pretty well for novices actually and it was the perfect learning and empowering environment to put into practice what we’d been discussing over the previous days. We really were out there ‘doing it’ safe in the knowledge that the calm and solid guides Jeff and Robbie were ever present should we have made any really ludicrous plans!
As the sun dipped behind Mont Blanc, I drove away from Chamonix with a huge grin on my face and a notepad jam packed with new info. And yes, I even left with several answers to the long list of ‘how’s that I’d rocked up with at the beginning of the weekend. I had learned how to perform a Rutschblock test, how to measure the incline of a slope, how best to shovel snow so as to reach a victim as fast as possible, and even how best to deal with a potentially tricky group member who might be putting the overall safety of the party in jeopardy.
While all of this is obviously incredibly important, by far and away the most valuable bit of information I learned over the course of the weekend was that there is actually not one skill, approach or piece of gear that is going to keep you alive in the mountains should you be dealt a sliding snow card. Contrary to popular belief an expensive Avalung, the fanciest of transceivers, or the latest carbon probe are not going to make the key difference out there. They have their uses of course but are nothing more than unnecessary weight if you do not have one fundamental bit of kit in your backpack.
What I’m talking about right now is knowledge. Nowhere is Sir Francis Bacon’s ‘knowledge is power’ observation more applicable than in the world of avalanche prediction and avoidance. To best ensure your safety out there you need to be constantly asking questions of yourself, your group, and the environment that you’re in. If you continue to inquire, challenge and ask it will follow that you will learn and in so doing amass knowledge that will hopefully prolong your life.
So if like me, you’re finding yourself increasingly drawn towards the pursuit of powder and on the cusp of spanking a grand on an ABS bag because you think it makes you safe beyond bounds, I urge you to think again. Why not equip yourself with something worthwhile and sign up for an Avalanche Course instead? By opting to invest in knowledge you’ll guarantee yourself a decent return and besides, no-one wants to have all the gear and no idea….
Jeff Banks is an American mountain guide who lives in Colorado and Chamonix and runs the course – www.jeffbanksmountainguide.com. Avalanche Courses run by Jeff are official AIARE (American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education) accredited courses. The AIARE website has further details: www.avtraining.org.
