Off Piste Skiing in St.Anton
The
first thing that we should talk about with off piste skiing is the most
important subject of all - Safety. Every season people are killed when
they ski off piste and in the majority of these accidents you find that
they could have been prevented either by the right safety equipment
being used or by having a qualified guide present and by taking the
correct precautions. So what safety equipment do you need ?
Please
remember to make a small
donation to help us keep the site up and running....Thank you
A transceiver is essential and
you should never go off piste without one. This is a device that is
constantly sending out a signal that will allow you to be found when
you are buried under the snow when set to send and will search for
people buried under the snow when set to receive. There are many
transceivers on the market and you should buy the best one that you can
afford.
An ABS Airbag is also a great bit of kit
and whilst many people consider it to be expensive, I have a very good
friend
who thinks that it is very cheap as it did save his life last
season. Essentially it is a rucksack that has two large
inflatable bags inside it.
In the event of an avalanche you pull a handle, which inflates these
bags. This then helps you to stay on the top or very near to the
surface of the snow in the event of an avalanche. There is enough
statistical evidence now to show that they will save your life 99% of
the time. Just be careful when putting the handle in or taking it
out as it is very embassing / funny if yo set it off accidently - very
amusing for your friends!
The
Avalung. The Black
Diamond AvaLung is a new product. It consists of a zippered mesh vest
with pockets and a breathing tube attached to a snow filter on the
side. The idea being that if you are buried by an avalanche, the tube
and one way valve allows you to vent your hot, CO2-rich breath out of
the back of the vest. This prevents CO2 narcosis and the icing up that
normally forms a fatal ice-mask sealing the porous snow, preventing you
from breathing air that does exist in even the densest packed snow.
This product has been tested and allowed volunteers to be buried for an
hour under three feet of hard packed snow.
A metal shovel. You should
always carry a shovel (make sure that you get a metal one and not a
plastic one), as you will need this to dig out
anybody who has been buried by the avalanche and you should also make
sure that all of your ski buddies have a full set of safety equipment -
remember if you have a problem it is them who will be looking for you
and digging you out!
A Probe.
This is a collapsible length of tubing that you use to push down into
the snow and literally probe for anyone that has been buried by the
avalanche. Again this will fit easily into your rucksack or ABS bag. It
is a great idea to practise using your rescue equipment. You could bury
a ski and a rucksack and then use the probe to see how they feel - note
the difference between the two - you do not want to waste time digging
out a ski thinking it is your mate.
First Aid Kit.
You should carry as comprehensive a first aid kit as room permits. Also
it is a good idea to have a small foldaway toolkit & knife, a heat
retaining blanket, spare equipment like gloves & goggles. Also
carry a plastic bottle of water and a compass. Check with your ski
buddies to make sure that you al have a comprehensive first aif pack.
There
are a couple of things that we should now say. Firstly even if you have
all of this equipment it will do you no good whatsoever if you do not
know how to use it ! Make sure that everybody that you ski off piste
with has the correct safety equipment and that everybody has undergone
thorough training in how to use it. Secondly I would also say that I
think it is much better to take every conceivable precaution and NOT
end up in an avalanche in the first place. How can you do this?
You should learn how to ski in off piste areas, i.e. one person at a
time and from safe area to safe area. You should learn what to do as a
TEAM in the event of an avalanche. You should always take a local guide
if you are not totally familiar with the area that you are going into.
You should NEVER ignore warning signs that say areas are closed.
Click
here
to go to a good
avalanche safety equipment website for more info on equipment and where
to purchase it
Off Piste around St.Anton
St.Anton is famous across the
world for the off piste skiing that can be found here. The resort
certainly has some of the best and most extensive off piste skiing you
will find anywhere and it would literally take a book to tell you about
most of it - and there is, in fact, just such a book that has been
written by a guy called Andy Thurner. Andy
is from this area and has been skiing around here all his life and his
book is very authoritative with maps, photos and detailed descriptions.
However, I cannot make the point too strongly - you should not ski very
far off piste without taking a QUALIFIED GUIDE as it is far too
dangerous.
If you would like to hire an independent Ski Guide who will take you or
your group to some of the very best off piste skiing to be found in the
area - here is the website for one of the best guides that I highly
recommend: www.learn2ski.eu
There is also very good company in the resort that specialises
in taking people to some of the best off piste areas, they are
called Piste
to Powder. and you can join one of their groups as an individual skier.
However
there are some nice off piste areas that are close to the piste that
have plenty of people skiing them so you are unlikely to get into any
problems there. These are the areas that I will now tell you about.
Bachseite
One of the best, most popular and easily accessible
places to quickly get off piste on in St.Anton is Bachseite which in
English means beside the stream or river - However the English
being the English have put a slightly different translation to it -
Backsider !! Bachseite is the area below the Galzig that drops down to
blue run No. 4 (Happy Valley). The best way to get into it is to go
down blue run No.9 which
is a track that cuts right through Bachseite and across the Tanzboden
draglift. You will see plenty of people skiing it if the snow is good
so you can easily follow somebody down and there are many routes down.
You can get into Bachseite from the top of Galzig itself but I would
not recommend trying this if you do not know where you are going as
there are lots of rocks and drops.
Mattun
Mattun
is another good area that is easily reached and when there is fresh
snow it can be great. However, Mattun can also be dangerous as it is
very avalanchable. If the signs say that it is closed - DO NOT GO IN.
To reach the Mattun area you take the chair lift up to the top of
Kapall and as you come off the chair go around to the left. Again
when the snow is good there will be plenty of people skiing in here so
following somebody should not be a problem. Mattun will bring you out
at the bottom of Happy Valley (blue 4) so if the snow was good you can
then take the Mattunbahn back up and do it all again. Alternatively you
can go up on the Zammermoosbahn to Galzig.
Zwischen
Zwischen literally means between and this
little area is to be found between the runs of Osthang (blue 5) and
Kandahar (black 2). To find it you ski off to the left of blue 5 just
after the point where red 6 comes across it. If there is fresh snow
this area is very nice but take care not to go too far down as you have
to cut back to the right and come out by the bottom of the Osthangbahn.
If you keep going you will find yourself in one of three gullies. It is
possible to ski down these IF
there is plenty of snow but it is very steep, narrow & tricky.
If there is not enough snow it is a very slippery climb down with your
skis off - not recommended - I should know as I tried it last season !
Schindlerkar
The
Scindlerkar is ski route red 15. It is reached by taking the
Schindlergratbahn from the Galzig side. As you come off the chairlift
ski about 100m and then go to the right. It will be signposted. Again,
like Mattun, this area is regularly closed because of avalanches and
snow blasting so if it says closed - DO NOT GO IN. If the snow is good
there will be many people to follow and also many choices of where
to ski. You can take the easier option of skiing down the marked ski
route or you can traverse across the hang on the left hand side and
then ski the powder back down to the ski route. You can also get into
the hangs on the right but there are lots of chutes here and they can
of course avalanche, also a little bit of climbing will be required.
When you get to the flat area where the track starts there are a couple
of gullies that you can take to the left but be careful as the snow can
be crap in them ! Best idea is to take the track back down to the top
of Happy Valley.
The Schindlerhang
This is a very good place to
ski if there is lots of fresh snow. To get to it take the
Schindlergratbahn up from the Galzig side, then as you get off the
chairlift ski straight down for about 2-300 metres until the piste goes
around to the left. At this point you cut across to the left, I am sure
that there will be already be a traverse cut across here unless you are
lucky enough to be the first there. You then traverse across and choose
the point at which the snow looks best for you to ski back down to the
piste below. Once you return to the piste you will be on red 14, somewhere near the Ulmer Hutte.
The
Valugahang
Very
similar to the Schindler hang (see above) except that when you
come off the Schindlergratbahn and ski down to the left turn, instead of
traversing to the left, you traverse to the right. Again there is sure
to be a traverse already cut here and plenty of people to follow. You
have the chance for quite a few good turns here as you can ski down the
first hang and then cut across for a further traverse and more turns.
Best bet is probably to follow one of the ski instructors that are
bound to be taking their group across here !
Maienvasen
Maienvasen
is a great off piste area, but it is pretty steep and can avalanche so
lots of care is needed. To reach it you leave the top gondola station
on the Galzig and head towards St.Christoph and then cut off the slope
to the left. You now in an off piste area and ski across to the right,
this will bring you to the top of Maienvarsen. It is quite a wide area
and has some great powder when it has snowed. To get out you have to
head towards
the big concrete air vent ( you can not miss it) and then ski to the
left where there is most likely a traverse track back through the trees
- you will come out near the Senn Hutte on blue 1. If you do not turn
left by the air vent you will end up on the St.Anton - St.Christoph
road with a long walk back !! I would not suggest that you ski in here if you are not with somebody
that knows where they are going.
Black Osthang
This
is a ski route that is shown on the map as red 5 but believe me it is
black not red !! It is very easy to get to, just ski down the right
hand side of blue Osthang (blue 5) and as you get to the bottom head
off to the right. Black Osthang basically runs all the way down under
the Galzig gondola. It does get lots of moguls down it though but if
there is fresh snow it can be great - be careful as the moguls will
still be under the fresh snow !! The run finishes when it just pops you
out onto blue 1. You will then have to ski all the way down to the
village and take one of the lifts back up.