admin – Page 11 – Alpine Winter Sports

30/03/201531/03/2015

Fresh snow, fresh dangers

On Saturday a British expat living in Switzerland was killed by an avalanche on Mont Vélan south of Verbier near the Italian border. He was skiing the 3600m couloir d’Annibal with his brother, who survived. Both were apparently experienced freeriders with all the right equipment and the avalanche risk was 2/5. However the couloir is steep, upto 45°, and long.

A 60-year-old German was also killed in an avalanche on Saturday on the Pigne d’Arolla, again in the far south of Valais.

Across the Alps a number of skiing and snowboarding fatalities occurred this weekend, bringing the total in the Alps to over 100 for the season. A large dump of fresh snow, high winds and the height of the freeriding season have all contributed.

However the fatalities need to be put in perspective. The number who die off-piste makes headlines, as do stories of drunk Brits topping themselves in the Alps, but skiing is relatively safe. The stats for Europe are patchy, but it would seem like there is roughly one fatality per million skier/snowboarders days, and roughly one serious injury per million skier/snowboarders days, based on stats collected by the NSAA in the USA. The USA boasts about 10 million skiers and snowboarders, who put in an average of about 5 days on the slopes per year. So in the USA maybe something around 50 people a year die on the slopes.

However, according to the National Safety Council, in a typical year 36,000 Americans died in motor-vehicle accidents; 5,000 pedestrians were killed; 9,000 died from unintentional public falls; 4,500 died from unintentional public poisoning; 2,500 people drowned while swimming in public areas and 1000 died while bicycle riding;

Incidentally, on the question of how many people ski rather than snowboard, The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) of the USA reports in 2011 there were 6.9 million skier and 5.1 million snowboarders. According to NSGA, 22.2 percent of snowboarders also ski, and conversely, 16.6 percent of skiers also snowboard.

Just thought you would be interested.

28/03/2015

Turning Chinese

欢迎来到瑞士。 The Brits came first. And most recently the Russians have become commonplace in many of the most fashionable resorts like Ischgl, Verbier and St Moritz. However the next wave of winter tourists in Switzerland may dwarf the numbers from these countries. There are 1.4 billion Chinese, and they are taking up winter sports in increasing numbers.

Currently about a million Chinese have tried skiing, but the country’s resorts are limited. A national water shortage also limits the ability of existing resorts in China to use snow cannon.
The country is bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, and the head of China’s Olympic Committee is hoping to get upto 300 million citizens involved in skiing and skating. There is little doubt that Europe, and Switzerland in particular, will need to gear up for a Chinese invasion in the coming years.

Whilst travelling around Switzerland I have come across an increasing number of Chinese nationals who are visiting Europe in winter. Many are coming because the timing is convenient or the prices are attractive. Few intended to ski or snowboard, but that might change.

Many Chinese too may be less attracted by the allure of the slopes than the lifestyle associations of winter sports – the clothing, the après ski, the scenery, the effortless public transport. Additionally, from the viewpoint of the tourist industry, the Chinese are particularly attractive visitors because they typically spend twice as much at German guests skiing in Switzerland, according to Bloomberg.

Unfortunately those that do embrace skiing or snowboarding tend to see these as dare-devil sports, and can be reckless on the slopes. In China, resorts line the edge of slopes with safety nets, but the accident rates are high and increasing. Turning is seen by some as a loss of bottle.

The challenge may well be to provide packages to Chinese tourists that include lessons, even for those who think their abilities on the slopes do not merit them.

25/03/2015

Throw away those ski poles and use a pair of crutches!

Parsenn ski area in Davos Apparently ski resorts should introduce dedicated ‘golden’ slopes for older and slower skiers to avoid people quitting the sport, said one of the bosses of Switzerland Tourism at the second annual International Ski Travel Market meeting in Davos earlier this week.

Urs Eberhard said skiers are getting older and giving up earlier, with one in five skiers who quit giving up because they no longer felt safe.

22/03/201523/03/2015

Bruson resort review

On a recent excursion down to Valais, I decided to check out Bruson. You can be forgiven for not knowing of this resort as it is somewhat overshadowed by its neighbour across the Val d’Bagnes – Verbier. However on paper it looks worth visiting. It claims to have 51km of piste and, as of last season now has a gondola lift to replace the old bus service. This means it is now directly connected to Verbier, and to the railway station at Le Châble (which connects to Martigny).

The 51km of piste that appears on most literature about the resort sounds pretty impressive, although the resort itself only claims 40km. Still, even on the lower estimate that puts it alongside resorts like Grächen, Klewenalp or Pizol, all of which have plenty to keep you occupied for a day.
Bruson with a view across to Verbier
I have to say I was a tad disappointed. Apart from a section associated with a surface lift up at the summit, most of the resort seemed to consist of variations on a single run near the main chairlift. The variations were on a respectable black run which you could join or avoid through interconnecting blue or red runs and some off-piste cut-throughs in the trees, with the section of the black at the top of the chairlift the steepest part. If the snow was better there looked to be some decent off-piste around the surface lift at the summit. Another surface lift connects a couple of lower runs up to the bottom of the chairlift and the top gondola station. The piste map suggests there are a couple of unprepared trails that take you down to Le Châble at 881m and Bruson itself at 1080m, although I suspect you wouldn’t normally take those even if the snow was good except to get back down at the end of a day. Those runs may explain where most of the 40km of runs comes from, because my estimate for the resort would put it nearer 20km.

With typical Spring conditions the snow got progressively heavier as the day progressed, but between the summit at La Pasay (2163m) and the gondola top station at Moay (1640m) it was fine in the morning. Indeed if there is one thing in Bruson’s favour it is that you have, easily reachable from Verbier, well-prepared slopes and empty lifts every day.
Empty slopes at Bruson
It is not especially cheap. The lift pass just for Bruson is SFr47, but the sector is included in the full 4 Vallées lift pass, so if you have the full pass and are based in Verbier, it is worth an outing – especially for confident intermediates who want to practice technique on well prepared runs without wannabe Beat Fuezes whizzing around.

I found three small restaurants with simple fare. The one half way down the main black run had friendly staff, great views from the terrace, some nice wines and a very pleasant home made vegetable soup served with some local cheese. However it seemed to charge Verbier prices for the privilege.

All in all, an interesting day out, but I wouldn’t hurry to return.