Practice makes perfect

Richmond Park, London: the unlikely scene for a group of skiers & snowboarders to gather – no snow for hundreds of miles – but a great chance to practise transceiver search skills. Soggy undergrowth hides beacons well, so single and multiple burial situations are easily simulated. Only deep burial can’t be mimicked – a big omission that people could address this season with a visit to one of the growing number of avalanche training centres to be found in alpine ski resorts.

Even without snow, there were several lessons, some of them expected: that the Tracker DTS is good, and particularly appreciated by novices; that earphones help audio-searchers focus on the signals that matter; that the new Barryvox Pulse might be the new one to beat for multiple burials, though it showed some erratic behaviour; and finally it seemed that the (old technology) Ortovox F1 got found first, suggesting it’s a good one to wear. More generally, complete beginners learnt the essentials of transceiver searching while the more experienced got a useful recap, as well as a chance to remind themselves how difficult multiple burials are to deal with and, in consequence, the impression that we should all seriously consider strategies:

• not to get avalanched in the first place (after all, it’s not totally random);
• or if that’s too much to ask, only to have to search for one victim i.e. descend suspect slopes one at a time
  

Some of the best reading around this subject is at www.beaconreviews.com Much more than the name suggests, with in-depth info on different transceiver models, how to use them and the technical issues surrounding the business of finding avalanche victims. Essential reading. Also good is the Tracker DTS online demo of search techniques. Useful for novices and more experienced users, even if you use a different make of transceiver.

Thanks to the Snowheads responsible for organising the session and to Mark, of www.anatom.co.uk (suppliers of the BCA Tracker) for the tutorial.

Last of all practice - it makes perfect.

www.ultimate-ski.com - what's it all about?

ultimate-ski.com? “What's it all about?”, “What's different about it?” and “Where do you make your money?"

These three questions crop up quite a lot when you launch a website. So some answers, before anyone else asks.

It's all about sliding over snow, about the fact that when it's snowing at night, we can't get to sleep and have to get up every hour to check if it's still snowing and to see how much has settled and whether it's likely to keep snowing and what it might look like at first light. And that's just at home. It's all about what a great feeling it is, around -20°C, when the snot in your nose freezes as you tramp back from the bar to your hotel and you know tomorrow's snow is going to have that chalky dry, squeaky perfection. It's all about that tingle of remoteness as you head into wild, untracked mountains and make turns - great turns, lousy turns, turns on one board or two planks, whatever, just that interplay of gravity, ice crystals, and human being. We're nuts about skiing and snowboarding, mountains, snow, being scared and exhilirated at the same time, tasting the difference that 2,000 metres of altitude makes to a coffee and cake halfway through a great morning, and trying to work out how that same altered air pressure can result in the doubling in price of just about anything you can sink your teeth into.

What's different is that we're trying to bridge some gaps through the power of the interweb. Not long ago a package ski trip was almost the only option. Now mountains everywhere are up for grabs - ski-drive, fly-drive, chalet, hotel, igloo, you name it, you can sort it online. So you need a bit more info - no, a lot more info - than you can get digitally or in print so far. The web is made for the job - limitless depth and breadth for detail where required, with all the current information, from snow reports to online availability. We've started with what counts, core content, and - give or take the odd new lift or mountain restuarant - that remains useful, to you as info-seekers and for us to build on.

You can't put this stuff together for nothing, so here's the deal. We're lining up key travel partners so you can book your trips, your airport car parking, your ski passes and gear rental direct from our pages. That allows us to continue to be here and gives you some great deals, with minimum fuss. So you really have nothing to lose, other than the shirt off your back if we decide to do a runner (to the mountains, naturally) once we've got your credit card details. But that's unlikely. We're in for the long haul as a spin round ultimate-ski.com should make clear to you. So have a good look, please, and then spend some money.