The first is a two part article on how to plan a ski tour using the planning wheel idea. Maybe not needed to for the old hands on here but could be of use to someone starting out feel free to share, here is part one of that - https://ogso-mountain-essentials.com/planning-a-ski-tour-by-rob-benton/. part two coming soon.
There is also a two part article looking at human emotions and thought processes in avalanche terrain. How they are the same emotions and thought process that markers use to influence what you buy. it also talk about the best way to be aware of these and to manage them.
Hopefully they will be an interesting read.
Cheers
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Solid article, but nothing new or that someone shouldn't have learned on any basic avy course.
To throw a spanner in the works, sometimes the best thing is to abandon the plan! I've seen people take unnecessary risks because that got overly focused following their plan, and not adapting to the situation around them.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
boarder2020
Thanks, It wasn't necessarily looking to be new ground (guess that depends on what you knew before). But more a different way of structuring it so people have something to follow. I have been helping a few people and groups new to touring. They have all done avi courses and yeh I am sure it would have been covered, but at the same time there is a lot to take in the time you have. Some of them were struggling bring it all together and missing bits and finding a bit more stress full that it needed to be. So I thought the idea of a process to follow could help them and maybe others.
"To throw a spanner in the works, sometimes the best thing is to abandon the plan! I've seen people take unnecessary risks because that got overly focused following their plan, and not adapting to the situation around them."
Totally agree there is a risk of this, it comes in the human error of commitment where you have invested a lot in the process so far, so you want to see it through even if conditions or aspect have change to make it unsafe. But there is also the other side of getting side tracked. Where you plan for slope x with an angle and aspect you judge to be safe, but then when out there see other things that look to good and head off with out always considering the risk of a change of plan.
There are loads of skills and judgments in planning and completing great tours, and you need a big tool box of skills and ideas to do this. I don't thank any article or video on its own is complete but just another tool or idea to add to the box.
Started off with a plan yesterday and ended up with three attempts at one. So at least me and @boarder2020 agree on something
Admittedly it was only slack-country but would still involve going out of the resort a fair way and then back into it, but it took three goes at implementing the plan.
First attempt we were scuppered by being unable to park due to the High Season hordes, so that ruled out the initial plan which was to ski a South facing route we know well out of the back/side of the resort down to a valley, before climbing back up via another vallon.
Second attempt was to try another route, from a different sector, but on arriving at the point where we would ski down into a different valley, the snow pack just looked too wind affected.
So then it was the third attempt at a different route and this one looked a better option.
Was there a plan, well yes, but it was a flexible one based on various options, but all ones that had been tried and tested before over the years, and I think it ticked all the boxes in Rob's wheel, as I was constantly reviewing it as we skied down.
Today has been a calm day and I've spent a fair amount of time planning a tour for tomorrow, two different options, and the logistics are a little more complex than usual, in fact I scoped out the area last Saturday based on the Spring like forecast for this week in the hope that the snow would go through four or five days of freeze-thaw, in fact yesterday was a bit of a precursor to it.
The area I'm going to is nigh on a 10km hike to get to before you even start skinning, hence it's hardly been skied as it's just too far for most to bother about as they'd sooner go for the low-hanging fruit as it were.
So to get there I'll be using my e-mtb, riding in my ski-boots and skis on the pack as I did a few times last season, then I'll lock and stash the bike, in a couple of places I sussed last week. Anyway, I'm pretty sure no one's going around looking for a locked bike with a portable angle grinder, plus the weight of the bike is quite prohibitive as you'd not be able to wheel it away, so that's all part of the planning process
I know from last week's excursion that the road up is good for the bike as it's a ski de fond route and there's one snow-mobile track for the bivy at the end of the valley, so another tick in the box.
The next part of the plan is the route, or which one out of the two I've prepped.
I've skied down one route that I'm thinking about so I know the terrain, it's also safe and S/SW facing and that's the crux getting the aspect and timing right, and I have to say that's where FatMap and their overlays excel, so I combine my proposed route with an overlay to see if I'm correct, it's not an issue climbing up the wrong aspect but I don't want to be skiing over shite snow so if I know the terrain can offer some S Facing I can touch and feel that as it were when skiing it and observing.
Plus the longer I leave it in the day, then there are more options in terms of aspect, another part of my planning. You'd be amazed how many Frenchies ski in the morning to get back down for lunch, whereas if they left it a couple of hours later they'd score much better conditions.
So for timing I plan backwards as it were but based on the optimal time to get the best snow conditions, but building in enough daylight time should there be an issue, bike back to van one hour, ski down to bike one hour, climb up three hours, bike to start of climb one hour. So a bit of planning
As I'm on my own and in an area where there is no mobile coverage I use an InReach and send a message to the OH from where I'm starting the climb, and then one when I'm transitioning at the top and then another one when I'm back down, all the messages give my position, and should the shite hit the fan I can hit SOS.
So all looks good except for the chance of some whispy cloud that might curtail the necessary temps required, and various models have differing amounts of cloud and timing, so as we often say in the Mountains, how to make God laugh? Make a plan
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Weathercam - Sounds like some planning for the tour on e-bike, I guess you are going up near Les Fonts? It one of a few options I have look at borrowing a e-bike for, isn't there a refuge up there? I am heading near Arvieux. Those potential clouds are a pain for tomorrow. The days after look great though and planning some more interesting stuff for then.
As you said, both of your planning ticked all the boxes. its just the time its take. If you are ski with a regular team that you all know very well and doing routes you know its doing to be very quick and you will have built in back up plans as you know the area. compared to when everything is new or more complex and and plan b needs to be added to the planning.
For sayings, it funny that most of the forces guy's I know, use the the 7 P's - Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents wee wee Poor Performance. But at the same time they say no plan survives contact with the enemy. Being able to plan properly and effectively is a skill and part of this maybe having options. But it's also a skill to know when to change a plan or even just give up and go home. It's all about building all the skills and experience.
@ecrinscollective, mmmm as feared whispy cloud, various models and actual radar have it clearing by Noon, might still go up there. Amazingly there's a distinct break in the cloud to a cloudless sky over and beyond the Lautaret.
And yes at Les Fonts there is a winter refuge, though not too sure how the logistics work if you turn up there and it's already full, and evidently, there's one on the Italian side of the Dormilllouse ridge.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@ecrinscollective, thanks for that. Always useful to learn or refresh these things (I'm definitely towards the former) and see different approaches to the same information/problem.
@boarder2020, Surely what you need to be prepared to abandon (in most cases) is the route and not the plan? As such any plan should have alternative routes at least sketched in.
After all it is free
After all it is free
I think one has to be a bit careful about the difference between the process of making a plan, and what that plan has in it. I think the article blurs that somewhat, which is confusing.
For example whilst "safety and risk" is something in the author's process, risk management isn't explained at all. It talks indirectly about how you quantify the risk of some events (eg bad weather), but doesn't I think suggest you monitor and plan for changes in those risks, or that you ought to be ameliorating them. To me, the whole point of making any non-trivial plan at all is to manage risk. If you haven't thought out what you'll do if someone's injured, or if the weather changes, or if there's a slide, or if you get lost ... you've not planned much.
For me "planning" is an obvious iterative process, which is why the "doesn't survive first contact with the enemy" thing isn't the problem some seem to think it is. A plan isn't set in stone, ever. It has to be iterative. I think the author here could make that clearer - if you're going to show the process as a wheel, the wheel does not stop rotating once you start the trip.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@phil_w,Sorry you found it confusing, the planning wheel is more about offering a structure for the planing stage a of a tour, but within that I felt there needs to be examples of what things are covered and the things I think about. I bit like looking at OPERER with examples for that.
You are correct that the wheel should be spinning all day and it can be used in that way, very similar to TECAP to review before decision making on the hill.
The article is called how to plan a ski tour.
Most people I know think this is the pre planning on how to select a suitable route for a days tour. Again the wheel is more offering a structure to do this than fill in the answers. So, it talks about where I get my information for a route or avalanche conditions rather than interpreting it. Or about checking everyone has their kit rather than telling them when to take axe etc. It would be a bit beyond the scope of a single article to go in to more depth of completing the route, decision making on the trip and emergency response and rescues. This would be more like a book on how to ski tour. Even in the books that cover this big subject they tend to skip chapters where the information is beyond the scope of what they can offer such as first aid, they normally just state, you should do a first aid award. Maybe that is something I should have added where extra training is recommended.
I am not sure about the idea of planning for every tour, getting lost, a slide or injury etc. Of course there is cross over and its all part of ski touring. But to implement a plan to cover all and every situation with all the variables on these would be very time consuming and then a briefing to relay these plans to the rest of the team would take for ever.
In reality as I plan a tour for Saturday. I wont be directly planning for these things. Other than in equipment e.g does everyone have avi gear, is there a map and compass in the group or a fist aid kit and repair kit etc? Or people in terms of what skills are in the group. The actual skills to navigate or relocate, to complete a rescue and administer first aid etc are essential skills of touring and I would say they come before the planning stage. It wouldn’t be a good idea to plan a tour or do a tour with out these skills, and I am guessing you would find it hard to do so.
For the changing of a plan and adapting it. Things like TECAP or the wheel can help structure it to remind you to cover the bases, that’s all they are there for. The knowing when to do it (yes you can plan some times in off the map where it maybe good to review), and how to interpret it comes down to knowledge and experience to make these calls. And that is gained through mentorship or experience and reviewing that experience both the good and the bad. Which means going out, I think plan is a good starting place for this. It would be great if everyone had these skills naturally but they don’t and its a learning journey that we should all still be on.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@Weathercam, We had clouds in the morning and a slight wind, we ended up with what thought we would a mixed bag. I have a friend here for a week so keen to get out, had it just been the normal crew would have probably left it a day or so.
For winter rooms they some times have a contact to let them know you going in, but most of the time it's just rock up. I would have thought very unlucky to have no room. I like to have a walk to these places in the autumn to check out what kit they have in them and see if there are any contact details etc.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
It's strange that even after at least ten seasons of ski-touring without a guide, if it's a big tour, somewhere new, big powder day, complex logistics, new people* etc then I may well suffer from what the OH gets, and it's what we call planitis, when your sleep is affected by the day ahead, in the OH's case it could be a mixture of anxiety/adrenalin and last year it manifested itself, as we were skiing first lifts, fresh & deep into a condition known as takotsubo, or broken heart syndrome, which basically mimics a heart attack, hence she ended up in hospital for a week!
But obviously, that's an extreme case, and it happened on the hill after a few runs when she was trying to keep up.
But I was just looking back to see if I ever mentioned it (planitis) and came across this blog entry written in the first couple of weeks of covid when we were here.
I actually have to admit that I'm probably sleeping a lot better, I no longer have to set an alarm and I'm not suffering from 'planitis', that is I'm no longer worrying about making plans, worrying about the conditions/weather, worrying if I've made the right/wrong call with regard to the ski tour route as well as not having to get up early to get the timing right with regard to the all-important snow transformation. Life is almost stress-free!
So my daily life when touring pretty well revolves around planning, and I have to say that I do not like taking people out I do not know, not due to the fact that I'm not a qualified guide, but I'm not good at being patient and can't tolerate faffing, so much so that one particular friend no longer tours, which is a good thing as he was a liability, using the wrong gear and never listening, lovely guy but.......
As for yesterday, the cloud cleared more or less as I arrived at the start of the climb, stashing the bike having ridden nigh on 10km on the eMTB, getting well away from everyone.
As I started out I was extremely optimistic about things, and at one point I thought this could be a top tour as the snow looked good for softening up, climbing at an aspect that was as close as possible to where the snow had melted. Above the trees, the snow was a mixture of old windblown sastrugi but again I was still confident that this could be a classic Spring tour, but then it started to get chilly and I put a layer back on.
Anyway cut a long story short, the ski back down was not as good as hoped for, in fact, it was pretty bad all around and even towards the bottom when I thought I'd score the best turns.
Once back I reviewed the route and aspect and as you can see it was pretty well spot on
And if you check the video out after the eMTB footage you'll see how lovely the terrain was, and not a track in sight.
For sure there was quite a wind-chill not at all conducive to transforming the snow, and even though the aspect was more or less S facing that whole face had been too exposed to the wind, and the snow basically comprised of hard smashed-up crystals with no air hence just too hard to go through a short term melt-freeze cycle, with the sun higher and stronger in a month it will be a lot better hopefully.
At the moment the best aspect has to be a leeward S-facing side, that is a face that has been protected to a degree from the winds' of late with maybe a layer or transported snow, though there could well be a good chance of a hanging cornice up above you?
Anyway over to the ACMG 's to pontificate over that one
And @ecrinscollective, I remembered I took a photo of the details with regard to the Refuge there.
And for those that do not know, what the InReach sends out, below is a copy of the email that is sent, as I said I send three, one when starting, one transitioning and one when back down.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
