 Poster: A snowHead
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In the bad old days of the 1980s, the skis and techniques for off-piste skiing made it difficult for people like me to enjoy it. Some modern skis have apparently made off-piste skiing much more doable for the average 1-2 weeks a year British skier. (See also: The English and their big fat skis.)
But why do you like to ski off-piste? Is it the pleasure of skiing on/in soft snow or powder? Being away from crowded pistes? The excitement, challenge, or even danger? The way the newer, wider, rockered skis allow you to ski?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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All of the above 
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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?
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I don't ski off-piste, I don't have the skill or the inclination. But I presume it's about making fresh tracks and getting away from it all.
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It's more of a challenge.
Deep soft snow makes landings easier.
No-one else is around.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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More fun- challenges- less numpties on ski blades
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I want to ski everything.
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All of the above, plus for me its about the variety of runs you can do off piste, not just the different slopes but you could ski the same off piste run everyday of the winter and it would be different almost every time.
Wider or newer skis just enable us to put a different shape on the mountain, but at the end of the day we are still skiing the same off piste runs that were skied back in the 70's and 80's and even before that!
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Even the shortest bootpack/skin can make you feel you are hundreds of miles away from everyone else. Even those skiing off piste who haven't done made the small extra step of a 10 minute walk.
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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.
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All the above. Also I find it great fun and satisfying to find new off piste areas and variations on existing ones. Spend my time on lifts hunting around for bits of mountain that look skiable, then checking maps and aerial pics. When conditions seem good team up with a trusted ski buddy, pack the skins and head off. This season has been a good one so far for new lines partly due to great snow conditions and more and more local knowledge. Even in the summer months when out hiking or biking I'm spotting for possibilities. I guess the number one reason is the need to feed the powder addiction.
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Less of a fustercluck in many resorts. Powder, corn, a bit of self-reliance. I really hate busy pistes and probably wouldn't ski at all if that's all there was.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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It's quite nice.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Piste skiing is like dancing on a solid floor - it just saps the energy out of you.
Off-piste skiing is like dancing on a properly suspended floor where you feel like you want to go on all night.
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You know it makes sense.
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kitenski, 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| It's quite nice. |
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I enjoy it. I don't use big fat skis though, my "biggest" are 92mm underfoot and I normally ski 78mm underfoot. An instructor once told me that if you want to ski knee deep powder, then you need to be in the powder, not on top of it. Skiing knee deep powder *ROCKS*
Note: *really* bad technique is model's own
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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?
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| It's quite nice. |
Actually, it's beyond nice and approaches life-affirming. I struggle to think of a better way to spend a day than skiing deep, un-tracked snow with some good friends.
http://vimeo.com/36220598
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rob@rar, Is that from your trip to Japan It looks fantastic and sums up why we ski off piste 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Adventure, there are plenty of mountains in the world with no pistes on them all waiting to be skied.
Plus the bliss of skiing in powder.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Glen Charman wrote: |
| rob@rar, Is that from your trip to Japan It looks fantastic and sums up why we ski off piste |
Yes, a short clip of one of the days we had there last month.
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| fatbob wrote: |
| I really hate busy pistes and probably wouldn't ski at all if that's all there was. |
I have been skiing at Hemel so I'm also a massive hypocrite. 
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Its just great to be out there, you feel close to nature in the back bowls and the scenery is just awesome, that feeling of tranquility, no crowds and challenging yourself is what its about for me. New rockered skis just make it so accessible, and its a real satisfaction when done well, and very unforgiving if not! Every day's a school day, and learning new lines. Loads of planning, loads of map searching for potential routes, and walking it in summer on a hot day imagining 6 months time in deep powder - just the best.
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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.
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Floating in pow is just the best feeling in the world.
Fun.
Testing my self - skills and balls. And being free to take sole responsibility for my actions, no rules, but big punishments.
Being humbled and feeling truly insignificant to the untamed mountains.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Tue 6-03-12 13:56; edited 1 time in total
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It allows gratuitous use of helicopters?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| It's quite nice. |
Interesting answers everybody - thank you. I especially liked the one above.
The last time I did some 'proper' off-piste skiing with a guide, I fell over and landed in what felt like a big soft pile of duvets. 30 seconds later I fell over again and landed elbow-first on what felt like a big hard rock just below the snow surface. It turned out to be, perhaps unsurprisingly, a big hard rock just below the snow surface. It was quite not nice.
I have a fear of deep water and the power of water, and that fear also seems to manifest itself in the form of avalanche phobia. I haven't done any off-piste skiing for 4 years, apart from a very few slope-side excursions into shallow and mostly tracked out snow. I love skiing in a few inches of fresh snow on the piste, or on the chopped up snow that gets pushed to the sides of pistes, but if I go even a short distance outside the piste boundaries I have trouble shaking the feeling that I'm not really meant to be there.
Can anyone talk some sense into me, other than MTFU, because I know I'm missing out on a big part of skiing.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
I have a fear of deep water
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In the case of water (and snow too) it's the shallow stuff with rocks underneath that you really have to look out for.
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Nothing wrong with a fear of avalanches. Maybe try some courses to learn to asses conditions better, and/or offpiste lessons with a good instructor?
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You know it makes sense.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
I have a fear of deep water
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In the case of water (and snow too) it's the shallow stuff with rocks underneath that you really have to look out for. |
And the stuff with Tiger sharks swimming around in it!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Challenge and variety.
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Poster: A snowHead
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because it feels all floaty 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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?
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Because its quiet, no lift noise, if you have hiked you feel you have earned it. Lots of powder is the most wonderful feeling.
For me the main ones are getting away from crowded pistes and the challenge of it at times (especially trees...deep powder in trees is........best thing in the world!!) 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| carroz wrote: |
Because its quiet, no lift noise, if you have hiked you feel you have earned it. Lots of powder is the most wonderful feeling.
For me the main ones are getting away from crowded pistes and the challenge of it at times (especially trees...deep powder in trees is........best thing in the world!!) |
What about tree wells? Don't they put anyone off skiing near trees?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Walter-Spitty, And the branch cuts accross your nose, thats me everytime!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Walter-Spitty wrote: |
| What about tree wells? Don't they put anyone off skiing near trees? |
There are risks when skiing off-piste that you don't get when skiing on piste, but there are risks to all aspects of skiing starting with travelling to the resort. We either decide that those risks are too great and we decide to opt out, or we take (hopefully) appropriate precautions and enjoy skiing terrain that we feel comfortably with. If you're worried about tree wells you can ski with a friend, carry a whistle, carry a phone, ski more slowly, avoid flat light, etc, etc. Or stay on piste and get run over by an idiot on blades. The choice is yours.
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rob@rar, the south africans were harder to hit than the trees though
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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.
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FAQ
