Chandolin Avalanche

I'm with you on this Ross. Absolute tragedy of course, but Bandit, why do you immediately start to apportion blame when circumstances suggest accident.

And I am an older dude!

If you were the parent of a teenager who was a good skier. Sure, you would ask them not to take risks...but for Christmas, along with the nice new PE's/Armada's/Scratch BC's etc you could make sure that they stood a chance of surviving, ...if they made a bad call, by buying them a transceiver, shovel and probe for starters.

Neither child was equipped for being off piste. Everyone can make a bad call on the hill, some will survive because they improve the odds.

I will say no more on this topic.

bandit wrote:If you were the parent of a teenager who was a good skier. Sure, you would ask them not to take risks...but for Christmas, along with the nice new PE's/Armada's/Scratch BC's etc you could make sure that they stood a chance of surviving, ...if they made a bad call, by buying them a transceiver, shovel and probe for starters.

Neither child was equipped for being off piste. Everyone can make a bad call on the hill, some will survive because they improve the odds.

I will say no more on this topic.

I think it is a shame as you are making some valid points. My mother doesn't even know what a probe is never mind a transceiver and she would definitely not enjoy to know what skiing I do or where I ski.

She did buy me armadas...

I'm surprised you responded at all as my posts usually close off a thread!!

I'm all for safety, tranceivers, and slope awareness but this case suggests no culpability, simply bad luck.

I will also say no more on the topic, and my thoughts are with the bereaved parents.

I know where Bandits coming from. Being a skier you know of the dangers, the equipment you need to be safe.But there are parents that would not think of things like that. You try to do every-thing to educate, make your kids be responsible and safe. But there is no guarantee they will remember or do it. I remember my son wanting a motor bike, I was dead against it, did everything I could to stop him. I even gave him more money so that he could buy a decent car. He still did'nt listen, bought the bike but luckily after a few weeks decided himself it was not safe and changed it for a car. Being a parent is still one of the hardest jobs I have ever done :lol:

Brucie wrote:I'm with you on this Ross. Absolute tragedy of course, but Bandit, why do you immediately start to apportion blame when circumstances suggest accident.

And I am an older dude!

I don't think you've entirely understood what happened. The avalanche was an accident, even so it's on a slope I'd not have skied, not being equipped wasn't an accident.

I'd also remind you this is Switzerland, there's awareness campaigns in the press, on TV, with ski clubs, free training, programs in schools etc. There's a far greater awareness than you'd expect to find in other groups.

Not everyone is as knowledgeable as you ise! Was the black run this morning totally risk free?

Brucie wrote:Not everyone is as knowledgeable as you ise! Was the black run this morning totally risk free?

I really think you're not understanding the context at all, this is Switzerland they were from Switzerland, it's an alpine nation, school ski weeks are part of the national culture, skiing is a national sport. Every single newspaper, every radio station, every TV channel carries articles about avalanche dangers, no one in this country should be unaware of the risks and the normal precautions.

I'm a qualified mountain professional so in fact very few people are as knowledgeable as me not do I expect them to be. In relative terms I expect everyone to be as relatively knowledgeable as I am and as relatively well prepared, that means with they need the knowledge and preparation consistent with the activity they're doing, in this case it meant having a transceiver, just that, no more, no expertise in slope assessment, not even skill in using the transceiver, just having it and having it turned on.

And yes, my run was totally risk free, I'd taken the simple step of speaking to the piste security before dropping in.