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Simply Savoie

Guided walking – snowshoeing – via ferrata in the French Alps with Mark Tennent

Snow

Why go snowshoeing?

Snowshoeing has been around since man searched for a way of getting around in deep snow. It’s now a very popular and growing, winter activity.

  • It’s fun! It is suitable for all, young or old, fit or not so fit and it can be enjoyed by the whole family.
  • It’s easy! ?If you can walk, you can snowshoe?. Within a few minutes you’ll feel at ease and in control.
  • It’s inexpensive! Snowshoes can be purchased for between 100 and 150 Euro and there’s no need for an expensive lift pass!
  • It’s as relaxed or as adventurous as you wish! Take a gentle stroll amongst snow-draped trees or push your limits ? the choice is yours. In fact it’s an ideal aerobic, low-impact, exercise.
  • In touch with nature! Snowshoeing allows you to move almost silently so experiencing the peace and tranquillity of the snow muffled landscape. It’s a great way to see the wildlife. In Savoie you may see chamois, ibex (bouquetin), or deer that you will never see in the noisy ski resorts.

Equipment

Snowshoes

TSL Snowshoe
TSL Snowshoe

Popular brands include: TSL, Tubbs, GV and Inook. For those unfamiliar with snowshoes it may conjure up images of a pair of tennis racket-like things attached to your feet. In fact modern snowshoes are high-tech and made from plastic or are aluminium framed. The size of snowshoes is related to your weight so, in general, snowshoes for women are smaller than they are for men. Most are very simple to adjust for the size of your footwear and then a simple binding system attaches them to your boot.

The idea of the snowshoe is to spread your weight so you don’t sink into the snow; or at least not nearly so much, giving access to places impossible on foot. Going up hill is made easier with the use of a heel lift feature which means there’s less strain on your calf muscles. Grip is provided by small metal spikes (crampons) under the snowshoe that will stop you slipping on hard snow or patches of ice. At the front there are ?claws? or ?front points? which provide grip when going directly up steep slopes.

Ski or Trekking Poles

A pair of ski poles / trekking poles with large ?snow baskets? can aid your stability and also provide additional impetus to your stride.

Boots

You don’t need special boots; a pair of good walking boots / snow boots is ideal, with gaiters or a pair of trousers with a snow cuff the ideal companion to avoid snow entering the top of your boots.

Clothing

No special clothes are needed. Warm clothes e.g. fleece jackets, wind/waterproof jacket, hat, gloves as you would wear for walking in the winter.

Extras

Don’t forget your sunglasses and some sun cream! A small rucsac is recommended to carry an extra windproof /waterproof top, fleece jacket, a drink and snacks.

Technique ? a few tips

Snowshoeing doesn’t have a steep learning curve but a few tips will soon have you moving around confidently enjoying a new-found freedom.

On the flat

Your style of walking will need to take account of the width of the snowshoe and to avoid stepping on the other snowshoe. It’s best to start out on a level path or track whilst you get accustomed to them. Turning around is best accomplished by turning in small steps until facing in the new direction or doing a ?kick turn?.

Downhill

Going downhill is easiest, and the most fun, in deep powdery snow. Raise the toe slightly allowing the tail of the snowshoe to come into contact with the snow first. Try to walk confidently with a good transfer of weight from one foot to the other. The snowshoe may slide forward a bit but avoid the temptation to lean back. You can use your pole to provide extra balance but avoid using them directly in front of your body. On firm snow place the snowshoe flat on the ground so that the crampons can ?bite?.

Uphill

Unless it’s a very short distance, ?zig-zag? up the slope using the terrain to best advantage. This puts less strain on the legs and you’ll gain height surprisingly easily. If you encounter a very steep bank you can use the ?claws?/?front points? of the snowshoe.

Traversing

This is easiest in soft snow conditions where you can still place the snowshoe down normally. When the snow is firm you will need to roll the ankle to allow the snowshoe to lie flat on the slope, thus allowing the crampons to “bite”.

Etiquette

If you’re snowshoeing avoid walking on prepared ?pistes? for cross-country skiers as the railway like ?tracks? are damaged by walking on them. Skiers may also approach fast and you don’t want to be involved in a collision. In ski resorts try and avoid the pistes but if you have to, cross quickly or walk up or down the edge of the piste.

Precautions

Danger Avalanches Sign
Beware of Avalanches!

Naturally if you go into more mountainous terrain you should be aware of the risk of avalanches. You should then carry normal avalanche equipment (avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe) and most importantly know how to use it. Let someone know where you are going and when you intend to be back.  Read my article on Mountain Rescue in the French Alps.

Where?

You can go snowshoeing anywhere there is snow!

On paths and tracks you don’t need much depth however going through woods it’s best with a bit more depth that covers The ground can be flat, undulating or even on more mountainous terrain. The world’s your oyster!  Of course you can always join me on a Guided Snowshoe holiday.

Article copyright: Mark Tennent – all rights reserved

The Effects of Consumer Electronics on Avalanche Transceivers

We see and potentially carry, more and more gadgets including: ?smartphones?, GPS devices, digital cameras with GPS built-in, GoPro’s, etc.

However the effects of ?Consumer Electronics? on Avalanche Transceivers is sobering. The long and short of it is ?turn it off?. (If carried they should be more stowed more than 30cm from the transceiver ? in a backpack).

The effect is most marked in the ?Search? (Receive) mode as the signal searched for is masked by the electronic ?noise? of the other device(s). This can make it very, very difficult to locate the victim and remember ? every second, minute counts.

Don’t forget that some digital cameras have a built-in GPS to location ?stamp? where photographs are taken. These too should be off and stowed at least 30cm from the transceiver.

The document in this link shows graphs clearly demonstrating ?The Effect of Consumer Electronics? on avalanche transceivers from ?Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Banff, 2014? Link: http://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/objects/ISSW14_paper_P4.13.pdf

Reading and Interpreting the Avalanche Forecast

Reading and interpreting the avalanche forecast is fundamental to reducing the risk of becoming a victim of an avalanche.

Despite daily avalanche forecasts available on-line and displayed in ski resorts there are still too many avoidable avalanche accidents.

Studies show that these incidents took place where predicted by the avalanche forecast. So, either people are not reading the forecast, or if they do they are not extracting the information in it.

The Avalanche Risk Scale

The European avalanche risk scale runs from 1 to 5. Statistics (from France) for the last 15 years show that on 44% of days the risk was at level 2 (with 14% of fatal incidents) and 35% of days were level 3 (with 56% of fatal incidents).

One of the issues is the perception of Level 3. It is seen wrongly, by many as a ?medium? risk when in fact it is ?considerable?. If the avalanche risk scale e.g. 2 is the only element of the avalanche forecast being read incidents will clearly follow and the statistics would lend credence to this conclusion.

The Avalanche Forecast

The avalanche bulletin itself contains a wealth of information.

Timescale ? at the top it gives the validity of the forecast and the level of risk. Sometimes it indicates an altitude with one risk level below and another above.

Compass ? here it shows which slopes are the most dangerous in terms of their orientation.

Type of avalanche(s) to expect ? This is divided into two types, natural releases and those caused by skiers.

Snowpack Stability ? Here a detailed description of the current stability of the snowpack. It may give information about recent weather patterns including wind direction and strength. There may also be more detailed information about altitudes where certain risks may be higher. This paragraph should be read carefully.

Depth of Snow (at a certain altitude) ? here it gives information on the quantity of recent snowfalls and what is predicted over the following 48 hours.

Weather forecast summary ? here it gives the altitude of when rain will turn to snow; the freezing level and wind speed at different altitudes along with the direction.

Snow depth off-piste ? here it gives the depth of snow at different altitudes on both north and south facing slopes. It also gives the altitude from which you can expect continuous snow.

State of the snow ? the state of the snow e.g. is it crusted, humid or powder.

Avalanche risk outlook ? here it shows whether the risk is staying the same, increasing or decreasing.

Time when the forecast was written ? here it gives the date and time that the forecast was prepared.

As you can see there’s a wealth of information that when read carefully substantially decreases the chance of becoming an avalanche victim.

Return to colder weather … for now

Last week it was like spring had arrived early in Savoie and I even took some time to dig over the garden for this year’s crops just wearing a t-shirt.? This morning, Thursday, there’s a dusting of snow on the ground and a return to the cold.? I’m looking forward to a ski mountaineering trip between Val Thorens and Champagny-le-Haut in the Vanoise.? My son, Stephen, was out on the golf course at Giez, Haute Savoie, yesterday for the first time this year and despite not having played over the winter shot about 2 over par.? His first competition of the season is at the end of the month.

Chaos in the Alps – snow ? too much of a good thing!

The 27th December was a chaotic day in the Tarentaise from Albertville via Bourg-St Maurice to Val d’Isere. This chaos was the combination of several factors: the volume of traffic; a heavy snowfall arriving overnight after a long snow “drought”; poorly equipped vehicles; poor driving and the management of the situation by the local services and police.

The volume of vehicles was nothing out of the ordinary for a peak ?change over day? in the Tarentaise valley with up to 30,000 vehicles using the dual-carriageway from Albertville to Moutiers. The peak weekends for Christmas week, the New Year and the February half-term periods are typically this busy.

Up until this weekend there was virtually no lying snow below about 1600m. The roads were all ?black?. The snow started to fall late of Friday night and continued all night and by the morning about 40 cm had accumulated at my home overlooking the valley at 600m. I was on the roads that day but going across the flow of traffic into the Beaufortain.? I experienced no difficulty in driving despite the snowfall; so the amount of snow, per se, was not the key factor.

Living here all year I change my wheels over some time in November for another set; all equipped with snow / winter tyres. I also put a set of chains in the boot, alongside a pair of work gloves and a proper metal shovel. Many tourists from elsewhere in France or further afield understandably didn’t factor in this sudden change in conditions. So, they came with normal summer tyres and no chains. Those with chains had almost certainly never practised putting them on and being faced with the task in deep snow and with cold and wet hands struggled to do so.

With a high volume of vehicles it only takes one or two vehicles to become stuck for a traffic jam to quickly develop. Anticipation was lacking and rather than stop and put on chains before becoming stuck motorists pushed on until unable to move further; blocking the road or if on the dual-carriageway reducing it to one lane. There are designated ?putting on chains areas? off the road in many places.

Finally the management of the situation could have been better. On occasions the police check vehicles are properly equipped (chains or winter tyres) before allowing them to proceed. This appeared to have happened but not far enough in advance. If this had happened at the level of Albertville the chaos further on could have been avoided. Clearly once the roads become blocked with vehicles snow ploughs and other emergency services are unable to do their job.

What could be done better? In Germany and some other countries winter tyres are obligatory. Should France do the same for at least the Alpine areas? Encouraging the use of the railway that runs up the Tarentaise as far as Bourg St Maurice rather than having a colossal volume of cars that drive up only to be left parked for the whole week. This could be combined with coach services to take people from the ?rail-head? to the resort. Food for thought?