I can't see a thing............what to do

The bulk of the School holidays ended this weekend and although Saturday is always a lovely quiet day on the slopes being the main changeover day today was exceptionally quiet. I promised to post about finding your way around this huge ski area which I am going to do in 2 parts. The first part is about finding your way in bad conditions which is relevant in any ski area.

All very pretty until the cloud descends

Last week we were basking in glorious sunshine in Courchevel above a layer of cloud which had settled lower down in the valley floor. We decided to ski down to the Pralong Chairlift and suddenly met a wall of cloud, by the time we had come back up the Chairlift the visibility had decreased considerably so we decided it was time to head home. Making our way to the top of the Loze things just got worse, the visibility decreased further and throngs of people were trying to make it back to Meribel. Conditions like this are not frequent, we experience them perhaps 4 or 5 times a season, many people ski for years without experiencing them which can make for a frightening experience when it does happen. So what should you do? 

Firstly find a friend - in these situations your best friend is a piste marker pole, specifically one which has a different coloured top. The one above is on a blue piste but has a red top, sometimes they are more orange than red but always a different colour than the rest of the marker. These poles are always on the right hand side of the piste so once you find the line of them make sure you keep to the left of them to ensure you stay on the piste. Last week I saw a group of skiers become confused by piste markers on a blue run which resulted in them all toppling down a fairly steep slope. Luckily they realised and managed to climb back up but it could have been much worse if they had continued far off piste in such terrible visibility or been unable to climb back up

Secondly know your enemies - yellow and black poles as shown below signify "danger". It may be a cliff, an obstacle or a huge hole so stay away.

Lastly slow down. It really is like the Tortoise and the Hare, bad visibility calls for slow steady progress. Apart from the possibility of becoming lost the lack of visibility makes it hard to read the conditions, bumps seem to appear from nowhere and it is very easy to be caught out by changes underfoot which you are not quite prepared for. Making slow, definite, in control movements on the piste will help to keep you out of trouble. Stop frequently to check where you are and if in any doubt ask at the closest lift station for directions.

Next time finding your way around in perfect conditions such as those we experienced at the end of last week - nice enough for a picnic lunch!