Arresting a fall on skis on steep slope (continued)

I was fortunate to receive some good feedback and ideas on how to prevent a slide with bad consequences on a dangerous ski slope, following my recent blog on the subject. To summarize, there is no foolproof and easy method to self-arrest under these circumstances and the best approach I will remember is to avoid exposed areas, especially if one is scared, nervous or feels technically unprepared. 

This said, I would like to share some comments received from Anselme Baud, French skier and high mountain guide, former professor at ENSA in Chamonix, and pioneer of extreme skiing. He had one very smart thing to say: “To start with, I always urge skiers to first use a proven technique to AVOID falling.” This probably sums it all up and confirms that most skiers should just stay away from dangerously exposed slopes if the individual technique and ability are not good enough. 

To Anselme, all the advice, including the one showed on the video of self-arrest with a pole are like “re-inventing the wheel” and, as he further says, “If following a fall, the skier is lucky enough to still have his poles, he should first hold on to only one, point it in the right way while sliding, then holding it next to the basket without letting it escape his grip and push it into the snow if it’s not too soft or powdery, the idea being to hold to it until the skier’s head is brought uphill…” 

Then he continued by saying “That’s what we’ve always taught climbers for self-arresting with an ice axe, whose design has unfortunately devolved into fancy twisted tools, that can no longer be planted into snow for that purpose.”

Of course, I forgot to mention the Black Diamond's Whippet, a ski pole with an ice pick-like attachment that can be used to self-arrest on steep snow slopes. While not offering the holding power (nor the strength or multi-function) of an ice axe, it might be okay to hold on to right after the fall and prevent a larger, free and dangerous slide. 

I personally, at first glance, find that tool a bit dangerous, but have never tried it to say it would be unsafe. So, that’s about it with self-arresting falls while skiing. I will stay that short of practicing (which I know for a fact, very few will do) we should remember not to venture into stable, hard, steep slopes if we don’t have the skills to stand up on skis in these conditions, are not confident enough and if we are on the older side of the scale. You see what I mean…