British Association of Ski Patrollers 30th

Get your place booked on this years AGM and the Grand Ball

You are cordially invited to celebrate 30 years of BASP and Scottish Snowsport at Perth Racecourse on Saturday 7th October 2017. Proceeds of the Ball and the Fund Raising Events on the night will raise money for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) and SARDA.

The event starts at 6:30pm -7:00pm and includes:

- a 3 course meal, 

- Stand up Comedy Show from Doctor Ahmed

- Charity Auction for a years supply of tatties, original framed art from Bill Smith, a chair from the original Glenshee Cairnwell Chairlift and an all area season pass and much more…..

The tickets are £38.50 per person and can be bought singly or in multiples. Its also possible to book a table of 10. We only have 200 tickets available and these will be sold on a first come first served basis.

About SCAA

Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) was formed in 2012 and launched our helicopter air ambulance in May 2013 to assist the Scottish Air Ambulance Service (SAAS) to deliver front-line care to time-critical emergencies across Scotland. SCAA provides a fully equipped medical helicopter that can be deployed from its central base at Perth Airport to incidents across the length and breadth of Scotland.

Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance works in close cooperation with the Scottish Ambulance Service who provide the paramedic staff that crew the helicopter. SAS tasks the SCAA helicopter across Scotland through their Ambulance Control Centres.

Our charity is not supported by any statutory funding and the service is funded solely by donations from private individuals, companies and community trusts.

For more information, please visit: https://www.scaa.org.uk/

Doctor Ahmed. Laughter is the best medicine!

We are delighted to confirm that as part of the Charity Ball, Doctor Ahmed will be performing his stand-up comedy show ‘Doctor in the House’. Doctor Ahmed is a doctor, currently based in London. His show highlights some of the funny things which arise in a GP clinic on a day to day basis in a light hearted way. It looks at the human condition and the doctor patient relationship from a playful and interesting standpoint.

The show has been met with great success and was totally sold out in Perth Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

To read more about Doctor Ahmed, see http://www.doctorahmed.net/

Now there is a sight to behold! Cairngorm, Glenshee, Glencoe and Nevis Range Patrollers digging snow profiles on the first Log Book avalanche day up at Glencoe. 

I can well remember my first introduction to BASP with Doctor Bob up at Glenmore Lodge in 1989 when the fledgling association was both finding its feet to represent Scottish ski patrols and also seeking a way to provide some off season income to patrollers from first aid training. For a number of weekends it was up the “planet lodge” for first aid training with RGIT and also instructor training.  Over the years the association has prospered with at one point nearly 200 associate members and also training thousands in first aid and emergency care.

Things have moved on since “Ernie” the training officer would go around the resorts giving the patrollers mountain skills training to a much more “in house” training by each resort. This is good, but we are apt to become a bit insular unless we also look out for training and cross fertilise by working with each other as each area has its unique challenges. This is personal development as a ski patroller.

 

Ski Patrol can have its challenges. Not least the weather!

Things wax and wane but I can’t help but notice that the AGM’s are maybe quieter and less well attended and maybe we are so “in house” oriented we have forgotten we are an association of likeminded souls with a common interest.  Back in the early days the AGM was to further the training and expertise of Scottish patrollers and encourage the personal development of associate members who may want to become voluntary patrollers or just support the association. I don’t think that has changed but if less folk make the effort then it’s a poorer event. Last season was a snow disaster, but so were the seasons for a decade following the formation of BASP. This is Scotland after all!  Despite all the hype and snowy pictures of the alps each season its no better for them if you work and play below 2,200m. So we have to be resilient and as upbeat as those who had the foresight and confidence to get BASP up and running. An association is only as strong as its members and you get back if you put in. So my plea is for folk to remain involved and be active in the association.

This year sees an anniversary for the association and a Grand Ball to celebrate what we all have in common. That is the love of skiing, the mountains in winter, our ski patrol friends from at home and abroad, and the privilege of helping others in trouble. Kate our chair is putting a lot of work into make this gathering a success. Make it easier for her by getting your shit together and making a commitment to this momentous occasion to celebrate the hard work done by those working in the background for all these years, and those that have seen the association through its tougher times. Make this years AGM your priority, have your say on the associations future and enjoy a great social.

So folks get your shit together and get over to the AGM and ball. It must be some event as Fiona has dug my kilt out!

Snowy 1994  Maybe this season ...................

Farewell to a Friend

A mucker from my youth Ewan Grant who lived at lower Carnoch passed away in New Zealand yesterday. Ewen and I fished and "borrowed" a few Salmon for beer and parties as youths (when they were plentiful) along with fellow friend and compatriot Ian Clark. I think it fair to say we were all a bit wild.

We also had a few mountain adventures and misadventures. When we were sixteen along with two others we were rescued from a gully on the N. Face of Aonach Dubh by Hamish, Walter and Wull in winter conditions late at night when the rope ran out with me hanging off the end. Given the conditions we were lucky to get away with hypothermia and frost nip. I never wore jeans climbing again, even if Levi jeans were the most stylish. A good bollocking from Sandy Whellans the local police Sergeant was well deserved for our general stupidity, and made a change from him forcibly removing us for under age drinking at Clachaig every Saturday night, or being chased in a relatives "borrowed" car to meet up with girls.

Ewen emigrated when only nineteen and made a good life in New Zealand having married a local North Island lass and made a family there. His older brother John is a well known local mountaineer and sailor and thoughts are with him and Ewen's family at a difficult time. I daresay Ian Clark like myself will raise a glass tonight and think of Ewen and his beaming wry smile, and reflect on the many parties, girls, alcohol, police chases and general mayhem of the time. Rest in peace old friend.

Avalanche Safety Kit

Zoom+ Box set is very good value for money for the three essential items.

The 3+ Box set sets you up with the best tools.
No need to ever upgrade.

Zoom+

Ortovox 3+ has good range and a "mark" feature

The 3+ has a good pinpoint search display

Let hope that's winter snow on the way at last.  If you need any avalanche safety kit I can do airbags, transceivers, shovels and probes as well as clothing and rucksacks from Ortovox.

Its a cut throat business as importers try and cut prices to keep trade while the strength of the pound makes getting the kit from Europe more expensive. I will not pretend I can compete with online companies that buy huge amounts and make it work on reduced margins by selling cheap and in volume.  I can't. But I try and get close. What I can offer is avalanche knowledge and practical "hands on" using the kit I sell in real rescues as well as training. The plus for customers is that I can offer some free training and advice if you buy from me. Advice is always free and I am happy to spend a little while on the hill showing you your transceiver and making sure you get the best out of it in the context of avoiding getting to that having been avalanched moment with the avy forecast and some knowledge. 

Click over image to view larger

I sell ARVA, BCA and Ortovox snow safety equipment.  I sell more of Ortovox now than other makes. The "smart antenna" technology of Ortovox transceivers (Beacons) is really good and I think makes a big difference. All new Ortovox beacons also have a Recco strip inside which is a nice extra.

The Zoom+ is a basic 3 antenna beacon and if your new and on a budget I can recommend the Zoom+ Safety set which has a good basic shovel and probe as well as info booklet on avalanches in the box.

I sell more of the Ortovox 3+ than any other beacon.  Its got an improved fine search and is a bit faster than the Zoom. It also has the "mark/flag" feature.  I recommend that folk learn how to search in a pattern before relying on this feature but the 3+ seems to mark well and as its limited to marking 3 victims the chance of signal overlap and overload is minimised. This is a good avalanche beacon. The safety set comes with a slightly better shovel with an extendable handle and a good 240pfa probe and all three in a box is cheaper. 

A really good shovel is the pro alu III as you can convert it to a hoe which in conveyor shovelling is the most effective way of clearing the snow from the point man. We cover this in avalanche training courses.

I personally have an S1+ which is the daddy of avalanche beacons. It has all the good features of the 3+ and a really good deep burial mode and a close proximity multi victim mode. The screen is big and its possible to see direction and distance to each victim as well as the strongest signal its locked into. The S1+  also has a longer range (about 15 metres longer) than other digital beacons. Its a good beacon for a professional guide or ski patrol.

The S1+ has a superior display and deep burial feature as well as close proximity multiple victims. £275 from me.

"we are all infinitely wise"

I am researching legal stuff on avalanches. Some mountain professionals are advertising and offering to investigate avalanche incidents independently. I wouldn't regard myself as being either qualified or desiring to take on such a burden as avalanches have provided me with enough drama and loss. However, its interesting to look back on precedent to satisfy my curiosity as to where these investigations lead. I have undertaken avalanche hazard evaluation for ski areas as part of prevention and rescue plans where foresight is needed, but post accident investigation makes me uneasy unless its low key and done as impartial data collection is done discreetly.

There is nothing wrong with bringing information and closure to relatives or families by answering questions informally about accidents but when it comes to skiing litigation is rampant in all aspects of events. This is so unlike mountaineering where folk, families included, accept shit happens. I worry that this could change in our ever more popular mountain sports. It set me thinking. If someone ends up making a case for a plaintiff, who then has the knowledge and experience to act for the defence?  Expert testimony often cancels itself out in the courts nullifying itself. But damage to reputations and press reporting wrecks lives. I hope  its left to the rescuers and police or at worst an FAI to conclude cause and effect in these things. Hindsight

With time on my hands I am going back over my early texts, listening to my recordings from tutorials I undertook on avalanche and education from many of this generations experts, one who is my Recco mentor.  I am also enjoying re reading some classic books Andre Roch, Sleigman and Atwaters texts are still among the best on the subject. I have linked some abstracts from within the books to give a flavour. Getting these books nowadays is expensive and looking back at my library its a lot smaller than it was. Like an eejit a few years back when a bit skint I sold loads of books to get a carbon race bike. I may have got £350 for "Extreme Rock" and the same for a book which I was able to get Ricardo Cassin to sign for me when I met him, but I sold my soul for a "thing" and wish I hadn't.

For an up to date take on the subject of avalanches Mark Diggins gave an excellent interview and I can recommend Secrets of the Snow by Chapelle

There is a lot on avalanche control and prevention as ski professionals which we would all do well to heed, especially in ski rescue where public safety is a big part of the job.

Avalanches as weapons

Niege et Avalanche

The best DVD you can get on basic snow science and avalanche. Even though an ANENA membre I still had to buy mine in France as they don't ship to the UK but its now possible to get it as a Vimeo download. I can't praise it enough as it touches all the bases.


SNOW AND AVALANCHES - Knowledge and Risk's Management from ANENA - CANOPÉ on Vimeo.