Читать книгу Alpine Ski Mountaineering Vol 2 - Central and Eastern Alps. Ski tours in Austria, Switzerland and Italy онлайн

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Going downhill a controlled and disciplined descent allows you to:

 assess snow stability and be aware of changes casued by slope aspect, elevation and angle

 ensure that safety measures are in place to minimise the dangers to the maximum number of skiers within the group – speed and spacing are all-important

 communicate with all members of the group, and ensure all understand the hazards and what is required – have an agreed signal system

 maintain organisation and discipline and not let the descent become a free-for-all

 stick to your route or planned options – don't just ‘go for it’ into the unknown.

I began this section by mentioning the three Ps – planning, preparation and practice. Well, there should really be six Ps because – ‘Planning, preparation and practice will prevent a poor performance!’

GROUP ORGANISATION

 Assess the ability of every member of your group – who is the weakest link? Is the proposed tour more than they can deal with? Don't let ambition outdo ability.

 What safety measures and group organisation are needed for the tour, given the terrain and group size, ability, etc? How are you going to cross suspect slopes? How are you going to carry out avalanche procedures/tranceiver searches?