he first and most important point to stress is that this is a simple guide, written from the perspective of enthusiastic amateurs not mountain professionals.
In reading this guide, you should note a few important points: - Our primary audience is off-piste skiers and ski tourers engaged in single day or multi-day hut based tours in the European Alps. We hope that the guide will also be useful to other off-piste travellers, but where we have made trade-offs for simplicity, we have focused on the techniques needed by our target audience. We do not, for example, cover the techniques for winter ski camping or expedition mountaineering.
- The aim of this guide is to set out as simply as possible the basics of what you need to know to stay alive off piste. There is much more to learn and know on every subject covered. Some of this is touched on in learn more. As the experts will tell you, however, you can spend a lifetime in the mountains and still not learn everything you might need to know. Inevitably, some matters are simplified. Again, we rely on the argument that some knowledge is better than none. Our aim is to give you as much as you need to know but no more!
- In the same way, there are many other techniques in addition to the ones set out here. Typically, we describe just one way of doing things. An expert would know many more, but our belief is that it is better to learn one technique than to learn 20 and end up confused. At least that’s what works for us!
- Finally, and most importantly, no book, video, or website can ever be a substitute for getting out there and getting experience. Safety comes from learning enough about the mountains to spot the danger signs, and from practicing the techniques so that they can be applied without thinking when the time comes. Getting out there also happens to be a lot more fun than reading about it!
So enjoy the guide, enjoy the mountains and stay safe!
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