Who are the members of the British Disabled Ski Team for the 2009/2010 winter season?
A Team: Sean Rose, Russell Docker, Tim Farr, Talan Skeels-Piggins, Jo Willoughby, Jane Sowerby
B Team: Anna Turney
Development: Sam Hallem, Kelly Gallagher (Guide Claire Rob) Martin Hewitt, Steven Shine, Mick Brennan

Apart from the Olympic Games in Vancouver, what other events will the team take part in this winter?
The team will have competitors in Europa cup and NorAm level races as well as World Cups and the World Cup finals. The development squad and youth teams will mostly be concentrated around the nationals in Europe.

What disciplines/events do the racers participate in?
We compete in all the events: Slalom, GS, Super G, Downhill, and Super Combined (a downhill or super G race combined with one run of a slalom).

Does the team have any television or media coverage during the winter season?
The team doesn’t get too much TV coverage there should be more for the Paralympics and the world cups are on pralympicsports.tv. Then we get regular updates on the BBC website and occasional national and local newspaper coverage.

Who funds the team and how can people help to support the British Disabled Ski Team?
The team gets some funding from UK sport and TASS but it isn’t much and all the athletes are generally self funded. Currently the team has no headline sponsor. If you would like to support the team you can give a one off donation or buy the team calendar at www.justgiving.com/britishdisabledskiteam2010

What are the team’s goals for the Olympic Games, in Vancouver?
The team are looking at sending its largest and most competitive team ever out to Vancouver. Four years ago, Sean Rose came 6th in the downhill only 0.07sec off the podium and this year we are looking at coming back with some medals and more top 10’s.

How does Great Britain rate in terms of world ranking in the disciplines, it participates in?
We have athletes in the top 10’s in nearly all events for both men and women and others that have the potential to be up there. The team is currently rated 14th in the world which considering the size of team and we are not an alpine skiing nation is pretty good.

Does the team have a favourite ski area and if so, why?
The team spend most their time training in Hintertux and Stubai in Austria and Winter Park and Kimberley in North America which are all great places to train and to free ski, if we have time but I think every individual has their own preferences and certain area that means something to them.

To win these prizes, all you have to do is check out this website and accept the daily “challenge” by answering a trivia question or performing a Facebook task. Simple and definitely worth it given the prizes involved (not to mention the likelihood of winning!).

In celebration of this very cool contest, we’ve been given 5 free subscriptions to Ski Magazine to giveaway to you readers! Comment below that you’ve entered the Warren Miller competition and on 2nd December 2009, we’ll randomly select 5 commenters to receive free year subscriptions to Ski Magazine. It’s a win-win situation!

The big equipment retailers like Ellis Brigham and Snow & Rock had taken up their usual positions of authority and space in the middle of the big hall. Other specialist winter sports shops like Ski Bartlett looked like they had brisk trade when I walked through. Good deals are to be had at these shows on equipment, but if you want to buy ski boots just make sure you take your time and speak to an experienced full-time member of staff. The benefits of buying from a retailer, at the ski show, are that if something does need sorting out you can take the boots back to one of their stores. If you are a UK skier, then buying in the UK right now has its advantages with the current exchange rate not being favourable against the Euro or Dollar currencies.
Unfortunately, many British airlines are now charging extra for ski equipment. Still, owning your own equipment and buying it here still has its advantages over renting in resort. Your own boots will always feel more comfortable as you can ‘tailor’ them to your needs. Skis can be purchased to suit what you want and what level you are at and you know they have not been ‘trashed’ on some rocks and then patched over in the hire shop! It also means you don’t have to visit a hire shop, when you arrive in resort, saving time and hassle. Of course, it also gives you a bit of kudos with your skiing buddies who don’t own their own gear.

Anyway, back to the ski show. Overall, I think it’s a great event and long may it continue. The bar was packed out with everyone who is anyone in the industry and the after parties (which I avoided this year) are usually legendary events. The centre piece of the hall includes the ‘big air’ ramp where young freestyle skiers take turns in somersaulting over the kicker to music and crowds. This is a part of the ski show which I feel has lost some of its energy in the past few years, but maybe I’m just getting old! The organisers and promoters have certainly done a great job to rejuvenate the show in general as for several years it seemed to go through the doldrums and there was talk of it stopping altogether.

Something which I did find disappointing, this year, is the growing number of non-ski related stands. I have always understood that there are links with other industries which might be of interest to skiers. But when you pay money to go to a show you don’t want excessively pushy sales people harassing you to take up domestic electricity contracts. I ended up purposely avoiding that area because the sales people approached you off their stand as well, annoyingly.

The ski shows are an important part of the UK ski industry and along with Birmingham NEC (30th Oct – 1st Nov 09) and Manchester (not going ahead in 2009) they provide the consumer a chance to check out some of the best deals and talk to experts about where to ski and what equipment to use, all under one roof. For the seasonaires and professionals it’s a chance to catch up with old friends and share the excitement of the upcoming winter season.

This particular guide especially appeals to skiers who like to venture off piste. It specifically deals with the pastime of ski mountaineering and ski touring. Ski mountaineering is the combination of climbing on snow and ice using various techniques including rope and ice axe work whilst crossing glaciers and travelling from point to point. Specially adapted equipment is required to enable the skier to walk, climb and descend on skis.

The idea of the book is that you can use it as a reference guide and keep it with you at all times. It is aimed at entry level participants to the sport, of any age, although some of the tips would be useful for more experienced ski mountaineers. It does not claim to cover all aspects of the sport, but gives information on what to do in any given situation. It does not go into great detail about the reasons why you should do certain things, but this is made clear in the introduction.

The author, Alun Richardson is a fully qualified mountain guide. He is a member of an elite group of mountaineers who are qualified to lead people on any terrain, anywhere in the world. In winter time they often work in some of the major skiing centres including Chamonix, Verbier and Zermatt where they are the only people qualified to lead skiers over unmarked (off piste/back country) glaciated terrain. Mountain Guides are not to be confused with tour operator ‘Ski Guides’ (can show guests around the marked runs of a resort without instruction) or Ski Instructors (qualified to instruct skiers on piste) or Ski teachers (qualified to teach skiers on and off piste but not on glaciated terrain).

The book is broken down into several sections which deal with the various aspects of ski mountaineering including, equipment, travelling light on skis, route finding and avalanche safety, skinning on skis, tactics and crevasse rescue. These sections are then broken down into sub categories to make referencing your various questions quick and easy.

I found the book very easy to read and the layout made understanding all the points really easy. Some of the tips were helpful to me as a fairly experienced ski tourer and back country skier and it’s always good to brush up on avalanche safety techniques and advice. I think the book would be perfect for anyone attending a course on ski mountaineering and ski touring or even a ski instructor attending a mountain safety examination. Reading the book beforehand and having it with you for reference, taking a look on a ski lift or over a coffee could be useful to refresh the memory.

As any experienced mountaineer would tell you, the only way to truly gain the knowledge required to safely travel in a high mountain environment is to get out there with professionals who can guide you and teach you how to deal with all situations. Gaining the knowledge that is required to go it alone can take many years. This book must be used as a compliment to learning with a professional, and in no way does the book claim otherwise.

Many of the diagrams and certain images that compliment the text are required and are very well done, although I did find the use of a few images such as full page views of skiers slightly puzzling in this kind of book. The pictures were excellent, but trying to give a message of travelling light and at the same time adding to your rucksack weight with these images seemed like a contradiction. I also had a small problem with the downhill kick turn technique on page 90. Point 2 states that both poles should be placed behind you on the uphill slope to provide support. I find that this method usually results in the skier placing too much weight on the poles and cannot support themselves. Personally I prefer them to place all the weight in their uphill ski and use the uphill pole as balance, turning the downhill ski first and then turning the upper body with the uphill ski as it comes around. This also promotes better balance and confidence with practice and the poles do not get in the way. Maybe this is just personal preference and if it works for the author then fair enough (see my post on kick turning). Also on the same page, the advice to take skis off if the snow is hard on steep slopes if all else fails seemed odd to me. Ski boots are no substitute for ski edges when it comes to gripping on hard snow and in my opinion this could be dangerous.

Rucksack Guide - Ski Mountaineering and Snowshoeing (Paperback)

Please contact us at: Rob@themountaindepartment.com to submit your book, for review, on The Skiing Department blog.