Taking the kids skiing for half term? Or are they going with a school group?
Make sure they have Recco Reflectors in case the worst happens and they are involved in an Avalanche
Recco Reflectors are attached to your boots and/or helmet and allow all Mountain rescue personnel to detect you if you are buried in the snow. Click Here for more information on how the recco reflector works.
You may think well they are in ski school and are not going off-piste but do not be complacent, avalanches can happen anywhere and given the recent huge snowfalls in Europe its imperative that all precautions are taken.
On piste, avalanches happen: In Tignes 2017 is a prime example. On the whole, resorts take huge care in order that these do not happen by the way the pistes are designed but you can never be too careful. Furthermore, if they do happen on piste there are usually plenty of people around to react quickly.
At snowsafe we sell the Reccos individually and cost £26.00 each, they are small and should be attached to your kid’s boots when you hire their boots, skis and poles from the hire shop. You can detach them when you take your ski gear back to the Hire shop and reuse them. If you have your own ski equipment great then leave them attached permanently.
If you have been taking your kids every year skiing since they were little and are now in their teenage years and are accomplished skiers or snowboarders make sure they have Reccos as mandatory as they are more advanced they are more likely to go off-piste or more dangerous runs.
The steeper the terrain the more often greater chance avalanche likely. So Recco Reflectors are a must here and it may be an idea to buy them Transceivers as well. It’s a one-off purchase unlike new clothes and ski boots etc as they grow. We have an excellent package from Ortovox for £199.00 which includes Zoom transceiver, shovel and probe (all Ortovox) Click Here for more details.
Absolutely essential to purchase Winters Sports Insurance, In the EC (for how long ), you can still get hospital treatment through public hospitals through the EHIC card and mountain rescue through Carte Neige but there are a host of other benefits with proper ski insurance such as Repatriation, Missed departure, ski equipment cover etc. from £12.00 for a weeks cover in Europe
Family ski insurance can work out cheaper than individual Policies or if you are going on several holidays then Annual Travel Insurance with Winter sports cover is cheaper and also more convenient as you do not have to buy insurance every time you go away. Policies start from as little as 69.23.
Happy Half term skiing, hope the lift queues are not too long and the snow levels keep up, keep safe.
It’s important to stay safe and have the correct training when skiing or snowboarding off-piste please check out further blogs below:
If you would like to feature a blog about your organisation or experience in the snow please feel free to contact us on info@snowsafe.co.uk or 01273 737676. We are happy to take guest blogs linking back to your website.