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GEAR – Self Arrest
Grips
In the
beginning, when a skier fell on a
steep descent, if was frequently
followed by the big slide. Then,
because of this painful and
sometimes fatal activity,
self-arrest grips were developed.
Think you don’t need a pair? Well,
consider this. During the late
spring, some of the best ski
descents are bagged due to the
enormous amount of big faces that
offer excellent corn skiing (the
snow made for our fragile egos).
Yet, there is a caveat. You need to
climb these big faces or bowls in
the early hours of the day, while
the snow is still hard, in order to
reach the summit of your descent
before it thaws beyond perfect corn.
Ascending these frozen faces without
a way to stop sliding, if you fall,
typically does not end well. Hence,
the self-arrest grip suddenly
appears very useful. Below is an
excerpt from our book, A Weekend
Warrior’s Guide to Expert Skiing,
which will give you the low-down
on this valuable tool.
The first self-arrest
grip I saw was developed more than
two decades ago by ski equipment
icon, Paul Ramer. It is pictured in
Figure 18.1 on the right side, and
although today’s modern versions
vary, the principle remains the
same. There is some sort of blade
attached to the grip of your ski
pole, and when you fall, the blade
is thrust into the snow and dragged
down the slope, biting into the
surface until you come to a stop.
Without self-arrest grips, in many
steep descents you will fall and
slide until hitting immovable
objects (usually rocks) or until you
reach the bottom of the slope. Long
falls on steep terrain most often
result in minor to severe injury or
death.
These bladed grips can
save lives and reduce injury, but
you should never depend on them as a
guarantee you won’t get hurt when
skiing steep slopes. The grips allow
you to relax more, and concentrate
on the task at hand instead of being
engulfed in fear.
It is this notion of
self-arrest grips alleviating fear
that reminds me of a recent incident
I witnessed in the Alps a few
winters ago. During the trip, a few
of us hired a guide and boarded a
helicopter bound for a high plateau,
at 14,500 feet above sea level in
the Alps. Our goal was to ski down
the glaciers to the village, about
8500 vertical feet below us.
Everyone was having a good time
until we came upon a narrow
constriction filled with just a few
meters of ice. Just below it skiing
looked good again, and we decided to
side step down this few feet of ice
with our skis on. It seemed
unnecessary to rope up for safety.
However, this icy section was about
45-degrees steep, so the guide went
first as a confidence builder for
the rest of us. Just after him a
second skier started to descend,
wanting the guide to stay close
below and offer moral support. Then
it happened; the second skier
started to get anxious and slipped
on the ice, falling into the guide.
They slid together for a short
distance before the guide was able
to stop.

Figure 18.1
Self-Arrest Grips. When the going
gets tough you can’t live without
them! Many steep descents in the USA
and Europe carry with them the
moniker “If you fall, you die.” But,
not with grips this arresting.
The
anxious skier was not so lucky, and
plummeted 1500 vertical feet to the
valley floor. This person received
cuts and bruises, was knocked
unconscious, and suffered some
abrasions, but lived through the
fall to ski another day. In the
Alps, a fall of that distance
usually ends in death. But
amazingly, this skier launched off a
snow ramp and flew over many meters
of rock debris before landing safely
on the other side in the snow.
Self-arrest grips probably would
have given the skier enough
confidence to side step down the
short icy section, knowing a fall
would only result in a few feet of
sliding, as compared to a 1500
vertical foot screamer.
These special grips are
not just a tool for the backcountry,
and can be very useful inside ski
area boundaries as well. I have
personally witnessed serious falls
on black diamond and double black
diamond runs that resulted in people
sliding from 500 to 1000 vertical
feet, and sustaining injuries that
could have been avoided if they were
able to arrest their slide with this
type of grip. When using these
grips, be aware that you can injure
yourself on the blades, so it is
imperative you practice using them
before it gets serious. If you are
going to practice stopping yourself
with these grips, be sure to
practice on a slope that loses its
steepness in a very short distance
and has a safe run out at the
bottom. The slope must not have
rocks, trees, or obstacles in
general that you could hit. Be sure
to have someone with experience show
you how to employ these grips.
Self-arrest grips will never be a
substitute for good ski technique,
but they do add a margin of safety.
Skiing
the steeps is an adventure, but I am
not encouraging you to go
looking for steep skiing, with or
without these special grips. You
need to decide for yourself when it
is your time to go in search of this
scarier and more dangerous type of
skiing. |