Le Matin Swiss has published a fuller interview
with Dominique Perret. At 51 Perret, once dubbed The Best Freerider in
the World, has hucked 36m cliffs and skied on the north face of Everest
continues with the theme of off piste skiers who are geared up but
clueless.
An avalanche at Mase in the Valais killed four people on Sunday
including a guide. Another skier was killed at Nendaz and two other off
piste skiers triggered slides at Nax and Nendaz but escaped. With 11
deaths in 9 incidents (8 at risk 3) it has been the deadliest start to
winter in Switzerland for a number of years.
“In Switzerland we don't look at things from the right viewpoint. It makes me mad to look at people who spend 700-1000 Sfr on an airbag but then won't pay a cent for avalanche or off piste training. This conspicuous spending gives a feeling of invulnerability but it is dangerous and trompeur. People buy too much gear, manipulated by marketing but without really having the ability to react if there is an incident whereas they should be learning how to gauge risk and avoid it if it is too high. Those who know the mountains find it much easier not to ski a nice but unstable slope covered in powder. The indispensable avalanche beacon or ABS are not a life insurance as some appear to think."
Perret also doesn't wear a helmet. “Guides never wear them skiing. It is not by accident. In the mountains you need all your senses working fully, in particular hearing, in order to sense potential danger. We need to relearn how to listen and observe. Training with professionals can help. It is not when our mates are suffocating under 2 meters of snow that we want to be getting out the manual for our beacon." Read on...
“In Switzerland we don't look at things from the right viewpoint. It makes me mad to look at people who spend 700-1000 Sfr on an airbag but then won't pay a cent for avalanche or off piste training. This conspicuous spending gives a feeling of invulnerability but it is dangerous and trompeur. People buy too much gear, manipulated by marketing but without really having the ability to react if there is an incident whereas they should be learning how to gauge risk and avoid it if it is too high. Those who know the mountains find it much easier not to ski a nice but unstable slope covered in powder. The indispensable avalanche beacon or ABS are not a life insurance as some appear to think."
Perret also doesn't wear a helmet. “Guides never wear them skiing. It is not by accident. In the mountains you need all your senses working fully, in particular hearing, in order to sense potential danger. We need to relearn how to listen and observe. Training with professionals can help. It is not when our mates are suffocating under 2 meters of snow that we want to be getting out the manual for our beacon." Read on...
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