by Within seconds a slab of snow 200 feet wide, weighing 1,000 cars, was barreling down a mountain. “Avalanche! Elyse!” a voice called. Ten frantic minutes later Elyse was found, 500 feet down the mountain, her nose-ring ripped off, her airbag collapsed, trapped in the freezing snow. But she was alive. Three others did not come home ever.
This didn’t happen to me, but to 2008 World Freeride champion Eylse Saugstad and 15 friends in North America on February 19, 2012. The situation was described in a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times account of that fateful day, titled Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek.
I, along with 20 other skiers, were given this article to read as homework. We were in the resort of Tignes in France, training to represent the Great Britain Ski Club, being taught by the best guns in the ski industry. We were all on an 11 day Mountain Safety and Leadership Course, and this was part of our three day American Avalanche Level 1 qualification.
It was one of four modules – including on-snow performance, cross-country skiing and “how to be a great rep” – that we had to pass in the rep course, which hasn’t changed much on him with 97-. years.
Revival of representatives
Last November, the Ski Club announced that it was increasing its resort representative service from 18 to 24 locations in 2022/23, to 30 this winter and 50 by 2030, opening up hundreds of additional slots for eager volunteers. I signed up, along with a flurry of others. It was a dramatic U-turn from the summer of 2019 when they canceled the service completely. After obtaining legal advice, they changed the old model of “blue coat” leaders to “social skiing”. The coats are banned and representatives are no longer allowed to lead.
Our role? Be one of 230 volunteers (aged 19 to 71) acting as a social ski concert for the Club’s 17,000 members – the oldest and largest of its kind in the world. This involves hosting members in resorts or on the Club’s Freshtracks holidays, social skiing and organizing events. It is unpaid but expenses are covered and slots range from hosting a long weekend in Europe to three weeks in Canada.
Most on my course were mid-life professionals, empty-nesters or early retirees. All were skilled skiers, most had ski seasons and two were BASI instructors. We shared a common passion for skiing more, with a purpose.
For retired finance director Philippa Oram, who has been skiing for the past 36 years, her work raison d’etre was to “have fun with other like-minded skiers”.
“My husband doesn’t ski and it’s my passion,” she explained.
A general vibe, if not now, when? signing up strengthens. Mike, whose 18-year-old daughter was considering a ski season, signed on to relive his own seasonal days, now that he could afford to take time off work and was still “too young and fit”.
Peter Knight, who grew up never knowing anyone to ski, was grateful for the opportunity to ski over other resorts in the role. He felt strongly, however, that The Ski Club’s demographic needed to diversify. “My experience as a SCGB representative has been entirely positive but I would love to see more diversity in skiing, membership and the cohort of representatives,” he said – less than a third of Ski Club representatives are women. “I realize now that I fit perfectly into the white, male, middle-aged and class stereotype but I hope that changes.”
Learn to be an insider
Each module of the course built on the next. In addition to the required avalanche safety training, we spent time on the piste taking carving lessons and listening to advice on ski equipment. Another day, the chairman of the club, Angus Maciver, spoke to us about the art of being a good representative: route planning; learning wheelchairs and mountain restaurants by name; to know the closing times as well as to look for other, easier (or more challenging) routes down for all skiers of all abilities.
But perhaps the golden nugget to take away was just the WhatsApp group representative’s course – which was a valuable source of information. From best insurance to weather apps, gear reviews to gear discounts, powder dumps to trade-in alerts, all kinds of information is shared from representatives all over the world.
Life changing lessons
On the last day of the course, after completing our homework and discussing the main takeaways from Saugstad’s Pulitzer-Prize article, we let loose in the Tignes ski area and skied white gold, enjoying the turns. Then, disaster. Looking for a brand new park, we would come across a flat scene of our own. Kit version spread across the debris field. “Help me!” called voice. As if on autopilot, we turned into rescue mode and tested all our new skills.
In theory, at least. This was our exam. “First of all, you are welcome. A successful outcome. You got them all out alive,” said Bruce Goodlad, co-founder of Avalanche Geeks and the Club’s safety advisor since 2018. “12 minutes. Not bad. Up to 15 minutes, 80 percent chance of survival. After 15 minutes, 80 percent chance of death.”
Then he said something that gave me shivers. I will never forget that. “Do not forget. Great healings are not black swan events or the wrath of God. Nine out of 10 are motivated people,” Mike repeated. “If you’re not sure about the risk, don’t ski it. That’s what we’re here to teach you. If there is only one takeaway from this course, take this. Make good decisions. safe skiing.”
And with that, the course was over. It was widely agreed that it was “excellent” and much more detailed than any of us expected. We returned home to our families for Christmas, with a new world of opportunity on the horizon.
How to be a representative?
David Baker, 71, the longest serving current representative of the Great Britain Ski Club, looks back on his 54 years of volunteering
I have skied with thousands of members in over 30 resorts over 55 years. My daughter Anna (34) is also a representative. We got together in Zermatt last year.
I have always loved skiing. I first went skiing at the age of three (1955) in Andermatt in Switzerland. My brother had TB and we had gone for ‘fresh air’.
At the age of 17 (1969), I entered the training course of Davos representatives. Today, it covered avalanche safety, route finding, ski performance and social skiing (ski ability tests, weekly races and holiday drinks events).
Off the piste, we tied 10 meter red buffer cords around our waists. Transceivers or avalanche airbags came later.
The Club was extremely social. The Eaton Square clubhouse was jacket and tie, and had a bar, dining room and rooms. A highlight was the black tie ball at Hurlingham.
Before the internet, there was the Arnold Lunn library and Equipment Advice Center with holiday maps and paper files. I would come in to scout places and see the season’s new skis, boots and bindings.
Like today, it was a voluntary job, paying only expenses to cover a mandatory “substitute” course every five years. We had a 120 page annual manual of paper substitutes. Now we have the Ski Club website and app. Until the 2000s, we also represented families and school trips, and sent snow reports to newspapers.
I am skiing Grimentz, Engelberg, Flaine, La Grave, Whistler, and Tarentaise resorts. I am very grateful and I hope to reach 60 years as a representative – only six more to go!
Basics
The Great Britain Ski Club representative course costs from £3,299 (2023 price), for 11 days half-board accommodation and transfers. Training includes skiing with fully qualified mountain guides and instructors, expert instruction, personal video analysis and the American Avalanche Association’s ‘Avalanche Safety Course Level 1’ qualification. 2024 prices and dates to be confirmed. Find out more and apply at skiclub.co.uk/ski-club-reps.
