Tag: Weathe

SKIING OFF PISTE IN LA GRAVE?

Clear blue sky, crispy crystal snow, fresh air and lots of fun, all these make skiing a highly enjoyable and appreciated sport, that attracts thousands of tourists on the mountain slopes every year. Yet, some of them are looking not just for fun, but for adventure. These are the people who choose off-piste skiing, who challenge the mountain in a race full of adrenaline, running the risk of provoking an avalanche for the sake of enjoying a descent on an untouched slope. These are the risk takers that throw caution to the wind in favour of a good time, and many of them choose the infamous La Grave skiing area, situated in the Alps.

If you want to go skiing in La Grave, youd better think twice for the sake of your own safety and wellbeing. You could be there all alone, with nothing but your skies and backpack, in the middle of a white ocean, and your life depends on all your skiing knowledge and experience, which in some cases, can be less than you think. The highest risk to produce an avalanche is when there are several layers of snow, some older than the others, with different levels of density. In such a case, if you change direction suddenly, you may cut the most recent layer of snow with your skis, and thus dislocate it. Consequently, never cross a slope from one side to the other, because you may dislocate disaster. Or when skiing at high speed on slopes with fresh snow, you can raise a powder snow avalanche that makes air unbreathable because of the fine snow crystals that fill the atmosphere. Sometimes a few simple precautions like these can save your life.

In order to feel safer on your off-piste skiing expedition, there are a few things that you need to know. Always check on the snow conditions beforehand. Go online, and make sure you look at a report for La Grave, which should be easy enough to find. Has it recently snowed? What is the risk of avalanche in the area? What was the local weather like in the last days? Get information on how warm the weather can get at noon for instance. Make sure there havent been strong winds that might have affected the snow stability on the slope where you want to go skiing. Open your eyes for cornices and cracks and listen to possible sounds of the snow mass whilst your out there. If you remain alert, you’ll stand a better chance of avoiding disaster.

Avoid noise in areas with high avalanche risk. When trying to communicate with other members of your group, never shout if youre far from them, because sound vibrations can cause inner breaks in the snow mass if already unstable. Make sure your transceivers are fully charged so that you may ask for help if in need. And last, but not least, wear colourful skiing clothes, avoid white, silver or gray equipment, that make you almost invisible by lack of contrast. Reds, or Oranges are probably the best colours to opt for, to give that contrast that could be life saving. Thus youll be more easily detectable on the slope, and in case youre in an emergency situation, rescue teams can find you more quickly. Youll be a speck of colour in the silver vastness of snow, identifiable from miles away to aid your rescue, and potentially save your life.

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Travel Tours And Insurance Needs

There are a lot of people who will not travel until they get travel insurance. You may hear all the warnings that the travel agents try to show caution towards, but you will also find that you are going to be spending a lot of money and you will like to know that your investment is going to be protected.

You will first find that there maybe an unexpected problem. You will find that there are some things that could go wrong and you will want to make sure that you can get your money back. The travel insurance was created so that you can save yourself some hassle when it comes to cancellations for certain things. You may find that right before you travel you may end up becoming very ill or you may end up having to deal with something like a death in the family. There is so much that could go wrong and you would want to make sure that you get the insurance so when the unexpected happens, you are prepared for it.

For those who are traveling overseas or to other countries, you may want to look into an insurance plan that will cover you in that foreign country. You will want to see what it covers, because what you have now usually will not give you medical since many plans are not accepted in other countries. In these situations you need to have medical when you are put into an emergency. You will want to make sure that you are covered away from home. You need to make sure that you can be covered in any situation.

With the out break of terrorism, you may find that there are flights that can be booked, but it could be canceled anytime. You will fin that there are some countries that are prone to cancel and you will want to take inconsideration that there are unpredictable events in the world that could affect your trip.

Even though there are a number of reasons why you may have a closing of the airline, you will want to take inconsideration the weather conditions. You may also have to deal with something that will not be rescheduled and refunds will not be given. It is times like these that you will use the insurance to get your money back.

One of the most popular things is losing your luggage. You will find that missing a luggage is always the case if you do not carry on. This means that you will want to take the insurance out if you know the stats of the number of things that get lost in the luggage area. You will also find that there are going to be items that may be lost or stolen and the insurance will cover that as well. This is one of the reasons why you need the insurance to fly. You may pack some valuable things in your bag and when you land, have none of it. The insurance will help you to cut your costs.

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Should I Purchase Travel Insurance, Travel Tips

This is one of those age-old questions with no definitive answer. It’s estimated that 30 percent of Americans purchase travel insurance, which is a drastic increase since 9/11, when less than 10 percent of travelers were insured.

If you’re flying on a $150 ticket to see Aunt Irma in Wisconsin, you probably don’t need travel insurance. But on a trip such as yours, travel insurance can come in handy if something unexpectedly disrupts your trip. Your first step is to compare the cost of the trip versus the cost of the policy.

The most common situations when travel insurance comes in handy are:

Your flight is canceled

Your passport and wallet are stolen

You require medical treatment while abroad

You need to cancel your trip due to illness

An unexpected hurricane hits your destination

Your airline/cruise line/tour company go bankrupt

Reasons NOT to purchase travel insurance are:

You’re afraid of terrorism

A hurricane is going to hit your destination (this applies if the storm has already been named by the National Weather Service)

Your pet is ill

Your flight is delayed for so long that you want to cancel

One major caveat: Never purchase travel insurance from the same tour operator or cruise line with which you’re traveling. If that company goes out of business, there may not be money to cover your claim. Use a third-party provider (that includes travel agents).

Also, don’t forget about medical insurance. Even if you are covered for basic emergency care overseas, in almost all cases, your current health insurance does NOT cover you to evacuate you and fly you back to the U.S. Something called “Medical Evacuation and Repatriation” insurance comes in handy here. You pay a yearly fee, and if you get sick or injured overseas, the policy will get you treated, stabilized and flown back to the U.S. to the hospital of your choice, not theirs. There are a number of good companies that provide this type of plan, such as MedJet Assist.

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