The start of a slippery slope?

By Emma Cowing
Published on Sunday 11 December 2011 00:00

IT BRINGS a whole new meaning to “on the piste”. Scotland and Europe’s mountain resorts could be inundated with merrier-than-usual skiers this winter after a new set of ski poles equipped with a pair of shot glasses and enough room for two large drams went on sale.

The Leki Hot Shot Ski Pole encourages skiers to take to the hills with a ready-made drinks cabinet. The hollow poles come with a funnel, while the handles of the poles unscrew to form shot glasses which can store 160ml of liquid each. Because of the minus degree environment only alcoholic spirits, which freeze at much lower temperatures, are suitable to be stored in them.

Gordon Charlton, head of the winter sports department at Greaves Sports, which is selling the poles, said: “We’ve had a lot of interest in the Hot Shot poles since they arrived. They’re proving exceptionally popular with Scottish skiers.

“As long as people have been skiing they have been taking a little flask on the hill to warm themselves up, but it’s quite difficult to carry a flask, so having one in the pole is great. It’s a very sociable thing to perhaps meet someone on a chairlift and offer them a wee dram.

“The reaction from skiers has been phenomenal. They are notoriously difficult to buy for. They like to buy their own kit and renew it pretty often, so something like this really does make an ideal Christmas gift.”

However, the poles, which cost £120 for a pair, have fuelled concerns about the growing dangers of mixing skiing and alcohol on increasingly-crowded pistes. Safety experts warned the poles could contribute to more accidents.

David Walker, information manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “It’s better to enjoy an alcoholic drink after you have been skiing. Alcohol can impair judgment and motor skills like balance and co-ordination.

“It can make your body colder and it may limit the range of first aid treatments available such as pain killers.”

He added: “Ultimately, ski resorts may remove your pass if you are found to have been drinking too much alcohol and you might invalidate your insurance.”

Davie Austin, assistant hill supervisor on Nevis Range said: “It’s certainly not unusual to take a dram on the hill. In a lot of European resorts you’ll find people who drink regularly on the slopes; it’s part of the socialising of skiing.

“Obviously however, drinking to excess while skiing is not good on many fronts. You can dehydrate and you could become a danger to yourself and to everybody else on the hill.”

In 2008, a study published by the Foreign Office estimated a third of British skiers and snow-boarders under 25 had experienced problems abroad linked to a mix of altitude, adrenaline and alcohol. The study prompted the British Embassy in France to launch a campaign targeted at “drinking skiers” entitled “Don’t catch your death”.

In ski resorts in North America teams of piste police, known as Yellow Jackets, patrol the slopes for drunken skiiers and snowboarders and have the power to breathalyse and prosecute those who are out of control. Some US resort staff have been ordered to question any skier ordering a second drink at lunch time. In Colorado, the fine for being caught drunk while on the slopes is $1,000.

European resorts have no restrictions on alcohol sales. Peter Kuwall, chief executive of the British Association of Snowsports Instructors, said: “Skiing and snowboarding have always associated themselves with après ski as an integral part of the mountain experience and alcohol is certainly part of the holiday atmosphere. The problem is mixing the après with the ski and there is no doubt that mixing alcohol with skiing or snowboarding is unacceptable.

“Most injuries in snow sport these days are due to collisions. People should not drink and drive. Skiers or snowboarders suffer from the same impairment of judgment and may result in serious injury or even death to the individual as well other innocent participants.”

Recent research by Halifax Travel Insurance showed that more than four in five skiers and boarders had descended from the hill “a little the worse for wear”. This caused 8 per cent to injure themselves, putting them off the slopes for an average of two days.

Even so, 84 per cent opposed random breath testing across Austrian, French and Italian slopes, where the après ski culture is popular.

Insurance firms now take a stricter line on accident pay-outs if alcohol has been consumed. Almost all policies have a clause stating if clients are under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of an incident, claims may be invalid.

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HeneageDundas

Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 01:49 PM

Hell of a price for a pair of poles. I haven't skied in some years but I can't remember poles costing that kind of money. Get a cheap pair and a hip flask.

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