[Closed] The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2015-2016 season

I've been to a couple of places in Norway (Hemsedal , Voss and Trysil) and they are decent . Sweden has Åre too and some much lower but very family friendly resorts too (sälen for example) . Self catering is the cheapest way . Hotels are very high standard but very expensive .

I've only ski toured in Norway, only difference is lift ticket prices (don't know if they're ridiculous?) but it can be quite reasonable - Look at airbnb for accommodation, Norwegian air for flights, plus car hire from ur fave hire car providing platform.

Shop at the nearest supermarket, cook for yourself, but look at the prices on the way round! First shop is always a standard supermarket shop, then a "Gumph!" moment when everything's run through the till, followed by a stiff drink and a forensic review of the receipt.

they are goatskin palms and fingers. (whatever that involves)

Commitment from the goat.

We had flights sorted for Christmas. Now booked somewhere to stay and settled on a trip back to Wagrain. Bonus of this is that we get to see some Crashed Ice action on our first night there 🙂

2tyred - times of the year to ski to make it more affordable. Christmas - we reckon we can save about £1k for 3 of us by going over Christmas than going over New Year (which is generally on a par with the cost of half term).
Easter - Some real bargains to be had if you can shop about or book flights when they've just been released. Also look for the places that do free kids passes for late season (Serre Che, Les Arcs, Ski Welt, Ski Amade, Saalbach).
We've done one half term holiday (the OH had an op before Xmas and wasn't fit enough to ski) and it wasn't too bad from a cost or crowd point of view. We did, however, go with Snowcoach so travel took some time! 4 days skiing for roughly £1k for 3 of us - booked the week before.

Ah yes, but a flat in the Alps is the gift that keeps on giving. Snow in winter, biking in summer, space for friends and a retirement benefit.

Actually, maybe I should look into that...

It's also a money pit, "charges de copropriété" for maintaining a building at altitude are high. Taxes for villages at altitude where you pay for the services you use and the services skiers from all over the world use are high too. Bills for water reflect the difficulty of maintaining service up remote valleys, and electricity use can be high in buildings that often have lousy insulation. You can expect your flat to cost you what you paid for it every ten years or so - not much of a retirement investment.

If you rent out expect the place to be trashed by drunks even if they are "friends".

Buy a flat if you'll spend a lot of time there yourself, months a year rather than weeks.

More glove choice: [url= http://10peaksgloves.com/ ]10 Peaks Gloves[/url]
Bought a pair last year off SportPursuit and they were great. Nice and warm, and the zip to release fingers was really useful, what with adjusting kids stuff, messing with phone and GoPro, holding hot drinks, etc. No leaks through the zip, but after a slushy day they were damp. Dried out quickly though in the room.
I went for the Mount Allen gloves.

[i]What's the Norwegian ski scene like? We're looking to tick off the northern lights, do some husky dog sledding, introduce the toddler to skiing, stay somewhere low key.[/i]

I wanted to do the Northern Lights and Husky sleds etc a couple of years back but by the time I got round to booking it it was seriously expensive. So we booked an apartment in Oslo for three nights and got the metro up into the hills every day where there is the winter park for some half decent skiing, plus tobaggon runs and stuff. Made a nice change between Christmas and New Year.

expect your flat to cost you what you paid for it every ten years or so - not much of a retirement investment.

Depends where you buy. Mine pays for itself even with me spending nearly 3 months per year there.

This first calendar year I think we (I, or me & family) will have stayed there c.65 nights. Once we get a pattern of use, we will then open it up to close friends to borrow.

Tax fonciere = €250 pa
Tax d'habitation = €250 pa
s/c (coproprietere incl water) = €500 pa
Elec = €150 pa

= €1,150 pa (c.£70 pm / £3 per day / £13 per day of use)

If I add a figure for cost of funds (but assume capital value moves in line with long term inflation) of c.3%, then it costs a further £25 per day of use. That's for a family of four, including Xmas, Easter skiing. And not even Feb half term.

Where is your place Stoner? That's staggeringly cheap on taxes and electricity. Is it tiny?

Is it tiny?

Said the actress to the bishop.

Yes. Yes it is. 😳

Yes, it's really just our own cupboard* in a 90's block. It's in a great location in Montriond (a great village just outside Morzine) with a Navette stop in front for the bus up to Ardent in 5mins.

It's a 225sqft pad, with a nice west facing balcony, bunk bed room (proper room with a door, not a coin motagne) for the boys to be shut away in, bathroom, bog, and main kitchen/living/bedroom. Works v well for us.

There's v v few "large" apartments of 500-750sq ft, and of course chalets are madly expensive as they are really "businesses" rather than real residences.

* although brilliantly it came with not only a ski locker, but also a basement store room in which I can store all our outdoor equipment as well as 3 or 4 bikes. And it also has an underground car parking space, which we use as a bike stand in summer.

Well if you get to wanting to do winter weekend lets Stoner I'm sure you'll have a customer base here from a few people 🙂

225sqft .... multiply by .3048... multiply by .3048.... OK gotcha!

I think my bedroom alone is bigger than that*, which explains why taxes are a lot higher (and my leccy bill!).

So used to working in Sainte Foy - a "small" apartment here is more like 700sqft. The whole shoebox thing really passed us by!

*Not chalet willy-waving here, this is my full-time abode, down in the valley!

And Swetty Mountain bikers !!

Was looking at something myself in Montrond for 2 weeks in august on the bike

What's people's thoughts on Goggles, especially their colour/tint?

I've only ever had one pair, with a slight tint. Used in rain, cloud an bright sun. they're a bit scratched so fancied a new pair.

Is it worth getting a couple of pairs for different conditions? Are there any colours that particularly enhance difficult, flat conditions?

Jeez that's cheap, Stoner! Even for the size.

Edit now I've done the sums and found some documents:

334 ft2 plus a south facing balcony

Taxe foncière 384e this year
Taxe d'habitation 496e (two years ago, it's gone up )
charges de copropriété 1600e and rising
water 160e
electricity circa 100-150e

What's people's thoughts on Goggles

I like Smith I/O. They have interchangeable lenses so that deals with any light condition. Plenty of brands now doing some kind of a quick change lens system. It's probably best to try them on in a store though, to make sure they fit your face/helmet (if you wear one).

What's people's thoughts on Goggles, especially their colour/tint?

As above, ones that fit/work with your helmet first of all!

Tints?
I have a Persimmon for bad weather, and Snow Black Iridium for the sunshine. Seems to cover everything I might need very well indeed. If the weather looks changeable, I'll take a spare lens in the goggle pocket of my jacket. A doddle to change the lens when having a cheeky coffee. Crowbars and a Smith lid, BTW.

Yep - go with the brand you can try on in your local shop. It's really important that they fit well.

I've got Oakley something (Canopy maybe?) with a rose prizm lens which suits me in all conditions.

With goggles I have found that certain brands and models come down too low on my nose so as others have said try out some. If you pick a set with interchangeable lens you can swap around depending on the day. Smith have some photo-chromatic if you want to avoid the hassle. Pricey though.

Really like my goggles from [url= http://www.summitworldwide.eu/ ]Summit Worldwide[/url].
First comfy pair of goggles I have found, they have interchangeable lenses and look great. I went for the Evolve.
Price is reasonable too.
Haven't managed to damage them. I'm a bit hard on eyewear, no matter how much I try to look after them.

For anybody else who sweats like a Turkey at Thanksgiving, I can recommend the Smith Turbo Fan range.

They have a little fan at the top that maintains airflow across the lens. The only goggles I have ever had which are mist-free.

As above, ones that fit/work with your helmet first of all!

Yep! You'll notice that I didn't ask about brands or interchangeable lenses... 😛

I wanted to low-down on colours & tints first. I know that Bolle work well with my helmet, as do my current ones (though 've forgotten who makes them). Once I know what tint I might be looking for, if I can't get them in by Bolle then I'll go down my local S&R and try some on!

Serre Che have moved their opening back a week. Was due to be this weekend, but there's still grass showing on the Cucumelle!

I reckon avoriaz may move theirs forward from Dec 19.

chamonix opens this weekend

Chamonix [Grand Montets} opened last week !!

did it?? my mate lives there said this weekend

Hochkoenig in Austria opens this weekend, think Zell does too.

I have some Bolle goggles (Nova I think). Bought them reduced off somewhere like Sportpursuit. Lens was Vermillion Gun which turned out to be a bit poor in low light. I got on to the UK distributor (Bushnell I think) and ordered a photochromatic lens for £25 - rather than sending me a new lens they just sent me new goggles with the photochromatic lens!

jedi - Member

did it?? my mate lives there said this weekend

Lots of snowy pictures from Verbier too.

Looking at those snow pictures is making my legs twitchy!

Back of Avoriaz (Le Fornet) apparently

[img] ?oh=5951c1b1dfc9c80707c05fcdec58b61e&oe=56EB46CD&__gda__=1457791746_3c2ea7b564343b6afa783a9a355efbd5[/img]

Looks like Monday could be a stunning day for skiing in Scotland. 2 days of storms followed a very calm weather window

rumours Avoriaz might open next weekend...

could it be a great, great season? I think so. 😀 😀 😀 😀

Yep, official Avoriaz Facebook page says they are opening the 5th.

Never been to Avoriaz before, once we get dropped by transfer service at the car park, what is the best way to get to the flat? It is the other side of the resort. Don't fancy walking with kids and suitcases.

there are skid/wheel dolly trucks around that you can use and leave at docking stations. They then get taken back to the car park for others to use. It's well thought out.

Great thanks.

Seems like its warming up in the Alps this week....NOT what we want to see, but is there enough snow to keep the open slopes open?

NOT what we want to see,

Not a bad thing, means at least a decent safe base will be created if not too much melts. Lots of people died last year because no solid decent base built up

I decided to bite the bullet and bought a pair of Hestra gloves. Despite the expense, they seem to be the one that everyone recommends. Luckily I found a place that had a pair of size 12 in stock, so I should have enough space for liners as well.

cchris2lou
Horse drawn sleigh from the top car park FTW if you turn up at a sensible time of day.

Never used it though as have only driven up the hill to avoid the queues at morzine

Anyone point me in the direction of a good quality purveyor of women's ski jackets?

Aside from Sport Pursuit.

piemonster - All kinds out there... Ellis Brigham/Snow and Rock if you want 2016 at full price. TK Maxx if you want a bit of a lottery (I got a Quiksilver goretex jacket for £75 reduced from £330 last weekend)!

I quite like Two Seasons.

If you are very confident on size try one of the European online shops - most are still offering Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals. The exchange rate means you can get some real bargains. Glisshop are really good.
We placed an order last night with Snowinn - good prices, not sure what the service is like though. Will be interesting when that parcel arrives if we're not in, not sure they'll find a neighbour willing to take in skis, coffin bag, poles and a load of other stuff.

piemonster. You could try [url= http://www.thesportsoutlet.co.uk/snow/jackets ]The Sports Outlet[/url]. They have a fair few last season jackets on there.
My wife and I have picked up jackets (Quiksilver Mission, Bonfire, North Face) from TKMaxx.
Wife also scours Charity shops and has picked up some amazingly priced items (As new North Face gilet for £16).
[url= http://www.westbeach.com/ ]Westbeach[/url] have a sale on at the moment.

piemonster - I've had some great deals from Blue Tomato (Austrian shop that delivers to UK no problem)

and Absolute-Snow.co.uk

[url= ]Wow![/url]

Thought I'd share this pic taken at Cervinia this past week. Just makes me want to bomb that all the way!

Nice Rockape. Cervinia is great in a point your skis and let it go type way. Pistes are very wide, very long and mostly not hugely steep. It's very easy to cover a lot of ground very quickly. It does suffer from strong winds though which regularly close the lifts.

im looking at getting an airbag back pack. do they come complete? i keep looking and looks like you have to buy all the kit seperate

We placed an order last night with Snowinn - good prices, not sure what the service is like though.

My experiences lead me to believe the Inn group service is pish.

Thanks for all the suggestions listed above, will take a mooch.

@flashy

That's superb 😆

Y'know those inserts in snowboards into which you screw your bindings? One of them in my snowboards has become cross threaded (just remember this from last time I used it - it's in the loft at the moment but I'm considering taking it with me this year instead of renting again). Are they easily removable?

I think I've done that cervinia piste if it's the one that goes from kleine Matterhorn all the way down. Epic. Part of a road trip with mates quite a few years ago where we based at aosta and did a different resort each day. pila, courmayer, cervinia, champulac.
Highly recommended

Y'know those inserts in snowboards into which you screw your bindings? One of them in my snowboards has become cross threaded

T-nuts can be removed and replaced (by drilling through the base of the board) but I'd say it's an unnecessary faff for just one of them. You should be able to just re-tap the threads with a decent tap & die set. T-nuts are standard M6

im looking at getting an airbag back pack. do they come complete?

Which ones have you been looking at Jedi?

A few years ago most were complete, whereas now a number of the current solutions (particularly ABS-Vario style) are modular which allows you to choose a pack size (or multiple pack sizes) that meet your requirements i.e. small pack for heli drop, medium for day touring, large for multiday touring etc ...

Is that what you mean by not 'complete' ?

Have you had a look at Face West's selection?

[url= http://www.facewest.co.uk/Avalanche-Packs.html ]Airbags[/url]

The Black Diamond Jet Force solution looks to be very interesting development (and avoid the customs hassle of trying to fly with a cylinder). They don't seem to offer vertical carry for snowboards though

[quoteT]he Black Diamond Jet Force

£900 for a day pack 😯

£900 for a day pack

I think the day version is <£800 ... but yeah - it's a bug chunk of change for sure!!

But then getting cylinders confiscated / replaced can be costly and you can't fly to the US with a cylinder!

I'm off for a weeks skiing in January and need to purchase some goggles and gloves. The goggles will need to go over my prescription glasses too, any recommendations for some without breaking the bank?

Smith do decent OTG goggles. I used to have a pair that cost about £30, although that was in a sale.

@Digby, Cheers. Certainly not drilling through the bottom of the board so will try a tap and die first.

I use Cebe OTG goggles and they're pretty good. Only very occasionally do they steam up and it's when we've been stood around a long time. They also fit my face a lot better than the Smith onces I tried which were really tight despite being OTG ones.

so will try a tap and die first

forgot to mention, you will need an M6 tap with a flat 'nose' rather than a pointy one

RS components do them.

deadlydarcy - if it's a 4-hole binding system, you can always just rely on the "3 was enough for Burton" strategy...

Tbh stevo, it's done 2½ holidays with only three. Was only thinking I'd sort it properly with some downtime over Christmas. I probably won't and it'll do another couple of holidays this season. 😀

"3 was enough for Burton" strategy...

Tru dat! ... or just one big one! 🙂

I probably won't and it'll do another couple of holidays this season

... well, you could always use this as an excuse to tinker with your stance and go wider! (and use another set of holes) 🙂

Or cut it and make a split board 😀

Have we done the Snooc yet?

[img] :large[/img]

http://snooc.ski/

😯

Not sure I get the thinking behind the Snooc. Skin up, take off bindings, bolt perfectly good skis together, wear out perfectly serciceable shoes whilst filling your ski pant legs with snow.

Try walking up and sliding down again on a bin liner! Or Skiing down on the skis?

I'm out.

Don't think we've done this yet have we?

Subscribing.

Nice link Digby, thanks.

Cheers Digby,

Seen that linked on fb a couple of times, but not watched it. Mostly because the guy at 2:00, Alex Do, talking about his buddy dying, was the guy I went to the Lyngen Alps with a few years ago. I knew what had happened, and I didn't want to watch him talk about it. 🙁

Careful out there, folks.

🙁 nedrapier.

Well done him for taking part in the film though. If his story helps others think twice then it will have been worthwhile!

The Know Before You Go video is great, one of the ski schools in Meribel are showing it as part of their mountain safety presentations. Maybe a bit more Gnar than a Henry's Avalanche type video but it kept 3 chalet companies worth of staff interested and they asked the right questions after watching it.

Not sure about the OTG goggles from Smith but their googles are the best I've ever used. I/OXs have great quality lens and are as comfy as anything I've over strapped to my head.

Really good carving video, sorry direct linky no worky

I'm liking that very much howsyourdad1 ! cheers 🙂

(btw - just delete the 's' in https and hey presto!)

ok will do next time. i could test that here but it might make a div of myself