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Stoner - MemberFortunately, they've been working on a new reservoir and pumped supply to artificial snow network over the last year so there are skiable pistes.
But its not cold enough, daughter has been there for a couple of months and skied one day after a fresh fall but had to skin up. Tody she was sat subathing on the balcony today when she rang.
Great day in Avoriaz today. A light bit icy in places.
Plannnig on going to hockey match tomorrow.
Chris, I picked up tickets to hockey just a little while ago, PM me for phone number and we might get a chance to catch up over a beer at the rink.
Avalanches - BBC4 Now! (Tuesday, 22nd December. 2200hrs)
Wolf creek in Colorado has had 192" of powder so far this season including 45" in the last five days. Lordy lord lord
Glad you had a good trip Solarider. Turns out that that longterm forecast wasn't too far off when it said 'some snow' was coming up 😀
Do I sense a "What outerwear for riding DH in the Alps in December" thread.
I'm not sure i can see the benefits of opening some of the lifts to bikes at this time of year, it has to be a bit of a slippy gloop fest, bikes are a fair bit more expensive to hire than skis, and i don't think you average skier is ready for just how rough a DH crash is likely to be.
If you were a really enthusiastic DH'er you'd probably be at home doing uplifts on you own bike or in Spain enjoying sunny trails
Can anyone recommend some insurance for a weeks trip for the French Alpes please? First time skiing so not sure what to look for etc.
@oliver - Verbier have been running some guided rides, looks pretty nice riding from resort down to the valley floor. The skiing there is 40% open and only the higher stuff
@bash, you can check whether you can buy insurance with the loft pass, eg carte neige. Thats very good for recovery in the event of an accident
Also worth checking with your credit card provider. If it's your first time, you're going to be on piste only, and (hopefully ) in tuition for much of it, so insurance can be a little bit easier.
Where are you going, bash?
Drone madness, has to stop IMO.
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/35164700 ]Marcel Hirsch[/url]
bash - MemberCan anyone recommend some insurance for a weeks trip for the French Alpes please? First time skiing so not sure what to look for etc.
I use Protectivity, annual as it covers off piste mountain biking and climbing.
FYI Carte neige when purchased with piste pass for PdS is c. €3 a day.
Edit, this is the PdS insurance scheme
http://en.snowrisk.com
Does the Carte Neige cover you if you're on the bike? it's cracking value in that case
No, just ski pass periods
but seeing as they're opening for bikes?
@CFH going to Les Deux Alpes, I've had a fair few days tuition at ChillFactore (indoor Snowdome) so can parallel ski etc so not going to have lessons but will only be on piste.
Thanks for all of the recommendations, I'll have a look into those.
Awesome.
I still think lessons are good for a newbie, especially as it also helps you to navigate around the resort.
Another gorgeous day in Avoriaz but Snow is getting low.
Just had a small flurry overnight, so only have 2.8m on the mountain at Sunshine. It's cold here though, -12 currently and can only really get colder. Last night was -20 as I tried to stay awake until a 'normal' time for Canadia.
Sadly, I woke up at 1am local and the jet lag is real. Coffee is the order of the day now that I have my snowbaord. Tomorrow we'll be out at Lake Louise.
Photos to follow.
New snow at Loveland in Colorado. It is not fun at all. 😉
Been a great start to the season here, hopefully it continues!
Sadly, I woke up at 1am local and the jet lag is real. Coffee is the order of the day now that I have my snowbaord. Tomorrow we'll be out at Lake Louise
The hard part is finding somewehere to have breakfast before the first bus, although the day lodges at lake louise and Norquay are both good, and open before the lifts
We're out in "too low for early season" Austria at the moment. Considering we've been skiing man made snow on piste for the whole week it's been pretty impressive (especially compared to last year's disappointment in Skiwelt).
There hasn't been any natural snow of any substance for about 4 weeks and it has been too warm for the cannons to be running most of the week. It's been hovering around freezing around town most of the time - getting up to 17c at the top! Yet there aren't any mounds of sugary slush like you get in Spring. Lovely smooth flowing pistes in the morning followed by hard/scraped and very fast with very light soft stuff in between in the afternoon. For my sins I carry a Garmin and whilst we don't blast it we've managed 4 x 40+ mile days and a 39 mile day (lifts and skiing).
If there was plenty of natural white stuff between the pistes here (as they are at the moment) no on one would be moaning. I know where I'd rather be at the moment!
All this said, I much prefer being out here for this week than next when it will be quite a bit busier and more difficult to get about.
2.8 is the cumulative snowfall. The base is more like 1m or a bit more.
Should have added that we also got to see a Crashed Ice race the other night. Which is stupid and amazing in equal measure!
Frohe Weinachten from Maria Alm, same conditions as Hammerite.
Santa popped to the balcony earlier.
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Frihe Weinachten to you too colp. Lots of Stille Nacht rattling around these parts (probably something to do with staying next to the church where Rev Mohr is buried).
Could be worse
You could be my mate who got to Jackson Hole and spent half an hour today, looking into a windblown, hardpacked Corbet's and turned around...
Crikey. There really isn't any snow, is there?
That said, was talking to some friends in Montana yesterday and they're fed up of the stuff already. Still, the pics from Bridger look awesome!
Trying to wangle another work trip during the winter! Big Sky is calling me....
Ok, so they had the cannons on at Lake Louise, but it was cold, the slopes weren't icy and it was not as busy as I thought it would be.
All in all, an awesome day. Same thing tomorrow i think.
Wow, colp, that looks pretty savage 🙁
After queuing at the post office for an hour this morning (pretty much the worst thing about living here) and fully expecting a packed mountain, I eventually got up Blackcomb and was greeted with a pretty much empty mountain. Quick snap from Ruby Bowl
[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1442/23585134339_419841fbc5_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1442/23585134339_419841fbc5_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/BW8YKe ]Christmas Eve Spankys[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/75523014@N08/ ]Jamie Carson[/url], on Flickr
Went up to Lindarets yesterday to embarrass myself in front of my children for my first go on Skis. There's not a lot of snow as we all know but there's more than I feared. And plenty for 3x learners. Mrs stoner just has to grit her teeth and dream of the day the boys and I no longer need her tutoring.
Going up again today to brave a few blues up and over to Avoriaz.
Happy Christmas from Canada everyone. Just thought I would post here before heading off on the bus to Lake Louise.
Adds Willard and stoner (again) to [i]the list [/i] 
Another day of piste bashing round here and it was great. Home tomorrow 🙁
Great conditions today and empty slopes, I love changeover day!
It's always fairly quiet here though to be fair, only ever queued for 1 lift.
The cannons around 1000m are on in the early mornings, it's warmer higher up so they can't run them, the region is doing a fantastic job with the pistes considering.
Just left Avoriaz.
It was so hot today, no snow will be left.
Do I want to learn to board? I can just about get myself down most pisted stuff on skis - goodish intermediate. Junior 1 is 11 and is a good intermediate skier, but he really wants to board, so I'm thinking we could do lessons together. Any views on relative levels of fitness / coordination / bottle required skiing vs boarding?
And no, I'm not trolling, I'd really like some considered advice from folk who can do both.
Oh and most of my sliding is done in Scotland, if that makes any difference.
Good to be able to do both IMO. Snowboard is more fun on powder days and for messing about on slushy spring snow. Skis better for going fast on hard-packed pistes and covering some distance/getting around the mountain more conveniently.
I've been a boarder for well over a decade
This week is my first time on Skis. My boys 5 and 9 started to learn to ski in easter. After two days I can almost catch up with them, but I've not had any lessons yet.
I believe the first 4 days learning to board hurt like hell, but after that you can pretty much get yourself around most blues and reds in a resort and it's only awkward nailing ski chair dismounts and keeping the board on track on pomas until you have done a few more weeks.
On Skis however, it takes more time to be able to tackle reds rather than blues esp under icy conditions but all chairs and lifts are a doddle.
Medium to long term Skis offer a wider accessibility, but boarding is the nuts on the right days
All, IMO. Worm-tin open.
Do I want to learn to board?
Depends on why you ski.
If it's for shits and giggles. Go for it!
I think I might sneak myself off for a day's boarding lesson when conditions permit and see how I get on.
More fun is the outcome I'm looking for - and softer boots certainly have an attraction 🙂
More fun is the outcome I'm looking for
Different. Not more.
It's all fun, that's for sure!
Oh, apart from the fact that it's all the old farts who are "boarding" these days. All the cool kids are skiing. 😉
I board for the relaxation of piste bashing. Languid turns, floppy hips. Soft boots and the unrelenting sexual advances of 25yr old girls.
Skiing has it's merits but there's still not really much better in life than snowboarding in deep powder.
All the cool kids are skiing.
Which inevitably means that skiing is now uncool.
the unrelenting sexual advances of 25yr old girls.
I was starting to find that a bit of a problem TBH which is why I'm skiing more these days.
I'm having a crisis of faith right now about the board v ski thing. I board and like it, but skiing seems to me to be a better long term sport to get good at. I know that, at some point, I'm going to get frustrated with not being good at boarding and skiing just seems to be a more useful thing to be moderate at. Yesterday nearly had me throwing the board away when I kept hitting flat spots on the piste and had to unclip and walk to the next bit of slope.
One day I'll have another go at skis and decide then.
Stoner - who was that nice young lady we met you with last summer again...?
Geoffj - enact to swap legs? My nine year old wants me to going skiing with him - unfortunately he's in the "clean parallels on blacks and off piste" class this year so hasn't-skied-in-30-years (give or take) dad is not going to keep up with him.
In return I can offer some intermediate snowboard legs, happy on reds and blues (can't do greens - no gradient) and often in the bar by 10am. They don't do blacks possibly due to lack of skill, but probably due to why bother when there's a nice fun red over there. Jumps are at your own risk as they rarely land them cleanly.
If we can work something out I will be available for surgery from late January and I'll need to keep your legs until Easter - I'll need mine back for sportives in May (unless your good at climbing on a road bike - I'm not)
Thoughts?
One day I'll have another go at skis and decide then.
Probably he day after I've skated past you on a flat piste somewhere 😈
I need a new helmet. Not really keen on renting one again so will be getting one to do me for next few years.
Price variation is crazy. What's, say £100+ reduced to £70ish in sales getting me that say base price of, I dunno, say... £40ish isn't? (I'll prob order a few to try fit with goggles and bonce and return what doesn't work - I realise comfort and goggles fit is most important.)
DD, I use a (relatively) cheap Smith helmet, as it was the best fit for my bonce and goggles. A Holt, as seen here;
[img] http://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/smithoptics/H15-HLMBMD?$full$&defaultImage=image_not_available [/img]
Retail was around £60, IIRC, so not exactly spendy! (Didn't actually pay for mine. Sorry!) I run hot, so like to have the permanent vents on the roof there. Never felt cold in it, even in silly chilly stuff. Equally, never (yet!) overheated in it, even in late season Serre Che sunshine, which can be blistering. Using Oakley Crowbar goggles, by the way.
As with bike helmets, more money is really about either;
Lower weight for same protection.
Better ventilation, or ventilation options. Expensive ones have clever open/closed vents.
More comfort.
Very cold (-30C first thing this morning) at Lake Louise. The front side is very icy in places but the backside had some nice soft patches.
still not really much better in life than snowboarding in deep powder.
Wide Modern rocker skis come close and I can push through any flat spots as well if they occur.
Never boarded but my impression is that the learning curve is steeper for a snow board but an average to intermediate boarder can do more than an average skier. To be good in all conditions on skis takes more skill (which I don't have; grr hate moguls grrr)
Stoner - who was that nice young lady we met you with last summer again...?
I have no idea, but she won't leave. Which means given my early onset alzheimers she's either my nurse or funeral director.
I can also recommend that /\/\ Smith helmet.
Using Smith goggles, which is have been annoyed with if they didn't fit.
IGM - deal! 😆
Like Flashy I run hot and find my current helmet a bit too warm at times. This week I've been trying on a few helmets. I was recommended the Alpina Grap due to lightness and ventilation - tried it on and it just didn't feel right.
I've also tried on a few different Smith helmets. Most of which have adjustable vents and feel pretty comfortable. But I still didn't buy one... mainly because the most comfortable one was the Vantage which is packed full of features - trouble is I can't bring myself to spend the best part of £150 on a helmet! Especially when my current one is really comfy - even if a tad warm.
Looks like Cairngorm may open tomorrow 😀 although it might be a bit breezy.
Wide Modern rocker skis come close and I can push through any flat spots as well if they occur.
Never boarded but my impression is that the learning curve is steeper for a snow board but an average to intermediate boarder can do more than an average skier. To be good in all conditions on skis takes more skill (which I don't have; grr hate moguls grrr)
How do you know they come close if you've never boarded? 🙂
It is true they are a lot better. Skiing generally is a so much easier than it was when I learnt. The modern designs really make an enormous difference IMO.
Skiing has it's merits but there's still not really much better in life than snowboarding in deep powder.
I would concur completely with above sentiments, but I do wish that I had the time and opportunity to be a better skier - just for those icy days when you fancy a change of pace.
In terms of the thorny age-old skiing vs snowboarding debate, I think all other things being equal they are probably similarly 'hard' when progressing through the novice/beginner/intermediate phases - the major difference being at which point the steep learning curve commences:
For snowboarding I think this occurs early on as you spend so much time in the first few days on your knees & bum not really covering much ground - whereas with skiing, once you can master your 'french fries' and you 'pizza' you can cover some mileage on mellow terrain quite quickly - it's just that the next phases required to parallel ski and ski in powder where the learning curve steepens.
Either way whichever you start with there's some 'transfer of technology' these days with the concepts of edges, side-cut and carving etc being applicable to both 'disciplines'
and of course the earlier you start the better ...
I have been skiing for a long time and only tried snowboarding once.
My boys want to try snow board next year so think I'll book some lessons for the three of us. I consider myself a good skier and happy to go down anything in any conditions but a bit nervous to try the snow board.
3rd day on the snow.
Avoriaz getting too ropey to bother going over now. We had a very good day there on Xmas day though. Today sticking to Lindarets, chaux fleurie just about skiable. Mrs stoner has just taken the stonerissimos up prolays. I'm working on my beer.
It's stunning beer weather as well.
Snow forecast for Thursday evening which is annoying as we leave on Friday. Tant pis, I'm back in March.
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Sorry we didn't get a chance to rendezvous Christophe. Next time!
PS after my sloppy skiing this morning I'd say that it's much easier to be lazy on a board than Skis. Skiing seems to require more physical input than boarding.
Top beering Stoner!
I can parallel beer like a pro.
I'd say that it's much easier to be lazy on a board than Skis
Really? Quite the opposite in my experience, but then I'm a lousy skier!
For me, lazy / sloppy snowboarding = catching an edge and either 'knee dancing' or bruising one's coccyx! 😳
I would have to agree about being lazy and catching edges. I find that I get progressively more shaky and close to messing up when I get tired and that means I have to concentrate more on maintaining an edge, which makes me more tired, which... You get the idea. It would be nice just to be able to snowplough down when I'm tired or injured, but I don't have that luxury.
Sweaman.
Are you staying in Banff? Fancy meeting up for a beer at some point?
Ah, I definitely beg to differ. But I think it's a matter of experience. The more you have the slacker you can ride, just with gentle bodyweight shifts and shoulder rotation without having to think about the edge.
On the Skis as a novice I have to concentrate on more dramatic weight changes from one leg to the other.
Anyway, a nice day for it today. Will probably not hit the pistes again this week. But there's a mountain hike I have my eye on for Tuesday and the views are going to be glorious.
BTW am very happy with the boots and their fit from Colin mentioned earlier in the thread.
Sat outside an apres bar on Friday and a chap comes along on his CX/gravel bike. He went for a bimble on the ice quite successfully to many cheers from well oiled gathering at the bar!
I can relax quite well on skis now, but every so often I will get a kick up the bum and catch an edge. Last week was my first week on my own skis. Hopefully it was down to improved technique, but it was more likely down to the skis, I found I could ski for a lot longer without quad burn and a need for a little rest. The conditions probably played their part as although it was warm there were very few mounds of slush - so it was easy to just let the skis run a bit.
But I think it's a matter of experience. The more you have the slacker you can ride.
Clearly I'll have to get some more experience! 😳
But what is this 'shoulder rotation' of which you speak? 🙄
When I think of the concept of 'lazy riding' I think of the folk who just try and 'whip' the back end round (counter-rotating) rather than carving and finishing the turn.
I'm not explaining myself very well.
I mean when you just want to cruise down the last few runs of the day, on the board I think it's easier to switch off and float down without having to concentrate or put much effort into it. Whereas I found on the Skis that all that changing weight between legs and input required to manage your speed means you have to keep focused and physically active.
Just left Avoriaz.
It was so hot today, no snow will be left.
Just arrived in Avoriaz! It is proper T shirt and shorts weather.
At least there is some snow, so we can pretend it's winter, Les Gets was absolutely devoid of any!
Big dump forecast for this weekend in the alps. Looks like half a metre over Saturday and Sunday. Shame I go home on Saturday morning 🙄
Well, you'll be TRYING to go home! Could me snowmageddon round 2.
That would probably be the worst possible! Ski holiday with no snow, then snowmaggedon stopping you enjoy route home!
Reminds me of last year pre Christmas, we left having had very little snow (Tignes Le Lac at 2000m was the snow line) and on our drive out the roads in where closing due to massive snowfalls. Fingers crossed for those heading out, we heard in Les Arcs/Peisey-V there was no snow at 2,500m
Lots here in la Plagne over 2000m. Some worn bits and a few icy spots but not bad considering
Just back from the slopes and, despite having a reasonably big tumble, had a good time, mainly due to a slight bit of off-piste action (head cam footage ruined by an early collision with a snowy branch) and a lovely run in some nice powder. I am amazed at how much more fun powder is than a normal piste. I want more of it.
Still contemplating skis though...
Willard. I live in Calgary so will have to pass on beers I'm afraid
Dammit. Ah well, maybe next time.