Who is going skiing and where in 2016
Discussion
malks222 said:
Leithen said:
Take it easy if you are going to enjoy the Streif!
I went down it a few years ago, not too long after the race, and I'll be honest it really wasnt fun. it was just so icy that I just couldnt see the enjoyment. I'm no downhill racer with super sharp edges and didnt fancy hurting myself! but fair play to them and the pace they take down that run!I did part of it once the week after the race and, as you say, it was still a sheet of glassy ice. Once I got off the Steilhang (just!) in one piece I decided I'd wait (I was living in Munich so down in the alps each weekend) until it got some snow again!
A few years later we walked UP the run and you have to almost climb the Steilhang on hands and feet, it's so steep!
Still, it's an incredible experience to ski it, just to see HOW hard a challenge it must be at full race pace!
I love Kitzbuhel, but haven't been back in 15+ years - We will sometime
M
Edited by marcosgt on Tuesday 26th January 10:41
jonny996 said:
jamiebae said:
Yes, but it depends how you get to your ski trips. If you're flying then it's expensive to transport them so you may as well hire, but if you drive there or live in the mountains then go for it (assuming they're in good condition)
sorry I should have been clearer, I am buying a place in the alps so they will not be coming back to the UK ever. it was more along the lines of are the ex rentals completely shagged when they sell them or are they still ok condition.
They may not give you a rebate on what your clients spend but they may not charge you for your ski hire and service/swap whenever you want and if you've put a lot of business their show you the trade mag in April for next season
Marcellus said:
I'd suggest that you get to know a ski shop in resort really well, if you're renting out the place you're buying get to know them really really well
They may not give you a rebate on what your clients spend but they may not charge you for your ski hire and service/swap whenever you want and if you've put a lot of business their show you the trade mag in April for next season
Thanks Marcellus, you might be able to help me. What hire place in St Gervais would you recommend They may not give you a rebate on what your clients spend but they may not charge you for your ski hire and service/swap whenever you want and if you've put a lot of business their show you the trade mag in April for next season
jonny996 said:
Marcellus said:
I'd suggest that you get to know a ski shop in resort really well, if you're renting out the place you're buying get to know them really really well
They may not give you a rebate on what your clients spend but they may not charge you for your ski hire and service/swap whenever you want and if you've put a lot of business their show you the trade mag in April for next season
Thanks Marcellus, you might be able to help me. What hire place in St Gervais would you recommend They may not give you a rebate on what your clients spend but they may not charge you for your ski hire and service/swap whenever you want and if you've put a lot of business their show you the trade mag in April for next season
lemmingjames said:
Is that Val D or Val T though?
I said there was very lil fresh tracks in Val D, unless of course, you hiked/skinned up to get to it!?!
Val D - no skinning or hiking required - just a 5 min traverse from the chair. I said there was very lil fresh tracks in Val D, unless of course, you hiked/skinned up to get to it!?!
That was Tignes, a 2 min traverse off a drag lift. Just gotta know where to look
Lucky barstard, the guide we had (who was a local) took us to mostly tracked out sections (though i only off-pisted in the morning and not the afternoon) and only hit Tignes on Friday. Did you have those conditions each day though? The group i was with said the best day for the snow was on Tuesday when it was overcast.
Guess its just luck of the draw.
Guess its just luck of the draw.
5potTurbo said:
DJFish said:
cptsideways said:
Off to Vosges region for a few days, for a little tour about in the Bongo (Yes it has a heater
Can you let us know how you get on?I was thinking about going there for our mini-trip but we've pretty much given up on it, preferring instead to get the kids (& us) some lessons locally before we hit the slopes.....
Ventron's is great for a day or two (or the weekend if you have to) & Gerardmer would be great for a few days by itself, ideal if you have kids I'd say or like me take your skiing a bit more leisurely. Nowhere is far apart if you have a car. They are also some quaint little places worth a trip for an afternoons ski, the area is rather nice for touring about its not that high so obviously weather dependent but its generally less cold than the alps which is a plus. Being low also means it's all in the trees so rather picturesque. I never met any other Brits which made a change.
It's 6hours from Calais at a leisurely pace, TBH I'm going to keep an eye on any upcoming powder days as you could time it right to get a few days in. I was skiing up till 3pm at Gerardmer & arrived in Dunkirk at 10pm with ease. So it's a lot handier than the Alps & makes short break planning a lot easier.
The area is perfect for motorhoming too, with parking Aire's all over the place some right on the piste.
They have a very good base for the season so I'm planning on another trip if some more pow hits, If you're not interested in miles & miles of skiing but enjoy empty pistes this area might suit especially midweek. I'm a regular at the wee Tarentaise gem of St Foy & I kind of likened the Vosges to several St Foy's rolled into one area. Add in the German side & a weeks touring would make a great trip.
cptsideways said:
5potTurbo said:
DJFish said:
cptsideways said:
Off to Vosges region for a few days, for a little tour about in the Bongo (Yes it has a heater
Can you let us know how you get on?I was thinking about going there for our mini-trip but we've pretty much given up on it, preferring instead to get the kids (& us) some lessons locally before we hit the slopes.....
Ventron's is great for a day or two (or the weekend if you have to) & Gerardmer would be great for a few days by itself, ideal if you have kids I'd say or like me take your skiing a bit more leisurely. Nowhere is far apart if you have a car. They are also some quaint little places worth a trip for an afternoons ski, the area is rather nice for touring about its not that high so obviously weather dependent but its generally less cold than the alps which is a plus. Being low also means it's all in the trees so rather picturesque. I never met any other Brits which made a change.
It's 6hours from Calais at a leisurely pace, TBH I'm going to keep an eye on any upcoming powder days as you could time it right to get a few days in. I was skiing up till 3pm at Gerardmer & arrived in Dunkirk at 10pm with ease. So it's a lot handier than the Alps & makes short break planning a lot easier.
The area is perfect for motorhoming too, with parking Aire's all over the place some right on the piste.
They have a very good base for the season so I'm planning on another trip if some more pow hits, If you're not interested in miles & miles of skiing but enjoy empty pistes this area might suit especially midweek. I'm a regular at the wee Tarentaise gem of St Foy & I kind of likened the Vosges to several St Foy's rolled into one area. Add in the German side & a weeks touring would make a great trip.
lemmingjames said:
Lucky barstard, the guide we had (who was a local) took us to mostly tracked out sections (though i only off-pisted in the morning and not the afternoon) and only hit Tignes on Friday. Did you have those conditions each day though? The group i was with said the best day for the snow was on Tuesday when it was overcast.
Guess its just luck of the draw.
Thats a shame, I guess with guides, they tend to stick the same routes regardless of snow. Also the avalanche risk for that week although 3/5 was probably more like 3.5/5 - We had a few spots where we walked away because the snow was not good. The steepest we skied was probably 35 degrees. Guess its just luck of the draw.
Thinking back, Tuesday was a deep day in the trees, we got some fresh knee deep turns directly under the fornet cable car.
Even on Friday afternoon we got some fresh turns in Pays Desert.
Off to Meribel on Sunday for a week skiing greens, blues and the odd red if I get a bit giddy
Happy days
PS Anyone know how tricky the red called "villages" is down to Les Alluses at the moment?
(Proper red = OK, technical icy should prob be black but lets call it red to make the resort look accessible = hmmm)
timlongs said:
Thats a shame, I guess with guides, they tend to stick the same routes regardless of snow. Also the avalanche risk for that week although 3/5 was probably more like 3.5/5 - We had a few spots where we walked away because the snow was not good. The steepest we skied was probably 35 degrees.
Thinking back, Tuesday was a deep day in the trees, we got some fresh knee deep turns directly under the fornet cable car.
Even on Friday afternoon we got some fresh turns in Pays Desert.
Yeah, dont get me wrong, where he took the group was still good for them (they all came back happy) but i wanted conditions like you had as the choppy sThinking back, Tuesday was a deep day in the trees, we got some fresh knee deep turns directly under the fornet cable car.
Even on Friday afternoon we got some fresh turns in Pays Desert.
t played havoc with my knee.The guide took us down a couple of chutes (63 degrees was max what ski tracks recorded) which was interesting. In hindsight, i wish i wasnt such a pussy going down them (side slipped them) but first time doing it so...
Think thats where 'my' group went on the Tuesday but i said no due to visibility and stayed on-piste. Wheres pays desert? We ended up chute running in Tignes Friday morning then they carried on down some off-piste bit down the back of the Eye and finished off with the Secret Canyon.
ANyways, not booked yet but now that TVB is open, will head to chamonix in a months time
lemmingjames said:
Yeah, dont get me wrong, where he took the group was still good for them (they all came back happy) but i wanted conditions like you had as the choppy st played havoc with my knee.
The guide took us down a couple of chutes (63 degrees was max what ski tracks recorded) which was interesting. In hindsight, i wish i wasnt such a pussy going down them (side slipped them) but first time doing it so...
Think thats where 'my' group went on the Tuesday but i said no due to visibility and stayed on-piste. Wheres pays desert? We ended up chute running in Tignes Friday morning then they carried on down some off-piste bit down the back of the Eye and finished off with the Secret Canyon.
ANyways, not booked yet but now that TVB is open, will head to chamonix in a months time
How did you enjoy the UPCA experience couldn't remember if you'd used them before. Very cost effective trips especially for solo skiers looking to avoid the dreaded single supplement!t played havoc with my knee.The guide took us down a couple of chutes (63 degrees was max what ski tracks recorded) which was interesting. In hindsight, i wish i wasnt such a pussy going down them (side slipped them) but first time doing it so...
Think thats where 'my' group went on the Tuesday but i said no due to visibility and stayed on-piste. Wheres pays desert? We ended up chute running in Tignes Friday morning then they carried on down some off-piste bit down the back of the Eye and finished off with the Secret Canyon.
ANyways, not booked yet but now that TVB is open, will head to chamonix in a months time
I'd take the Ski Tracks data with a generous pitch of salt, there are some apps you can get which show the angle if you hold it on the slope. 35-40 degrees is steep, off piste if you fall even at that you're in trouble as it's very difficult to stop yourself unless there's a decent run out OR you hit something HARD! 50-55 degree is extreme, so much so you're effectively in free fall, standing up straight at that angle you can touch the snow, without bending down!
Nothing wrong with a side slip, well unless you do it all the way down and ruin the snow for those behind you and everyone else
a311 said:
How did you enjoy the UPCA experience couldn't remember if you'd used them before. Very cost effective trips especially for solo skiers looking to avoid the dreaded single supplement!
I'd take the Ski Tracks data with a generous pitch of salt, there are some apps you can get which show the angle if you hold it on the slope. 35-40 degrees is steep, off piste if you fall even at that you're in trouble as it's very difficult to stop yourself unless there's a decent run out OR you hit something HARD! 50-55 degree is extreme, so much so you're effectively in free fall, standing up straight at that angle you can touch the snow, without bending down!
Nothing wrong with a side slip, well unless you do it all the way down and ruin the snow for those behind you and everyone else
Oh i agree on the ST discrepancies, ive seen it with the speed where 3 of us went down a run, same speed etc yet one came out 5mph more. The 63 degree chute was where you went up the Olympique gondola then turned right and walked up to the peak. Its about a 10 minute hike.I'd take the Ski Tracks data with a generous pitch of salt, there are some apps you can get which show the angle if you hold it on the slope. 35-40 degrees is steep, off piste if you fall even at that you're in trouble as it's very difficult to stop yourself unless there's a decent run out OR you hit something HARD! 50-55 degree is extreme, so much so you're effectively in free fall, standing up straight at that angle you can touch the snow, without bending down!
Nothing wrong with a side slip, well unless you do it all the way down and ruin the snow for those behind you and everyone else
On this chute there was 3 ways down, but the next chute i went, he told me to side slip then step down to leave the snow. Ended up skiing most of that chute (though ST said that was 37 degrees), ill have to go through the data as it could have been the lift up and over to la fornet?! Ill post some pics though when i find them.
As for the UCPA, was ok, i wouldnt take the missus there (unless we got twin/own bedroom) but would go with the lads. Food was ok but nothing overly special but plenty enough if you like. The beds where rock hard and the pillows pointless (so just used clean clothes underneath). Bathrooms where clean and there was never a que for the shower or toilet considering there was around 16 people sharing 2 of each. I was placed with 2 Danes around a similar age so they look to pair you age wise. From chatting to some swedes and other english who have used them over and over again, each centre is different with Argentiere being in a former hotel (so everything is en-suite) and Val T just being massive hostel.
It would be nice if they had swimming pools and the like but i guess then it wouldnt be budget.
the instructors/guides from what i saw/spoke to where all locals who had grown up on the mountain or if they required, got in ESF or an English Instructor for the beginners.
Im looking to use them again and go Chamonix this season as for 777, you can ski Swiss/Italy/Chamonix and get the VB thrown in. A guide for VB is apparently 300 for the day (not sure if each or split). Was looking on the Action Outdoors site and they also offer Ski race training (tempted to do as ill mainly be piste/side piste orientated from now on) or do the paragliding skiing for a week, which would be interesting.
Ill be getting another knee brace though with a plate hinge instead of springs and velcro top and bottom as i found the Mueller HG80 (spring), coming loose every now and then. It definately worked/helped but needed just that lil bit extra if you know what i mean.
Also, when i was coming back (got free upgrade to Fire Exit seat as they needed people to man the doors/plus i got away from the young family), saw an advert for 'The Brits' in Gstaad and tempted to enter the skier cross racing for s
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