So who's going skiing 2011 and where?
Discussion
gingerpaul said:
We're actually on the next town up from (Le Fornet?) right next a cable car so we're about as far from Tignes as you can get I think. Sounds like we may have stumbled on a useful location then!
There's a free bus service in Val which is very good, so it's easy to get to/from the 'town'.It's not as expensive to eat out there as some may suggest. We used to use a restaurant right in the centre of Val (across from the ESF building) that was good and resonably priced.
Nth said:
I quite fancy going back to Portes du Soleil too at some point - hopefully around Easter I'll be able to get back out there.
PdS is a wonderful place to ski but would suggest look beyond Easter time. Its late this year and PdS season tends to start to run out of steam by early April. (of course depends on what type of year we have but rule of thumb)PdS go earlier in the season
Easter skiing go somewhere with a better late season record.
5potTurbo said:
gingerpaul said:
We're actually on the next town up from (Le Fornet?) right next a cable car so we're about as far from Tignes as you can get I think. Sounds like we may have stumbled on a useful location then!
There's a free bus service in Val which is very good, so it's easy to get to/from the 'town'.It's not as expensive to eat out there as some may suggest. We used to use a restaurant right in the centre of Val (across from the ESF building) that was good and resonably priced.
Don't neglect the skiing in the Le Foret sector, loads of folk bomb over to Tignes for the day (which is fun) but there is also lots of cool stuff up and around the Cascades chair.
As mentioned there's a free bus to Val. There is also a pretty little restaurant on the home run to le Fornet by the side of the piste. Good place to have a late afternoon refreshment followed by scoot back to base in the setting sun
gingerpaul said:
Val d'Isere in the 3rd week of January for my group of regulars this year. Never been there before so I'm looking forward to it.
Anyone got any Val d'Isere tips?
Grand Marnier bar (near the free chair lift / drag) is a cheap place to get lashed (on GM)and eat (GM laced) crepes. J2ski a good forum for more info. Was Extremely cold last feb (-20 and below in the day). Food in the restaurants in the same area as the GM bar extremely expensive (£20 for a bolognaise)...cheaper over in Tignes. Ski republic were good for a 2for1 deal on equipment. Anyone got any Val d'Isere tips?
gingerpaul said:
We're actually on the next town up from (Le Fornet?) right next a cable car so we're about as far from Tignes as you can get I think. Sounds like we may have stumbled on a useful location then!
Great little restaurant in Le Fornet. Same side of road as cable car, about 100 yds down towards Val and down a few steps (it will be clear when you get there). Great food - at least for lunch. There is a waiter who is the spitting imagine of Jeremy Claypole from rentaghost.. cracks me up every year. Then down to the Grand Marnier bar in Val for a couple "for the road" before tottering back to Tignes....Pretty much sums up my week from 30th Jan every year.theboymoon said:
Nth said:
I quite fancy going back to Portes du Soleil too at some point - hopefully around Easter I'll be able to get back out there.
PdS is a wonderful place to ski but would suggest look beyond Easter time. Its late this year and PdS season tends to start to run out of steam by early April. (of course depends on what type of year we have but rule of thumb)PdS go earlier in the season
Easter skiing go somewhere with a better late season record.
But saying that, the only time I've been was a couple of years ago for the last few days of the season and it was superb. Empty pistes, empty stash, no queues, even got a tan! Made sure we were up for the first lift or so, and then called it a day just after lunch as the snow was getting a bit slushy. On the plus side, I learned to carve switch for the first time as the slushy snow meant I wasn't going too fast when I stacked it
Silver993tt said:
R TOY said:
Not all runs open but that worked to our advantage, once youve ducked under the tape a nice long red run with 2ft of untouched powder to ski and no rocks or tree stumps to dodge.
The down side was that the lift at the bottom was shut
That's the cause of many a disater often for innocent people further down the valley. Pistes are cordoned off/closed for a very good reason and should be avoided at all costs.The down side was that the lift at the bottom was shut
Edited by R TOY on Friday 8th October 00:35
Just had a lucky break. I booked an apartment for the season in about May this year, and the guy contacted me the day before I left for France on holiday to apologise that the apartment was no longer available....
So I'm now looking for an apartment for the season, in October, not great.
I've just head back from a speculative email that a really nice looking place can put us up cheaply, and for the whole time we need, which is a real result. It's right in the centre of town too, with parking, etc.
Can't quite believe we've been so lucky, I thought we'd be camping!
So, now the subject of tobogganing has come up, and there's a challenge between me and my mate about who can build the best one. Entirely home built, using standard materials only. Watch this space!
So I'm now looking for an apartment for the season, in October, not great.
I've just head back from a speculative email that a really nice looking place can put us up cheaply, and for the whole time we need, which is a real result. It's right in the centre of town too, with parking, etc.
Can't quite believe we've been so lucky, I thought we'd be camping!
So, now the subject of tobogganing has come up, and there's a challenge between me and my mate about who can build the best one. Entirely home built, using standard materials only. Watch this space!
Silver993tt said:
CerbitonFlyer said:
Whoozit said:
We're off to Whistler for two weeks on Boxing Day. In addition, I turn 40 in mid Feb so I'm seriously thinking about telling work to frack off and disappearing somewhere interesting for a week - Japan maybe?
But it will summer in Japan in Feb. Won't it?Edited by CerbitonFlyer on Friday 1st October 23:42
I spent last season in Niseko and couldn't recommend it enough! Nowhere near as expensive as you imagine and the snow is the best I have ever seen, some of the best off-piste you could imagine but you may need someone to show you where to find the best bits.
I'm off to Whistler for 5 weeks on Boxing day! Just paid £935 for my season pass, joy.
For Val d'Isere: there's a bar/restaurant opposite the Grand Marnier crepes store that's very reasonable, lunchtime or evening. Certainly not £20 for a spag bol. We used to rent an apartment directly above it.
Mrs.5pot has been on the case for the last week or so to book for 1/2 term in Feb.
We've now found a lovely 2 bed apartment in La Clusaz for <€900, with indoor parking, close to lifts, ski school meeting place, bus stop, etc. It's only about 6h driving time from where we live, so an earlyish start on the Sat will see us in the resort for early afternoon. :thumbsup:
Ski school's not stupidly prices for the mini 5 pots, who will both be doing their ESI Gold badges in Feb 2011, aged 8 & 10.
Mrs.5pot has been on the case for the last week or so to book for 1/2 term in Feb.
We've now found a lovely 2 bed apartment in La Clusaz for <€900, with indoor parking, close to lifts, ski school meeting place, bus stop, etc. It's only about 6h driving time from where we live, so an earlyish start on the Sat will see us in the resort for early afternoon. :thumbsup:
Ski school's not stupidly prices for the mini 5 pots, who will both be doing their ESI Gold badges in Feb 2011, aged 8 & 10.
Edited by 5potTurbo on Monday 11th October 09:31
Same as last year (and the year before, and the year before....)
Scotland whenever and where ever there's snow. Had some astonishing days last year including a whole afternoon of fresh tracks in the sun off 'the black run' off Glas Maol at Glenshee
A week or so 'solo' in Feb, probably to the Alps...but I might go back to Colorado if my air-miles can be redeemed when I'm free to go.
Then the annual easter trip to Lake Tahoe/Heavenly - with day trips to Squaw and Kirkwood. We have a shared-ownereship condo in the Marriott beside the gondola (and a 2010/11 season ticket I bought last year that's still good), so looking forward to that.
And if some other plans come together I might get a few days in Crystal Mountain WA in January too
Scotland whenever and where ever there's snow. Had some astonishing days last year including a whole afternoon of fresh tracks in the sun off 'the black run' off Glas Maol at Glenshee
A week or so 'solo' in Feb, probably to the Alps...but I might go back to Colorado if my air-miles can be redeemed when I'm free to go.
Then the annual easter trip to Lake Tahoe/Heavenly - with day trips to Squaw and Kirkwood. We have a shared-ownereship condo in the Marriott beside the gondola (and a 2010/11 season ticket I bought last year that's still good
), so looking forward to that.And if some other plans come together I might get a few days in Crystal Mountain WA in January too
Just a quick heads up for the skiers.
Helly Hansen in Bicester have got a load of Freeze Lifa Warm base layer tops in at the moment in lots of colours and sizes for £25 each. They're part merino wool and very warm. I just thought I'd post because they never have anything useful in there and thought some people on here might be interested. They've also got their ski jackets and trousers in too.
Hopefully someone on here will get a bargain.
Helly Hansen in Bicester have got a load of Freeze Lifa Warm base layer tops in at the moment in lots of colours and sizes for £25 each. They're part merino wool and very warm. I just thought I'd post because they never have anything useful in there and thought some people on here might be interested. They've also got their ski jackets and trousers in too.
Hopefully someone on here will get a bargain.
Bicester Village? You must be near us gingerpaul...
We're booked to go to Les Arcs 2000 mid Jan. First time as a family (!) Our eldest has been having skiing lessons at the Snowdome in Milton Keynes.. Hopefully they'll pay off. We haven't been for about 3 years
The best way to improve technique (imho) is to go as many times as possible. If you only ski for one week out of 52 p/a you are not going to improve at a vast rate of knots. I think I effectively went 3 times in a 12 month period and improved a lot, but saying that it wasn't difficult!!
We're booked to go to Les Arcs 2000 mid Jan. First time as a family (!) Our eldest has been having skiing lessons at the Snowdome in Milton Keynes.. Hopefully they'll pay off. We haven't been for about 3 years
The best way to improve technique (imho) is to go as many times as possible. If you only ski for one week out of 52 p/a you are not going to improve at a vast rate of knots. I think I effectively went 3 times in a 12 month period and improved a lot, but saying that it wasn't difficult!!
bint said:
Flaine for the first time with our group, looking forward to trying a new area. Any tips or comments would be most welcome
yeah. Propose to your girlfriend at the top of the Grand Platieres lift on a nice sunny day. I did and it was definitely one of the best days of my life. Can't remember much about the skiing to be honest, so it was neither stand out good or bad - but from what I do remember it had a decent range of pistes. Enjoy yourself.
eps said:
The best way to improve technique (imho) is to go as many times as possible. If you only ski for one week out of 52 p/a you are not going to improve at a vast rate of knots. I think I effectively went 3 times in a 12 month period and improved a lot, but saying that it wasn't difficult!!
I've been teaching Mrs Maser over the past six years, and she came on leaps and bounds last season, when she did three/four weeks out of six.
She's nearly there, just a bit more fine tuning and she'll be running pretty well.
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