Who's going skiing and where 2020

[Jarcy]

//j17 said:

Indoors - Traditionally all indoor spaces, like accomodation and restaurants, in a ski resort will kept at a temperature just below that on the surface of the sun.

And you will get a 25 tog duvet that you have to share with your mate on an Austrian Twin.

[57Ford]

Welshbeef said:

Ranger 6 said:

Trying Bulgaria for the first time - Borovets for a couple of days in early Jan.

Bansko too - and that is the biggest Bulgaria resort whilst still only being 72km

Borovets here too. Last week of January but ski-trip with 3 yr old daughter for the first time. Usually go to Iglika but with little one we’re trying the Festa Winter Palace because the Rila’s full.

[dvs_dave]

Aspen, CO in March. Flying in direct to Aspen

[Bill]

Jarcy said:

//j17 said:

Indoors - Traditionally all indoor spaces, like accomodation and restaurants, in a ski resort will kept at a temperature just below that on the surface of the sun.

And you will get a 25 tog duvet that you have to share with your mate on an Austrian Twin.

It's funny cos it's true.

[//j17]

Bill said:

Jarcy said:

//j17 said:

Indoors - Traditionally all indoor spaces, like accomodation and restaurants, in a ski resort will kept at a temperature just below that on the surface of the sun.

And you will get a 25 tog duvet that you have to share with your mate on an Austrian Twin.

It's funny cos it's true.

Think we've always had individual single (25 tog) duvets, not a double. Not that it makes much difference in an Austrian twin!


And NO, Stewart. Just because you sleep naked at home with the wife it is NOT considered acceptable to sleep naked when sharing an Austrian twin with a friend!

[Welshbeef]

//j17 said:

Think we've always had individual single (25 tog) duvets, not a double. Not that it makes much difference in an Austrian twin!


And NO, Stewart. Just because you sleep naked at home with the wife it is NOT considered acceptable to sleep naken when sharing an Austrian twin with a friend!

What goes on on tour stays on tour.

Morning glory

[Jarcy]

//j17 said:

Think we've always had individual single (25 tog) duvets, not a double. Not that it makes much difference in an Austrian twin!

Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!

[Ranger 6]

57Ford said:

Borovets here too. Last week of January but ski-trip with 3 yr old daughter for the first time. Usually go to Iglika but with little one we’re trying the Festa Winter Palace because the Rila’s full.

A friend has been to the Rila a few times - he likes it.

We're only there for 4 days so less worried about the standard of the place as long as it's warm.

[Cold]

Tell me some more about these Austrian twins. Do you get to choose hair colour, height, gender, etc?

[chandrew]

//j17 said:

DeuceDeuce said:

Wife and I are going to Whistler in January. It’ll be our first ski trip so any advice would be appreciated. I’m currently most concerned about what to wear, not just for skiing but the evenings too. What are the basics and where should I get them from?
Thanks - Apologies if this is the wrong thread for getting info like this.

TCEvo's covered most of it very well but I'd also say layers, layers, layers. Don't look at getting big, thick layers but lots of thinner ones - but these don't have to be ski specific.

Base layers - go for merino wool if you can. Not cheap but very good and you can easilly get 2 days wear out of one without a hint of getting smelly, so just buy 2 or 3 of them rather than 6 cheaper ones. As it's likely to be cold go for long, rather than short sleeve.

Mid layers - I'd go for a couple of fleece layers, one a little bigger than the other so you can wear both, as they squash down well in a bag. Any similar layer will work though. If really cold you can add a t-shirt to the stack for an extra layer.

Outer layers - I'd say proper ski trousers/salopettes for the legs but if you have a good waterproof jacket just use that. No, it won't have the 'escential' ski features like a snow skirt/flux capcitor/etc but I've never owned a 'ski jacket' and never worked out what I'm missing. Pockets on the upper arm or upper chest are useful for holding your contactless ski pass. If you don't have that then look for gloves with a pocket on the back of the hand to hold your pass. Failing that just eBay a cheap 'bouncer-like' elastic pass holder, or put it in your trouser pocket and accept you may have to hump some of the lift gates to get them to read it.

Gloves - If you tend to feel the cold in your fingers go for mittens rather than gloves.

Evening wear - Skiing is possibly the polar opposite of a cruise, with more people still wearing their ski gear in the evenings than dressing up. Most people just slip in to something simple, comfortable, and not at all dressy.

Indoors - Traditionally all indoor spaces, like accomodation and restaurants, in a ski resort will kept at a temperature just below that on the surface of the sun.

Some really good advice.

If it's your first time then you will probably be standing / falling more and therefore you need to wear something that will keep you warm. When I'm supporting our local races and hence standing a lot I use a traditional ski jacket / trousers whereas for much of the season when I'm skiing I'm in something thinner, without a lining.

With ski wear most is good these days. The really fashionable stuff (at least here) tends to be bought by folks who might not go out if it's too cold & hence warmth isn't the key factor. The children used to have H&M stuff when they were very young and it was warm (suppose it should be given they are a Swedish brand).

As noted a pocket in the arm will be a godsend for lift passes.

I use goose down mitts (actually mountain walking ones) for the colder months and only use gloves on warmer days. As well as being warmer they can reduce finger breakages (been there, done that!) Leather-type palms are good for gripping ropes etc.

A balaclava or neck band is worth having for windy days

I wear my goggles all the time but have a couple of lenses which I swap depending on the light.

A helmet IMHO is a must. I use a back protector as well, mostly to protect me from other people.

Lots of wool layers as has been mentioned. None of mine is skiing specific.

After ski depends on your hotel and the resort. For most jeans or thicker trousers (cords, moleskin etc) and a shirt / jumper is fine. If you're going 5 star check as they might require jackets at dinner.

Make sure you don't skimp on insurance. You will need to ensure that it covers air lifting you to a hospital (and maybe back home). I saw the bill when I got picked off the slopes by the helicopter in Zermatt - think > £100 per minute from the moment it took off until it was back.

[feef]

Booked up for new year in Avoriaz. Taking the wee man (9) again so will likely not get much done myself as I'll be teaching him. First time we'll have been away for new year. I know Avoriaz has a bit of a party in town, so I think he'll enjoy that.

[Welshbeef]

Been watching a few ski YouTube’s tonight along with some of our own vids and pics.

Really has got the bug back in me now I want to get those flights booked up and hopefully 2 ski sessions (maybe 3..) for 2019/20 season.

Tinges, Paradski (Les Arces) , Morzine, Avoriaz and St Anton (biggest Austria ski area) look like great options.
All bar the Austrian resort being from U.K. airport to resort in 5 hours door to door
From a glance so many of these resorts are catering for Sat-Fri sets so therandom Ling weekend 4 days powder 1-2 days travel don’t seem an option.


Maybe French Pyrenees or Serbia or Poland Romania Bulgaria will have to suffice. But I want to go to one of the above amazing resorts (not as amazing as Gstaad or Corcheval/Valdesaere

[Nobby Diesel]

Have already posted about a lads trip to to Morzine in Jan, but have since booked Chatel for Feb half term.
Just missed out on a deal, for passes.
I went onto the Porte du Soliel site and saw that had I booked a season long pass before the end of September, I could have had it for 499 Euros.
Thats less than the 2 separate weeks, added together.

You can still get 10% discount on regular passes, by booking on line.

[//j17]

Welshbeef said:

Tinges, Paradski (Les Arces) , Morzine, Avoriaz and St Anton (biggest Austria ski area) look like great options.
All bar the Austrian resort being from U.K. airport to resort in 5 hours door to door
From a glance so many of these resorts are catering for Sat-Fri sets so therandom Ling weekend 4 days powder 1-2 days travel don’t seem an option. .

If your business is accomodation rental in a ski resort you only have 4 or 5 months to make all your money for the year so yes, they do prefer to get 2 weeks of rental rather than just 4 nights split across a weekend. For weekends look at:
- Early/late season. Tends to be quieter so more accomodation than people.
- Late booking. Leave it last minute and you have a chance of finding somewhere that has space and would rather get 4 nights money than be empty for 2 weeks.
- Look at getting a hire car and staying out of resort and driving in each day. The less convienient the accomodation the more likely it is to be free and so open to 'odd' bookings.

[ThorB]

Welshbeef said:

Been watching a few ski YouTube’s tonight along with some of our own vids and pics.

Really has got the bug back in me now I want to get those flights booked up and hopefully 2 ski sessions (maybe 3..) for 2019/20 season.

Tinges, Paradski (Les Arces) , Morzine, Avoriaz and St Anton (biggest Austria ski area) look like great options.
All bar the Austrian resort being from U.K. airport to resort in 5 hours door to door
From a glance so many of these resorts are catering for Sat-Fri sets so therandom Ling weekend 4 days powder 1-2 days travel don’t seem an option.


Maybe French Pyrenees or Serbia or Poland Romania Bulgaria will have to suffice. But I want to go to one of the above amazing resorts (not as amazing as Gstaad or Corcheval/Valdesaere

We do a 4 day lads trip every year and never have a problem. We fly out at 7pm on Friday night and ski all day Sat, Sun, Mon Tues. Get picked up at resort around 4:30pm on the Tuesday and fly home 10:30pm. 4 full days skiing for 2 days off work.

We fly Manchester to Munich with Lufthansa and have visited Kitzbuhel, Mayrhofen, Gerlos, Salbach and Kaltenbach. Lots of hotels available for short stays via booking.com or guesthouses via the local tourist information office.

I have friends who do similar with Morzine, Les Gets and Les Caroz.

What you won't get is an off-the-shelf package trip, you need to put it together yourself.

[CAPP0]

Usual pre-Xmas Tignes trip in Dec with @downthepub and others.

End of season Tignes trip in April with @downthepub and others.

Not sure I'm going to put in any more than that this year, there are other things to do and sadly annual leave allowances only go so far.

ETA: oops, posted that before I noticed that @downthepub had done it for me!

[feef]

Welshbeef said:

Been watching a few ski YouTube’s tonight along with some of our own vids and pics.

Really has got the bug back in me now I want to get those flights booked up and hopefully 2 ski sessions (maybe 3..) for 2019/20 season.

Tinges, Paradski (Les Arces) , Morzine, Avoriaz and St Anton (biggest Austria ski area) look like great options.
All bar the Austrian resort being from U.K. airport to resort in 5 hours door to door
From a glance so many of these resorts are catering for Sat-Fri sets so therandom Ling weekend 4 days powder 1-2 days travel don’t seem an option.


Maybe French Pyrenees or Serbia or Poland Romania Bulgaria will have to suffice. But I want to go to one of the above amazing resorts (not as amazing as Gstaad or Corcheval/Valdesaere

Have a look at SkiWeekends

[PHuzzy]

Trying to get something early planned, maybe November and/or December in Hintertux if it keeps dumping snow like it has been.

Currently in the planning stages of a 2 week trip to Japan for January

I'll have a work trip to Austria in Feb so will get some weekend slope time at somewhere small like Stuhleck

Then I'll weather watch and book something super last minute in March chasing snow storms.

That should see me through this season for now.

[DeuceDeuce]

Really appreciate the advice on what to wear and where to spend the budget.

Is Black Friday typically a good time to get some bargains?

[craig1912]

DeuceDeuce said:

Really appreciate the advice on what to wear and where to spend the budget.

Is Black Friday typically a good time to get some bargains?

I’ve bought higher end stuff before but will probably just use Decathlon/TK Max or Sports Pursuit this time - I sold all my other stuff a couple of years ago. I will look to get a half decent pair of trousers plus a shell jacket (prefer to have a lighter jacket and layer up if necessary rather than. a thicker jacket.
If you are going to buy a helmet then you need to try it on. Aside from gloves and google’s the only other thing spending time on is socks.