Skiing 24-25 Season who/where/when?
Discussion
Car bon said:
Line Blades ?
I liked the Optics enough that I bought a pair of Blades - I love them and have been out on them every day for the last 3 weeks.
Yup, the Blades. They are great skis, and like you I pretty much don't bother with anything else now. Just the Optics for rare off piste days, and Atomic S9s for cold piste days (The Blades are a little soft for properly laying over at real speed on hard piste)I liked the Optics enough that I bought a pair of Blades - I love them and have been out on them every day for the last 3 weeks.
The Blades, given European conditions, will get the most use by far. Best slush ski, ever.
muscatdxb said:
Does anywhere have particularly good conditions at the minute? I have a week become free next week and thinking about driving down to the alps on Wednesday….!
First day at Arcs 1800 today: conditions were better than we were expecting. Hopefully a bit of snow due overnight too.It’s good to be back!
Car bon said:
Harry Flashman said:
The Blades, given European conditions, will get the most use by far. Best slush ski, ever.
Thank you for the recommendation - I wouldn't have bought them otherwise - and they put a smile on my face whenever I'm using them 
Just out of interest, what length did you get them in? I'm 174cm, 87kgs and run the 168. I reckon I could have gone a shade longer for greater high speed stability, yet mine are superb in bumps at this length...
Edited by Harry Flashman on Sunday 9th March 15:41
I'm 185cm and 95kg and went for the 176. I was wavering on going longer, but then saw a SkiTalk review that recommended sizing down so I stuck with 176 and it seems perfect for me.
https://www.skitalk.com/threads/2024-line-blade.31...
https://www.skitalk.com/threads/2024-line-blade.31...
Edited by Car bon on Sunday 9th March 16:06
Nice. Sounds like you and I went for a similar approach - glad that I too went a bit shorter!
ETA just wat he'd that review, and i agree with them. A load of the folk i was skiing with last week (corporate trip) told me that their overwhelming impression of me was that I was having a lot of fun on my skis, messing around a lot etc. Which is kind of what the Blade encourages you to do: play around, get air, run bumps, then lay a hand on the floor in high angle soft snow carves.
Such a good all rounder!
ETA just wat he'd that review, and i agree with them. A load of the folk i was skiing with last week (corporate trip) told me that their overwhelming impression of me was that I was having a lot of fun on my skis, messing around a lot etc. Which is kind of what the Blade encourages you to do: play around, get air, run bumps, then lay a hand on the floor in high angle soft snow carves.
Such a good all rounder!
Edited by Harry Flashman on Sunday 9th March 17:03
The_Doc said:
A really interesting video.
£329 for a day pass.
Bang goes North American skiing for a European. I don't want and can't use a season / multipass
You can buy lift passes in advance for a set number of days instead, I paid about £60 per day for my Whistler pass. Vail for next season is ~£80 per day at present. Speaking to some of the instructors at Whistler they think a lot of it is aimed at reducing the occasional day visitors from Vancouver who crowd the slopes at weekends/holidays etc and create those awful queues ruining it for the customers who spend more, they can still get their monies worth with a season pass if they ski about 2 weeks in the season. That and greed…
Harry Flashman said:
The_Doc said:
A really interesting video.
£329 for a day pass.
Bang goes North American skiing for a European. I don't want and can't use a season / multipass
Strong dollar doesn't help, mind.
Anyway, I can't make out from the picture but it looks like the lift ay Vail out of Game Creek Bowl. In all my trips that's always been a ski-on lift with no lines, even at bust times. It's a 6-seat express lift. HOWEVER, there is no ski-out from the bottom of Game Creek - the only way out is the lift, or a VERY long hike back up the lift line. So while in most places if a lift breaks down there's some alternative way up/down, in Game Creek you're stuck. And if it's not Game Creek but one of the other lifts in the other back bowls, then again there's no ski-out or walk out...the only way out is on a lift. So if there's a fault and the lift stops then the lines are going to build real quick and there's no other option other than to wait. I've always avoided the real busy periods in the US (e.g. Presidents Day), but I'm often there when spring break is on and I've never really encountered long lift lines.
Re the cost - for Vail Resorts at least it's worth understanding their business model. They want folks to buy season passes so they get your money months before the season starts, and then you're also committed to go and spend more money with them. I've had an Epic season pass for Heavenly/Lake Tahoe for over 16 years now on an auto-renew. Even if I just go for a week it's pretty good value. OK, I've now got a slight reduction as I'm on a senior rate, but last year it was $450 IIRC with black-out dates for Presidents day weekend and Xmas/New Year. You have to commit and pay a deposit ($45 last year) by the end of April, and then the balance in October. So even on a 7 day trip/6 days skiing that's $75 a day, so under £60 which I think is OK. And on a 2-week trip with 13 days skiing that's about £25 a day. So the message is if you want to ski in the US, NEVER just go and turn up at the ticket desk on your first day, always plan well in advance and get a season ticket the April before...in which case you're committed to go, which of course is what Vail Resorts/Epic pass wants.
And just to add on the Epic Pass encouragement, it also gives 20% off food and drink on the slopes (but all 'commercial style' eateries, none of the euro family-owned stuff) and I gather also 20% off rentals and accommodation. But I always take my own gear and we've a time share in South Lake Tahoe. Only fly in the ointment this year is I've injured my MCL and it hurts like hell - I probably shouldn't have been windsurfing at my age! Last time it took months to heal so I'll be taking it easy I think, skiing with a knee brace, and doped-up with pain killers. Still looking forward to it though.
The video is about pushing people into a model of:
paying early in the pre season,
committing to the resorts owned by the mega group,
manipulating the prices in the resorts so that the 20% off seems like a good deal
And generally skewing the whole thing in the mega resorts favour.
Its is totally against the spontaneous skier who wants to do weekends here and there,
The skier who wants to visit non conglomerate resorts
A European skier who only does one week a year.
The video didn't really go on much about queues. But did comment that having bought the season pass, you are driven to the conglomerate's slopes, fuelling queues.
Its mega capitalism, with strategic decisions not made with the end user in mind, but made with profit in mind.
The comparotor was open competition between resorts in the 90s which drove prices down and the commentary was from an anti-trust lawyer, who obviously noted anti-trust and price collusion.
The end user is losing in this portrayal.
Sad.
paying early in the pre season,
committing to the resorts owned by the mega group,
manipulating the prices in the resorts so that the 20% off seems like a good deal
And generally skewing the whole thing in the mega resorts favour.
Its is totally against the spontaneous skier who wants to do weekends here and there,
The skier who wants to visit non conglomerate resorts
A European skier who only does one week a year.
The video didn't really go on much about queues. But did comment that having bought the season pass, you are driven to the conglomerate's slopes, fuelling queues.
Its mega capitalism, with strategic decisions not made with the end user in mind, but made with profit in mind.
The comparotor was open competition between resorts in the 90s which drove prices down and the commentary was from an anti-trust lawyer, who obviously noted anti-trust and price collusion.
The end user is losing in this portrayal.
Sad.
Probably one of the reasons Alpine Touring is the second fastest growing sport in the US after pickleball. Increase of 115%
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