Forum menu
Wallop: I have gone for the higher level package in the past. As well as the equipment being slightly better spec the equipment generally seems to be in better condition. May not be the same everywhere though.
Well you've all talked me into spending a couple of extra euros on the skis then! 😆
I'm going to scrap the idea of buying boots though - I've only just discovered how expensive they are 😯
Sounds fine then CF.
I know what you mean about boot-fitting. I went through several pairs before I settled on my Salomon snowboard boots, I just figured that if I have "Salomon feet" I could save some time.. 🙂
I know that shop CF, it's in a dingy basement in town - I'm amazed they have a website.. Can't argue with their prices though!
There are a couple of shops I go to regularly and have bought kit from, I'm sure I'll get it sorted soon.
Salomon snowboard feet may not be the same as Salomon ski feet! 🙂
You might be right, I tried some Salomon hiking boots recently and didn't like 'em - bought La Sportiva...
OK, bit of ski advice required please.Going to hire skis and boots from Outland in Serre Che when we go there in January. Their options are:
1. Blue package - for beginners - Rossignol ZS
2. Red package - for intermediates - Rossignol Xenith 76/Blizzard Bushwacker.I'm not an experienced skier (confident on blues and get down reds without fuss) - will the beginner skis still be OK for me?
I've got two trips next year - is it worth buying my own boots or will the fact I still need to hire skis make it not worth it?
Yes the beginner skis will be "OK". The main difference i saw when paying more for hire skis versus less (before I had my own), was that the edges were generally in better condition, and they were usually waxed better too with less holes in the base. If you can carve you'll notice a difference in better edges and higher quality skis, if your just doing parallel then you probably won't.
And boots should be your first purchase before thinking about buying skis, a well fitted pair of boots makes a world of difference in comfort and performance. Even if you are still hiring skis.
For Wallop - some Serre Che tips as mentioned above!
1 – Hotel
You have chosen well. It’s a lovely little place, very laid back. Hardly five star luxury, but does everything you want in a ski hotel! If you haven’t already, make sure you book a South facing room. Lovely views of the dameuses doing their thang at night, deer on the Alphand at first light and, depending on when you get back, watching people fall over on the same while sipping a beer on your balcony (See below!)
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7800507716_b4206cfbf6.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/80072317@N06/7800507716/ ]Au balcon[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/80072317@N06/ ]CT663[/url], on Flickr
2 – The skiing
Well, there’s sooooo much! Some tips;
An end to end. First lift out of Chantemerle, on the Grande Alp cable. Up Prorel and then down all the way to Briancon. Back up. Down and up to the Serre Che peak itself. Down the other side, in to Villeneuve. Early lunch at le Break. Uo to the Tete de la Balme, and down to Monetier. Back up to the top of L’Yret. Back across and down to Chantemerle for cold ones at La Terrasse! It’s a real workout, and great fun!
Best pistes?
Cucumelle is lovely. Long, cruisy red. Alphand and the Casse are both classic French blacks. Latter can get icy late in the day, though.
Pistes to be wary of;
The whole Briancon side. If it’s late in the day and sunny, they turn to soup!
Briance and Aravet. OK, so they’re nice cruisy greens if you’re knackered, but can be a bit of a slog and best avoided at the end of the day. If needed, just download from Serre Ratier!
Best playgrounds if there’s some freshness;
The Cucumelle valley. Massive. Awesome. Top of Clot Gauthier or l’Eychauda, lots there too. Or, just get in the trees!
Other stuff – The Melezone is great. Like a cross between a snowpark and an adventure playground.
Food and drink;
Eat at the hotel! Lovely, lovely food. Really very good indeed.
On the hill?
Le Bercail, top of the Aravet bubble. Lovely food, and do try the sugar cubes. A real sun trap at lunchtime, too.
Cafe Soleil at Serre Ratier. Great pizza, but can be v crowded.
Coffee stop at Frejus, turn right off the Cucumelle to get there. Forget the name! Pic here!
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7800514376_546d1be04e.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/80072317@N06/7800514376/ ]Coffee stop[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/80072317@N06/ ]CT663[/url], on Flickr
Le Break. At Villeneuve, at the foot of Mickey. Very good, a little cheaper too.
AVOID the place at the top of the Frejus bubble. Awful.
In Chantemerle?
Well, it’s hardly a rocking party town, but I like that!
Le Station – Loud and boozy. Seasonnaires abound, but good fun. Watch out if the Harper Brothers are playing. They’re good!
La Terrasse – Other side of the Alphand to the Station. Lovely to watch the last runs coming down in the sunshine. Pic here!
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7800881074_f64e528cc9.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/80072317@N06/7800881074/ ]Well earned[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/80072317@N06/ ]CT663[/url], on Flickr
Oh wowser! Thank you Flashy! I shall make a note of all of those and check them out.
Got a south facing room booked. Wouldn't have bothered if we were in a big group, but it's just going to be the two of us so I think a nice balcony will be a welcome addition in the mornings and late afternoons.
Right. Marmalade?
[url= http://www.serrechevalier.org/ ]These people need marmalade![/url]
Rick and Fergus run the blog... A little, erm, eclectic at times, but really worth bookmarking as they cover what it's really like there, as a place to live, as well as to ski.
Let me know when you're off, and we'll arrange a marmalade deal...! 🙂
You can be my vicarious Serre Che trip as well! 😉
Well, seems it's d'Huez for me in January - can't wait 🙂
PSA: Jet2 are doing free ski carriage at the moment - discount code is on their site. 20kg as well, so with judicious packing you might cope with a board bag and the generous 10kg hand luggage allowance. Wonder if any skiers will borrow a board and board bag to use this offer?!
UK News: There has been yet another fire at Sheffield Ski Village!
Looks like we've lost one of the biggest dryslopes in the UK because the place has now gone into liquidation.
http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/news-11974.html
Thanks arsonists. 🙁
I just read Flashies post above and I can wait to get out to Morzine now. End of Feb doesn't sound that long but its almost 5 months until we go!
I just read Flashies post above and I [b][i][u]can[/u][/i][/b] wait to get out to Morzine now.
Oh. Sorry to have been such a disappointment. 😉
Oh balls so much for proof reading. Obviously I can't wait to Ski again.
Graham, haven't they had umpteen fires there over the years? Sounds more like insurance scam than arson to me. 🙁
With the arrival of indoor fridges, I reckon the days of dry slopes are sadly past.
Graham, haven't they had umpteen fires there over the years? Sounds more like insurance scam than arson to me.
Yeah I think it's the third fire they've had in a year.
Don't think it is insurance as they were reportedly very upset by the previous fires and had been trying to rebuild the place.
It's a shame - the Sheffield slope has bred a lot of UK Freestyle talent.
Indoor slopes are great - but not many have quarterpipes and cars to jump over.
So [b]anyone know anything about Val di Fassa in Italy, particularly the resort of Canazei[/b]?
We're currently looking at a week in a catered chalet there in Feb for £600 a head. Seems a very reasonable price, but we've never done Italy before. Looks quite "Austrian" (which is a good thing) and the actual slopes seem quite spread out. Any idea what the slackcountry options are like there (for boarders)?
Canazei (well the entire Sella Ronda / Dolomiti Superski) is ace for racking up the piste miles. Going back there for my 4th (or is it 5th?) time in Feb.
Can't help with the off-piste (there are other Snowhead STWers that might be able to comment).
Val di Fassa is kind of the Italian side, but the entire Sella Ronda regions spans Italian and Austrian "style" (and both German and Italian spoken).
Not sure what you mean by "spread out"? Val di Fassa itself has a number of villages along the valley, but Canazei and Campitello are directly on the main Sella Ronda where there is more than plenty. Alba is a 5min bus ride and is recommended for a day out. edit: nice black from there back down to the bottom station.
It's a shame - the Sheffield slope has bred a lot of UK Freestyle talent.
Indeed. Like this chap
[img] 
[/img]
James Woods. One hell of a skier. Nice guy, too!
Thanks andy.
By spread out I just mean that it looks (from the piste map) like one of those resorts where you travel around a lot (up a lift, down a slope, up the next lift, down the next slope) rather than having one lift with 4 or 5 different marked runs off the top that mostly take you to the bottom of the lift.
That's not a bad thing mind you, and may be inaccurate as I've only got a crappy little piste map to look at (the proper one on their website doesn't load for some reason).
Indeed. Like this chap
Sheffield is more picturesque than I remember it.. 😉
Yes. In general, I'd say that's the case.
As for piste map, to really appreciate it and get a proper idea, you'd really need to see a few local ones (Canazei/Campitello, Alba, Arabba/Marmolada, for example). The entire Sella Ronda (and "attached" bits) map is fine for "getting around" the whole area (actually you don't even need a map tbh, because it's so well signed), but starts to lose "definition" when looking at one of the resorts on its own (very true of San Cassiano/Alta Badia).
Just booked a week in Saalback for next trip - went there earlier this year and its a great venue with good links to Hinterglem circuit for plenty of route options. Decent snow record too - would recommend this place if you haven't been before and fancy a change.
On a side note, I have a Bonfire jacket for sale in classifieds.
Just booked to go to Mayerhofen in late December. Had to miss last season due to the arrival of hoppy jr looking forward to taking him sledging.
Thanks andy.
Just booked to go to Mayerhofen
Quality - love the Hoff!
Nothing better than realising it is 1am and you're still in your ski boots, "Doing The Conga" with a bar full of shitfaced Germans.
Been Mayrhofen twice, great apres ski as they say, Dutch and Germans galore. Decent boarding too and glacier if the snow fall is poor on main slopes.
Yep, I proposed to my wife on the Hintertux Glacier 😀
I blame the altitude.
My experience is the Germans tend to go to Zell am Ziller and Kaltenbach (probably because of the extensive parking - that's why I go there).
Mayrhofen was Dutch and Brits, but mainly Dutch. To the extent that when I worked in Holland, if anyone mentioned "I'll be away skiing/boarding", when you reply "Oh, you going to Mayrhofen?", the usual answer was "how did you know that?".
Should be good then by the sounds of it. Last few times I've been in Tignes and before that Deux Alpes where everything's fairly compact, Ziller valley has 600Km of piste according to the guide but seems a bit spread out, how easy is it to get about?
Just booked my flights, 4 months in Vancouver here I come!!
@mrhoppy - just hop on the train to go between Mayrhofen, Kaltenbach and Zell am Ziller. Kaltenbach station is right by the lift. The others are a shuttle bus between station and lift. Pretty straightforward, and free.
Hintertux is a bus ride from Mayrhofen.
Pyrenees report for y'all...
Close to the sum total of bugger all snow on the tops as I flew over earlier today! 😉
Hoping we start to see the first few flurries in the Alps soon. Only 87 days until my first trip to Switzerland this season then only another 20 days after that til my Stag doo on the slopes of Wengen. Cant wait!
Has anyone been to Kirchberg in Austria? Have an option to go there boarding in January.
66 days till I'll be heading out to St. Anton for the season 😀
66 days until to a bit of this,
[img] 
[/img]
a bit longer until I can try not to break myself in here,
[img] 
[/img]
and hopefully not too long until loads of this.
[img] 
[/img]
Benny wants some pow too.
[img] 
[/img]
Can't wait.
*Sees corduroy*
*Wants*
*Sees pow*
*Wants*
T-59 days and counting...
/me *needs*
(edit: also T-122 days and counting...)
Had a look over on SH last night. Apparently some of the US resorts have already turned the cannons on.
Now come on, chaps. That's not right! From an eco point of view, as well as a common sense point of view! To my mind, cannons should be used to maintain and assist in extending the snow cover, not to make it in the first place!
Meanwhile [url= http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/news-11977.html ]in Norway they just keep last years snow under some wood chip[/url]. 😯
Wow! Now that's cool!
Wow! Now that's [s]cool[/s] cold! FTFY
Captain - From an eco point of view I don't think there is any need to have cannons on with still over 2 months to go until the season. I think they really should only be used to stop rocks and grass peeking through when the snow gets a bit thin.
However to ski on I hate the stuff and would much rather then put a base down with it then let us ski on all the lovely real snow on top!
Today I booked a week in Zermatt for a BASI level 3 training course, yay!!! 😀
Starting my snow-dance now 😉 .
Today I booked a week in Zermatt for a BASI level 3 training course in Nov, yay!!! 😀
Starting my snow-dance now 😉 .
michaelmcc - I need to pony up and book my L3 assessment.
Bricking it. 🙁
Steveomcd, this is the start of my journey for L3, I have a feeling it will take more than one season to do all the modules and pass it all, especially the whole 2nd language thing! May as well have a crack at it though eh.
What skis have you been using so far for all the modules?
How long ago did you do your L2?
And good luck in your assessment anyway!
From an eco point of view I don't think there is any need to have cannons on with still over 2 months to go until the season. I think they really should only be used to stop rocks and grass peeking through when the snow gets a bit thin.However to ski on I hate the stuff and would much rather then put a base down with it then let us ski on all the lovely real snow on top!
It's probably better to run them now if the temperatures are right than fight a losing battle a the end of the season. So long as they have the water available. They will have no doubt done their sums.
They will have no doubt done their sums.
Yeah but I suspect such sums are driven by profit rather than environmental impact. The two don't always match up to well 😀
michaelmcc - I'm a snowboarder! 😈
I passed my L2 in May 2011. To be honest, I scraped it, but I'm lucky in that I live in the Alps and I have a BASI snowboard trainer just up the road, so I've been working with him and have come on a lot. I don't think I'm ready for it right now, but do have another season to prepare, so I think I have a fighting chance.
Do suspect I might simply run out of talent though!
Lucky in that I speak fluent French, so 2nd language was no problem. I'm an International Mountain Leader too, so I *should* get a bye on the mountain safety - to be honest, if I was having to make loads of effort on those, I might be considering it all too difficult!
I'm not posting a link so I don't think the mods will ban me, but the "website that can't be named" has got 50% off sweet protection snow kit which if you're a brand whore or under 30 might be of interest. 🙂
I'm not posting a link so I don't think the mods will ban me, but the "website that can't be named"
Eh? What site's that? Seriously? Can we not mention certain websites now?
Sp*rtsPurs*it - insta-thread deletion 😀
I put a link to it back in the middle of page 8, it has not been deleted.
They have ThirtyTwo snowbaord boots as well as the Sweets clothing for the next 7 days and Block & Oakley goggles & helmets for the next 3 days.
BigJim - not stayed in Kirchberg, but did ski there on my last holiday - we were based in Kitzbuhel.
We enjoyed it there. The area isn't massive around 100km of piste, pretty good for intermediates though and enough to do in a week. Some decent* looking park stuff if you do that (*I'll caveat that by saying I don't mess about in a park, but it looked the part to me!). Food/drinks pretty reasonable even though Kitzbuhel is seen as a bit of a millionaires playground.
There is even snow on top of the Scottish peaks. Here's hoping it leads to a long, cold season.
So still on the search for some new boots for Mrs Bg. Where's good in Edinburgh for boot fittings? Snowlines?
Whats hot in ladies boots this season? Mrs Bg is a fairly accomplished (double diamonds no bother) but relaxed skier. We ski with the mini greasers now so absolute performance not as important as comfort now. I've no clue as I've snowboarded since '89.
[quote=bearGrease ]So still on the search for some new boots for Mrs Bg. Where's good in Edinburgh for boot fittings? Snowlines?
Whats hot in ladies boots this season? Mrs Bg is a fairly accomplished (double diamonds no bother) but relaxed skier. We ski with the mini greasers now so absolute performance not as important as comfort now. I've no clue as I've snowboarded since '89.
Alain Baxter has a shop in stirling if you don't mind a short drive
Hi nbt, I know about Alain Baxter's place but was wondering if anyone had any good reviews of places in Edinburgh....
Anyone any tips on taking small beasties skiing for the first time?
Mine will be four soon and I'd like to take her on a trip before she starts school and we're limited to school holidays.
Hopefully she'd be all morning in a lesson but would I need to be relatively close by or can I zoom off for three hours?
How much do the instructors "look after" delicate domestic issues?? 😕
We had both of ours in esf ski school in jan, our eldest was in her first year at school and the youngest was only 2. They arnt supposed to start until they are 3 but they didn't ask may questions. The instructors were great and both kids loved it.
We were fine to go off skiing for the duration of the lessons, and our children are best at this sort of thing when we leave them alone.
Oh and we can apply for time off outside of school holidays, we did so for last season and have done for next season.
Cheers Mr Ache, that's the sort of thing I needed to hear 🙂
After the first year without a ski last year in I should think 15, I'm itching to get on the snow. And those pics up there^^ aren't helping! Trying to line up a 2 week trip in Jan/Feb which would be ace - not done a trip longer than a week in years... Looks like maybe Les Arcs and perhaps Sainte Foy after an amazing summmer week at the White Room. Cheers Stevo!
But I'm struggling with researching a new board. From finding it on google images I see mine is 6 years old now. It's on its last legs so it's time for a new one but it's so long since I bought the last plank I have no idea what I'm doing any more.
Current board is a Burton Ross Powers (06). Previous was the same from 00/01ish. I like that it's stiff, its turning radius is tight and its base is fast. I'm a fairly confident fast rider of over 15 years' experience so I'll get down just about any piste and am happy elsewhere. So I don't need a forgiving board or want a freestyle board but I tried a shorter (about 156 I think, possibly a Lib Tech, it was in 2010) board with a very wide stance that was still stiff and fast and I loved the ease of chucking that about while it still had just as much edge grip as my own.
So... Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations? This might be the wrong place to ask the question and if that's the case what other forums do folk frequent? Clearly a shop is the other answer and I'll go looking, but I'm short on local options.
I find either snow heads ( http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/) or winter highland ( http://www.winterhighland.info/forum/list.php?2) to be very helpful when it comes to kit reviews and tips.
Ta for that. I've popped a question up on Snowheads.
P.S. CaptainFlash - saw another wee reference back there << somewhere to my speedy little sister. She's in the world top 10 at Super G now I think. Big season this one...
Luke
She's in the world top 10 at Super G now I think. Big season this one...
Yep, following her progress with interest...! All pistes lead to Sochi, shirley!
Hi Shifter
As a ski instructor myself I thought I could say a few words on this! Ive never taught kids as young as four but taught most ages from 5 and up.
Not sure how it is with other ski schools but the ones Ive taught in, we like to keep adults/parents and ski school separate, so you won't need to be hanging around and the supervisors won't want you doing that anyway.
I suppose most instructors I know try to teach kids the same way they would a younger brother or sister, or kids of their own (I don't have any yet lol).
Also, it makes our job a lot easier if you can get your kid excited and happy about the idea of ski school. I've had lots of kids who clearly don't want to be there and won't cooperate for the entire class, often some screaming and kicking involved (the kids that is not me!).
Well hope you all have a good time anyway!
Hi Luke - posted on your snowheads thread too, but if you're interested in the Amplid, drop me an email, I have some contacts there!
shifter - from our experience (of running chalet holidays and helping a LOT of people get to ski school on the first morning!) the instructors would prefer it if you dropped your kids off, then left with the minimum of fuss.
They HATE it when the parents hang around. Especially if they try to "help".
What steve and micheal said.
Parents hanging around are a massive distraction to the kids and the instructor. The worse kind are the ones that think they're a good standard of skier and insist on "helping" or insist on repeating your instructions to the kids. 👿
As for kids under 5, we used to do parent and toddler lessons. Only 30min a time so it was more for familiarization of equipment, snow etc but it was handy to have the parents there to pick them up and support them.
Good idea to get them excited about the lesson/skiing. Can be hard work trying to keep an uninterested kid occupied for 3hrs.
Drop the kids off, forget about them for a few hours and enjoy some time on your own! 😆
My kids absolutely loved it. We put them in on afternoons for the whole week. I had my lessons in the morning so would see them for an hour or so in the middle, this meant me and my wife could ski together in the afternoon which really helped me with it being my first time.
Next time we are putting them in for the whole morning and lunch. This will mean I can still have lessons in the morning and have a couple of hours practice after the lesson before picking them up. We can then take them up the mountain for some practice on the beginner slopes. Really looking forward to it.
My Brother and I both started skiing at around 3.
For the first coupld of years it was a morning in Ski School then an afternoon in the creche. After a couple of years it was full days ski school and then a an hour practicing with Mum and Dad at the end of the day.
Had lessons up to the age of about 12 and since then just skiied with Parents or on our own.
Never skied with my parents! Started at about 8, on a school trip (Yes, yes, I went to a posh school!) and then got hooked. That first trip was to Les Arcs and I was blown away by how much fun it was! Even then, at that age, we had a morning of lessons and then a few hours in the afternoon to blat around the pistes.
Of course, being a group of 8 year old boys, we went straight to the top of the Aiguille Rouge cable car.....Stumbled down a red and then on to the KL! Ahhhhh, happy days!
Hmm.. my daughter will be two months off 3 for this years holiday.
Thought I'd just take her sledging, making snowmen or playing on plastic toy skis - but if I could put her in a lesson for a bit then all the better.
Two concerns: I assume instructors will insist kids are potty trained?
And am I going to have to learn to ski to help her??
Bit harder to buddy up on snowboards:
And am I going to have to learn to ski [s]to help her??[/s]
Yes.
😉
And am I going to have to learn to ski to help her??
Yep if only to avoid being the 'cringe wanna be cool boarder dad' 😆
Double post
boarder dad
Apparently the "boarder dad" syndrome is having an impact on the ski v board argument. More and more kids are hitting up the phattttt twin tipzz now, purely so they don't look like their fuddy duddy parents.
Not you, of course, Graham. Am sure you're all of teh radnezz. 😉
Yep if only to avoid being the 'cringe wanna be cool boarder dad'
[img] 
[/img]
[i]And am I going to have to learn to ski to help her??[/i]
It's not that hard to learn to ski after 'boarding. After a week I was almost as good as my kid 🙂
..then he gave up skiing to be like his 'boarder dad' 😀