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37 hours till I start heading towards Slovakia - long journey but hoping it will be worth it.
snowforecast.com has been all over the place, but some snow predicted and the webcams look alright (bit patch in places but white enough):
http://zivekamery.sk/?stream=PP_SKALNATE_PLESO
Been epic in switzerland this week 
Slideshow
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Vid of a couloir we hit
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porn commentary provided 😯
bluebird again this morning and 20cms of fresh - only 3 days to go 😛
Proper envy.
Anyone ever been to mt tremblant, Quebec? Might be able to combine family visit and a few days on the snow next winter.
Sister popped her knee ligaments this week 🙁
First lift up early in the week, so pretty much the whole holiday spend in a leg brace.
Ouch. Nasty, and bad timing!
Anyone know what the Tahoe area is like towards the end of April? I'd imagine sunny, but what about the snow? Soupy?
Anyone heading out to the Espace Killy this weekend (Shoogly i'm looking at you)?
Rockslide at the Tignes Les Brevieres Tunnel has closed the road to both Tignes and Val d'Isere
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To get to VD/T, park in Brevieres, get the chairlift to Boisses and there are shuttle buses to both. Smaller items of luggage allowed.
Engineers on site checking the area to make sure that when they start clearing, further slides won't be a problem. More details over on snowheads
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2004872#2004872
Niiiice photos and vid nick. lovely conditions. That couloir line looks a bit steep.
Some more great deals on Crystal site, just booked for Easter in Alpe D'huez. Hope the snow lasts.
Chamonix departure in 14 hrs . woop woop .
Bags packed , 2 sets of skis in a single bag. 1 set with bindings removed from riser plates . 19 kg of kit in big bag plus hand luggage .
Hope its not a prop plane out of Soton , bloody thing wont leave the runway and we'll end up in WCA's garage. On fire.
Have a great time singletrackmind.
We were supposed to be heading out to Serre Che this Sunday, however I've been ill again and fitness is a problem atm. Hopefully we may get out somewhere before the season ends.
Bummer, Bunnyhop. Real shame for you! Hope you get on the mend soon!
Aw thanks flashy - it's not all gloom though as I managed a pootle on the inbred along our local trails. We live in a hilly area so I got a bit puffed pushing up some stuff just to get the elation of having a bit of DHing after 4 weeks off the bike. Trying to get some fitness back now for any skiing in the near future.
We're planning either Les Arcs or Tignes, just have to see how it goes.
Get well soon BH !
Thanks Rob, put a few turns in for me.
Feeling for you Bunnyhop, we have had the worst 12 months of our lives. Abigales broken arm, Katies back operations, Kevins heart problems and I'm still waiting for my shoulder reconstructing. Hang in there, it can only get better.
Anyone know what the Tahoe area is like towards the end of April? I'd imagine sunny, but what about the snow? Soupy?
Last time I skied that area in April it was pretty fun. If you pick the right aspect you can get a watery corn, which is light flowing and refills after you ski it. If you get the wrong aspect it's a nasty sticky knee busting mash.
Blimey Tracy - you have had a rough year, hope things are on the turn.
Mine is a case of WTFU, laced with being a bit more patient.
T-shirt weather on the pistes today in Superbagnères. I was overdressed as the triathlon started in the valley where it was colder.
Anyone heading out to the Espace Killy this weekend (Shoogly i'm looking at you)?Rockslide at the Tignes Les Brevieres Tunnel has closed the road to both Tignes and Val d'Isere
Not long back from Tignes, the road is now open but traffic only one way, we were delayed a couple of hours but nothing too bad!
Anyone going out there head to Tignes this week, x-games is on from Wednesday and from the looks of the set up they had going on is going to be awesome! Great skiing too, had a nice dump of at least 10cm on our second day, the off-piste was just amazing, so light and easy to carve in! Would have stayed another week if I could have!
Just got back from Tignes, too. We were shipped out to a hotel in Grenoble on Friday night to avoid the potential traffic chaos on Saturday morning due to that rock fall. Great week - loadsa snow staying fresh and cold mostly. La Daille was getting slushy early in the week but was replenished with a couple of mini dumps.
Just looking at a cheeky 2nd week in Val Thorens next week but places running out fast...
10, thanks for that re Tahoe. I have an April work trip to San Francisco, so pondering taking my boots/gear with me.
Just back from my first full week of boarding, staying in Vallandry and exploring Les Arcs and La Plagne. Superb conditions, two lifts starting right next door to the accommodation and a wee bit of fresh snow falling throughout the week.
Probably the highest pain:progression ratio for anything I've ever tried to improve at, but overall I really enjoyed it and saw a definite jump in my ability by the end of the week.
In Jasná, Slovakia now: getting here went incredibly well considering it was Car, Train, Train, Bus, Flight, Taxi, Train, Van!
Much less stereotypical Eastern Bloc than we had imagined.
Snow is a bit thin, through to boilerplate in places, but our host, Dan, is riding with us every day and still finding us all the hidden powder stashes deep in the trees. Learning a lot by riding off piste with guys way better than me.
Really chilled chalet too. Just kicking back on the sofa, tunes on, nice fire going and a cup of tea in hand.
Oh and we paid less than 5 euros for four pints of beer in a slope side bar today 🙂
Graham - 😛 nice beer prices!"!
Second half of my trip to Andermatt here. best weeks riding I have had by a long shot..steep, deep and fast!
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Graham - nice beer prices!"!
Yep, everything is super cheap compared to the Alps.
We paid 4.80 euro for a decent two course meal at the slope side today!
Try getting that in Switzerland! 😉
Try getting that in Switzerland!
Tried on Saturday, drove to Verbier. Day pass - 78chf!!!! Lunch - 30chf!!!! Weather was awesome, slopes were relatively quiet and I had an awesome time.
Drove on Sunday to Metabief, a small French resort about 40mins from where I am in Switzerland. Only 26km of slopes but enough for a day of riding. Price for a day pass 21euros, lunch with dessert 9.50euro!
[i]*scores Verbier off the list*
*adds Metabief to the list*[/i]
2nd day in Serre Chevalier and resort condition reports havnt exactly been accurate as there are bare patches mid station down and very heavy from midday on. Still good up top for most of the day and some very good skiing to be had.
Not impressed with 'hotel' which is more like a youth hostel (Grande Aigle) nothing grand about it and a complaint will be going in when I get back 🙁
Verbier. Day pass - 78chf!!!! Lunch - 30chf!!!!
6 day Verbier 4 Vallees pass is an eye-watering CHF351 now. Probably goes some way to explaining why the resort was practically empty last week despite full snow coverage down to the main resort level with enough fresh snow to make it interesting off-piste and brilliant sunshine most days. Beer in our hotel wasn't too bad at around CHF7 a pint but I'm told that in some of the more popular clubs a round of 4 drinks came to over CHF100.
Going back to Val D'Isere on Saturday. VIP Crystal package (oxymoron?) with VIP airport lounge, 4 * chalet, wellness suite, canapes, cheese & port, 1/2 prive 2nd lift pass.... plenty bargains to be had on Crystal's website just now - cold temps and snow forecast.
Excited??
Not impressed with 'hotel' which is more like a youth hostel (Grande Aigle)
You get what you pay for though, and there are many many reports on the interweb about the Grand Aigle, bit late now though
On the brighter side, you're skiing. Have another beer and enjoy the rest of the week 🙂
vague spam: anyone interested in a splitboard? 14 day's use? Voile Mojo 166 all hardware and skins. email in profile.
Nice slovakian prices. Sounds even cheaper than Slovenia, which isn't exactly expensive.
Must get there some time. Hmmm only a 10.5hr drive. Might sling bike in the car and head over that way in the summer.
Oh dear Ned - you retiring from the split scence!?
Must get there some time. Hmmm only a 10.5hr drive. Might sling bike in the car and head over that way in the summer.
Yep. Folk here at the mo that drove across for a six-week stay.
Or Ryan Air is £30 each way, plus 26 euros for first class train from Bratislava.
Chalet we are staying at does mountain biking during the summer: http://www.chaletslovakia.com
Fortunately I live half way there, so car or maybe train. €26 1st class sounds like a bargain too. Quite fancy ticking Poland off the list too (which can't be that far away).
Will check that place properly tonight.
Woody - if you have a problem with the hotel, you're best off complaining while you're there. They may be able to do something about it.
Doctordee - have you had your week at Chalet Yves yet? If so how have you got on?
Woody - grand doesn't mean grand in French...
Cheap and cheerful when I stayed.
Woody is not alone in his views. This made me smile:
We travelled with Equity Ski on a school trip first week of the season. Admittedly it was the staff's first week of the season, but that is no excuse for the quality (or lack thereof) of nearly everything in the hotel. I am frankly amazed anyone could have anything good to say about the hotel. I'll start with the rooms- we had five in a room that was the size of a twin room in a travel-inn. The window didn't shut properly, so after a couple of nights we were all sleeping in thermals, when you turned the radiator on it filled the room with a smell like burning plastic, so we left that off for fear of asphyxiating in our sleep, at first there was no hot water and even after our teacher had negotiated for the hotel to bring in a plumber to fix the problem (our rep was hopeless, wouldn't recommend Equity either) we were given a choice of cold enough to give you brain freeze or scalding hot water. TV didn't work either. The food was revolting- made the school canteen seem like a michelin starred restaurant- the cottage pie made people vomit. The ski rental was incredibly poor- the beginners and experts were all given the same skis with DIN settings varying from 5.0 if you were a beginner destined for some painful falls to 6.0 if you were an expert- aggressive skiers beware and the boots were older than the hills. The staff with the exception of the bar staff were surly and unhelpful and the Villeneuve area was closed for the duration of our stay due to poor snow so we had to bus out to Monetier and Deux Alpes to ski (the first journey an irritant, the second a major pain)
On the other hand the bar area was nice.Please don't stay in this hotel, there's a Club Med down the road, its worth the extra cash.
vague spam: anyone interested in a splitboard? 14 day's use? Voile Mojo 166 all hardware and skins. email in profile.
Can't see why anyone would bother with a splitboard! Too much faffing around. Just stop snow boarding and get skis with touring bindings, enough said.
Why, you can't do this on a pair of touring skis
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Good point well made, frn. That you? Looks like a big board!
mmcc, bit more faff, not much more, really. You could say the same about touring vs riding the lifts. Or skiing vs sitting at home on the sofa.
Not me, I took it of my mate last week in switzerland. He is on a custom made igneous split (hard booter as well!)
This was me on my Jones
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urg. looks good! Your mate's not norweigian, is he?