my ski tech guy is doing a pre-season tune
anyone do their own ski servicing?
I used to do my own minor base repairs, waxing & edges - but the kit I had has long since been scattered to the four corners.
Bit like bike mechanicing - I suspect most of what you pay for is little different than you would / could do yourself...?
Yup. The advice on the Worden site is good if anyone wants to start (and reads French).
I've always waxed (and sometimes edged) my own board and repaired the odd Ptex ding.
It's not too hard is it? Like pointless bike fettling I find it quite therapeutic.
I find it quite therapeutic
yep, the smell of hot candle or wax...
Used to do this when I still lived with my parents though...my mother didn't find it therapeutic - she seemed quite stressed when she realised her iron was being used to melt ski wax 😆
I'm still using a £5 "value" iron I bought from Woolworths back in the day 🙂
My current board (Bataleon) needs constant waxing though, which is a bit of a pain, so "in resort" I get someone else to do it (shop or chalet bod) or I just whack on a load of [url= http://www.zardoznotwax.com/ ]Zardoz[/url] every morning 😀
Not perfect, but I'm not exactly a "high performance" boarder and it leaves me more time for beer.
So much for Nevis and Glencoe opening this weekend - the lifts have been battered by the winds and I suspect most of their snow is somewhere over Norway by now! 😀
anyone do their own ski servicing?
did my own edges last year, but i know the guy at the shop, so just swap the work for beer and cake. suits me!
http://serrechevalier.panomax.at/cucumelle
Live cam at the top of the Cucumelle in Serre Che. Looking gooooood!
Can I just add that the French for ski waxing is "fartage". Which is very funny.
French for ski waxing is "fartage". Which is very funny.
My son is going to be very, very tickled with this 😆
[b]CaptainFlashheart[/b]
Can I just add that the French for ski waxing is "fartage". Which is very funny.
Glad I'm not the only one who loves this!
Makes me chuckle walking past all the shops advertising "Top fartage!" and the like..! 🙂
I've just recently binned a copy of that Toko video where they walked around a car park with skis attached and then repaired the damage
complete with 70s blue movie soundtrack !
Seems that snake pass was blocked for 2 days this week with snow. Might be a fair bit up there then unless this wind has done some crazy stuff!
Hoping we get enough snow to ski in Hayfield again. T'was fun.
Fartage - very funny
I'm in Val d'Isere now. We have had a massive dump of snow in the last 3 days. in fact they say so far this season 50 per cent of last seasons fall has already arrived here! conditions are great and now most things including the Tignes links are open. Bon skiing all! We have been waste(and more) deep in powder...luckily I have 2 weeks of this... 🙂
Good news about the snow. January for me. Well excited!
January should be goood. I am told more snow is on the way too ! My guides' website has a good daily report of skiing here which I find useful to keep in touch with local conditions.....pls see. http://www.alpineexperience.com/waynes-daily-diary/
Can I just say.....
Week booked off in January! WOOOOOO!
Looks like there's been plenty of the white stuff in the Alps, so here's hoping for a good base!
A very rough video from Glencoe on Monday
I've just splashed the cash for this winter...
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plus
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They'll be fitted to older skis as I can't afford (and I don't actually need any new skis. They'll be mounted on these.
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Nice boots TroutWrestler - where did you get them? looking for a new pair myself.
Thanks for the video Bob, should be up there tomorrow either on AT kit or twintip tele setup, depending on how the mood takes me. I'm hoping for good things - apparently this landrover [not my image] was visible at the weekend...
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Did you ride 'The Haggis trap'?
Boots from Mountain Spirit in Aviemore. NEED to mount the bindings before this weekend.
No Alps trp for me this year 🙁 I will have to console myself with spending Christmas at the Inlaws in Lapland from Wednesday, and hey live 5 mins from a snow resort 🙂 no new get this year but I got a new Endevour board, SP bindings and Thirtytwo boots a year ago!
Thirtytwo boots! How many feet have you got? It must take some time strapping in...
You do indeed need to get them mounted up, Glencoe was fantastic today. I've been considering moving to an NTN boot that I might be able to use with both tele and touring setups - still on old skool cables and AT kit but that sort of arrangement seems to work for some. [ps bunnyhop - Haggis Trap filling in nicely, Flypaper closed as windloaded snow and steep slopes means avalanche risk is high]
The Shiver Evos that I bought don't have Dynafit compatibility, but in theory will clip into AT bindings. It's the reliable release that is the issue due to the rubber sole. £280 from MS, but I think I got the last pair.
Bought some SCARPA Typhoon boots in Val d'Isere at the beginning of my trip... i'm pleased l did. Great boots . Quite light... [img] 
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Those look lovely....!
Oh, and can I just add that Serre Che in January is all booked and paid for....! WOO and indeed HOO!
Now, do I splurge a few beer tokens on a pair of skis or just stick to the "Superior" set I've reserved. Always a bit of pot luck hiring, but last year was a pair of Salomon Enduro, which I was very, very happy with.
Tonight I will mostly be waxing skis...
gravity-slave - Member
Tonight I will mostly be waxing skis...
Fartage... 🙂
not been in this conversation til now, but can i just add...
that i'm flying to geneva on friday and they have got an absolute ton of snow. there's loads right down in the village and its still going!
shame i'll be spending most of the time teaching the mrs how to board, but its looking like great conditions for her first time and hopefully i'll get a bit of hiking/powder hunting in! maybe i'll treat her to some lessons for christmas... 😉
Did someone mention Val d'Isere? Only 3 days to go.. and look at the snow!
Peachos....Buy her some lessons as an early present! That way, she learns nicely and you get plenty of playtime in the fresh morning goodness before meeting her for a spot of lunch!
🙂
I fly to Val on Friday 🙂
Where are you staying ?
Just spoke to a couple of mates who live there and they said the snow is epic.
Bazzer and DezB sitting in a tree....
😈
yep CFH - that's the plan i think, either that or palm her off onto my mate who we're staying with...being a female also she's bound to be a better teacher than me!!
i've got another mate in val d'isere too - seen some of his pictures from the last week or so and it looks mental out there. i did a season there a while back and never saw anything like that in town...we're talking a metre of the stuff piled on top of cars. incredible!
Who do you know in Val ? , I did a season there in 2008-2009
I dunno.. Wifey books all that stuff! I'll find out and post later. Be good to have someone to [s]sit in a tree[/s] hook up with as wife and son will be in lessons 🙂
This was my brother digging out our rental car in Tignes Le Brev on Saturday!
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Wow! This was Tignes Val Claret / le Lac less than 3 weeks ago:
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Yep, was pretty bad until a few days before we went out. It snowed from the day we arrived until we left on Sunday, with a short break on Tuesday morning!
A bit of tidying up outside Vincent's bar...
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Off to Cervinia on Friday 😆
They've not had as much snow as those further west, but still over a metre in the last week. I'm stupidly excited about how good the conditions will be.
Should brighten up a bit too for the first couple of days. Regardless of how good the snow is, I find it always helps if you can see where you are and where you're going!
Glacier was fine, as was run down to Val Claret. Snowed on the last day (and appears to have snowed ever since). Cable car up to top of glacier packed in just as we were boarding the coach home 😯
2 and a bit weeks till the next ski trip
6 and a bit weeks till the next ski trip after that
I live in Morzine and it's been dumping for about 10 days now - loads of avalanche canons firing - most stuff is open but some shut due to high winds pushing in.
Can't wait for a bluebird day
I just got back from Val d'Isere on Saturday pm...last Friday there was so much snow nothing ran..its all going now!. I had two of the most amazing weeks off piste skiing( 11days with Wayne Watson). He does a daily diary which gives you a good idea of conditions. He has also got a few good pics of the action on his photo page. Please see
http://www.alpineexperience.com/waynes-daily-diary/
/p>
There is a good pic of me (Tim) up to my neck in it skiing down Solaise!
i wanna go and do another season so badly...
i wanna go and do another season so badly...
Not sure my liver would take another.
Who did you work for ?
Met quite a few guys there who had done a few seasons i can understand how addictive it is! My guide Wayne has done 27 seasons there so he is great at finding the best snow in Val/Tignes...
i wanna go and do another season so badly...
Do it while you can!
It becomes a lot harder to do things like that once you're settled with a mortgage, kids and a dog. I regret not doing one when I was younger (though we did do a bit of travelling instead).
Just taken delivery of my new board (Bataleon Goliath) and the snow is looking immense in Montgenevre/Serre Chevalier - 21st Jan cannot come soon enough!
Same board as me speed12. Lovely thing - very odd to ride at first but immense fun. Be prepared to wax it [u]A LOT[/u] though (like every other day!) and get some Zardoz for when you can't be arsed.
Have bought some Salomon Sentinals for this season
Late Jan - Courchevel
Easter - Tignes or Les Arc
Not sure my liver would take another.Who did you work for ?
yeah i'd hope another season woudl be a lot more chilled now i'm in my 30's.
worked for:
Crystal as KP in Claviere, Italy
Dick's Tea Bar, Val d'Isere as a glass collector (getting drunk & flirting/dancing)
Grill Chef at Fergbrger in Queenstown
how about you bazzer??
edit: what i'm REALLY hoping for is that the mrs falls in love with boarding next week (she already loves mountains in general) and we can relocate for at least a year!
Just taken delivery of my new board (Bataleon Goliath) and the snow is looking immense in Montgenevre/Serre Chevalier - 21st Jan cannot come soon enough!
Snap! Tested it out at the weekend up here in Scotland. Really fast and the pop is shweet!
Out the Les Deux Alpes on the 21 Jan...can't wait!
Didn't go on the school ski trip this year, and then they get this snow. I'm fairly sure I'm cursed.
Was in Avoriaz last wed-sat, waist deep pow.
Going back next tuesday 🙂
Happy skiing everyone. Be careful.
Merry Xmas.
G.
I just tried out my new board at the weekend, just a basic ride agenda but the flat to rocker base makes a huge difference to stability compared with my older conventional camber board, never once felt like catching an edge, makes snowboarding so much more fun 🙂
@Speed12 - I'll be in Serre Che about the same time as you.....
Was in Avoriaz last wed-sat, waist deep pow.Going back next tuesday
Heading there end of Jan 😀
I just ski bummed for a season and didn't work :-), but have probably done about 30days skiing each year there so know quite a lot of people there.
I went out for the opening weekend in November out for xmas and NY I am also hoping to get out for the whole of March, but I will have to see how work etc goes with that
Edited to add what year were you in Val D'Isere ?
Just back from Verbier.
Dumped from last Saturday until Wednesday, then started to warm up and the snow became rain at the end of Wednesday in the resort at 1530m. Low cloud and flat light conditions increasingly reduced the opportunity for off-piste skiing as the week went on.
Some trees were falling down due to the weight of the snow.
Pistes were bashed on Wednesday night and were a bit crusty on Thursday morning with the snow a lot heavier to ride than it had been previous days, when it was lovely and light and powdery. Thursday was warmer and snow became heavier during the day, cruddy off-piste, and was getting slightly slushy at lower levels.
Restricted lifts running mostly to stop the off-pisters from roaming too far. On Thursday we could get down Tortin and a little further.
Lots of people with ABS and similar type air-bag rucksack systems this year. Loads of people sporting wide skis making my 86mm waists look old-school 🙁
Been mad weather here today in Val d'isere ! Horizontal winds and snow this morning. Froze my nostrils. Bloody brilliant though 😀
Lots of people with ABS and similar type air-bag rucksack systems this year. Loads of people sporting wide skis making my 86mm waists look old-school
AKA
Lots of people with body armour this year. Loads of people on massive travel bikes making my 4 inch trail bike look old-school
😉
Lots of people with body armour this year. Loads of people on massive travel bikes making my 4 inch trail bike look old-school
so does that mean that I must be a better skier than them?
probably not is the answer, I fear 🙁
5 go mad in Bad Gastein today.
Very Christmassy here in Austria. Snow covered fir trees, plenty of mulled wine. So looking forward to Christmas dinner tonight. Having skied all day, we've earned it.
Flying off the morra with my youngest our first father son ski hols,it's going to be fantastic ,we are wired 🙂 🙂
I love skiing at Christmas! Wish I was out there now....! 🙂
That's my plan for Christmas next year 🙂
(Just need to learn how to ski first - but that's what Jan / Feb / March this year is for ...)
Christmas in Jackson hole has turned out to be a great idea, not as much powder as I'd expected, but plenty of high speed cruising and tasty beers at less than UK prices, served by some fantastic waitresses.
There's quite a lot of snow now in the Alps. Long may it keep dumping.
Oh my! anyone who's going out for next week is in for a treat.
It was dumping like I've never seen when we left Val yesterday. Delayed our transfer by 3 and a half hours 🙁
Just picked one of these up on ebay in 156 for £195 brand new.
http://endeavorsnowboards.com/live-rev/
Bring on Steamboat 8)
Dez, I gather Arc 2000 is closed because of avalanche risk!
I'm off to the Hemel Alps tomorrow for a bit of a play. Going to try out some skis...! 🙂
Yesterday morning we were playing in off piste (between pistes) in 30cm to 50cm of fresh powder, that was put down in just 12 hours.
Even snowing quite heavily at lower levels last night.
My ability to ski slush has improved over the last couple of weeks. 😐
off piste (between pistes)
AKA the "slack-country"
Ah, yes.AKA the "slack-country"
As I'm quite new to this powder lark and still learning (my technique is unusual), so we thought using the same lift over and over,was a good idea. It also meant we kept getting fresh tracks, as we worked our way along the piste, dropping in at steeper and steeper points as I gained confidence.
It's where almost everyone goes "off-piste", IMO. With their phatt pow-planks and all the gear, most people just pootle between the pistes.
Which is about all the off piste I get up to myself! Although not on phatttttt-pow-planks! Salomon Enduro was my fave ski of last year, although the Nordica Spitfire was a blast on piste!