goggles - i'm using von zipper bushwicks at the moment. no issues with them fitting with my helmet, fairly BIG lens though (which is cool!).
pricewise: £40 including 2 (mirror & yellow) lenses. oakley are the best, but far too expensive!!
oakley are the best, but far too expensive!!
Mine weren't. 8)
Any Chamonix Experts in da house?
I'm booked for a 4 day trip and want to get the most out of it.**
Do you have to book the top lift at Grand Montets in advance and is it worth the extra cost?
Is there anywhere worth a look that's not tracked out within nanoseconds of the first flake falling?
Is it possible to rack up, assess the next day's weather forecast and book a guide or join guided groups?
Is Vallee Blanche worth it (on a snowboard for a proficient snowboarder)?
Best place to look to grab spare places on helis?
Whats the stuff like next to the town (Flegere-Brevant)?
** (possible risk of whiteout the whole time as there for only 4 days).
Okay - I'll try and answer as best I can:
Q.Do you have to book the top lift at Grand Montets in advance and is it worth the extra cost?
A. As far as I know it can't be booked in advance (you turn up and get allocated on one of the next cable cars - first come first served), but yes if the conditions are right it's worth it but skiers right off the top tickets is glacier so you should know your stuff
Q.Is there anywhere worth a look that's not tracked out within nanoseconds of the first flake falling?
A. Depends really - I've been up Grand Montets when its boiler-plate ice and super busy, but then I've been up there on a powder day with barely a soul and the bochard gondola queue free!
Q.Is it possible to rack up, assess the next day's weather forecast and book a guide or join guided groups?
A. Only if you are really lucky - but check with the likes of 'Evolution 2' they will have an idea on the weather over the next few days and should be able to advise on places.
Q.Is Vallee Blanche worth it (on a snowboard for a proficient snowboarder)?
A. Yes - but for the views and the experience rather than the terrain - although there are a number of variants and options to make it interesting, the bottom bit is pretty flat so can be challenging on a board if the snow is sticky - collapsing poles are an advantage.
Q.Best place to look to grab spare places on helis?
A.No heli skiing in Chamonix, but through the tunnel in Italy
Check with the likes of [url= http://www.chamonix-aventure.com/ ]http://www.chamonix-aventure.com/[/url] for details.
Q.Whats the stuff like next to the town (Flegere-Brevant)?
A. Pretty good with some amazing terrain, but gets the sun more so softens up if it's icy. If it's really warm, can be slushy by afternoon. Link between the two areas. Can be busy with long queues to get the gondola up the hill. Little chance of doing the 'home run' unless conditions are exceptional so catch the gondola back down
[b]peachos[/b]: We're staying in a independent chalet that's owned by one of my GF's colleagues, its in one of Les Menuires' feeder villages, Preyerand I think. The Powder Pigs chalet looks ace! Jacuzzi and steam rooms are one of the best ways to relax after skiing all day.
I did look at hiring a car but it would have to be the GF who drove as I've lost my license at the moment and there's no way I could get her to drive up the mountain, she gets car sick at the best of times. Plus by the time you've added the winter tyre and snow chain options its cheaper to fly to Geneva and get a shared transfer.
The chalet owner is apparently going to show me some decent off piste, I shall mention the route from Point de Le Masse! Cheers for the tip about that bar aswell.
I have tried the Splice and it did seem like a good fit. The company got back to me and they're expecting the stock in the next few days so I'm gonna hang fire and see if it turns up as I really like the APX's - they have a ridiculously large lens! The Airbrake looks sweet though. Wish I could afford those.
Might see if I can squeeze a pair of boots into the budget aswell, think my existing ones have packed down too much as I was getting a really weird juddering on my outside foot when carving at high speed last year.
Digby - Cheers for response, much appreciated.
afrothunder 88 - that off piste at La Masse is v good, bit steep at the top mind.
Just booked for Pila in Italy for second week in Feb. This will be my second snowboard holiday = utter beginner. Anyone been? Looking forward to a break from you lot for a week 😉
Pila is a nice little resort. Spent a few days there in 2009. Plenty of easy terrain for learners, plus plenty to progress onto.
Would certainly go back
I said this very thing to hubby last night after logging off.(On another note, when was the last time there was a thread this big on STW without any arguments? (Well, apart from the obvious board/ski banter, but that doesn't count!)
It's one of the reasons I'm staying with this thread.
The amount of information everyone is giving out is so helpful. Long may it continue (well at least until 1st May)
The amount of information everyone is giving out is so helpful. Long may it continue (well at least until 1st May)
*Makes diary note to start bikering and arguing on the 1st of May*
😉
Just booked for Pila in Italy for second week in Feb
I think one of the nice things about the Italian Alps/Valle D'aosta, especially when compared to nearby French resorts is that the quality of the coffee and the food on the Italian side of Mont Blanc (or Monte Bianco if you are looking at it from that perspective) is so much better and less criminally priced.
Plus the Italians seem to have a more relaxed approach to winter hobbies which often means less fractious queuing and quieter slopes especially at lunch time.
Enjoy - I'm sure you will have a terrific time! 😀
I'll join in 🙂
Booked a week in tignes on the 28th Jan over Christmas. My 3rd ever trip, deffo skiing. My ambition is proper euro carve turns by the end of the week and (maybe) a first black run.
staying in the val claret appartments (du pont?) with crystal so should be easy enough.
So far this thread has made me watch chalet girl (funny in a b movie chick flick kind of way) and buy these
[url] http://www.decathlon.co.uk/mission-id_8188819.html [/url]
Have I done ok for an intermediate skier boot? They feel comfy 🙂
Anyone got any tignes tips then?
titusrider - eurocarves on skis? ❓
Tignes tips - halfway sensibly-priced places to eat lunch are the Aspen Café and Bazoom burger stand in Val Claret or Tignes Cuisine and the Loop bar in Le Lac.
For a first black, Trolles above Le Lac is pretty straightforward. Steep, but mostly pretty wide and in a straight line. If you think it's steep on skis, try it on a bike! (One of the DH courses goes pretty-much straight down).
Don't be fooled into trying Sache by the easy appearance of the start. Steep with moguls-of-doom lower down.
If you've got transport, come down to Sainte Foy for a day. You'll never go back to an over-crowded concrete monstrosity like Tignes again! 😉
+1 for Tignes cuisine, it's the main reason I go to Val D'Isere, not the snow!
In Val in the run up to Christmas, snow was awesome and fell plenty.
Going to Saas Fee in a week for some more powder then hopefully get away back to Switzerland or Porte du Soleil if it has enough snow in February.
I love Winter 😀
Hummm must have got my terminology wrong somewhere then. I always saw it as very French the image i have in my head.
80s brightly colored jacket
Skiing with your legs really close together
Very stood up style
Really relaxed and non-plusses by everything
Stopping for a ciggie after each run
And carving everywhere at 1billion miles an hour
I aspire to that 🙂 😉
titusrider: you must first perfect the shrug and the sullen disdain. Everything else builds from that base.
'tis a snowboard thing really - carving while fully laid-out on the snow. Involves a big twist at the waist so not really in keeping with modern technique, but does look cool:
[img] http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=12554&stc=1&d=1210079786 [/img]
I like this pic too:
[img] 
[/img]
[i]"Les Bronzés font du ski"[/i] is [i]the[/i] French cult ski film (with a dreadful English dub I'm sorry to say). Essential viewing for anyone going to Val. No prizes for naming the sectors.
'tis a snowboard thing really - carving while fully laid-out on the snow. Involves a big twist at the waist so not really in keeping with modern technique
Hardboots + slalom board.
They stand very differently and they do twist at the waist (and really want to be skiers but can only afford one plank).
Watch these guys:
GrahamS - perfectly possible with soft boots and a freestyle board too!
GrahamS - perfectly possible with soft boots and a freestyle board too!
Not unless you've got a pretty mental stance though.
Most freestylers ride duck stance these days - you'd have to twist your hips a hell of a lot from there 😀
+18°/-3° on mine IIRC. So yes, duck stance.
18, -9 here. Pretty duck, but can still eurocarve!
Had a go on hardboots once too, was a giggle, need to try it again some time.
+21°/-6° here with a 25"+ stance and I love carving!
When the slackcountry is not up to much but the 'corduroy' is cold and grippy it's good fun to get your 'carve on' and try and lay down some deep pencil lines in the snow with a decent gap between the edge change! If there's a few of you carving together it's a jolly wheeze fo' shizzle! 😆
Blimey! Fair enough. I retract that.
Not sure that I'd call -3 a [i]true[/i] duck stance right enough, but I'm well impressed you can twist enough to get your hip on the snow from a -9 stance 😯
(granted I am about as flexible as a scaffold pole)
"Les Bronzés font du ski" is the French cult ski film
^^THIS!^^
I can't believe Bazoom is still going in Tignes, might have to pay that a visit in two weeks time.
My Tignes top tip would be to avoid the off piste above the lake to the side of Trolles - death trap.
Les Bronzes font du ski was very funny.
I've actually walked around the house wearing a nighty in ski boots before now, when trying to get used a pair I bought many years ago.
Not sure what the downstairs neighbour thought, with all the clunking around on the kitchen tiles.
I've actually walked around the house wearing a nighty in ski boots before now
Pics? 😉
+15/-15 for me and as wide as they'll go. that's best for riding switch and jibbing around.
as for carving, try this fun trick what i learned from a bunch of aussies: basically you want to try and emulate the classic surfing grab rail turn. find a wide & smooth (and empty!) piste and cut a massive heel carve into it but get super low and grab your toe edge near to your trailing foot (indy). you can hold onto that rail for ages in that position and it feels pretty scary being so close to the ground as you pick up speed and carve it up. good fun.
Winceyette down to the floor is not the most flattering look, with bright pink ski socks and purple boots, just a picture of sartorial elegance, which shall be forever for my eyes only 🙂
Martin Bell once brought out a video, in which he said that 80% of recreational skiers can't or don't carve.
Surely with skis these days carving is pretty easy?
+15/-15 for me and as wide as they'll go.
Now THAT is what I'd call a [i]true[/i] duck stance.
Most people I ski with (myself included) still often slide their turns. Often with lots of snow spraying up at the back. It takes quite a bit of practice to carve properly.
Surely with skis these days carving is pretty easy?
Lots of people "skarve"or something. Sort of a half skid, half carve turn. Self included sometimes. In this sort of thing, not all of the turn is carved.
you see a load of really bad snowboard technique as well - people kicking their tail around rather than letting the edge do the work. not saying that technique is completely useless, as there is a time and a place (steep & choppy or icy) but NOT down the middle of an open piste!
Wife has booked us into Les Contamines late march/early april. Whole family decent skiers, but never been there before - anybody know it?
Driving down, staying in appartment, looking for lots of reds with some blues and blacks. nightlife requirements are pizza parlour and bar at bottom of slopes. oh and whilst we all have boots will need to hire planks and buy beer and groceries...
A friend of mine loves les Contamines, and she's utterly lovely, so it must be good!
I've just Googled for a vid of "virages coupés" to post but mainly found vids of Aston Martins. :-/ Anyone know what they are in English because that's how I like skiing?
[i]people kicking their tail around [/i] guilty 😳 I hate not being on an edge being a very average boader. 🙁 Happy on skis though 🙂 especially X-C skis 😀
It's just occured to me that "virages coupés" is "carving" but I'm thinking in a race context where there's a very fast transition from edge to edge with most of the pressure going into the first part of the turn to drive you down the hill rather than slow you down.
+15/-15 for me and as wide as they'll go.Now THAT is what I'd call a true duck stance.
That's my stance too. Pretty sure there's no way I'm gonna manage to touch my hip down
Never mind technique as long as you can talk the talk....
😀
[i]"Les Bronzés font du ski" is the French cult ski film [/i]
Wow! The first few seconds of that are like documentary footage! I was walking up to the lifts and some French bloke (could tell he was French as he was polluting the lovely mountain air with a fag) swung his skis a few mm from my head. "JEEZ!" says I and he gives me a look like I'd just stuffed my board up his wife's arse!
Another day I left my board in the free locker area, came back to find a load of skis in the rack and my board sitting in a puddle on the floor! Needless to say the skis didn't stay in the rack!
😆
Anyone got any info on US run grading?
I'm looking at a map and can't see any red runs. Also, how do the gradings stack up compared to the French alps? I seem to recall that a Chaminix black was (in general) quite a bit more 'interesting' than one from Andorra.
phinbob - US gradings go Green, Blue, Black, Double-Black. Some places even have Triple-Black because they're just so gnar.
These are roughly equivalent to the European Green, Blue, Red, Black.
Double and triple blacks will almost always be ungroomed, often couloirs/chutes, etc.
80s brightly colored jacket
Skiing with your legs really close together
Very stood up style
Really relaxed and non-plusses by everything
Stopping for a ciggie after each run
And carving everywhere at 1billion miles an hour
Extra points if he's a monoskier. I love those guys. [i]J'adore le monoski.[/i]
"Les Bronzés font du ski"
Awesome!!!
These Karl Pilkington muppets may amuse anyone who has had the delightful pleasure of using a backcountry "toilet".
[b]WARNING: some swearing.[/b] (Slow start but stick with it till 1:40)
Just come back from a week in Austria (well, last saturday) - ****ing awesome, last day was one of the powderiest I have ever encountered. It wasn't busy in St Johann either so loads of fresh bits to go at. Want to go back NOW. Shame we didn't get stuck there like some people apparently did. More snow in a week than in the whole of last season apparently!
By the way, has anyone posted the 'don't do it in the park' video yet? Can't be arsed wading through 13 pages. 🙂
Not seen that Grum, linkie please
nbt,
That's the one - pure gold! 😆
'Shaun White...... if he had a tight little vagina, I'd **** him too. I'm a whoremonger, trust me' 😯
this has everything: skier intolerance of snowboarder and snowboarder macho ghetto posturing
Yikes! Less cocaine for that guy.
They should have settled it on the slopes:
this has everything: skier intolerance of snowboarder and snowboarder macho ghetto posturing
@2.20 in - the Nihilists from the Big Lebowski Go Skiing.
Stevomcd is correct.Anyone got any info on US run grading?
However the blacks are single diamond or double diamond and in some resorts I've skied in America they don't have green.
Also every resort is different, very much like hard resorts in France, where a red may feel like a black in some parts of Italy or Austria.
Nice to have you back Grum.
Also every resort is different, very much like hard resorts in France, where a red may feel like a black in some parts of Italy or Austria.
Indeed. I was on a little gentle blue in Italy a few years back when all of a sudden it got all steep, narrow and icy. More black than blue.
At the speed I hit it, I was the one that was black and blue. 😳
Been LOL'ing at this recently.. lol.
Anyone else here in Canada??
I heard parts of Europe are getting dumped on.
Just booked for Pila in Italy for second week in Feb. This will be my second snowboard holiday = utter beginner. Anyone been? Looking forward to a break from you lot for a week
Ive done 1.5 seasons in Pila. Really nice place, its small but once you get to know all the off piste spots most tourists don't know about its ace.
Cous 1 and 2 probably have the best skiing and boarding there.
Haven't been there in two years so im a bit rusty on the names of places but if you have any questions fire away!
Snowfighters.....Skiing, Boarding and the Dropkick Murphys
Great combo
? 😀
Sauntered in to Snow & Rock on High St Ken a little earlier. My wallet was straining to get to the till!
Watea 94s for £325! Was sooooo tempted!
Watea 94s
Never heard of em.
What skis are everyone on by the way?
I got some Line Prophet 98's. Really nice all mountain ski. I'd like something a bit wider for deep powder though.
having second thoughts about the boots ive bought:
[url] http://www.decathlon.co.uk/mission-id_8188819.html [/url]<
they are comfy but having done 2 trips should i have waited a few more trips and then got something genuinly good rather than just getting entry level boots.
what do people think? (i could still take them back)
Those are categorised 'advanced' skier boots- do you have the exact model number? How good are you after two trips?
@titusrider - 55 flex? Are they like noodles? I ski in 120s! (OK, am quite a well built chap, and ski hard so the stiffer boot works better for me, but still. 55s?)
To be honest, a 55 flex boot is only really good for a few hours of playtime, not really for a week (or more) of all day skiing. They might seem comfy, but I'm really not sure they'll help you progress.
*Edit* @woody - That's "expert" in Decathlon speak. As above, a 55 flex boot isn't anything expert at all. In fact, far from it.
Get thee to a proper boot fitter! Solutions 4 Feet are highly recommended. I can also point you to the best boot fitters in Snow and Rock, depending on where you are. It's really worth the time (and money!) to get comfy boots that work with your skiing.
For example, someone I ski with often had used hire boots for a couple of years and said, "I will never go skiing again!" because her boots were so uncomfortable. I took her to Snow and Rock in Kensington where Chris (Awesome boot fitter, and a top chap!) spent two hours on her boots. She now has a pair of custom footbeds in some lovely Atomics and can't wait to get back on the slopes!
having second thoughts about the boots ive bought:
The most important thing about boots is getting the right fit, more so than looks, cost, or whether they are "good" or not. If you're lucky enough to find an off the shelf boot that fits well without any modifications to the shell etc, then I'd stick with them.
thats decathalon writing naff decriptions, they are pretty much as simple as boots go.
in terms of my level i can pretty much ski parralel on blues but not tried much steeper stuff yet (only a couple of reds)
If we're talking about good boot fitters then I have to give a shout out to ProFeet in London. The best money Ive ever spent for skiing! I was in a world of pain before giving them a visit.
Also I didn't notice the 55 flex. That does sound quite soft, it depends what type of skiing you do though.
in terms of my level i can pretty much ski parralel on blues but not tried much steeper stuff yet (only a couple of reds)
That flex should be fine for you then until you progress more and want someting stiffer.
Those are categorised 'advanced' skier boots. How good are you after two trips?
An advanced boot with 55 flex 😆 ,
That is naff of them to say that lol...
hummmmm i no nothing of flex, looks like i might not have done as well as id hoped 🙁
I dont have the funds to do a proper fitting/ non- budget boots
In terms of type of skiing a tend to approach each hol as an opportunity to push myself and learn and concentrate on improving. I want to be able to progress to alot of reds this hol and try and start
carving
I dont have the funds to do a proper fitting/ non- budget boots
What's your budget?
Given that you say; [i]" I want to be able to progress to alot of reds this hol and try and start carving"[/i]
I'd suggest you look at getting some proper boots. £2-300 should cover it. My Salomon Impact 120CS (heat moulded, custom footbeds) would retail at about £350 or so. Now, you may not need to spend that much, for example, S&R have a Salomon Quest Access 80 for £165 (before footbeds) that looks awesome as a developer boot.
Best advice? Go to a proper shop and get sorted! Suggestions are, Snow and Rock, Solutions 4 Feet, Profeet, Edge and Wax, Bartletts (And there may well be more...!)
*Edit - I've used Salomon as a brand here as you had a pair and said they were comfy. They also fit my feet perfectly. However, a trip to a proper boot fitter may well throw up another brand that is better for you. If it is a better fit, buy it! Ignore brand, ignore colour.
Ah! Just had a look at the Salomon website too and didn't know they were the basic model. Depends how long you want them to last but I would think after another couple of weeks you'll be needing/wanting something a lot stiffer.
Having said that, I have a mate who has skied for years and has been very happy on a similar boot but he is very light and not a 'hard' skier.
Yeah I'd suggest going to a proper boot fitters and see what they say about your boots. If you dopn't have any comfort issues then count yourself lucky and maybe stick with the boots you have.
But I would definately recommend a foot bed anyway.
Are you sure you can't change the flex on your boots at all?
A good boot is a boot that fits you well, thats the most important thing. A boot that has an amazing fit on one person might be swimming around another persons foot.
Cheers guys i think i might see if i can return them and see if i can either budget for something 'proper' (high street ken snow and rock is just down the road from work)
or maybe just rent for another trip 🙁
Week booked for Meribel at start of March. Really looking forward to it and looking forward to taking my 18mth old son sledging properly again. He loved it last year. Boarding this year but may have to break out the planks in a couple of years when he starts to learn as much easier to get about on them.
One for the boarders
[img][url= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3452/3389956573_ba6127ff26.jp g" target="_blank">
Titusrider, you have teh emailz.
😉
Chetler. Auclair. Japan. PowderPron!
And in other news, looks like snow at the end of the week in Serre Che. 🙂