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OK, let's all pretend that we will manage to get skiing in 2022.
I want to treat myself to some nice salopettes this year. Can anyone recommend any?
I also need some new low-light goggles, any suggestions?
Cheers,
Mick
@Mick have a look on SportPursuit They have a good range of trews and googles are decent prices.
Tkmaxx is also worth a look. Decathlon for the good VFM but less expensive end of things.
Re low light goggles, I'm a big fan of Smith ChromaPop.
I just got some Dare2B ski troursers cheap in the regatta offer that was on here last week. They seem ok on delivery, not used in anger yet though obviously
For Smith Chromapops, check over on snowheads where someone has a few for sale
The season started at my local resort in the Austrian Alps this weekend. I had a lot of fun in the powder. I have a season ticket for Carinthia and had to prove I had been vaccinated but it was quite easy at this site:
https://safe2ski.services.skidata.com/portal/
Masks have to be worn on all lifts. I ended up keeping mine on down the slopes too due to interaction difficulties with my normal mouth and nose covering. As it was still snowing the mask quickly stopped functioning because airflow was restricted by the moisture. I need to figure out a good system to prevent this.
As it was still snowing the mask quickly stopped functioning because airflow was restricted by the moisture. I need to figure out a good system to prevent this.
I was thingking about his recently and wondered about an 80's style BMX clip on for goggles
I need to figure out a good system to prevent this.
I've been thinking about this too. It's quite usually for my beard to become a sheet of ice, so I'm expecting the mask to do the same. Maybe wear a buff over the mask and shake the ice off it? A full vizor, not just over the eyes, might work well (edit, thinking about that, it won't as the damp air will still go onto the mask and freeze).
Already had a couple of days splitting up Weardale and Teesdale, decent conditions and filled gulleys / depressions for the better runs.
Will concentrate on local and Scotland rather than plan anything for this season.
Been using Sungod goggles the last few years and can't complain. Very customisable.
Ok - Scottish resorts - Someone talk to me and tell me whats good and bad.
I'm down by Peterborough so roughly 7hrs drive from Glenshee, and work (and family) are flexible enough that I could take a few days midweek and get some riding in this winter.
Wheres good to look? Any pointers apart from going where the snow is best? I've never been up there before, but anything has to be better than nothing right?
Given the mess that euro travel is in, I reckon this might be my only shot apart from the domes for this season.
I'm a fan of the picture ones I got last year, comfy, the waist band works well with the same brand jacket. Not too hot importantly either as I run warm (ok, I'm chubby). Not cheap, but they should last and Picture at least sell themselves as vaguely ethical/sustainable.
As for goggles I have some Yellow persimmon lenses for oakley goggles and they work well in flat light, but there is a point at which this fades and everything goes very flat, but only when it's really flat dim light.
@bombjack it really is a case of going where the snow is, but if you base yourself central, like Pitlochry, all resorts are accessible for the day.
Glenshee - 1hr
Cairngorm - 1 hr
Glencoe - 2 hrs ish
Fort William - 1hr 40
Lecht - 2 hrs ish
But, if you want to hedge your bets, Glenshee is Scotland's 3 valleys and so has more options if the weather isn't great.
In Scotland I ski at Glenshee and Cairngorm - I much prefer Glenshee.
I've skiied all 5. All are fine on their day, though the Lecht is the smallest and not as varied as the others, and Cairngorm always suffered from queues even before the funicular stopped running.
My personal favourite is Glencoe - staying in Fort William mean you can get there in about 45 minutes, or get up to Nevis Range in about 20 minutes. Ballachulish or Glencoe village is small but nore central
Cheers @oldtennisshoes - I'd kind of earmarked Pitlochry or Perth as a possible base, with Glenshee being the closest of the resorts if conditions allow. I reckon a stop at Tebay then finish off with a 2nd leg up to the resort would be possible over night (2 X 3hr legs). Hell, I'd even crash in the car if needed to break the drive up.
I take it wind is the biggest limiting factor rather than snow line?
I take it wind is the biggest limiting factor rather than snow line?
It certainly plays a part. Another frustration can be if there's been a dump and it takes a wee while for the cooncil to clear the road, so the snow gates can stay closed late into the morning, when conditions are amazeballs.
Like OTS I'd prefer Glenshee over the others.
Never skied at the Lecht but have driven through a couple of times and it doesn't look great.
Learned to ski at Cairngorm 30+ years ago, last time I skied there (2017) the funicular was working and it was alright.
Glencoe been a couple of times and have never actually seen what it's like due to low cloud and snow.
Nevis range is good but nowhere near as much piste as Glenshee.
There are a couple of Travelodges in Perth for comfortable jail cell style accommodation.
That'd be where I'd base myself.
If you do come up DM me as I have a few days leave left to take, luckily my boss is a skier and is very understanding!
Best Scottish destination varies hugely from day to day and also of course, on your expectations/skill level. They're all tough in bad weather, but that's what makes Scottish skiers & boarders so adaptable, able to extract maximum enjoyment from minimal conditions overseas.
Beginners and early intermediates are best at the Lecht, lots of short, mellow runs and very few rocks.
Mile munchers: Glenshee. Also has some surprisingly steep terrain on the fringes.
Touring, you're well served at Glenshee as well as Cairngorm. In good conditions, long runs out to the roads well to north and south of Glenshee can be tremendous fun, especially if taken via a nearby peak as well. Cairngorm has excellent backcountry and serious steeps as well as more mellow stuff.
I only tour at Cairngorm these days, like many others now I refuse to give them my ££s in protest at years of utter incompetence at management level.
Nevis in good snow and visibility is the best site for strong skiers and off-pisters looking for a wild feeling but close to lifts. Views are spectacular and the back corries are simply epic on the right day. Nevis has arguably the greatest vertical from summit to the top gondola station. And you get to have a wee look at the MTB tracks on your access lift too. Piste patrol actively encourage conversations on snow conditions and safety over in the back bowls, rather than being aloof.
Glencoe is working on new intermediate terrain this winter with a new chair lift- not heard if it's definitely ready yet though. The Mighty Coe has it's diehard fans, yet is also surprisingly good for beginners too. Again, a spectacular setting on a clear day and if you've the guts, the Flypaper is the steepest in bounds 'piste' in Europe. Coe also argues that it has that greatest vertical prize in Scotland, although in reality skiing to the base station, on which the claim is based, doesn't happen every winter.
It's dumping again at the moment, the snow gates are shut tonight again and reports from the ski tourers this week have already been of excellent early season cover at Glenshee, Lecht & Cairngorm. The West resorts usually take longer to fill in their rougher, rockier terrain. There have also been a couple of early avalanches in the off-piste, one collecting a climber along the way, so as always in Scotland, extra care is required when travelling in the backcountry.
I've got to say, I don't buy this Perth central base gubbins. Yep, it's good for Glenshee and in theory OK for CG. But as outlined above years of mismanaged at CG means that no right minded person would go there unless they had no choice or were local ( in which case they wouldn't be staying in perth)
It's over 2 hours from Perth to Nevis or the Mighty One,which is a helluva long time to spend driving twice a day in a ski holiday.
Anyway, my viewpoint:
Lecht. Really well managed resort which tries really hard to maximise what they can get from a pretty small, low, limited resort. I've only ridden there once.
Glenshee: huge mileage and some great off piste to swallow the huge crowds.
Cairngorm: if someone would open a crowdfunding to do a private prosecution against the previous management I would gladly contribute. The last 20 years have been a shocking illustration of " a compromise is a situation that suits precisely nobody" mantra
Nevis: if the back corries are open and in condition then it's utterly mind bendingly good.
Glencoe: if you can find one of those rare days with good conditions and few people then it is amazing. I was lucky enough to be one of the 100 or so people vancamped in the carpark a few years back. A few of the lifties managed to get in early Saturday morning and then some tumschies blocked the access road by getting stuck in the snow. They had just enough staff to open the access chair and not much else.
For the lucky few lapping the dark side repeatedly and skiing down the midway waterfall it was the best ski day of their lives. For the hundreds of skiers and boarders stuck on the access road and A82 it was sheer torture.
I reckon 5 of my 20 best ever ski days were in Scotland.
I'm absolutely sure that 30 of my worst 30 ski days were in Scotland. But still I go.
France have closed borders to non essential travel now plus min 48hrs quarentine, so that looks to have well and truly kyboshed things for christmas and January trips at the very least :-<
Yep gutted trip to avoriaz is off😪
Yup it's looking a tad grim.
Avoriaz here too at half term ☹️
Should get full refund but not until 2 weeks pre departure if advice doesn’t change…
I've got a few contacts pulled departures forward and going tonight/tomorrow. The buried part of this is that it's to buy time to get more Boosters out so HOPEFULLY its temp for 2-3 weeks. Bit of a melter for places like Val, Meribel etc that have large British traffic, decimates businesses with no support, much like our hospitality sector here.
Hadn't booked anything for half term, but def wanted to go.
Hoping* the petri dish that is the UK will bear out that it's not that bad and things open up again.
* wishing?
We've pulled ours forward and are now leaving tomorrow at 3:30pm. Spoke to the resort today and it sounds like they are having a really tough time, it seemed to be fairly easy to get an apartment on the slopes for the Christmas week. The big deal is the additional cost to families with a couple of kids as they will need to be tested everyday which will cost about £500. Will also need to get children tested on the way down at a local chemist so they can ski on the first day. Good luck everyone
My desire to ski is less than my desire to be a part of the spreading problem. I was hoping late January would pan out, that looks unlikely so I'm hopeful that maybe March will be viable, either way a very late booking is the most likely option.
I miss the mountains, I miss the snow, I miss skis and I miss Tartiflette (this is a dish that only exists in the mountains for me, were it to exist at home I'd never get out of the ChubClub threads).
Good luck to anyone travelling, hope it goes well.
Cheesed off hotel owners and resort staff on TF1 this evening. Whether closing the border will slow Omicron spread enough to save the February holidays for the French I have no idea.
Great day out on rando skis today; sun, great snow and not a breath of wind. Still in a T-shirt at over 2500m.
Scuppered! We were going out on 26th for LaTania. All the COVID pass, tests and admin was only just about manageable. So disappointed. I don’t even trust Sturgeon enough to contemplate going to Scotland. Fingers crossed things ease up early enough for some of the livelihoods that rely on tourists.
Does anyone know what the score is with ski areas that cross borders?
Specifically if you are staying in La Thuile, Italy can you ski over into La Rosiere, France?
Thanks all.
I've seen mention over on snowheads that the link between la thuile and la rosiere is open and not policed
Ditto in PdS, have friends who are skiing backwards and forwards.
What do we think the chances of France re-opening before the end of Jan? I see that they've just tightened restrictions domestically.
We are booked to France in mid January by Ski Train and consider the trip unlikely to go ahead.
We can cancel up to 15 days before so we are doing that now.
Mid January I consider will not happen. End of January I consider unlikely, but who really knows.
Maybe Edukator will be kind and able to advise the word on the streets of France.
Germany is debating a triage law today and here in France ICU units are approaching capacity limits. There's a 'plan blanc' in our local hospital and many others.
The pressure on hospitals is still increasing with no sign of let up. It will take several weeks of decling case numbers to improve the situation in hospitals.
All that says no relaxing of measures for a month apart from the isolation time if the scientists agree on it.
I can't see any change in policy on UK visitors in January. As I alluded above saving the French February ski holidays will be a priority not opening up to non-EU guests.
Your best indicator is ICU capacity, follow that. Overloaded to the point of triage for well over month on current numbers. ☹️
Sounds like February Ski train is going to be a non-starter 🙁
Let’s hope it gets snowy in Scotland (assuming that’s open in Feb!).
Anybody know if you can block book a ski dome :(…
We strongly prefer train to flying so are trying to move our booking to March 22, February seems too uncertain.
Not much snow in Scotland right now, hopefully that will change in 22. We should be open for visitors in February unless something dramatic changes.
Last winter was not good with plenty of snow but also plenty of travel restrictions.
Thanks @Edukator. easyJet are still assuming we're flying on the 22nd but assume that stance will change at some point.
We’re driving over to Austria tomorrow via Hull/Rotterdam. Spring conditions over there right now but the pistes are good apparently.
We’re boosted and have done a PCR today, fingers crossed the results get back to us clear before the ferry tomorrow!
Have been doing alot of snowboarding here in Sweden. A couple of splitboarding trips as well, but the days are short.
Had a cracking day yesterday. 20cm new snow so got the swallow tail board out. So much fun and christ alive did I sleep well that night. Would post pics but dont want to piss people off who cant make their trips.
Anyhow, less snow now and looking cold tomorrow, down to minus 20. Might stay home and iceskate
Wäre boosted and have done a PCR today, fingers crossed the results get back to us clear before the ferry tomorrow!
We were in Zillertal just before Xmas. There was loads of snow and still a bit at the bottom of The Valley and the pistes were practically clear. Just bare in mind you need FFP2 masks everywhere in Austria also on the ski lifts. I attached mine to the helmet which was more comfortable than around the ears. Take your mobile with you at all times as all restaurants want to see your vaccination and you need to sign in on a tracing app when you sit at a table.
Cheers fella.
Picked up 30 FFP2 masks from Screwfix the other day.
There’s 95% piste coverage with snow cannons in the Hochkoenig area so the pistes are always good. Fingers crossed we’ll get a dump soon to get some off piste in.
I'm almost ready to cancel holiday this year and buy splitboarding gear instead. I've been hovering over the buy button for a while. Anyone got experience of gear? Thinking Jones Frontier, Union binding and g3 skins.
@howsyourdad1
Please post up some pics, will def be jealous but not pissed off.
It will however start me wondering about trying to get a transfer to gothenburg again with work
@colp. Then happy travels. Just one last thing. Prepare for a long wait at the border as they are doing spot checks and I would imagine with British plates you’ll almost certainly get pulled over.