Just taken my boots off after 6 days in the 3 Valleys. Looks like this will be an awesome season. Brilliant week with great conditions. Three days of fresh powder and cold enough for conditions to remain good on sunny days. Not too many lifts open this week, but still only queued once all week. Great OP all sides of Tourgnette, Suisse, La Tania bowl and three great OP runs off cretes towards st martin de belleville this morning.
Some of the best skiing for many seasons!!
Happy skiing to rest of STW world!!
Hired K2 AMP Rictors - superb in all conditions
GoPro Hero 2 people
What settings do you use when skiing/boarding with helmet and chest mounts?
Not really used mine yet for boarding - don't think chest mount would work very well. Thinking if getting one of those telescopic poles like in the video GrahamS posted.
THM - sounds ace. I'm praying (even though I'm not religious 🙂 ) for some nice pow on our trip.
Cheers Grum, yes I hope the snow conditions continue as this could be a great season. Have you decided where you are going yet?
Anyone going to meribel, I can recommend slidecandy for equipment hire. They deliver to chalet, great kit and service (so far). Plus good pricing vs local shops.
Lots of OP powder skiing today leading up to the end of the world. Just in case!!!!
K2 AMP Rictors - superb in all conditions
Not gonna disagree there 🙂
Anyone know any sites where you can stream ski movies?
K2 AMP Rictors - superb in all conditionsNot gonna disagree there
But....the graphics!
[img] 
[/img]
Gopping!
Great all rounder, mind you!
Just checked out passes at Chamonix
£250 😮 WTF ❓
I may be out 😐
Cheers Grum, yes I hope the snow conditions continue as this could be a great season. Have you decided where you are going yet?
Yup - went for Mayrhofen. It's GrahamS' fault if it's rubbish! I've never had a bad time on a ski/snowboard holiday though.
cynic-al - £175 in Mayrhofen for the Zillertal SuperSkiPass. 😀
Chamonix is ace though.
Just checked out passes at Chamonix£250 WTF
I may be out
if you want to do cham on the cheap. check out ucpa
My Dolomiti Superski pass comes in a smidge below €300 this yr. Would be €301, but the first day of 8 is still low season. Last yr was about €245, for the same week.
**** knows what's made the price go up so much.
OH and yeah the Rictor's are a bit "colourful", but if you're looking down at your feet/skis when skiing, then you're doing it all wrong 😉
OH and yeah the Rictor's are a bit "colourful", but if you're looking down at your feet/skis when skiing, then you're doing it all wrong
True, but then you need some pimp-stylings, surely!
Such as;
[img] 
[/img]
or
[img] 
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Ye I'm not keen on the graphics on K2 skis. I thought the graphics on the Obsethed skis last season were pretty sick, not really keen on any of the graphics this year!
Graphics don't seem so bad when you are wearing them!!!
Any space on any January trips departing the North between the 5th and 13th of Jan? My usual suspects have left me in the lurch 🙁
Slightly off topic from the current convos, but why can I not find any decent ski mags over here. I think Powder and Free skier are the best ones, but all I can seem to find here is that Daily mail ski and snowboard mag. Tempted to subscribe.
Sainte Foy 6-day pass = 149€....
Sainte Foy season pass if you're a bona-fide local = 90€... 😈
cynical al, tell meabout it. i just booked mine and my daughters passes. but it is a holiday 😀
Cham? Full of Russians, innit? 😉 Always drives the prices up.
i love it there
Saw a nice little video today, it was filmed around Avoriaz. I would love to be half as good as these guys.
http://www.zapiks.fr/avoriaz-session-legendaire.html
If anyone is heading out this week have a great time.
I'll be out following Andy's advice from Sunday onwards, can't wait. 😀
Have a good Christmas all.
@hammerite - enjoy the dollies. Hope your lift ticket is significantly cheaper than mine.
t minus 41 days and counting....
Graphics don't seem so bad when you are wearing them!!!
No-one looks cool on skis anyway (apart from telemarkers 😉 )
Thanks Andy. So far Gatwick has surpassed itself, let's hope my bag turns up at the other end this time so I don't have to beg steal and borrow kit.
erk yeah last 2 bashes I've been on have had people begging for ski gear. Only took until Wednesday for bags to arrive.
Just checked out passes at Chamonix£250 WTF
I may be out
Isn't that for 6 day Mont Blanc Unlimited? That includes Aiguille du midi Courmayeur & Verbier, so it does actually represent pretty good value if you intend to make the most of it I reckon. Alternatively just buy a day pass or 1/2 day for or the Chamonix area you want to go to.
Compared to some North America resorts, the Chamonix MB Unlimited is quite reasonable
Yup - went for Mayrhofen. It's GrahamS' fault if it's rubbish! I've never had a bad time on a ski/snowboard holiday though.
Eeek! Nah you'll love it. They are well set up for boarding there and the Après is great.
If anyone is interested I just finalised my booking for Slovakia this year.
End of Feb, 7 nights in Chalet, flights, (baggage, ski carriage) and transfer: £454 😀
End of Feb, 7 nights in Chalet, flights, (baggage, ski carriage) and transfer: £454
Tidy! Lifty cost?
5 day pass €153, 7 day pass €201 - not amazingly cheap, but somewhat offset by the fact that a slopeside draught beer is €1 and a 3-course lunch on the slope is €5.
Left home at 5am still not there. No flights landing at Innsbruck today due to fog, currently sat in a service station car park an hour outside Innsbruck before we head onwards (waiting for other buses with people in shipped from various German airports).
Still lobbing it down with snow here at the moment.
Hammerite - OUCH! That's a long one!
Here's hoping all that turbo-puke makes up for it with some cracking freshness for you!
Pics please! After all, this thread is my vicarious ski trip this year!
erk. be another 1-2 hours on the road too (not sure which service station you refer to). Hope there's no problem with the Brenner and Campolongo pass (nice hairpins going up that one 🙂 )
But it'll be worth it 🙂
Back in wet and miserable Blighty now! Always nice to be home safely but such a shame after current great conditions in France. Last guys at the top of Saluire last night in the semi dark and the moon and a great final blast down - seems an age ago now 🙁
Another recommendation for Slide Candy for anyone in the 3V - great ski hire with delivery to your door. Super kit, very helpful team in Uk and in the resort and good value.
Lift passes are getting very expensive now, but skiing has long stopped being a value holiday IMO!!!
Anyone know if the ski companies discount holidays at a set time, or is it fairly random depending on different factors?
I seem to remember that Crystal used to do it 28 days before departure but any recommendations/advice welcome as I'm going off the lure of a 'cheapie' in Bulgaria.
Cheers
Woody, it varies according to how the season is going. With the start there's been, I doubt there's going to be much in the way of bargains for a good few weeks, though!
Both Neilson and Crystal sometimes offer some great last minute bargains if you're willing to risk it.
Boo hiss. My idiotic accident prone mate has just buggered his leg in Japan and looks like he's now coming home. Got 2 weeks leave booked in march with nowhere to go now.
Definitely less bargains around this year than last. We got half board at New Year in St Johann last year for under £300 - nowt even close to that this year that I could find.
I've been checking Crystal Ski quite a bit and 28 days seems about right, but then they do apply small further discounts in the last week or two.
Got here just after midnight in the end.
Great first day, great second day. Pretty warm yesterday (at 5pm it was still +2c), even warmer today - but has cooled quite a bit this evening. My clean on today base layer smelt like a pair of 2 season old shin pads (TMI)! I sweat so much. Some of the runs were starting to get a bit cut up but still pretty good considering how warm it was.
Looking forward to the next few days as it's due to be cool (and snow overnight tomorrow) so should just get better.
Off to the Hidden Valley tomorrow.
Flaky wifi signal at chalet so will post a pic when it gets better, although we're just cruisy piste skiers so no exciting epic gnarliness going on!
Have a good Christmas all btw!
My clean on today base layer smelt
Merino FTnon-stinkyW!
Oh, and a very happy Christmas to [b]all [/b]of you on this thread! Yes, even the telemarkers! 😉
My finest Odlo top seems to be made with the same stuff helly thermals were made out of in the 80s.
Well past midnight and the village sleigh driver seems to be milking it for all he can, must've been past the chalet 10 times in last 90 mins! As a result I'm still awake and I have a photo uploaded [img] 
[/img] think this the run down from Passo Campolongo to Corvara.
Odlo? Mine isn't as stinky as other synthetics, not by a long way. Not as good as Helly Warm in the cold, however, but way better at regulating body temps in warmer weather skiing.
Now then, anyone get anything ski related under the tree? I didn't. 🙁
Never understood people's problems with HH. I wouldnt wear most tech tops more than a day, but no problems with HH.
+1 for HH Warm. Too hot for most things but brilliant for skiing at this time year and good for 2-3 days.
Nothing under the tree, so I just treated myself to a helmet. Only three and a half weeks to go now!
Old Skool Helly was stinkier than a Brussel sprout fart! (Keeping it seasonal!)
Wallop - I hate you. 😉
