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Found this earlier, looking forward to the next couple of years...
This post is just cos I'm bored , killing time on the cold hard floor of Geneva airport.
Noon flight delayed 2 hours, 90 mins circling above Geneva because it closed while we were in the air, then redirected to Basal (top of switzerland, Geneva is in the south), waiting in plane at airport 90 mins, off, waiting for bags for hour, then jumped on a bus to Geneva airport 3-4 hts awayI justmissed the Geneva airport info desk staying open, about 00:30. Ie, don't now where to get a hotel. Heard a fella on the phone saying there wereno available rooms anyway. Queue for taxi was immense, airport is pepper mental witheveryone missing flights/transfers to resort. No minibuses going my way tonight. I've found a socket to charge the phone and am hunkering down for the night, like loads of people. There is a train to Tignes in the morning 10:00. Nighty night
Ps, geneva and surrounding airports are likely to be busy tomorrow
At Vancouver airport. Flight delayed 20 min. That's not the bit that bothers me. It's the weather forecast for heathrow tomorrow. Looks like a diversion is on the cards. Bollox.
I went skiing today in Hampshire
We had enough snow on friday to cover the ground up to 3 or 4" deep.
Got kitted up and walked up Butser hill , its around 800ft asl.
There were hundreds of kids sledging and a few skiers and boarders . I did 5 runs down , but it took alot of walking for a 2 minute run down.
Still , all good practise and very good exercise .I was proper knackered by the end but really enjoyed it
Off the 3V next sat and the snow there is a little deeper
Ouch Jamie. Hope you're on the move now. Hope everyone else has made it out ok too.
Well if you find yourself North East way and want to take a look at one then drop me an email. I'd be happy for you to take it away for a while (off-season!) to try it in a dome or whatever.
Cheers that's very good of you. Mebbe we should try and hook up at a snowdome somewhere and we can try some swapsies.
This looks a pretty killer deal. Almost tempted to send the one I just ordered back and get it instead as I liked my mate's and the mange-traction seems to really work.
http://www.surfdome.com/gnu_snowboards_-_gnu_danny_kass_c2btx_snowboard_-_158cm-87916
Sorry to hear of people's transport woes - hope it all gets sorted.
Elan skis for sale on the website that shouldn't be mentioned.....
santa cruz snowboards dirt cheap as well.
My girlfriend tried on these Solomen Quest 80 Ski boots from Snow & Rock.
[url] http://www.snowandrock.com/salomon-quest-80-woma n's/ski-boots/ski-snowboard-outdoor-sports/fcp-product/29707[/url]
She was in two minds whether she should buy them or not. She normally just hires them.
Yesterday I saw pretty much [url= http://www.decathlon.co.uk/quest-access-cruise-womens-ski-boots-id_8225424.html#avantages ]the same boots in Decathlon[/url] for £129.99 special offer.
The only difference is the Snow & Rock boots are 'energyzer 80' and the Decathlon boots are 'energyzer 60'.
I bought them anyway as there were only one pair left in her size. So it's either a nice surprise or a big fat mistake. I'm a boarder so I don't have much knowledge on ski boots.
Good deal? or different boots entirely?
The 80 will be a slightly stiffer boot. How much does your gf weigh, if that's not too rude a question! Also, does she like a stiff one? Boot, that is?
The other major advantage will be that S&R would fit them properly. As in [b]properly[/b] so that they are comfortable. They'll be moulded to her foot shape and skiing position, and if they're anything like my Salomons, they'll be super comfy! From what I have seen, Decathlon won't offer that level of fitting, but I may be wrong.
As you've already bought them, my best advice is to get her to try them on as a starter, as they may be totally the wrong shape for her foot. Then, if they feel OK (at least!) get to a decent ski shop for a fitting. Otherwise she'll hate you. FACT.
😉
Ha! Thanks for the heads up.
At a guess she's about 65kg.
I will get her to try them on later.
[url= http://www.skiequipmentuk.co.uk/services/ ]Just looking at this place for the fitting[/url]
Back from my Stag Do in Switzerland. An incredible 5 days with waist deep powder, blue bird skies, an immense day watch the Lauberhorn Downhill from the finish grandstand (including chanting and chatting with Ed Leigh and Graham Bell and running around the media and athlete area in a Gorilla suit) and more après ski than you can contemplate in only 5 days!
Will update with some pics and vids later!
Also well done CK - glad you took up a few of the suggestions and hopefully made the trip all that more special! Sounds like you have a great excuse to keep going back there!
Might be old news for a lot of people, but four people killed in an avalanche near Ben Nevis. Thoughts go out to friends and family.
[url= http://www.****/news/article-2265049/Bidean-Nam-Bian-Four-climbers-dead-seriously-hurt-avalanche-Scottish-Highlands.html ]Here[/url]
Yep, saw that earlier, Michael. Sad news.
Chuck, you're a brave man buying ski boots without even a shell-check, I have to say! Fingers crossed you haven't wasted your money...! Don't know those fitters, but looks pretty comprehensive.
(Bear in mind, they may be a little like your LBS if you were to stroll in with parts bought online/elsewhere and ask them to fit and fettle them for you)
Proper Winter weather at the moment. After helping a guy trying to find a waterski in the powder (well that's what the other one looked like) and failing it occurred to me that a RECCO pastille on each ski might be a good idea if you don't use leashes.
Some shoes for the lady-boarder in your life;
[img] 
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And, in case you need a little runaround to get you to the slopes;
[img] 
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WANT!
I have a two long pieces of red ribbon I tie on each binding and then shove the rest down my ski boots. I've never had a ski come off and get buried out of visibility, but when it does happen! 🙂
Good idea! In the bad old days before ARVAs trailing a piece of rope was common to help with avalanche search.
Just been hitting up some fresh pow tree runs in Ogden, W Yorkshire, lit by my mate's DX light! There's a floodlit piste though with a tiny kicker, and a few off piste options - great snow. Short runs with a rope tow but awesome fun - would have enjoyed that anywhere. Got some pics I will post soon.
Yorkshire?
T'Pow?
[quote=grum ]Just been hitting up some fresh pow tree runs in Ogden, W Yorkshire, lit by my mate's DX light! There's a floodlit piste though with a tiny kicker, and a few off piste options - great snow. Short runs with a rope tow but awesome fun - would have enjoyed that anywhere. Got some pics I will post soon.
Been there. cracking little place. He's a quick video of me hitting the cliff drop
[url= http://www.snowmediazone.com/the_zone/images/video.gi f" target="_blank">http://www.snowmediazone.com/the_zone/images/video.gi f"/> [/img][/url]
(edit, can't embed it till I upload it to youtube - 2 ticks)
edit 2 - embedded
😀
Full trip report available on snowheads - IU'll post it up later
Edit 3 - trip report is here:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1416661
I'm not going to post on the other thread having already had ding-dongs on public school threads with one who has suffered a loss but this is worth repeating:
Following on from Mugsy's advice the thing that would have saved some local victims (apart from not skiing the wrong slope at the wrong time) would have been [b]separating for avalanche-prone slopes. Stop at a safe place, one skis to the next safe place then the others follow one by one[/b]. And if you set off an avalanche, ski down the debris rather than skiing into more fresh and setting off another avalanche.
it occurred to me that a RECCO pastille on each ski might be a good idea
Isn't the actual RECCO locator pretty big though?
(okay maybe not as big as the original 1970s system but still fairly hefty).
I've never seen anyone carry one for personal use.
(Got RECCOs built into my snowboard boots - which seems sensible - but I've always understood they are "corpse recovery" rather than "rescue" devices).
There's a RECCO at the lift arrival not far from where the ski was lost, I know a couple of pisteurs and I'm sure they'd be happy to find a lost ski at the end of the day once the lifts closed as a training exercise (but far from impressed if you'd actually got RECCO pastille on your skis).
That's one of the original RECCO units in the pic, they look like a laptop/handbag these days. They're far from corpse recovery and have the advantage of going straight to the victim rather than a confusing trip round lines like a magnetic field for the ARVA. The advice now is in a jacket rather than on ski boots as boots get ripped off more than jackets in avalanches. [b]In fact my idea (originally tongue in cheek)is a lousy one as if ever you are caught in an avalanche they might waste time digging your skis out rather than you.[/b]
nbt, UR AL OF TEH SIK RADNEZZ! 🙂
BOOOM gnarly
Ouch at the thought of boots being ripped off.
Probably not such a good idea to have Recco on skis/board. I think I'd prefer any such device to stay on me if in an avalanche. More chance of people searching for and finding people rather than skis in random positions elsewhere.
The boots getting ripped off mainly concerns ski mountaineers who go up boots open.
(I've recently taken the RECCO pastille out of my boots and carry one in an inside pocket. If you only ski using lifts the obvious place is with your ski pass assuming it's one of the electronic ones you don't need to take out).
they look like a laptop/handbag these days
Aye, that's just the intro to the video - they show you the modern unit. MUCH neater. Laptop/handbag as you say, but still a lot bigger than say a BCA Tracker transceiver.
[img] 
[/img]
(I understand the new Tracker3 is even smaller, about the size of a smartphone).
Fair enough if you know friendly pisteurs who have access to them though.
have the advantage of going straight to the victim rather than a confusing trip round lines like a magnetic field for the ARVA
But presumably the disadvantage that you get multiple signals coming from all of the other rescuers and yourself, which you can't switch off and have to ignore.
They try to get the RECCO and dog handler onto the avalanche first and mark the sites of interest. Then anyone with an ARVA and when all the signals and the points the dog have indicated are being dealt with the probe lines start.
In a recent fatal in my local resort the victim didn't have either a RECCO or ARVA, the points the dog spotted were negative and it was the probe line that found the victim, but too late.
They try to get the RECCO and dog handler onto the avalanche first
Interesting - makes sense Edukator.
Guess it just depends if the resort buys into the RECCO system or not. I suppose most major resorts do these days.
the probe line that found the victim, but too late.
🙁
I know my local resort and rescue teams are equipped with RECCO and did some Googling to find out what the coverage is. The verdict is [url= http://www.kairn.com/news.html?ident=74071 ]very good[/url] and the odds of the rescue team trying to find you using RECCO very high. Every bit as worth while having as an ARVA IMO and so cheap you can carry a couple so there's always one facing up.
[url= http://recco.com/resorts-operations/all-recco-resorts ]RECCO resorts[/url]
Every bit as worth while having as an ARVA IMO and so cheap you can carry a couple so there's always one facing up.
Absolutely - everything helps.
Can you buy the RECCO pastilles on their own? I've only ever seen them embedded into kit. I have one in each boot, but having one near the top of my body would make sense.
Nice write-up nbt - and sick cliff drop, you totally shralped all of the available gnar.
Here's a pic of me from last night failing to do a grab at the UK's southern-most real snow ski centre. 🙂
[img] 
[/img]
My [url= http://www.skis-rando-boutique.com/boutique/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=319_74_275&products_id=2250&zenid=4f26743064f01c7459fe36897d63a434 ]local shop[/url] sells them for 27e a pair. Not the cheapest but I'm not doing too well with Google as I can't think of the English for "pastille".
they're normally called recco reflectors in uk literature
edit:
http://www.snowsafe.co.uk/reccos.php
We no longer sell Reccos as stand alone products as they have stopped distributing them : they are now only sold as part of a ski jacket , ski boots or backpacks
My legs hurt. So, so much.
Wonder why they stopped selling them separately? Tempted to get some from Edukator's link.
Hey grum that's wicked.
I've been over some kickers there and lived to tell the tale, although I'm definitely a skis on the ground snow bunny.
Im off on Sat and there is more snow forcast for Sat and Sun . Only a few cm's but I have found Snowforcast to be rather conservative.
Been snowing darn sarf again today but its too warm too settle , although it feels freezing with the ENE wind.
Many moons ago, when I worked for a snowsports retailer, we had buckets of Recco reflectors that would be stuck onto the backs of ski boots. Many of them found other homes inside various pockets in the staff's winter clothing.
27 yoyos a pair,huh? 😕
Here's a pic of me from last night failing to do a grab at the UK's southern-most real snow ski centre.
Phatt AIR BRAW! RESPEK!
wallop - Member
My legs hurt. So, so much.
I think I hate you....! 🙂 POIDH.
I shall take the camera out tomorrow. Had a knackering day today. Back to the hotel for drinks, 3 x vin chaud, un verre du vin, shower, dinner, one more glass of wine and then in bed by 8pm! That's 7pm UK time! 😆
I'm so rock n roll.
Yeah had a look for RECCO reflectors on their own - they don't seem to be generally available (in the UK at least) - some people suggested this was to stop them being put in inappropriate places (e.g. outside of a helmet) where they could get separated and lead to false signals in a burial.
Makes sense.
Other less charitable people suggested it was because RECCO had exclusive deals with clothing and gear manufacturers. 😕
Anyway, in my searches I found plenty threads referring to them as [url= http://unofficialnetworks.com/recco-rebuttal-gear-review-posted-unofficial-networks-26420/ ]"dead body finders"[/url] or as one wag put it: [url= http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/179820-Another-Live-Recovery-With-RECCO?p=2670652#post2670652 ]"RECCO: Recovers Extremely Cold Corpses, Occasionally"[/url].
But these were generally all about four or five years old.
If RECCO are now generally much better thought of, as Edukator suggests, then hopefully this is down to improvements in the technology, the search techniques, training, and availability of equipment - rather than just improvements in marketing budget! 😀
27 yoyos a pair,huh?
Seems a lot for a strip of metal and a sticky plastic bubble.
[img] 
[/img]
Here's a pic of me from last night failing to do a grab at the UK's southern-most real snow ski centre.
Closer to a grab than I usually get! And more stylish too. Nice.
Well thats skiing done for this year, looking forward to more snow in the UK then its back on .