[Closed] The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2012-2013 season

I think the Brit drinking is quite tame compared with some nationalities.

My drinking was limited in Serre Che the other week. Nothing at lunch, a vin chaud or two après, then a couple of glasses of wine with dinner and bed by 8 or 9!!!

Off to Kreischberg with the lads in a couple of weeks though, so a different story will be told. Austrian apres is sooooooo much more fun! I am token girl and usually manage to keep up, but hopefully the fact that most of the boys are now dads will slow them down a bit.

Mugsy - the lit I worked with in Lyon used to down a bottle of wine each for lunch, but then that was maybe to numb the effects of having to work for who we did!

Ah but vin with a meal isn't drinking.. it's merely part of the eating experience.... 😆

My MIL always offers me a whisky as an aperitif, makes me laugh all the time and it's become a legend between Mrs Mugsy and myself.
But we got all paranoid the other night and started to wonder if it really was that odd.

One thing's for sure, after today's skiing my lurgy that the whole family has had and has been lurking with me has fully stood up. Felt so grim when I got back home.

Decided my Bandit B2's are dying. My first skis and 9 years old. They don't seem as springy as they used to be, and the edges are constantly going out of tune. Thinking of getting some K2 wayback's: anyone got them?

Off to the Dolomites for 5 days tomorrow! Decided today! 😀

Just taken a detour home to pick up a new pack (North Face Patrol 24, looks very well thought out) and turned a 6 mile ride home in the pissing rain into a 15 mile ride home in the pissing rain. I had a little tickly throat before, so fingers crossed I won't succumb to any of that lurgy up there ^

Hooray for me, etc.

Next question: which board to take?

The fast as hell, stiff as hell, bit of a handful 176 Prior swallowtail (2001 vintage)

The 161 salomon freestyle board from 1998 that's still in OK nick

The 164 rockered splitboard, despite the fact that I'm not going to be doing any touring. (it's still awesome)

Can't help with the board choice, but have fun Ned.

there's a great chance we will, cheers!

Easy enough to take them all with bindings off innit? Then you have options depending on conditions. We took three boards and two sets of boots and bindings in one bag on our last trip.

I have a mate who has to stop for hot wine approximately every 45 minutes. I once had to wait at the top of a drag lift wondering what qas going on for about 20 minutes as he 'needed' one to get up the lift.

Graham - what's happening there? The surely haven't had that much snow!

Nah - it was taken during construction 😀
But it was doing the rounds on facebook with various people slagging off the Slovaks for building the lifts so low 🙄
See http://vas.cas.sk/clanok/7450/verejny-vysmech-na-facebooku-slovaci-sa-bavia-na-zaseknutej-milionovej-lanovke.html (or Google Translate if your Slovak is a bit rusty 😉 )

Until I discovered Bombardino I didn't drink at lunchtime either, but any stop became Bombardino o'clock when we were away last time.

Ah yes. Bombardino. Tried them for the first time this year. Not unlike drinking hot alcoholic custard.

[img] [/img]

Also tried Campari and Soda this year (when in [s]Rome[/s] [i]Italy[/i]..)
Utterly vile. Tastes like parma violet sweets that grannies like, disolved in some dishwater.

On the subject of alcohol - on the group/family holiday we regularly get fairly trolleyed (in a responsible middle-class way) but normally only in apres bars and the free wine at dinner.

On the slopes it's just the odd hot chocolate mit rum.
Though the skier in the group does carry two medicinal hip flasks: anyone that has a big stack or is flagging is offered a choice of brandy or Cointreau 😀

Very poor pinky-finger action there, Graham. Must try harder.

😉

Very poor pinky-finger action there, Graham. Must try harder.

This any better?

[img] [/img]

By the way Flashy, OT but [url= http://blog.mamami.co.uk/2011/11/14-steps-to-follow-before-you-decide-to.html ]you might enjoy this[/url].

Liking your work there, sir, so very true!

And - Top pinky action!

The bus up the hill was cancelled due to too much snow on the road so I'm stcuk down on the plain. 🙁 The bus company says they reckon the early morning bus should make it though. 🙂

... and home is?

S****horpe.

Believe me, there was no snow in Scunny today 🙂
Hope there's not too much on the hairpins up to AdH [i]tomorrow[/i] afternoon...

Les Pyrénées. I feel stupid posting where home is on every post and hope people on the thread will remember if I mention the place from time to time. "Up the hill" is [url= http://www.larepubliquedespyrenees.fr/2013/02/08/trop-plein-de-neige-a-gourette-les-pompiers-en-action-pour-soulager-la-station,1116937.php ]here[/url]. If those guys finish I can go bouldering tomorrow evening.

Ah yes Graham, I forgot the hip flask! Got bought one a couple of years ago and forgot to take it away with me every trip until the last one. Almost felt like a character on Eastenders having a bad day and necking neat vodka (except I had rum and wasn't having a bad day).

Need to get faster to keep up with my 6 year old.

Going back to lessons with help, but what about a stiffer all-mountainish board? I currently ride a Volkl Coal.

Going to test a couple of all-mountain boards at the local Xscape, but it's not really the same as a proper hill. What should I look out for when I test them?

Any thoughts on fast stable boards? I'll be keeping the Volkl so I'll still have a soft fun board.

Edit: 6 foot and 16 stone if that influences it. My view of flexi might not be other people's.

Back after a great week in Kirchdorf. Not much in the village area itself but good stuff on Steinplatte and St Johann. I was absolutely gutted not to have got to Feiberbrunn but as it was the GF's first time skiing we made the most of the hours available rather than the two buses it would have taken to get there.

Now left with a dilemma. I've skied the past two holidays but prior to that had a 2 year gap, before which I boarded for 6 years and before that skied for 30 odd years. The original reason I started boarding was because the ex-missus was slow and I got bored and although my new GF did very well on her first week, it's going to take a while for her to get any real speed up. I don't really mind a few slow runs as I can whip off into the off-piste light/reds/blacks and meet up at junctions etc. but what really brought it home was on the last day, one of the instructors took pity on me (he had been watching me patiently sticking with the GF most of the time and he ditched his private lesson pupil (who was knackered) at a bar and took me on a wicked powder run through the trees with some moderately steep/deep stuff.

This is where the dilemma kicks in, as although I enjoyed it (despite a couple of comedy moments) I couldn't help feeling that it would have been better on a board, even though I've always felt that I was a much more competent skier than boarder. Seems that nowadays I'm not much more than barely competent at either 😐

Apologies for long ramble but there is a possibility I may get away again in April and I'm feeling that I should concentrate on one or the other so that my one or two weeks a year can maintain/improve the skill level.

Anyone else had to make a decision and if so, which did you choose? Equipment/cost is not an issue, as I still have all my gear for both.

igm: Just how fast is this 6 year old?? 😯

Isn't the Coal a super-stiff race board? [url= http://www.voelkl-snowboards.com/products/boards/freeride-all-mountain/coal-xt.html ]Volkl rate it as 9/10 for stiffness[/url].

Woody: can't comment on skiing but I'm very familiar with boarding in a mixed ability group.

We generally mess around a lot on the slow runs: practising butters, riding switch, dropping into piste-side slackcountry, carving etc (there were a lot of slow runs in The Dolomites).

We'll normally split from the group at least once a day to go on a powder hunt and we'll do the black home run while they get the gondy down.

Have to say though, my main solution is to book a second cheapo holiday [i]sans[/i] family and beginners 😀 That way I can relax and cruise on the main holiday knowing I have some cheeky fun coming up.

Back from the Dolomites (Arabba). Excellent time again, as usual. Snow was pretty decent all week too.

Ended up a bit of a "see how many miles you can rack up" week, after clocking up 97km one day, then having to go back out and claim the 100km a day or so later. 310km skied / 500km total inc. lifts etc.

Had a play on a pair of Stöckli FIS race stock slaloms for a day - me likey 🙂 Nimbletastic skis that need to be skied properly - no sitting back unless you want them to throw you off (had a couple of "reminders" for lazy skiing, but survived). Think I prefer them to the retail spec Atomic and Salomon GS I tried before.

Mmmm @ Bombardino, but prefer Calimero personally (same thing, but with shot of espresso too).

Pics later.

Outdoor skiing again today in Ogden if anyone nearby fancies it. I can't make it.

This is where the dilemma kicks in, as although I enjoyed it (despite a couple of comedy moments) I couldn't help feeling that it would have been better on a board, even though I've always felt that I was a much more competent skier than boarder. Seems that nowadays I'm not much more than barely competent at either

I can ski pretty well but prefer boarding. Nothing in the world quite like gliding through fresh powder on a snowboard IMO.

Ended up a bit of a "see how many miles you can rack up" week, after clocking up 97km one day, then having to go back out and claim the 100km a day or so later

LOL - our biggest day was about 30km of piste (according to that skibeep website). We're not a fast group 😀

Strangely that 100km day was largely in Alpe di Siusi / Seiseralm, which was almost like a langlauf fest. Lots and lots of poling, or at least it felt that way. No way were any of the red runs red - more like a perfect blue for teaching drills on.

Outdoor skiing again today in Ogden if anyone nearby fancies it

Nothing in the world quite like gliding through fresh powder on a snowboard IMO.

Our biggest day was 48.8 miles, although we didn't set any targets Jnr and I were pretty disappointed that we didn't manage to eeek out an extra 1.2 miles! and it was a our last day so we couldn't better it.

Strangely that 100km day was largely in Alpe di Siusi / Seiseralm, which was almost like a langlauf fest. Lots and lots of poling, or at least it felt that way.

Yeah - they're not quite so much fun on a board. 😀

Sometimes I quite like the challenge of approaching full-speed then running flat & straight on a long blue just to make it to the end (and then waiting nonchalantly at the end for those forced to do the Walk Of Shame)

But generally they are a pain. I wish the maps would identify them more clearly - blue seems to cover everything from flat narrow road to nursery slope to actually-quite-steep-in-places.

Sometimes I quite like the challenge of approaching full-speed then running flat & straight on a long blue just to make it to the end (and then waiting nonchalantly at the end for those forced to do the Walk Of Shame)

But generally they are a pain. I wish the maps would identify them more clearly - blue seems to cover everything from flat narrow road to nursery slope to actually-quite-steep-in-places.

Agreed, the map would be especially useful for poor visibility days where you can't see that it flattens out, so you know to let it run a bit.

blue seems to cover everything from flat narrow road to nursery slope to actually-quite-steep-in-places.

We were talking about this on holiday and came to the conclusion that some maps were deliberately misleading.

These days everyone compares stuff before buying and often just rely on stats - so resorts have to offer a certain number of blues, reds and blacks to compete.

Plus if they have a home run it is in their marketing interest to sign it as a blue or possibly red, even if the reality is a mogully black.

And of course actual skiable area and piste length is often highly dubious.

Snow conditions affect the apparent difficulty too. Was super easy grippy snow all last week, and no icy stuff between moguls at all.
This meant the lethal narrow steep red at the end of the day that all the n00bs and less confident loathed before was merely a narrowish slightly steeper but perfectly OK red.
And there are blacks that I'd have been happy taking a 3rd week skier down last week, but I have stacked it and slid down steep sheet ice on my back in previous years. Even measured the gradient of some apparent "blacks" and they really were much steeper than I estimated (but seemed much shallower than I remember).

There are some Red bits that I think are Black, but are on the map as red since they form part of the Sella Ronda M25. New chair though - might mean a regrading if the carnage section can be bypassed?

GrahamS - Member
igm: Just how fast is this 6 year old??
Isn't the Coal a super-stiff race board? Volkl rate it as 9/10 for stiffness.

Said 6 year old is quick (ie his mum can't catch him) but not that quick (ie I can still, but that ain't gonna last).

I think the name may be all that remains of the Volkl Coal. My Coal is a 2005 I think, and is definitely not a super stif race board. Soft end of all-mountain I'd say. But then like I said as a 16 stone ex-back row forward lots of things flex more easily for me than for others.

Hmm.. I was 15.5 stone when I got my Bataleon Goliath (I've lost a fair bit since then) and I'm also a 6 footer and an ex prop forward.

Can't say too much flex has ever been a major issue for me, but then I have more fun playing around in the pow than just straightlining as a fast as I can. If I wanted to do that I'd be one of those hard booter perverts 😀

I guess the main thing is to examine the recommended weight range on the boards you are looking at. I see that Coal XT that I linked to says you should be on a 168, which is a BIG board.

you should be on a 168, which is a BIG board.

At just over 6' and 16 stone, I started on a quite stiff 164 cm Oxygen board and then a Tommy Brunner Lib Tech in 168cm and TBH the TB was easier and quicker turning, faster and more stable in all situations I came across, although I don't venture into the park!

Next time I'm out, I'll be using my circa 1999 limited edition Never Summer (wide and 164cm) which appears to be indestructible and has the same pop as when I got it in 2001 😀

Edukator,

I know you live in the Pyrénées. I was alluding to whether home was at the top of the hill or on the plain. It's different to being stuck out of resort to being stuck away from home!

Both places are very homely. When there's snow I spend more time up the hill than down but either side of the ski season there are a couple of months when it's often in the clouds, dismal outside and freezing cold inside as there are no neighbours. There's a bus between the two that only costs five euros so I go up and down depending on the weather and what there is to do.

The joys of Scottish skiing: the 2-chair at The Lecht has derailed!!

36 people rescued, 6 injured.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-21434338

Graham, please be sensitive. I know a few of them involved. It is not a joy, it is broken backs and limbs.

No insensitivity intended matt.
Sorry if I appeared flippant. It's a nightmare situation. 🙁

I know. I have a couple of texts from people who are there guiding guests.

Any details of what happened? Was it wind or some mechanical failure?

Edit: never mind I see it has it's [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/accident-at-the-lecht ]own thread now[/url].

Nasty. Hope recoveries are swift...

Now, to lighten the mood - [url= http://www.fluorescentrompersuits.co.uk/readerspics.html ]Open with caution...! 🙂 [/url]

Edukator .
I have the week commencing 2nd March booked off work.
It is also some School holidays that week unfortunatly.
With the recent snowfall , would I be insane to think about driving to a small town ( maybe Lourdes ) and driving to a different ski resort each day?
Lourdes has lots of hotels , seems relatively central to about 8 diffferent villages , and restaurants.
Will it be busy in March , enough to mean 5 minute waits at lifts for instance .?
I would drive over 2 days probably as its a 1000km ish.