Forum menu
Interesting site that Wallop, bookmarked ffr 🙂
@alwillis Not used the snowtrain myself but loads of our guests have. As a rule of thumb if you are in or around the M25 then it is a similar overall travel time on the direct train to Moutiers/Bourg as flying (assuming a drive to an airport, check in 2hrs before departure, a wait for luggage then a 2 hour transfer to resort). Our guests have said that sleep can be difficult especially if some of your fellow travellers are on the vino.
The direct train gets to Moutiers at 620 ish I think. We tell our guests to grab some food from a cafe opposite the station then collect them at 730. If you do use the snowtrain keep in mind that the previous week's guests will still be around so make sure the chalet/hotel you are staying at has secure storage for your luggage and a place to get changed in. Also if you are hiring kit make sure that you can get an early fitting at the chalet if the company offers a mobile fitting service (someone like SlideCandy in Meribel) so that you can maximise the time on the slopes.
Saturday skiing tends to be much quieter as the majority of the resort will be on changeover so you can get a good day in at either end of your holiday.
Ladies and gents. Any tips on brands of jackets which tend to have high collars? I'm trying to find something to keep me cosy on the lifts.
My Eider (Shell, plain black. Called a Tahoe, IIRC) has a pretty dammned good collar, goes up to the back of my helmet. Combined with a high necked base layer and a buff, it's been great in most conditions. To date, have only ever needed to wear a base layer and a midweight fleece underneath it.
What sort of jacket are you after, though?
@wallop and meribelmtb thank you, great info there! I'm only a couple of miles from st pancras so it looks like a really good option to me (Saturday skiing is indeed excellent from experience)
What sort of jacket are you after, though?
Not sure yet. I'm thinking of going for a shell, instead of a down jacket, as my skiing thus far has tended to include a cold week in France and a warm week in Austria. A shell would give me flexibility to adjust layers for temperature I think.
Just catching up on this thread a saw this from last week sometime:
meames - Member..I'm competent on a snowboard having done 3 trips thus far and comfortable on black / off piste terrain...
Now I know I'm not exactly a body-natural rad-to-the-max type - but I've been snowboarding since the mid 90's and probably done at least 25 weeks abroad by now in Europe, America and Canada.
And I wouldn't say I was [i]"comfortable on black / off piste terrain"[/i] 😯
I mean I do off-piste runs through some fairly tight forest in Slovakia - but it's bum-clenching stuff, [i]comfortable[/i] isn't a word I'd use!
Am I just crap? Should I take up something more sedate, like dominoes?
Wallop, shells are the only choice, IMHO. Layering means they work well in anything from blistering -20s to the lunacy of April in Serre Che in the heat, and the days when you have to seek out the shade to stay cool!
FWIW, I've always liked the look of Eider, stealthy not too Euro looking, and the performance of Schoffel. The latter, however, often go a little bit too lairy Euro/race stylee, though. Stuff like Arcetryx or Noronna always look a little too try-hard to me (Often worn by the ski equivalent of the Audi in the trail centre car park driver...)
I suppose budget (and of course colour!) are the next choices...! 🙂
Oh, and the first of my 2014 lust photos..
[img] 
[/img]
Week booked in Val d'Isere in March so looking forward to hitting some familiar runs across the Espace Killy. Would have preferred to be based in Tignes but its the same week at the X Games so accommodation difficult to get.
Thinking of buying some boots this year, and would ideally like to be able to get a second week in.
nice lust-worthyness up there^^
Have quite a few Schöffel bits of clothing, but all are from a couple of years back, and it just looks like "a red ski jacket", and "plain black salopettes". Hope the latest kit is not too much in your face, and "hey look at me". Better than what I had before (Columbia + Berghaus), and here, it's just normal ski clothing that's better than the cheap stuff, and cheaper than TNF and the posh brands.
But I do think it's time for a new jacket (unless the salopettes shrunk in the wash again 😉 in which case they'll need upgrading first). Have a €100 voucher to spend, and I think SportScheck accept them.
Only just saw this now! I'll be moving to Oz for at least a year, so not sure when I'll even see snow again 🙁 .
Give Thredbo a red hot go, Bruce!
[img] 
[/img]
Bruce? Hmmm that does look kinda tempting though. 🙂
Anyone getting new skis and or boots this season??! 😀
Anyone getting new skis and or boots this season??!
Looking at these I am... 👿
[URL= http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt219/takamush/image.jp g" target="_blank">
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt219/takamush/image.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]
Bit'o filler there taka, jobs a goodun!! What's the front of the ski like, make/model?
There rossignol bandits there a few years old now so could do with replacing at some point anyway the fronts have no damage at all I don't know how it's got that bad...
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-sports/23831270 ]Woodsy doing well again this season! [/url]
[img] 
[/img]
🙂
Whoop, have received confirmation that my Wife and I will be working in Chalet Amber in Morzine this coming winter.
http://snowytrees.com/chalet-amber
Mates rates? 🙂
Has anybody tried both skiing and boarding with a dodgy ankle?
My ankle is still knackered from 18 months ago and am torn between the two, I can probably ski better than I can board but turning right really hurts.
turning right really hurts.
You are Derek Zoolander, AICMFP.
Not sure which is best here, but a part of me would be thinking that the support provided by a well fitting ski boot would be an advantage for a knackered ankle. I suppose it's also about how said ankle was knackered and if lateral or vertical movements would be the more painful.
Either way, ski. It's betterer. 😉
CaptainFlashheart - Member
Mates rates?
Well It's not my company but I could probably sort 5 or 10% I expect.
Captain the ankle was knackered while skiing! I managed to break it on my first ever day.
It hurts to twist and it hurts to put a lot of pressure on it. Last season I was having to plow right and then do parallel left turns.
turning right really hurts
Go to the Dolomites and do the Sella Ronda.
Anti-clockwise. 😀
[img] 
[/img]
like
don't go that way with a board though, else you'll need to walk on the flat bit heading from selva to campitello
edit: which map is that one? it's upside down.
Nice idea Graham but I'm already booked for Morzine for the first week in Feb.
Speaking of which I saw this vid on facebook and quite liked it. Its a long one but looks fun.
easy - do the PdS loop anticlockwise 🙂
Second snow season in Carinthia, Austria for me. Season ticket goes on sale next week!
One of these arrived yesterday for my better half. Very nice.
Go to the Dolomites and do the Sella Ronda.
Stayed in Colfosco and skied there at the end of last summer. Beautiful mountains.
Beautiful mountains.
Yep - definitely one of the prettiest mountain ranges I've visited.
Fairly middling in terms of actual slopes though I found 😕
Fairly middling in terms of actual slopes though I found
Yes, I'd agree with that, but if cruising is your thing then it's a great back drop to stare at.
What is that bluebird? Loving the 2014 Burton boards....really fancy the new Hate....Mrs B will kill me though!
I imagine that's a Custom X
I still find that the wood overlay on an Arbor board can almost make me want to turn the dark side...
Yes, it's a Custom X, fantastic board. My wife's ridden them for years. I switched to one last season and love it.
Just bought some Head Titan skis. Demoes them in Val Thorens at the end of last season and didn't want to give them back. Now I'm itching for the season to start and it's only August.
Just bought some Head Titan skis.
Be careful, my new Titans got stolen in Verbier just this last season, they were the most recent model. Big demand for them on the 2nd hand market so I've been told.
I just want to warn other skiers that the ski thieves seem to be out there. I had a pair of new skis stolen at Verbier this last season, I never used to use a ski lock but I will from now on. Insurance didn't cover them as I wasn't looking at them at the time and didn't have them locked.
So I advise that everyone locks their skis up or pairs them up with someone else to we can try and avoid this happening to lots of other people.
Be careful, my new Titans got stolen in Verbier just this last season, they were the most recent model. Big demand for them on the 2nd hand market so I've been told.
As in, being stolen to order? Crikey!
Still reckon there needs to be a better way of keeping your skis secure when having lunch/etc. My normal lunch spot has the benefit of being in the sunshine, and I can always see my skis from where I sit.
[img] 
[/img]
Ski racks now tend to be on the right of the pic, just at the bottom of the stairs.
Anyone using a cable lock or similar? Some kind of skinny cable a la cafe bike stop lock might work, but it's just one more thing to carry...
Hmm. Must be a solution out there.
As in, being stolen to order? Crikey!
That's the impression I got from talking to some of the staff from Altitude ski school who were on the same course as me. Seems quite sickening...
Have a skinny cable lock, but that's just to keep insurance guys happy. And I'm assuming that cutting a cable counts as "forcibly removed".
Chunkier coiled up cable locks go rather stiff in the cold.
If not to order, I guess they just look for popular ones. If you don't have a lock, at the very least separate your skis.
I think I will get a lock this year.
we always split skis and lock them up to something secure. wherever possible keeping them in view.
nobody would steal my skis though, they're old and probably on their last legs 🙁