[Closed] The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2016-2017 season

Moniteur de ski = diplome d'etat/brevert d'etat. Nothing to do with a degree which in French is licence.

I've got a geology degree and he must have done a very unusual one to do anything serious about avalanche forecasting at undergraduate level. We did stuff on landslides, stable slope angles for various materials, the influence of pore pressure on shear force required for slip, deep rotational slip. all pretty superficial as are most undergrad studies.

The style of the site really grates. It's marketing, spin and hype in a field where digging pits, watching weather reports, local knowledge... can't be replaced by reading a web site or going to a lecture.

Does going to a Doug Scott lecture make you a better mountaineer? No, but it's excellent entertainment, so I'm fine with it. Avalanche safety as a money spinner I somehow find distasteful.

Lots of marketing and spin, little substance.

^^ there is a lot of merit in this post. Local knowledge and experience. Henry's stuff I always read as its informative and accessible. However the in-resort resources are the "gospel"

Edukator, I would suggest you go to one of his talks or go for a ski with Henry, every day is a school day.
I have always been taught to listen to people with more experience than me.
Henry does market himself well, he also has lots of experience, more than me. His talks are aimed at people who ski off piste a bit and want to learn more and ski more safely.
He is very keen to help people understand more about skiing more safely off the pistes. There is nothing wrong with that.

Some testicular fortitude required for some of those lines on skinny planks!

On steep hard snow skinny straight skis work really well. On steep ground parabolic skis leave you on the tip and heel with the boot bouncing up and down in fresh air. I had a quite worrying time the first time I tried some new skis on a run I've skied on 1966 Rossignol medaille de bronze with screw-on edges.

This years FIS GS skis have 35m radius which is why you sometimes see the racers sliding the heels like 30 years back. It's down to 30m next year but that's still a lot longer than the racers would choose if they had the choice. They're horrible, even harder to ski than the 70s straight skis which were at least bendy enough to be a little bit forgiving. One descent and I put them back in the cupboard.

I've finally binned my own straight skis, I'm getting to old to be jumping every turn.

informative and accessible

Henry does market himself well, he also has lots of experience, more than me. His talks are aimed at people who ski off piste a bit and want to learn more and ski more safely.
He is very keen to help people understand more about skiing more safely off the pistes. There is nothing wrong with

Yeah, but when we have the greatest authority on avalanches and absolutely everything about skiing that's ever been known in the world among us on this thread, who cares, eh?

can't be replaced by reading a web site or going to a lecture.

To be fair I don't think they claim it is.

They explicitly say "There’s no substitute for hands on training and practise, either in the UK or in the Alps." and they do run practical transceiver sessions as well.

And they do offer some "local knowledge" on the site in terms of snow reports etc though that's of limited use to general readership.

Avalanche safety as a money spinner I somehow find distasteful.

I understand your point, but I still paid for Bruce Tremper's books, despite the fact they should have been free to everyone. And I'd still happily pay for a guide. And a beeper. And a shovel. And a probe. And a backpack. And insurance. And...

Apart from my old 2m Kastle slalom skis in the 80s,*I have never really got the ski hype. I have skied all types on a whole range of skis and rarely noticed any difference. Skied deep OP two years ago on both Rossie slalom skis and AM - felt just the same. I am a bit like that with bikes though.

Looking foreword to when 203 planks are back in vogue - have been thru 2 shorter ski cycles over the past few decades 😉

* stupidly fast but tiring in bumps

Yeah, but when we have the greatest authority on avalanches and absolutely everything about skiing that's ever been known in the world among us on this thread, who cares, eh?

If you look back over these various threads you'll find that I made a comment that on poster had got closer to a cornice than was wise given the normal break points and got slated for that.

I commented on another avalanche and got slated for that so I'm pretty frugal on here with my comments. Henry on the other is anything but frugal with his comments finding all sorts of special circumstances for every avalanche and how the victims could have avoided it. Convex here, break above skier there... it's as though he wants it to appear to be some sort of black art when in fact it comes down to not being in the wrong place at the wrong time (which can be very easy or very hard depending on where you want to ski).

Anyhow, I"m back in the position I was in being skeptical about iDave on the diet threads. Any criticism of him resulted in people taking the Micky out of me.

Well, I would suppose it would be a good idea not to be critical of other people then..:-)

Well, I would suppose it would be a good idea not to be critical of other people then..

Are you serious?

Have a look at threads on Brexit, TM, Scottish idependence, Putin, Syria, Blair. or whatever - criticism. Why do STW heroes such as iDave or Henry have to protected form criticism?

I got 10 years of flack on British forums for pointing our Armstrong was lying every time he said he'd never tested positive following his cortisone positive. Forumites have a habit of bigging some people up and refusing to hear criticism.

If you look back over these various threads you'll find that I made a comment that on poster had got closer to a cornice than was wise given the normal break points and got slated for that.

I got 10 years of flack on British forums for pointing our Armstrong was lying every time he said he'd never tested positive following his cortisone positive.

You have loads of experience on the snow and I like your photos*, but your bed-side manner is stroppy to say the least and that's why people want to (cyber)fight you all the time. You know that right?

* except the motorbike helmet one.

Why do STW heroes such as iDave or Henry have to protected form criticism?

Eh? I don't think Henry is "protected" at all. In fact I just specifically asked you what issue you had with his CV. I don't know anything about [i]Ecole Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme[/i]. You seemed to so I was happy to learn.

I remember those pictures and thought your comments were right. I don't remember you being slated though

Likewise. As I recall it I thought the same thing - except I was willing to accept that photos can be deceptive.

I got 10 years of flack on British forums for pointing our Armstrong was lying every time he said he'd never tested positive following his cortisone positive. Forumites have a habit of bigging some people up and refusing to hear criticism.

You do like a bit of drama, does it really matter? It is just an internet forum, something easily let go. I think you are in your 50s, just be comfortable in the fact you made a good point, but don't expect everyone to agree with you - it ain't going to happen, it is the nature of the human condition.

Sorry guys, I've overreacted with the exception of caaptainflashheart (I should have quoted him) and our petty bickering goes back years. He spent years trashing Bikemagic under a series of pseudos whilst congratulating himself on his work on "the secret forum". He now implies he's a moderator on this forum but won't answer a yes or no question.

So my "bedside manner" isn't always good and when the patient is Flash it's a ten-year-old grudge match in both senses.

Back on topic, it's rained heavily on the snow most of the way up in the Pyrenees so the powder has gone and what's left is very much Spring snow.

He now implies he's a moderator on this forum but won't answer a yes or no question.

I have never, ever had that impression of him.

Time for some light relief.

He has referred to the moderator team using "we". he's made other comments that imply he's a moderator too but I can't remember the detail.

grudge match

😆

No such thing from my point of view. As others have mentioned, your manner and tone on here isn't the best. Look at that before casting blame around at others.

Anyway, back on topic.....onesies. My first skiing trip saw me attired in a green and red C&A onesie. Thankfully not a single photograph of this monstrosity exists.

Marks and Spencer's for me !

CFH those C&A ones where quite the thing.

Oooo, missed all the fun last night 😉

FWIW - I rate Henry. I think he has a good way of breaking down the decision points / risks into manageable chunks that people can get their head around.

At the end of the day, predicting avalanches is hugely complex and not [i]that[/i] well understood. From a skier's perspective, it's about knowing which areas / conditions to avoid to minimise your risk. Henry's ethos it to try and give people the skills to make decisions in a more informed way.

I agree, he makes a living out of guiding and being the avalanche expert so does a fair bit of self-promotion, but I've seen a couple of his talks and had some interesting chats with him afterwards. Very down to earth in person, passionate about avalanches and overall quite an agreeable chap - I'd happily spend a day guided by him.

Anyway, more light relief - Facebook reminded me a couple of days ago that this is what I was doing a year ago 😥 😥

Japow - very nice 😀

TMH - no difference off piste between old straight skis and the new wider AM's ? You must be even more awesome than I thought 😉 extra boyancy is huge in my experience. Don't you remember the old powder skis you'd rent for special days off piste - Fat Boys - they made a big difference

I got myself accepted into this group, does that count as a qualification 😉 !

Very finely judged !

Tandem monoski for the floaty pow funz.
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Noooo

Jambas, never really tried proper fat skiis, so cannot comment. But I ski the same stuff on a whole variety of skiis - SL, GS, AM, freestyle and generally don't notce the difference unless in icy moguls and when blasting down a firm piste. OP? Hardly at all. I know this flies in the face of marketing etc (and is nowt to do with willy waving) but OP is far more about keeping technique very simple and being very relaxed. When skiing I am not even conscious about the skiis - only a very gentle body motion and positions v-a-v the fall line.

The only time I become conscious of skiis is on faster piste basking - I am still unnerved by how short modern skis are - and in big icy bumps. The latter again is probably an excuse for technique. When skiing well, I don't notice the skiis in bumps either. But getting older these days, so that's a rarity!

I actually find this all really odd and would obviously be hopeless as a ski reviewer. But it does make choosing skis a lot easy. Grab anything in the prestige range, clip in and go ski.

As I said, I am the same with MTB and regualrly ride with my forks locked out by mistake!!!!

igm YGM

I saw a lesser spotted monoski on Tuesday!

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has anyone actually been on one? what's it like?

I also saw a blader and of course hurled abuse at him from the lift.

It's been a while. Odd at first for sure and for modern skiers, having you ankles locked right together is a challenge - less so for us oldies who learned a different technique.

Once you realise the monos are not designed for edging and traversing, they are a blast. But you HAVE to stay in the fall line ! Once skied a little bit pissed in Val Thorens in deep powder and it was one of the most fun days ever. Still personally I massively prefer two skis

Jambas I need to look back on skis like the K2 extremes and compare geometries with current ones. I am a bit out of touch with kit - used to be obsessed by it, now much less so.

The odd thing these days is switching between modern carving and old fashioned skiing. It was bad enough flipping between the Austrian and French methods in the 80s and 90s but that was nothing compared with adjusting to skiing like some cheap hooker with your legs splayed out wide 😉 these days!!!

Yes, we did it once 30 (?) years ago. Many many bruises as falls are all hip first. Best in powder I'd say as extra buoyancy meant we floted over off piste chop like snowboarders do

Stoner - ygm back

Didn't recognise any of the photos though. The landscape was obscured by white stuff.

Git.

One of the things I like about Slovakia is that onesies are still very much a thing there.:

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I saw a lesser spotted monoski on Tuesday!

Perverts the lot of them. Almost as bad as hard-booter alpine snowboarderists. 😆

(But obviously not nearly as bad as snow bladers. They are a different category altogether)

They're not snow blades, they just nicked their children's skis...

Discuss

That one at the bar is a truly epic fartbag.

Epic photos of the onesies although the most shocking part is the flow bindings .

sorry I had to!

the most shocking part is the flow bindings

well ... if you are going to use flow bidings, I guess you might as well go the whole way and wear a dayglo one-piece ... at least people might think you are being post-ironic ... 😉 😆

Apart from my old 2m Kastle slalom skis in the 80s,*I have never really got the ski hype. I have skied all types on a whole range of skis and rarely noticed any difference. Skied deep OP two years ago on both Rossie slalom skis and AM - felt just the same. I am a bit like that with bikes though.

I'm a pretty useless skier compared to most on this thread and since my return to skiing five years ago (after 25yrs off) I have only ever skied on carvers. This time, I was given some Head carvers, very narrow underfoot and light and I liked them, even doing some tracked off piste. However, the next day it snowed and Didier from Krakatoa (Briancon) gave me some locally made 'White Doctor' all mountain skis. I was a bit nervous of how I would do, but it was like I was wearing the same skis.....how does that work?

So the End of Season sales are upon us and I think it might be time to send my trusty Vans Cirro boots to the Great Fetid Boot Locker in the Sky as they are now at least 10% Shoe Goo and 15% toe cheese.

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Any thoughts on suitable replacements to look for in the sales?

Looking for something mid-to-stiff and I'm a fan of the Boa laces, as long as they have separate upper and lower dials. (But I did find these boots developed a pressure point where the big plastic bit is that joins the two sections). Also I have fairly wide feet.

A quick Google and the [url= https://www.burton.com/uk/en/burton-photon-boa-snowboard-boot/W17-150861.html?regionSelector=true ]Burton Photon[/url] and [url= https://de.k2snowboarding.com/en/mens/boots/conda/thraxis-1617.html ]K2 Thraxis[/url] have caught my eye but they are both fairly high end so other suggestions welcome.

last week I was having to be held back from fondling deadlydarcy's Insano Focus Boa booties. Excellent double Boa system, and light as a feather compared to my 15yr old Northwaves. Mind you my boots are size 48, and dd's are more likely to be VAT free.... 😉

Graham, ThirtyTwo STW Boa, shirley?

Whatever fits, obvs, but I'm a fan of Salomon. Mainly because they fit me!

They've got some 2 zone Boa jobbies. Worth a look.

Insano Focus Boa booties

[url= http://ridesnowboards.com/boots/insano ]Noted[/url]. They look interesting. Amused to see the liner features a "Tallboy™ Harness" - ideal for DD 😉

ThirtyTwo STW Boa

LOL. That would be amusing, but sadly they are single Boa and I like to run my lower foot a bit loose (due to my wide feet). I do like the ladies colour scheme though:

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😉

Whatever fits, obvs

Yep that's the main battle. Just trying to get a shortlist to try on.

Is there anywhere that gives a nice breakdown of the relative sizing of brands? Some brands are definitely much wider fit than others. I needs Hobbitsy width:

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You could try a shop.

It's a long shot, but it might just work.

A quick snow report from the PDS. Deadlydarcy and I and some chums are just back from a cracking few days. Conditions looked bleak a few weeks ago, but the forecasts were right and there's been a veritable snowmageddon since last weekend.

Several feet of snow has fallen since Saturday evening. The awesome fresh snow days only slightly dulled by some poor visibility and a couple of days cut short by stormy weather coming in and shutting the lifts. But by that point in the day, snow had been ridden into deep, heavy and lumpy piles on the pistes so no great loss. And mornings of arse-crack deep fresh snow certainly made up for a short day.

We did get stuck into some fun piste-edge "side/slack-country", but with a cautious eye on conditions.

All in all, another v fortunate coincidence of our annual trip and a dumping of fresh snow. It's almost as if there were some mythological luck involved....

Snow? Lots of snow.
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Yours truly doing his best "Gallumphing Sasquatch"? styling.
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There are photos of DD, but what with the snow depth, they're mainly of the top of his snorkel.