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

V excited for this season, I got a Bataleon Magic Carpet towards the end of last season and it was a revelation, so looking forward to riding it as much as possible this year. Here's hoping for powder in the PDS every weekend 🙂

Ok next question, anyone have any experience of making their own splitboard using one of the kits ? Quite want to try splitting but can't really get transceiver , probe shovel , new downhill bike and splitboard kit all in one year my wife would go mental....

Ho Ho just booking up for first time with our 4 year old, wife did a cast around for some prices and VIP offered us a week over new year for a bargain 10 grand ! Errr possibly not.

**taps fingers on desk waiting for easyjet April schedule to be released*

geoff - are you in the EasyJet flight club?

There's not a whole lot of benefits BUT they have this one:

We promise passengers will always get the best price fares from easyJet. If on a rare occasion passengers find the same flight on easyjet.com at a lower price, we’ll give them the price difference towards their next flight. Our customer support team are on hand, so passengers can give them a call

I booked return flights to GVA for the family of 4 for Xmas, for £330 in July.

The return flight was recently a lot cheaper that at the time I booked, I phoned up Flight Club chappie, and he's given me a £102 voucher off my next booking. Unfortunately its not an automatic system, you have to keep an eye on flight prices yourself. So once a month I just check each booking and keep a note of it in.....you guessed it....a spreadsheet 😀

Stoner - will investigate ta.

Edit - [i] Membership is by invitation from easyJet. [/i]

🙁

Easy Jet Flight Club? 😆 😆

And a bit more... 😆

Anyway, anyone know anything about Goldwin? If I do get away this year, some new trews may be in order, and these look goooood!
http://www.goldwin-sports.com/products/mens/g31510.html

Big colours, all about right on the tech front. However, I know next to nothing about the brand!

A PSA of sorts. Sports Pursuit (I know I know) have a flash sale on smith Helmets and goggles, including the excellent IO7 googles with a brilliant field of vision , and the vantage helmet which is the best helmet I've had and gets great reviews

Unlike us to be organised but long weekend in Morzine booked an family hols in Les Gets as well. Woo hoo

When you in LG then? Half term for us.

11th March for Les Gets, Feb for Morzine.

End of Jan for a trip to the milky way area

Flights released and booked for early April - yeah 😀
Just need to find somewhere to stay now.

Good call on the SP Smith sale as well, new helmet that actually fits !

Worried about whether I can afford beer at Alpine prices and the £/€ exchange rate. 😕

geoffj - Member
Flights released and booked for early April - yeah
Just need to find somewhere to stay now.

Worried about whether I can afford beer at Alpine prices and the £/€ exchange rate.

You only need 1 Kidney and skiing is more important than having 2!

Thanks Smokey Jo, but we are now sorted.

Any recommendations for family insurance with off piste cover?

TIA

I've always wanted to go and see Iran. Looks like another reason now!

i'd love to go to Iran with a snowboard/ splitboard. If anybody is thinking of going... MIM

Any recommendations for family insurance with off piste cover?

Skiing or Snowboarding?

Have a look at DogTag, Snowcard, or BMC if it's for skiing (BMC have an additional 'premium' for snowboarding)

i'd love to go to Iran with a snowboard/ splitboard

So would I ... but I can't see me heading there anytime soon despite recent developments in international diplomacy etc. There are loads of other places that aren't so politically volatile that I'd rather visit first.

Just used my Easyjet flight club voucher* to pay for a chunk of our Easter flights. I doubt there's going to be much snow left between then 10th and 20th of April, but PDS is still a great place for a spring break.

* eat it, CFH 😉

So that's 21-Dec to 31 Dec
4-Mar to 8-Mar
10-Apr to 20-Apr

and Mother has given Mrs Stoner and I the nod to head out on our own in Feb for 4 or 5 days as well. Sweet. 28 days. Not bad 😀

That chalet in Le Praz, Courcheval up there^ is very tempting and I love the concept but I'd prefer to be a bit more central to the 3 Vallées... Does anyone know of a similar setup (catered chalet where you don't have to rent the whole thing) in Méribel or Val Thorens?

You can ski into Le Praz from Bouc Blanc in about 10-15 mins depending on how many irish coffees you had at the Bouc Blanc 🙂

In Le Praz there's a couple of good bars and the Peuplier Hotel has a really nice chilled out lounge downstairs although the Apres is more quite a bit more civilised than 1850 or Meribel! Although drinking pints of Gin Slushie in the Sports Bar on a Thursday when they have live bands on can be quite fun too.

Not much choice for eating out but the food at the chalet is so good you wouldn't want to

Le Praz is my favourite place to stay in the 3 Valleys, it is only 1 lift to the Croisette on a morning and the run back isn't too bad.
Rather be in Le Praz than 1850 any day.....

We've only ever stayed in Méribel (or Brides Les Bains) so to me it just looks like a long way back from Val Thorens and Mont Vallon for example.
Also it looks like there are only red runs down to Le Praz. That's not a problem on my board but if I want to practice skiing I'll be taking a lift down...:-(

I guess you just adapt your day according to where you're staying, the small village does appeal as we're not certainly not into the pitchers of Vodka and Redbull side of Méribel après ski...

isnt Brides Les Bains about a hour gondola ride from the nearest slopes?

The final section of red into le Praz isn't so bad, depends on conditions really, is only difficult if it's bumpy or icy, and you can always catch the bubble back from 1650. It is a long way over to Val T but getting back from Mont Vallon wasn't a problem, and I was with a few slower skiers

We'll be skiing Courmayeur this season having rented an apartment there. Next year we will be in St Gervais Les Bains and moving there permanently. Cant decide whether to go back to ski's this season or stay on the board. Likely spend it riding this bad boy

175 wide custom build from DOUK snowboards

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Hope you all have a good season

Niall

Looks good Niall, and absolutely massive !

Due to budget restrictions I am looking at making my own splitboard . Anyone done it? I've read that they can be decent enough for a season or 2 to get into it....

I've just got a pair of these in the sales. I'll be fitting them to my Jones this weekend... My old APO Espresso step ins are still going fine but as my last pair disintegrated whilst riding them I don't want to push my luck for another season... 😀
SP SLAB 2015

[img] [/img]

Top tips for nice all mountain skis, probably 60/40 piste off piste, good skier but not something to headbanger as I will mainly be cruising around with family.

howsyourdad,

I looked at it, I was going to make one for the wife, but adding up the cost of skins and all the splitkit wasn't exactly cheap, and I found a K2 Panoramic with skins and all the stuff (and no work!) for a very good price so I bought that instead. And I still have my old Salomon intact!

I may have a pair of Gen 2 Spark R&D Ignition bindings to sell this year if the wife fancies upgrading.

When are you looking to go away? All season Scottish, or have you got trips in the calendar?

Hi NedRapier, thanks for the reply. I am thinking the same thing. I have an old burton board, unridden but Japanese special edition that I got in a car boot sale for £10 . Would rather keep it as it is certainly no beater board . I have seen skins and the kit for approx £240 , plus expenses of tools and sealing the board, ptex etc, plus the work which I may well bodge! So say £300 all in plus my time. I have seen some splits boards and skins for around £500 ish.... Still nearly double but not insane money.

I live in Sweden so will be using it regularly , from my house for 'training' and a few little runs down, as well as driving to local mountains around an hour away. I've heard that homemade splits don't last as long and of course the board loses a little stiffness from cutting it in half .... So I may last a season and then I would need/ want to upgrade, so would end up buying a proper split anyway... But then it would be nice to have a spare for guests etc

NZCol - have a look at the Rossi Soul HD. I've got the original ones (selling them this season) - very easy to ski, will carve on piste as long as it's not bulletproof ice and fun off piste. Originals were / are a bit easy going for me, hence they're getting sold, but the new HD versions are a bit beefier...

Does anyone know of a similar setup (catered chalet where you don't have to rent the whole thing)

Most (certainly a majority of) independent catered chalets operate on this basis.

Agree with Nedrapier, I think looking for a second-hand proper splitty makes more sense than going DIY. You're likely to end up spending not massively more cash and you'll end up with a setup that works a lot better, both in split and snowboard modes.

NZCol, have a look at Nordica NRGY. Fit your brief perfectly.

NZCol, have a look at Nordica NRGY. Fit your brief perfectly

I have the NRGY 90s, awesome skis!

Bought last season after a recommendation from CFH.

isnt Brides Les Bains about a hour gondola ride from the nearest slopes?

It's about 25 minutes but seems like more because it's cramped and slow. The real problem is the last download is at 17.00 and you can't ski all the way down.

Lovely little film about snowboarding in Turkey , which goes back some 300 years!

Yes yes, all booked for another week in Obergurgl next Feb. Having skied in most European countries (and indeed NZ) I am fast coming to the conclusion that Austria is the place to go.

Off to Decathlon later to pic up some new gear, I am fancying some VERY bright salopettes I think.

Yep Austria is my favourite too. Heavy filthy food, loads of weird booze, stuck in the 1990s hotels and generals style of resorts plus lovely people and good prices win win win!

I love Austria. Nowhere else would you conga around a bar with a load of 60 year old men.