Subscribe now and choose from over 30 free gifts worth up to £49 - Plus get £25 to spend in our shop
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
Good laps today in Whistler. Had a good amount of snow in the last few days but also 150km/h winds, so no alpine skiing, but plenty of fresh stuff in the trees.
Hopefully the alpine opens tomorrow, should be around 50-80 cm of fresh snow up there if the wind didn't blow all of it right off the mountain.
That second chalet door pic is crying out to be used a beer fridge... 😆
Great pic 1 whatnobeer!
off to Courchevel tomorrow for a week....looking good for mid next week and not altogether disastrous at the moment!
[url= http://www.courchevel.com/winter/en/webcams-lc72.html ]clicky[/url]
La croisette is S****y 1850
off to Morzine in a few hours. Looks like lots of snow incoming over the next few days. We're only there for 3.5 days so probably be playing in the trees for the main.
The tour of Graydon is open at St Jean d'Aulpes which is lovely in this weather so we will do that on Monday. Sat & Sun special price weekend tickets for Morz/Les Gets (€54 ea for the weekend) so will get the snow legs going around the Ranfoilly tomorrow, and try and get up to Chamossiere/Nyon if the cloud lifts briefly.
https://www.onthesnow.co.uk/northern-alps/morzine/skireport.html
i'm off to les arcs 1800 tomorrow 🙂
So dumping down in Tignes again this afternoon but looking like it might clear a bit Monday pm, once in a generation snowfall say the locals.
First time in powder, excited and nervous, might need a lesson.
Second Scottish day today. Cairngorm this time, cold and overcast rather than blue sky and cold as forecast, but not a bad day overall.
The west wall poma is an aggressive bloody thing though 😆
Looks like Glenshee had the better weather, but just not enough open for the crowds that were there.
First time in powder, excited and nervous, might need a lesson.
Good luck! It can be a bit of a challenge the first time, but once it clicks, it's the best thing ever. If you're skiing, think about putting your weight a little more through your heels rather than your toes. Don't lean back though, it's a fairly subtle shift. Enjoy!
So the forecast for after next week seems to be a lot more settled. What do we reckon accurate or complete garbage?
Either way we had to la plagne next Saturday am hoping for sun and pow, but will settle for one or the other
My brother is stuck in Zermatt today.
Avalanches and continued avalanche risk = no trains.
He paid to go on the Glacier express from Zurich after exteending a work trip out there.
Now he cant get back.
No ski kit/ outdoor clothing thats suitable for snow shoeing, so stuck hanging around a hotel lobby
Air Zermatt not running the heli taxis?
-26c at the bottom of the mountain, -4c up top, sunny and no wind. Inversion mania. Awesome day today
Hardly anything open in Tignes again today and more snow forecast tomorrow. They blasted all night last night and will be tonight too, hopefully Tuesday will see it clear up a bit
Yes Air Zermatt are running when the viz permits , but its drifting in and out with snow showers that blow through . However , the queue is approx 1/2 mile long as thousands of pepes want out.
He has booked a 7pm GVA - manc flight on tuesday and is wincing at 9chf beer prices, plus 2 x extra nights stuck in Zermatt
[img] 
[/img]
So this happened.
Forecast was for anything between 10 and 35cm depending on which model you looked at. We ended up getting 58cm over night then another 20 odd during the day today. Nearly 2 hours late in opening due to high winds and doing avalanche control mid mountain, which is very rare.
We had a good day, but it turns out that 60cm of west coast cement will show a lot of people up! Some proper comedy viewing from the chairlifts today.
Mmmmm. Wrenched knees a plenty I'm guessing. I remember once starting in fantastic powder up high and my enthusiasm got the better of me so I descended too far and eventually just stopped solid..
Sounds about right! The chunder in the lower 3rd of the mountain was pretty interesting! All my skis are pretty stiff, so not so bad for me, but the trend for noodly 'fun' skis probably caused a few problems too 😆
Well after last weeks excitement it was a trip to Lake Louise (quiet at the back...). Sweajnr spent the morning in ski school and we were surprised to see on the comments card that he'd had fun in the terrain park which confused us as it's pretty big and off a lift. After lunch he insisted on heading out and lo and behold at the top of the magic carpet there was a small jump complete with comprehensive warning which I'm sure he read and understood fully....
[img] 
[/img] [img] 
[/img]
So a question for those with small children.. how to motivate them to turn / practice drills? Currently when sufficiently motivated he can turn and stop but most of the time he just wants to go down as fast as possible.... "My skis want to go fast daddy" Following mum / dad is boring.....
Swearman, I have one of them too. If you find a way to get jr to turn please post it here!
swea - how about a black run? Always make me want to turn loads.
Small kids bounce. (right?)
When he gets enough confidence on small runs going fast, he will ask to go on bigger and steeper runs, he will have no choice but to turn.
Half of me leans towards the ski run kill or cure philosophy but I think it'll be a disaster.. I sort of need him to learn / comprehend that turning is a way of checking speed as the beginner areas are so shallow it's really not needed.
I've seen children heading straight down the hill locked into snowplow and still not turning so it's not intuitive to all.
Never complain about lack of snow.
That Candide Thovex video is impressive - even for him!
I'm out to Alpes on Thursday - just bet I get thse hire skis after him...
Sweaman2, can you just stick him in a class and let the professionals do it? That's what we have done with our lad and we just spend time with him on skis having fun. Not saying you don't mind!
edit: just read your post properly.. he was in ski school! it'll come i'm sure!
The Candide butter on water is excellent, as is the surfing section. Goes to show a) how light he is, and b) just how much float those boat like skis give.
Given the tow-in he was getting, he was hauling ass at some points!
Looked like there was a little extra on the skis for the wave section.
Still - ORSUMNEZZ!
When he gets enough confidence on small runs going fast, he will ask to go on bigger and steeper runs, he will have no choice but to turn.
or he could just do what my 12 year old does and just straightline everything short of black runs. Gives me the fear and does my head in in equal measure!
+1. (11 year old though)
Swearman, don't let Jr watch the Candide vid, not too much turning in there!
What must the budget have been for that film though?
Countless takes, Locations across the four corners of the globe, masses of editing / post production.
Nice work if you can get it.
Where is the sand dune segment, crumbs that looked like some big vertical?
What wax for.......sand, grass, ash, water and concrete?
Shaun White gets a perfect 100 score. Another Olympic gold ?
I wonder how much of that Candide video was digital compositing etc, or physical stunts but with hidden slidey bits?
In fact I wonder if it was all him? Having him cover his face like that makes it easy to swap in someone else rather than fly him round the world for a 5 second take.
(Not intending to diminish it in any way. He is obviously stupidly talented)
Ok, GrahamS.
I was told not to let anyone know, yes parts of that film were me 😳
(In my dreams)
Anyone in Tignes/Val D'isere this week? Looking at last minute option for this weekend. Is everything open??
Dunno but have a photo of friends sitting on the cross bar of the rugby posts , feet flat on snow 😯
bil just back from les Arcs .
good powder bur it was raining yesterday .
[img] 
[/img]
Made the most of the 80cm + of new snow and hit some laps down the Khyber area of Whistler mountain. Bottomless, and light. The ski back to the lift was a horror show, but well worth it.
Nice. I love skiing old growth BC forest. No desire to put some skins on for the slog?
Currently in Bella Plagne. Monday mountain road was closed and it snowed lots so instructors/lifties struggled to get to work, consequently not much open.
Tuesday winds kept the higher lifts closed but most of lower stuff open and a glorious day.
Today another blue sky day, glacier is shut but most the rest is open, avalanche risk down to 3. Fabulous conditions.
Should be good next week @graham1980
Instagram pic from a mate in Chamonix. Took me a sec to figure it out. That's a lot of snow!
[img] 
[/img]
"chamonixbikeblog" Good one to follow, winter and summer.
Just seen a mates video of her arriving by Air Zermatt helicopter taxi into Zermatt. Not jealous at all 😖
I heard that Chamonix has had 4m in 5 days!
A friend and her kids have been stuck in Zermatt since the weekend last FB post I saw they were 1000 and something in the queue for the chopper to get out!
My transfer driver had not been another show at GVA from a couple who were supposed to be there by train from St Anton and couldn't get out.
"<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444;">Took me a sec to figure it out. That’s a lot of snow"</span>
For the uneducated what am I looking at?
Yep belle plagne looks like it will be spot on next week.
I saw some pics of them digging glacier out today. Am sure a hut reappeared from under the snow
Sweaman - the blue circle is the top of a piste marker I think.
Chamonix has been pretty serious ! There was an advisory to evacuate properties due to avalanche risk (20? years ago people where killed in their apartments following an avalanche) and road through Tirent is shut for some time following a landslide.
@ned agreed re the bikeblog too, great stuff
Jamba, I drove through the debris field in Argentier after that avalanche, very sobering. The road went through go a 5m deep Chanel cut through the snow, you could see the bits of buildings and furnishings in the snow wall.
🙁 Sad times indeed. A good friend used to rent a place there each winter after he did a season there in his 30’s, the building was hit and 2 close friends of his where killed.
Chamonix, digging down to find the top of the piste markers 🙂
Cheers Jamba.
Sweaman - It's not terrible on skis tbh, but trying to skate a long a flat FSR in a channel that's about 18" wide is never going to be fun, especially when the snow is thicker than school custard. The snowboarders had it a lot worse. Without poles they're having to skate but the snow is so soft and the channel so narrow that it's a bit of a nightmare.
I fancy a trip to Schladming, to watch the night slalom, so I thought we'd start thinking about it now so we have plenty of time to get fixed.
Ideally, we'd be based close enough to be able to ski all week (without paying a fortune for the privilege of going in race week), and have an evening trip over to watch the racing. Mrs NBT is not a fan of using ski buses though so I'm wondering about the advisability of staying a little further out - i know for instance of a nice-looking place in Radstadt ( http://www.austrian-adventures.com/) down the valley owned by a member of snowheads, so that might be an option? Or would be better based in Schladming itself and limit ourselves to the lift-linked skiing in the local area? There would be be a mix of skiiers and boarders and perhaps a mix of ability levels. I know too that some who might be interested prefer the "uk tour op french chalet" style of holiday where we have tea and cake waiting when we get back from a day on the slopes, but I'm not aware of any uk tour operators who offer trips to Schladming.
Any constructive advice on places to stay so as to minimise travelling and anything else we need to consider would be appreciated.
I'm hoping the predicted drop on Friday is minimal so we can get into resort on Saturday, roll on next week, sat in Les Arcs after a day on the slopes and all thoughts of work far far away.
Just back from Tignes, managed to ski 3 1/2 days out of the 6 because of the weather and avalanche risk.
Managed to cut my salopettes on the inside of the ankle due to a few falls in the deeper stuff. Can anyone recommend anything for repairing - looked at sail tape as the duct tape isn't working.
Also the boy bought some boots from glide and slide in Otley before New Year and had them fitted, as he didn't know how they were supposed to do feel he took the technicians advice that they were right for him. After 3 runs it was apparent they weren't right so we went to a how do in resort to see if they could hear and shape. The guy there said that the shells were 15mm too narrow and that they couldn't be stretched that much. What do you think are the chances of getting a refund?
Smokey, depends. When I worked at Ellis brigham they did a fit guarantee. I can’t remember the T’s & c’s but that’s what it will come down to with Slide and Glide
It’s tricky with kids. Good fitter will get the inner boot out and get you to put the foot into the empty shell. This way you can see what space there is between foot and shell. Also foot in inner boot without shell gives a good indication is overall size.
Conditions in the Pyrenees are close to perfect, junior reports the Vosges are too. The forecast suggests things will remain excellent for a while with cold conditions and occasional top-ups of fresh without excess. If you're out over the next few weeks you booked lucky.
The only downside is the number of people on piste. We skied X-C today rather than mix it with Sunday skiers making the most of the grippiest slidiest snow of the season - fast, fast snow.
nbt - I’ve replied to your Schladming thread on Snowheads. Definitely recommend a trip there (although I’ve never been to the night race). We’re going for half term.
Regarding repairing salopettes. A couple of years ago some noob neatly sliced through my new breeks (and not-so-new knee) with the edge of her board.
I repaired using duck tape on the back then sewed through with a tight stitch from the front.
(Some on here recommended goretex repair patches which you can get online. But I found the temporary duck tape had stuck so well I couldn’t remove it to put on the patch)
Cheers Graham, got a few cuts in the same area so I think I'd like to add a later of protection over the top I think rather than stich them up and it happen again
Cool. Been to Schladming by the way. Good place with decent modern facilities.
We stayed at Hotel Ferienalm with Crystal which is a little out of town, but has nice ground-floor apartment rooms. Ski bus is free and regular or you can walk if you like a warm up.
Seem to remember that they had a huge locker/changing area at Planai so we hired a locker for the duration and dumped all our gear there to saving humping it about. Also made apres a lot easier.
Two british fellas killed skiing the Grand Monets in Chamonix at the weekend 🙁
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/28/two-british-off-piste-skiers-fall-several-hundred-metres-death/</span>
not familiar with the terrain, but found this video of the couloir in more powdery times. Sounds conditions were tricky.
https://www.tetongravity.com/video/ski/cham-lines-s2ep2-couloir-du-chapeau
Glide & Slide agreed to a full refund as part of their commitment to lifetime guarantee on boot fit. Shame they didn't get the fit right in the first place but can't fault the after sales service.
Kevin and the other one from SnowboardProCamp, who are usually based in Whistler, are doing a nice little European trip at the moment.
If you like rambling boarding-related vlogs it's quite interesting to see what they make of the Hemel Hempstead snowdome and the slopes at St Anton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBwvXVK9qbY
I quite like watching them because they are obviously decent but not incredible riders, so it all feels much more relatable to me.
(No comment on the complete lack of avi gear whilst riding off piste though!)
Arrgh is embedding videos AND editing posts now broken? 🙁
Here are some links:
Channel:
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> https://</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">www.youtube.com/user/SnowboardProCamp/videos
</span>
Hemel:
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Austria:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE57tLvbfF8</span>
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBwvXVK9qbY</span>
🤦🏻♂️
🤬 forum
>Two british fellas killed skiing the Grand Monets in Chamonix at the weekend
One from my Hockey club. Played in men's 1st XI.
I have the possibility of cheap flights to Toulouse in mid February - which resorts would be looking at?
The main jaunt is at easter, so ideally, this will be a lower cost adventure.
Any advice on accommodation / equipment / lift pass combos would also be welcome. 🙂
Well the English half term break is mid February (10th till 18th) so avoid anywhere family-friendly if that clashes with your dates!!
Mmm - the bargain flights appear to have evaporated 🙁
@footflaps sad times 🙁
I have skied in that area with a guide but that couloir is WAY WAY beyond my ability and courage. It ends in a cliff and you have to exit out before obviously. It seems conditions where poor and the couloir was icy and after they “dropped in” one after the other they both fell almost immediately and just slid down the whole way (35-40 degrees at the top) and over the cliff. The rescue people were on site in 10 mins but both confirmed dead 🙁
In other equally bad news I believe the Brit who went missing in Tignes on “one last run” two weeks ago has still not been found 🙁
Be careful people
Has anyone on here tried Burtons Step on binding system yet? I quite like the idea of not having to faff about strapping in at the top of every chair, coupled with not having straps clamping my feet down etc etc
It looks like a pretty good system , I cant find a bad review anywhere, but you know it could just be that the review are not that objective.
Will probably get a set for my up coming trip to austria.
Likewise not seen a bad review, though some reviews do report an irritating clicking as you are riding about.
I think those of us old enough to remember step in systems from the first time around (Burton SI, K2 Clicker, Switch etc) are naturally quite cautious. But if they can solve the issues of those early systems (heavy, stiff boots; limited flex; snow/ice clogging; lack of choice etc) then they could have a winner.
Personally I'd give it a season before investing myself but may look at them next year as my boots are shot and my K2 Autos (almost step-ins) are starting to creak.
Personally I’d give it a season before investing myself but may look at them next year as my boots are shot and my K2 Autos (almost step-ins) are starting to creak.
Yeah, in an ideal world I would wait, but my boots are knackered, and I dont want to spend £250 on new ones (none step in) only to replace them next season.
I think I'll order a set and see how they go, they seem to be sold out all over europe, but I have found a couple of places with stock in my size.
We fly to Whistler tomorrow 🙂