Snow at MK... Jnr skis there 1/2 times a week for training. Snow condition fluctuates massively. If they're having trouble keeping the place cold then it's awful (for SL training). If everything is working fine (which it has been recently) then it just depends on the time of the day and how busy it is - early morning = fine usually.
Doing a day beginner course starts around 9:30am and will probably finish around 10am when I break my wrists!
As a mid forties old fart, I'm really looking forward to it but at the same time wondering if these things should be left for the young :-).
I’m 46. Read the last couple of pages and you’ll see that other than being a board rider (feet on ground to max six inches of air style) I’m in a similar boat.
To be honest you’ll have a lot of the forward pressure, weight on the outside foot style stuff from riding a bike.
Certainly that’s what I’ve observed in kids and I’m hoping it transfers to the middle aged.
Excellent work on learning something new. the more silver surfers the better1
Apologies I know you are only mid forties!
in other news, does anyone have any experience of cross country skis with the new skins on ? A colleague at work really rates them but I've only been XC skiing 18 months
Skins are for ski mountaineering and trekking surely, not XC - no?
XC is wax or fish scale patterns in the ski base.
(About to have my ignorance confirmed)
you ignorant fool!
ha that's what I thought but apparently in around 2014 atomic released xc skis with inbuilt skins in the base. Apparently they are really good for those like me can't be arsed to wax the skis but find wax free skis a bit shit, i.e bad glide. All the other manufacturers do them now and they are getting very popular.
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Not quite as fast as a waxed up pair of skis, but very very good for those that like a bimble
The Valluga 2, St Anton, is it any good on a board and worth hiring a guide for? Or, is it just a thrashed out mogul field most of the time?
The Kitsteinhorn was pretty good last week, loads more snow since too from about 1600m up. They had to close the Bikepark at Leogang early.
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There is a nice vid doing the rounds on FB at the moment (I can't work out how to link)
It's a tribute to JP Auclair and his Rosland Street Scene in All I can..
Have a search for North Face and JP Auclair and you'll probably find it.
This the one?
JP Auclair RIP
#TriviaFans
From memory the 'All I Can' segment was filmed in Trail near Rossland (you can see the smelting factory in Trail in a few of the shots)
'Imagination' is filmed in nearby 'Nelson' (where the Steve Martin film Roxanne was also shot). Home to a number of American hippies who settled there to avoid the Vietnam War)
Thats the one Digby, Cheers.
If you need some more trivia, the only reason Vancouver has a stock market is due to the smelter and Iron ore mine..(Or so I was told) The latter being the source of the name of the nearby ski hill of Red Mountain.
Nelson seems a bit like a Mountainous Glastonbury, the place not the festival.
Lots of crystals, weed and beards.
And a pretty good brewery, some excellent mountain biking, and Mt Baldface, where Craig Kelly laid his hat, so I'm guessing the skiing there isn't too bad either.
Baldface . Boner alert
And a pretty good brewery
Yeah - quite fond of Nelson Brewery's 'Faceplant' Winter Ale
a bit like a Mountainous Glastonbury, the place not the festival
Yeah - otherwise it would be Hunter Wellies; Birkenstocks; denim shorts cut-off just a bit too short; and loads of "gap-year-yah!" types 🙂
Flaine any good for a long weekend? I'm looking at resort/towns within approx 90mins of Geneva to take my wife for our joint 40th in March. We are off to Morzine with the kids in February so fancy some 'luxury' away from the kids, not Chamonix or PDS. Looking at the map Flaine caught my eye. Any other recommendations? Thanks
Flaine as a resort is a really ugly mess, but its basically one big bowl. I wouldn't call it luxurious
If you're going in March the world is your oyster!
Luxury? Megeve? Courmayeur?
Edit - Verbier?
Ok, I'll give Flaine a miss...I'll check out the other 3
Flaine flava here
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Lovely...
Well my back garden looks like this...
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Which meant it was time to put the bikes away and get out the skis...
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Mt Norquay is apparently open today with bragging rights as first resort open for Winter in Canada although it appears to be one lift and two runs. The other resorts local to the rockies will all probably be open weekends starting soon. Rock skies very much the order of the day though as literally no base....
Banff right? I had a day of icey death at Mt Norquay several years ago. Great little place though!
We've had our little girl out on the XC skis just yesterday
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Calgary and yes Norquay can be icy death (as in fact can most of the rockies at times). Tried to get Sweajnr out on his skis in the garden following his excellent basement practice but was told the snow was "too slippy 🙄 " Will try again this evening or tomorrow.
Mt Norquay is apparently open today with bragging rights as first resort open for Winter in Canada
Yeah - I got an email yesterday saying that Nakiska (Closest resort to Calgary) was opening this weekend.
East Kootenays have had a good dusting but it don't mean diddly as a lot can happen between now and the end of Dec/start of Jan ...and yes Fernie I'm looking at you in the rain ...
We had a bloody fabulous day at Norquay a few years ago. knee deep powder, falling snow and about 20 people on the entire hill. Pigs in shit...
Is anyone else already watching the webcams and snow forecasts with excitement?!
I'm off the Les Arc over bah-humbugmass and there's already snow on the Col with 19cm forecast for Sunday night. Hope temps stay down and a repeat of last year isn't in store! (It absolutely dumped and they decided to open early and we went and it all melted the week before 😥 )
Dan, cormayeur is a nice place for a bit or a cheeky break.
We found it very friendly, the bars all put on a great apres buffet to encourage you to hang about for a couple, it worked! The mountain restaurants were better than most I have been too also.
It's a nice town and has a touch of bling.
Skiing is good too, was very quiet when we went.
Not the most convenient access from the village but with no kids in tow should be fine.
I ran up Cairngorm last Sunday AM and it was snowing in the tops. Winter tyres in car, excuses all lined up for WFH days where home is Glenshee for that specific day !
Flaine is ugly but the skiing is great and it is only 60 mins from GVA. The linked resorts are prettier, Morrillon, Samoens and les Carroz, but lower. If its early in March one of the lower resorts will be fine, if its later then go to Flaine (we'll be there from 17th March).
Hotel Totem in Flaine looked quite posh as did Hotel Milk in Carroz, I seem to remember there's an indepedant catered chalet in Morrilon which was flexible and looked good.
It does not have a buzzing night life though.....but we're too old for that now!
I'm also too old for buzzing nightlife, but the cobbled streets and atmosphere of Courmayeur sound exactly what I was after. Will probably book this resort staying at the Grand Hotel Mont Blanc unless someone on here says it's crap..... thanks for all the info
I’ve been to Cormayeur. It wasn’t the best conditions at the time which affects ones view, but wasn’t blown away by it. However I’m sure you can have a great weekend there. There are other areas close by which are available on the same pass that we enjoyed.
Did a long weekend in Flaine last weekend. Not as ugly as I remembered from 80s. Skiing by lunchtime on day 1 and full day on final day. Perfect weekend.
I've ridden in Courmayeur regularly for over a decade now - usually when based in Chamonix as the conditions on the Italian side have often been better, but have also done a weeks holiday there for the past couple of years.
It's a nice little resort thankfully devoid of of too much apres nonsense, it's frequently very quiet midweek and although it isn't a massive ski area, there is quite a bit of variety with some wide open runs and some trees on the Val Veny side (good when the visablity is low)
There are also plenty of opportunities to head into the backcountry off the Yula & Arp lifts, or off the Helbronner on the other side of the valley.
Oh - and the coffee is great!
Courmayeur - Italian Espresso - 1.20 Euro
Grand Montets - French Brown Gritty 'Coffee' - 5 Euro
Any suggestions for little resorts near Innsbruck? Some of my favourite places to ski are those little tiny Austrian gems with about 50km of piste. Turracher Höhe is a great example of this. I quite fancy spending a week in Innsbruck and then heading out to a different resort each day. Ideally no more than an hour each way.
Great skiing in flaine but as posted, very brutalist architecture. Courmayeur is great, I've done a long weekend and as couple of full weeks there, very likely to go again this year as we're hoping to meet a non-skiing relative, it's a great location for non-skiers too
What is Courmayeur like for beginners?
Wallop, good I would have thought.
What is Courmayeur like for beginners?
Pretty good actually - it has everything from a 'magic carpet' to avoid having to use any lifts for those for whom it's a first time on the slopes to big wide open slopes for linking those first turns.
Plus like many Vallee D'aosta resorts, outside of Italian school holidays they can be pretty quiet mid-week which means nervous first timers heading up a bit higher don't have to worry quite as much about heavy traffic.
Depending on the lift pass purchased you can also ski/ride at La Thuile and Pila etc.
A word of caution though as I know there are lots on hear that like to head off-piste - some of the lift accessed off-piste around Courmayeur is not to be taken lightly. Whilst I was in Courmayeur in March earlier this year there was a tragic avalanche accident just off the Gabba lift with 3 killed and 5 injured.
Sounds good. My beginner in-laws fancy a week in Italy and they probably wouldn't mind a couple of days off the slopes. Just a question of whether there'll be enough there for me and the other half (adventurous piste skiers!).
Just a question of whether there'll be enough there for me and the other half
As I said I've been riding in Courmayeur for years and never got bored even when riding 'inbounds' with the missus.
But I guess it depends what kind of piste skiing you enjoy. If you like to just tick off all the runs in the resort and clock up some mileage (km?) then you will quickly tick off all the runs (conditions permitting)
If, however you like to find a couple of runs that are in good condition and do laps getting you're groove on then there is quite a lot of opportunity.
You could also hire a guide and go up the new Skyway to access the vallee blanche from the Helbronner side. Not especially technical (unless you do a 'variant' off the tourist route) but the views are stunning!
Laps are good! Thanks for the info - very helpful.
Snow down to 800m in Austria!
Here's our webcam today
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nae bother Wallop 🙂
And just to wet your appetite, this shot is of the valley west of Courmayeur that can be accessed via the Arp cable car (the top one of the two that look like something out of a Bond film and date from the late '60s)
The valley pictured runs all the way down to the valley below La Thuile - it's a great 'tour' but can be a bit of a 'commando exit'! 🙂
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Pictured here is the 'Yula' cable car:
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sweaman2 - did you used to have a grind rail set up in your garden over winter?
Been to banff a couple years in a row now, think i recognise it.
Booked my first skiing trip for 10 years this weekend. I made the costly mistake of taking the kids for a lesson at the Castleford indoor centre, apparently its the best thing they have ever done, so I have sold a kidney and booked a trip to the Grand Massif for Feb half term.. We are staying in Samoens at accommodation we have used in the summer, but I don't know if anyone has got any insights into skiing in Samoen or the grand massif with young kids?
sweaman2 - did you used to have a grind rail set up in your garden over winter?
Not me but the playset is a pretty common design so likely similar in Banff.
Lyngen Alps look good right now! 8)
Or at least they certainly did 4 days ago.
http://web.stagram.com/p/Ba9Zrfbj97d
No embedding, sorry, only seen it on instagram.
Ski version:
http://web.stagram.com/p/Ba_0nHCnIDM
Trois Vallees for youngest leffe and I in Feb. Excited as she is going to try snowboarding this year as she kicks my bum when she is on skis. Will have to start stretching now as I usually can't walk by the end of the week 🙁
Will need to look into SkiFamille as I like these group places both for chat and for other folks for my daughter to ski with when I injure myself
Lyngen Alps look good right now
I'm off to Lofoten next April 8)
Been studiously avoiding this thread because I don't have anything booked this year, but thought I'd pop in to point out that the [b]TSA Big Bang Snowboard Show[/b] is on again at Braehead snowdome:
For one day only The Big Bang will bring a streamlined version of its Weekender Show up to Braehead. The Demo element of the show is always the best bit and that's what they are bringing to Snow Factor on the 18th of November. You'll be able to demo brand new 17/18 snowboard hardware from NOW, Jones, YES, Burton, Bataleon, Salomon Snowboards, Dinosaurs Will Die, Lobster, Switchback and Nidecker. All the hardware is free to demo you just need to cover your slope time. Demo runs from 12 noon until 6pm.
Here's the FB event for anyone interested:
I went to this show a few years ago and it was a great chance to demo loads of boards and bindings on real snow. It's where I discovered I like Bataleon's weird shaped base.
Sounds like they have downscaled it a bit this year and got rid of the side talks, coaching etc and they are just having it as a big demo day.
Worth going to if you are in the area.
Wow if it didn't already think skiing sucked* I really do now
*I don't it's rad just not as rad a surfing the frozen waves
@danradyr1 St Gervais is lovely village and big ski area under an hour from Geneva
Recommendations for a short Christmas break in PdS please.
Yes I know snow is a risk.
Djglover
We did a season in the Grand Massif this year. Samoens has a bit of a bottle neck with the chiarande express lift or the alternative is to take the lower down chiarande then Lanches chair (if its running). We've not stayed in Samoens but it does seem like everyone gets up and tries to head straight out of the Samoens valley....
Depending on the kids make sure you take them to Morillion and the green run called Marvel. It's long at 4.6 km, cruises through the trees (so always has some visibility), there are animals to spot in the trees and the gradient is just great. One of my favourite runs. There a little boarder cross track over there too, take the chair ?Bergins for that (its at the bottom of Marvel).
Any questions, just ask
Linda
PSA - 15% off @ Ekosport with code VIP15 until midnight.
Booked. Countdown has begun. Mildly excited. Need to organise insurance next
Davey lad did well in Slalom yesterday, nearly took the win. Except for the crash. It will happen though!
[b]Cairngorm! Snow![/b]
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Get the hell up there GrahamS!
djglover
the lifts serving the nursery slopes at the top of the GME are clunky, slow and prone to break downs. The plus side is they work round in a circle so you can keep varying the run. The local racing clubs will often use Plateau so expect to get bumped in the queue at the weekend. The sooner you get them capable for the likes of zizi panpan (very easy blue) the better.
The only tricky bit is the way back in at the top of Chariande - mainly because it's busy with crap skiers so choose your moment to attempt that carefully, e.g not at 3pm as the masses return from the Flaine side.
Try and sort your lift passes before you arrive in the morning as there can be a long wait then another wait for the GME. I think it can be done online. Parking also gets busy so again careful planning to make sure your kids haven't been stood around for an hour before doing anything.
Thanks for the info Andy and Linda!
I'm almost as excited for Sunday when sweajnr gets his first time on skis. Any bets on how long we last....
Sweamrs and I looked at doing a long weekend in Whistler this year but $$$$.
Jesus, Whistler is just unreal isn't it. Insane trails and then bam 6 weeks later covered in snow. Ridonkulous
Thinking of a week in Le Praz with Skivo2 who include instruction. I've been with them before but ages ago. I just wondered if anyone had been with them recently ?
Recommended ?
howsyourdad1 - Member
Jesus, Whistler is just unreal isn't it. Insane trails and then bam 6 weeks later covered in snow. Ridonkulous
Been having s good think about retiring to BC, looking at Squamish. Problem is that we have to wait 3 or 4 years for jnr to do uni and the property prices there are going crazy. You refresh the page on the estate agents website and it adds 10k
Off to Tignes in Jan on a package which includes a Tignes lift pass, is it easy enough to top up with a Val d'isere day pass as required or should we just get a week pass for Val d'isere on day 1?
Thinking of a week in Le Praz with Skivo2 who include instruction. I've been with them before but ages ago. I just wondered if anyone had been with them recently ?
Recommended ?
Not been with Skivo2 before but stayed in le Praz a lot over the last few years might be able to help if you have any specific questions
There's so much to ski in Tignes you may only want to Ski the Val sector on one day. If the weather is bad you may never want to cross over.
Or they close the links so you cannot get over / back.
Probably worth playing it by ear and maybe just get 1 or 2 days in VDI.
Depends how quickly you can cover the ground
Cheers guys, not super speedy so will pick our days as weather allows
[url= https://www.aldi.co.uk/c/specialbuys/dates/2017-11-26?sort=popular&q=%3Apopular%3AtransactionalStatus%3Atransactional%3AtransactionalStatus%3Anontransactional%3AEvent%3ASki+Wear&lowerBound=1&upperBound=20&text= ]Aldi gear out next week[/url]
@smokey The skiing in both is great and if in one its good to spend some time in the other. On a week’s holiday (we would normally pick Val for the town) I might spend one or max two days in Tignes. I like to do tye easy off piste Valley Perdue including the rocky gully (not so easy if conditions are tricky) and if the weather and snow are good a trip down to Le Breviere for a beverage.
As above it’s Jan and if the weather is poor the links can be shut / challenging with wind and snow blasting you in the face.
Off to Val D'Isere again with the family this Feb. Haven't been there for a few years though so looking to sort out an off-piste guide for a day, don't suppose anyone has recommendations? Went with the ESF before and the guide was an idiot.
Can't recommend anyone but I did have a great day off the back of POINTE DU MONTET.
A bit of skinning involved but a nice day out.
Funnily enough that's the area of the Val I haven't really explored before (off piste) so was looking to do something along those lines. Col Pers for example.
I've used the Development Centre in Val D'Isere before- they were good
Also have friends who worked for Progression Ski for several years-heard good things about their instructors.
Painey - ski or snowboard?
Snowboard. Tried skiing, decided it wasn't for me.