Have we done this yet?
It might just be me and the lack of detail but no mention of release etc? So like a snowboard you're strapped to the skis?
Looks to me like a plate on the bottom of the frame replaces the boot in the binding.
Higher off the ski, shirley?
My boots are more than comfy enough that I can't see the need for this. Maybe good for a small slice of the market, namely those who are a bit better than beginner, only stay on piste and don't want to (for whatever reason!) buy their own boots.
Agreed. My boots are fine! I could do with some new liners though. Stinky!
As their target market, snowboarder thinking of trying to get to piste cruising level on skis who likes a bit of comfort in his life...
Nope. I’m with CFH and Wallop.
Not convinced that what is comfortable on a board for a day would be comfortable on a ski for a day anyway.
So if you undo the boot frame and step out with the snowboard boots on, to the bar for a couple of jagerbombs, your skis are going to slide off down the mountain... I'm out.
igm - I'd look for an area with good snow making. Hopefully there'll be good natural snow, but if not it makes sense to go somewhere with good snow making. The last three Christmases have been poor but we've been able to ski a fair amount on man made even staying relatively low down (Saalbach and Wagrain).
How will all the Tarquin and Jemima skiers of the world draw attention to themselves whilst they dance on tables and make the 'thump thump thump' noise with their hard boots? No Deal.
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apologies skiers if you and or your partner are in the picture. It was Meribel, natch. 🙂
Still , stairs would be easier
Sooo,
I'm off to Val d'isere at the start of March with a couple of good mates. They're both quite good skiers, whilst I'm still kinda snow ploughing my turns on the top section of the local Snow Zone slope. I went with them to Stubai (Austria), back in March and managed the blue slopes, maybe not elegantly, but I managed them.
Confidence is the big problem, I knackered myself quite impressively on my snowboard two winters ago and am having a real problem relaxing into these new fangled ski things.
Anyway, we're actually going to be based in La Daille, just down the road from Val d'isere and looking at the piste map for the area there appears to be a funicular going up from the village to a large bowl of green runs. Anyone been up there? I'm not looking for thrills and spills, just a gentle bimble up and down with the odd beer stop to people watch. Does anyone know if this area will fit the bill, maybe even help me build enough confidence to attempt other stuff on the hill, later in the holiday. I can also see that there's a green run back down to the village, but I've heard that the lower green runs can be a bit beginner unfriendly in this area! 😯
Am I doomed?
igm, the rolling slope is all about the snowplough. It usually takes decent skiers a few sessions to progress to parallel turns and for that to happen the speed needs to be higher so you can't share the slope with anyone who is slow / snowploughing. I found it very unforgiving on parallel so no room for sloppiness which I thought was a good thing.
The most useful feature for me was the mirror. I had a tendency to watch the tips of my skis but you practice looking at yourself with no bumps or traffic.
Thanks all, for feedback on both questions I asked.
BeagleBoy, we spent quite a bit of time exactly where you are proposing last year and it will be just what you want. Also consider the greens and blues above Val D'Isere itself - you can get a free bus up to Val and take the lifts from there. Or even take the funicular up and the cable car down to Val.
The green (and all the other colours) runs down to La Daille can be crowded/icy/slushy/closed. If so, just take the funicular down and don't sweat it.
I'm not looking for thrills and spills, just a gentle bimble up and down with the odd beer stop to people watch
Your biggest problem will be that at the bottom of that bowl of green runs is La Folie Douce. Good luck having the willpower to leave there when it's in full swing.. 😆
Beagleboy, grab a couple of mornings of one to one lessons, you'll be more confident and capable in no time.
Anyone off to the Ski and Snowboard Show? We've not bothered this year, still working our way through the 8 bottles of French's Mustard we ended up with.
Anyone got any idea what the snow's like in Milton Keynes? Off there at the weekend for my first ever lesson on a snowboard......wish me luck
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
