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@Earl - liquid wax will have rubbed off in one run so pretty pointless tbh. Ex-ski tech and I only wax skis if I'm away more than a week. Depends on the conditions and how long you're skiing each day but every 4-5 days is about right for most folk (so near enough a week that i don't bother taking stuff or paying for a wax for one day).
Just booked a five night (8) boys trip to Morzine in early March. Not been there before so something to look forward to!
Morzine confirmed for new year week. Hope for better snow than 3 years ago, albeit not on the roads as we drive there!
Just picked up one of these :
Friend’s 50th this year so we’re doing 3 days in Whistler and 4 days Bella Coola heli boarding. Starting to get slightly excited and it’s not until March......
4 days Bella Coola heli boarding.
rrrrrrrrrrgh!
Starting to get slightly excited and it’s not until March……
I bet you are! Hope it's awesome for you. Here's a little something that won't help to dampen the excitement.
Yeah. That's not made me unexcited!
Season should be starting for me in a few weeks at Kaprun. Boarding one day, DH bike at Leogang the next. Win.
I've finally bought my first pair of skis... I've previously been using a borrowed pair of Stöcklis that weigh more than the moon so I'm hoping to feel the difference.
Picked up a good deal on last year's Rossignol Experience 84HD as they got universally good reviews. Hopefully this year I can really get the hang of it, and leave the board at home for powder days...
The cost to take skis on Easyjet for our five night trip is £72, so still not seeing any point in buying skis currently.
Morzine / Avoriaz advice please...
I have been landed with organising a trip for 12 walking / biking friends. Not everyone knows everyone and I had a tall order to fill: Catered Chalet, big ski area, twin ensuite rooms, ski in ski out...
I have found somewhere that nearly ticks all the boxes, but its not ski in / out. It is near the bottom of the Podrains lift and they run a private shuttle door to door...
How 'bunged up' does the Podrains lift get in a morning? Is it possible to ski back down at the end of the day (snow permitting)? How much of a ball ache is it going to be being 500m from the lift without a bus...? Any experience? The private shuttle only runs 8.30 to 10.00 and 16.00 to 18.00.
If it was just for myself and close friends I'd do it without a problem... but for the folk who wanted easy / quick access - am I totally missing the mark??
Any info would be great as I need to book soon...
Jo
Couple of things to note about Prodains - it's miles from Morzine and there's not much there, so if you want to get out for a beer or meal in the evening then options are limited (couple of bars but not much else from memory).
The new Prodains lift they put in a few years ago is pretty slick these days - occasional queues at peak times but not too bad. Yes you can ski back down, but the run can get a bit icy at times.
As for walking 500m with skis - your call, but if folks are expecting ski in / out, then that wouldn't really tick the box for me.
Avoriaz might be a better bet if you want ski in / out, but lots of self catered apartments up there, but sure there must be catered stuff too....
for ski-in/out chalets your best bet is the Front du Neige in Morzine itself, but as that is at 1,000m you're going to be snow dependent. Any higher ski in-out will be in smaller hamlets and limited aprés-ski. Have a look at Lindarets or Ardent. Family ski in Ardent is likely to be around £1k pp for a week in March. But ski in/out. Two bars in the hamlet.
Twin rooms will be hard to get hold of.
You may have more luck with somewhere like Chalet Montana (lots of twin rooms) and use the skibus that goes from the end of the driveway (literally, 40m walk) and takes you direct to Ardent (one of the main base stations into the heart of the PDS ski area) only 5 minutes away. A basic bar in the chalet, good bars & restaurant 5min walk away, but you're still outside of Morzine itself.
@gmail.com?subject=Skiing!!!!!!" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.chaletmontana.org
We go to Morzine a lot and I’d pick a central Morzine location over ski-in ski-out every time. We often go as a big single sex group - we’ve stayed in Chalet Serac (Mountain Highs) a couple of times and the bedroom arrangements work really well. Few yards from the Super Morzine.
Ok- I'll stick to my rub on and cork method.
Unless it's back to back days of fresh pow I do find a mid week wax makes a difference - on my board at least. And I hate the look of edge burn.
A week last year started off with a daily 500m flat bomb. Fresh wax on day 4 got me a lot further. Considering the cost and scarcity of a snow holiday, spending a little time during the week maintaining my gear for best performance is not a big deal.
In spring slush i would<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;"> was every day if I could.</span>
The contract and bill will be arriving next week BUT .... going for the season (except for the french school holidays when we'll come back to work).
Off to Flaine again to ski bum and do a little bit of online work (outside of ski hours obviously).
Has anyone been to or used Ski Bartlett ? Thinking of a trip over there to try some boots and just wanted some first hand experiences before battling the M25. We have the polar opposite of shoe sizes, I'm a 34 (mondo 21.5) and he's a 47 ! To this day I don't think I've ever skiied in a pair of boots the right size, I probably won't be able to ski if they actually fit.
Thanks
Linda
Ski Bartlett, good reputation in the racing circuit. I'm sure they have some good fitters. Leave loads of time, don't rush or be rushed, take your own socks, take the liners out and see how much space you have in the shell, do your homework, be honest about your ability. (Sorry if you know all that)
Ski Bartlett fitted my Tellie boots and new NTN bindings last year.
Young lad fitted the boots and knew his stuff, even although they're a bit if a niche product.
The bloke from the workshop who fitted my bindings was great. Could've spent all day blethering with him. Spent 20min explaining set up and maintenance and gave me good hints and tips for servicing.
Met Jenny Jones whilst she was picking up all her new picture gear.
Going to.Ardent for the 2nd year in a row.with family ski. Their child care set up is 2nd to none and it's a great spot for getting up into the ski area before the hordes arrive from morzine! Probably my 10th trip to PDS in 6 years.
Anyone need a new jacket?
Westbeach Bull, reduced from £180 to £55
https://westbeach.com/collections/sale/products/bull-jacket?variant=23292636231
It's bloody snowing!
Got flights booked for a long weekend in feb (4.5 days on the slopes if flights / transfers go as planned)
Any recommendations for a ski area close to Geneva? Not PdS as I’m there at new year.
currently looking at Grand Massiff and Chamonix. 2 of us - Intermediate snowboarder - piste and slack country. Intermediate skier - piste only. Never been to either
3 yr old had his first proper ski lesson today at ml and loved it. God job as he is in the ski famille nursery with ski lessons at the end of jan. Just a shame they won't do board lessons that early. Hemel coming up for a board lesson so we can work with him on holiday.
Can't wait now, but getting tempted to try a stiffer board as my typo is fairly flexy
Kingisdead, St Grevais, part of the Chamonix Mt Blanc area and links with Megeve.
Grand Massif, is nice, not too many trees so not great in bad vis. Be careful off piste above Flaine, lots of big holes to fall in. We have stayed in the Best Western in Morrillon, kind of self catered hotel with pool, it was nice.
Chamonix, quite spread out, some love it some hate it. I love it. Off piste is less accessible and gets tracked out quickly, lots of good and serious skiers and boarders. Lots of accommodation options.
St Gervais already recommended for you but a little further up the valley is Les Contamines which is quiet and very nice.
Grenoble flights booked for mid January, but that's it so far - I've seen quite a nice apartment in Meribel for me and Ms Oliverd, but I'm not sure if we should try somewhere a bit less obvious. Open to suggestions at this point
Just a shame they won’t do board lessons that early.
The thinking may have changed, but I thought snowboarding was supposed to be a bit more physically demanding than skiing so children need to be a year or two older before starting to learn.
Seems to be an open argument about toddlers boarding.
Hemel will do sessions on a board and mint snowboarding in morzine do lessons as do a load of American resorts.
Honestly I have no idea but keeping a 3 yr old interested for an extended period is a mission to insanity anyway.
We are going to book him in for ski lessons next winter if he wants and take his little board with us so he can have a play, worst case he can go sledging on it
We’re doing similar mid-March. So far only flights booked.
We’ve done Chamonix before and tbh it’s a bit of a ball-ache on a board. If you’re going to pick one area and session it, it’s fine. Otherwise you need local knowledge to avoid long traverses or a bus home.
I've successfully taught kids as young as 5 or 6 to snowboard. Even taught a 9 year old to ride powder pretty well! A lot of it depends on the kid when they're that young. If their adventurous, active kids who are happy to take a few bumps, they'll love it. If not, maybe not so much...
I would say though that trying to run group snowboard lesssons for tiny kids would be super-hard, so I wouldn't really recommend it. For 2-3 max it's pretty doable - they need a lot of hand-holding to start with!
Colorado resorts already opening!
I've got a couple of snowboards that are now surplus to requirements, is eBay the best place to sell them on?
Colorado resorts already opening!
Im trying to decide if I want to go ski this weekend at Loveland. They’re opening at the weekend. Could be fun, most likely be terrifying! I went to day after opening last year so I may shot for that on Sunday.
PSA Horizon tonight at 2100. Inside an avalanche, may be of interest.
what type of boards are they?
No, it wasn't meant to be, they are Burton Custom X 164 and 158 (2013/14 season.)
5 year old boards, popular brand and model, but in an over saturated market. Ebay is probably the only place you'll get a definite sale. If you can hang on 'till the webcams go white you'll probably get a better price.
Prepare to get stung on postage though!
Good article - might pivot the February trip to one of these.
Anyone been to Grand Tourmalet, la mongie/garages skiing or snowboarding?
Think I'm going there for a few day after Christmas, not expecting the best snow as it's early in the season but I'd be interested to know what people thought of the it if you've been?
sprogeny no.1 will require new ski-wear (pants & jacket) this winter, (although she's 5'10 so firmly in adult sizes)
Where is good to look online?
I will also be making a trip to TK max as have heard they sometimes have good kit.
I will also be making a trip to TK max as have heard they sometimes have good kit.
They used to, not seen much lately when I've been in. Sometimes you have to try a few different branches.
I've had some great bargains from the O'Neill outlet in Cheshire Oaks too.
https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/womens-ski-package-p18327.aspx/one/
I have my jacket from there which has been fine. Not really going to set the world alight but good vfm
@ads678 I haven't been to those resorts but I have been to other French Pyrenean stations and early season the snow can be better than the Alps! Obviously nothing is a given 2 months out.
FWIW I'll be 1000km further south just before Christmas and I fully expect to be on slopes of Sierra Nevada for the 3rd year in a row.
After 5 years of a posh, all inclusive, catered chalet type jobs, we need to find a cheap alternative this season.
Up until 5 years ago I always just went on my own with the lads. Ive skied since I was about 17, we used to book allocation on arrival deals with Airtours, pitch up at the airport with no idea where we were going! For me its always been about the skiing, I couldn’t give a shit about fancy hotels or catered chalets, id honestly sleep in my van and eat bread and cheese all week if I could ski every day!
Unfortunately this sentiment is not shared by my wife and kids. For them its very much about the salubrious digs and nice food and less about time on the slopes.
But, having been out of work for a large part of this year, and now earning a chunk less than in recent years we cant afford to go with our usual crew. In fact, being a bit more skint lately an looking back at what it normally costs ‘all in’ was quite a shock and not an amount I ever wanna spend again regardless of circumstance.
I need either very cheap catered, or really nice self catered. I am considering driving down not only to save on flights but also make the location less of an issue? Need to prove to the mrs that a SC ski holiday is not the hell she imagines it will be..
Ideally I’d like to be anywhere between Les Arcs and Val up the Tarentaise Valley. Our regular patch is Sainte Foy so would like to ski there one day at least… maybe even meet up with our mates if the dates align…
were not restricted to half term, but gonna need equipment hire and kids lessons.
Any advice great fully received.
Noticed some great apartments on Airbnb!
We're preparing to drive from the midlands to Morzine again this new year. We're luck enough to have a mate with accommodation there, but I imagine there's loads of Airbnb options in Morzine/Avoriaz?
Did it 3 years ago and it works well - albeit we didn't encounter any bad weather or traffic. Loitering on the snow heads forum is a good source of info. One thing that seems a consensus there is the need for winter tyres on car so that's an added expense over what you may think is a good price compared to flights - Actually it's not a cost overall as you only wear 4 tyres at time and so the summers last longer but it's cash up front initially.
One thing I'd say about self catering is it works so much better if there's two families - you can alternate and feel like you're being looked after a bit. This obviously requires two families that get on well enough to share for the week and produce similar standards of meals to prevent disharmony.
ps i'm in exactly the same boat re lack of budget/desire to ski/would happily rough it/need to keep wife on board!