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Just ordered a pair of these. I do love a good pair of bibs, but can't help thinking that they have a little too much of the 90s German Porn star plumber about them 🙂
Looks like snowmageddon is coming this weekend. Safe travels to anyone heading out to the slopes! 😳😄
^Those bibs remind me of Super Mario 😄
I've posted this up on the Chalets Direct Solutions Room, but reposting here just in case any STW regulars have some suggestions to make
We are 2 skiiers travelling by plane from UK (room 1), plus one OAP non-skiier in her own room (2), travelling from Zurich - mode of transport to be determined depending on destination. Rooms must be en-suite. Pref valley location so non-skiier can go walking / sight seeing in the day, close to slopes for ease of access for us to ski and for her to perhaps join us for lunch on the mountain. Last such trip was Courmayeur, love it but looking for somewhere else. Been considering Les Arcs (1600 for access to BSM), Morzine (or elsewhere in PDS), Serre Chevalier, Val d'Isere? Happy to consider France or Italy, Switzerland, perhaps Austria. Travel from UK and Zurich will play a large factor in final decision. Looking for 1 week (might possibly do 8 days Saturday - Sunday) but aiming to be back in the UK by Sunday 23rd march
Serre Chevalier might be a good option for you - Briançon in particular has lots to do for non-skiers. It’s a proper town with lots of history. I think there is also a big spa at the other end of the valley which is probably accessible by bus.
aiming to be back in the UK by Sunday 23rd march
Lateish in the season then - you might want to take that into consideration.
Cheers @Wallop - it's on the list. Stayed in Briancon many years ago, but not been back for a while. We've looked at CFH's favourite little hotel there the Plein Sud. One of the issues though is getting there from Zurich, there's no direct flight to Turin from Zurich
oldtennisshoes
Lateish in the season then – you might want to take that into consideration.
We often ski late march and have skiied into April (and even May) before now. Happy to go early march of course, but there's a trade-off of the price being SO much higher
We’ve stayed in the Plein Sud as well - would definitely return.
Off to Morzine at New Year (wouldn’t have been my first choice for NY skiing, but it’s a family \ large group) Getting a bit nervous there’s very little snow, even up at Avoriaz. 😤
I know the thread title is about ski and snowboard, but I'm off to ride the fattie for 45 days and then hitting the slopes every day for a spot of legendary powder in Fernie.
5" studded tyres and riding in the dark each morning for 2-3 hours is perfect winter base training for the HT550....
Tkid - you seen the Berfex for this weekend ? A decent drop happening now.
Oh yes, at least a metre coming into each resort in the western alps this weekend. Avoriaz will be fine!
PS - what are the concerns with Morzine? Personally I love the place.
195cm forecast over next 9 days at Avoriaz.
It will be fine.
A few years ago, the only snowfall before Xmas had been in November. The Serma team did an amazing job, pisting the November snow and looking after it all the way until Xmas. We had a great few days on the pistes on our own.
On boxing day I was walking mountain tops at 7,500' without putting a foot on snow. But the pistes were perfectly skiable.
Booked a Black Friday special with Rocketski.
£299 for flights , transfer and half board accom in a hotel in Risoul. Stayed there 2 years ago and its only 200mtr to the main lifts so very easy start to the day.
12-1 so cheap week , but that is not alot of dosh really
Only drawback is that there will be schoolkids in the hotel, but that dooesn't really bother me that much.
One problem is that my boot insoles have gone in the bin at my old job, I used them in my wellies. Then left and forget to collect them, so I will have to get some superfeet greens and maybe mod them a touch. New ones not in the budget anymore unfortunatly
nice. never heard of Risoul
as long as the kids arent getting in the way at the bar you'll be alright.
linked with Vars , which was a TDF finish last year i think. about 200km pisted , alot in the trees
Its quite far south though , near Gap, so south of Briancon and keep going
High enough at 2750m but no glacier. Some cranky chairs but most are fine , just dont expect heated covered 6 man high speed ones like St Anton
Turin flights?
garden drop in ramp built. kicker and rails tomorrow
Yes , flight are LGW to Turin , then i think they use the Frejus tunnel to get into France
“PS – what are the concerns with Morzine? Personally I love the place”
Nothing, love the place, summer or winter!
Think I’m so desperate to have a great week skiing with my daughter (disastrous week last year with two trips to a hospital) I’m worrying that morzine is the wrong resort so early in The season.
An open question regarding remounting different bindings on skis.
I'm looking to get into light single day touring while hopefully doing the mountain safety course this year, so at the moment I like the idea of getting a pair of Marker Barons and mounting them on to my Line Prophets (98mm waist) which are already mounted with Salomon STH 12's. So long as this doesn't damage the performance of the ski, and take away from the aesthetics too much, I don't mind.
Can anyone shed any light on this? Is it a bad idea to remount skis or is it ok to do once or twice?
Cheers!!
Totally fine, although you should plug the old holes or put in inserts, Quiver Killers or Binding Freedom giving you the option to put either binding on easily, I have one set of skis that have been drilled three times (wouldn't go any more) for different bindings, all have Quiver Killers in them. I have three sets of skis and two sets of bindings and all combinations are covered, it gets expensive though with the price of inserts so it'd good if you can do it yourself.
Ok. So in addition to a week in Les Gets while our eldest does Courmayeur, we now have two weeks in Banff.
Could be a good year.
wow, v jealous. that's a big trip.
It ain’t happening every year. Not with four of us.
I've got line prophets too.
I originally had 7tm bindings then switched to NTN. Different holes but ski Bartlett fitted both of them. Make sure the old holes are plugged.
Not noticed any difference in performance.
Found ourselves with some free time yesterday so took a ride out to Ski Bartlett to look at boots.....that turned out to be expensive as he found some he really liked and they had a pair of childrens race boots for me too! Slightly concerned I won't be able to ski in boots that actually fit - I'm used to skiing in boots a size too big.
I was tempted with some new skis but need to resists more shiny things
Sooo, anyone wants to buy a pair of second hand scarpa freedom sl with both downhill and touring soles then drop me an email ! They are a size 30 I think
Who's in for a joint acquisition?
https://alpine-property.com/la-cote-darbroz/ferme-de-beauregard/3579
fantastic off grid hideaway. Remote but not ridiculous.
Has anyone got an Avabag pack or similar pack? Do a bit of single day hiking/riding and wondering about the pros and cons of them. Thanks
Looks lovely Stoner. Like the turbo on the mezzanine in the master 😀
Have you a specific worry / question regarding the Avabags @bluebird? Pros are they *may* help you if you get caught. Cons are they are heavier than a normal pack, may change your behaviours due to the reassurance factor and they can be a pain travelling to some parts of the world (US / Canada). They're no replacement for training and practice etc. I've got and older Mammut one which I really like. I know there are newer, lighter ones on the market but progress hasn't been significant enough for me to consider the cost of an upgrade. I've traveled all over Europe and to Japan without issue with the canisters, but never done a US trip so that's not been an issue.
Got a feeling that doesn't answer your question though?
unfortunately nbt, every time Theresa May does/does not do something, it seems to get more expensive!
Has anyone got an Avabag pack or similar pack?
I've been toying with the idea of getting avalanche bag for a while - and a number of people I ride with do wear them, however:
Still haven't quite made up my mind yet, but my thoughts [so far] are as follows:
- they will only improve your chances of not getting buried - not eliminate the risk
- they are big heavy and bulky and the technology is still maturing
- Can't fly trans-atlantic with them (apart from the Jetforce types) and even some European airlines will confiscate a cannister (a friend got his confiscated flying through Amsterdam to Tromso)
- the Jetforce system looks good, but the battery isn't great in cold temps and there has been a few recalls. Snowboard carry on the Jetforce ones it still limited.
- when caught in a slide you have a few seconds to react and try to get the **** out of dodge - do you really want to be trying to faff trying to detonate your pack etc
- for them to be effective many require the use of a crotch harness, but seemingly very few people actually use them
- they mitigate risk, but they should not allow you to ignore the 5 warning signs of avalanche risk (aka 'Know before you go')
Stoner - if she revokes A50 at 3:30 buy quickly.
That link is glacial at the moment, but you never know, I might be in.
@Digby - with regard to technology advancing, I think it's slowed to a real crawl. Basically the bottom has dropped out of the avi bag market. Most people who wanted them bought them a few years ago (I think I've had mine 4-5 years now) and they're not the sort of thing that gets replaced very often. There are a few tweaks here and there to make them lighter, but nothing drastic.
with regard to technology advancing, I think it’s slowed to a real crawl
Agreed - I think Avalanche Airbag technology is maturing rather than advancing - the last big innovation was BD's JetForce which is being licensed to other manufacturers now - however this was introduce 4 or so years ago, so isn't exactly new and as I mentioned earlier there have been a number of recalls.
What I do see though is the 4 main systems being licensed and tweaked by different manufacturers and integrated into their own back-pack designs - which has improved choice in terms of fit & comfort.
But I do agree with you @dashed that the market uptake has perhaps plateaued despite the continued popularity in backcountry touring, and I think this is because of the weight/bulk issue - I did a 2 week expedition to Greenland and not one of the 10 people in the group had an avalanche airbag: by the time you've got layers/boot crampons/ski crampons/skins/food/water/ice axes etc in your backpack there's not much space for much else and the size of a big heavy airbag can throw you off balance a bit.
Perhaps more useful for multi-drop heli-days (where you don't need to carry much more than beacon, shovel & probe) and where a buddy/guide can remote trigger some of the new ones whilst you drop in filming your latest edit ... but I've not done a heli-day for about 4 years now! 🙂
Thanks @dashed / @Digby. Just interested to hear other peoples take on them really. I think @Digby pretty much sums up where my thinking is with them. I like the idea – anything that increases your chances is worth considering, but at £600+ it's a big investment that comes with drawbacks.
Unless I'm going somewhere I know I'll always go with a guide, and I don't like sailing close to the wind when it comes to weather/snow conditions. So I suppose I think they're a good idea, but not sure how much safer they'll make a risk conscious hiker. (Obviously you can still be unlucky even if you do everything right.)
still early in the season, but there looks to be sufficient snow at Les Lindarets to get going
Webcam on the Mosettes is looking v appealing too
https://www.morznet.com/webcams/portes-du-soleil
A question for the snowboarderists; I’m looking to replace my ancient flow bindings this season, so naturally I’m looking at new flows or other step-in systems as I really enjoy the convenience. I’ve never used the more traditional strap in bindings so I’m wondering what the advantages of them are? Most people seem to use strap in ones so logic dictates that there must be a compromise to using flows but I don’t know what it is? I think mine are pretty heavy but I put that down to the age of them and modern ones look way less bulky. I’m very much in the beginner/intermediate camp but like a bit of everything from off-piste powder to hitting small jumps and rails so just after a decent, all-round binding. Thanks in advance!
Sadly, the trip to Idre fell through because of accommodation issues, but it now looks like I will be breaking out the längskiddor and doing some cross country over the break. Which will be nice actually.
Meribel for us in Jan, that's all sorted and the snow has arrived
Just sorting out that second trip. Les Arcs currently looking favourite
Hareydan
I spent my first 15yrs on dual straps, and then having watched DD on Flows decided to have a go with them once my old Drake 2strap bindings had finally died a death.
Im no guru/pro so my observations are probably v naive, but Id say two strap is more secure and better at keeping your toe down on the front edge of the board. Flows tend to get you to improve your whole body balance rather than just using toes and heels to move from edge to edge. Convenience is a definite gain with the Flows.
I got some good condition s/h Flow Five bindings which have been fine. But now Im looking at the Flow Hybrids for my next set where you can separately bolt your toe down but still have step in flexibility.