Viewing 40 posts - 761 through 800 (of 1,390 total)
  • The STW Ski and Snowboard thread – 2011/2 Edition
  • Bunnyhop
    Full Member

    Ski Sunday was a disappointment, ending with some technical problems.

    michaelmcc
    Free Member

    had a little scare on a black when the powder started to slide on the ice underneath as i stopped on it

    Hockey stopped and the earth moved , so to speak. Not alot, just a couple of feet down the fall line

    From what youi say that doesn’t really sound like avalanche conditions to me. Of course it depends what and how much snow was above you and how hard the layer was under the pow. A mini slide like that happens to me quite often though. I have a lot to learn about deep snow though!

    What skis were you using on that trip btw?

    michaelmcc
    Free Member

    nbt – Member

    Movement skis rock.

    Yeah i like the look of movement skis, they’re really over priced here in Canada though. Most people here use Rossignol, Line, Armada and K2.

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    titusrider
    Free Member

    Got round to getting boots sorted yesterday. Took the missions back to decathalon and ‘did it properly’ at snow and rock Chertsey.

    I didnt realise my feet were quite that awkwardly wide! Ended up in tecnica dragon 100 (the widest) and then had custom footbeds and a bit of heatgun on the shell to widen them even more as they were squeezing me quite a bit. Really happy with them and can’t wait to hit the slopes Sunday. 🙂

    http://www.snowandrock.com/tecnica-dragon-100/tecnica/ski-snowboard-outdoor-sports/fcp-product/21002

    Thanks all (and flashy) for the advice.

    afrothunder88
    Full Member

    Heading to Chamonix on Feb 18th for a week-long UCPA off-piste course.

    Could you post some details on what it was like when you get back please? Looking at going on one of these courses, hopefully this season if I can get a pass!

    TurnerGuy
    Free Member

    went to Bruson

    When I was in Verbier in the week bofore Xmas some of the resort regulars we know decided to do a run down to there in the morning, as there had been tons of snow recently.

    In the end I didn’t go with them, which seems just as well as the route they took involved alternating between waiting for people to dig their skis out and clambering over fallen trees, as quite a few were coming down from the weight of the snow on them.

    They were having to dig skis out so often as they choose to ski down to there over the local vineyards, which are obviously terraced so every so often they would come up to a 5ft drop into the next terrace, which they hadn’t properly seen because of the flat light!

    16stonepig
    Free Member

    Heading to Chamonix on Feb 18th for a week-long UCPA off-piste course.

    Could you post some details on what it was like when you get back please? Looking at going on one of these courses, hopefully this season if I can get a pass!

    Last year I went to exactly the same place for their “Snowboard full-time instruction” and had a fantastic time.
    The accommodation is pretty basic, but clean and has everything you really need. I went with 2 friends (2 guys, one girl) and they put us in a shared room with a couple of Scottich guys. Every room has code locks, and lockers, but everything was very civil. Obviously, you will want to take ear plugs, or sleeping pills.
    Food is plentiful and varied. It’s a help-yourself buffet style thing for breakfast and dinner, and they give you the makings of packed lunches too.
    Lift pass is included for 6.5 days (in this case for the whole Chamonix Valley, except the Aiguilles Rouge car, I think), as is board and boot hire. I took my own boots, but the board was decent enough, and they have a workshop on site.
    The “instruction” varies a bit, I think. I thought I was sort of average, technique-wise so they stuck me a group with others at my perceived skill level, and the instructor took people through lots of exercizes and practices on the first day. I was way ahead of these people so they shifted me up a level. (I expect the instruction for that first group carried on in a similar vein all week). The new instructor was much less prescriptive, and acted more like a guide, but with some gentle tips here and there. We also spent some time filming each other, and playing it back in the bar in the evening.

    Probably the best thing about the week was the fact that you are grouped up with a load of boarders you don’t know, but who are at the same level as you, so you don’t hold each other up too much, and it’s a great environment to meet people. There was loads of cameraderie and encouragement in my group, with a mix of English, French and Swedes all having a great time.

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Woooo hoooo… just booked my 2nd trip this year:
    a boy’s own adventure to Jasna in Slovakia.
    Just me and a mate for 7 days, second week of March.

    Total pain in the harris to get there, but the journey is part of the fun and it will be nice to go somewhere a little bit different.

    Price for flights, B&B in chalet and lift pass works out ~£520 each.
    Staying in http://www.chaletslovakia.com

    Excited!!! 😀

    freeridenick
    Free Member
    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Heli-skiing nick?

    Wish I had the funds (and talent) to have a go at that – looks awesome!

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    Heading to Chamonix on Feb 18th for a week-long UCPA off-piste course.

    +1 for UCPA. been a few times with them now and always had a great time.

    16stonepig
    Free Member

    Nick – this photo is amaaaazin…

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Yep. Messed myself a little when I saw that. Looks sooooooo nice. The kind of boarding I dream about doing 😀

    freeridenick
    Free Member

    Thats me 😳

    Yes I admit to one Heli drop. it only worked out at 90 quid each and well worth the 1500m run…. 8)

    16stonepig
    Free Member

    That’s exactly why I’m doing this off-piste course. Not necessarily to become an instant freeride legend, but so I can start to move up. I have been boarding abroad 6 times, and I am bored of the pistes.

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    nbt – Member

    Movement skis rock.

    I am pleased to report that the above is a FACT!

    In fact, it’s a FACT!

    Utterly ace first day. Pistes in superb condition, slack country is a bit tracked and crusty, but all good! 🙂

    Titus, glad you got sorted! 🙂

    freeridenick
    Free Member

    16 – great stuff. will open up a superb new world….

    15 years of riding and still as fun as my first ever turn… 😛

    Bunnyhop
    Full Member

    freeridenick – those photos are amazing.

    My Auntie said she got stuck in Arlberg due to trees coming down everywhere fron weight of snow. She drove from Zurich and had to spend the night en route due to road closure.

    I think flashy likes his Movements 😀

    Looks like I may need fatter skies for our off-piste jolly.

    16stonepig
    Free Member

    Would you believe that in all those trips, I’ve only had fresh snow twice?
    My last trip was my first real attempt at anything off-piste. We spent an entire day walking about 100m up a ridge from the top of the Les Arcs Transarc lift, dropping into a tiny bowl which deposited us onto a blue run back to the lift, and repeating. Best day ever, and that was just the same few hundred metres repeated over and over again.

    Woody
    Free Member

    FRN – those pics are ‘king ace. Makes me want to get the board out again.

    singletrackmind
    Full Member

    What skis were you using on that trip btw?

    Salomon Streetracer 10’s 170cm with 11.9 radius.

    Pow was stacked on top of an ice sheet on a > 45′ slope . Was probably OK , but at that point the risk V reward swingometer moved over to ‘bug out whilst still breathing’

    nbt
    Full Member

    We spent an entire day walking about 100m up a ridge from the top of the Les Arcs Transarc lift, dropping into a tiny bowl which deposited us onto a blue run back to the lift, and repeating

    Word. in the right conditions, you don;t need hundreds of miles of piste, you just need one lift and the right friends. We spent New Year’s Eve lapping the jungeralm chairlift in Bad Gastein, dropping into the powder between the pistes a little higher each time. Heaven.

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Blimey Crystal have got some seriously cheap package deals going on if anyone is looking for a last minute trip.

    http://www.crystalski.co.uk/wipeout/

    TurnerGuy
    Free Member

    Word

    does anyone (apart from nbt) still say that?

    16stonepig
    Free Member

    Word

    does anyone (apart from nbt) still say that?

    I do. But then I’m white and middle class, so it’s ok. I seem to say it more on holiday too…

    Tracey
    Full Member

    Weve booked one of those Crystal deals, cant wait to go

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    Where to, Tracy?

    With Crystal out here now. Very impressed by in resort service, rep is a top girl! 🙂

    V windy today, lots of lifts shut.

    As a result, not much skking and am rather pished already….. 🙂

    Tracey
    Full Member

    Sestriere, going on the 5th February

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    Nice! Only been the once, v briefly on a trip over from Sauze. Looked really good, and ace food too! 🙂

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    This thread seems like a reasonable place to ask this:

    Does anyone have tight feeling calf muscles or Achilles tendons (i.e. from cycling) that then seem to limit how much they can BenZeKnees?

    If so, any tips?

    hammerite
    Free Member

    I have that problem Graham. I don’t follow the advice as I’m rubbish about keeping to any stretching regime, but you could try…..

    this

    and this both from the excellent Solutions 4 Feet

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Cheers hammerite, I’ll take a look at those. I’ve been trying to do stretches 2 and 9 from http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/flexibilityandstretching/tp/Snowboard-Stretching.htm (dubious source alert!) which looks similar.

    I’ve never been exactly flexible. I’m built for strength not suppleness. 😉

    Bunnyhop
    Full Member

    I’ve started stretching now after every ride for the very reason you mention GrahamS.

    singletrackmind
    Full Member

    Custom footbeds and heel lifts from SFF for me .
    Had a foot / Boot appraisal at Bicester and Colin sorted me out .
    Still got tight calves after skiing tho, this was mostly due to stopping skiing and dropping into a comfy chair in the pub , rather than 10 min stretching whilst still warmed up.
    More stretching required i think .

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Don’t think heel lifts are an option for snowboard boot. Certainly never seen them in shops, though I guess custom places may have them.

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    What an awesome day! Did an end to end of the whole valley, from Briancon to Monetier. Fast, fun!

    Started snowing en haut later in the day, hoping it keeps going! 🙂

    Beer calls!

    Oh, and my Movements are still utterly awesome. My movements, however, are none of your business! 🙂

    grum
    Free Member

    Blimey Crystal have got some seriously cheap package deals going on if anyone is looking for a last minute trip.

    http://www.crystalski.co.uk/wipeout/

    That’s who I went with to St Johann – £350 half board in a hotel – we were very happy indeed.

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    Yep, my Slovakia trip isn’t looking quite so economical now. 😕
    Oh well, it’ll still be an adventure and makes a change from traditional Y’orp.

    grum
    Free Member

    At the risk of spoiling my impeccable Guardianista credentials on here – Slovakia is full of impossibly attractive women. Really. 😳

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    I have heard that grum, but I can assure you that it had absolutely no bearing whatsoever in my decision to go.

    Likewise the 60p a pint beer and the chance to play with automatic weapons were not factors.

    We’re purely about the snow. Honest. 😉

Viewing 40 posts - 761 through 800 (of 1,390 total)

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