The STW Ski and Snowboard thread – 2011/2 Edition

@nedrapier

I’m ok for [splitboard] bindings at the moment, but thanks anyway – greatly appreciated. I’ve got a pair of Spark Blaze & Mr Chomps, but I ended up cannabalising a pair of Salomon ‘Code’ bindings for the highback & ankle strap as I found the Spark Blaze highback far too soft & flexy.

I actually lent my Salomon Code highbacks to one of the guys who went to Greenland so my highbacks have seen first descents whereas I haven’t! 😯

Look forward to reading your trip report!

Edit – btw, what splitboard did you use for Greenland and how did you get on with it?

I’m feeling slightly extravagant this winter.

Can anyone recommend some Heliboarding operators in the alps for 1 day.

Ive done seasons in NZ, weeks and weeks in europe and loads of scottish stuff, I’m getting old (I’m 41 ye know) so want to have a final ‘big push’ before my body gives up on me.

Oh yeah, needs to be cheap…….

Heli + Cheap = Bad Thing, I would say.

Not sure I’d trust a cheap outfit for heli stuff.

Where in the Alps would you be heading?

Depends where the Heli’s are I guess. I’ve never been to Cham so quite fancy that, but thought that the French dont like doing helidrops.

Heli skiing is a no-no in France afaik. But from Cham you should be able to head through the tunnel to Courmayer in Italy to go heli boarding I think.

Started with straps back in the day, but went to K2 Clickers when I first saw them in California. Rue the demise, would go back tomorrow !
Have a couple of sets of Flows, but mostly sraps again. 8 boards.

Try Last Frontier for heliskiing (in BC) Excellent experience, but not cheap.

Got a place in the PdS, so go there a lot, but Tahoe still my favourite for sentimental reasons (OH is from Cali.)

CF – Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows remain my favourites, although the Skyline Trail at Heavenly does offer those superb Mountain/Lake/Desert views over the full 10000ft as mentioned.
I can remember when they didn’t allow snowboards at Alpine ! (I learned to board at Northstar, just along the road …… )

If I get to hook up with my BiL this winter, we’ll maybe head to Utah as he’s got mates there.
G.

@ Yellow Belly – you are right in thinking that the French (Govt) aren’t keen on Heliski etc however there’s a few Organisations in the Chamonix area that organise Heli trips mainly in the Valle D’Aosta area:

try the likes of http://www.chamonix-aventure.com or http://www.chamex.com/%5B/url%5D

btw … you’re never too old! I’m 44 next year and I’ve still got the hunger for progression!

Hopefully heading back to Red Mountain BC around March – small but awesome.

I’d like a change from a doing a week here and there at the big Alpine resorts – a couple of years ago I did a road trip in Norway taking in about 4 different hills and I’d like to do something similar again, off the beaten track a little (but still in Europe) – anyone got any bright ideas or recommendations?

unfortunately my office is based here, so i’ll be on the slopes all winter…

any ideas on the best place to get some skins for my skis?

Digby, I took a Voile Mojo 166 (the old one, non rockered) I’m on the light side for it, 65-70kgs, so I need to be going some for it to start feeling fun.

Laurent had a Mojo RX 161
Rob had a rockered Prior Backcountry 165
Martin had a Jones 164 (hard boots, counting on there being some climbing, there wasn’t)

We all had a bit of a winge about our boards, usually at the bottom of runs where we’d fallen! Except Rob. Possibly because he’s stubborn, possibly because he falls less, possibly because he was dead chuffed with no complaints.

Obviously though, no-one was talking equipment at the bottom of the primo lines with perfect powder!

If I was living in north america with access to demos, I’d be really keen to try a whole bunch: Burton Freebird, Jones Hovercraft & Flagship, most of the Priors, Ventures, Never Summers…

If I was on a budget, Voile are hard to beat. Great warranty too. And the boards ride pretty well.

If money wasn’t tight and I had to buy without testing, I’d probably go for a rockered Prior Backcountry. clear topcoat, green logo and black base, please!

And if I knew exactly what I wanted from a splitboard, I’d definitely speak to Donek.

On the Fernie front, have you ever used nonstop?

Anyone had any good experiences of transfer companies from Turin airport? Might be in need of someone to get me from the aiport to Serre Che.

Am planning on using Neilson for everything apart from the flights, as they use Thomas Cook who are utterly, utterly, utterly sh1te. In fact, beyond that. Thomas Cook flights are some sort of punishment for bad behaviour in a past life. They’re utterly awful. So, will be on BA instead. 🙂 This, of course, means that my flight is likley to land on time, which is never the case for Thomas Cook (3hrs late is a good time for them!) and would mean we probably won’t be able to use the Neilson coach transfer.

Quick summary – Neilson are ace, Thomas Cook flights are awful.

My snow plans are now officially over…

Last years trip to Alpe D’Huez ended suddenly (literally) with 5 broken vertebrae…

Looks like my days on the snow are over, however, if anyone wants a cheap set of Ride MIG bindings let me know 🙂

Steelsreal, I ruptured / snapped both Cruciate Ligaments on 2 separate occassions skiing and have skied a good few times since. Both times they happened I thought it was the end of my skiing for good only to find that with the right physio and strenghtening I have been able to go back.

I have needed to ease off a bit though 😯

@nedrapier – Thanks for the splitboard mini review. Like bikes I guess it’s good to try as many as you can before you buy, but at some point you just have to bite the bullet, stop procrastinating and buy one!

Seems like there’s more choice every year. Even in Zero G in a Cham they had about a half dozen different splitboards whereas previously there’d be only one stuck in a corner.

I’d only ridden a Voile Mojo before this year and found the nose a tad too soft and once the board I had was a bit short for me anyway (with backcounty kit I’m about 185Kg – more if I’ve drawn the short straw and carrying ropes)

Bought a Jones Solution 168W earlier this year from TSA (with 15% McNab discount). Really impressed with it across a real mix of conditions. As I previously mentioned I ended up modifying the bindings quite a bit but really appreciated the lower height of the Spark Bindings when compared to normal bindings sat ontop of a Voile slider rack etc.

One of the guys (a 6ft 6″ Californian) I rode with in the Alps in March was using a Prior (a 176 I think). Looked like a lovely setup!

Re: Fernie & NONSTOP – yep small world eh? … I did a NONSTOP course a couple of years ago and had an amazing time. The course included a Hut trip and that’s where I got into splitboarding.
Have you done a NONSTOP course? You mentioned you had friends in Fernie.

Just had a phone call from MrsDezB –
She’s booking us to Val d’Isère for Christmas! Woo!

Did a few days in Val d’Isère earlier this year and loved it. With actual winter snow, it’ll be… ohh

Staying Here – http://www.espritski.com/chalets/ducs-de-savoie/
Any experiences?

not that hotel (no kids so don’t use Esprit) but I *love* val d’isere and the espace killy in general

185kg! Wow! I’m not surprised the nose felt soft! 🙂

It’s a small world indeed, I spent the season in Fernie in 01/02 and been friends with Rupert Taylor from pretty much day one! That was his first year there and he set up nonstop the following year.

And I went back a couple of years ago and went that same hut in the Purcells! Roop had been running trips there for a few years, but hadn’t been there himself. I think the continued rave reports got a bit too much for him so he got a bunch of us together for a jaunt over. We weren’t too lucky with the snow, but it was an amazing time all the same. As you’d know!

For people who like step-ins (I love my APO Expressos) the new Fastek bindings by SP are worth a look:
SP Duo bindings[/url]

My old Arbor (RIP) delaminated last winter but I have had it nearly 10 years.. I picked up a Jones Flagship in the sales so can’t wait to get out on the slopes.. 😀

St Anton at end of jan for me, just hope there is more snow than there was last yr !

the new Fastek bindings by SP are worth a look

Is it me or do they look VERY similar to K2 Cinch:

Fastek:

K2:

Word reaches me from Montgenevre today of about 30cm of fresh already…..could be a good year for the Alps!

I’m keeping fingers crossed for plenty of Scottish snow this year as I’ll be staying local. Only managed once last year as swavis jnr was born in December.

I’m also hoping the local hill gets dumped on again to so I can go Hike-a-boarding again! 😀

Ben Rinnes
[/url]
IMG_0059[/url] by GavinBelton[/url], on Flickr

If you join snowheads.com they send you a monthly snow report. There has indeed been a good few centimetres in place for October – the start of a good base I hope.

yeah GrahamS they look just as bad too 😉

Word reaches me from Montgenevre today of about 30cm of fresh already

Indeed, just look at the Vars webcam today
and compare it with the same image from Sunday…

Pity its going to warm up this weekend, rain forecast in southern resorts too below 3000m.

@nedrapier … lol 185Kg 😆 … I certainly need to do some exercise as I seem to have gained a bit of weight! not sure where that extra 100Kg came from – didn’t think I’d had that many pies! 😳

Met Rupert (and his dad & sisters) a few times – top bloke and I really like what he’s trying to do with NONSTOP Ski & Snowboard. Good to see a ‘business’ really pasionate about what they do! Quite fancy spending a summer on the bike in Fernie, but at the moment the winter trips come first!

Snow conditions were pretty much the opposite to yours when we were out at the Boulder Hut in the Purcells – almost too much snow and with a weak rain crust layer so the avalanche risk was quite high so we stayed mostly below the tree line. Fantastic experience though – Mark & Yancy are wonderful hosts aren’t they?

That picture of the avalanche rescue dog is great! and I guess that’s Rupert ‘dropping in’ and second from the left in the window picture?

@nedrapier – I’d be pretty interested in those Spark bindings you’ve got going spare, how much are you looking for ? What size? (I’ve got wee size 8 feet).

Using a NeverSummer Titan 169 split by the way. Don’t get out on it as much as I would like due to the stresses of running my own chalet business so it mostly gets used for early/late season touring when the lifts aren’t running!

Currently using the basic Voilé kit with some Burton Triad bindings, really keen to try the Spark system.

Actually bought a full backcountry ski setup last year (Movement Couloirs plus Marker Barons) with the plan of getting decent at skiing off-piste, but I ended up signing-up to do the next stage of my BASI snowboard exams so worked hard on my snowboarding all winter and barely did any skiing.

Did a couple of trips with Neil back in the day as well (including Mont Blanc summit!) but living out here full-time now, so do my own thing. Checked out going to Cham with Neil for a few days last year when I had some free time, but soooooooooo expensive these days!

Digby – I can’t speak for McNab, but Lyngen looks to be phenomenal when conditions are right. Have a few friends in Tromsø/ Troms and have skiied overlooking there – never had the chance yet to get out in Lyngen proper. Get fit though, it might not be high but skinning from sea level up 1500m or so is easier with decent fitness and technique (just seen your edit – realise you’re not carrying 180kg now though so that may be easier).

Heli skiing is a no-no in France afaik. But from Cham you should be able to head through the tunnel to Courmayer in Italy to go heli boarding I think.

Heli-skiing is indeed banned in France, but as a lot of resorts are on/near the Swiss or Italian borders, it’s still possible to do it. There are also a few places where you can do a kind of reverse-heliski thing – ride down from a lift-accessed summit (or a short hike), big descent into another valley, heli back up – Val d’Isere down to Bonneval and something similar at Alpe d’Huez are the obvious examples.

The usual French places for the cross-border heli option are Chamonix (either Switzerland or Italy) or La Rosiere / Sainte Foy (Italy). For the latter option, you usually use the lifts at La Ros to cross the border, then do 2 drops from there, the second one being on/near the Ruitor from where you ride back down to Sainte Foy.

@bajsyckel – thanks for the tips. really Looking forward to it as I’m hearing nothing but good things about the Lyngen area.

Working on the fitness already and I’ve dropped 100Kg just by learning to type properly! 🙄

Seriously though – currently riding 3 or 4 times a week, running once a week and then core, stretching & skating or bouldering if time allows, so fingers crossed I’ll be able to hold my own.

@stevomcd, you’re right. It’s certainly not cheap riding with Neil these days, but I still reckon it’s good value for money though; despite some very ‘mixed’ conditions in the Chamonix area in March earlier this year we managed to ride fresh lines every day – we just had to work for it!

Nice one on the Mnt Blanc descent!!!! How did you get on with your BASI exam? Good I hope!

@Digby, passed my level 2 – just! Properly scraped it, came down to pretty much the last run.

I felt slightly better that my major bad habit was apparently the same one as James Stentiford (who was doing the level 3 course at the same time). Too much weight on the front foot – a simple enough thing, but hard to change when it’s so deeply ingrained.

@stevomcd, fantastic! Well done! Is the level 2 BASI more teaching/pedagogy or performance/practical based?

@Digby – both really. You’re actually assessed separately on Teaching and on Technique – it’s possible to fail on one and pass the other and thus only have to do a partial re-sit.

By level 2, they’re looking for a pretty decent standard technically, but it’s mostly still board-on-the-ground stuff. Pretty flawless carving, very controlled steeps, etc. Very easy to read the requirements and think “piece of p*ss!”, but you really get your technique taken apart. Video sessions every day, analysis back at the hotel after, everyone pitching-in about what you’re doing wrong. Hard on the ego! 😯

Freestyle-wise, it’s pretty easy – get good air with a nice, clean grab over a mid-size park kicker and 50/50 a box. 180’s on the flat.

@stevomcd – interesting stuff. thanks for the info. Did my CASI level one a few years ago (not sure, but I don’t think the CASI level 1 is quite as demanding as the BASI level 1). Really wish I’d continued with it.

Will you consider doing your BASI level 3?

I reckon this might be another ‘can’t afford it’ year

my snowboard is feeling neglected 🙁

Yeah, from what I understand, CASI1 is pretty basic, with CASI2 being somewhere between BASI 1 & 2.

I really want to do the 3 (I live in France, so the 2 isn’t a whole lot of use on its own) but it’s a big commitment and I’m really not certain I’ve got the talent for it! One of the top BASI snowboard guys lives just up the road and does “level 3 prep” courses, so I’m looking at doing a couple of those, working hard on my technique in between, then seeing where I get to.

Been living in the Alps for 4 years, but I’ve probably been a bit guilty of just going up, looking for the best powder line and hooning it, rather than any kind of focussed progression!

@stevomcd – well good luck with your level 3 as and when! Sounds like you’re living the dream for sure!

This bit really made me smile! 😆

probably been a bit guilty of just going up, looking for the best powder line and hooning it

Aye, if that was what the exam was on, I’d be sorted!

Stevo, not sure about pricing and sizing. I’ll take some piccies and measurements when I get home and send them over.

Just clicked on your name link to see where you were based. Not sure if you read my post on the first page:

I’d planned on finding somewhere quiet, chilled, with a good mix of fun for all abilities and great touring.

La Ros & St Foy are exactly what I had in mind when I wrote that! Never been, though. Would St Foy hit the mark?

Digby: correct on both counts! did you recognise the hat, the black or the steez? Pendantry corner though: It’s a backside slash from a drop-in above his head in the photo.

I’ve probably been a bit guilty of just going up, looking for the best powder line and hooning it, rather than any kind of focussed progression!

erm… 😳