The STW Ski and Snowboard thread: 2021-2022 Season

Junior dans l’Amoulat, son père était moins dynamique

Very nice Ed.
We skied La Plagne yesterday. T’was very busy. Lots of people falling, it was better to stick to the sides.
Mini moguls on the blue runs due to sloppy spring snow. Also warm temperatures.
Worn patches near the base.
Still an enjoyable day out.

Foggy, warm and wet here in Obergurgl, sand from the Sahara storm and warm cloudy days has turned most of Hochgurgl into porridge by lunchtime.

Warmer temps in the way next week too 🌞

Foggyish, warm and slushy in LDA too, at least down below 2400m ish.

Above is OK still.

might try VT tomorrow, but could just be ice 🤔

@phil5556 Most of 3Vallyes was really hard packed by the end of last week, VT down to Les Mens was lovely and sunny all week and most pistes were useable but tired.

The first 3 days in Verbier were hard pack too, and the last day was soft & sticky.

Think it’s warmed up a lot this week.

Even the top of LDA is soft this afternoon and I presume that’s been pretty solid a lot of the time? At least it’s not sticky here, but a very wet bum!

And we’re trying not to go to 3 Vals as we always go there…

What’s Tigne like atm?
I’m guessing hard pack pistes in the morning, slushly, sloppy porridge after lunch.

The recent postings on here aren’t inspiring me much for my April trip

@Tom-B I’ve had some great trips in April, pretty much always to the 3 Vals though. A couple of years ago I went on the Meribel closing weekend, VT was still OK, Les Menuires was a wet slushy laugh. It was like summer at resort level.

We’ve just stopped in Risoul. Will see what it & Vars are like tomorrow 🤷🏻‍♂️

We always go for a week in April. L2A for closing week for the umpteenth year in a row, excluding Covid. It’s great fun and more often than not you can slide down to the jandri/tourist office/ski schools. What’s more is that you’re pretty much guaranteed fresh snow on at least one morning; January skiers can’t comprehend april freshies!
Mrs O’C will be celebrating her first time back on the planks since a hip replacement and she’s on skis whereas the rest of us are on boards. I’m guessing she won’t be joining us for the afternoons with the late season soup, so we might just bring the bikes and do the Venosc DH whilst we’re there.

Freshies and some hardpack at the mighty Coe today. It too will be warm tomorrow though.

In montegenevre just now. Had a decent bit of snow falling when we arrived on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday where brilliant, loads of powder. The rest of the week was good but today is really icy.
Has been really foggy all week

Congratulations Mrsorcrider.
I had a hip replacement a few years ago and have been skiing. Although today it was playing up a bit. Maybe to do with skiing the last couple of weeks in grabby porridge.

Today Tignes very cold and hard packed conditions nearly all day.

Risoul was exactly as expected today, horribly hard this morning and slushy this afternoon. Apart from a few bits that were solid all day, just to catch you out.

Good fun though, I like it here 😃

Could I ask that people stop/slow down if they see a LONE person who has has a tumble. just to check they are ok.
I was passed by 4 people and not one slowed to see if I was ok after flying into heavy snow. I’m an older skier and was struggling to get my skis back on (after finally getting back onto the piste). Hubby was at the bottom and an English couple said they had passed me and asked If I was ok. This was a lie. On the way down to the village I stopped to help a chap get his skis back on (hubby helped him up). Its just good piste etiquette.
It happens in mtbing, we ask if someone seems to have stopped at the side of a trail and something seems amiss.
I thank you.

@Bunnyhop I thought most did this, but obviously not.

“Ça Va?!” is probably my most used French word on the slopes 🙂

The other day returning an ejected ski to a kid earned me a tow from his instructor on the flat 🙂

If you come across a kid (or even adult) tangled in their skis the first thing to do is release one of the bindings (uphill foot preferably), you can hurt them trying to pick them up with tangled skis. It’s quicker and easier on your back too. Then put the ski back on.

Some fun for Sunday evening. One of my best days at the Coe on Saturday and not busy, where was everybody? Seriously with great weather and lovely snow why was it not mobbed? The Scottish resorts need all the customers they can get.

🙂

@bunnyhop, Yes should be normal behaviour, goes hand in hand with helping little kids on chairlifts, doesn’t it.

Except on a powder day, obvs!🤣🤣😂⛷

Except on a powder day, obvs!🤣🤣😂⛷

🤣🤣

Although that’s not been an issue this season really! 😞

Lift back over to Risoul from Vars yesterday. All felt a bit summery!

Most people are great at helping others. It was the fact that the piste was empty and only 4 people passed, so it was absolutely obvious I was having difficulty. Oh to be young again.

As Ed said, I turned myself around, released the bindings, struggled back onto the piste and it took ages to get going as my goggles were filled with snow (face plant) :o)

Could I ask that people stop/slow down if they see a LONE person who has has a tumble. just to check they are ok.

I saw loads of this in Austria. Fortunately it was me doing the asking / checking / picking up (3-4 times a day) rather than being helped, but a mixture of single kids and adults generally being ignored.

“OK?” with an upward inflection at the end is pretty universal as a question.

I think it was the run down into Val Thornes (from the hotels to the chair at the bottom) I remember being a learner there too, I passed poles back to a few people who were strewn across the piste. It felt good to pay back the favour as people have helped me in the past.

I think it was the day the over confident learners had decided they were done with lessons and could go solo, carnage all over.

I do tend to stop although I have a guilty feeling about 1 person who looked fine and was getting up but it was at the start of a long flat section and I should at least have checked they were all ok, sorry!

I stopped recently in Saalbach to collect a guy’s ski after he wiped out. Picked it up, danced gracefully down to him…then slipped on ice and took him and his three mates out! he did see the funny side as we were all hurtling downhill in a cartoonish bundle of arms and poles.

My Favourite crash was when the missus was stood at the side of a steepish red minding her own business and waiting for a quiet moment so she could start with a wide turn when a chap appeared around the blind corner above her and took her out – he did have the good grace to let her sit in his lap all the way to the bottom (of the piste you dirty minded guttersnipes) asking her if she was OK and apologising all the way down.

Target fixation.
The piste is empty and the skier/snowboarder spots the target, doesn’t need permission and bam, you’re both in a tangled mess :0)

Yesterday’s visit to Les Arcs was not as enjoyable as hoped.
The scraped, hard packed pistes were busy. it was chilly so not much warmth in the sun to soften any snow. Still better than being at work :0)

Amazingly a Welsh woman who lives locally, told us that they don’t get much snow in March (Tarantaise Valley), which seemed odd to me. We’ve skied many times in March and had decent snowfall.

Seems like an epic tour you’ve been on @Bunnyhop, I was out when you were but it feels like forever ago and yet you are still going, I’m just jealous btw!!

Just got back from a few days in Morzine. Hard pack first thing, slushy-ish by lunchtime.

Had a great time, it was properly hot yesterday – thermometer reading 23C.

Came a cropper getting on a chairlift* and have now strained the MCL on my right leg 🙁 strangely able to board fine to get down the hill but walking is more of a struggle…

* my fault, not paying attention but also the lift operator wasn’t paying attention either…

toby1 – Yes it’s been great.
Interesting, challenging conditions for me even as an experienced intermediate skier. The sun has shone and the views are fabulous, food great and the French seem to be very friendly this year.

At the moment we’re only skiing after lunch as it’s too hard packed before then.

If you have the funds and time just do a few weeks, you won’t regret it. We went self catering in a small apartment and drove. Time isn’t on my side age wise and along with all of us on this thread we missed too much time in a resort.
Don’t want to go home now :0)

Cervinia on Saturday with a nice 50cm forecast between now and then according to Snow Forecast, plus more forecast over the 10 days I’m there😎

We had a great week in Flaine again. Typical spring conditions of rock hard mornings, softer for a couple of hours then heavy going by 2. Forecast for 40cm of snow this week when we’ve come back which is what happened after our January trip.

No powder days this year but it was so good to be back in the mountains.
The bad news for bunnyhop and nbt – you won’t be happy with a week of skiing again after your road trip this year….

Cervinia for us as well, on Sunday for a week. Get there early so hope for a half days ski.

sproolet – You are correct, so lovely having more time to ski and choose when to ski, especially certain parts of the were so rubbish.
Good news for all Easter skiers, the new dump will help with the poor pistes, you should have good conditions from now on :0)

Skiing on orange snow was certainly interesting (Sahara sand).

Setting off to Samoens tomorrow after work, wasn’t really feeling it and was thining of maybe going to the Canaries for some sun instead. Decided we’d still rather be in the mountains even if the snow is crap. The new snow coming over the next few days makes me very happy. Was even thinking of dusting my powder board off but don’t think it’s going to be quite that good.

Can’t wait now, nice chill week of messing about in the snow with the kids. I won’t be upset if it warms up towards the back of the week though, few days of decent snow followed by a few days of sunning ourselves outside the bars with a bit of snowboarding in between will be good.

but don’t think it’s going to be quite that good

I think you’ll find it’s that good.

Got back from Cervinia / Zermat at the weekend. The pistes are still in amazing condition. It’s no good for the off piste guys but the actual runs are in great condition. Sure is a bit soft and sloppy at the bottom from lunchtime onwards but otherwise its running really well.