The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2012-2013 season

What do all you other ski instructors do during the summer? Just curious.

TackyMax bargain for me some years ago – Masses of Patagucci merino for £10 an item! Bought all they had!

We asked the instructor on my first week’s skiing (ESF – Alpe d’Huez). He didn’t work but went out to Thailand to sail his yacht around all summer – very low cost of living.

The next holiday (Ellmau) the instructor just instructed during his holidays. His permanent job was corporate finance analyst for the Dutch telecom company (KPN I think). His GF was a permanent instructor there for the whole winter.

Racist pistes!

😆

Unable to view, devo 🙁 .

Devo?

What do all you other ski instructors do during the summer? Just curious.

I work looking after race boats and sailing for a living. Another great lifestyle choice but thankfully pays a bit more than ski instructing!

I love it when people talk about the French instructors and how much they earn!! A very small percentile of instructors earn anywhere near that.

Michael, where do you teach?

Devo?

“De Video” innit? 😀

What do all you other ski instructors do during the summer? Just curious.

I used to know an IT consultant type that basically took lucrative six-nine month contracts during the summer then went out to teach for the season.

Teaching money was just to break even with bar bills, food, rent etc.

Devo?

Devastated 😉 .

Gregg – I spent the whole of last season just gone teaching in Whistler for Whistler kids, have spent one broken up season teaching in Pila including a couple weeks in Switzerland, and one season doing my level 1 and 2 which was also in Pila!

I’d like to make decent money from teaching some day, that should be easier if I get my level 3. It is more of a lifestyle choice though I suppose! 🙂

What do all you other ski instructors do during the summer? Just curious.

Ride bikes!

Snowboard instruction is not my main income in the winter. I run a chalet business, which is what pays the bills. Being a snowboard instructor probably costs me money! I do the odd week for Interski and use my IML+BASI quals to do some avalanche safety training, but otherwise, since I live in France, I can’t teach at the moment.

If I pass my L3, it’s not a million miles from there to ISTD Snowboard, so I can see a day where I leave more of the chalet business to my other half and make some money from teaching snowboarding. Would be nice to have some income independent from the business too, in case it all goes pear-shaped one day!

Devo?
Devastated .

I’m clearly not down wiv da yoot enuff, blud;

LOL!!

Also, came across a cool group on facebook called British Backcountry- all about backcountry skiing and snowboarding in the UK, funnily enough 😉 .

Anyone here got any UK backcountry experience? Its not something I was aware went on. Some impressive looking stuff on it though!

Pfffft. It’s all about the slackcountry this season.

Note he’s leaving the off-piste area behind him. AKA, South of the Moat.

michaelmcc

You going back to Whistler? I’m at Cypress so down the road! Nice to live in the city and be in the mountains all in the same day! Will do as many trips to Whis as possible, need to get to Mt Baker too.

I’d like to go back and teach for a couple months but have to find out what the current visa situation is. I have a feeling it uses up a year visa even if you only go there for a couple months.
I’ve heard really good things about Revelstoke too, I’d say thats def worth a visit! Whis was all I skid there, hardly much of a bad thing though 😉 .

You would have to use a full years visa even if you only went for a couple of months, the other option is sponsorship but I believe Whistler don’t do too much of that! As far as I’m aware you only get two chances to have a working holiday visa so probably better to save it if you plan on going for longer.

I would love to get into the interior a bit and do some of the hills there, I have a friend who works at Big White so might road trip to see him this year and do a few others while we’re at it.

You doing some interski this winter? I did a bit earlier this year in Courmayer and Pila, bit of fun.

Ski Allenheads have opened membership for the year:
http://www.ski-allenheads.co.uk/Membership.htm 😉

Greg – Ye it kinda sucks that visa situation. It’d prob too late to apply for sponsorship but I’ll take a look into it.

And yes gonna try do a few weeks with Interski, such a fun company to work for! Only ever done Pila, can’t fault it though to may aswell go back there (it is slightly on the small side but can’t have everything I guess).

Graham – Me and a mate stayed in Allenheads for the night on our C2C a few weeks ago, such a small tiny random place, hard to believe there’s a skiing community there lol!

Spring skiing in Les Gets again for us. 6 year old and 21 month old equals Ski Famille and warmer weather – hopefully with as much snow as the last few times we’ve been there.

That said, Les Gets isn’t exactly a hardship.

Our problem is that our elder son is already faster on skis than his mum on her snowboard and dad isn’t that much faster.

I think a few lessons to speed us up might be in order.

michaelmcc – this is me a few years ago:

A bit hesitant as the snow was rotten and the top layers were peeling off with every turn!

michaelmcc – this is me a few years ago:

Wow, repect! Bit of a gnarly looking line with no room for error. No way I could have done that myself back in 07. One of the sketchiest things I’ve ever skid was the entrance into Sapphire bowl on Blackcomb and that now looks tame after watching this. I’ll put up a link for it. Not me in the vid and the snow was way deeper when we did it so only a tiny bit of the rock in the middle was sticking up. The visibility was much worse too though.

You tempted to try it again when the snow’s a bit better? Or does it get much better than that there?

Sapphire bowl

a THIRD new lift getting put in at Jasná. This time a tram type thing at Biela Put:

Can’t believe how fast that place is growing. If anyone is looking for a good place to invest in ski property…

Yeah, I’d love to go back and do it in better conditions. When I did it, I couldn’t really get into a rhythm with my turns because there was always this big, heavy, wet sluff coming after me. Either in just-turned spring snow or with a wee bit of powder, it would be awesome.

I’m a much better rider now than I was then too (5 seasons in the Alps tends to do that…)

Bit of a rhetorical question but – why do all piste skis have terrible graphics? Well this years Rossignol and Atomic ones do anyway, IMO. I liked the graphics on the Head skis last year but they seem to look a lot more pansy-ish this year. 🙁

Guess I just like to enjoy the look of my skis as well as the feeling of skiing them, probably gonna have to get a piste ski for my L3.

Greg – how do you rate Cypress for the skiing? What part of Vancouver you living in? I’d be tempted to try work teaching there for a season.

michaelmcc, not a dedicated piste ski[/url] but White Dot The One’s are beautiful, and meant to be pretty handy on piste

Nice looking skis alright, but looking for something a bit narrower with a shorter turn radius.

looking for something a bit narrower with a shorter turn radius.

Do they have to be a twin tip?

Some stuff I’ve liked recently;

Movement Zips maybe? 80 underfoot, 15ish radius.

I used Movements last year and was really very impressed!

Sally Enduros? Mainstream, but like Spesh Enduros, they’re popular for a reason!

Also enjoyed the Atomic Blackeye Ti.

Unless you need something mahoooosively phattt like a Chetler, that is!

Unless you need something mahoooosively phattt like a Chetler, that is!

I actually have my eye on something like a Chetler for my next full season! (Which prob won’t be this winter 🙁 ). That or the ever popular Line Opus.

I had totally forgotten about Movement skis! And haven’t looked at the new Salomon line yet. I already have an all mountain ski so may as well get a full on carver, well something 75mm ish.

so may as well get a full on carver, well something 75mm ish.

Nordica Doberman Spitfire.

OK, so the styling is AWFUL, but the skiing is gooooood!

It’s sort of like a GS ski, but not a full on racer. Definitely not one to take lightly, as I did when first trying. A few lazy turns, and it just went faster and faster! However, work it hard and it carves pistes beautifully. Especially that corduroy you get where it’s just a smidge soft on top after an hour or two of sunshine.

Fast, fun.

Actually I kinda like the old skool bright graphics on that one. I’ll look into them!

Quite liking the look of the Salomon 24’s actually.

Yep, a very similar ski. Only tried them in the Hemel Alp, a couple of years ago. Nice and fast, much like the Nordicas.

I just (Secretly!) like the lairy graphics of the Nordicas!

michaelmcc – Movement are on BASI deal too…

Really?? I only saw Salomon, Rossi and Atomic. I’ll have to take a closer look.

Best Oakley lens for flat light/whiteout days (crowbar frames) ??

I have two pairs, black iridium for bluebird days and the other with persimmon for bad condition days, the black are a fantastic lens but the persimmon are OK “ish” in bad light

Thinking about getting a HI yellow lens and swapping it over with the persimmon

also how easy is it to swap over the lens, i wont be doing it on the mountain but in the UK before i travel next

Cheers

Andy

oh, and New Years week in Val d’isere cant wait !!!

Glitchymogul

I use black and persimmon, myself. Yellow is very good, but if the light changes for the batter it soon becomes awful! Persimmon remains workable in all conditions, IMO.

Hey Andy, I use the yellow lens with the purple/blue mirror coating on the front, can’t remember the name of it. It was pretty much the only lens you needed in Whistler apart from the very odd sunny day which I had a 2nd pair of goggles for.

Ive never switched the lens though so can’t comment on that.

I’ve been in Austria for 5 months almost and I’ve had an awesome summer biking. But last weekend I was on the pistes for the first time as a local. There is a Glacier and hour away (Mölltaler) and it was fantastic. Only a couple of slopes open but still great and we plan to go back on Sunday. There’s meant to be 30-40cm of fresh snow.

Also as a heads up, this place has a great sale. 50% off last years boards, bindings and some clothes. Just got my wife a board and it arrived really quickly. Also if you spend over 100 euros it has free delivery to the UK and other countries:

http://www.hot-zone.tv/en_GB/index.php?screen=dstore.shop.productlist&tnid=2&72=1