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

So, the lifts are all closing, the season is drawing to a close…..

Now would seem a good time to gather your;
Highlight
Lowlight
And what have you learned

For me, highlight was this thread, and the vicarious season it gave me!
Lowlight – first year in ages that I’ve not been skiing, and it was one of the best! Bah!
What have I learned? Done loads of research for taking Little Miss CFH out to Serre Che next year!

So, the lifts are all closing, the season is drawing to a close…..

Meanwhile the Scottish gully season is just getting under way…

And I might be off to the Lyngen Alps in 3 weeks!

Highlight? First red with my 6 year old – must convince him he doesn’t have to ski 6″ off the tail of my board though.

Highlight – either (1) a 100km in a day or (2) a day on Stöckli FIS slalom skis.
Lowlight – knowing that an avalanche occurred within spitting distance of where we’d skied earlier, and that a life had been taken
What have you learned – that (1) slalom skis are way better on the Gran Risa Alta Badia WC GS run than K2 Rictors, and (2) I want a pair.

Highlight was fabulous hospitality of The White Room Chalet and the lovely early season snow
Lowlight was a stupid fall and a broken ACL

Fingers crossed I’ll be back next season to do all the skiing I’d hoped to do this year

I meant to add that the photo above was taken in Scotland on Saturday so there’s still plenty to go at if you don’t mind carrying your skis.

Ned.
would love to get up to Lofoten/Lyngen but going to wait until next spring…

nice pics from Courmayeur.

Ta, nick. Only the first one’s from Courmayeur, the others are from the Vallee de la Claree, near Briancon. Lovely spot!

Sure you need to wait? Wednesday afternoon 15th to Sat 18th. Direct flights from Gatwick to Tromso, £240 inc board carraige, £155 car hire which we could split, full board accomm about £43 a night. 2.5 days off work, 2 full days touring, midnight sun.

???

new baby on the way 2 weeks later so highly unlikely!!!

Season’s not over yet. Still lift served skiing up in Scotland – hoping to go up this weekend, got to decide if it’ll be Glencoe or Cairngorm, or maybe even one day at each

Highlight – perfect snow conditions in April in Austia. Skiing in the Dolomites for the first time. Watching Jnr change from skiddy turns to lovely carves in the space of about 2 hours (although he reverts to skiddy turns when being lazy).
Lowlight – Being moaned at all morning one day, because all that fog we were trying to ski through was my fault obviously.

And what have you learned – I ski like John Wayne about to have a duel, legs wide open (but am trying to do something about it).

Spin – looks like Tower Gully? Could be wrong though, one looks a lot like another once you’re in it!

Me?

Highights:

Best powder season ever. More “best days ever” than I can count.
Still finding new lines in Sainte Foy after 6 seasons.
Massive progress up to and, especially, during my Level 3 Tech exam.

Lowlights:
Not seeing the sun for weeks on end.
Nearly, but not quite, passing my Level 3 Tech exam. Next year!

looks like Tower Gully? Could be wrong though, one looks a lot like another once you’re in it!

It’s Easy Gully on Creag Meagaidh.

The nice man from the SAIS took some photos of us from the other side of the corrie.

Spin – looks like Tower Gully

My money is on Meagaidh – easy gully?

[edit – too slow… anyway, what were conditions like? Was out solo in Cairngorms on sat (Loch Avon, Hells Lum, Macdui, Lairig Ghru, Coire an Lochan, Lurchers). Although cover was good everywhere, conditions pretty variable with the wind and new snow and I backed off a couple of things that just didn’t feel right. Looks like Meagaidh could have been/will be good for a while yet]

Highlight: Going to Val D’Isere with some really good friends, with fantastic snow conditions.

Lowlight: only getting in 3 days skiing due to catching lurgy and being stuck in bed.

Not over yet, as may be skiing this weekend with nbt (fingers/toes crossed).

Brilliant thread as always flashy.

Highlight – Learning to snowboard and going on my first snowboarding holiday.

Lowlight – Wishing I hadn’t learned years earlier.

Highlight; proposing to the other half at the top of Blackcomb glacier.

Low; being mildly disappointed with st Anton. Apre was brilliant but slope variety didn’t match my expectations.

cobrakai – really? Did you ride Rendl, Stuben, Zurs, etc. or just St Anton? (in the latter case, I agree with you but think you missed all the best stuff!).

Looks like Meagaidh could have been/will be good for a while yet

It was actually a bit of a mixed bag too. The gully section of Easy Gully was good but we didn’t go right to the top as it was clearly windslab. We also attempted Cinderella but again it was a wierd mix of wet snow, windslab and breakable crust, not to mention a massive cornice.

I think there is at least another month of quality skiing in the gorms if you don’t mind a bit of a boot. Going to take a look at the gullies on Liathach this weekend.

I really enjoyed St Anton but mainly because we had lots of fresh snow. Zurs was possibly my favourite bit though. Lots of untracked pow everywhere on the ski routes, even two days after it had snowed – much less busy than St Anton itself.

Highlight – probably my missus getting miles better at boarding and finally being able to keep up with me 🙂
Lowlight – not getting round to editing the gopro video yet

Highlight(s):
– watching my two year old having a ball on skis for the first time.
– spending a day looping round the back freeride zones in Jasna blasting through untracked pow.

Lowlight:
– not making it up to Scotland despite an excellent season.

Spin – Member

Going to take a look at the gullies on Liathach this weekend.

I’m jealous. Have ms bajsyckel’s mam to deal with over the weekend so won’t be out for over a week… Would love a shot at some of the stuff round the back in decent conditions. Was up around the same time last year and some of the potential lines on Beinn Eighe would have been incredible – if conditions are like that again then you’ll be lucky. Slioch too is worth a look, but I don’t think there will be much potential right now (and getting in is much more time consuming). Make sure to post some pics up whatever you find.

The word over on UKC is that most of the gullies are complete on Liathach. I know Scott Muir did some of them earlier in the season.

Most of the lines I’ve seen on Beinn Eighe would take a lot of filling in.

From over on Snowheads

This weekend’s fast blast to ski scotland is looking more and more likely 😀

I didn’t make it over to zurs unfortunately. The week I was there (appx 9th March) was warm and in between some massive dumps. A lot was closed due avalanche risk so everyone was channelled through the same bottle necks. All off piste was tracked out so no fun there as we got no fresh.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not writing it off. I could see the potential of the place if the conditions were right. Especially back country and off piste. I don’t think I saw it at its best so will definitely be back.

@cobraki – St Anton is world class – try a guiding company like Piste to Powder next time

I think I will invest in some guiding next time. As I said though, I think I was a victim of the conditions.

OK so plenty to choose from as have just come back from spending an incredible season in St. Anton 😆

Highlight: Night hike at full moon, up from St. Christoph to Galzig, steaming down on fresh pistes, beautiful scenery and down by 12:30 to meet the rest of the gang in Picadilly. Or some of the awesome powder days experienced on Rendl or over at Stuben. Or perhaps the ‘Taps Race’ day, a small amount of skiing, great friends, food and apres.

Lowlight: All the hungover 7:30 starts (hard life eh!)

Things learnt: How to ski powder well. How to snowboard (not so well). That I will be coming back for another season next year 😉

i had the best amount of skiing/boarding time this winter mainly due to me being able to resurect an old teaching qualification and doing a full season in glenshee…had 87 full days fo snow…didnt ski/board every day but most days i got out between or after lessons..

highlights
skiing down butcharts with a gin and tonic at night half cut 🙂
2 or 3 epic backcountry days which were mint…
mastering switch skiing and boarding
getting the hang of powder with both planks..
seeing some of the best powder in scotland ive ever seen(you know its good when you come back from chamonix and its just as good in the glen!)
making some great pals

lowlights
the boot saga continues…had 3 pairs of salomon boots and they just dont fit me…gonna look at something else
twisting my knee first week
new gf doing the same and not being able to ski this weekend

closing day at Obergurgl in Tirol yesterday. Thanks for a great season STW, I’ve enjoyed keeping up with this thread!

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this is what glenshee looks like now…..although the glas maol is almost complete…..we had some cracking t-shirt days…

nice pics whattyre. 87 days is pretty impressive, good work!

I’ve just booked flights to Tromso in May for a few days touring in the Lyngen Alps with a guy I met on the internet. 😕 Wish me luck, here’s hoping the trip is one for the highlights, not the lowlights!

freeridenick – understood! All the best!

Just bought these bad boys 🙂

Been getting up to the Chill Factore pretty regularly over the past few weeks totally hooked! Doing another lesson tomorrow-I got a deal of 90 quid for 3 2 hour group lessons on Tuesday nights….turns out that I am the group! So basically 3 2 hour private lessons at 30 quid a pop which includes a lift pass-good times!

We’re looking at going to Scotland self catering for Xmas week-any recommendations? I’ve found an apartment in Invergarry for 350 quid for the week which seems pretty reasonable-how close will we be to the slopes?

Tom B – good work on the lessons. It’s a cheap time to go snowboarding and buy kit! No idea about Scotland, sorry.

I just bought a £200 ski bag for £100 – still pricey and it’s got a ridiculous name (Douchebag – in big letters on the side) but it’s a very nicely thought-out bag.

And it’s under my desk, packed with touring gear waiting to be taken to Gatwick and put on a plane to Tromso!

Cheers Ned-did another lesson last night….I’m doing reasonably well I think!

I have GOT to go on a snow holiday next season! Seen a good deal through crystal in Les Deux Alps….any idea what it’s like there? Suitable for a noob?

look at action-outdoors/UCPA.

great if your travelling solo, plus all inclusive tuiton/food/lift pass etc.

Tom, are you on a board or skis?

Either way, look for somewhere with a good school and get some lessons. Given your progress in the fridge, you’ll learn really well in the mountains!

At this point, I have to recommend these guys – http://www.ski-school-connections.co.uk/ They’re awesome, and Serre Che is ace for almost all levels! If on a board, there are very few flats you can’t carry speed across.

Plus, assuming Mrs B comes too, there’s some great food on the hill and in the valleys, an a great thermal bath at Monetier if she feels like a change.

Tom, are you on a board or skis?

Flashy I think the clue is in the photo ^^ 😉

Tom B – never been to Leux Alps, however you may consider somewhere such as Flaine for a first time jolly. Not the prettiest of places but lots of piste, with ski in ski out options and reasonably priced.