The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2013-2014 season

My question is for Graham as we’re considering Jasna as a late choice, is snow usually pretty good so early in the season – especially given the slow start in most places? Checked the webcams, some areas look fine, others look patchy.

Hi hammerite just saw your post.

I’ve been to Jasna twice (past two years) this year will be my third. Both previous were in Feb so no personal experience of the early season but it opens this week and the cover seems passable if patchy.

It’s a lowish resort (943m to 2024m) and fairly isolated so the weather and snowfall is very difficult to predict. In our experience most of the well-known ski report sites were well off the mark.

Will there be enough to keep us amused for a week? We don’t really ski off piste, but we think we’re capable if guided/instructed (OH has been skiing 20-odd years, Jnr and I about 5 years).

My review on SCUK after my first visit:
http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=50725

If you are reasonable skiers and you stick to the piste then you’ll ski it out in a day easy. It’s not a huge resort and most of the runs are red or blue.

BUT… go off-piste and you’ll see why I keep going back 😀

See the piste map at http://www.jasna.sk/en/mountains-and-holiday/maps/ ?
See those nice big yellow bits marked “Freeride Zone”? When the snow is good those are great. 😀
If you can ski through trees then there are plenty of good tree runs too.
Plus the locals are generally terrible skiers so it is fairly quiet off-piste.

We stay at Chalet Slovakia which is awesome. But if you are skiing then you probably want to check out Propaganda. They are another British company that run a chalet out there as well as a snowboard company and ski school. They should see you right for equipment, guiding etc
http://www.propagandaski.co.uk/

Bear in mind that a lot of the appeal is that the freeride zones are most lift-accessible. For the easier ones (i.e. the south-side / right-hand side of the map) you don’t need a guide as they are open “slackcountry” affairs, in view of the piste with little exposure.

The tougher ones are however.. erm.. quite a bit tougher!

Basically I would say go. But be prepared for it to be very different to a typical Alpine holiday. 😀

well, things are looking up, I see there’s quite a bit of snow forecast in the Tyrol between 20-25th Dec….hopefully spot on for my trip on the 27th. 🙂

Starting to get excited now, even if I will be restricted by my daughter’s beginner ability.

The tougher ones are however.. erm.. quite a bit tougher!

Guided only over there, I’d hope! Them’s some steep couloirs!

Where the best place to check snow levels and the snow forecast?

Where the best place to check snow levels and the snow forecast?

Individual resort sites are usually pretty good.
http://www.snow-forecast.com/ is OK for piste/resort specific forecasts, but I really like this too – http://www.yr.no/place/France/Provence-Alpes-C%C3%B4te_d%E2%80%99Azur/Serre_Chevalier/ It’s great for almost all weather in my experience. Sailing and kites, too, as the wind is usually pretty accurate.

Aaah yes, I’d forgotten about yr.no. Used to use it for a while then totally forgot about it and couldn’t remember the domain name. Cheers.

Guided only over there, I’d hope!

Well I’d certainly want a guide – but no, Slovakia has a slightly more relaxed attitude to health and safety so no guide or beacons required 😯

Well I’d certainly want a guide – but no, Slovakia has a slightly more relaxed attitude to health and safety so no guide or beacons required

There are lots of places you legally could go without a shovel, probe and transceiver, that does not mean its wise to do so 🙂

There are lots of places you legally could go without a shovel, probe and transceiver, that does not mean its wise to do so

Indeed. Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

@ Lucian…I went to La Thuile a couple of years ago when we were disappointed with conditions at Cormayeur. I loved it as it was big rollercoaster blue/reds you could really fly down. You might want to try a few other places if you get the correct pass, as after a few days you might be in need of a change.

Guided only over there, I’d hope! Them’s some steep couloirs!

If you’ve got the skills you don’t need a guide. Although looking at the response below makes me think they might be better with one!

Slovakia has a slightly more relaxed attitude to health and safety so no guide or beacons required

Beacons are not required anywhere that I know of. However, given the difference they can make to the outcome of a burial then you’d be daft not to carry the kit and know how to use it.

Beacons are not required anywhere that I know of.

I’ve certainly heard of places where they have access control gates and sometimes ski patrol guys stationed there checking transceivers etc. Canada and America seem to be more hot on this.

There are lots of places you legally could go without a shovel, probe and transceiver, that does not mean its wise to do so

Agreed.

🙄 oooh scary!

looking at the response below makes me think they might be better with one!

I think you are misinterpreting me. Did you miss the bit where I said: “Well I’d certainly want a guide”?

Not that I’d be tackling those couloirs anyway!

It was more the bit about tranceivers. Saying they weren’t required made me think you were skiing that stuff without one. Which would be silly.

Ah right, no sorry, I meant they are not legally required or enforced by the ski patrol.

They’d certainly be a very good idea.

(though to be honest, I’ve never seen anyone use one there, including the people who were doing proper backcountry and hiking well out-of-bounds 😯 )

I’ve certainly heard of places where they have access control gates and sometimes ski patrol guys stationed there checking transceivers etc. Canada and America seem to be more hot on this.

The USA is a bit odd in this regard. As I understand it, because the lift company usually owns the hill they can dictate what you do.

I’ve heard stories of people having lift passes confiscated for going out of bounds and people being arrested for trespass whilst skinning up the hill on touring kit. Most of it is motivated by fear of litigation should either of those individuals have caused an accident.

I carry mine all the time , but you would never know . Its strapped inside my jacket so unless I walk past a test station and ‘beep’ you cannot see it’s there.
Got a shovel as well , getting a probe this year although having tested mine its pretty accurate and 20 secs or so with the gain on lowest setting should see you to within 2m .

Its more being able to respond to others who are unfortunate to be caught up in a slide if you happen to be nearby , and decide its safe to do so . Rather than standing around waiting for the piste security guys to rock up , you can get in and locate very quickly , if they are wearing beepers.

Which transceiver do you have STM?

I carry mine all the time , but you would never know . Its strapped inside my jacket so unless I walk past a test station and ‘beep’ you cannot see it’s there.

Is there another way to wear a transceiver? 😉

I do wear mine most of the time as well. Even if I’m just going up to mess around, I’ll always end up deciding some line or other is in condition.

Got a shovel as well , getting a probe this year although having tested mine its pretty accurate and 20 secs or so with the gain on lowest setting should see you to within 2m .

The probe completes the ‘holy trinity’. Without it you can easily lose enough time to make a life or death difference.

Then practice practice practice. It’s impossible to over emphasise just how important speed is. I’m sure you’ve all seen the graph of burial time against survival rate but in case you haven’t:

In the backcountry (and even frontside off piste) the best chance of recovering a buried victim alive comes from companion rescue.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/good-to-share/10520192/Snow-circles-skier-creates-huge-designs-in-the-snow.html

The probe completes the ‘holy trinity’. Without it you can easily lose enough time to make a life or death difference.

If the victim’s any depth at all, you’ll be moving an awful lot of snow, and in a stressful situation, it’s very easy to lose track of the point you’re digging to without a probe in place.

And with the newer techniques of starting downslope and digging on the level into the slope towards the victim, rather than top down, it’s even more important to know the exact depth and position. And they’re not that expensive. Buy a slab of stubbies rather than a night out or two, and that’s it paid for!

Thanks for the response Graham. If we’d ski out the pistes in a day we probably won’t go (we don’t ski like it every day but have managed 50 mile + days – ski and lifts).

Whilst we’d like to have a go at off piste our lack of knowledge and kit means it’s not something we’re likely to do without a guide. We could get a guide for pretty much the whole week, but it’s not really something we’d want to do the whole week.

Thanks for the response Graham. If we’d ski out the pistes in a day we probably won’t go (we don’t ski like it every day but have managed 50 mile + days – ski and lifts).

Yep, Jasná is only 45km of pisted runs, so if you were sticking to the pistes then it’s probably not worth it.

’Twas the day before opening, and all through the valley….TURBOPUKE!

Looks like it’s been dumping it down good and proper over there!

Wow! That’s rather different to the last time I looked at that webcam. 🙂

Just booked a week in Lech, Austria. Anyone been there? Looks good – lift pass covers the Alberg area

Wow! That’s rather different to the last time I looked at that webcam.

Yep. Had a few very nervous emails from friends over there this week. Watching the clock ticking down to opening day and thinking, “Erm, there’s no snow!”

Email this morning simply read – “Cucumelle webcam – LOOK!”

🙂

Did Lech for my 3rd week ever, years ago. Deserted pistes in December, and no shortage of snow in that region. Think they limit the number of skiers to those in a hotel/chalet etc. and those that pre-book ticket and parking. Was kinda odd going in to a Ski Boutique rather than the Rental Shop, but Courchevel has more fur collars.

Must go back sometime and do more of that area, especially as it’s one of the closer areas to here.

Sounds good! Got a ski-in/out chalet as I have very bad memories of my last time in Austria (Meyrhofen lift queues)

Lech is nice and a bit posh but mostly quite tame IIRC. Zurs is nearby and really good, St Anton a bit further away and also really good.

I normally go to Austria as I much prefer the prices and the hospitality to France – might have to go somewhere else this year as the snow in Austria isn’t looking great. Massive dump forecast in Saas Fee in Switzerland over the next week or so.

Pretty much everything will be essentially ski-in/ski-out. Or at least a short stroll over the road to the lift and ski back to town and a short stroll over the road to the hotel. And there will be zero queues.

Never really had a problem at Mayrhofen. 10 mins max maybe? Will go there next month too, but will have car and drive direct to Horbergbahn gondola. At Kaltenbach and Zell am Ziller lifts, i think I have had to wait for a maximum of 1 gondola, and that was because it felt rude barging in to a 8er cabin with a group 4 ahead of me. Both on same ticket as Mayrhofen. Both have same piste km.

I much preferred Zell am Ziller to Mayrhofen. Mayrhofen was very busy even on a quiet week.

Same here, although haven’t been to Mayrhofen for years, which is why I’ll go there for a change.
Normally choose Zell am Ziller if it’s a nice day, and Kaltenbach if it’s going to snow, cos they have a free multistorey carpark, which means no clearing the snow off the car 🙂

I have very bad memories of my last time in Austria (Meyrhofen lift queues)

When were you last there?

It used to be a complete nightmare to get up the main penkenbahn lift. Huge free-for-all crowds all pushing up the steps/slope to get in through one set of doors. It was a proper rammy. We used to form up into a phalanx, snowboards held up vertically as shields with the women and children protected inside.

Last time we were there it was a lot better though. More uplifts and the Penkenbahn had a swirly fenced bit to force the Germans to queue 😀

Funny thing is they still refer to the Penkenbahn as the “new Penkenbahn” gondola, even though it’s been there since before my 1st time there (1998?). And it’s already due for replacement with more uplift. 2015 was rumoured, but no idea if that’s actually going to happen.

Zell am Ziller and Kaltenbach both have double uplift from the carpark. Mayrhofen’s 2nd uplift is a bus ride away.

And the Germans all go to Kaltenbach and Zell am Ziller, cos that’s where the car parks are 😉 . Mayrhofen is mostly Dutch and Brits getting totally sh*tfaced on Grolsch.

Mayrhofen is mostly Dutch and Brits getting totally sh*tfaced on Grolsch.

Ahhhh.. happy memories. 😀

Me and some mates, including a serving police officer, all steaming drunk on said Grolsch, attempting to “break in” to our Pension at 3am when we realised none of us had our keys.

“Right lads, we need to find a ladder to get up to the balcony”
“Don’t be stupid they won’t just have a ladder lying about in th.. oh there’s one.”
“There’s another.”
“Here’s one”

Cue much hilarity as drunken men attempt to ninja up to the balcony without arousing suspicion from people walking past.

Quality night.

Proposed to my wife the next day on Hintertux glacier. 😀

It used to be a complete nightmare to get up the main penkenbahn lift. Huge free-for-all crowds all pushing up the steps/slope to get in through one set of doors. It was a proper rammy.

Oh, christ, that’s exactly it. Only time I’ve lost my snowboard holiday chill! “Don’t push me pal, not today”. 🙁
I even caught the bus to change lifts.. as the bus drove past.. massive scrum. Then I got lost and had to walk back. As I was walking the wife phoned and said “I’ve broken my wrist”!!
Yeah, it was 6 or so years ago.

And there will be zero queues.
Andytherocketeer henceforce becomes my favourite STWer 😀

Mayrhofen is mostly Dutch and Brits getting totally sh*tfaced on Grolsch.

Loads of Russians last time I was there – seemed like 75% Russian in fact. I think we may have been there at Russian Christmas though.

Austria, doesn’t Putin go to St Christoph near St Anton, takes the whole village ! Anyway I remember bad queues in Austrai at Mayerhoffen and especially Kitzbuhl but that was in mid ’80’s – I imagine they’ve upgraded the lifts a bit since then. St Anton has a very efficient and well thought out system.