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

@jedi – little bit of a thaw and re-freeze on the top layer ? Anyway I’m sure you’re coping.

Loving it. We learned to board 2 yrs ago out here

As an ex-ski patroller with a lot of training in avalanche control and safety I offer to the masses the following:
I was skiing in a safe place with friends-big slide, 1 killed 2 badly injured. Our group were all mountain guides !
I was buried, twice, in places where based on my experience and training it should not have happened.
I could be classed as a numpty which is fair enough but at that time I was avalanche bombing, doing slope safety and teaching so I wasn’t really a bunny. I have dug about a dozen people out of slides, some alive. There are random elements to it, to be fair skiing out of a slide is an amazing experience. I liked to ski in places where the snow was good and the terrain was interesting, that has risk. Above all be safe, ski within your limits and enjoy the experience.

@nedrapier – loving the top photo – was the severed torso effect intentional? 😉

@NZCol – sobering & very interesting! Thanks for sharing!

Apparently the Schumacher investigators have stated that:

..the video appeared to show “completely normal behaviour by a good skier on this terrain”.

Schumacher had deliberately chosen to go off piste, an area between a red and blue piste that was clearly signposted, the investigators said.

He hit a rock that was 8m (26ft) from the piste, and landed 9m (30ft) away from the piste, they outlined.

— http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25651852

Kinda sad that blame needs to be sought here (presumably for insurance/compensation reasons). I don’t really want a future where every off-piste rock has orange hazard tape around it.

New to STW ski thread and never actually been skiing, however I do have a fascination with cross country skiing.
Having never done it does anyone have any recommendations on novice friendly places to try it?
Not worried if it’s away from the big hills as really have no intention of doing downhill.

Cross country? See if you can borrow some kit and find your local golf course shortly after it snows. Better of there is some gradient on it.

Novice-friendly XC, everyone friendly XC in fact, just very good XC[/url]

Ed’s back. Thought you’d left this place.

@hugh – I asked a cross country ski question here and got vey little back, most here seem to be downhill skiers. I’ll be little bold and say the best cross country resorts/areas tend to be separated from downhill as the required terrain is quite different and the XC folk don’t want to be around ski lifts etc. One suggestions would be Jura (the mountains to North of Lake Geneva) and there are some good locations around the smaller resorts in Austria. The best resort I’ve visited for a combination of downhill and XC would be Arosa in Switzerland.

To get a taste of XC, you might want to consider trying roller skiing as an introduction;

Cross Country can mean many things. If you mean ski ing on prepared tracks with super skinny skis with no metal edges (Ski de Fond in French) then there is a choice between Classic/ Alternatif or Skating. Classic is shuffling along: walking with a glide often in grooves cut into the preapred track. Skating is generally more sportif (the people in CFH’s photo above are skating but on wheels).

To do this Ski de Fond, outside of Norway, Finland, Sweeden etc then the Jura, on the frontier between Switz and France, N of Geneva is about as good as it gets. If you want something more alpine then La Clusaz is good, but I would suggest Les Saisies is even better in Beaufortain and not that far away from La Clusaz.Les Saisies was used for the Albertville Winter Olympics XC Ski-ing.

If you mean ski mountaineering (ski de Rando: heels can be locked down for downhill, go uphill with skins, skis similar to downhill skis), then that’s a different thing, if you mean between ski mountainaineering and Ski de Fond then think of Rando Nordique (lightweight telemarking ish: heels normally free, skis have edges.

More info available if needed!

Amazing video
http://whitelines.com/videos/teasers/mission-steeps-xavier-de-le-rues-new-series.html

Have to pay $1.99 for the full thing but worth it for the “Holy jeez..!” monents I reckon.

Think I’m probably going to get this backpack for avi gear. Integrated Avalung and comes with decent looking shovel and probe. Pretty small pack (11L) but I don’t want anything huge as we are mainly playing in side-country not doing all day hikes so I think it’ll be big enough.

£179 from Snowsafe (-10% discount from SCUK)

Look okay?

GrahamS, Nice bag but can you strap skis on it? Even for easy stuff its quite nice to be able to free your hands for a short climb.

Aye the description on snowsafe says:

“Featuring a diagonal ski carry system and horizontal snowboard attachment, this pack is ideal for streamlined resort skiing, a quick trip into the backcountry, or heli trips. “

I don’t expect it to be fabulous for that to be honest as it looks quite small so I’m not sure how stable it’d be with a board or skis hanging off it.

I looked at that bag/set-up myself. Looks like the cheapest route to an Avalung. I guess all the equipment carrying stuff is behind that zip.
Edit: there’s a pdf on the Black Diamond site that shows the ski carry, no sign of board carry though.

I eventually went for a non-avalung ARVA pack from the same folk for <£20 and then bought an Ortovox set from Gravity Protection.

You’d be better off chucking your gear in a Tesco Carrier Bag and using the money to go on a course, or go with a capable qualified guide.

Edit: there’s a pdf on the Black Diamond site that shows the ski carry, no sign of board carry though.

Yeah was just checking that myself. Couple of sites say it has horizontal snowboard carry but I don’t see how and the Black Diamond site doesn’t mention it. That could be a deal breaker. I think some folk just slip a board between pack and back but I can’t imagine that is very comfy or stable.

You’d be better off chucking your gear in a Tesco Carrier Bag and using the money to go on a course, or go with a capable qualified guide.

Yeah thanks for that. I’m sure a guide would love to take me if I showed up with my shovel and gear in a poly bag. 🙂

Incidentally Peter Hardy of the Telegraph reckons that unless conditions radically change this season it is too dangerous to consider any backcountry in the Alps.

Yeah just been reading the les arcs website and it is saying most dangerous snow conditions for 20 years.

Which will be why they’ve cancelled the Red Bull Linecatcher.

So I got a small crack on the inner lense on my Oakley Crowbars, have no idea how it happened, just noticed it when I was wearing them today. What are the Oakley warranties like does anyone know? Ta.

Oakley warranty is about the best there is.

Any tips on easily accessible off piste for Les Arcs & La Plagne, obviously bearing in mind BigJims post.

We fly today 🙂

Mugboo
Was in La Plagne last xmas and we had 2 powder days .
From Plagne Centre , looling right there isa new chair over a slalom piste. Just next to that are fir trees , usually decent powder in there.Off Le Boily and Becoin lift , go left or right .
If you go up and for right of the piste map there are 2 black runs . Lots of easy access off piste just off them .Morbleu and les etroits.

If you get to Plagne Bellecote there is a drag called Collosus. Ride all the way to the top. Turn 90′ Right and head down into the trees. Loads of cheeky trails in there , some cliff drops so beware.

Go up the Verdons Nord lift , turn right and traverse the ridge line . Several drops down adjacent to the Mercedes lift , bit flat on the run out but ok.
Up the hill from the Vanoise express is a black Le derochoir , lots off the side of this , and lower down if you explore in the woods down to Montchavin .

St Anton tomorrow with my mate Richard. Snow looks rubbish , forcast looks okish with sprinkles midweek. First STW ski and snowboarding thread meet up as Dezb is in Lech so will bus ( shudders ) it up the vallee and meet up.
Thinking about a North America or Canada trip in March if europe conditions stay poor. Never been and am getting too old to really get the most out of it if I keep putting it off.

Cheers chaps, keep em coming 🙂 . Snowboarding so run outs a good point!

@GrahamS – the Black Diamond looks pretty reasonable I guess.

The shovel & probe will be decent enough. (I’ve got the same shovel – it’s light(ish) deploys quick and doesn’t flex under load like many plastic shovels)

However, there are other packages/bundles available though – as I’m sure you’ve seen and you might find a good bundle that includes a beacon. (which I would put above the ‘AvaLung’ in terms of priority)

If you really get the Backcountry bug you can buy an AvaLung separately later on.

The bag certainly won’t be up to board carrying. In my (painful & expensive) experience, only bags > 25l capacity will have the ‘stiffness’ to support a large board for any serious hiking without it flapping and wobbling all over the place (either horizontally or vertical)

Also worth trying to avoid any bags that attach bits of shovel etc on the outside of the bag, as they have a tendency to get ripped off in a fall/interface with tree/chair-lift type situation!

& +1 for Oakley warranty! 😉

Thanks Digby – appreciate the advice.

Don’t worry I’d be getting a beacon to go with this (I think this year we are just borrowing a couple of Tracker DTS from a mate). I looked at a few packages that included beacons but they typically had plastic shovels (which bearing in mind the searching vs digging time discussion seems like a terrible idea) or they were full-on big money pro kit with big bags and ABS etc.

This seemed nice because the shovel and probe seem decent and it’s a small unobtrusive bag which suits the kind of lift-access side-country stuff we do. And I like that the bag doesn’t have loads of webbing and straps on the outside because that is a sure way to get snagged on a chairlift. 😀 And the Avalung is a nice bonus obviously.

Not sure how I feel about lack of board carry though. If that’s only really feasible on big bags then I guess it is just a compromise you make for a smaller bag. The Dakine Heli bags are mid-size and can carry a board vertically but looks like you’d be rattling your head and heels off it as you walked.

Think you have to go up to the Black Diamond Outlaw pack to get a proper snowboard carry and integrated Avalung and that’s a big 32L pack.

Thinking about a North America or Canada trip in March if europe conditions stay poor. Never been and am getting too old to really get the most out of it if I keep putting it off.

Do it. You won’t regret it!

HIGHLY recommend dropping a line to Susan at Canadian Powder Tours. She is lovely and runs a chalet in Fernie which is really nice. Gourmet home cooking, cold beer, open fire, hot tub with a view onto the mountain, daily transfers and guiding. Oh and tons of snow!

http://www.canadianpowdertours.com

Avoriaz. 8 sleeps 😀

It’s my first holiday back in Europe after 3 x BC, 1 x Colorado, Europes got its work cut out to win me back. Having a 3 year old means that Europe made Canada look very expensive!

Having a 3 year old means that Europe made Canada look very expensive!

Aye! Gagging to go back to Canada. 40 next year and would love to have my first go at Cat Skiing (well snowboarding) to celebrate. Expensive and looooong flights to take kids on though.

In which case GrahamS, the Black Diamond pack looks like quite a sweet deal – as you say, plastic shovels are often a bit useless.

The Dakine Heli bags are mid-size and can carry a board vertically but looks like you’d be rattling your head and heels off it as you walked

The Dakine Heli bags were part of my [bruised] painful experience. I’m usually a big fan of Dakine kit (scarily I have matching Dakine snowboard bag, luggage and pencil case … go figure! 😉 ), but the Heli Pro etc just aren’t practical for anything more than really short hikes – and the sheer number of straps & buckles etc beggars belief!

Gagging to go back to Canada. 40 next year and would love to have my first go at Cat Skiing (well snowboarding) to celebrate

As I think I’ve mentioned before, my day with ‘Fernie Wilderness Adventures’ cat-skiing was one of my top 10 days on the snow.

Hoping to get back to Fernie for an extended trip again next season, but it sounds like they are having another bumper season again!!

As I think I’ve mentioned before, my day with ‘Fernie Wilderness Adventures’ cat-skiing was one of my top 10 days on the snow.

Yep. They’d be one of my ideal choices – just not sure if I can swing that with the missus, 40th or not 😀

Consider myself pretty lucky to be getting to ride this year at all given I’ll be leaving her with a 8 month old and a 3 year old to look after while I’m off on a jolly 😀

And yeah, the other day Susan posted some pics on Facebook of her clearing a few foot of snow off her roof. Plenty of snow there at the mo apparently.

Surfer, I’m in morzine from the 19th. Hoping the cold snap mid week continues!

Just got back from a week in La Plagne/Les Arcs. Some nice fresh stuff in the first couple of days but it’s been melting pretty quickly since then. The valley looks insanely bare lower down and it felt more like spring than mid-January.

The other day I was sat eating lunch on the glacier at 3000m in a t-shirt and wasn’t cold at all.

cobrakai – Member
Surfer, I’m in morzine from the 19th. Hoping the cold snap mid week continues

I’m in Morzine from the 1st. The snow looks bloody crap at the moment, hopefully the snow next week will continue. Also hoping for colder weather than we have had for the past two years.

Me and the missus are complete novices (never even touched a ski!) but thinking of giving it a go.

Would a holiday (got a brochure for slovenia & bulgaria, they do stuff with a week of ‘ski school’ included) be sensible or should we go to the snowdome/dry ski slope first to see if we hate it or not?

Any tips/suggestions on where/when to go and what to do appreciated.