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

sounds like a lovely moment for a smoke!

Isn’t that what “safety meetings” are for? 😉

Isn’t that what “safety meetings” are for?

Is a “safety meeting” like those moment on a ride when you “Stop to check the map”*

*Almost always half way up a lungbusting climb!

In my experience Canadians will often ask if you mind if they light up on a chair lift and will usually offer to share their ‘chair-lift-cigar’! 😉

Smoking in the ‘lift-lines’ isn’t tolerated though …

@nedrapier … shame about the Norway situation – what’s the backup plan?

Old Canadian woman barged through a smoking area up on whistler, complaining loudly “can’t believe you smokers ruin this mountain air for us!” To which a local replied “well don’t walk through a designated smoking area you clown!”. I nearly choked!

I’ve since stopped but even when I smoked the Austrian thing annoyed me. I smoked outside regardless as my mates were non smokers.

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Solden[/url] by woldspinner[/url], on Flickr

That’s not smoke 🙂

CFH, Bunnyhop,

You are hereby officially forgiven.

My 7 year old (now confident on reds, and probably anything else if I let him) swithers between trying to persuade me to ski (bad knees unlikely) and wanting to give up skiing and bet on a board (because skiing is for little boys).

You will, CFH, Bunnyhop, give up skiing when you body starts to get old and knackered like mine – and grab a board.

8) << CFH kitted out for a bit of snowsurf. 😉

Quite a few restaurants in Austria seemed to have banned smoking anyway when I was there last. I’m really not keen and a non-smoker but I don’t remember it being an issue.

Les Arcs on Saturday – bit of snow forecast this week then 20cm on the day I get there – yeeehhaaaaa!

Nice St Anton pics back up there by the way – looks like great conditions.

You will, CFH, Bunnyhop, give up skiing when you body starts to get old and knackered like mine – and grab a board.

Oddly, in the summer, I wakeboard as my waterskiing is as graceful as a pig on stilts. On rolerskates. (In fact, I had a go in Barbados a couple of years ago when the bindings on the board broke and it was either ski back to the hotel or sit in the boat. I wasn’t very good!)

I very much doubt it – many years ago Bunnyhop and I went to Serre Chevalier for a cheeky week prior to a two week roadtrip round the BC/ Alberta border. In preparation for this I decided I’d learn how to board rather than ski. I did a course at Rossendale to get the basics then when I arrivedf in Serre Chevalier I rented a board.

I lasted three days before I had to give up. I’d be cruising along fine, then *POW* I’d be down. No warning, it was either arse then head and staring at the sky, or knees and chest and staring at the snow. On a board, I was falling on runs that on skis I wouldn’t even turn on. It got to the point where I couldn’t even turn over in bed I was so sore. I went back to skis and have never looked back since. I’m not saying boarding is wrong, it’s just different. And not as versatile or cool as skis.

I lasted three days before I had to give up because I was a novice and kept falling, but couldn’t be bothered putting in the effort to get better, so just went back to skis I’d be cruising along fine, then *POW* I’d be down. No warning, it was either arse then head and staring at the sky, or knees and chest and staring at the snow. On a board, I was falling on runs that on skis I wouldn’t even turn on. It got to the point where I couldn’t even turn over in bed I was so sore. I went back to skis and have never looked back since. I’m not saying boarding is wrong, it’s just different. And not as versatile or cool as skis.

HTH

😉

Meh. I could ski, why bother hurting myself learning to board? it’s never stopped me going out with mates on boards, if anything, we have to pick routes that *they* can do – it’s cretainly much easier traversing on skis for instance

I lasted three days before I had to give up.

Every girl in our group that has learnt to snowboard (including my missus) has spent at least one day crying. The boys generally get grumpy or give up.

Look at any bunny slope and you’ll see someone on a board having a tantrum, hiking up the hill because they can’t use a drag lift, or hiking down because they hate it and they are going home.

And yet people still moan that snowboarding is “too easy” compared to skiing.

Like anything worthwhile it just needs a bit of determination and practise.

Padded shorts help too 😉

I went back to skis and have never looked back since. I’m not saying boarding is wrong, it’s just different. And not as versatile or cool as skis.

I’ll give you the fact that skis are more versatile – they are a better means of transport in the mountains, better for cruising hard-packed pistes (or doing moguls) and covering distance. Snowboards are more fun though.

Meh. I could ski, why bother hurting myself learning to board? it’s never stopped me going out with mates on boards, if anything, we have to pick routes that *they* can do – it’s cretainly much easier traversing on skis for instance

Because snowboards are more fun. 🙂

Snowboarding in deep powder is just effortless beautiful gliding and one of the best feelings in the world – skiing powder is nowhere near as good.

On a board, I was falling on runs that on skis I wouldn’t even turn on

That’s your problem. Boards need some gradient. It’s the greens I hate. Particularly as a novice, keeping the board running flat without catching an edge on narrow, flat runs isn’t fun. Catch an edge and then as you describe, bang your down without warning.

The solution? Find something steeper.

As for me, I skied a little when younger, but my knees are shot these days, so no more skiing.

Plus 1 for the feeling of a board in powder. Never done it on skis though.

The solution? Find something steeper.

Yep and http://www.bataleon.com/tbt

This was back in 2003, *wayy* before wavy edge boards like Bataleon

I can see that boards in powder would be more fun than skis – and skis are *great* fun in powder, having tried it on the odd occasion. However, the opportunity to actually ski powder deep enough to warrant a board is so rare, I’ll stick to skis thanks.

This was back in 2003, *wayy* before wavy edge boards like Bataleon

Pfffffft… no sympathy here… I first learnt to snowboard *wayy* back in 1993ish – by taking the odd day on the bulletproof slopes of Nevis Range. No helmet. No arse armour. No lessons. Drag lifts.

The few boards available then were basically stiff inflexible uncambered planks which we steered by throwing our shoulders around.

Kids these days have it easy 😉

It’s this entitlement culture we have now Graham. People expect when they go on an expensive holiday that they’re going to have lots of ‘fun’ and not spend all their time being incredibly frustrated and in pain.

They don’t know they’re born.

Exactly grum – if I had my way the reps would beat them with hammers at the airport while screaming “YOU ARE NOT HERE TO HAVE FUN BITCHES!!!!?!1” and anyone that cried would be put back on the plane 😀

People expect when they go on an expensive holiday that they’re going to have lots of ‘fun’ and not spend all their time being incredibly frustrated and in pain

It’s a wierd paradox really isn’t it? Ostensibly skiing and snowboarding are ‘hobbies’ that require a certain amount of pain tolerance/self harming, before you can realise the huge rewards available. Seemingly most people never get that far …

Apparently the ‘snowsports’ industries are acutely aware of this and are trying to remedy the situation.

Stats quotes to me by CASI stated that for every 10 people that try snowboarding, only one will stick with it past the first experience. (similar stats for skiing as well).

There’s therefore a move to try and introduce the ‘fun’ element back into it, but sadly this isn’t always the case;

When my sister had a skiing lesson in Austria she called into question the parentage of the instructor and when I asked if she would ever consider skiing again, she said she would rather have ‘root canal’ treatment or swallow her own tongue …

She’d thought it ‘looked easy’ and would be cool to ‘swish’ about the slopes stopping for hot chocolate etc, but the reality was somewhat different for her …

Last year in Slovakia we had a girl in our chalet learning to snowboard for the first time. The chalet host/owner, Dan, is an experienced seasonaire and very good, patient teacher.

He spent all week with her, doing one-on-one lessons. Usual tears etc but lots of encouragement from Dan, us, and her boyfriend. She persevered each day until she finally made it down a slope linking turns without falling over.

She got to the bar, big smiles: “Yaaay I finally did it. I made it. It was great.”
We all cheer and congratulate her.

Then she says “Right I’m done now. I’m never doing that again. I just didn’t want to give up. I can see it would be great to do, and I can see why you love it, but I’m done.”

And she didn’t ride for the rest of the holiday. 😯

Meanwhile her boyfriend, also a complete beginner, got it straight away and by the end of the week was doing tail presses, little ollies and even came off-piste with us.

They are both coming back this year – but she isn’t riding.

Considered tethering both feet to a board and going sideways once, just to try it out and see what the fuss was all about. Several friends did one day courses in a fridge, and another did a BASI instructor thingy to try out a different discipline. All of them spacked a wrist.

Put me off, skied another week, and that was when skiing properly clicked.

Got a n00b Telemark lesson lined up for next week though, so expect some video looking like a muppet.

All of them spacked a wrist.

That’s just piss poor falling technique. 😀
Don’t stick a hand out, tuck and roll instead, like going OTB on a bike.

(falling properly should be the first thing they teach noobs)

What’s going on here? A snowboarding v skiing debate?
Hey it’s all sliding down snow on bits of wood eh?

Seriously though, they are both brilliant! I’d love to have the time to get better at skiing (or snowboarding, for that matter!). But you do need powder for proper boarding fun.

What’s going on here? A snowboarding v skiing debate?
Hey it’s all sliding down snow on bits of wood eh?

It was all going just fine until someone up there mentioned tele! 😉

DezB – Member
What’s going on here? A snowboarding v skiing debate?
Hey it’s all sliding down snow on bits of wood eh?

Sledging’s great.

Your wife, biscuits etc etc 😉

Out in Zinal Switzerland, fab area quiet loads of offpiste inbounds or out of bounds, to whatever level you desire including Heli ,
I use a split board which is great for the back country access or walk outs!!
Contact Backcountry adventures for a flavour or follow llnks on mountaintracks web site.

Nice catvet

Off out for a week soon to La Plagne. Looking at Scotland in February as the snow looks to be getting well good. Hoping for another Alps trip in March.

May sound like a dumb question … How often do you wax your board when you’re out for a full week session.

Depends on the board really rats.

The base on my current board (Bataleon Goliath) doesn’t hold wax very well at all and can look pretty scratty and dry after a couple of days hard riding.

BUT… my previous boards have been absolutely fine on a two week holiday.

Wax it before you go. If you do find it gets bad then you can always just whack it into a shop or give your friendly chalet bum a few euros to do it.

Yeah thanks for that. I’ve waxed it to go.

Think I might take my iron with me though feel like I’m gonna make a mess stripping the excess wax off … starting to sound a whole lot easier to take it into a shop. I’ve got a Rome board and it seems to get dry pretty quickly. Was looking at the Bataleon Anywhere as my next one.

cheers.

Depends on the snow too. A week of pow and you won’t need to wax it 🙂

BUT… my previous boards have been absolutely fine on a two week holiday.

Some years ago I was on a borrowed board from a sponsored friend and got very drunk and tried (pretty successfully) to ride it home down a (gritted) road in Mayrhofen at 9pm after some enthusiastic apres action.

I was not in the good books to be honest, especially the manufacturers since they’d arranged for a photo shoot the next day.

You will, CFH, Bunnyhop, give up skiing when you body starts to get old and knackered like mine – and grab a board.

igm – already there old chap, already there.(not flashy though, I’m guessing he’s a fit, have a go, young thing). 🙂

I cried a lot when learning to ski, got bruised a lot, got cold and wet a lot but never, ever wanted to jack it in. Just love it too much.

40 years on skis. Only 15 on a board and back on ski’s for the forseeable.

glenshee today – great snow and great vibes – Coire Fionn and Glas Maol were filled to the max.

kitzbuhel and the Austrian 6 week tour next weekend. Life’s great 🙂

Bunnyhop, have I ever told you I love you?

😉

flashy old chap, calm down there. Don’t want things to get out of hand now do we? Let’s have a conciliatory drink, old bean

😀