The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2014-2015 season

2 days left in Alpbach after a good first 4. 2nd time in Austria and I definitely prefer it to France, easier on the wallet too. Conditions have been good with some sun every day after 15cm the day we arrived. I’ve just about got back to the standard I was at 5 years ago when I last went skiing which is poor to average at best. Not that it matters as I’m with Mrs CD and her parents who are beginners.[/url]
14218563909630[/url] by Cheers Drive[/url], on Flickr[/url]
20150118_151713[/url] by Cheers Drive[/url], on Flickr

I remember finding Austria quite a refreshing change after a few years in France too. Muuucccchhhhh easier on the wallet. Glad everyone’s had a good time.

Well, this is new to me.

Looks great fun http://vimeo.com/117350159

Alpbach, blimey I went there 40 years ago, it was very popular with BAOR families. Is it still a pretty little town?

Sometimes they’re meant to be wibbly, but that should be obvious!

Like these;

Every pair of Lib Tech skis I’ve seen have had me salivating! Hell, even their tea trays look lovely! Especially this one, named after a Rush track (Surely!)

Yes Alpbach is still pretty, it’s very small but as we’re with Mrs CD’s family we’re not here for the night life. The only problem is the lack of easy runs to keep them happy.

Out in samoens just now. Great conditions. Had 40cm on Saturday, then bluebird day on Sunday. Had snow most evenings then powder to ride in the mornings. Visibility wasn’t the best on Tuesday.. better today (wed). Looking forward to another few good days of boarding ?

Did a season in Samoens a few years ago, lovely place. I’m very jealous, but only 3 weeks till i go to Andorra, getting excited now.

DD – unfortunately sold a load of toddler kit before christmas but i can deffo recommend the Columbia stuff if you can find any on ebay. Between mine and my sisters kids we’ve had 3 kids in a Columbia set of jacket and salopettes and it still looked like new when we sold them!!

Only 9.5 more sleeps to go and 30+ cm predicted over the next few days so conditions look OK.

I need to sort myself out with a jacket as I threw my old one out last year! 😯

Any ski jacket bargains? (Male, 50 and 6ft tall)

Any ski jacket bargains?

Westbeach have good offers on their site, though their stuff might be a bit youthful for you surfer. 😛

(I bought stuff last year for this year when they had loads of reductions. I had a pair of their trousers for years and they were great. I hope their quality is still the same.)

Youve cut me to quick DD 🙁

I’ll take a look thanks!

When I was out in Austria I wandered into a Sports Direct (yes really!) and they had loads of ski jackets from Spyder and other top names. Have a gander at the web site, you never know.

PS I skied at Alpbach on the afternoon of 27th Dec…was great!

I swear Graham Bell was wearing THIS Jacket on Ski Sunday at the weekend!

#cheapskate! 8)

WOuld that be Graham Bell the Nevica skiwear “ambassador” who’s paid to promote the brand (Nevica is owned by Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley)

DD, as others have already said, Columbia stuff is excellent value for money and comes in sizes small enough. Also, have a look at Helly.

And, obviously, good gloves are vital for mini DD. Cold hands on kids are a nightmare, totally ruins their fun.

And, obviously, good gloves are vital for mini DD. Cold hands on kids are a nightmare, totally ruins their fun.

Following up on CFH’s post. Depending on cost / budget you might even consider two pairs. Kids spend a lot of time on the ground, by design or accident. My memory of skiing with my young kids was having soaking wet gloves lined up in the radiator every night. When they are not dry in the morning its a nightmare, and dangerous too.

To be fair, he’s only just gone two, so won’t be skiiing, but, yes, he’ll be playing outdoors for some of the day.

If he can walk, he can ski!

Still debating whether to go this year. Little Miss CFH would rip it up, I’m sure. She’s a speed demon on her balance bikes and loves adventures! Young Master CFH is only 8 months, though and it might be a bit of a waste of time for him.

If he can walk, he can ski!

Indeed….get him in the ski school!

If he can walk, he can ski!
Indeed….get him in the ski school!

Just gone two is a bit young I reckon.

My little miss had her first skiing lessons aged 2 and ten months.

She was too young for group lessons, but she was keen so we booked her one-on-one private lessons with a very lovely Italian girl who told us that our daughter was the youngest she had ever taught.
Just an hour a day on proper baby slopes with a couple of magic carpets and lots of toys to ski around and through. She did brilliantly. 😀

Did you get a resort sorted yet DublD?

I mentioned it before but we went to this place last year and we are going back there again this year (in two weeks) because it was really good for the kids:

http://www.neilson.co.uk/ski/france/les-deux-alpes/neilson-hotel-aalborg

They have a kids club and childcare on-site, it’s ski to door, easy access to the village, and they have ski hire and lockers as part of the hotel.

Only downside is that it is Neilson-exclusive so it’s all brits.

Just back from a week with Neilson in a 19 person chalet in Les Menuires that we booked out. In fifteen (plus) years of attending and booking ski holidays, this has been the best experience – the booking staff were great, the guys in resort were excellent, we had a fab time. I’ll be looking at the Aalborg for the next trip, I think, I was looking at it for this year to be honest!

Just gone two is a bit young I reckon.

No reckoning about it tbh dude. Anyway, as for resort, we’re going to chance last minute. 😕 Deals for beginning March aren’t quite appearing yet, but I might chance phoning them today to see if I can strike something up.

That Neilson place looks nice but it’s a bit bigger than we were hoping for. We just fancy a smaller chalet type thing. And the prices for that aren’t a lot different from skifamille if we can get something late with them. As I may have mentioned before, it’s kinda me who’s pushing for this holiday so I need to make sure it’s as nice as possible if I’m to have any hope of going again. 🙂

Deadly, just emailed you another possibility.

Yeah I know what you mean DD, I much prefer staying in little chalets to big hotels – but we’ve learnt that with young kids in tow hotels are a lot easier. We’ll go back to nice little chalets when they are older.

the prices for that aren’t a lot different from skifamille if we can get something late with them

You sure? Last year we went in March and it was significantly cheaper than SkiFamille even with the childcare/kids club costs.

Just tried an example. 2 adults and a 2 year old, 7 nights half board at Aalborg, flying 21st March from Gatwick is £1659. (And that’s before I apply the 10% SCUK discount)

Ski Famille to a small chalet (sleeps 9) in Les Gets is £2180.

Also 6 days of Bebe Club (4 months to 4 years) with SkiFamille is £315 – 6 days of the Snowman Club (2 to 4 years) with Neilson is £220.

I DON’T WANT TO GO TO THAT NEILSON PLACE!!

Have you tried Esprit?

DD – there is a Helly Hansen outlet at Gloucester Quays which is really good for ski wear – might be worth giving them a ring and seeing if they’ve got any little winter suits for the wee ones.

Ah…good plan wallop. Might be handy for base layers and socks’n’stuff too! I’d forgotten about that. Thanks.

DD – there is a Helly Hansen outlet at Gloucester Quays which is really good for ski wear – might be worth giving them a ring and seeing if they’ve got any little winter suits for the wee ones you.

😉

Cheap gloves there too.

😆 Flashy

As it’s an outlet, they’ll probably stock some oversize stuff. I’ll keep an eye out for you Flashy.

😀

We’ve just skied our last day in Morzine. Beautiful sunshine and we spent most of the day above Chatel and in Plaine Dranse. Topped it off with a fantatstic boozy lunch in the Valleé de Chèvre in the sunshine. Sad to go home.

Morzine is soooooo English, which is a shame, but it’s so convenient – we have had 4.5 days skiing with only a four night stay. Cracking.

wallop what is the snow like, especially for cheeky off piste by the sides of the piste? Looks a bit rocky on the webcams. I still have an option for a morzine trip in a couple of weeks

Morzine is soooooo English, which is a shame, but it’s so convenient

A French friend of mine went into an estate agent there and couldn’t find anyone who spoke French, English only !

Off to see First Aid Kit next week, thanks for the intro !

Snow is fantastic in terms of cover. The odd icy patch here and there but the big dump that came last weekend has really sorted the pistes out.

Off piste seems good (but already well tracked). I’m a bit of an off-piste noob but here is what we did today:

View this post on Instagram

#Offpiste in #PlaineDranse

A post shared by Jen Raison (@jenraison) on Jan 22, 2015 at 6:04am PST

Enjoy the gig, jambalaya!

10 days to go.

It’s like a **** eternity

Anyone here get away for the odd weekend? How much should I be looking at for a long weekend, last minute. Only back home a couple of weeks and want to go again.
This time I’d like to not destroy the base of my board on rocks and ice. 😥

Only ever been to France, but would be willing to try other countries too.

Please help me, I need to feed the addiction……… 😛

Please help me, I need to feed the addiction………

the best route I know for short trips is the Ski welt HEREvia Munich. depending where you fly from you can be on the slopes by midday ish and stay on the last day til 3ish, meaning you get 3.5 ish days of skiing for three nights.

You just need to pick up a hire car which is quite cheap and then you can go to different areas every day.

I used to do more days as long weekends than holidays due to family commitments. 3 days skiing with a Friday off work I found worked best, leaving Thur night from office. The cost of a weekend done like that is usually pretty close to a full weeks skiing, 75%?, excluding skip pass and equipment hire. Generally you have to rent a car unless you pick a resort with good public transport links (Verbier was always a favourite of mine as you can get train from airport and catch bubble at La Chable plus I stay with friends for free 🙂 ). Your last minute comment will make it expensive as the flights will cost, best way to do long weekends is pick the weekends in advance and buy fligths, then look for deals on unsold accommodation. Clearly to maximise skiing time pick resorts near the airport.