The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2015-2016 season

Sauze D’oulx still hasn’t had the turbopuke but things are improving and quite a bit more snow forecast so fingers crossed we should be all good for the start of February.

Jealous of those going out now to the French Alps – enjoy the pow!

Think I’m about to wear out the Les Arcs webcams through overuse.

I love that seven ages of mountain man . I am a soldier

Footflaps, just checked my booking receipt (pinned up in my study on The Pinboard of Happy Memories from my Travels!)

I was on 180s, and am around 182cm tall, so that sounds about right.

Bought a pair of Nordica NRGY 90s with Salomon STH2 WTR bindings for £320 inc shipping!

Gone for 169cm which is all they had at that price, but only 1cm shorter than my current ones.

My thinking was the 90s will carve a little better than the 100s and be a bit less of a change and the shorter length (than the recommended 176) will make moguls a bit easier..

I’m 173cm tall and my skis are 184cm long – will I die? I’m pretty heavy though (105kg) and pretty awesome. 😛

Not owned a pair of skis since I was a nipper but these came up cheap in 184cm with skins/touring binding etc.

Having looked on this thread and grimaced many times due to not being able to go boarding finally I actually am!

A slightly wealthier friend of mine has bought an apartment and I’m reaping the benefits!

Will be the first proper boarding trip since Banff in Jan 2007! (excluding 3 days of slush in Chamonix a few years ago).

Week in Les Arc starting in 15.5 days time! And it looks like its fianlly started snowing!

Woo! Yay! Etc!

I’ll keep my eyes peeled for chirpy looking hippies then as I’ll still be out there!

Think I’m about to wear out the Les Arcs webcams through overuse.

lol….yeah my work is being severely compromised by the views at Corchevel!

On the subject of ski length, last year the guy in the shop insisted I should have 175cm carvers, despite me suggesting I wanted longer. I am 193cm, but found those ski’s very good. Not in powder I hasten to add tho..

On the subject of ski length, last year the guy in the shop insisted I should have 175cm carvers, despite me suggesting I wanted longer. I am 193cm, but found those ski’s very good. Not in powder I hasten to add tho..

Crikey!

My mate who’s an off-piste instructor reckons I’ll be ok on the 184s – he recommended something in the high 170s for me but as I say these were going cheap with everything I needed. Oh well – I’ll find out soon enough! Might have a quick nip up to Nevis Range if they open the uplift this week.

Ski length is an eternal debate… modern rockered skis can also mean that the effective length on hardpark is a bit shorter than when in powder.

I don’t want to worry you Grum, but a Pal bought some all mountain skis last year for our boys trip and was all at sea on them. He swapped with a Guy for the day who had the same 175’s as me and was transformed into a skier again!

Don’t ruin your fun by struggling on the wrong ski’s for a week!

I’ll keep my eyes peeled for chirpy looking hippies then as I’ll still be out there!

Ill be the one on my face as I won’t remember how to board and Ive got my Lib Tech with magna traction edges which is not very forgiving for those ‘which edge am I on moments’

Also I no longer look like a hippy. Apparently i’ve just realised I’ve turned in to my Dad. Only taller.

TallPaul
RocketSki for that bonus price. There was nothing near it for the 23rd. There are loads for this saturday for around that price , as people have probably cancelled and taken a hit on the deposit rather than travel as the snow was so poor.

Rocketski specialize in school trips and there are none booked that week , so I guess they discount the rooms to keep turnover up. Not expecting much but we go to ski not lounge around in a luxury apartmrn feeeling smug .

Captain .- Thanks for info , will save to phone for future use .Staying in Chantermerle in Hotel Olympic . Basic but looks OK . Not alacohol incuded buts that not a problem as we are not big drinkers , just a couple of beers after skiing , then 1/2 bottle red with dinner will do us.

Ski length is an eternal debate… modern rockered skis can also mean that the effective length on hardpark is a bit shorter than when in powder.

Indeed! These are traditional camber I think.

I don’t want to worry you Grum, but a Pal bought some all mountain skis last year for our boys trip and was all at sea on them. He swapped with a Guy for the day who had the same 175’s as me and was transformed into a skier again!

Don’t ruin your fun by struggling on the wrong ski’s for a week!

Cheers – will hopefully get to have a test this week in Scotland. I am off to Italy at the end of the month too and will take snowboard and skis so not crucial just yet if they aren’t right. The main thing I need them for is a ski touring course in March so I can always change them before then if they really aren’t right.

I was just looking at this:

Reasons to size your skis longer, closer to the top of your head:

You are skiing fast and aggressively.
You weigh more than average for your height.
You plan to do the majority of your skiing off the trail.
You plan to ski a twin-tip ski.
You want a ski that has a lot of rocker.

http://www.evo.com/how-to-choose-skis-size-chart-and-guide.aspx

All of those apply to me apart from the last one. So we’ll see I guess.

just a couple of beers after skiing , then 1/2 bottle red with dinner will do us.

Finish the day at the bottom of the Alphand. There are two nice bars to the
Left as you ski down and THE Station to the right, which is a little rowdier.

For dinner, the Plein Sud is excellent value, and always good food too. It’s the hotel we usually stay at and we’ve had some great meals there. Will try to remember the names of a couple of other places for you.

Ah – If you’re touring I suggest you also try some kick-turns before making the final decision. My touring skis are pretty short for me at 175 (I’m 182) but one of the reasons for the choice is doing kick-turns is easier with shorter skis.

Blimey…talk about confusing, Rocker or Camber or Camber with Rocker or Rocker with Camber with Rocker…or maybe just flat!

I think this could get into a ‘which tyres for’ thread if we’re not careful! 😕

Ah – If you’re touring I suggest you also try some kick-turns before making the final decision. My touring skis are pretty short for me at 175 (I’m 182) but one of the reasons for the choice is doing kick-turns is easier with shorter skis.

Mainly bought them for touring but will also be used on piste at times. Will have a go at the kick-turns and see. No great loss if I have to sell them on and buy some new ones as I bought them second hand fairly cheaply. My mate gets very good discounts on Whitedot skis too. 🙂

Blimey…talk about confusing, Rocker or Camber or Camber with Rocker or Rocker with Camber with Rocker…or maybe just flat!

I think this could get into a ‘which tyres for’ thread if we’re not careful!

It’s all come from snowboarding I believe – blame them! My gullwing hybrid camber snowboard is good fun though. 😀

Interesting conversation about ski length. We’re wondering what to do with Jnr. He has 155cm Jnr SL skis which he uses for training, eventually racing and used them on our last holiday. He’s away on the school ski trip for half term and we don’t fancy him risking him taking chunks out of his SL skis. So we’re looking at getting some second hand recreational skis to take with him.

He’s 180cm tall with huge feet and a good strong skier, but he’s still a child and not yet got full adult strength, so I’m not too sure what length and what type of skis to get. If I was as good as him I’d be getting some top end skis, but I just wonder if they’d be too stiff for him.

Edukator’s your man for that sort of advice.

Thanks shifter

Hammerite, Pair of twin tip / park skis? If he won’t be racing on them then something to play on would be a good option. They are usually quite soft in flex so his strength won’t be an issue. Plus they will be OK in the POW.

Possibly TheDTs, it is something we have considered.

For those that like to fettle these; http://www.decathlon.co.uk/vola-hobby-vice-id_8112128.html

Are actually pretty good for what they are. It’s been 15/16 years since I was a ski tech, and that workshop was a bit rough round the edges so can’t really compare with you fancy dancy uber vices. They’ll be reet for the garage tho!

*awaits someone pointing to an uber bargain somewhere obvious

What about womens skis (assuming they aren’t obviously pink). Ladies are generally slimmer/lighter for a given height and so I think the skis are a bit softer for a given length.

That’s something that we are likely to do when Jnr’s SL skis need replacing sweaman2 – they pretty much have the same top sheets. I hadn’t thought about it for some rec skis though, I’ll have a look about. Like you say it’ll have to be something not obviously girly though!

Lots of snow out there at the moment, but…

http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/alpes/savoie/video-theo-lange-pris-dans-une-avalanche-tignes-897565.html

I think after that I’d have got to safety before bothering to clean my Gopro lens. Then I’d probably have had to go to change my trousers. 😯

Piece on French TV warning about avalanche risks tonight, already a few fatalities. Most resorts are still only 50% open at best

To be fair that fella in the video shouldn’t be allowed out in the mountain on his own, a variety of avi indicators before he even started traversing along the cornice (wtf). Utter idiot, I have had to rescue t0ssers like him before and I really irritates me.

Yeah also can’t really believe he dropped in when he’s just seen it nearly go twice. What a tool. Very very lucky boy.

Time for my nearly annual rant……

Asshat gets caught in avalanche, luckily surviving. However, as he had a camera on, once he’d ‘dropped a psikk edit’ it gets picked up and broadcast widely. Lots of other asshats view said psikk edit and think, “cool, braw! Props and woops, innit!”

Second group of asshats, who almost certainly don’t have the skillz of the original asshat assume that such stuff is not only normal, and easy, but also, if they do it themselves and drop their own psikk edit, they too will have instant YouFace fame! Cue lots of useless asshats in avalanches.

Asshats.

The videos of people doing “sik linez” and not causing an avalanche are more of a problem IMHO, they’re more likely to be emulated by the unskilled/inexperienced/unequipped with possibly dire consequences. And in this case the report around the video is important in which he says he thought he was going to die – and wherever I’ve seen it posted it’s accompanied by (justified) comments to the effect of “What a tosser, WTF did he think he was doing?” which ought to get some sort of message across.

When I first saw it I thought he was mad to go that close to the edge and it was going to be a classic cornice collapse. As NZCol says, he shouldn’t really be allowed out on his own!

Anyone know where I can buy a pair of helmet speakers, over the counter human transaction style?? No time for online… Ta

Earphones ?

Skis, as said Grum you just have to give them a go. As someone who learnt to ski in 1978 old ha its die hard with me and it took quite a few years and lessons to get used to todays type of skis and to modify my style (eg I like lots of quick fast turns whereas the new AM skis work better at a slower cadence”). What sealed it for me was the new skis are SO much better off-piste that its worth the on-piste compromise. For me the older skis where (are) better on-piste and especially in big moguls but the joys of skiing better off piste are worth it.

This could be good educational material.
What should I be looking for as Avalanche indicators?

No, helmet speakers. Like these…
https://www.atbshop.co.uk/snowboard-helmets/smith-direct-connection-drop-in-helmet-audio?gclid=CISwssbVnMoCFQEFwwodi0wLEg

But I might just get some cheap headphones and snap the head band off..

Colp, (Feel free to correct me everyone). From what I see.
There has been fresh snowfall, he is above tree line, avalanche control on skiers right (Those big tubes sticking out of the snow)
Wind has been blowing from skiers right to left.
Cornice build up on ridge, UNSAFE
The snow is clearly looking to slide, there are signs of natural slides in the gullies he looks down.
The snow in those gullies has been wind blown / affected so is likely to be unstable as a result.
When he first drops in, the snow slides off, but only just stops.

Oh, and he is on his own has he told anyone where he is going?

What else have I missed?

I appreciate you are looking for speakers but why not just use in-ear headphones ? FWIW I very much think music when skiing is dangerous, you can’t hear a shoit of say – look out.

Cheers TheDTs