The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2016-2017 season

Age: Early 40’s
Jacket: Yellow & grey (so the wife can see me) or black – both a bit on the big side
Boots: Salomon, black
Skis: Hire shop intermediates
Trews: Yellow & grey or black – baggy ish.
Helmet: Black
Goggles: Ancient Scott things where the white has aged to a pub ceiling beige pre smoking ban – need to change these maybe
Pack: None, something from breakfast jammed in a jacket pocket if going for a big day out.
Facial: Tend to only shave on the last of the holiday so passport control isn’t an issue unless going somewhere posh for dinner.
Technique: better than ever but still a bit shit, especially on the icy stuff and still to conquer powder despite lots of teaching by my significantly better friends

Ive got these Goggles

Can anyone explain why both lenses supplied appear to be designed for exactly the same conditions?

I missed apres tonight.

We’d just stepped out of the hotel to head to a bar when some poor guy walking down the street slips and swings his skis into my face, just below my left eye. There was a fair bit of blood and I needed four stitches but it could have been a lot worse – and I was back in the bar in under an hour!

I’m sure it’ll hurt tomorrow…

Oof! Healing vibes, Wallop! As you say, could have been much, much worse!

I feel very, very lucky tonight!

And thank you

I feel very, very lucky tonight!

*Fires up the G550*

😈

I don’t even know what year is 😆

Healing vibes wallop

53.9 😉 None of my kit is newer than 10 years, much 15

Jacket: Mammutt choice of Black or Orange/Blue, I have a 20 yr old White Stuff smock I really like
Trew: Mammutt choice of Grey or Blue
Boots: Nordica
Skis: Dynastar (will dig out the 30yr old Salomon GS’s for a spin some day) – usually rent these days as skis won’t go in car

Finally Dave Ryding’s Schaldming number draw (Buckingham Park according to the Austrian MC)

http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/news/201704/woodsy-claims-x-games-gold-and-ormerod-bronze

Go Woodsy!

Age: 39 tomorrow
Jacket: Quiksilver mustard and blue jacket (cheapo for gore tex TK Maxx purchase)
Boots: Lange low volume jobbies
Skis: Rossi Experience 80
Trews: Black, usually baggy-ish though due to big thighs
Helmet: Smith Vantage
Goggles: Smith IO
Technique: Regular-ish lessons, not great though, over the back too much and legs too wide. As soon as conditions get lumpy I get thigh burn like mad.
Après hat: Eisbar La Vie Clare style thing.

Spent Saturday afternoon looking round shops for new kit to Jnr. Noticed the O’Neill shop in MK had some nice looking kit with 40% off.

Oh and hope you heal soon Wallop, sounds nasty.

Loooong flight back from Geneva, tried to land at Bristol three times and ended up diverting to Brum for fuel before a return to Bristol and an uneventful landing. Would have been less stressful if the four drunk girls hadn’t demanded to leave the aircraft at Brum.
Certainly lots of people doing the snow dance in the alpes at the moment. We had a morning at St Gervais and it was pretty patchy in places. Still nice to ski a new area though.
42
Nordica nrg100, movement le fer, plus various others
Garmont endorphin mg boots
Giro m10
Dragon optics with swappable lenses, strap outside
Arcteryx red jacket
Spyder pants in black
Scott racer poles (15 yrs old)

enjoying the profiles, but just to check, you guys only have one snowboard or pair of skis? no quivers? I iz dizzapoint

‘some poor guy’

Sounds like you are being very charitable Wallop, as you sound like the ‘poor guy ‘ and he sounds like a bit of a Twonk!

have a fence jump

For those asking about snow over the next few weeks. Expect nice mild days until Friday when there will be rain with snow from 2000m dropping to 1200m in the Alps. As of Monday it will be cold enough over 1300m to snow most days in the Alps with quantities depending where and how high you are exactly.

Check out lachainemeteo for exactly where you are going. I’m less confident in forecasts than over the Christmas period as the anti-cyclone has gone and the exact track of depressions is not reliable two weeks in advance. Fronts will often drop rain before snow as the warm then cold fronts go over. A warm front going over in the day is rain up to about 2000m. A cold front at night is snow even low down. Warm fronts at night and cold fronts in the day will give snow but it’s hard to predict at what altitude.

I’d be very surprised to see over a metre fall in Chamonix town which is at about 1000m and will get as much rain as snow given the temperatures predicted.

Ooooh Wallop, that sounds nasty. Maybe take it very easy today.
Get your makeup out and cover those bruises. Having had an accident myself ending in 7 stitches from a ski edge, the swelling is not attractive.
Mend soon.

I’ll play
Age:46
Jacket:navy blue peak performance
Trousers: Pink Mammut
Helmet:Pink Sweet Rambler
Goggles:Smith Virtue
Skis:Nordica Wild Belle
Boots: Lange LV 80 which are too big but you try getting an adult ski boot in size 21.5
Technique:Canny

Raining today in the Grand Massif which is depressing.
Helped a guy who’d sliced his knee open on Sunday. I just collected his lost ski and pole and when I got to him he was holding just below his knee and turning the snow red. When he took his hand away the wound gapped open like a mouth, it was seriously deep. Anyway, pistuers were there in a matter of a couple of minutes courtesy of the ESF instructor’s phone call.

Chicks dig scars!

Get better soon wallop!

Age: 39
Jacket: Aqua blue Oakley number (freinds and family outlet place that has since closed :().
Boots: Atomic – could be anything, recommended by the boot fitter
Skis: whatever the hire shop is pretending are “intermediate” – Brahma last week
Trews: Black oakley (see above)
Helmet: Giro, black
Goggles: Oakley, airbrakes in blue, changeable iridum darks and persimmons
Pack: Using an old blue camelback, has supplies for the day and faux-pro in, plus hat and shades for lunch x2
Technique: Improving, but could do with a consistent period in the alps to really improve, not just a week a year.
Hip-flask: Kahlua – wife enjoys it and goes well in Chocolate Chaud

Les Arcs last week as getting compacted and slippy by the end of the week. I’d imagine a high number of injuries out there this week if there hasn’t been any fresh. Lower down the slopes were see through and you had to dodge grass and rocks. Where the slopes were in good condition though they were great fun.

Happy Birthday @hammerite

classic procrastination. nobody cares but im doing it anyway….

Age: 35
Jacket: North Face Gonzo, red/turquoise/black. probably to be retired.
Boots: Salomon Quests
Helmet: black Lazer Descent.
Goggles: Oakley A frames, iridium.
Clean shaven: yep
Pants: black Decathlon specials. definitely to be retired – need braces!
Skis: hired. Volki Kendo’s this year were ace.
Pack: always take my evoc bike pack use it once then sack it off & fill my pockets.
Technique: Self-taught at Rossendale, confident, quick but ungraceful. prefer challenging terrain over cruising.
Hip-flask: single malt.

wallop – Member
I missed apres tonight.

We’d just stepped out of the hotel to head to a bar when some poor guy walking down the street slips and swings his skis into my face, just below my left eye. There was a fair bit of blood and I needed four stitches but it could have been a lot worse – and I was back in the bar in under an hour!

I’m sure it’ll hurt tomorrow…
Ouch, that sounds nasty but lucky it missed the eye.
3 weeks until Morzine, snow is very poor at the moment apparently but plenty of time to improve.
My ski jacket died last year and I couldn’t find any thing I like to replace it (needs to double purpose as a winter coat) so I’m using layering of walking jacket / softshell / insulated jacket.

I’ll play as well
Age:42
Jacket: Black and red Spyder to replace 18yo previous versio
Trousers: Black Spyder
Helmet:Giro, Black with red tartan ears
Goggles:Oakley something or others
Skis: QST97s, Volkl All mountain something, pair of older Salmons setup for touring
Boots: Fisher RC4 130 with Zipfits that i haven’t put in yet
Technique: Ski instructor chic as i spent a few years teaching FT and did a lot of training. So I can ski but haven’t done much for the last 15 years. I did however pull out some good drops and a couple of flips last season so theres life in the old dog yet.
Apres hat: Cactus fleece beanie
Currently very unshaven, big red beard man

Thanks Jamba

Ouch wallop! Hope that’s feeling better today babs. 🙂

Age: 6
Jacket: Navy/cream (asymmetric pattern) Westbeach.
Slacks: Olive Westbeach
Helmet: Grey Anon Blitz
Goggles: Smith I/O
Board: K2 Raygun (flat middle with rockers either end)
Boots: Ride INSANO
Technique: Generally awesomez.
Apres: With youngster, there’s little or no apres. 😐

Anyway, much needed snow in 3V today and towards end of week. Been much more fun riding today.

The Raygun is proving to be lots of fun. For the first day or so, the slopes were certainly coming to life, and not always a good kind of “life”. 😆

After a few days, I’m settling in nicely. The flat profile is awesome on very shallow/flat-ish tracks where you need to keep speed up. Certainly been able to maintain momentum at speeds where previously I’d have been on my arse having caught an edge while on the flat.

New boots are something special. No arsing around with laces. Super stiff and responsive.

3V bloody pricey this year. 😮

We have lots of precipitation in St Anton today. Wet down low, with sideways face daggers up high. The pistes are great but the vis and light are shite – it’s quite busy in places so as you can imagine there are pockets of hilarious carnage.

All very good fun but my legs are burning today! Luckily the steeper runs are nice and quiet.

Age: 6

Says so on his clothes 😉

X-C:

Veteran 4 or more
MTB club winter cycling kit
No helmet or glasses or hat
Hairy
Skis: Rossignol X-ium skate service course F2 finish, 157cm carbon poles
Style, less than 250 points FFS when last racing skate. Rossignol fish-scale classic things on a fresh snow day.

Touring/courses de ski alpinisme

Cycling kit
Jacket: Lidl (light and complies with regs).
Boots: Scarpa F1
Helmet: Petzl
Glasses; Oktos yellow
Skis: Atomic MX 11 (dreadful but very light) or Elan Alaska (the nearest I can get to a slalom ski for rando, excellent all-round skis)
Style: graceless exercise in staying alive while going as fast as possible.

Piste

Jacket: Schöffel bright yellow-green
Pants: grey or black
Cheap sunglasses or even Goggles in a blizzard
Bobble hat
Boots: black and bendy or my rando boots
Skis: 165cm slalom special Dynastar Omeglass 64 (though Junior has borrowed them and left me with Head FIS Rebels). There are others in the cupboard.
Style: cautious and staying out of people’s way on piste, ageing kid off-piste

Says so on his clothes

That’s makes you thirty then. 😉

Age:30
Jacket: Arcteyrx is going to be ordered asap (O’Neil stuff just got thrown out)
Trews: See above
Lid: Protec something or other, white but covered in stickers
Goggles: Oakley Crowbars
Boots: Salomon Dialogues
Board: Got a few, currently favouring my Salomon Villain, will be on a rental Splitboard in 2 weeks time.
Apres: Ray Bans, Expensive piss beer, dancing on tables etc
Technique: Average, was getting good last year then smashed my knee after a botched 360.

…..I’m going to learn to ski next season I think.

Age: 45
Jacket: Burton, fluoro orange and grey stripes. Looks like I stole it from a Swiss “Ouvrier Routier”
Pants: RipCurl grey
Goggles: Smith
Lid: Giro
Board: Jones Flagship 166
Bindings: SP Slab
Boots: Nitro Team
Technique: Trying to carve on piste, off piste when possible, never leave the ground on purpose and no spins
or
Skis: secondhand Stöckli 160
Bindings: Marker
Boots: Atomic
Technique: Bambi for first run progressing to snowboarder on skis style with left shoulder so far behind it makes turning right difficult..

Style is an interesting one.

I’d go for fast sweeping turns when there isn’t anyone about (or at least that’s what I’d like to think!). If I see more than a handful of people around me I turn in to a sedate Sunday driver in fear of being walloped (pun apt but not intended).

I love being the first off the first chair of the day and just give up when there are too many people around. It just isn’t worth the queuing, risk and concentration needed. The nordic circuit is never busy so I swap skis.

Age:Prime STW 44
Jacket: Blue. Cross skiwear I think?
Trews: brand new bright yellow ones from westbeach for this season (or some lovely black Killy ski jeans that are now 15 years old by fantastically comfy)
Lid: Uvex, black. £20 from decathlon, RRp was over £80.
Goggles: Summit Evolve with magnetic lenses. Old Oakley o-frame (persimmon, natch) as spares in the pack
Boots: Head entr level race boots fitted at Nevada sports in Tignes
Skis: Movement Gladiator (183) and Movement Flame (169)
Apres: no ta, quick beer back at the chalet
Technique: comfortable most areas. Need to improve my jumping (or more accurately landing) technique

Age: 36
Jacket: North Face something. Orange and grey. Some kind of shell
Pants: North Face something. Blue.
Mittens: North Face something. Black.
Lid: Bollé. White.
Goggles: Oakley Canopy, with a rose prizm lens which I LOVE
Boots: Atomic something
Skis: Head Total Joy, which I also really love.
Apres: Wine, jäger, wine, jäger, wine, jäger
Technique: Absolutely no faffing. Will have a go at most things. Calm and collected. Until people start flying past me 😆

Age : 40 sumfink
Jacket: either the sober, black one or the garish, park rat one
Pants: Brown volcom from a decade ago, too comfy to replace.
Goggles: Smith end of season clearouts
No helmet at the moment, I’ll buy a new one before I get smote by the STW safety police.
Boots: Salomon launch (snowboarding slippers) or some Heads for skiing
Boards: more a museum than a quiver. K2 zeppelin for messing with the family and pistes, Forum 162 directional beastie for faster, steeper and deeper. Some others that have become shelves.
Skis: just hire when needed, whatever I fancy on the day
Après: getting in the car and driving home

Can I have another go as I think my first ‘profile description’ was too brief and missing some salient points! 😉

Age 48

Cruising:
Jacket: Blue Arc’Teryx Alpha SV
Trousers: Black Sweet Protection Supernauts (Stitched & Glued) or Arc’Teryx Stinger also black
Helmet: Sweet protection Igniter
Goggles: Oakley A Frame. Blue Iridium, VR28, High Vis yellow
Facial: grey stubble
Gloves: Hestra Army Leather GoreTex
Boards:
Jones Flagship 163XL with extra holes drilled at the rear
Jones Mountain Twin 164W
Boots Salomon Malamute
Bindings: Back on the Burton Cartels for this season

Touring:
Jones Solution Splitboard (battered 1st Gen)
Bindings – Spark R&D 1st Gen – modified & adapted
Boots Salomon Malamute with 2x Liners (alternate days)
Backpack: Arc’Teryx Khamski 38 with shovel, probe, skins, ice axe, crampons, harness etc, snacks and Nalgene bottle/flask etc

Style/Technique: Middle-Aged Free-Ride. (will hike for lines and freshies in the backcountry powder, but still enjoy carving the corduroy. Rotations limited to mainly FS 180 these days with the occasional BS or half-cab. Grab-wise it’s pretty much only the odd ‘indy’, but if I’m honest, now more of a ‘slap’ than a ‘grab’. Haven’t done a rail or a box for about 6 years … but I can still see my willy when I have a wee so it’s not all bad!)

Go on then cos I’m bored at work…

Age: 25
Jacket: Volcom Jan shell for warm days. Navy Blue
Bonfire Baker for cold days. Grey

Pants: Volcom L Goretex in the brightest red you’ve ever seen.

Mittens: Dakine leather palm.

Lid: Smith Gage

Goggles: Electric EGX with chrome rose/blue lens

Board: Hire. Had a Nitro Cinema with a hybrid camber profile that was very nice. This year.

Apres: Early bed. Up for first lift!

Technique: Tries hard. Often fails.

Apres hat http://singletrackworld.com/shop/product/singletrack-bobble-hat/ obvs! Tbf it’s a friggin great hat