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

Le Refuge in villeneuve was great if you wanted all the cheese in the world.
It’s no 1 on trip advisor. Pricing wasn’t too bad.

Cant remember when the last bus is though!

Watching the Boarder Cross highlights from Bansko on Eurosport.

Sprint course apparently. It’s awful, no turns. Whoever gets a good start and has the best prepped board wins.

Purchased 🙂

Noice!

(Nearly as noice as me mittens!) 😀

🙄 those skis look a bit short and fat…..and they’re different colours! 😮

Sorry to be a Serre Che bore Capt, but I want to make sure we make the most of our trip, and we do have a big van to get about if necessary, so should we visit other areas for an evening. Obviously not if its too much time and hassle, but would be interested in your thoughts?

Very nice indeed HYD1 … time to ‘get-ur-carve-on’ I reckon! 🙂

Tell me about rental skis. We’ve owned skis for years but Mrs NBT’s skis have now died (the Salomon “pilot” bindings are showing some transverse play) so I think this year we’ll both rent – no ski carriage to pay, and no servicing costs when we get back

The tour op is showing three options – basic @ £47, intermediate @ £56, advanced @ £76. Is it worth going for “advanced” skis? Is it worth ignoring the tour op and booking ourselves (looking at Passo Tonale in Italy)?

I never really “trust” that the ski shop is giving me what I’ve paid for. (Always just book middle-of-the-road for mrs DD). I just hope for the best. I guess if you know your stuff, you can probably tell.

Can you not book independently through snowbrainer/skimium/skiset etc.? Find your accomm on google maps, find nearest skishop and work out which brokerage they use. I nearly always use snowbrainer – but this year used skimium as “their” shop was just beside our chalet. Being able to pick up and drop off stuff so close to accommodation was worth the extra few € over having to drive down to Bruyeres or Les Menuires.

yes re: the jones , the sales have started and I got it for just over 280 quid, pretty pleased. only one more board wanted for the quiver now but that can wait till next year . just need a bit more pow please

howsyourdad1

Lovely mate! £280 hey? I’d never stop looking down at it.

NBT – https://www.alpinresorts.com/ are usually quite competitive especially with the Snowheads discount code. I used to check out the closest v the cheapest and make a call from there. I’d never pay for the basic, but would the intermediate. I think most shops give you a ski based on what they have left over and match against your ability.

Rockape – I would say there is more choice in Briancon than the villages without the need to go to them. However, a visit for a change of scenery might be interesting. Check out the ski bus times if you don’t fancy driving it only takes a few mins to get up and down the valley. Serre Che isn’t mega lively so you don’t need to feel you might be missing out. Another option is to finish skiing in one of the villages, have a few drinks then get the bus back to Briancon.

We stayed in Villeneuve but easily managed an early evening in Briancon for a few hours after skiing (stopped at 4pm-ish) and managed to get the ski bus back. Jnr even managed to get a photo with Luc Alphand who was buying frozen pizzas in the Carrefour in Briancon.

– I would say there is more choice in Briancon than the villages without the need to go to them. However, a visit for a change of scenery might be interesting. Check out the ski bus times if you don’t fancy driving it only takes a few mins to get up and down the valley. Serre Che isn’t mega lively so you don’t need to feel you might be missing out. Another option is to finish skiing in one of the villages, have a few drinks then get the bus back to Briancon.

Yep. Good advice.

Also, with a larger group, things would probably be easier in town.

Oh, and EVERYONE gets to meet Monsieur Luc. Them sont the règles.

Flashy – An ex colleague is in Serre Che next week. She’s banking on bumping in to Luc as she’s fancied him since the 90s and was very jealous when she saw Jnr’s phot!

He’s a dashing chap, that’s for sure! His daughter is fast, too.

Bizarrely there seems to be a bus timetable linked here for April http://www.serre-chevalier.com/en/winter/about-the-valley/on-site/moving-in-the-resort/ski-bus/ but not one for the main season. This might just mean they are on a constant rotation with little waiting time. Tourist info or just checking out the times at a bus stop would be the thing to do just in case. They do seem to run until quite late though.

So thinking about some new skis to replace my aging 2009 Salomon Xwing fury.
(85mm underfoot). A generally inbounds and resort ski but I’ll be spending time on Blacks / double blacks and will probably fit it with a Marker Baron binding for slack country touring.

Wondering about the Rossignol Sky 7 HD but interested in any other ideas people may have. Nothing over 100mm wide. I have dedicated powder skis for those days 8)

Head Monster 88?

They would be on the list except that I’m not sure on sizing.. 177 is a bit small (I’m 181) but 184 seems a bit big. I’d go shorter if anything though.

My choice is probably between Monster 88, Sky HD and Salomon QST 92

30+ cm on Whistler today. Day finished off with a run of Couloir Extreme. Fantastic visibility….

Hope the rest of that storm heads my way over night as I’ve got tomorrow at Sunshine Village Planned 8)

I’m 179cm tall and on 177 – they ski relatively longer than something like the Rossi, that has a big rocker though.

No where to demo those skis over your way Sweaman? I suspect they all ski pretty differently. I loved the old S3 and the old Sin 7. I suspect the Sky 7 is very similar. Not a stuff ski by any means but very versatile.

Not really no. Some of the shops run demo days at the resorts early season and I should probably have gone then. The resorts are ~1hr30 from Calgary so tough to grab all 3 and do back to back testing.

swearman – my mate rode a pair Atomic Vantage CTI 100 and raved about them. I’m pretty sure they come in a range of widths if 100 is too much under foot. They might be worth adding to your demo list.

Well that was frustrating. High winds closed all the upper lifts at Sunshine. Did a few laps lower down but decided to take a “snow cheque” and come back another day. Lovely snow but nothing open. Fernie also apparently closed this morning as freezing rain had made roads ultra slick.

Been back a week and properly missing powder.
At this rate am going to have to go back to mk to get a fix of some sort, alas no chance of a second trip this year

Heading to Schladming tomorrow 8)

ugh the worst feeling

Either that was a hell of a lot steeper than it looked or the rider messed that up royally, they were not putting any turns in at all on what looked like a nice wide piste

Fernie also apparently closed this morning as freezing rain had made roads ultra slick.

yeah … I hear Highway 3 was actually closed with drivers having to stay overnight in the community center.

Speaking of Fernie:

Either that was a hell of a lot steeper than it looked or the rider messed that up royally

I’m sure the camera flattened it slightly, but even so it doesn’t look like a hugely technical descent. – Polar Peak in Fernie is pretty straightforward … Classic case of a rider out of their depth by the look of things … he was lucky he didn’t take anyone else out.

Top of the Polar Peak Chair, Fernie looking somewhat ghostly in 2012:

#GhostRider

Brad injured in ‘ The Jump’ , ankle injury which is weird.
Also just booked hol # 2 to Les 2 Alps with Dezb /
Might drop some dollar on a guide to scare us around La Grave as its sort of linked if there is good snow.

Wiggo tweeted a photo of it being strapped up a week or so ago. Possibly not a skiing injury they practice the non ski disciplines before the series starts too.

Love the men’s DH course in WC on now!! Awesome jumps and Daytona berm ‘!!

Crap, really crap, commentary is only downside.

It’s on the bbc red button for the normal ski Sunday commentary if you need it

Excellent conditions in the Pyrenees on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A not-too-hard crust off piste which meant the steep stuff wasn’t tracked out. I fell for it first turn (literally) submarining both skis and face planting, then tried to spot soft stuff in dips for turns – next time I’ll zip up everything before heading down.

The pistes were groomed to perfection. Head World Cup Rebel Slalom SLs at 0.5°/87°.

TF1 now. 😉

😀
That film sums up my thoughts on the French who holiday in Val d’Isère

Edit : crikey! I forgot how young they all look

And how well Thierry Lhermitte skis.

Les Bronzes i guess .

I need to watch that movie regularly to keep me sane . The scene where they drink the local booze makes me cry with laugher every time .