[Closed] The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2016-2017 season

Nice vid Up and on Snowheads

[url= http://www.powder.com/videos/powder-tv/all-time-marcus-caston/#TGkDvs0Y5vE1sbCb.97 ]Video[/url]

Liked that a LOT! Some great "real world" skiing. The sort of stuff that I like to do, just done a whole lot better! A nice change from all the loony tunes huckfest and cliff drop stuff, just back to the basics of having fun across the whole hill.

The groomer sections were delicious.

Not exactly marginal conditions but not the stellar conditions you usually see in these vids.
That's how I think I look, I do not.
You can tell he has done his time on the race piste.

That's how I think I look, I do not.

Same!

How fast!!??

That's the first skiing video in a long time that actually tempted me to try skis again after 24 years on a board.
Won't be this year though . 6MO MiniMissTTP has stopped play.

Nice vid, as you say, that's pretty much normal skiing. Very good balance though and a man that can use his ankles *thumbs up*

That's how I think I look, I do not.

Same!

Me three, so far from this!

I don't even think I look that smooth. Or quick. Or effortless.

TheTallPaul - www.skifamille.co.uk

It'll be fine. Just mortgage a kidney.

^ That's who we are going with, wasn't as bad as I feared given its all inclusive.

This will be our 8th year with them.

No adults lunch so not quite all inclusive, but they're pretty good.

When you there / which resort NZCol?

igm - true, as all inclusive as I have ever had (we don't really do holidays but with a small one a break where someone else cooks and cleans is gold!) Les Gets 11th march.

Nice time of year there. We've had 20C skiing and fresh snow in the same week in previous years in early March.

Les Gets February 1/2 term for us.

K2 for a very good burger.

Ta- last year we can avoid school hols for us !

@igm - Wish I could, but it's been an expensive year, and Mrs TTP has just entered the skint part of her maternity. Even bike purchases have been curtailed

NZ, enjoy it while you can. We did and Esprit all inc. last year, Brilliant but expensive.
Our school hols were the week before the rest of the country last year so it was only my wifes kidney we sold, this year we are going at Easter as the half term week is F*$king crazy price..For our group of 5 adults and 5 kids it is £3k cheaper at Easter than half term (Tignes 1800, Self catering, Driving with flexi-Plus chunnel) Not inc. any Lift passes or lessons for our two kids)

Fair bit of snow over the last week in Whistler, even down to the village (though not sticking) a coupe of times. About 75cm or so in the alpine, about 2 or 3 weeks earlier than normal. Not enough to ski on yet, and mountain still due to open in late November, but it's getting the juices going!

One for the [s]Gapers[/s] Skiers ,Bobby Brown's latest

[video] http://vimeo.com/187819553 [/video]

Snow down to about 1500 in Austria last night, here's the view up our road.

[img] [/img]

Balcony beer fridge is fully operational.

Got the offer of a cheap trip to Bardonnechia in January - will there be snow?

Crystal ball?

Indeed - maybe thinking about sestriere too?
mmmmmm

Got the offer of a cheap trip to Bardonnechia in January - will there be snow?

It's quite low so who knows. Also, it's a nice enough resort but small and definitely not masses for better skiers (which may or may not suit you). You could pretty much ski every run in a day.

It's quite low so who knows. Also, it's a nice enough resort but small and definitely not masses for better skiers (which may or may not suit you). You could pretty much ski every run in a day.

Yep. I've done both Sauze (nearby) and Serre Che (just over the hill) around Christmas and have lucked out doing that. It is a bit of a lottery though.

Also, as above, Bardonecchia doesn't look huge.

Montgenèvre or Serre Che would be a better bet, I'd say. Bit higher. Bigger.

Mmmm
*heads back to Crystal website*

When in January Geoff? January isn't usually the busiest times so if you're travelling as a couple then you can probably find an offer closer to the time.

Looking at beginning of January for a 5-dayer to fit in with inlaws and shook hols.
Sestriere looks like a decent option. It's quite high which will improve chances - the village looks a bit soviet era, but as we are with kids, the need for s****y bars and restaurants is much reduced
Serre Chevalier is an option, but the 3+ hour transfer from Torino is putting me off a bit.

First dusting in Avoriaz. And so it begins

[img] [/img]

https://www.facebook.com/avoriaz1800/posts/1319185161457508

Finally a group decision has been made, three generations of the Taylor family will be taking to the slopes together in Tignes 1800 at Easter.
Phew. Now just need a short trip to tide me over till Easter...

I'm a snowhead. don't visit very much anymore.

Myself and girlfriend went to Alpes d'Huez last year and she didn't like the 'manufactured' look of the resort and wants to go somewhere a bit more 'villagy', can anybody recommend a good beginner/intermediate French/Italian snowboard resort that will tick the box?

If you want "village" then go to Austria. italy can be ok, but many (not all, bu many) french resorts are purpose built and can be a little bit soulless

[b]datsunman[/b] – you could try Sauze D’Oulx. It’s got quite a nice cobbled street villagey feel, especially the older part of town. Good skiing/riding too, links up with Sestriere, so plenty to go at. Cervinia is not as pretty but it's a pretty good place to gain confidence, it has some super wide cruisey pistes. Links with Zermatt, so again lots to ride.

.. and what [b]ntb[/b] said, Austria is more picture post card.

Thanks both, will go and check them out.

wants to go somewhere a bit more 'villagy', can anybody recommend a good beginner/intermediate French/Italian snowboard resort that will tick the box?

Serre Chevalier, innit.

Cervinia is not as pretty

That's a bit of an understatement. It's grim.

can anybody recommend a good beginner/intermediate French/Italian snowboard resort that will tick the box?

Not sure if it's particularly snowboard friendly but La Thuile meets your other criteria.

I was in La Thuile several years ago. It's not a bad resort for boarders but the best snow when I was there was in La Rosière over the border but there's the drag lift from hell to get back into Italy...

wants to go somewhere a bit more 'villagy', can anybody recommend a good beginner/intermediate French/Italian snowboard resort that will tick the box?

So a cheeky 5 days in Sestriere booked for January.

Cervinia is not as pretty but it's a pretty good place to gain confidence, it has some super wide cruisey pistes. Links with Zermatt, so again lots to ride.

This ^

Spin - Member
Cervinia is not as pretty
[u]That's a bit of an understatement. It's grim.
[/u]

That's a little bit harsh IMHO

Check out Maria Alm in Austria. 150km of piste and nowhere you need to take your board off.
No drag lifts that you need to use.
All the linked villages very pretty.

[img] [/img]

Cormayeur, nice town,easy transfer, not so easy onto the slopes but that's what you get with the older towns in my experience.
Zermatt is a great town, plus you get trains not cold chairlifts.

Liked that a LOT! Some great "real world" skiing. The sort of stuff that I like to do, just done a whole lot better! A nice change from all the loony tunes huckfest and cliff drop stuff, just back to the basics of having fun across the whole hill.

The groomer sections were delicious.

As a matter of interest Captain, would you be able to do all the descents in that video, albeit not quite like Marcus? How many skiers on this Forum could do all of those descents with a degree of confidence/speed?

Im just interested in the skiing ability of my fellow forumites! FWIW, having 25 years away from skiing and only getting back into it at the age of 50,(five years ago) I am limited by the thought of doing myself a serious injury and stick mostly to pistes and the odd rummage through the nasty stuff. However that bit is restricted to a 5-10m couple of turns then pause to 'gather ones thoughts'!

I'd say I could do most, but probably not all! Camera affects how steep stuff looks etc.

Oh, and the bits that I could ski, I'd be nowhere near as smooth or fast!

Anyone riding NOW bindings on their snowboards? Anyone care to comment? Notice a real difference?
Why I am using so many question marks?

I would say about 95% I would ski, the tight rocky lines I would avoid.
i would not be skiing any of it as fast or be getting as much air as the chap in the film.
The conditions in that film look a bit rubbish, thats the beauty of it in my mind.
He is nailing each turn even though the snow is tracked and wind blown with pockets of soft snow surrounded with harder snow.
The mark of a really good skier. Able to make the most out of the conditions and terrain on the day and make it look easy. Part of the making it look easy is in the edit, but that takes nothing away from the skiers talent

@andykirk yes have tried older Now bindings , comfortable in the sense of reduced 'chatter' but the heel cup was too narrow, so I noticed them. Much like a good referee in the football, the good ones are the ones that you don't notice.
Felt slower to initiate turns too on jumps but I imagine that could be nice in powder.

Don't know what the newer ones are like mind. I doubt I would move away from Unions or Rome

Got some NOWs. Prefer Flow.

Make me an offer. Boxed rarely used.

You get different elastomers to reduce chatter or increase response.

Geoff - from the previous page and for future reference. It doesn't normally take 3 hours to get from Turin airport to Serre Che. 1h 45-ish I would guess. Although I suppose if you are on a Tour Ops transfer coach and had to drop somewhere on the Milky Way first (not Claviere/Montgenevre as you pass through them) then it might I suppose.