Decant booze into mini shampoo bottles for the rattler!?

Packed and ready for les gets on Sunday, can’t wait to be back on skis again. Hopefully the missus won’t kipper herself on a black this year 🤞

Any recommendations for decent but not silly money kids gloves ?

Off to Norway and it gets cold and don’t want the kids getting cold hands

So they aren’t cheap but Hestra gloves all the way. Sweajnr is in the largest size of “baby zip long” at 5. The ability to zip over the jacket really means that you can avoid cold spots. He was using them today at -14C (-22C windchill) and lasted almost 3 hours before needing breaks.

Second the vote for hestra, try mitts not gloves for extra warmth. If they don’t like mitts then hestra do a great lobster claw options.
My Raynauds has been much better since I swapped to mitts from gloves (should have done it years ago).
Weather update from the Grand Massif – cold temps and fresh snow mean the powder is great all the way down. Going to head out to Morillon and Carroz today to check the recent snow has improved the bottom of those resort runs.

Dakine do a good range of kid’s gloves and mitts. Mitts are much warmer than gloves in my experience.

The added advantage of mits is that you can put a hand warmer in them and keep them on.

I had Hestra gloves and they were good unless they got wet. Then they were useless.

No good for snowboarding (I had them for skiing originally) and I’d imagine also not great for kids that might spend a lot of the time rolling around in wet snow?

14C (-22C windchill)

DDDDDDARRRGHH

Why do people do that. It was -14c. End of story.

Windchill matters in Canada. Time limits for how long children spend outside at various temperatures is based on windchill temperature and not “actual”. If what you are wearing is 100% windproof then presumably the temperature is the same but I cool down faster at -15 with wind than -15 and no wind.

Technically I should have written “with windchill it felt like” but no one seems to do that.

https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/weather-health/wind-chill-cold-weather/wind-chill-index.html

I’ll be in Vallandry on my own with a week to kill as of tomorrow if anyone is up for a skin up something easy or X-C ski.

We’ve just booked flights for another quick 3 night trip towards the end of March.

Landing in Geneva and probably going to head either to Les Gets or 3 Valleys…. But wondering about giving somewhere else a try.

Any recommendations of somewhere a little bit different within 2 hours of Geneva?

We love Les Gets (& PDS) because it’s got plenty to keep us entertained and know it quite well. 3 Valleys I love the vastness.

Somewhere a bit traditional with some easily accessible slack country for me to play in if the snow’s good would be good. Other half mainly sticks to the pistes.

Just come back from an epic week in Chamonix however we went for a day with a guide and headed through the tunnel to Courmayeur. Conditions are awful. Thin and windblown snow and we did some of the stuff off the back of the Arp and was bad enough for the guide to cancel the rest of the day. Instead we headed back for the tunnel and toured to some knee deep pow. Recommend doing that and use Stu at the Avalanche Academy if you are keen for an epic experience.

Got kids some decathlon mittens recently and it got down to minus 10 degrees c in austria and they were fine. They also have some of the zippy hestra mitts which are good for getting on but as above, not very waterproof.

If you suffer from Reynauds, get some Happy Hot Hands, game changers

tiger I have some super warm gloves for sale here.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/skiing-snowboarding-clothes/ski-gloves-up-to-8y/1325811062

Hey Earl, what happened to the BS3 repair cafe today? Was it cancelled for the lantern parade? Shame – I took my skis down and everything!

@phil
Cormaeur? Easy from GVA good off piste and eateries on slopes.
Nendaz? Cheaper than Verbier, great ski area for a skier not do go if you board (big traverses)
Grand massif? Nice area, not so good tree line.

Happy hot hands

I forgot about that!! They usually send me a email but I got nothing this month.

If you want your skis waxed bring them around to my house and I’ll do them for you – Windmill Hill. I’ve just got datawax blue/red/yellow if that’s ok.

PM me – I’m around late afternoon.

That’s so cool of you to offer, thanks! Happy to wait til next time though (I’m not about this afternoon).

Back from a frustrating week in Risoul. No new snow for 3 weeks , but heavy use of cannons plus harvesting meant the pistes were in very good condition. Lots of newbies moaning about ‘ice’ , when they mean compacted snow , not real ice at all.
Approx 1cm fell last week , so not enough to make any difference
As usual the plane out sounded like the plague plane with alot of coughing and sneezing, so after 3 days i get a sore throat , then the shivers , now a head cold.
I am seriously considering those surgical face masks like the Japanese wear as planes just make you ill. If it had been decent powder I would have been unable to enjoy it.

There was a restaurant fire under alift as well, inurance job probably as yet to open this season, which cloed down alot of the resort for a morning, they used the cannons water supply to put it out

Such a shame as the snofall across the rest of the Alps has been record breaking , but Risoul – Vars – Serre – Montgenevre -Sestriere all had next to nothing.

@TheDTs

Cheers, we had talked about Courmayeur but hadn’t really thought about it being so close to Geneva. But it’s just through the tunnel so on the list.

Had a really rubbish day in Flaine a couple of years ago. We stopped for a day on the way home from Les Gets, it rained and I’ve never been so cold and wet. I’d like to give it another go in better conditions, definitely didn’t see it in its prime!

Yes I’m a boarder that doesn’t like the flat.

Off to Chamonix on the 3rd Feb for 4 days. Have skied there a couple of times but not for 10 years, any reminders on places to hit? We’re all a reasonable standard.

Was thinking a day in Flegere-Brevent, 2 days in Argentiere wasn’t going to bother with les Houches – one other area not to miss?

Also any good nightlife spots?

crankman – I always enjoyed Le Tour. Not too challenging but some really good stuff to play around in. Interested to hear about lift queues at Grand montet what with the gondola having burnt down, I’m off there after you get back. Can you post up here?

I’m off to morzine for 4 days next week, it looks like they’ve had some decent snow this week, but a first hand view of the conditions would be great, if anyone is there?

There’s a thread on snowheads with regular updates from PDS. Generally OK conditions on piste – patchy in places and needs more snow, but perfectly acceptable.Bit more snow due over the weekend but nothing massive – 10cm at best probably. Next week, potentially a few more falls, but detail very unclear at present.

Zell am See this Saturday!

Off to Chamonix on the 3rd Feb for 4 days. Have skied there a couple of times but not for 10 years, any reminders on places to hit? We’re all a reasonable standard.

All depends on the weather/conditions I reckon – especially these days as it can be slim pickings in resort. (although there is always the option of getting the bus through to Courmayeur – when Chamonix is lacking, Courmayeur often gets the goods and vica-versa),

My pointers would be:

Brevent & Flegere are southerly facing so can get slushy late in the day. but during freeze/thaw conditions this means they are great from mid-morning onwards unlike Grand Montets which doesn’t get the sun so when it’s icy … it stays icy. Brevent & Flegere are also close to town so get tracked out pretty quick after a storm.

La Tour – good for low vis storm days and low coverage (as it’s a meadow rather than rocky mountain-side). Has the largest number of ‘mellow’ slopes for those wanting to take it easy.

Grand Montets – great if the slack-country/off-piste is in condition. Should also be good for touring over towards the Lognans since the cable car and top tickets burned down. Also good later in the season.

Les Houches – good trees on a storm/low vis day

Downside is that you can spend a lot of time travelling in Chamonix valley and there is always the panic that whichever area you choose you might be left wondering if you’d made the right choice …

Buying individual day passes for each area can work out expensive so a 6 Day Chamonix unlimited *might* be better value but that depends on what you and your group have planned. The unlimited includes the Montenvers railway & the Midi, so if you get a guide for a backcountry day it can work out economical.

Can’t really comment too much on the night life as these days I tend to be knackered from a full days riding.

There are a few places in town:

<slight-irony>
L’Amnesia has good DJs … doesn’t normally open until after mid-night
Chambre-Neuf tends to have people dancing on tables in their ski-boots & sweaty salopettes. Across the road at Elevation is more my thing – locals and a pitcher. Dancing in your harness with crabs attached is frowned upon …
The Pub is owned by a brit and attracts brits … usually telling the entire bar what an amazing powder run they’ve just had!
Beer prices drop a bit when you move away from the main tourist drag so around Cham-Sud is a bit more seasonaire vibe etc. So follow the happy-hour signs.
Argentierre used to have a cool vibe but everyone has now sold up and moved (mainly down to Les Houches).
</slight-irony>

Were having a great time in Meribel. Although there isn’t as much snow as we’d like, its been well looked after and higher up around Val Thorens there’s still some off piste to play around in which isn’t too crusty.
The temps have been between -10 and -13, so pretty cold, especially on some of the slower lifts. I’ve been wearing 7 layers, this includes puffer under the outer jacket and thermals under my fleeced lined trousers.
On the first day 4 of us had a mornings refresher lesson and it’s paid off.
Today one stupid woman cut me up, I chased her down and gave her a good talking too. She was a bit shocked when this older grey haired woman came after her.

Hoping for some snow tomorrow as its needed in places. However overall the 3 Valleys are holding up well and the snow so far has been a joy to ski.

Are you usually a cold person @bunnyhop, wondering how many layers my wife is going to want next week as the temperatures seem to be fairly consistent and low at the moment. We’ll be in Tignes next week, I have no time for work this week, I just want to get to the weekend!

Off to geneva tomorrow to stay with a mate until sat then up to PDS with family ski for the week. Can’t wait.

are you staying in Ardent then cobrakai?
Have a good trip and report back on conditions as Im back out there in a couple of weeks.

Where’s scaredypants? Is he back yet, got ski report for us?

In Les gets this week, on piste is good, follow the sun and it’s lovely. Everything between the pistes is tracked out. Couple of icy patches here and there but easily avoidable.

Would be nice to have some fresh to play in tomorrow though.

Nice one Bunnyhop! 😎

Yes in Ardent. Came out with them last year and the child care was superb, Our daughter loved it so it was a no brainer to come again.

I’m happy piste bashing this year but looks like a rise in temp and snow for next week. Fingers crossed.

theyre a great outfit. The only problem with Ardent is the remoteness, but since they now run the bar (that isnt Happy Hours) there are beer options later in the evening! And of course with a little one, you’re not really hitting the town. Have a great trip. It will be nice once the temp rises as the forecast for this week looks bloody chilly.

My place out there is in the village below Ardent. Weirdly, the couple who own family ski live in a village a few miles from me in England.

We don’t do apres any more so the remoteness doesn’t phase us too much, but the quick access up top compared to the slog up from morzine is awesome. The home run at the end of the day can be a sight to behold though….

My cousin has worked out in the alps for 25 years and his company have based him in morzine this season so get a catch up with him too.

Where’s scaredypants? Is he back yet, got ski report for us?

Sorry, been busy

Back nearly a week, so I can’t say what’s going on now. The (30-45cm??) fall over the weekend (13th) just before we arrived was apparently very much needed as there’d been nothing for several weeks. It was really nice snow, especially the upper half of the mountain(s) – little bit damp/heavy lower down.
We had at least one day after the snowfall when temps were up close or at zero even at the tops so I don’t know how good the less accessible off-piste will be.

It did snow fairly heavily last Thursday (my last day) and what fell was really nice up top again. Very misty so I stayed low with my daughter until dinnertime and then only skied down below a couple of higher lifts after that but it was skiing nicely.

In short: Was fantastic for 2 days and then I don’t really know what happened

Been snowing in Les gets this pm, it needed to. Hope it continues all night