^ Ask on snowheads. YOu’ll get same advice on SfF in Bicester, Profeet in that London etc but you may get more. Avoid Decathlon, S&R etc. Blues Edinburgh good though, dunno about Gla though.

EB at Castleford do seem to have some folk who know how to do ski boots.
They did my wife’s and took a couple of hours plus. More interested in finding a shell that fitted out of the box than modifying the first one she tried (which I think is the right approach). Must have tried two or three to get an approximate shape then a fair few more to get the fit.
Then came the fitting of the liner.
A few weeks of riding in she’s very happy with them.

@andeh – also look at BAC Elland

I got boots for my fat hobbit feet there

What’s the view on buying in resort? I’m off to Saalbach tomorrow and wondered whether expertise outweighs ability to alter locally?

@cb – I suspect it’s a similar situation, depends totally on the fitter you get at the time and it’s not like the Euro rate makes it more attractive as an option right now. Again, snowheads forum will tell you if there is a preferred boot fitter in resort to aim for.

Anything Technical in Kendal – they did a shell mould, inners and a custom footbed for me. Definitely the best fitting boots I’ve had.

I’ve just watched footage of 11 year Fox Campbell skiing off piste (inbetween 2 pistes) and getting buried in a mini avalanche.
He was buried for 29 minutes. Luckily his father Gillon Campbell realised he was missing and went back asap to find him. Amazingly he found his son, using his transceiver.

Sobering stuff.

Hadn’t realised it hadn’t been posted here.

Discussion on snowheads: https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=151904&highlight=

Direct link to the FB story : https://www.facebook.com/chamoniarde/videos/542423536661882/UzpfSTE2NDk4NTcyNjg5MTI2ODozMDM1MTM3MzIzMjA5NDEz/

Scary stuff that video. Poor lad.

My son and I are both sick, sat on the sofa and planning the weekends shredding. That video ‘makes you think’ , as it were.

view from my lounge window

It’s an interesting video but as per my comments on SH, education is everything if you venture at all off piste. That is a classic terrain trap that while Fox may be a rad young dude with a bleep on should not have been led into there or indeed been anywhere near a stream bed no matter how much snow. And you don’t have to be einstein to see its a stream. Anyhoo, he was lucky and perhaps these young riders type groups will teach better skills rather than give them a false sense of safety with technology. Albeit in this case it saved his life. As for his skiing, well, he needs some tuition as well.

Yours a grumpy ex patroller and instructor !

It wasn’t an avalanche was it? Seems like he just dropped into an empty space and the snow fell on top of him. Obviously scary, but imagine he would have been able to breathe…unlike when tons of snow if rolling on top of you and compressing.

Anyway, glad it all ended well and hopefully will show a lot of people to be careful out there!

….anyway, off to Saalbach Hinterglemm on Wednesday for a five day Lads trip. How’s it looking CB?

Most of Northern Italy closed.
France maybe about to follow suit.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the whole of The Alps closed by the end of the week.
Must be terrible for the businesses that rely on the snow season ☹️

Most of Northern Italy closed.
France maybe about to follow suit.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the whole of The Alps closed by the end of the week.
Must be terrible for the businesses that rely on the snow season ☹️

I hope you’re very wrong. Granted Aosta valley resorts look to be closed but aside from the connection at La Thuile Rosière they might as well be miles apart. More risk from the Mont Blanc tunnel.

Anyway I’m flying to Geneva on Saturday come what may for a week in La Plagne so **** this panicking.

Anyway I’m flying to Geneva on Saturday come what may for a week in La Plagne

Fingers crossed for you, but I’d be looking carefully at insurance and cancellation options.

I know someone, not a friend but friend of a friend who is intensely annoying and lords it up about having no kids and being able to ski whenever they want. Flew to Cervinia yesterday for a month, ahahahahaha, bugger.

Members of our ski club flew out yesterday to La Thuile and it looks like bugger all is happening lifts wise on the webcams.
I’ll message somebody later to see what’s happening.
A few people had cancelled before they went as employers were telling them they would have to self isolate (with no pay) when they returned!

La thuile is in the aosta valley – all lifts closed in the aosta valley as of today, including the monterosa, and I had jheard that La Rosiere which links La Thuile into the Tarentaise valley in France will also close – but it does seem to be open

https://www.lathuile.it/en/index.html

https://www.larosiere.net/en/ski-runs-opening/

Plan to be in Courchevel Fri > Mon via Geneva airport. Keeping a close eye on things!

Snow looks very good so will be hacked right off if it gets closed down!

Dolomites all closed now as well. Expectation of France doing the same!

Ski club being repatriated this evening, not sure if they’ll need to self isolate upon return yet!

not sure if they’ll need to self isolate upon return yet!

If it’s from north italy, then yes

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public#returning-travellers

Mrs Dubs cousin’s lad is coming home early from his season in Austria.

We’ve cancelled plans to head out to Morzine in a couple of weekends time – one of our party is already forced to self-isolate on return by his work so it’s too much of a ballache for a weekend away. Glad we decided to (not) book last minute.

I’m going bikepacking somewhere in the UK instead, unless there’s still snow in Scotland?!?

According to Government advice Bob they should be okay as they are in the Category 2 zone.

Good cover across most scottish ski areas recently

http://www.winterhighland.info/general/

Snowing at both Nevis & Glencoe yet again this morning; epic conditions in the back bowls at Nevis last week with miles of untracked freshies available for only the price of a small cornice drop to get in. Coe has the best cover they’ve had for some years and with spring just around the corner, conditions well into May should be excellent up there. Touring in the Cairngorms is excellent again; the 4×4000 route was skied last week with good snow the whole way around.
Both Glenshee & Lecht are open; Shee having the better conditions and a lot more terrain open. Looks a bit sad on the webcams down near the road, with heather showing between the pistes but higher up in Coire Fionn and up on Glas Maol, it’s great snow. Backcountry touring is good, with lots of steep options available. The Lecht is still open but is beginning to look a bit sad.

Now that our own 21st March Monte Rosa trip has been cancelled by Inghams, we will have to give them the opportunity to offer a re-book or refund.
Plan B is therefore several days in Scotland mixing between skis and bikes. That’s not the end of the world… We get the two extra days that would have been wasted travelling.

Just seen some Brit Skiers hospitalized in Saalbach….where we are heading to on Weds. 😬

Rockape – it was my first trip to Saalbach so can’t compare year on year etc.

Ski hire is bloody expensive IMO so worth looking around b4 you go. There are sales in the big shops though but I only noticed that at the end of the stay! Might have been tempted to buy boots at those prices.

They are struggling lower down, its like a giant slush puppie but also some great snow a bit higher up. We didn’t get to Zell am See but really liked Leogang area and parts of Fieberbrunn.

The black down into Saalbach was by far the best run of the lot. Enjoy!

EDIT crossed with your follow up – hope the Brits are OK

Fingers crossed for you, but I’d be looking carefully at insurance and cancellation options.

Thanks @oldtennisshoes, insurance is very comprehensive but likely only able to claim if travel advice for France changes. I’ll be really hacked off if it does though as I look forward to my winter holidays more than any other and have had this booked for 10 months.

Fingers crossed for you @tuboflard . I prefer my winter holidays too 🙁

Thanks CB, it’s funny old weather at the moment, getting warmer but also brighter, so will be mixed. Obviously now got other issues to consider than just the weather!

We did look at Italy when we booked this Hinterglemm trip, so at least dodged that bullet. I think we’ll try and avoid visiting every bar and restaurant and stick with the hotel area only.

Off to Kaprun on Saturday, first boarding trip for about 8 years! Unfortunately the neck injury I sustained about 15 years ago (desiccating 2 discs and causing impingement onto the spinal cord) has just flared up as it does every year or so. However, instead of just giving me a bit of a sore neck for a day, it’s got progressively worse over the course of the past several. Not ideal 🙁

Eek. Be careful not to catch a heel edge. That could be very bad….

Just got repatriated by Crystal yesterday – very quick turnaround.

We’d been in Aosta Valley for a week already, but folk arrived on Sunday midday, the announcement was made about the whole valley’s resorts closing was made Sunday afternoon and by Monday evening everyone was flown back out of Turin on ‘special flights’ late at night just before the entire country was locked down.

Top marks to Crystal and their staff. Real shame for all the hotels, bars and restaurants etc … not a good prospect as the season had been pretty quiet already.

Off to Mayrhofen early tomorrow for a lads trip. Conditions look OK and Webcams look quite quiet. Anyone heading off to Austria?
Information we have is all resorts are open.

@thegeneralist I should probably resist the urge to sharpen my edges to a more aggressive angle too 😀

Back from a good trip to Alpe D’Huez. disappointed not to get stranded there for a few more weeks tbh. saw no sign of the virus over there at all, except a few punters wearing masks at grenoble.

Resort wasnt exactly quiet all week either! unless that was quiet. in which case i wouldnt want to return.

lucky with the conditions, woke up to freshies on 3 of the mornings! there were 2 whiteout days, one of which was wet and rainy, but clear sunny skies the rest of the time.

@andeh – also look at BAC Elland

Bloody hell, is that place still going. I bought some snowboard trousers from there about 25 years ago!!

Anyone heading off to Austria?

Yes we’re off to Ischgl on Saturday.

There’s a list of 10 or so apres bars that are closed and apparently they’re only half filling gondolas and buses. Hopefully apart from that it’ll be business as usual 🤞

Update: Ischgl closed from this weekend.

That’s the end of that then.

Should we rebook for France or just sack it off this year 🤔🤷🏻‍♂️