FWA is easier on the pocket – Island Lake Lodge (setup/co-owned by Craig Kelly) is luxury accommodation/fine dining. (a friend of mine has driven the cat at both!)

Heli not so popular in the Rocky Mountains anyway as the weather system would probably mean too many down-days, whereas a cat-ski operation can run in any conditions – with loads of areas below the tree-line for low-vis/white-out conditions!

Now to waste the rest of the dayweek browsing Canadian cat-skiing operations and drooling a lot…

Fernie Wilderness Adventures & Island Lake Lodge are definitely both worth considering.

From memory I think you’ve been with FWA for a day haven’t you Graham?

Baldface lodge in Nelson also gets good reviews.

Like many of these things tho’ the secret seems to be having a group with similar abilities and tastes so you don’t have to compromise.

oh and my mate has just offered me his nearly new one for 250 quid!

You clearly have nice mates! :P

I’m determined to try and lighten my pack this coming season – and hopefully drop a few Kg myself.

I’ve watched that Lofoten video twice now … Wow!

hmm maybe a hovercraft split

I rode with a guy earlier this year who was rockin’ an Ultracraft – the thing weighed absolutely nothing, but by his own admission was probably a bit too light and sketchy for him.

I tried a Hovercraft (non-split version) for a day last year and was really impressed by it – it was Sooooo much fun to ride!

I think the current Hovercraft split only goes up to 160 though so might be a tad small (even though it ‘rides big’) if you are a heavy-ish rider (or carrying a ton of backcountry kit) – I ride the 168W Solution and 164w Flagship (85Kg without kit)

Lofoten looks amazing!!! Wow!

yep – Andy and Aneela still have Innerhaven! :-)

The Bike House isn’t available unfortunately until next spring.

Yep – Another vote for Innerhaven.

Very comfortable and ideally situated [to both the Whistlestop Cafe and Coffee House Number 1]

It’s noticeable, but still very slight – I wouldn’t let it put you of

cheers for the feedback stevomcd! greatly appreciated :-)

I’m riding Salomon Malamutes at the moment

These are my default boots as well, but a boot-fitter once told me I had typical ‘Salomon Feet’, suggested Malamutes and I’ve never looked back!

I’ve had a few pairs of Malamutes ‘pack down’ rather quickly but for the past couple of seasons I’ve been rotating the liners and just using the newest liners for day-to-day riding and the older liners for touring (with a pair of outers that I’ve cut the ‘Integrated Heel Strap’ buckle out as this was causing pressure pain when my boots were cranked up tight.

I’ve definitely come to the conclusion that touring dramatically accelerates boot pack-down …

I was also interested in the Deelux Sparks you mentioned stevomcd – sounds like there’s a bit of a compromise when using normal bindings

Seasons goals … well this is likely to be my last ‘big season’ so I’m also hoping to ride as much steep & deep as I can!

I’d also really like to do a stylish method that doesn’t look like I’m just trying to b1tch-slap my board! :oops:

Very news about Auclair & Fransson – JPs work was incredible.

Also incredibly sad news about Liz Daley :-(

Link[/url]

Creekside probably has more budget accommodation than the main Whistler resort and you can still access the ski hill via the Creekside Gondola.

but I only ever go there for exams (which I don’t always pass….)

will you be trying again next season stevomcd?

the downside is if you’re surrounded by idiots chatting through the gig, you can hear them very clearly over the music

Back in the day most gigs were so loud that they precluded people ‘chatting’ – nowadays [realistic & justifiable] concerns over hearing damage etc along with advancements in PA systems mean that gigs have better sound reproduction at lower volumes … unfortunately this means you are often subjected to the people that buy a ticket to see a band and proceed to spend the evening competing with the band on stage by discussing their intimate relationship problems close to 96db ! :-(

Elacin ER20s here … not much hearing remaining in the left ear so I’m keen to try and preserve it … I blame Lemmy and bass bins you could actually sit in!

Fernie BC for Jan & Feb, then heading to Chamonix in March. Also looking at a touring trip to Monte Rosa Massif.

I believe they lease their machines

That’s my understanding as well.

Hope seem to have a pretty solid approach to business (based on numerous interviews they’ve done over the years):

From memory they avoid borrowing money to expand and then having to service debt. They ‘lease purchase’ the machines to work on profitable products until the machines are paid for then they put them to work on R&D stuff.

It seems to be working well for them and is rather a refreshing approach to the [Manufacturing] business in the UK!

:-)

piemonster – Canada lift passes are indeed much cheaper when bought in advance – some of the ‘early bird’ offers have already ended though (I bought my 14/15 season pass for Fernie in June).

Some resorts do another offer in the Autumn, so it pays to keep an eye out/subscribe to mailing lists etc.

Canada can be bitterly cold – especially the Rocky Mountain resorts in the ‘interior’ including Lake Louise & Banff (which can be quite icy), Revelstoke, Fernie, Red Moutain & Kicking Horse.

Whistler however can be milder due to it’s proximity to the coastal range.

It’s all relative however – if all you’ve experienced is European Alpine resorts with sunshine and tanned lifties with their shirts off then prepare for a bit of a shock … and pack the thermal merino! :-)

Well done to those of you who have already finished – that’s very impressive!

I’ve got 1300m to do tomorrow and I’m done!

The weather has certainly helped this year (apart from last Saturday when I was wetter than an otter’s pocket and only managed 500m)!

I’ve had a Pug Partner Combi 1.9 TDI since ’03 and done 140k miles in it.

2 x clutches, 2 x exhausts, CV joints, etc,and a regular servicing is pretty much the standard.

Being able to take all the seats out and get lots of bikes and kit in makes it a great choice as a pope bike mobile / mini camper …

As others have said, like many French cars & vans, the body work can look pretty tired quite quickly.

But I’d buy another …

I doubt they will be but, the roads are lethal in the wet

You’re spot on – they are lethal when wet … and I’ve been to the island 3 times and it’s rained heavily each time. Dries out pretty quick though!

Kefalonia is a lovely Island – I took my Mountain Bike there in 2002 and had a great time.

You will probably be restricted to the unpaved dirt roads (that are reasonably well mapped on walking maps – available in shops on the island).

Unless you have good local knowledge, I’d avoid most of the ‘goat tracks’ as they are often dead ends and you end up in an olive grove and have to retrace your steps!

I was there last month for a family wedding and the island is actively encouraging walkers – quite a few clear way-marked walking routes have been introduced, however few of them would be suitable for a mountain bike and access rights seem a bit unclear …

We did meet a large group of German tourists on mtbs, hybrids & road bikes heading out on the road from Argostoli to Mytos beach. The road north is closed Above Myrtos though due to an earthquake causing a land-slip earlier this year. On the whole though there isn’t much provision for cycling so you’d have to be pretty self sufficient with spares etc.

A XC bike would be ideal and you could mix and match the ‘white roads’ and the dirt roads. It gets very hot though so early morning rides (like you’ve suggested) are often best.
It’s actually pretty mountainous so there’s a lot of climbing involved – even just to get from one village to another. I went out early in the mornings and stopped off at the bakers on the way back to the villa with fresh bread for breakfast!

Nearby Levkas had quite an MTB scene a few years ago – and was favoured by the likes of Neilson Active holidays. This was before the boom in the Alps and MTB was more of a ‘value-add’ to sailing & windsurfing holidays.

Hope this helps … Enjoy!

In this ever changing world, it’s good to know that on STW, somethings stay the same …

… and hora ‘bashing’ Orange Bikes is one of them ! :-)

Park Tool axle & pedal vice [AV5] placed in a vice always works for me – seems to reduce this risk of slipping and/or crushing the endcap!

Only managed to pop along for a couple of hours or so, but really enjoyed it. Big thanks to everyone involved in organising it – I couldn’t believe how well attended it was!

Seemed to be loads of people with dogs/young families/expectant families/extended families all really enjoying the event!

Hope those injured have swift recovery!

How good are those burritos?

Hats off to ‘Shawn Bean’ and his cardboard tin-can! 8)

@stevomcd – interested to hear you say that you no longer ‘size down’ with the Alpine 160.

A quick comparison of the Alpine 160’s ‘Archive’ pages on the Orange website shows that the 2011/12/13 16″ Alpine 160’s ETT is 580mm whereas the 2014 19″ is 620mm – that’s quite a jump in size!

Is it the change in angles that’s made the [larger] bike feel more ‘nimble’?

I’ve got a 2009 17″ Blood which is pretty close in geometry to a 2014 17″ Alpine 160 – I’m 6’1″ but with only a 32″ inside leg so was considering trying a 17″ Apline 160 but now you’ve made me re-consider …

– I generally prefer to go smaller on a bike so I can move it around, but would appreciate any thoughts you have based on your experience riding both the [smaller] older & [larger] recent models!

ta! :-)

Ooooh – very nice nedrapier! 8)

Where abouts? Lyngen?

Guilty as charged. Okay, 2 weeks a year brigade then

That’s how it starts … one week becomes two … two becomes three and then suddenly you’re doing a season! :roll:

As a member of the “1 week a year brigade” I’m really not arsed.

*cough* said by the man who is counting down 9 days to his next trip to feed the monkey on his back! :-)

Pleased to hear you had a good trip GrahamS!

I sometimes just say “ski”, but that can lead to confusion

Yeah – I always refer to directions as ‘skier’s left’ down the hill, even if I’m on a snowboard …

The way skiers are called skiers and snowboarders are called ‘riders’. We are all riding the mountain and I think its just snowboarders way of trying to be a bit superior over us?

I guess it all comes down to etymology; Not really worth getting hung up about at all, but certain words and phrases sound ‘right’ and some don’t!

For me ‘boarding is either getting on an aircraft or a pupil ‘living’ at [public] school.

Looking at other ‘standing sideways’ hobbies & activities:

Riding a skateboard is skating; riding a surfboard is surfing but this doesn’t tranfer to snowboading as ‘snowing’ already has a different meaning and sadly the term ‘snurfing’ didn’t catch on.

It was once decribed to me that skiers ski the piste and snowboarders ride the mountain, however this has clearly changed in recent years with the cross-over in technology between skiing & snowboarding.

The term ‘riding’ when referring to snowboarding has been acceptable and preferred use in North America for decades, but has gained some popularity recently in UK & Europe where english speakers have previously used the term ‘boarding …

I really don’t see it as and ‘Us & Them’ thing … I really get very weary of the seemingly ‘Brit abroad’ division between sking and snowboarding but I personally don’t see using the term ‘riding’ as perpetuating this in anyway or trying to claim superiority in anyway.

In a similar way the term ‘biker’ doesn’t sound right ro me when referring to someone on a bicycle, but ‘rider’ does for someone on an MTB, whereas ‘cyclist’ seems most appropriate for someone on a road bike

However I wouldn’t get offended if someone else used any of the terms.

I snowboard ok, but ski quite poorly for what it’s worth, but I enjoy both.

vive la différence! :-)

Have a good trip nedrapier! 8)

What’s the board you bought?

To my mind, I think there is a difference between ‘Elitism’ and being an ‘Elite Athlete’ for example …

The former being a belief that a select group are intrinsically of a higher prestige, value or worth than other people (and often to the detriment or exclusion of others) and the latter being someone who has performed or competed [successfully?] at a high level.

Anyone remember the DH / Duel track on the backside of the hill slag heap?

Was that ‘Iron Justice’? 8)

Yeah – I learnt at SSV about 13 years ago, when you paid a nominal yearly fee/membership and got to ride off-peake for next to nothing!
That video of Terje @ SSV is on YouTube but it’s listed as Halifax:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFRtPRMbfkk

Elitist is when you are purposely barred on your class

In my experience, if you spend any time at the majority of European Mountain resorts it becomes apparent that they are the enclave of the wealthy middle and upper classes (including minor deposed European royalty) and laterly former Soviet Oligarchies … this in itself can present a ‘barrier to entry’ which could be construed as elitist

… compare this to many Western Canadian ski towns which are often working mining/industrial towns and the demographic on the ski-hill is made up of much more blue-collar …

IMO the big legacy of Olympic success should be getting coaches and facilities in place to spot and grow the talent (SSV, Hillend, Halifax dry slope etc)

Unfortunately that was the sad fact from the BBC Radio 4 programme I mentioned earlier … SSV is unlikely ever to see the light of day again as the current owner is a property developer who wants to make money rather than provide a dryslope facility for the kids off the local estates …

Not that elitist really. Look at Woodsy, hardly a posh chap, that’s for sure!

There was a very interesting BBC Radio 4 programme about the ‘Legacy’ of the Sheffield Ski Village

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03srgv7

Unfortunately the programme isn’t available to listen to anymore, but one of the relevant points was:

Pat Sharples – “Every single one of my athletes comes from a working class background… and the majority of my team are from Sheffield.”

Unfortunately the message from the program is that this isn’t likely to happen again as the ‘Fridges’ in the UK still require considerable funds to attend regularly

But yeah .. sadly I would agree that in this country, Winter sports are somewhat elitist … making it probably the least attractive part of one of my favourite hobbies … :-(

@ oliverd1981

Is it the knee of your rear leg that is still giving you discomfort?

Riding a short board in powder can lead to stress on the inside (medial) ligaments of the knee. Whilst I’m clearly not a doctor (obviously), anecdotally, it’s possible you’ve ‘sprained’ your MCL or something similar.

Best thing would be to pay a visit to a good sports physio, who will be able to provide a full assessment and recommend some remedial treatment/exercises.

You could also consider wearing a knee brace whilst riding to provide some additional support/confidence, however like many things you get what you pay for with knee braces and a proper ‘fitting’ session may pay dividends – Snow & Rock /Bodyfactor run clinics in the London and the South East

I love those low vis/flat light/white out days when you seem to have the whole mountain to yourself and there’s no lift queue etc …

spot on stevomcd! sometimes you just have to adapt to the conditions don’t you? – I’ve had some fabulous days following a thaw/freeze,when the off-piste is ropey, but the groomers are in top condition! laying down some pencil thin carves and trying to carve huge circles! :-)

I think the only thing that’s made me ‘dip-out’ on riding has been extreme cold.

Though I suppose that doesn’t solve the vertical issue

My current workaround to the vertical issue is to clamp the splitboard in the ‘jaws’ of the Workmate with some protective rubber (old DH inner-tube). I’m less bothered about edges on a splitboard anyway

I reckon a quick wax/top up is ok with the bolts in but for a good service would always prefer to remove the binding hardware. That being said there’s loads of bolts in a splitboard for touring mode etc and I’ve never bothered to remove them when waxing … I reckon your idea would be pretty peachy & robust – look forward to seeing the results and ‘scotch-brite’ pad finish! :-)

@GrahamS – I’ve got something very similar to the snowboard vice in your picture – it fits nicely to my Black & Decker Workmate for a ‘Pop-Up’ Snowboard Workshop in the shed. 8)

They really do make a simple job so much easier, but I’m liking the DIY version very much – I might have to have a go at that as my splitboard is too chunky to go in my vertical slot! *cough* :oops:

People expect when they go on an expensive holiday that they’re going to have lots of ‘fun’ and not spend all their time being incredibly frustrated and in pain

It’s a wierd paradox really isn’t it? Ostensibly skiing and snowboarding are ‘hobbies’ that require a certain amount of pain tolerance/self harming, before you can realise the huge rewards available. Seemingly most people never get that far …

Apparently the ‘snowsports’ industries are acutely aware of this and are trying to remedy the situation.

Stats quotes to me by CASI stated that for every 10 people that try snowboarding, only one will stick with it past the first experience. (similar stats for skiing as well).

There’s therefore a move to try and introduce the ‘fun’ element back into it, but sadly this isn’t always the case;

When my sister had a skiing lesson in Austria she called into question the parentage of the instructor and when I asked if she would ever consider skiing again, she said she would rather have ‘root canal’ treatment or swallow her own tongue …

She’d thought it ‘looked easy’ and would be cool to ‘swish’ about the slopes stopping for hot chocolate etc, but the reality was somewhat different for her …

@nedrapier … shame about the Norway situation – what’s the backup plan?