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Has anyone skied Lake Louise and Three Valleys ?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
A bit of a question really, I have skied for the last two years in eastern and western Canada (due to contracts I was working on) and am going to Val Thorens this sat Laughing

Just wondering what the blacks are like in the 3 valleys as the last time I skied in europe I was crap Madeye-Smiley but now can manage anything that was pisted in Canada (like the world cup downhill run in Lake Louise, marked as a double black diamond) so will I get any nasty surprises from launching myself down a pisted black run in the trois vallees ?

Thanks for your help snowHead
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I've never been to LL but if it's anything like Utah I would guess that if you can handle the double blacks over there then anything on-piste in the 3V (with the possible exception of the Grand Couloir at courchevel) will be a pushover.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
takoon,

I have skied LL after a world Cup race and if you can manage the top part you will find the pistes OK in Europe although I've never skied the 3 valleys
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Tricky. In general I don't think you'll be unpleasantly surprised by 3V blacks, especially if you stick to pisted (ie bashed) runs. There are plenty of 3V blacks which are definitely double blacks by LL or Sunshine standards, which is fair enough, and some are reputed to be pretty ghastly (I have no personal experience of those, thank God), but I believe that some of these have been reclassified as itineraries (or something). They're presumably not pisted.

My recollection of the LL Men's downhill is that it's a single black and OK (so long as some idiot hasn't watered it and I'm allowed to turn a lot, obviously). I don't go looking for really nasty runs, but my feeling about Sunshine/LL is that there a few, if any, very steep, very narrow, couloirs (unpisted) of the type that I believe you get in 3V. I may be wrong, and I haven't seen a marked run in Europe which looks as hairy as Delirium Dive (but I haven't looked for one!). You might find the runs (and the lift queues) in 3V, including the blacks, longer than you are used to.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Cheers Richmond, that's what I found about canadian skiing in the Banff area, most of the double black's were unpisted and v steep, altho there were a couple of pisted double blacks at Tremblant (but i think they were really black TBH) For some reason when I was in LL the downhill run was marked double black but have no idea why !
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takoon, I may be wrong about the LL Men's downhill. I've skied a couple of the double blacks at Sunshine (Freefall was at the limit of my ability/nerve) and there are certainly blacks in 3V as tricky as those, and I daresay trickier, but whether they'd be pisted or not, I don't know.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Ditto to the LL downhill..... I have been down it and havent a prayer of being able to do a double black..... at least not without it being my last day and having insurance in place!
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
As far as pisted steeps go at Lake Louise if you can handle Eagle Flight (which in my opinion is steeper than the men's downhill, as is the ladies downhill) you'll be fine.
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I been on some of the blacks in Meribel after learning on the reds and blacks of Bulgaria, and Combe Tougnete and Sanglier, were easy in comparison because of the better pisting.

Mont Vallon -- now that is a great red run, and apperently, you've got good ski legs if you can do it without stopping for a rest.
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I don't think steepness is going to be a problem, but the snow conditions will almost certainly be different. In Lake Louise, the snow is usually as least reasonably soft, meaning you've got good grip and hence speed control is easy. In the 3V, conditions can be much firmer, meaning edge control is harder so maintaining grip is more difficult and so you might find yourself going a little quicker than you intended. Once you get used to this, then you should be okay.
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Thx once again for yer replies, all packed and ready to go Very Happy

When I skied in Banff last year it coincided with their worst season for 20 years, never got to experience their fluffy powder Crying or Very sad so conditions at LL were good in morning but terrible by midday and also skied for 30 odd days in Eastern Canada so know all about HARD pack Shock
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Snow-forecast for Whistlar is predicted 2 metres fallng over the next 6 days Shocked
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The concensus that seems to be emerging is that the pisted blacks in 3V will be no worse than you're used to in LL/Sunshine, depending on conditions, if you are OK on their double blacks. There are I believe a good number of unpisted blacks in 3V which are likely to at least as tricky as the double blacks in LL/Sunshine, maybe trickier, including some steep, narrow couloirs (which I wouldn't touch with a bargepole, but I'm sure some snowHeads regard as a gentle warm up for the day's serious skiing).
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You know it makes sense.
takoon, Hi i've skied both I thought the mens downhill was graded a single black diamond? If you look in the snowMedia zone, I posted a picture of the start of a black run in the 3vs that leads to some couloirs. All I would say is ask before you try.ps the pics in champagne powder page 5
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
clive ward, is that the entry to the Grande Couloir??
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
clive ward, that's exacty the sort of thing I meant.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
stevew, I'm 99% sure thats it, scary or what? the the drop is just as bad on both sides.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
clive ward, the one and only time I did it I thought the drop to the Meribel side was the worst - at least to the right (Courchevel) you're protected by the ridge line. When I got to the end of the track (is that a little too grandioise for such a rutted and bumpy route?), I gulped when I looked down the Gd Couloir. Unfortunately I lost a ski after the second turn. I hade it worse by letting the other drop down further when I got it of so I could climb back up (I'd fallen a fair way!) - I felt a real prat! Anywat some nice frenchman came along before I'd climed too far (it felt really steep and I was kicking steps - not a pleasant experince) and brought down the first ski - I eventually dropped back down to the second and another guy helped me get them both on - by this time I'd worked my self up a bit(!). After that I managed to ski down OK but it'll be a long time before I do that again, don;t mind any of the other blacks in the 3V so it must be a darn sight steeped than the rest. Worth having ticked it off though.
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found this site with loads of info of the black runs in 3V
http://www.dimple1.demon.co.uk/skiing/3vintro.html

HTH
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
takoon, I was skiing in LL last week and the World Cup Downhill is now classed as single black diamond. Apart from a pretty steep bit (which was also icy at the time) in the middle it was not too difficult. You'll probably find plenty as difficult and and also more so in France.
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