 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I can see them too and it looks like they're in the SnowMediaZone.
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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?
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FenlandSkier, I posted them using the 'post pic' that some of us have. I think it's always worked before, but doesn't necessarily upload them to your own folder - don't know about that - Yoda will know - knows everything he does.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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easiski, It all looks beautiful. "The Pink Jacket" and I are now on 'the final countdown ' Don't forget to place an order for sunshine from the 12th after the huge dump of snow we're all dancing for (only overnight naturally)  See you soon
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Annie, 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Headplant, Sorry about that. Try looking at my album on SnowmediaZone - maybe they're there! I have Vista too - major PITA
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works fine for me on Vista Headplant.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Also Vista and no problem
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snowing hard today
Waiting for easiski report
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Sun's come out today (well later in the morning), so here's a pic out of my bedroom window of the Diable run. Unfortunately you can't actually make out the tracks and a couple of skiers on it! Shame, but it's only a cheap little camera. 
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You know it makes sense.
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Wow easiski, what a change in 1 month! Very pretty pic even if I can't see the skiers and their tracks
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brian
brian
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easiski, nice view. 
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Poster: A snowHead
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brian, I still prefer my silver birches.  I do have to actually lean out of the window at an angle to see this view, whereas the birches were right 'in my face' as you know.
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brian
brian
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easiski, they were lovely. Do you have a view to La Muzelle now though, and out over Venosc ? That's got to be worth it.
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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?
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Mr L tells me this afternoon that he has cold nadgers, the result of immersing them in powder all day.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Lizzard, what's he doing not working on a Tuesday?
brian, I can see la Muzelle, but have a better view of the Aiguille de Venosc ...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Very sunny today. They've pisted the Diable run for the first time and a good width too. things are really moving on. This is 2 pix stiched together from yesterday afternoon. the wind was blowing the snow off the ridges, but today the wind has dropped. I took these from my balcony with the Aiguille de Venosc in the centre and La Muzelle off to the left.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just got back yesterday, great conditions good to meet easyski and the other snowheads who where out there. 
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Just checked LDA site and is showing only about 20% of the resort open, is this right?
Does this mean they will gradually open it all later in the season, we go next sat and i was hoping it would all be open.
Snow is looking great so far though !!!!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Big Rich, yes it does. The DAL (lift company) generally only open a small number of lifts pre-Christmas, in order to save costs on lifties etc at a really quiet time. This doesn't mean that only 20% of the resort is skiable. On the contrary, you can probably ski most of it, but it'll be at your own risk on closed pistes.
The Pied Moutet side is unlikely to pen pre-Christmas, and like Easiski says, the Fee sector doesn't usually either. Its a demand and supply thing. Mind you, if you can get to the glacier - which you can - you have 2000m of vertical available if you take the initiative and ski down the closed Valentin/Desmoiselles sector to get home.
Looks good out there to me - can't wait to get there on the 17th!!
I have gone out early-mid Dec for the last few years and never been disappointed, even with the limited lift-openings.
So don't panic - it'll be great!
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paulmck, I hope there's plenty open on Jan 5th when we fly out there
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Big Rich, tommy10pages, Although they might only show 20% open that's the lifts - not the pistes usually. I went shopping today, and the whole face was tracked out. Of course that assumes peeps are good enough to ski unpisted snow on very steep slopes. But with all runs from 2600 to Cretes open, and 3 of the 4 at the Toura open ... Probably enough snow to open toura itself now (or will be very soon). Bellecombe is just waiting for enough peeps, as is Super Diable. Diable is clearly perfect (but probably closed as I didn't see peeps on it). Valentin is clearly open and pisted (lots of black dots). All glacier runs open and all runs from glacier to 2600 with the exception of the Breche. It was very windy, so they might not have been able to open this now (very windswept piste). Pied Moutet is coming along nicely, and I should think they'll open the Vallee Blanche after the next dump.
paulmck, sooo right!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Oh yeah, the lot will be by then (outrageous thaws permitting...). Back out there again myself on New Year's Day for 10 days. Hurrah!
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paulmck, watch out for three 30something lads stooped over pints of lager in the White Bear pub (if it's still there) because that'll be us!
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You know it makes sense.
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Oh good ,thats a relief !!! Thought for a minute the reason first choice were so cheap was cos the resort was closed.
Sorry Im a newbie and alot of your knowledge has just gone right past me.
1. If a piste is closed can you still ski it, are you uninsured if you do that
2.Face tracked out, mean new track in fresh snow ?
3.Whats the fee sector ?
Sorry for all the questions, me and the kids are on countdown.
Handy tip for all parents out there. Book there first ever skiing holiday a week before xmas, they have hardly mentioned xmas once. Mind you they do mention skiing every day !!!! There biggest worry is are they allowed to take their advent calenders with them as they don't trust mum with them for 7 days !!!
10 days and counting
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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16 days
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Poster: A snowHead
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Big Rich, No need to apologise for asking questions - thats the whole point isn't it?
Some answers:
1. Generally in Europe (though not necessarily in America) if there's snow on a slope, you can ski it, but (and its a big but) you have to be responsible for your own actions, taking into account the avalanche risk, your level of competence, safety of those around and below you, and basically something you shouldn't do alone unless you are fully conversant with the situation. As far as insurance is concerned, it depends on the policy you take out. An accident on a closed run is viewed by the pisteurs/hospitals, etc as the same as off-piste, so if you're not covered for off-piste skiing, you'd be a bit of a prat to chance it. Also, a closed piste has no patrol, and is probably closed for quite a good reason. The top of the Valentin for example has a 30 degree pitch on the top of it, and can resemble an ice rink. Rarely does a year go by without some hapless skier killing themselves or someone else on it. I have seen a man slide head first all the way to the bottom, unable to stop, and also been wiped out myself by someone doing soemthing similar. There's loads to learn before venturing outside the marked runs, but don't worry, the better you get, the more fun it gets. If you're a beginner, there will be loads and loads to keep you happy around the nursery slopes in the village, and later on the glacier etc.
2. The Face is what Charlotte (Easiski) calls the side of the mountain which slopes down to the resort from 2100m. It is universally quite steep, but represents a lot of fun to off-piste skiers/boarders in the right conditions, since the routes down are endlessly variable, through trees, gullies, etc. After a fresh snowfall below freezing, the snow is light and fluffy (hence "powder"), and provides the loveliest sensations skiing can offer. When Charlotte says "tracked-out" she means exactly that. All the ahem, "decent" skiers in the resort will ski across the mountain as much as they can to find the little bits of powder that haven't been disturbed, or "tracked" by other skiers.
3. The Fee is an area of the ski domain, along with the Cretes, Diable, Pied Moutet etc. Its a bit lower than the mid-station (Toura), and requires a chairlift to get you out of it again, so the DAL don't tend to open it until the number of visitors demands it.
Have you booked lessons, btw?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Big Rich, Just returned from a long weekend, had a great time and I am absolutely certain you will have plenty to ski! Have to say that LDA is now one of my favourite resorts .
Its got great skiing and snow conditions, a brilliant instructor easiski, good atmosphere, and some cracking apartments owned by 's paulmck, and fragy,!!
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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?
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oh give will you !!! I can't wait for the 15th to come around soon enough..
It sounds like its going to be great.
Yes we have booked lessons with FC which i think is through the ESF. I tried Easiski but she is boked up for the week we are there. Trying to get an hour with Charlotte is like trying to a a Wii at the moment.
Whats the evening's like with 2 kids in tow. ( 10 and 8 )
Avalanche risk is shown as 3/5, what does this mean please. I have seen 1/5 for ages , but now its changed. I know 3 is worse than 1, but how much ?
Ta for all the help
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Big Rich, quite a lot. Level 1 is low risk. Level 3 is considerable. See Pistehors - scroll down page.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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SteveKirby, Welcome to the LDA Appreciation Society! Pleased you had a good time and liked the flat.
Big Rich, Evenings will be pretty low-key when you're there, unless the British University championships are on. Not sure of the exact date but its around this time. Mind you its what you make it. Kids are welcome in most establishments in France as long as they're well-behaved! A shame the same can't be said for the students .
Avalanche risk goes from 1 to 5. Nominally 1 being the lowest and 5 being Death Central. Shouldn't really affect you though, although avalanches can strike at any time at any risk level. Level 3 is probably the most dangerous, as people think its ok cos its not 4 or 5, and then get caught out. In a nutshell 3 means don't go off-piste if you don't know what you're doing. If there's any risk from avalanching across pisted runs, the pisteurs will blast the snow with explosive to create controlled slides before opening the runs. You might see lots of mini-avalanches as you ski around, where little patches have "let go", but don't worry unduly about this!
Obviously no mountain sport is completely devoid of danger, and skiing can be a jolly dangerous hobby if you want to be silly (sez me)  but the lifties and the pisteurs will seek to reduce that risk on-piste as low as possible, and if its dangerous, they won't lift you up the mountain, simple as that.
Don't let the above put you off at all. You have chosen your destination well, and you've dropped lucky with the snow this year. If it's the first time for all of you, you'll remember it for a long time.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Big Rich, I hope you're going to report back on your trip? sounds like you'll have a great time. You have thought about some of the risks, obviously, but the biggest risk is that you're going to get addicted to skiing and have to spend loads of money on it for ever. Are you ready for that? We had a family Christmas present of a ski holiday several years running (though we went in early January). The kids were always up for having that as their main Christmas present and just a "stocking" at Christmas.
Avalance risk going up from 1 to 3 means that having had next to no snow, the slopes now have quite a bit. So from that point of view it's good news. It is very, very, very, rare for anyone to be avalanched on an open, marked piste. But avalanche risk is one of the reasons slopes are sometimes closed. To ski down closed pistes is generally an extremely bad idea. I've done it, but only with instructors. At the other end of the scale they can often be closed because of being mainly grass. Walking down miles of mud and rocks in ski boots, with your skis on your shoulders, is not a bundle of laughs. My son did that, once, in Les Contamines. He never did it again, though!
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Big Rich, Don't worry you'll have a fab time! If this is your first time you don't need a great deal to be open and because the resort is 'upside down' with the easier slopes towards the top they'll be more than enough to keep you entertained! Do make sure that you wrap the kids up well though as it can get pretty chilly up on the glacier especially if they're standing around at all - lots of thin layers so they can peel off/add as required.
Kids will be fine in the evening. We took our 9 yr old last year on pretty much the same dates and though he can ski quite well he was too shattered most nights to need to worry about 'entertainment', but there are things to keep them occupied if you need to and we had good experiences in all the restaurants and bars that we used.
SO happy were we with the conditions last December that a friend and I are going this year for a girlie break .......and we've only got 5 sleeps to go
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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easiski, I'm wondering about my readiness to step up to blacks from hard reds - I'm pretty confident on these now, but haven't tried a black much before. I'm anxiously trying to work out from some of your posts in this thread as to how difficult le Valentin and le Diable are? I remember looking at them from the lifts, five years ago as more of a beginner and making a mental note to never try them...
Otherwise it'll be skiing down that long green at the end of each day and then traversing across the flat stuff at the bottom, like last time. Chalet's in the Venosc end of the town too
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FAQ
Not much open but we started off at 2,600 (nothing open there, so went down to Cretes where the Grand Cretes chair was working. Very unpleasant OTW, but it's good stuff for the season. Lotsof digging out of vehicles when I got home, and I'll no doubt have to do it again tomorrow morning. 
So does this new place you have mean you now have to drive to get to work, that's a bit of a pain. It looks like you need to have a word to see if they will put a lift in. 
