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Talking the talk

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I started skiing mainly off piste.

Which sounds impressive until you know it was on a dry ski slope.

Seriously, I can fall down anything.

wink
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Interesting the analogy of skiing and driving.

My brothers always said to me after my 2nd week in ski school that it was now about "getting the mileage under your feet", just like when you start driving.
I've only had an hours private lesson since then in the next 8 weeks I've skiied, but am unrecognisable to that 2nd weeker.

Just a pity my love of beer & lard / lack of fitness holds me back so much Wink
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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?
Charlatanefc, I often draw that analogy as it makes a lot of sense to me. e.g. being in control doesn't necessarily mean being able to stop instantaneously, it means being able to avoid other people adn obstacles by being able to take evasive action (immediate change of direction) and skiing within your physical capabilites (i.e. not drunk or exhausted)
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Quote:

(i.e. not drunk or exhausted)

Laughing Laughing
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
eng_ch,
Quote:

(i.e. not drunk or exhausted)


Hmm, I don't know any other way? rolling eyes wink
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Charlatanefc, I live my life in a state of permanent exchaustion, but I reckon one out of two ain't bad Wink
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Arno, I had something simillar in Sunshine Village where I signed up for a ski lesson and gave my abilities as truthfully as I could.

I said that I would be skiing blacks when left to my own devices. The lady in the office obviously thought I was english because when the instructor turned up my lesson was to be on greens and blues. Luckily enough it was a private lesson so when the instructor saw me skiing a few turns she brought me onto the bumps and blacks.

The instructor was telling me that as a rule of thumb, they always downgrade the british people when they sign up for a lesson Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
smolo, mine was the opposite way round - he reckoned i was significantly better than i was telling him i was!
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When I say I can ski down any piste, I am using the term "ski" loosely. What I mean is I no longer stand at the top of blacks shaking and muttering, "I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this!" It means I'll have a go and will get down. Somehow, although not always still on my feet Shocked .
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I think alot of 'talking the talk' stems from Black run syndrome - skiing (getting down) a black run is a goal to a beginner, but only when you finally get there, do you realise that there are far more goals to conquer before you are a good skier Confused

I am always careful to explain to any potential ski Instructors that I am now skiing on some blacks, but that I may freeze with fear if something is really steep Shocked

maggi, ditto Very Happy

I did have a lovely moment this year, when I realised I'd finally turned a corner. We were skiing in Zermatt and were lookin up at a black run from the Gondola (the Fury I think), anyway it seemed to have a very steep section that looked like it could cause me some problems. We decided to ski it, and part of the way down we stopped and I turned to my SO and said 'where is that steep bit?', he turned to me and said 'you're stood on it!'. Laughing That did bring a huge smile to my face Very Happy [/b]
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
FenlandSkier wrote:


I've less than 10 weeks myself and could quite easily go around telling everyone how I've skiied tricky blacks without even falling over once. The truth of it though would be that I'm doing one turn at a time and picking the easiest route around moguls/ice/tricky bits rather than skiing the run.


I skied 10 weeks... last season and I still pick the easiest route around moguls, ice and tricky bits. Happy
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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.
Hmm good skier must he be who can do more than one turn at a time wink
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Yoda wrote:
Hmm good skier must he be who can do more than one turn at a time wink


maybe that is what they mean by "two footed skiing" Wink
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Yoda, if you ski one one leg can does that count as half a turn? If you ski on one leg in the middle of an empty forest, can anyone hear you?
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
David Murdoch wrote:
Yoda, if you ski one one leg can does that count as half a turn? If you ski on one leg in the middle of an empty forest, can anyone hear you?

If you ski on one leg in the middle of an empty forest and there's no one there to hear you does anyone care if you've just hit that tree...?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Be careful skiing in empty forests when no-ones around. I hear they are full of falling trees Cool
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I usually say i can ski most pistes in most conditions, but should probably say get down most pistes in most conditions. Also the comment only applies to alpine kit. I'll let you know whether it also holds true for telekit after this season as I'm not planning on taking the alpine kit skiing at all this year. I've done some offpiste (most of the pistes in Cairngorm and Glenshee Very Happy ) mainly over the back of Cairngorm and the odd bit between pistes in France. My mogul and powder skiing leave a lot to be desired, partly cos I don't get much chance tp practice.
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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?
PhillipStanton, nope.
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Terrible generalisation here but I do think the weeks skied is the best guide to a skier's technical ability. From a teaching point of view, which runs someone can get down is pretty irrelevant unless you belong to the "follow me" brigade.

I usually think that there's a danger point between roughly 4 weeks and around 12 weeks, where peeps are pretty convinced they can ski. After around 12 weeks, and certainly after 20 weeks you begin to realise you can't, and there's a long way to go. It seems to me that the longer you ski the more you become convinced that you can't really do it!

It's interesting to me to see who's said what on this thread as I've skied with several of the posters, and am seeing a definite trend here. Laughing Laughing
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
MhicEasmuint, when you say you skied ALL the blacks in LDA I seriously doubt it. If you only skied the blacks that were pisted then you didn't begin to scratch the surface. Most of our blacks are too steep to piste! (In fact we only have 3 that are regularly pisted).
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easiski, I'm just terrified I've overtalked myself now I know you're going to see me ski! Laughing

Bottom line is I don't trust my own judgement - or rather, how can I judge something I've never encountered?
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
easiski wrote:
and certainly after 20 weeks you begin to realise you can't, and there's a long way to go. It seems to me that the longer you ski the more you become convinced that you can't really do it!


Oooooh yes!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Easiski, what do you mean pisted? Is that the solid black line slopes on the ski map? If so thats the only ones a few of us done, Super Diable, Diable, Valentin, Aymes, Selle etc. Didn't do the Goursbis one as it was closed the day we went to do it.
Can remeber the day we did the super diable, we were meeting the beginners of our group in that restaurant at the bottom of it, there was 4 of us doing it and one fell and slid to the bottom of it and missed the turn off for the restaurant. He had to take his ski's off and climb up again.
Didn't do any of the dotted black line slopes. What sort of slopes are they? Off piste??
Started doing the blacks on the 2nd day as to come off the mountin in the evening the long narrow green was that crowded we thought the black could be easier.
In saying that I did them all, I got down them, although techniquie would probably leave alot to be desired. Great Resort, will def be back again.
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MhicEasmuint wrote:
the long narrow green was that crowded we thought the black could be easier.


Puzzled

Crowded blue vs empty red - maybe. But green to black is a bit of a leap Shocked IMHO natch
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eng_ch, I can understand what MhicEasmuint, is getting at. I am just as intimidated by crowds on a narrow slopes, as by steep slopes.
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The long narrow green is about say 4-5 metres wide (that about right????) and at about 4.30pm the first day it seemed as thought the whole mountain was coming off it at once, trying to go from side to side and ppeople whizzing past nearly colliding, and people going slower in front not easy to pass.
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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.
Frosty the Snowman, oh don't get me wrong - I find people far more daunting than slopes. Don't like traffic crowding me. It just seemed a larger than average leap
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
MhicEasmuint, ah well I'll find out in a few weeks Wink Wasn't having a go at you - just found it an unexpected statement!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
eng_ch, yep, larger than average leaps intimidate me aswell wink
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Well first time me and mate went down the black, we were going well and about half way down i stopped at side to wait on mate to say how well we were doing after debatig whether to do it or not at the top, well he, (snowboarder) never managed to stop on time and collided into me and we ended up sliding down it tangled together for another quarter of the slope. It was wile craic.
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Poster: A snowHead
Frosty the Snowman, Laughing
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
eng_ch, it's a great resort, you'll have a blast, we all went ont he skidoo's up the mountain at nite and also did the parapenting - http://www.mmcsolutions.biz/parapenting.jpg - now that was scarey at the start.
Yeah probably a larger than average leap, can rember being at the top looking over the edge, crapping myself, but when got down it, it gave me alot of confidence, to try the other ones.
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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?
rob@rar.org.uk wrote:
eng_ch wrote:
No offence to anyone, I'm just wondering here, but I've noticed a few people recently on snowHead, particularly the on equipment forum, asking advice on skis and stating "I have been skiing for 8/12 weeks now and can ski any piste". Now I may be cynical or naive, but these statements always get me wondering - I mean I probably have somethign like 35-36 weeks under my belt now and I don't feel confident to make a statement like that. If someone said to me "what saxophone/violin should I buy? I've been playing for a year and can play anything" I'd laugh them out of court.


I used to think that until a few years ago when I skied the Grand Couloir in Courchevel with a friend and his mate who I hadn't met before. His mate was boarding (apparently had never skied) and seemed to come down the couloir smoothly and in control. He certainly looked much more confident than I was feeling. He was also pretty good on the regular blacks and reds around the resort. I asked him how long he had been boarding and he said that was his 10th day! I didn't believe him, but a couple of other people confirmed it was true. Apparently he was a very talented sportsman, and it must have helped that the part of his brain dealing with fear was clearly missing. So I no longer pay quite so much attention to how many weeks a person has been on snow - sadly I have to accept the fact that there are many people who make much quicker progress than I ever did. Perhaps they are in a minority, but it's certainly possible to get very good, very quickly.


I've found the same thing with boarders, as I think that the technique is much easier to pick up, especially if you've done other board sports, and I've skied with a few second week boarders who have been quite competent on black runs and the like. I've yet to meet a skier who has made such good progress so rapidly. I do think that if you're a very fit skier, you can cover up deficiencies in your technique to the untrained eye, and so make yourself seem a lot better than you really are.

In the past I've been the guy mouthing off about his skill, as Pistenbully will tell you. Nowadays I tend to be a little more circumspect. I'm a reasonably competent skier, there are many, many more competent than me out there. I've been skiing for 30 + weeks (I think Puzzled ), 15 of those weeks in the last three years.
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I tend to describe myself as enthusiastic. I'll have a go at most snow covered things but my technique often lets me down - head first ususally if it's a long mogul field.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Yes beeing able to ski any pist in 8 weeks isnt impossible.

In what style, speed and level of controll is another matter.

Generally its relativly safe to say that every male member of these forums exchadurates his sking ability.

Also there is alot of material focus here. I think some of our members feel the need to get the right gear just because they lack in ability. Unfortunatly these will never learn to ski.

Tex
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TexMurphy wrote:


Generally its relativly safe to say that every male member of these forums exagerrates his sking ability.


You mean I'm actually crappier than crap? Strewth ..

and before the ladies say anything .... he said skiing .. snowHead
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TexMurphy, I beg to differ. Despite 10 or 12 weeks on skis my god given combination of zero aptitude, non-existent fitness and natural lardyness mean that I'm decidedly average to crap and fully aware of it Very Happy (and please leave my member out if it Shocked ). If I didn't have the absolutely most forgiving skis available I'd still be on the nursery slopes! (Lovin those B2's) Very Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
TexMurphy wrote:
Generally its relativly safe to say that every male member of these forums exchadurates his sking ability.


Having skied with quite a few of them, I can say that that statement isn't true.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
It may be more important to be safe than technically proficient although the goal is both. And before we dissapear right up our own butt, it is suposed to be fun. That is what brings us back every year, isn't it?
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JT wrote:
It may be more important to be safe than technically proficient although the goal is both. And before we dissapear right up our own butt, it is suposed to be fun. That is what brings us back every year, isn't it?

You're right JT.

But it never ceases to amaze me how much "no fun at all" we put up for that fun - painful boots; being blasted by wind and cold; being stuck on chairlifts; aches, pains, sprains and broken bits.

And yet, somehow, we still manage to have fun! Now how does that work?
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