 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 joined because it's cheaper to be a member than not to be one. For a £48 fee I got a £70 discount from the Tour Op on my trip this coming New Year. SCGB effectively paid me £22 to go on holiday! 
And while I'm a member I can get yet more discounts, use the members' area of the website, wear the free t-shirt (medium! What bloke fits into a medium t-shirt these days?!?), dangle the free key-ring, open beers with the free bottle opener, help Pete Horn and alexpresland drink the free wine that their referrals got them etc etc.
It doesn't really feel like a club, though that's perhaps because I've not been on one of their holidays or skied with reps etc. Yet.
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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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I dont honestly know why I joined - I think it was mainly for the info and discounts on DVDs etc. The forum WAS excellent I just found it strange that they didnt have different levels of membership. No doubt I have had hours of enjoyment from the forum, more information than you could find in any book yet I never used the facilities in resort.
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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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| Scrumpy wrote: |
Peter Horn - reps in st anton - when ?!  |
I joined in back in 1992, & went back there in '93. The Reps were welcomed then. Whatever the ski school thinks, without the Rep I would never have used the ski school - we hired an instructor for a morning of slalom training.
I would have gone back to St Anton by now with a crowd of friends if there was still a Ski Club Rep there.
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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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| Pete Horn wrote: |
| Scrumpy wrote: |
Peter Horn - reps in st anton - when ?! |
I joined in back in 1992, & went back there in '93. The Reps were welcomed then. Whatever the ski school thinks, without the Rep I would never have used the ski school - we hired an instructor for a morning of slalom training.
I would have gone back to St Anton by now with a crowd of friends if there was still a Ski Club Rep there. |
Almost the same story - same years (I think). I can remember when we hired a guide we would otherwise not have thought of , because of the rep.
Haven't returned because of no rep. There are a couple of over 50s holidays there this year - but they didn't suit me, unfortunately. It's a great place.
But then, so are Zermatt, Saas Fee, Val D'Isere .........
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Kuoni included it free with their holidays one year.
I skied with the rep and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Paid by cheque, but did not renew the subscription.
Returned to the same resort and decided to ski with the rep again. Joined on direct debit, because you got a second year free.
If I ski where there is a rep, I will renew next year. Otherwise, I will join when I get to the slopes, especially if they have an offer on.
Pity they do not still have the clubhouse in the centre of town. I would have used that.
Lots of the members are quite posh, which could put some potential members off, but it does not bother me. Lots of ripping yarns from public school types of skiing in days gone by, but it can be interesting to chat to fellow proles in the party about how the other half live.
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| Latchigo wrote: |
| ....Lots of the members are quite posh.. |
And then there's me 
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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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I joined because when my friends don't go skiing I have people to ski with and the reps knowledge of where the good off-piste is means I get more quality skiing done
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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A couple of ski club reps (Red Dave & Shaun) were on the Warren Smith course that Deb & I went on in July. Not only were they excellent skiers they were both top guys. Other than hearing about SCGB's forum problems from Peter B we didn't really know much about the ski club.
We joined at the ski club a few weeks ago. It was a bit of a no brainer really as for the £70 fee we ended up with a free holdall (we were going to buy one in the next few weeks), two free boot bags when we got our new boots at Profeet (members only offer), 20% off at Castleford (we go there quite often) & two 10% discount vouchers for EB's - so we've more than covered our membership fee.
Hope to try the rep service later in the year.
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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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Hi Jon and welcome to the Ski Club of GB! So, where are you planning to ski this season? I've got another week with Warren in Jan (Verbier), and will be repping in Flaine again over Easter. I'm also planning to make it back out to Saas Fee for the same week in July. Hopefully catch you on the slopes somewhere over the season.
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Red Dave,
Hi Dave
I'm out with Warren in Verbier w/c 4th Dec (less than two weeks to go  ) & Deb's also coming for a couple of days private tuition with Jamie. Then it's Courchevel first week of Jan & then something in March/April. Wouldn't mind going back to Saas Fee in July again also, funds permitting. I believe that the SCGB Tignes bash in April is also a good 'un.
What's Flaine like? Let me know the dates you're there as that could be a possibility. I could then take advantage of your repping services.
Suggest you PM me so we don't hijack this thread any further.
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You know it makes sense.
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Spyderijon, Red Dave's dates should be on the Ski Club web site - under resort reps.
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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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I was looking for a holiday a couple of years ago, had no-one to go with, and my brother pointed me at the SCGB holidays. It was great, as have been the 3 subsequent ones - although they are far from cheap. It came at just the right time, as I was starting to feel belting down groomed runs was not much of a challenge, and they introduced me to the joys of the unlimited off piste. Aiming at groups of a reasonably compatible ability range really works, and taken me to terrains I would never have dreamed of tackling under my own steam (although I've since started doing self-organised guided days too). I've found skiing with friends you meet in the outside world nice and sociable, but completely incompatible ability levels doesn't really do much for the skiing. I've not used the reps much yet though, because since joining I've mostly been on SCGB holidays (or other guided days), but did take a day or so when the rest of the group of friends were trying out boarding  . The repping is slightly hampered in certain areas by the policy of not being allowed off-piste in glacier country. Doubt I'd pay £50 a year without the above (although get this coming year half-price through their holiday promotions) - discounts haven't figured greatly as easyJet and bunkhouses don't offer them, car-parking you can get pretty much the same deals just by asking, and I've not bought any serious gear recently.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I skied with my parents as a child, then started again after a 17 or 18 year gap. None of my friends skied so I joined an SCGB rep and joined a couple of days later.
Now I'm still a member chiefly because of the FreshTracks holidays. The important thing about these is that if you've ever skied with a Rep or on a Ski Club holiday the club has a record of your standard. This means that the people on a holiday really are the same standard. (I was on a holiday last year when someone self-graded wrongly and he was helped to find someone else to ski with - though it cost him a bit.)
Skiing with Ski-Club Reps isn't the same as a guiding service since SCGB reps are allowed to guide off-piste (though I gather they are much more conservative about where they ski than they used to be. I would be interested to hear the current position on this)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Why I didn't renew membership
Insurance - Cheaper elsewhere for better cover
Discounts - Only just booked this year for January so got 50% off brochure
Discounts - Can get same discount from SkiSet by asking for it. Also, the 'promotional codes' for the SCGB discounts aren't hard to guess
Skiing with Rep - Have tried it, and it's not really my cup of tea
Forum - I said I'd resign if they closed the open forum
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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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nickbunting, Ditto, we had joint membership for years and eventually enough was enough. The impression at the time was if you lived outside of London, (or at least the South), the Club and its activities was a complete waste of money. Oh and yes it portrayed an image to me of fuddyduddyness.
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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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Chris B, OK for me in a slightly hillier part of Lincolnshire 
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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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nickbunting, can you let me know what insurance you found? I'm about to renew mine and there has been some negative concern expressed about the recent changes to the Club policy, so I'm wondering if there is better to be had. The "no guide off-piste" part is essential to me.
Thanks
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Insurance:
Marks & Spencer will let you add all sorts of things
Endsleigh very competitive
Basically, use Google.
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Alan Craggs, we use Direct Travel, their off-piste cover is very good. European policy about £70 for a family of 4 . I think the details are here and their website
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Thanks Helen. Due to time constraints and laziness I went ahead and renewed my SC(no longer GB) policy, but I shall have another look at that one next year, it looks pretty good at first glance.
A friend used to have a policy which covered unlimited off-piste but excluded piste skiing. Very useful 
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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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Alan Craggs, your friend has found the first ski insurance company that is advised by logic rather the polystyrene. Most accidents occur on-piste. On-piste is dangerous. On-piste is crowded, and full of people who can't ski, either because they are beginners or they are drunk. Off-piste is empty, there are no bars, and only skied by experts. Unfortunately, finding a resort where the off-piste comes right down to the appartment is not so easy.
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... though the appartment itself would constitute off-piste.
Therefore, make sure you're insured to be rescued from your bathroom.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Thu 6-01-05 15:34; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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David Goldsmith, Is the bathroom a dangerous place for you? Do you like some form of extreme shaving? 
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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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No, I find I sit back too much in there and lose control.
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Alan Craggs, was your friend with the British Mountaineering Council? I have used their insurance in the past and it's great for annual, multisport dangerous stuff but there was a clause which implied that if you twisted your knee on a green run you had to haul yourself down the nearest crevasse/cliff before calling out mountain rescue
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You know it makes sense.
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Plake, yes he was, but I'm not sure if it's the same nowadays. Jonpim, as usual, is absolutely on the pedal. Piste skiing is ridiculously dangerous compared with off-piste.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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I joined for the chat. I had received some really useful info and hints from being in the forums before they closed them, and I was looking to book a holiday to a resort I'd never been to. For £50, which is less than what I'd pay for dinner in a nice restaurant, I thought it was pretty good value just to access the expert level of info from the members (less the club itself), and once you add on all the other potential benefits, seemed like worthwhile expenditure. Also, if you compare £50 to the amount we spend on skiing each year, we try to go 3 x a year, then overall it's very good value given the access to info.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Dypcdiver, thanks for getting us back on thread
Donna, you are in a very exclusive sub-set of the Club if their figures are correct ! Do you think that you can get an equal (or better) level of info here (free) or does the Club forum still "have the edge" for you?
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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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I aint a member, and frankly have no intention of joining. What exactly is the purpose of this Club? Perhaps to promote the sport? Well why then are their condition forecasts for the Ski Areas in Scotland so negative? As I type this, I'm ready for bed for an early start to go up the hill for a days skiing on Cairngorm Mountain, one of ALL FIVE Scottish resorts open for sport this weekend.
If this "Club" wants to promote the sport, and continue to maybe find more talented skiers, then why the hell dont they put more effort in and do things properly.
I have not met 1 person up here (i am an adopted local!) who has a good word to say about the Club or it's "ski reports", and judging from the last one I read, I quite agree....
Barry, Aviemore
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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cheers mate, will post a few pics sunday or monday
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Here is the current Club report on Cairngorm (you'll have to select Cairngorm, can't do a direct link). Judging by the webcam, wouldn't have said it was way out. Hope you have a good day - and as Alan says, let's see some pics.
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Suprised how many have chosen to use this thread to say why they did NOT join the club rather than why they DID join, but at the end of the day I supose it might all be relevent to
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"what is the purpose of this Club"
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| Dypcdiver wrote: |
| Suprised how many have chosen to use this thread to say why they did NOT join the club rather than why they DID join.... |
Sort of group hug thing for some snowheads, I think
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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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When trying to create a sense of community, it is often the case that having something or someone to unite against will help to re-enforce group integrity.
That's just the way group dynamics works.
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Alan, not sure I get your meaning re the sub-set. I hadn't really looked at this site before I joined SC. If I had, I may not have joined as yes, you can get equally good advice here, although I do find that the forum is not quite as well organised and it can get a bit confusing trying to find the info you are after. Having said that, it might be becuase there are so many more people posting on here and therefore more topics to choose from. But my overall impression is that you might have to wade through a lot of info to find what you want.
Also, I have just today been investigating SC's independent travel discounts, as we tend to do all our trips that way, and I think we will get a lot of financial benefit from that in the future.
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FAQ
')
Why not drop a line about it to the newsteam - any chance of some pics of your day?