Apologies for poor quality repro., due to general incompetence
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
davidof, Planetski costs nothing for visitors, so what are you expecting - the Pulitzer Prize of Ski Journalism?
Don't be ridiculous. The only source of income for sites like that is advertising, so obviously it's going to be a bit of 'fun and games with James'.
After all it is free
After all it is free
davidof wrote:
What story are you referring to?
Maybe you've been on another planet(ski - geddit?) recently, but there was the minor matter of 250 ESF instructors planning a flashmob in Parliament Square. As I recall, Planetski picked up on the tweet from the PR people that sparked the whole thing off. Admittedly the site didn't stay on top of the story - most of the buzz and linking to primary sources (Facebook etc) was happening here.
Though it should be said that Planetski was also the first site to report that the event had been cancelled.
Now, your own website www.pistehors.com last filed a news story on 25 October. Planetski usually files at least one story a day.
Maybe productivity is one test of a good journalist. In the meantime, if you're in an igloo don't use a flamethrower!
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.
Comedy Goldsmith, Now now, let's not drag otherwise amusing and entertaining threads down with your own, tirelessly expressed view of what is good or bad ski journalism.
BTW I stumbled across a book in Austria in a chalet, a predecessor of the Good Ski Guide or similar with the lowdown on the latest ski tech contributed by a Mr Goldsmith and some fashion nonsense by Felice Hardy under what I assume was her maiden name. Well worth reading for a lesson in aspirant middle class ski history.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
fatbob wrote:
...the lowdown on the latest ski tech contributed by a Mr Goldsmith...
that'll be screw-in edges and aluminium poles.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
fatbob, Eyston was Felice's maiden name.
It's davidof who decided to make harsh judgements over what is or isn't good ski journalism. Not me - I was just counter-reacting. As we've seen this morning, a couple of interesting pieces (just as examples) come from the Daily Mail - which I think picked up on the US story about the Jesus statue on a ski slope but improved it - and a US website reporting the surprise reopening of a ski resort.
There are no hard and fast rules. In general you get what you don't pay for, but the profession of journalism will continue and will somehow be paid for. Major UK news organisations are currently losing shedloads of money, and things will have to right themselves.
Lord Leveson will publish his views on the future of ski journalism at lunchtime. And there's infinite room for 'citizen journalism' and gossip, as we've discovered on this fascinating journey over the past couple of decades.
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Thu 29-11-12 11:40; edited 1 time in total
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.
Comedy Goldsmith wrote:
fatbob, Eyston was Felice's maiden name.
It's davidof who decided to make harsh judgements over what is or isn't good ski journalism.
To be fair, it was me.
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
Well, OK, but if you post with a name like 'Mr Pietroll' is anyone going to take you seriously? Obviously people will take davidof seriously.
Mr Piehole, why would I remember that childish piddle of twaddle? But now that you've reminded me of it, yes I do remember it.
I was probably respecting Patrick Thorne's copyright. He lives over 500 miles from here, I've never been in the same room with him (as far as I know) and he's not a mate of mine, matey - best, soul or check. That said, Patrick sounds like a really hard-working fun guy. According to Amazon he's written 11 books and has "three sons, three ponies, dog, cat, rabbit, 12 hens and an apricot tree".
Patrick Thorne, on the hill.
All together now: "On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me ... three sons, three ponies, dog, cat, rabbit, 12 hens and an apricot tree."
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Are you willing to insure James Cove?
Get on Facebook urgently - I think he's snowbound:
James is a fine skier, BASI-qualified, and I've never seen him plastered.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Update:
The fully-insured Cove is in love
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?
Comedy Goldsmith, I don't think you should be posting screenshots of James Cove's personal facebook posts on here. Presumably these are posts only intended to be read by people he has accepted as 'friends', not on a public forum.
Comedy Goldsmith, but I thought you were hot on copyright. Did you ask permission to reproduce his posts here, and what about the two who had commented on his post?
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I note he has asked for advice on ski travel insurance. Why didn't he just ask s?
After all it is free
After all it is free
cathy, It's not his copyright but Facebook, and it's public soooo
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.
Not sure it's best to have Facebook screenshots here. Those who wish to see Facebook public pages can visit Facebook. Nothing wrong with a link to a FB page, in the context of a topic discussion, of course.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
It's for James to say what level of privacy he's seeking to enjoy with his Facebook friends, but with 741 of them he has clocked up double the number recommended by Men's Health [sorry, I'm trying to type this with a straight face] in terms of ...
... "the tipping point after which people were increasingly less happy with their lives".
Now, James has always struck me as an enviously ebulient and good-humoured chap and my guess (since he's an experienced broadcaster) is that he's exploiting the publicity and entertainment value of Facebook rather than using it to communicate with an intimate circle. That's why I took the liberty, but I agree that Facebook is often a mode of semi-private communication.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
The sociable roving Cove has now been spotted in Venice, in the company of six women, in a water taxi. An excellent move - I recall doing the same on an early December trip to the Tecnica ski boot factory in the year dot. But I don't remember that trip attracting many women. Venice is a much more intriguing place in mid-winter, since there are far fewer tourists and you actually see some locals!
For privacy and copyright reasons the paparazzi photo of James Cove in the stretch water limousini will not be reproduced here, but it may be available on this click ...
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Wed 5-12-12 9:11; edited 2 times in total
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.
Comedy Goldsmith, much better way of doing it. The British Library police are closing their file on this case
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
For this week's live webcam update, James has decided to colour-coordinate and smile-coordinate with the gnome on the windowsill.
[PlanetPudding lands in Maria Alm, Austria]
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Comedy Goldsmith wrote:
Update:
The fully-insured Cove is in love
Who paid for the trip?
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Comedy Goldsmith wrote:
davidof wrote:
What story are you referring to?
Maybe you've been on another planet(ski - geddit?) recently, but there was the minor matter of 250 ESF instructors planning a flashmob in Parliament Square. As I recall, Planetski picked up on the tweet from the PR people that sparked the whole thing off. Admittedly the site didn't stay on top of the story - most of the buzz and linking to primary sources (Facebook etc) was happening here.
Though it should be said that Planetski was also the first site to report that the event had been cancelled.
Now, your own website www.pistehors.com last filed a news story on 25 October. Planetski usually files at least one story a day.
Maybe productivity is one test of a good journalist. In the meantime, if you're in an igloo don't use a flamethrower!
Planetski is a good mass-market website for general ski news.
Pistehors is one of the Web's best go-to sources for French offpiste news / info in English.
The recent coverage of the Tignes avvy was way better on PH than PS.
"I'm actually staying with a company called Powder Byrne ... an independent, specialist, fairly up-market company ... I've been treating myself, which is a very nice way to start the season."
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Comedy Goldsmith wrote:
Update:
The fully-insured Cove is in love
Just noticed that this picture isn't a hotlink and has, therefore, been grabbed and used by you without permission.
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?
Jet-setting James is in Tignes. Here's the Planetski 'Christmas snow report'. No white beard and no Ho Ho Ho ... but a splendid Christmas Cove Carol of 'idiosyncratic vowel sounds' ...
[quote="Comedy Goldsmith"] Excellent report from James Cove in St Anton - his first visit since the mid-1990s ...
Half of JC's report on St Anton was about conditions elsewhere and a huge advertisement for the company who had supplied him with a free holiday.
He states nothing much has changed then mentions a couple of the huge changes they have made to the town.
What a load of nothing.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
As far as I'm concerned, anything from St Anton is gripping. Absolutely gripping. I've had incredible ski experiences there, especially in the all-day off-piste classes from the ski school (highly recommended).
After all it is free
After all it is free
Nothing on Mount Etna on this thread except the one video of one little bit of a summer ascent of the main (actually very long) ski lift.
Piste map here (download to see detail) shows the whole mountain (but not the smaller resort on the other side) and shows that the lifts do not go very near the main crater, but a lava flow took out the lift a few years ago so it had to be rebuilt. I gather it is good for ski touring but those lava flows are very jagged big lumps = I'd be afraid to destroy my skis if the snow wasn't deep.
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.
I think the key point was that Mount Etna has "the best value skiing in Europe". TripAdvisor don't necessarily count the lifts+pistes in reaching that conclusion.
Certainly if your skis are wrecked or melted by lava it's not such good value.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I've got a few Etna photos showing snow, taken April 1992. There's only one of somebody actually skiing
But as you can see, there is potential for some quite deep snow
Although you wouldn't want to get to close to the summit as it tends to be a bit too warm for snow to accumulate
There's not much in the way of lift infrastructure (not least because it sometimes gets engulfed in lava) but if you have one of these there's no problem
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
s? 
