 Poster: A snowHead
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Great pics Steve. New La Daille gondola stations look smart. Beginning to see how the project cost £10m.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Morning Steve ,
Can we request a little video tour around the snow front and nursery slope area on instagram.
I notice the official webcam has sneakily been restricted to block the hotel Brussels building site , however I did finally find an unrestricted view and it certainly isn't pretty.
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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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| harvsurrey wrote: |
| even though @honeybunny has blown me out |
I know, sorry about that! Wish I could have joined you guys!
There looks to have been a lot of changes at the Folie Douce as well, presumably to accommodate the new lift station.
Thr bubble looks very posh indeed and the phone charging safes are a great idea.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@HoneyBunny, No worries Ali
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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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Looking forward to your reports again this year, Steve!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| harvsurrey wrote: |
| even though @honeybunny has blown me out |
The mind boggles.
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Good evening,
I have two questions and would appreciate the expert opinions please.
How's it looking in Val D'Izzle for a week from the 2nd of December?
Is there enough snow already and will there be plenty open to ski?
Muchas gracias,
Sean1967
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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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Not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but my first effort wasn't, quite, so here goes: We're a family (travelling from NZ) skiing in Val d'Isere for a fortnight in Jan, and just looking to fine-tune some details, so after recommendations.
1. Skis: To rent or bring our own? Probably a no-brainer, since renting would give us more options according to snow conditions etc. But it looks expensive. Which are the best rental outfits? The low-cost option at Snowberry might work, if the skis are still OK. What type of skis do you recommend for daily use in Val? All-mountainish 88mm waists? Or more groomer-oriented?
2. Lessons: Maybe an off-piste clinic, or something focusing on technical skills. We're all OK skiers.
3. Guides: Looking at doing the tour over to Bonneval and heli back. We're fairly risk-averse from an avalanche perspective, and would prefer someone with proper mountain safety qualifications (though that may well be mandatory anyway) and solid local knowledge, and enough English to cope with our appalling French.
Also, I'm trying to get my head around the on-piste/off-piste thing. Here in NZ, we have groomed runs (on-piste), ungroomed runs (off-piste), and out of bounds (clearly also off-piste) where you are responsible for your own safety. Everything not out of bounds here is in-bounds, and is patrolled and avalanche controlled. I gather this is not the case in France?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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lgrant Hi and welcome to Snowheads... sure I can answer and help with these questions!
1) firstly when in January are you coming?
2) Skis: rent or bring your own - depends on how attached you are to your skis BUT renting from Snowberry is best. They are the best rental shop in town by far. Renting is quite expensive generally but even the low-cost budget option from Snowberry and you will have good kit that is not very old... sometimes other shops have kit that is 3,4,5 or even 6 seasons old that they are trying to rent to people but not Snowberry. So yea they are good! Type of skis... yea all mountain is good especially at that time of the year when the weather can be hit and miss! Especially if you want to go off piste too!
3) Lessons... well yours truly can help with that. Drop me a pm... clinics with the school I work for are 3 x 3 half days (usually mornings). We have off piste introduction or off piste adventure clinics and we also have on piste type clinics too. Id need to know more precisely what sort of thing you wanted and when etc.
4) Bonneval trip... I run those trips. To be honest at that time of the year the weather has to be just right and I dont often get off the back towards Bonneval at that time of the year but it is possible non the less. Yes mountain safety training etc is HIGHLY trained over here and I have all the necessary qualifications etc. I have done the trip a fair few times - its a great day out! And yes I am English so no language problems.
In fact I worked a fair few seasons down in NZ working at Coronet Peak a fair few years back now!
Yes the whole on and off piste thing... essentially you are on your own in terms of making informed decisions when you go past the piste marker posts in Europe yes. So make sure you have the correct insurance and go with someone who is trained.
Hope that helps.
Steve
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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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1. Snowberry is very good - not cheap but you get what you pay for imo. As for a ski for daily use in Val - so much of that is personal preference/snow conditions/ability etc I guess renting allows you to chop and change as suits.
2. TDC are pretty good for that kind of thing 
3. Any qualified guide has to have all that stuff I believe. Steve or others may be able to point you in the right direction.
On-piste is groomed runs. Occasionally there are what re called "itinerary" runs in France - that are not groomed but patrolled/controlled (not sure there are any In Val?). Everything else is off-piste - even 5 metres off the side of a pisted/marked run is off piste. Off piste is not patrolled although it is often somewhat avalanche controlled - usually where there is a risk of an avalanche getting too close to a lift, piste or property. You ski at your own risk off-piste but rescue will be attempted of course (expensive without insurance - can be added on to the lift pass).
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Damn Steve - you type too quickly..... 
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You know it makes sense.
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I'd definitely recommend Steve for lessons and off piste guiding with instruction as well. As you are coming so far I'd definitely suggest going with an English qualified instructor like Steve who also has been in the area for many years.
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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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Where did that snow come from
So they were expecting some flurries of snow today but little by little it got heavier and heavier the snowfall all day long... and now it is really quite heavy snowfall out there. Exciting news all round!
There were better sleeps in the household last night which was welcome but we had a sort of dummy first round attempt at getting both kids off to school creche on time as if we were both heading out teaching.... quite a busy couple of hours but it was OK. Clare and I then headed to the Sun Bar as we then had a meeting with SkiBro and it was a positive meeting. As Clare headed for her video production hour or so with them I headed home and cracked on with some jobs that needed doing!
It was a fairly boring day I suppose all in all but some needed time at home without the kids for most of the day!
Anyway as far as my social media stuff goes... I was asked to show some footage of the snow front the other day and that was included in todays Instagram story. Got some videos and photos too which were quite good!
After the kids got home it was the normal dinner, bath and bed time before getting on with the evenings jobs.
So lets see how much snow falls from the sky overnight as tomorrow could be a nice powder day! However be careful out there... some snow snakes lurking about.
TTFN
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Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks kitenski and nemesys
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yes I agree TDC are excellent and are used by many of the Val d Isere regulars..their clinics are very popular and good value.
The Ski Club of GB have a strong group in Val and regularly meet for apres drinks in the Alex bar. (under La Galise hotel.) 18.45 hrs on most evenings. Please come and say hello.
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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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So I follow Steve on Instagram, ( not a platform I'm familiar with) but have no clue how to get the story described above? I can see pictures and a video, but nothing showing the snowfront . Any advice as to where to look?
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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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@endoman,
When you open the IG app, from the top down there will be the IG logo with a couple of icons, below that will be the "stories" starting with "your story". Below that will be the chronological posts of the people or companies that you follow. If you are on the most recent post, the stories should be visible to you.
Stories are segments of videos or pictures that are put together in a string. You can scroll through the stories left to right, the older ones being further and further to the right. Steve's latest story on my feed is now quite far down the list. The story starts with Steve's fresh boot tracks in the snow.......
Assuming my guidance is difficult to follow, YouTube is your friend 
Cheers
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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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Thanks Steve Angus, kitenski, nemesys and Cromptonmj for your speedy, informative responses. Very helpful.
Steve, we arrive on Jan 5, so Jan 6 will be our first day skiing. That'll give us a day to get our ski legs back before one of your courses (that might be the 5-day clinic?) start, if that's what we end up doing. We'll probably decide in the next week or so. Husband is keen on off-piste, as am I, but since I've been instructing (at the mtn across the basin from your old place of work, haha), I am getting nerdier about learning better technique generally. Our teenage daughter is reasonably good, but has been unwell and will probably only ski on the days she feels up to it. She does still take the occasional 2-hour lesson, but it's not something we can plan ahead for. We were, however, hoping to take her on the Bonneval trip, as long as the uphill section isn't likely to do her in. She would love the adventure aspect and would be fine with the ski. I'd be really interested in your thoughts on that!
We're not so attached to our own skis that we'd prefer to bring them as opposed to rent -- unless it's just too expensive. We have a few stops planned in various cities around the globe on this trip, and dragging ski bags around those places doesn't appeal.
I haven't researched insurance yet, apart from purchasing the Carre Neige insurance when we got our A La Carte pass (hopefully that was the right thing to do  ), but it seems insurance companies tend not to be interested in off-piste coverage. Pretty sure the cover we do have excludes that.
So, re the off-piste thing, if we're skiing on ungroomed snow, then we're essentially on our own, and will need avy gear and appropriate avy knowledge?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| xtr wrote: |
@endoman,
When you open the IG app, from the top down there will be the IG logo with a couple of icons, below that will be the "stories" starting with "your story". Below that will be the chronological posts of the people or companies that you follow. If you are on the most recent post, the stories should be visible to you.
Stories are segments of videos or pictures that are put together in a string. You can scroll through the stories left to right, the older ones being further and further to the right. Steve's latest story on my feed is now quite far down the list. The story starts with Steve's fresh boot tracks in the snow.......
Assuming my guidance is difficult to follow, YouTube is your friend
Cheers |
I'm doing this on a computer, not phone, all I get there is a video that then stops with a view of the Olympic lift. Guess I'll have to go to the phone.
All found on the phone, guess I will have to watch there then! No sign on the puter.
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Thanks for the Snowfront video Steve
Does not look so bad
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@lgrant, the Ski a la Carte Pass looks a good option if you want flexibility of which days to ski and especially if you’re visiting more than one of the resorts covered.
The insurance issue is important I think. UK insurance companies nearly all include off piste cover for a relatively small extra charge. Is that not the case for winter sports insurance in NZ?
I always buy insurance including off piste, even though I rarely ski out of sight of a piste these days.
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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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Going to guess the difference with insurance in NZ as well as USA is that as such they have patrolled ski area both groomed and ungrommed which is all made as safe as possible.
Obstacles are marked etc
Europe tends to be unmarked from hazards not patrolled and not always avalanche managed
Therefore the insurance risk in Europe would be deemed higher
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| PeakyB wrote: |
@lgrant, the Ski a la Carte Pass looks a good option if you want flexibility of which days to ski and especially if you’re visiting more than one of the resorts covered.
The insurance issue is important I think. UK insurance companies nearly all include off piste cover for a relatively small extra charge. Is that not the case for winter sports insurance in NZ?
I always buy insurance including off piste, even though I rarely ski out of sight of a piste these days. |
With or without a guide? Many policies are only with
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@lgrant, 'So, re the off-piste thing, if we're skiing on ungroomed snow, then we're essentially on our own, and will need avy gear and appropriate avy knowledge?'
Yes, unless you are skiing with a guide. As someone else has already said, many insurance policies only cover off-piste if you are with a guide.
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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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| harvsurrey wrote: |
Going to guess the difference with insurance in NZ as well as USA is that as such they have patrolled ski area both groomed and ungrommed which is all made as safe as possible.
Obstacles are marked etc
Europe tends to be unmarked from hazards not patrolled and not always avalanche managed
Therefore the insurance risk in Europe would be deemed higher |
Groomed areas and patrolled areas are not necessarily the same thing.
Certainly in EK there are ungroomed, patrolled areas but it is very clear that beyond the ropes your on your own.
Is this different in NZ/USA?
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And then you get into a bun fight over what's meant by off piste by an insurer
As you say in EK ( btw did you know it's not called espace killy any more !! )there are ungroomed areas considered to be for want of a technicality Piste (e.g. they have black marker poles)
In the USA a ski area is considered as within the marked boundaries , outside this you are deemed not in resort.
So in my understanding in the USA skiing between groomed areas is fine.
In Europe outside a piste marker or pole on ungroomed is considered off piste.
Maybe @Steveangus can add an opinion.
From the OP I suggest NZ sounds like the USA in terms of piste/off piste
The USA system I feel is fairer as it eliminates grey area.
Imagine the shock to find the 1m you went outside a marker pole rendered your insurance as void as you didn't have a guide.
I really wish it was clearer from the insurance companies.
Properly a new thread so as not to clog Steve's conditions/weather/fantastic blog
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You know it makes sense.
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@harvsurrey, The American resorts tend to have boundary fences which demarcate the entire resort area. Within the boundary fence they will undertake avalanche blasting to attempt to make all areas, both on piste and off, safe. The Espace Killy is a far larger area than most North American resorts, and it would not be practical to secure all of the 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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@john2,
I ski in Utah every Christmas so agree fully (this year due to a job change is the first time we will not since 04)
So yes fully aware of how things are done and the area size difference ( though park city resorts by linking are getting up there)
I believe EK is 5 x the size of whistler to give a perspective.
However that aside , what's piste/off piste in terms of insurance in the USA
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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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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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Just a little note for anyone driving to the resort from GVA, there were fuel protesters just before the tolls near Albertville on Sunday. There were enough of them to block the entire road. They were stopping cars, but then letting them through.
That side of the motorway was empty, so I guess it was publicised locally.
We were told they were there on Friday night too, but they were gone when we went through at 10.30pm.
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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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@lgrant,
"Alpine Experience" is a small group of instructors who specialise in off piste tuition and guiding. Their guides include a couple of Canadians and an Australian. They may not be contactable yet but will be in December, you can find them using Google Search or through the official Val d'isere website.
Either you are on piste, skiing between the piste markers or you are off piste (when you are not skiing between the piste markers. There is no distinction in Europe between in and out of bounds which you get in the USA. In Val d'isere there are amazing off piste options off the back of the mountains out of sight of the ski lifts where you really need to be with a qualified guide. When skiing off piste with guides they should also provide you with avalanche transceivers, shovels and probes.
You should be able to book good skis in advance through the various shop websites, accessible through the Val d'isere official website. You can usually get a discount if you book in advance, you won't get a discount if you simply turn up at the ski hire shop.
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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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Great, thanks for all the info, people! Will look into it all.
Yeah I think NZ is more like US/Canada re on- and off-piste vs in-bounds/out-of-bounds. It gets confusing when we use the same terms for things that aren't quite the same.
NZ residents don't generally need accident insurance when skiing at home, as we have a national system (ACC) that we all pay into for medical accident cover. When in North America, I've always assumed our travel insurance covered us (but I may be very wrong about that -- just glad we haven't needed it so far).
@Kenzie, is there much uphill involved in the Tarentaise tour? Do you use touring skis as opposed to boot-packing on the uphill parts?
@Cromptonmj, we may pop into the Alex bar and say hi. Would be nice to connect with some locals.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Great see you in January..the bar has a strong Kiwi connection!!
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lgrant = ahh the Remarks eh - happy memories of there too... unless you mean Cardies... in which case you will know an ex colleague of mine Scott Messer then!
Anyway ill focus in on a few of your points... firstly the clinics often dont run for the 5 days unless there is demand. Looking at our planner it looks like we have a 3 day clinic that might suit... it only has a couple of spots left in it though and starts on the Tuesday 8th.
As far as the Tarantaise Tour / Bonneval and all that. Firstly there is really only 1 uphill bit on the Bonneval trip and that is pretty much first thing... takes about 45 mins... either skinning or hiking up... it is at over 3000m therefore quite tiring BUT when that is done it is all down hill from there - at the end there is poling and pushing to do but that is not that bad! The Tarantaise Tour can be nice BUT there isnt that much skiing on it - lots of pushing etc and scenic but not that exciting as far as the skiing is concerned and no helicopter involved either!
Carte Neige is fine for getting you off the mountain etc and into hospital but there would not be repatriation to NZ! You need to look for insurance that covers off piste and as other have said check whether it says with a guide / instructor only or whether you are covered going it alone so to speak off piste!
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Still snowing
Whilst the snow that is falling is not the most intense snowfall I have ever seen it has been pretty much non stop and now the whole valley little by little is turning to white although the lower slopes are really nowhere skiable yet it should not be that long. Tomorrow we have some sun before a few more days of snow lined up!
So today I had a domestic day getting the last few jobs done at home. I was building some cabinets at home and various other jobs!
I totally forgot to take any photos today - took plenty of video though for my Instagram feed and also did a live broadcast too... so a reminder that you need to log into @SteveAngusSnow on Instagram and or Twitter to see some of updates and videos etc!
It was a fairly low key day really all in all looking back on it.
Clare popped out for a little bit of schmoozing with chalet staff (Hip Hideouts) up at the Fornet this evening and typical Ben is having a really unsettled evening and seems to be coming down with something - arghhh!
Photo courtesy of Radio Val
Not much else to report from today... that early season watching and waiting for things to really start get going feeling!
TTFN
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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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@Steve Angus, it seems like at least one of your children is always ill 
Also just so people know, live broadcasts can be viewed from the Instagram stories for up to 24 hours after being posted as well.
Glad to hear the snow is stacking up! Excited for the PSB now!
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Bennisboy - trust me it seems like that but generally no they're not too ill that often! Yea see you next week and thanks for the POI AFA Instagram is concerned!
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FAQ
