 Poster: A snowHead
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| countryman wrote: |
A fun analysis I am spending hard earned money and I want good value. What is value for me? Nice surroundings, good quality accommodation, super snow making, good lifts, perceived safe skiing in white outs (mix of piste marking and tree lined), a bit of post ski atmosphere and, for me, a big area to cover as I am not a fan of doing the same run over and over again.
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Fix it for you.
I value a lot of what you value.. right up to the accommodation. 
I couldn't care less about snow making. I'd stick to hiking if there's no natural snow.
The rest of the list, I could take it or leave it. In fact, each resort I've been to, have something different from the one I went to before. Some big, some small. Some have ambien, others not.
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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 admit, I was always pretty snotty about Bulgaria.. until I went there. I know we were very lucky with the snow conditions, but I was charmed by it. You take your chances, and take it as you find it. I wouldn't go to Bansko because of that gondola queue, but I'd go back to Borovets, most definitely.
And I'm someone who thinks of Val d'Isere as my second home.
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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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| hammerite wrote: |
| Mr.Egg wrote: |
| hammerite wrote: |
| I think I’d return anywhere I’ve been to before but it all comes down to value. I could go to Bulgaria (never been but the OH has) for a week or I could go to any number of Austrian resorts for about £100 more. |
Where in Austria can you go for £100 more? or are you excluding lift pass, food & drink?
Lift pass in Bansko is 160euro & you can have 3 course meal with a few beers, bottle of red & still have change from £20 |
I'm talking about the basic cost of the holiday. Flight, transfer and hotel if going with a TO. Again the cost/value of the lift pass is relative. Last year 3 of us had a week at Christmas in Hinterglemm HB with a TO for £1,300 - it wasn't much more than a trip to Bansko. The €95 extra on the lift pass would be worth it.
I'm aware though that this has digressed massively from the OP though! |
It has, im looking for somewhere next year. As we are a big group, it always comes down to what the most the skinflints are prepared to pay.
Balkan Holiday have early 2019 offer of free lift pass in a halfboard hotel with change from £500! for the weeks either side of the peak season.
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Probably LDA. I didn’t enjoy the mountain as much as i would have liked. Nothing to do with conditions. Just personal preference.
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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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Sorry, I interpreted the question as "If you only took one week a year to go skiing, and that involved an all-day journey, and you were paying for everything, and there are hundreds of ski resorts within such day journey, which wouldn't you go back to?" I thought that was the most reasonable interpretation. If the question was "If there was only one ski resort left in the world and a gun was held to your children's heads, which wouldn't you go back to?" then my answer would have been different.
Anyone who writes off a resort due to one freak weather occurrence needs counselling.
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Nowhere! Not sure if that’s because i’m still relatively new to skiing (compared to some) and I haven’t been to that many places!
Could easily list the places I love though!
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| Mr.Egg wrote: |
| hammerite wrote: |
| Mr.Egg wrote: |
| hammerite wrote: |
| I think I’d return anywhere I’ve been to before but it all comes down to value. I could go to Bulgaria (never been but the OH has) for a week or I could go to any number of Austrian resorts for about £100 more. |
Where in Austria can you go for £100 more? or are you excluding lift pass, food & drink?
Lift pass in Bansko is 160euro & you can have 3 course meal with a few beers, bottle of red & still have change from £20 |
I'm talking about the basic cost of the holiday. Flight, transfer and hotel if going with a TO. Again the cost/value of the lift pass is relative. Last year 3 of us had a week at Christmas in Hinterglemm HB with a TO for £1,300 - it wasn't much more than a trip to Bansko. The €95 extra on the lift pass would be worth it.
I'm aware though that this has digressed massively from the OP though! |
It has, im looking for somewhere next year. As we are a big group, it always comes down to what the most the skinflints are prepared to pay.
Balkan Holiday have early 2019 offer of free lift pass in a halfboard hotel with change from £500! for the weeks either side of the peak season. |
I’d still fancy stumping up a few quid more and go somewhere with more skiing available. That said Balkan Holidays used to be a customer of mine and they were a lovely company to deal with!
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Any dry slope. I remember arriving in Aberdeen for uni really stoked at the idea of having a dry slope in the city to mess around on. Two runs were enough to put me off any dry slope for life.
If/when I next go to Japan then Niseko will be bottom of the list. Not that I dislike it, and it definitely should be on the list if you've never been, but IME there are better places for JaPOW and I prefer the 'real' Japan.
@zzz had it right.
Other than the dry slope though, I've found something to like in every place I've skied, from Andorra to Glen Shee. Those I've had crappy conditions in (like vallnord-Arcalis) just made me want to go back with good snow rather than putting me off ever going.
From my local resorts I very rarely go to Kühtai or Patscherköfel. Interesting to see Axamer Lizum criticised earlier: I definitely see why it would be too small for a week's holiday, but despite skiing 30+ days a season there for the last 5 years yesterday I skied two totally new to me lines there (admittedly one ended in a waterfall and a bootlick out so can't really be recommended).
For me conditions are king though and I really don't care much about the destination - far happier meadow skipping in the trees in a tiny family resort on a powder day than fighting for freshies in a big name resort, however better the terrain might be.
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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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Kitzbuhel, cat tracks and flat sections everywhere and, what I thought was an odd layout. I know it is a legendary resort but I just don't get the attraction.
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@chivdog, where did you come across cat tracks in Kitz?
There are flat sections and there are steeps (not no fall zone steeps) and loads of nice cruisy off piste. What's not to like?
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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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@boredsurfin, you went to the wrong ones
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| hammerite wrote: |
I’d still fancy stumping up a few quid more and go somewhere with more skiing available. That said Balkan Holidays used to be a customer of mine and they were a lovely company to deal with! |
I dont have an issue - skinflints think skiing is skiing. As a snowboarder, its quite a limiting resort.
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You know it makes sense.
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| clarky999 wrote: |
| Any dry slope. I remember arriving in Aberdeen for uni really stoked at the idea of having a dry slope in the city to mess around on. Two runs were enough to put me off any dry slope for life. |
Hell yeah. Dry slopes are to skiing what sex dolls are to love.
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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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| davidof wrote: |
| clarky999 wrote: |
| Any dry slope. I remember arriving in Aberdeen for uni really stoked at the idea of having a dry slope in the city to mess around on. Two runs were enough to put me off any dry slope for life. |
Hell yeah. Dry slopes are to skiing what sex dolls are to love. |
True. Went to the dry slope at Bearsden ski club once. Awful experience, and was surrounded by people telling me how wonderful it is...
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Poster: A snowHead
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| davidof wrote: |
| clarky999 wrote: |
| Any dry slope. I remember arriving in Aberdeen for uni really stoked at the idea of having a dry slope in the city to mess around on. Two runs were enough to put me off any dry slope for life. |
Hell yeah. Dry slopes are to skiing what sex dolls are to love. |
Never tried one of those but the other is still good for technique.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| clarky999 wrote: |
Other than the dry slope though, I've found something to like in every place I've skied, from Andorra to Glen Shee. Those I've had crappy conditions in (like vallnord-Arcalis) just made me want to go back with good snow rather than putting me off ever going. |
+1
| Quote: |
| For me conditions are king though and I really don't care much about the destination - far happier meadow skipping in the trees in a tiny family resort on a powder day than fighting for freshies in a big name resort, however better the terrain might be. |
Quite!
My priority is: 1) good snow, 2) good terrain, 3) less crowd, 4) other attractions, 5) low cost
Since I can't predict the weather any better than anyone else, I choose based mostly on terrain and (lack of) crowds. But I do change it up by going to mountains having 4 and 5. There's always the possibility that I luck out with the weather, which would totally make my day/week!
I do get to ski a lot. That maybe why I'm a lot more tolerant of "less than ideal" mountains, be it disjointed lifts or lack of charm.
People who hasn't ski too many weeks also are easy to please because they haven't seen much.
It's people who had been around a bit but don't get to go as often as they wish who tend to be more picky, because they want to "optimize" their holidays. But skiing holidays are so very dependent on weather which none of us can control nor predict, that wish to "optimize" simply doesn't work out all that well. They get disappointed and only remember the negatives.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sun 4-02-18 18:17; edited 1 time in total
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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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Glad someone mentioned Serre Che. I know many who love it but I found it quite disappointing. Lift system didn't do the mountain justice.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Breckenridge - and not because it's high.
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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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Arinsal, we had a lovely week but felt like we'd completed all the skiing it had to offer very quickly, so not a negative experience I just wouldn't hurry back. Arcalis however is on my list for a return trip once I develop my off piste expertise!
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Here's one which no-one on here will believe: St Anton. I've been there three times now, and I'm just not the right sort of skier for St Anton. If I was a gnarly off-piste dude, I'm sure I'd love it, but I'm a piste-only skier and I don't really enjoy the pistes there. Many are crowded and icy, it's not well signposted and the home runs aren't that nice. The Mooserwirt and KK are what they are, but somehow I didn't enjoy them as much last time. The only really good apres bar IMHO is Miur Mel (sp) with Gunar.
I'm not saying I'd NEVER go there again and I realise I'm very much in the minority, but there are many other resorts I'd rather go to which suit my type of skiing better.
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For me Verbier - controversial I know. Went on our honeymoon +20 years ago...refused to stay in the hotel we booked (yes I am fussy). Slopes were rocky and icy. Would I tell anyone else to not go there? Nope, just did not suit us at the time. As others have said, it all depends on your criteria and the conditions. Skied Queenstown in NZ 22 years ago, loved the whole NZ experience but found the pistes limited and facilities not great. I'm sure it is a completely different experience these days, but unlikely to go back there to ski unless we just grabbed a few days as part of a bigger trip.
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obviously no one on this thread has skied in Australia!
I present to this forum - Mt Buller.
On a skiable terrain/vertical versus cost it would easily make the top 10 of most expensive places to ski in the world and the bottom 10 of best places to ski.
Ticks all the boxes of poor snow, old lifts, overcrowded, local extortion (compulsory over snow taxi to your lodge anyone?) and crap places to eat.
So quit moaning about the Alps folks, you don't know how good you got it.
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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'd probably not rush back to Obergurgl; small area with terrible, bordering on dangerous, piste marking, especially in marginal visibility.
Been to Fernie twice (one year good snow, one year poor snow) but left underwhelmed overall by the limited lift system.
Not very keen on La Plagne itself - crowded, little atmosphere - but the outlying areas were much more enjoyable.
Australia: Didn't like Thredbo much but loved Mount Blue Cow!
Thought Nendaz was inconvenient and not well connected but had a good trip, all the same.
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| Quote: |
La Plagne
Pas De La Casa
The former I found a bit disjointed and soulless, no actual village centre just a load of self catering 'stations', and the skiing was very samey. Lots of pistes, all more or less identical
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Exactly my thoughts. Still went there twice when we had small kids because we found a wonderfully comfortable and convenient catered apartment. It's not awful just so many better options.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
I have favourites of course, but nothing close to a bad enough experience that I would never return.
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But there are loads of places to ski - why compromise by going back to somewhere that you didn't warm to? The possible answer of course is because you are invited to join a group of people you'd really like to ski/holiday with. In that case, I'd agree - wouldn't rule anywhere out.
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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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| T Bar wrote: |
| davidof wrote: |
| Hell yeah. Dry slopes are to skiing what sex dolls are to love. |
Never tried one of those but the other is still good for technique. |
Tried it once but never again. The friction burns were really painful... 
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A few musings...
I still think the thread is more about A) "resorts that didn't live up to their billing/sucked when I was there" or B) "resorts where I didn't get the value/service I expected."
I think we can mostly agree on two things: If the snow is good, even skiing your back yard can be a blast. And, those who don't do their research and temper their expectations are bound to be disappointed.
I like to think I've been skiing long enough that with a little bit of research and triangulation of sources I can dismiss some stations/resorts out of hand -- not because they are inherently "bad" but because they don't fit my criteria -- either I'm priced out, there aren't the right kind of lifts/terrain or they're too hard to get to. That said, I've been surprised by a number of places that were better than I thought.
A subset -- and maybe what the OP really meant -- is ski areas that are inherently flawed. We can argue about what those flaws might be, but we'll likely never agree. My pet peeve is north or east facing slopes -- I see that and I immediately know that there's gonna be a lot of ice after 2 p.m.; second is cat tracks masquerading as "slopes." I'm not going to say drag lifts, because a station full of drag lifts or nondetachable doubles is likely going to be cheap. If a ski area really does have fatal flaws, they won't stay open.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Obergurgl, limited disjointed ski area, though i did enjoy skiing a small tree are at the top end of the resort.
Mayrhofen, stayed in Finkenburg and getting up and down the mountain each day was a nightmare, ski area was ok, if the uplift improved i may consider it again
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
My pet peeve is north or east facing slopes -- I see that and I immediately know that there's gonna be a lot of ice after 2 p.m
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Have to say that I expect the snow to be nicer on North facing slopes - doesn't get thawed and refrozen as much, also holds it better later in the season.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| dozofoz wrote: |
obviously no one on this thread has skied in Australia!
I present to this forum - Mt Buller.
On a skiable terrain/vertical versus cost it would easily make the top 10 of most expensive places to ski in the world and the bottom 10 of best places to ski.
Ticks all the boxes of poor snow, old lifts, overcrowded, local extortion (compulsory over snow taxi to your lodge anyone?) and crap places to eat.
So quit moaning about the Alps folks, you don't know how good you got it. |
I'm with you on Buller. But don't despair there's plenty of skiing to be had in Victoria. I grew up in Gippsland about 1.5 hrs from Baw Baw and Mt St Gwinear both pretty good for Cross Country Skiing. Baw Baw even has a few lifts now (I only remember two drag lifts from when I was young) - I had a whale of a time and knew no better. For "proper" alpine skiing I would head to Hotham and Falls Creek, which on their day (like anywhere I suppose) are really quite good.
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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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| SlipnSlide wrote: |
| T Bar wrote: |
| davidof wrote: |
| Hell yeah. Dry slopes are to skiing what sex dolls are to love. |
Never tried one of those but the other is still good for technique. |
Tried it once but never again. The friction burns were really painful... |
I was told to apply lubricant or wax which helped.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Val Thorens ! Great skiing but the place is a dump and the service and food sucks balls
Meribel ! Bloody chavs everywhere
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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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Just returned from Ischgl and can't understand why it seems to be gaining almost cult status. Expensive and incredibly busy even in mid-January. Can't imagine what it will be like from now to the end of Feb. Apres is, in the main, rowdy and laddish. Shatzi and Trofana Alm are impressive for their size but lack atmosphere. Traffic in town centre is a nuisance. Shame really because the ski area is superb with the runs over to Samnaun particularly lovely. Having said that if someone offered us a free week we would be back there in a heartbeat I will wait for the huge amount of respondents telling me i am deluded but just IMHO.
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Not deluded - I didn't like the Schatzi bar or Trofana Alm. However if you'd found the Kitzloch I think all would be forgiven. Skiing is great.. except for the home run after 3.30pm.
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Despite it being on our pass, we normally avoid Les Gets.
We like Mt Chery and access it from behind, but even that has lost some appeal since the board park is not there anymore.
Rather than list all the negatives, I would rather suggest some improvements:
- They could happily sacrifice some piste and create more free-ride areas
- Create a couple of "trails" through the woods,
- Build and maintain decent park
- Make a boarder X
- Have fenced-off, timed run to keep the speed freaks off the rest of the slopes
- Review their snowmaking policies on linking pistes
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| Handy Turnip wrote: |
Nowhere! Not sure if that’s because i’m still relatively new to skiing (compared to some) and I haven’t been to that many places!
Could easily list the places I love though! |
Same as us!
We have been to what I would describe as 3 very different resorts. L2A, Montgenvre and La Plagne. All had their unique charms, plus and minus points but each week we had a blast.
We may not go back to them (certainly for the immediate future) as we still have so much more to explore. Austria and Italy are next on our books.
For us, the priority is snow cover. We don't mind about apres, what the accommodation is (as long as its clean and comfortable) or what lagnuage the natives speak. We are there to ski. Our summer holiday is when the room, transfer etc matter more.
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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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| dozofoz wrote: |
obviously no one on this thread has skied in Australia!
I present to this forum - Mt Buller.
On a skiable terrain/vertical versus cost it would easily make the top 10 of most expensive places to ski in the world and the bottom 10 of best places to ski.
Ticks all the boxes of poor snow, old lifts, overcrowded, local extortion (compulsory over snow taxi to your lodge anyone?) and crap places to eat.
So quit moaning about the Alps folks, you don't know how good you got it. |
How's Perisher?
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Chill out haters, this is a great idea for a thread. The OP asked for people's opinions, not scientific analysis.
For me, I wouldn't choose to return to Mayrhofen as you can't ski back to the town. Or Claviere as it's a deadly dull place.
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FAQ
but thousands of people 
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