 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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cathy, I dunno, considering you were IncogSkiSno for some of the time, there were less typos than normal 
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Update on weather conditions from Incog...
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Overnight snow and it is still snowing. Vis could be better but at least we have nice fresh snow to ski on.
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I'm going to ignore any further texts 
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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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It does look yellow doesn't it?
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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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Is IncogSkiSno the Smurf on the right 
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Frosty the Snowman, The lady in blue 
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You know it makes sense.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| Is IncogSkiSno the Smurf on the right |
The Smurf is indeed stood next to the Womble.
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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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Sunday 6, Monday 0
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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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cathy, glad you're having fun! Keep us in rain/windswept uk up to date!
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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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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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Finally got back this afternoon after quite a journey this morning. Check out at 4.30 am, with coach picking us up at 5.15 for the transfer to Geneva - only the bus came off the road on the way to pick us up & the replacement didn't get to us till 7, with the slowest driver possible who even managed to get lost round Geneva airport. We finally turned up at Geneva 10 mins after the flight should have left, luckily they delayed the flight for us.
Will do a full report later, suffice it to say I had a fab week, met loads of really nice people and had great instruction. Good to meet rob@rar on Thurs - it was really good of him to make the effort to come & see me & Incog & Tomsk, even though it meant he managed to view my video feedback whilst waiting  No, there won't be a 'rate my skiing' thread......
And thanks for all the highly amusing comments above - I just knew it was asking for the 'making about sense as usual' comments  
Make you realise how many people do view snowHeads - an instructor who shall remain nameless  came up to me at the beginning of the week and said - I've met the womble, you must be the one skiing in the red jacket..... And someone in my group had come across this thread just a week or so ago.
Incog, Tomsk and I were all skiing in different groups so we'll probably have different takes on the week. I'm pretty sure though everyone really enjoyed it.
As we left the resort the snow was thick on the ground although they were only just beginning to open up a few other runs. Will have to get my skis down for a good service, they have taken a bit of a beating on the Double M piste with the rocks & stones
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Sounds like a great week cathy, Glad you had fun!
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Good report from the lady in red. hmmm, cathy, do you know Chris de Burgh?
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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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Ditto cathy - I had a fantastic week, and after the 4.00 am start this morning I am too tired to write up a report at the mo.
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Looking forward to all the goss laydeeees
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My week:
Our journey ran like clockwork - we soon found ourselves in the Aguille Percee settling down to large portions of tea and cakes.
The first evening Phil Smith (a man with immense energy and charm) introduced himself and his Instructors, explaining that he wouldn’t be instructing himself as he was with the SCGB for that week. I think most people, initially, were a little disappointed that Phil wouldn’t be instructing himself, but in reality only one group would have received instruction from him.
We skied with Stuart Bernard (www.skifocus.co.uk ) and my disappointment of not skiing with Phil, was soon diminished. Stuart was an excellent instructor, great fun, showing immense patience and taking time to break down each move to ensure easy understanding. We skied some off-piste in poor visibility, and he really took myself and my fellow group members out of our comfort zones.
Last week Tignes suffered with some poor weather conditions, high winds with snowfall making visibility and skiing conditions in general quite poor. The lifts were often breaking down, causing long queues, and we even arrived late for a class after being stuck on the T bar, and then deciding to walk to the restaurant, which in retrospect was a bad decision as we were late for our class, missed lunch and were totally shattered. The final end of the week the real snow finally arrived, but the lift situation and skiing conditions at altitude still hadn't improved.
The only restaurant open on the mountain was Le Panoramic, which should be avoided at all costs if you are wishing to eat; the food was dire and expensive. We took the safest option by opting for pizza, which we still had to be microwaved as it was barely warm. Restaurant du Neige in Val Claret opposite the bus stop served great pizza (too much to eat) €9. Bagus café, first floor, just up from the Spar shop in Le Lac served great pizzas, beurittos, and vin chaude.
The Chalet Aguille Parcee, was comfortable (a little too warm at times) - they were suffering from a few glitches, but managed to overcome most of them. The young staff were enthusiastic and did their best to ensure we were looked after, particularly in supplying copious amounts of wine to our table.
During the evening we had presentations and feed back from our instructors, after analysing video footage of the day’s skiing, including myself falling over on the off-piste run. The video footage was particluarly useful, highlighting weak areas that you most definitely aren't aware of.
Thanks to Phil, my SO now wishes to go on the Chile trip at a mere £5,000  It did look great fun though and certainly a trip of a lifetime.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my week. We made lots of new friends, had some great laughs along the way, and we would definitely consider another snoworks course again. It was great to meet up with Rob@rar, cathy and Take ‘em out Tomsk.
Big thanks to Phil Smith and the team, and especially our instructor Stuart Bernard (who finally remembered all of our names) our fellow course members, and the Mark Warner crew who all made our week so enjoyable.
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Mon 11-12-06 12:34; edited 2 times in total
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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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IncogSkiSno, Nice report. We all harp on about how important empty slopes, snow conditions, modern lifts, varied terrain & large ski areas are to the enjoyment of our ski holiday. Your snoworks trip seems to mirror the PSB in that we had the benfit of none of those vital factors. In reality all we need is a bit of snow, some exercises to practise, and some good company.
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Frosty the Snowman, absolutely!
Forgot to mention, I skied on Rossi B2's 166 which seemed to cope with the varied terrain. I would normally opt for 160's and was desperate to try out some Burnin Luvs, but the ski hire shop didn't have any.
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You know it makes sense.
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Great write-up, IncogSkiSno. 
Glad to hear you all had a really enjoyable week.
Looking forward to reading Cathy and Tomsk's reports soon.
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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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IncogSkiSno, The Panoramic restaurant isn't that bad. It is more expensive than eating down in the resort, but the daily specials were good whenever I tried them and there isn't much that can go wrong with steak hache or chicken with chips.
The fast (and cheap) option is to just get a plate of stuff from the cold buffet. With a bit of practice you can pile it up quite high but you don't end up so full that you are unable to bend all afternoon.
The Aspen coffee shop in Val Claret is also good.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| rjs wrote: |
| The Panoramic restaurant isn't that bad. |
Not in my experience. Every meal I've had there has been strangely devoid of taste. Unfortunately in the pre-season it's the only option, other than a bit of bread and cheese from the breakfast table to be eaten when you're riding up a drag lift.
Agree about the cold buffet. By far the best option, especially if you spent your student days loading up the small plate with items from the salad bar in Pizza Hut
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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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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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cathy, I wasn't impressed with the Panoramic either, but the Fondue & Pizza at the Restuarant du Neige are great! (too much if taken together though!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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IncogSkiSno, good report! So, Stuart's moonlighting, is he? I thought he was supposed to be Mr Money's representative in Killy-land! What did the others think? Awaiting reports from cathy and Tomsk now!
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It is difficult to do a report for something like this – where do you start? I’ll try not to repeat Incog’s report…
Hard work or good fun? I certainly had to work very hard, was heaving for breath at times but what a laugh we had! I was with a great group of about 6 people (level 3/4 for those that know the levels). We were all (mostly) there to really try to improve and were pretty motivated (to the extent that all in our group opted for the double tuition morning and afternoon ). The double tuition actually turned out pretty well, as when the skiing was limited and weather was bad, runs shut, our instructors still made sure we got the most out of our skiing – as well as being able to jump the lift queues! And the quick swig of Grand Marnier from Jill’s hip flask made those cold lifts all the more bearable! But what fun we had – from woohoooing down the fresh untracked deep powder down the side of the Roslin to doing the twist (dance) with our legs to try to get lower body separation. Sander – what a hero you were at that! Even skiing backwards & doing 360 turns (which I was hopeless at!). And my fitness level was OK - at least it didn't hold me back.
All this tuition didn’t leave much free time – met up with the instructors for a quick coffee about 9am, lunch was ¾ hour and afternoon session finished at 4 – just time for the gang to have a vin chaud or two at the bottom of the funicular before rushing back to the hotel before tea & cakes finished at 5.30. Time for a quick shower & change, then drink in the bar and dinner time. Good food, although not always as hot as it could be, and loooads of wine freely available.
Going it alone: it did feel very strange going on a ski holiday without the OH, all those normal routine things we do I was doing by myself. I did actually miss him a lot – and sometimes I really missed him!! And I think of myself as a pretty independent person. Everyone of course was very friendly and inviting (I think they took pity on the old biddy by herself ) but it was difficult at times, especially as so many people there were couples, not to feel a hanger-onner. I tried to spread myself around a bit It was great to have Incog & Mr Incog there, and Tomsk, but being in different groups meant doing different things & finishing at different times during the day with different groups of people. Very disappointed though that Mr Incog never got to have a Flatliner (sambucca & tequila, with tobasco sauce in the middle ). That slight moment of panic with eating out on the chalet night off – do I go and invite myself with someone else’s group?? As it turned out, had a really nice meal at the Clin d’Oeuil (sp?) – lovely French food in a tiny little restaurant. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a good restaurant in Le Lac. I won’t mention here Tomsk’s clubbing expedition with 3 young ladies – although he didn’t actually confirm if he pulled!
Tuition: as I said, I had 2 great instructors, John Thomas from New Generation in Les Arcs and Stewart Woodward, currently with ESF in Tignes (Happy Birthday! 21 again?? ). Both really good instructors, different styles and angles coming to the same result which really complemented each other. I certainly feel as if my skiing has improved – the proof will be in the next holiday (must remember: peaches not lemons!) Bumps are my friends! As Incog said, some on the course did feel a bit miffed that neither Phil Smith nor Gareth Roberts was instructing, as they were instructing the SCGB reps training course for 2 weeks. But I had excellent instruction anyway and Phil was certainly around on the slopes and afterwards – and managed to see the one time I fell getting off the T-bar!
I am a bit stuck now though for future lessons – I had planned to have some private tuition when I go to Kitzbuhel in Jan – but I fear all my newly learned techniques will be unlearnt and it will be focusing on facing down the hill, rise & fall & pole planting. Yup, I’ve been snoworks-indoctrinated! Currently thinking the week in Hintertux in May looks like fun!
Conditions on the glacier: the first day was great, went out with Sarah, the ski host with Mark Warner and with whom we had a great first and last day skiing. The snow was in good condition, not hard-packed and icy as I’d feared. As Incog said, we did have some bad weather during the week, with high winds and poor visibility, but that only meant for better skiing the next day! Without the instructors, skiing would have been pretty limiting and I might even have got bored on the same few runs!
Verdict: excellent week and I thought very good value for money. Would I do it again? Absolutely!
Edited to correct spelling
Last edited by After all it is free  on Tue 12-12-06 9:22; edited 1 time in total
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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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IncogSkiSno, cathy, Tomsk, Great reports, well worth the effort you have put in and you all obviously had a great week despite the weather etc.
If nothing else it has made me think that I really ought to have a lesson or two that I have been promising myself!
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