 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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Peter S,
Looking good. Why are you not up there!"!!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Peter S, conditions look awesome!
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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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Meetings tomorrow and thursday but i'm hoping for Friday off.
Took my skis to work today and skied off the roof of our earth sheltered meeting rooms.
I've been eyeing that line up since they built the place 3 years ago. Think it has just confirmed something my colleagues have probably always suspected.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Peter S,
Earth sheltered meeting rooms!! Do you work for MI5?
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Weardale tow road pic on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23108073@N06/3251188367/
This is why a 4wd is a very good idea. Durham Council had dispathed its uber snow blower to upper Teesdale tuesday afternoon so the road from Teesdale to Yad Moss should be passable with care but check the local road info. Teesdale into weardale is prob best avoided. Drive up weardale of the A69 if coming in from the south.
And finally the tourist bit - Middleton, Alston, Stanhope all have a selection of Cafes, pubs and shops. Please try and spend a bit of cash with them.
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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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Cool beans.
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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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I'm thinking of trying on Sunday if you're open.
I hope you're kidding about the shovel as I don't have one! (I do own a trowel though).
My car is an A4 Quattro, so I assume I'll be okay in case of a little snow on the road.
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| markP wrote: |
I'm thinking of trying on Sunday if you're open.
I hope you're kidding about the shovel as I don't have one! (I do own a trowel though).
My car is an A4 Quattro, so I assume I'll be okay in case of a little snow on the road. |
I'm pretty sure he is being serious about digging out a parking space.....
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You know it makes sense.
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A spade is useful. I was stuck on the top of the B6277 two weeks ago and it took 45mins to dig my car out. in the end the Alston Police helped me - big thanks guys.
Get there early enough and you should find a space alreday dug out. Its important to retain enough road width for snow ploughs and other road users.
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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'll think I'll borrow one from somewhere then!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
My car is an A4 Quattro, so I assume I'll be okay in case of a little snow on the road.
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Your Quattro will be like any other vehicle in that as long as the tyres are good you'll be fine in light snow.
4x4 (including off road vehicles) will be of little benefit in heavy snow if your tyres are standard road tyres
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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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Yeah-and pack a sleeping bag just in case - it can be pretty wild up there - from the voice of some experience 
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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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How can we find out or obtain up to the minute information about the road condition of the roads from the A1 to Barnard Castle and the B6277 (Barnard Castle to Alston) before setting off from home or en route to Yad Moss?
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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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Respect to the person who drove up there in the s2000! I used to have one of those and it wasn't easy to drive in snow.
It was even harder to fit skis in it! 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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cc_7up,A1 to Barnard Castle will be absolutely fine. I was on the A66 today,going from Durham to Lancaster, the roads were clear, but there was nothing but snow for miles. Only when I got to the M6, and dropped down towards Kirby Lonsdale did it disappear. Gobsmacked !!! I've never seen so much white stuff here for years. Beautiful calm sunny day today, so I suspect roads will be OK.
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And some days the sun does shine:
Yad Moss - fun in the air, on the ground and all around. This set will be updated over the week as I have 150 good, bad and ugly pics to sort out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onemanmows/sets/72157613413767359/
B6277 is clear but narrow. The blower had cut a 3/4 of normal width trench through the drifts around the county boundary.
Weardale on the other hand - the usual tow road carnage ensued. Audi in the ditch on the final bank to the car park. Council snow blower (the baby one) stuck on the zig zags beyond the top (4wd) car park. Cover is excellent and the fell is yours to play with - providing F2 was fixed today. And yes we are serious about the parking. Dig in - nose in, as a rough rule of thumb. I dont intend to spend nearly as much time on car park clearance at Yad Moss tomorrow.
Anyway, thursdays Weardale shots are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onemanmows/sets/72157613443841694/
It'll be more Yad shots tomorrow then Weardale on sunday.
Feel free to post links for the Yad set on what ever the main boarding sites are.
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Think I am going tonight and camp outside to claim a parking space already dug out by others.
The remaining problems are : how do I solve the equipment hire, instructor lessons, 3-course lunch, coffee break...
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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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| Quote: |
The remaining problems are : how do I solve the equipment hire, instructor lessons, 3-course lunch, coffee break...
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1. Equipment Hire - Borrow wellies from nearby farm and nail onto fencing "borrowed" from nearby field.
2. Instructor/lessons - Hmm, I once did a day's "intro to being an instructor" dry slope course - so could fix you up for an hourly rate akin to the minimum wage...
3. 3 course lunch: I enjoyed a 3 course gastronomic treat at Weardale Ski on Thursday: sarnies....crisps....and chocolate. And all a bit cheaper than Courchevel.
4. Coffee break: Both Yad Moss and Weardale are proud to serve a selection of Fair Trade coffees at their luxurious mountain restaurants - select from latte, expresso, Americano, chocca mocca, de-caff, filter etc etc....or why not bring a flask??
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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mountainaddict,
For apres ski I quite fancy taking a look at the Rolex watches and the wife is interested in Louis Vuitton leather handbags. If this cannot be accommodated I suppose I could always ask the wife to look at the cows to get some idea of the material before fabrication. You see we just came back from St Moritz on Monday!
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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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Snow report for Cold Fell - I was out on my teles up there on Wednesday. Lovely snow along the track towards Newbiggin but lumpy through the drifts. No-one had even been walking there in the snow - pristine - lovely. Mind you I did have to leave my car 20 mins away cos couldn't drive through the drift at the top of the hill down into Forest Head. If I can get up in the morning I might head over to Yad Mos with me downhills - first time used in Blightly...
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Done my second visit today.
Some nice features of Yad Moss
(1) After skiing Yad Moss you can tick your CV for having skied one more country.
(2) Ultimate equality has been achieved in Yad Moss because green, blue, red and black runs are treated all the same here. They are not marked.
(3) It is possibly the only resort in the world where the queue for the sole button lift could be longer than lifted distance.
(4) A very social resort. Plenty scope to chat up piste users in the queue as it may be 5 minute to come down the run yet you may have 20 minutes to talk to the fellow piste users.
(5) You can have the best 3-course lunch as long as you remember to pack it.
(6) Coffee, tea, chocolate, beer, pops and any drink you fancy can be served. Just put them in the flask.
(7) Waitress service is available if you bring the wife along.
( If you can’t read a piste map then Yad Moss is your dream because it looks after you by not issuing one.
(9) Wind-assist skiing is available here. Go downwind if you want extra speed and upwind if you need to slow down.
(10) You can become an expert in both Alpine and grass skiing without doing anything extra.
(11) The club house is one of the most environmentally friendly. Its only water tap is a fake and has no pipe connected to it so it cannot possibly waste the precious natural resource - water . Just don’t shake hand with friends coming out of the toilet.
(12) You can get your fitness back quicker in Yad Moss than anywhere in the world. You may still a poor skier but you manage the steep and long walk from the car park to the lift station.
(13) If you want to forge the ski pass it would not cost much as it is home-make. Mind you if you pay more than £35 you are a sucker because that sum can buy you a club membership entitling you to ski free here.
(14) If you want to learn skiing and can’t pay for the lesson go to Yad Moss as it has no ski school for you to worry about.
(15) If you don’t know where to hire equipment you are safe with Yad Moss because it hasn’t got any to confuse you.
(16) There is no drunken skiers/boarders in Yad Moss slopes. May be it is too heavy to put drinks in the rucksack.
(17) If you hate to be with the cross country skiers, skiers on telemark, hill walkers, climbers, Grandpa/Grandma, small children, tourists and visitors who don’t use the piste you are safe with Yad Moss.
(1 There is no cheap man-make snow here. You get the real thing! Just don’t turn up until after there has been a big snow dump.
(19) There is no possibility to get rip off by the mountain restaurant where is none there.
(20) It is an interesting resort because there is no bus and train access. You need to drive to there and a spade is part of your skiing gear. If you can’t dig a space from the snow you can’t park your car and can only be a spectator there.
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You know it makes sense.
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Does anyone now direction to weardale and or yad moss or postcodes i can punch into the sat nav. Am going up the M6 from Preston
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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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woody911,
I would use Alston first.
Then from Alston town going uphill just before leaving the town there are two branches one next to each other. One is A689 that goes to Weardale of Bishop Auckland/Wolsingham and the other is B6277 leading Teesdale of Barnard Castle. You want the latter. Can't remember the mileage but I would say it is in the 5 to 10 miles region from Alston. Roads are good today.
I think Yad Moss is advertised closed to Carrigill but don't take the road to it. Yad Moss is on the main road of B6277. You can't miss it. If you have trouble of getting through so many cars parked in the middle of nowhere you have arrived at Yad Moss.
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Poster: A snowHead
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 GASP!!!!
Just heard that the queue for the lift at Yad Moss today was AN HOUR, with 350 slope users.....
Can anybody confirm?? If it was an hour, it would have been quicker to walk up.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| mountainaddict wrote: |
GASP!!!!
Just heard that the queue for the lift at Yad Moss today was AN HOUR, with 350 slope users.....
Can anybody confirm?? If it was an hour, it would have been quicker to walk up. |
Even more reason for a chairlift from the roadside up to the very top.
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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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| Quote: |
Just heard that the queue for the lift at Yad Moss today was AN HOUR, with 350 slope users.....
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Wow, I wasn't there today but I heard it was up to 27 mins, which is still too long really.
Two weeks ago we had only 30 skiers all weekend. guess that's the effect of all that lowland snow !
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I did say the resort is good for social chatting while waiting in the queue.
I stayed only for about two hours as my limit to stand in the cold for 20 minutes for a 3-minute run is rather low.
The site indicates its Poma button lift has a capacity of 600 per hour. 350 skiers will make 35 minutes if every client doesn't fall off.
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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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A skier's observation or rant of Yad Moss
Yad Moss is a skiing area in the Pennines accessible from Northumberland, Cumbria and Durham. I believe the facility is run by a skiing club in Carlisle.
Currently the facility has one button lift able to take 600 piste users per hour. A report complaining the queue was an hour when the resort had 350 visitors. Strictly speaking the time taken to process 350 piste users in a 600 capacity lift is only 35 minutes but if 10% users come off during the dragging and there are hesitations/delays or inefficiency in the system then a user may very well has to queue close to an hour for every run.
The Poma drag lift is 560m long so a skier doing a slow 5 mph (or 8 kph) takes approximately 4 minutes to complete the run. This suggests a piste user has say 5 minute of skiing for each hour of queuing if there are 350 visitors using the facility.
This is not the standard offered by Scotland or any resort in the Alps. Thus something must be done if the skiing area is to have any future.
Possible improvements
(1) The obvious solution is to upgrade the Poma to a T bar or a chairlift of a higher capacity. The chairlift may prove to be the best solution as it can be used throughout the year permitting the site to earn revenue in the summer. A chairlift can extend the run to a much longer distance.
(2) It appears that the site can be terraced the bottom section, from the button lift to the public road, to form a large car park. This can be achieved at a modest cost but brings in the benefit of (a) The public road B6277 is not blocked by visitors’ car preventing the snowplough clearing the road, (b) Capacity for the visitors can be increased so more business, (c) The visitors are no longer required the walk the long steep section and get to the lift station quicker and easier and (d) A permanent café or bristro can be built on the car park land to serve skiers/boarders in winter and motorists/walkers/visitors in the summer.
(3) To install a second shorter lift on a nursery slope for people to learn skiing and snowboarding. This will open a huge business opportunity because the current 600/hour Poma button is unsuitable for the beginners. The site will suddenly become a family resort. Schools in the region can send children to use the facility in week days while there is snow. I believe in France skiing can be is a formal PE lesson in school conducted on a nearby resort by arrangement.
(4) The long term viability of the expansion may lie with the summer use of the site. If the chairlift is built, a café/bristro is available, a large car park is on site and other summer activities are introduced then Yad Moss could very well has a different future and does not have to rely solely on the income from the winter. If Yad Moss can attract half of the motorcyclists from the Hartside café every weekend then its future will look bright indeed.
Limitations of the site
(1) Snow making is out of the question as the site has no large source of water.
(2) Electrical power may be limited as the current facility appears to be powered by a packaged diesel generator set. Thus a permanent power source may have to be applied or the diesel generator capacity to be upgraded.
(3) Foul drainage may be restricted to the tank system to be disposed off site on a regular basis.
(4) Domestic water supply may have to be from a storage tank.
(5) There will be obvious permitting difficulties relating to the planning applications, environmental considerations and various issues to expand the facility along the above lines. However the expansion if built can save a lot of skiers from going overseas and their money will be spent in UK so it must be attractive locally and nationally. The project is a prime target for attracting government grants as it regenerates the local areas and provide the public at large with healthy recreational and sporting facilities.
Conclusions
The facility current at Yad Moss is unable to cope with a large influx of visitors to the site in the event of heavy snow. Unless something is done visitors will be deterred from returning to use the facility.
If Yad Moss is to have an economic future selective investment is necessary.
As snow is unreliable and the skiing days at Yad Moss may be severely limited in some future years consideration should be given to invest the site to promote its summer usage like what the European countries are doing for theirs.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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why the foook would anyone bother!!! if you want to ski forget dry slopes! forget indoor slopes! forget scotland (she-ite) and for god's sake wake up re. any north england skiing i just did les carroz to chester in 5 hrs - behave!
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NorthWestFace, And how often can you do that? Are you a banker who can afford to go abroad regularly? Many people rely on the facilities available in the UK for their skiing, and if Yad Moss can be more attractive and cater for more people more often what's the problem? It may be that they don't want to be bigger and more commercial of course - like La Grave.
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Wow, I have seen trolls, but this is rediculous.
And this is a tad too much for some tong-in-cheek joke
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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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NorthWestFace,
I think it would be a great facility if I lived anywhere near. I drove up to the Antrim Hills yesterday. It was a fantastic experience skiing in my own country. I had views down into the green valleys, and across the North Channel to Scotland, Mull, Rathlin and Islay!!
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At the end of the day it is the snow that drives everything. No snow no talk. We simply do not have enough of regular snow to make a resort financially viable in UK. My view on Yad Moss is it can attract a big crowd and there may be a life in it if the site is developed to attract summer visitors.
I am guilty of not supporting it myself as I left after about 2 hours at the time of waiting 20 minutes for each 5 minute run. The weather wasn't good either and I concluded that I would rather drive 10 hours to the Alps than 1 hour to Yad Moss.
I have counted over 100 resorts that I have skied in 13 countries. Personally I feel Yad Moss would not have a future if visitors have to queue close to 0.5 or 1 hour for a run lasting no more than 5 minutes. That is something seriously wrong and may put off a lot of visitors.
Mind you according to the members I spoke to the club is managed by a group of unpaid volunteers. They suspected the closure of the area last Thursday was due to lack of volunteers to man the facility. The income they earn can hardy keep the place going as one member claimed only managing 5 skiing days last season. My though is really with a bit of luck and initiative we may be able to see children enjoy proper skiing there at a much affordable arrangement.
I was rather surprised to see so many visitors turning up. I could not verify the 350 number but the two-lane road was restricted to only one vehiche passing for a very long distance. I turned up at 9:30 and every time I joined the queue its length increased by about 1/4 until the time I I left site. There is a big population of skiers in this country.
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FAQ
. Lastly bring your smiling face and a sense of humour and that way you may not be too disappointed when your discover that Yad Moss is no Courchevel ! 
)
See you there!!