 Poster: A snowHead
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Is juddernaut a stanton sock?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Scarpa,
You also know nothing.
The poster above @Juddernaut, has explained it better
However, If i was in the advice business i would always advocate using
an insurance broker to give you a winter sports cancellation quote based
on % of lifts & ski area open. For example Less than 50% full refund.
The original point of this thread is
Folks book a "Winter Sports" holiday. No one can predict
the weather but early season is risky.
Many pepple fail to protect themselves from this risk & if they
had they could either stay home or gone on a winter sun vacation
for a fraction of the cost.
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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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Interesting, @stanton, you get flamed out, then recant.
Nice 
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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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Just back from yet another good early season week in tignes, loads of snow around, shops and restaurants open and fresh powder at various points during the week. Or do you just mean the arlberg? If so, I agree, though at least you will save the Austrian 200 euro ski rental ripoff by sitting in your hotel...
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@stanton, a winter sun trip for a fraction of the 500 quid it costs for an early season break with almost every tour operator? Good luck with that. You really do know nothing.
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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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@Mistress Panda,
Yeah maybe..
Im smokin a good one anything is possible right now 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just because Christmas is the only opportunity to many to go to the mountains to ski won't change the conditions and won't make it snow. Places with snow will be rammed, as resorts with no snow will be bussing their tourists, and not that many runs are open even there, in the mornings till noon slopes are like concrete, don't remember it being that icy ever, nursery slopes won't open, off-piste needs another meter. Still nice to be in the mountains just don't have very high expectations regarding skiing and prepare to queue for longer than normally - even during peak weeks. Monday and Tuesday are expected very warm again, with freezing level going above 3000 m, so get your seats on sunny terraces early. It happens, can still be a good season, but Christmas skiing will be a challenge and no amount of well wishing and glossing over will change it.
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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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@never summer, and your point is?
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I went opening week to Courchevel in December 2012 and, for me, the conditions were absolutely awesome. Well worth the possible risk versus the value that was achieved.
Surely opening week must generally have acceptable snow more often than not, otherwise the season would change to suit?!
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You know it makes sense.
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Yep, normally XMAS is ok. Old timers in the Haute Savoie tell me they have never it so bad at XMAS
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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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Look,
Early skiing is always a risk. Risk of poo-poo snow. 9 out of 10 times you'll be fine tho. But once in 10 years you'll have what we have now.
December skiing will never be same as February. Even if snow is good in high resort you'll probably have most good black pistes closed and limited off-piste. Personally I would choose to go after NY but for many people the timing and cost (pre Christmas) will suit.
If it wasn't for Christmas it is possible many resorts wouldn't open till January and we wouldn't be having this panic.
I would say learning points are: if going in December:
1. Go high or book last minute
2. If it's important for you to rip blacks and off-piste, and you only have one holiday per year, don't go in December.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| peanuthead wrote: |
Look,
Early skiing is always a risk. Risk of poo-poo snow. 9 out of 10 times you'll be fine tho. But once in 10 years you'll have what we have now.
December skiing will never be same as February. Even if snow is good in high resort you'll probably have most good black pistes closed and limited off-piste. Personally I would choose to go after NY but for many people the timing and cost (pre Christmas) will suit.
If it wasn't for Christmas it is possible many resorts wouldn't open till January and we wouldn't be having this panic.
I would say learning points are: if going in December:
1. Go high or book last minute
2. If it's important for you to rip blacks and off-piste, and you only have one holiday per year, don't go in December. |
The problem with wisdom on the snowheads forum is that you would only ever get one post for every thread, rather than pages and pages.
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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 have been skiing for ten years now, have done well over 200 days in Europe, and skied non-glacier resorts from the beginning of December through until the end of April, and glaciers from November until May - and there has always been snow to ski on! In fact I have only lost one days planned skiing, and that was due to high winds at Stubai in May!
We have just returned from our pre-booked early season trip to Mayrhofen, and we had a fantastic time, skiing four different areas on pistes in largely good condition. Some people need to stop being so negative and take what there is cheerfully - after decades of being washed off rock climbs, or thawed or blizzarded off winter climbing routes skiing seems to be incredibly reliable for a "weather reliant" sport.
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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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@RobinS, +1
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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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@RobinS, how many days though were you the only person skiing due rain, etc? Was every day a bluebird day?
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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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@RobinS, having come through a 6 month diving season in which we lost more than 80% of possible days out, skiing does seem remarkably low risk in terms of potential sitting about with nothing to do time. That season was the end for many of us who were thinking about giving up, and a lot of people lost a lot of money that year. Given that every day at sea would cost us something like £100 minimum (rising to about £150-£200 when we do get out and burn some fuel, use gas etc), even without going anywhere, skiing also starts to look remarkably affordable and particularly reliable.
I've only lost a couple of days due to weather over the years, and we go away every December plus a couple more times later in the season. Indeed the risk in December (based on my tiny sample size) is technically lower than later season, having lost one day in Feb last year out of about three Feb ski trips I can remember!
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@mountainaddict, ditto. During the main season I've had one day when the entire lift system was shut (Val d'Isere, mid-December) when we were hit with a monumental storm. Wind was so strong Radio Val was advising people in the village to stay indoors as people were being blown over when walking around the streets. Other than that there has always been some skiing to be had, even if it was just a couple of lifts serving nursery slopes.
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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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Calm down everybody; our tame Dyke Dude obviously hasn't had the love of a beautiful woman recently and needs somewhere to vent 
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Obviously I ski in the wrong places. My first ski trip (to be fair it was in Australia) was cancelled due to lack of snow. I've lost a number of days in New Zealand where they close the whole ski hill if it gets too windy. Then I decided to go to Japan. What could go wrong there? I got torrential rain two days out of seven. The lifts were still running but the rain went right to the top of the mountain and conditions were miserable.
Finally there was the infamous 2014 Snowheads Birthday Bash in Arabba. Blocked roads, closed lifts and when we finally made it out of Arabba to ski we couldn't get back!
I did have some marvellous days skiing in France though so maybe I should stick to there.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Raven, did you offend some old gypsy-woman at some point and get hex'd or something? Can you please clearly list all places you plan to ski well in advance so others can avoid until you make recompense to said crone.
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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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| Raven wrote: |
| I've lost a number of days in New Zealand where they close the whole ski hill if it gets too windy. |
Mount Hutt ain't called "Mount Shut" for nothing. It was closed for a whole week prior to our week there (I think it was 2010). Also not unusual for everybody to get trapped up there for the night due to road closure.
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He's clearly just craving for a bit of attention bless him, as Kittenski said don't feed him and put baby in the corner!
People spend hard earned money to go on ski holidays with family members for Christmas/New year and its not nice that plans have to be cancelled either way so I don't think anyone should say 'you should of done this or gone here', It doesn't help the situation and its not nice to point it out.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing 'Stanton' or more recently I've seen 'notnats' so unless you have some divine power being able to predict the weather and what not, keep your high and mighty useless and non value added wisdom to yourself. 
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You know it makes sense.
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| Richard_Sideways wrote: |
| @Raven, did you offend some old gypsy-woman at some point and get hex'd or something? Can you please clearly list all places you plan to ski well in advance so others can avoid until you make recompense to said crone. |
No, I didn't 
It does explain why I'm so obsessed with this forum and Snowforecast.com. Sorry in advance to all the poor Snowheads heading to Arabba this year. I do have a plan B this time just in case the weather doesn't behave.
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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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@under a new name,
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@RobinS, how many days though were you the only person skiing due rain, etc? Was every day a bluebird day?
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Well I can remember a December day skiing in the rain at Lech, and a day when we were the only people left skiing in 2 foot deep fresh snow and whiteout at Serre Chevalier (and quite few iffy days!), but I can also remember lots of fantastic days - including during our trip last week to Zillertal - the good days outnumber the bad by a huge proportion.
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Poster: A snowHead
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But I would also say that I prefer to go a week or two before Christmas, when the risk of poor conditions is greater, but there are less people - but that may be because I am a miserable git who doesn't like other people!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Given that 10 years ago a Christmas trip to the beach in Thailand might have involved the loss of your entire family to the Boxing day tsunami, the suggestion of that as a guaranteed fun alternative holiday over the Christmas hols could be said to be in pretty poor (or ignorant?) taste..
I'll stick with skiing. The mountains are great, even if the snow is pants. Great outdoor family holiday, gets the kids away from the computer, clears the harassed mind in a way that a hot and sticky beach never will.
End of.
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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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Is this T**t Whitegold spawn?
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FAQ
).
We'll make the best of what's on offer.