 Poster: A snowHead
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@RobinS, I will have them. I can rent them from the place I'm getting my skis. Thanks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@conor90, you also need to know and practice how to use them...
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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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A lot of Brits and Europeans struggle with offpiste because Alpine snow is a bit cr*p.
The European Alps are close to the warm Atlantic and even warmer Med.
The Alps are relatively far south and also get a lot of sun.
Traffic is high and any good powda is chopped up before lunch.
* Warm sea + strong sun + high traffic = wet snow + porridge + crust.
Beginner offpisters, who only ski 1-2 weeks a year and want to get good, should visit better mountain ranges with drier, colder or deeper snow, like Utah, Wyoming or Hokkaido.
You can ski good offpiste for days on end there.
Europe = porridge.
US / Japan = powder.
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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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| under a new name wrote: |
| Lavancher bowl equally. If they've opened it, all but far skiers' left should be pretty safe, esp. as much is above pistes. |
Erm, but did you see the size of the slide in the Lavancher bowl before Christmas?
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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 thread this... Class!!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Whitegold, yep, you'll struggle to stay up with skiers accustomed to 'variable conditions' if you're mainly used to skiing Utah 'powda'. But if you get out of your comfort zone, your skiing will improve.
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The SCGB, off-piste, Instructor Led Guiding is incredibly good value - Members £20 half day / £35 full day (non members £40 half day / £70 full day) https://www.skiclub.co.uk/instructor-led-guiding . They currently run sessions in France: Argentière, Avoriaz, Courchevel, Flaine, La Plagne, Les Arcs, Les Deux Alpes, Méribel, Tignes, Val d’Isère and Val Thorens Austria: St Anton . They also rent out transceivers; shovels and probes.
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@midgetbiker, I didn’t. Haven’t been up GMs.
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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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@conor90, ok I'm up in Chamonix and skied today after the recent snowfall.
We skied Flégère this morning and La Tour this afternoon.
Game plan was to be at the lift at 09:00 but faffing etc and we were not in the queue till 09:20 and still not on the actual lift till 10:10 I think - what happens when you ski with non powder hounds, they just don't get it. If we'd been there at 08:30 as I would normally have aimed for we would have scored 2hrs of untracked.
However, the point to this post is that Flégère offers ample safe inter off-piste, and you can push yourself without any real danger.
The only issue was by Noon it was quite tracked out.
Then we went to La Tour and again very similar to Flégère and not so tracked out even by the time we came back down.
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@Weathercam, Nice one, thanks.
I was out with SCGB doing a morning Instructor Lead Guiding. We were in les Grands Montets - tracked out quickly but the snow was superb. I've never skiied in snow like it (very limited experience though). However, I was the one holding up the back of the group. It was supposed to be Intro to Off Piste but the others in the group seemed to me like good off piste skiers - definitely not beginners. Good experience none the less - nothing like being thrown in at the deep end. A lot more practice needed but that's why I'm doing this trip.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@conor90, well done
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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 can give out a little secret regarding solo off-piste skiing. 
It's no longer available in the Alps because the Alps are saturated with thousands of grommets who hike up before sunrise, before the lifts are open, etc.
However, there is still oodles of un-tracked off-piste available for many hours after every dump, if you visit The Pyrenees. That's because the Pyrenees doesn't attract the experts, but the beginners, intermediates, families, aged/infirm, etc.
Moreover, the Pyrenees actually gets more snow than the Alps, but due to elevation and climate, doesn't keep it quite so well.
So, if you want to practice off-piste, whilst remaining relatively close to the piste, The Pyrenees is where you can still do so - enjoying a leisurely breakfast, without rushing for the first lift, yet finding plenty of virginal powder after an overnight snowfall.
You can thank me next season. 
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@crosbie, I love the Pyrenees but have you got any stats to back this up?
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the Pyrenees actually gets more snow than the Alps
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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| leggyblonde wrote: |
| @crosbie, hmmmm,no stats there just an article written by someone with a pro-Pyrenees agenda. |
The point is, The Pyrenees gets more snowfall - which isn't the same as depth/accumulation.
I wouldn't even begin to start comparing a Pyrenean resort to an Alpine one. It's like comparing Scottish resorts to Pyrenean ones.
As I sometimes say, "One goes chairlifting in the Pyrenees, and skiing in the Alps"
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@crosbie, The Pyrenees doesn't though. My links show snowfall as well as accumulation.
The Pyrenees has very good skiing, including off-piste but to say that they get more snow is just factually incorrect.
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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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| leggyblonde wrote: |
| The Pyrenees has very good skiing, including off-piste but to say that they get more snow is just factually incorrect. |
I think the claim is that The Pyrenees gets more snowfall than The Alps across the entirety of the mountain range per square metre.
It will be very easy (as you demonstrated) to find a pair of specific resorts that differ otherwise.
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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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