 Poster: A snowHead
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With 12 weeks under my belt I think I need about 150km or more to keep me happy for a week.
This year I found Passo Tonale quite limiting and Zell am See good but quite small although I visited Kaprun and Saalbach.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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johnboy,
Quality not quantity for me, a bigger area does slightly improve the likelihood of finding good snow somewhere though.
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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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Depends entirely on the individual. One of the best resorts I've ever been to had about 3 meaningful and quite short chairlifts. I spent a day earlier in the season quite happily lapping a single drag lift serving 2 groomers as it was easily the best snow on the mountain. On the other hand I know people who get a kick out of skiing something different every day and ticking off all the runs on the map.
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T Bar,
Just flicking through the brochures, looking for somewhere in Austria for next year. Suprising no of resorts with about 60km or less. I would be really bored with that kind of area. Saalbach is a really solid option with 200km ski circus.
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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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fatbob, Agree 100% - I don't have any problem doing the same run many times.
johnboy, Why do you need all this distance? You can ski many different lines down the same run (most of the time) and you can ski many different turns, there will always be off piste bits to try. What's so special about "travelling" - I really don't understand it, and I really do want to know.
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johnboy, That is one of the fundamental arguments . . . quantity re quality
How does this break down between those Snowheads that afford one week a year against those that enjoy two or more?
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easiski,
You have all winter to ski. Most of us have a week or 2. I personally enjoy cruising from village to village, exploring new areas, stopping for lunch or a drink etc. I like to pack as much in as I can in the little time I have. Although if I find a particular nice run or superb snow conditions I will do the run a few times.
I really enjoyed Soll and Saalbach, both with over 200km.
If I really liked doing the same run over again I'd go to the dry slope at Craigavon 
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I'm with fatbob and easiski....
I have even had great days skiing on almost flat terrain with little cover of very sticky snow... and simply working on doing it better....
I have never needed to "tick of runs" or "clock vert" to enjoy myself on snow....
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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little tiger,
I'm not so much into clocking vertical or for that matter ticking runs. I found ZaS a bit small, but probably didn't ski every run as some of them were simalar. I'm a bit of a scenery junkie and like to tour about a bit.
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I guess the difference is between skiing-as-sport and skiing-as-touring...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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fatbob,
What was the resort called ?
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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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johnboy
Mt Baker, Washington - it would be a push to call it a resort actually. I'd liken it to somewhere like St Foy before they started throwing up chalets and appartments everywhere. Its a few years since I went there - the drag lift was in Switzerland and there was no fresh snow..
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Sun 26-03-06 13:56; edited 1 time in total
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fatbob,
Mt Baker gets some astonishing amounts of snow though, doesn't it? I can understand why you would be happy to ski the same trail there.
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You know it makes sense.
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fatbob, having seen and enjoyed St Foy ... is that a measure for snowheads? One lift and beautifically difficult terrain doesn't seem to meet the stated needs of many here?
Or do we want all the special places to be 'sanitised' to meet our limitations?
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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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We average around 3 + weeks a season and stick to a resort that only has 53 kms,lLike Masque stated quantity vs quality !
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Masque wrote: |
fatbob, having seen and enjoyed St Foy ... is that a measure for snowheads? One lift and beautifically difficult terrain doesn't seem to meet the stated needs of many here?
Or do we want all the special places to be 'sanitised' to meet our limitations? |
I expect many snowheads would hate the place and I believe places do get spoiled by being "disneyfied".
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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 am probably one of the lunatics giving the resort size in km of piste so I plead guilty.
I agree that it is "quality" and not "quantity" that counts but if a skier does not ski a large number of resorts or variety of runs he/she can't form an informed opinion on "quality".
A large resort has a better scope to disperse the skiers and so the condition of the runs is equivalent to quality runs of a small resort, because the runs are less spoiled. Also unless you are at the top end of the expert scale most skiers with skill lower downl can benefit from skiing on a run close to his/her ability but still challenging. That can be found easier if there are more choices.
If a skier has to spend a week on a resort then a 100+ km piste resort can be quite enjoyable because the possibility of exploring various parts of a resort. Telling me the drag lift next to my hotel is the best thing since slice bread is no different to saying a nice and well trimmed back garden of one's house is good enough for spend holiday time if one has no desire/ambition to go holidaying overseas.
I may be wrong but some skiers do want to experience a descending from a 3000m+ peak somewhere in Tarentaise, what about doing the 2km biggest European vertical drop in Les Arcs, have a go at the the 20km St Anton White Ring in Lech/Xurs/Zug, enjoy seeing the difference French and Italian piste sights on a La Rosiere/La Thullie Run, ski from France to Switzerland and back in Porte Du Soleil, go from Saalbach to Hinterglemm on one side of the valley and return back on the opposite side, wonder what it take to cover a 40km Sellronda circuit, have a curiosity about the comparable difficulty to ski a Canadian black slope, see famous Eiger or Mont Blanc while skiing.....
Skiing is all to do with choices. There are skiers who want improvement and so they can ski the same slope 100 times before moving to the next one but there are also skiers who treat skiing no different to a holiday in winter and have no wish to treat improving the skiing skill as the first priority.
Why can't we let everybody to do their own things?
By gauging the piste size one can have a good idea of available choices of runs available. If one really after quality runs there are far better choices in Scandinavia. It is the quality booze that is missing there.
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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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Chris Brookes,
What is it called?
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travelling is important to me - less about the km of runs available and more about the number of valleys/villlages. I like to visit different places each day and 'explore'. I'm like that with normal holidays too though - I do yacht flotilla and driving holidays as my summer breaks.
Edited to add: Just noticed someone asked about trips per season. I'd be 4, two one week breaks and two long weekends.
aj xx
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Sun 26-03-06 14:35; edited 1 time in total
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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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saikee, your post defines the difference between the recreational skier and the sports skier. . . it is the definition of a mental attitude that is contradicted by the paralympics!
Where you go is unimportant, it's how willing you are to enjoy the experience is the measure that counts . . . if you can't enjoy a Saturday afternoon at Milton Keynes, how can you enjoy anywhere else?
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| Masque wrote: |
saikee, your post defines the difference between the recreational skier and the sports skier. . . it is the definition of a mental attitude that is contradicted by the paralympics!
Where you go is unimportant, it's how willing you are to enjoy the experience is the measure that counts . . . if you can't enjoy a Saturday afternoon at Milton Keynes, how can you enjoy anywhere else? |
erm, yeah, right....have you gone mad?
So if you don't enjoy a dry slope lesson or a snowdome session, or icy slopes, then you won't enjoy any skiing?
aj
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I think that the thing about bigger resorts for me is not so much about getting the kilometres under my skis, but more about the joy of skiing a really great run for the first time. I can get fun from skiing a run repeatedly, but nothing quite matches that first time IMO.
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ajhainey, our sport is all about 'us against the hill' I think that you see me as limiting that ... you're very wrong
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Masque,
It is all to do with choices. I did dry slopes, ski domes, the English Yad Moss (real snow) and nearlly all the Scottish resorts but would not consider them suitable for a 2-week holiday if there are snow to be found in the Alps.
To me the abilty to choose anywhere to go and slect any slope to try is more important than the ability to ski faster or better than others down a run.
Like Kramer said to ski a new run without a prior knowledge of its easy and difficult bits is a joy. The mileage incurred is incidental.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sun 26-03-06 14:59; edited 1 time in total
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I agree you can ski the same run many times and enjoy it expecially as it changes throughout the day or as you perfect your technic on something that was challenging. However, skiing for me isn't just about the technical/physical act of skiing - it is about the views and the scenery as well and as a result a larger area rather than the same mountain keeps me happier as the views change and I can get to discover new scenery each day. I imagine this is what distinguishes those who like travelling from those who are happy on the same mountain all day?
Having said that, quality is also important - in larger areas, I will return to those runs I particularly enjoy - or seek out challenges and try to perfect them over the course of the week ... or not return to resorts with good scenery because the pistes were dull despite the scenery being spectacular.
Also, if I had a choice of a trip to a resort with 50km of piste or no trip at all, 50km would be more than enough ...
The 'travelling' thing is merely an element of personal choice weighing up what is more or less important to individuals tastes given the ability to choose ...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I also think that when you become proficient off-piste, you criteria for a resort change somewhat.
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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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johnboy, Murren !! 
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Kramer - yeah being able to get up at 4am and climb for 4 hours to reach the top at 8am....
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You know it makes sense.
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saikee, I've NEVER said our sport has anything to do with inter-personal competition. I do say that we have a mixed and possibly warped view of what make a ski resort acceptable. We all have differing needs but do they have to exclude those resorts who's terrain can be skied in less than a week?
We hear from david@traxvacations about La Rosiere .... it's a fine and enjoyable resort, more than capable of satisfying any skier/boarder that's not fixated with kilometers traveled ... yet what's his primary message (even before his chalet), it's the link to the vast white autobahn pistes of La Thuile. Great fun, but what the hall has that to do with the simple fact of having fun?
I think we're loosing track of why we're prepared to strap a lump of wood to our feet
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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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| Masque wrote: |
| it's the link to the vast white autobahn pistes of La Thuile. |
What's an autobahn piste?
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Poster: A snowHead
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rob@rar.org.uk, You've never been to La Thuile  Wide, smooth, deserted and unchallenging ... a couple of their chairs, on the other hand are a bit 'rustic'!
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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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rob@rar.org.uk, Masque, shouldn't that be autostrada? 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Wide, smooth, deserted and unchallenging
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Are 4 words to NOT descrbe the blacks though the tees im :La Thuile
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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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| Masque wrote: |
| rob@rar.org.uk, You've never been to La Thuile Wide, smooth, deserted and unchallenging ... a couple of their chairs, on the other hand are a bit 'rustic'! |
Wasn't at all like that on some of the runs I skied in La Thuile? (including with rob). In fact I thought La Ros itself had a fair few autoroutes?
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
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Wide, smooth, deserted and unchallenging
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Are 4 words to NOT descrbe the blacks though the tees im :La Thuile |
I think that's right. Certainly the two or three black runs down towards the village that I skied were decently steep from top to bottom, with a couple of very steep pitches.
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Masque, don't prsume to speak for me on anything, my primary message is that La Rosiere is a super little village with some great skiing which is very different from the run-of the-mill ski-stations nearby. Having witnessed your supposed capabilities, it will be a cold day in hell before I take notice of anything you say about skiing.
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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 am just starting my 5th week this season in a resort with 35km of runs, none of them black.
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| Quote: |
| run-of the-mill ski-stations |
certainly none of those in the Upper Tarentaise that I can think of.
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