Poster: A snowHead
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I have skied 70 days since 1992
Of that these were were in awful conditions:
1993 Stayed in Les Carroz, but had to be bussed to Flaine daily as there was no snow in Lez Carroz
1995 Stayed in Morzine, but had 2 days of torrential rain
2002 Stayed in Passo Tonale, but only artifical snow to ski on, rest of the mountain was green
2004 Stayed in Alpe D'Huez, but had 2 days of torrential rain upto 2800m
In summary
16/70 days were in pretty awful conditions. (However the remainder were not always perfect, but were acceptable and enjoyable)
What are your experiences?
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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, what time of your were all those?
We've done about 35 days and skied all of them in at least reasonable snow. Val Cenis mid-March was a bit slushy at the bottom, going to Westendorf in early January we've been lucky to get good snow on our first evening (otherwise the nursery slope would have been bare).
(p.s. note to self - don't go ski-ing with johnboy )
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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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Hoppo,
All have been in January
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johnboy,
Let us know what dates you are planning for next year so that we can work around them
I have been ridicously lucky with Conditions underfoot over the last few years but the compromise has been that weather has been poor and cold
Even when we took a last minute "resort in Departure" deal we ended up at the foot of the funicular in Tignes in 3 feet of fresh powder
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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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November 1/1 Good Conditions
December 9/9 Good Conditions
January 32/48 Good Conditions (Maybe I should avoid January)
March 12/12 Good Conditions
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johnboy, I remember that rain in ADH. I was shadowing lessons as part of the BASI qualification. Standing around on nursery slopes in pi$$ing rain does not = fun In fact, I think there was a period of three weeks where I couldn't see the town from the intermediate station of the DMC
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The 16 poor days either had no snow, rain or artifical and thus ice.
The other 56 days were not all perfect, some may have been cold, overcast, very snowy etc.
I am surprised the rest of you lot haven't experienced a few dodgy conditions.
Of all I think the worst was the 2 days of solid rain in Alpe D. It was a complete washout preceeded and followed by massive dumps of snow. Shoite visibility all week
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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 don't tend to be phased by a whiteout (feel the force), mask up with goggles when there's wind and seem to have been phenomenally lucky with snow cover onthe ground, even if the bulk of the base was artificially produced at times.
The only weather condition that stopped me skiing a full day was rain: one day in La Plagne Jan '04
Half the lifts were closed all week due to very heavy snow but, rather than miss out, thanks to a brilliant guide for a couple of days, I got in some of the best skiing I've ever done in instead.
Can't be bad out of >100days
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Only missed one day's skiing due to weather conditions, La Plagne March 2001 very high level of snow fall-no lifts opened all day
May have missed a few more due to hangovers though.
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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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Missed odd days through appalling conditions - Foehn wind ripping through Chamonix, 2 day rainstorm hitting Tahoe, rain top to bottom at a number of Canadian locations but don't really mind these as they at least show something is happening with the weather. For me bad conditions are when its high pressure 3 or weeks after the latest snowfall, the pistes are looking threadbare and the offpiste is similarly solid.
Having said that repeated poor experiences in the early 90s in Eruope around Xmas/January time led me to start visiting N America which isn't always more reliable but when they get slammed places tend to get really slammed.
If a resort needs to boast about its number of snow cannons that's usually a red flag in my book.
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I have been lucky I have never had a resort so bad we couldn't ski down to resort apart from last years EOSB where we didn't expect to ski down to Arc1600 because the resort was closed anyway. The worst I have had was in Sol in 1987 when the runs to resort were just sheet ice for alto of the way. . I have been in resorts where its snowing so much the avalanche risk caused piste closure and high winds have shut the lifts. Thankfully I have always have good snow cover.
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You know it makes sense.
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u brain wrote: |
The only weather condition that stopped me skiing a full day was rain: one day in La Plagne Jan '04
Half the lifts were closed all week due to very heavy snow but, rather than miss out, thanks to a brilliant guide for a couple of days, I got in some of the best skiing I've ever done in instead. |
That's when we were there! So yeah, I've had one bad rainy day & had to suffer some closed lifts, but the skiing was great otherwise. Never had too little snow.
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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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Been lucky this past 14 or so years. Only had a couple of really bad days during my first ski trip to ADH. Complete beginnner trying to get down in a whiteout which almost turned in to a brownout Mind you only managed to get 1 week per year until last year when I got 2 yippee!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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I've only ever missed one day on the slopes because of weather and that was in Norway. The wind was so strong we couldn't make it the 50m to start of the trails.
One couple who did manage it took 4 hours to do a trail that can be done in 25 minutes.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Never missed a day in 18 years, skiied some appalling weather and sometimes not many lifts open, but generally since my early days in Austria (pre 91) the snow gods have always been very good to me
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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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Never miss a day or a hour. Strangely I tend to find that there is some really great skiing when the weather is poor, people seem to head back to resorts and accomodation when it snows!
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Johnboy
Skiing in Scotland hardens you to iffy conditions...
'02 was poor just about everywhere I think, I had my worst ski wk ever in Meribel in Jan. that year. I've also been to Murren at Christmas and skied on two high up runs only.
However I guess I've had above average luck really as i've been out to the alps a lot.
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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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Quote: |
2 days of torrential rain
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= heavy snow higher up, perhaps you needed to travel higher to get the snow. Had just that in Les 2 Alpes this April, vis down to 50m and the town was gushing with rain, but up high - lovely! Anyway if you can link 10 turns the conditions are fine, and thats possible on any old brown looking slope with a bit of cover and a lift running. I agree it doesn't match the ideal of squeaky snow and perfect sunshine, but howmany perfect walking days do you get, and do you enjoy them much more than slogging through the rain? Maybe I'm just abnormal on reflection...
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Ive always had my main ski trip first week in March, and had fantastic conditions. The time I went to Courchevel in January was a bit iffy first day, then it tipped down and it was lush! April- Alpe D'huez, slushy at the bottom but everywhere else good!
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Martin Nicholas,
It rained upto 2800m and above that was closed due to Avalanche Danger. I usually aim for a resort at 1800m.
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Jake,
Quote: |
Skiing in Scotland hardens you to iffy conditions...
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I know what you mean I started my skiing days back in Scotland back in the late 70's having your eyes freeze up in wind chill -40 sort of makes conditions in the rest of Europe seam good
Never missed a day in ? O my God 28 years first weeks in March always done us proud
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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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We usually ski at the start of January (coz we're tight ) and although snow has been thin at times, we have always had a great holiday.
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Currently looking at Andorra for Chrimbo. Snow conditions that early seem to be a lottery, so I reckon I may as well be drinking cheap beer rather than pay a fiver a pint in Val D'Isere if the pistes are green
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brian
brian
Guest
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I've never missed a day in the alps although I have skied on brown snow in Verbier, bounced off rocks in Méribel and been rained on in Les Gets. Missed quite a few at home where the road's been blocked or the hill's been stormbound.
Also skied quite a few at home in "sub-optimal" conditions, like not being able to tell if you're moving or not.
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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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brian wrote: |
Also skied quite a few at home in "sub-optimal" conditions, like not being able to tell if you're moving or not. |
We had that in our 'bad weather' in La Plagne. A very weird feeling where we both thought we were skiing but were in fact stationary
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I have not included the days I skied at The Lecht while at Uni in Aberdeen. You expect the conditions to be crap in Scotland.
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You know it makes sense.
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johnboy,
When you had that rain in Alpe D was probably the same time it rained for the whole day just down the road in Claviere (about 16th or 17th of January IIRC). Unfortunately, I was stuck in a motorhome cursing the weather and there is very little to do in Claviere.
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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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Caspar,
It was awful. It rained for longer than 2 days, but I spent two days in the hotel drinking coffee and looking out the window at the rivers of water going down the street
Some of our group were beginners and battled through the slush puppy pistes. There was a massive amount of snow loss at village level
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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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Caspar,
I was on the SCGB forum at the time and someone was in Serre Chevailer and said the snow was great and had no rain
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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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johnboy,
Pot luck I guess - We didn't get to Serre Che till the 21st
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johnboy, Of course we had that rain here too! Not nice at all!!! However, your tale seems about normal to me. Some people are just lucky with the weather of course, and their problem is that when they finally hit it bad they'll be unbearably disappointed!! They'll feel cheated - I've seen it happen!
Anyway, basically you have have good or bad weather, good or bad snow, good or bad conditions anywhere at any time on any continent. that's just the way it is in the mountains. Skiing's a sport we do outdoors, mainly in winter in the high mountains. We must be mad
the worst I've every had when actually "officially" skiing was here with winds in the town of around 60 kph gusting much higher. All higher lifts off, only baby drags going and they kept derailing due to the winds. We'd queue 45 mins for one, being blown all over the place, then it would derail and we'd try another. After an hour or so I actually said to what weas left of the class (the only time I've ever done this) "Let's go the the bar and talk about skiing". No-one wanted to stay out. Oh and it was snowing too!
2nd worst was Cairngorm with one guy who insisted on going out. Car park T bar and we got stuck on it aty the top because the wind was too strong to get off it! We ended up in a tangle with the T bar and the wall of snow and each other. WE did manage to get back to the Day Lodge, whereupon the guy said "Now, I understand why you didn't want to take me out" - honestly!
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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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IVe never had a week full of bad conditions and never ever skied with not enough snow but there have obviously been the odd crap days... I would say i have been very lucky though!
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My worst must have been at the top of Cairnwell T bar Glenshee, mid 80s. Horizontal hail with grit and small stones added in. I was a wee fella at the time and was well wrapped up but my Dad's face started to bleed in more than one place..
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easiski,
I thought my experience was pretty normal too, and am surprised more people don't run into bad conditions. Maybe it's because I tend to go in early January?
The other sports I potter at in the summer are sailing, kite buggying and surfing.
It is damn near impossible to get ideal conditions with those 3 sports, you just take the good with the bad.
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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 guess I've been lucky as well My worst was not so bad.
This year end of Jan Les Arc's/Plange. Cover was base layer with ice or compacted snow with clear spots getting bad by the end of the week. runs down to rock, I picked a bad week to have new ski's.
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I think the most shocking conditions I have had were this season. Went to Wengen end of Jan, beginning of February. First week, beautiful snow, couldn't be better. Then on the middle Saturday, we had a huge foehn wind, Stripped everything bear (well the off piste anyway). It was really sad. Friday, beautiful and white, Sunday alot of the off piste was literally gone right back to the grass and rock!!!!. At least the piste more or less survived but the pisteures had a lot of work to do on it.
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