 Poster: A snowHead
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I spent last week in Les Arcs and there was a really noticeable increase in the number of yellow snow patches alongside the piste. (no, the clue is not in the name!). There was also plenty of pretty blatant yellow snow production going on. Some of which could probably be seen from the top of Mont Blanc.
So is this a thing now? Is it perfectly acceptable for the male half of the population to just pull up and let fly? Or is is simply that the off-piste was so rubbish that no one would venture off into the woods to do it with more subtlety? (As a middle aged male, I don't claim to be perfect here, but I'll try and find somewhere discreet; bore a single hole, not sprinkle over a wide area; and then kick fresh white stuff over the stain! Some of you also need to drink more!)
Les Arcs especially is quite well equipped for decent facilities, so there's not much excuse. However the 2 I used over at La Plagne, were distinctly less so and I can see the desire to go au naturel. The bog at the top of Verdon Sud had an "atmosphere" that you could chew on , and while it didn't smell quite as bad, the brand new khazis at the top of the Bellecote were quite off-putting - watching the pile of ordure down the longdrop hole shift and pulse with (I assume) the wind as you're siphoning is quite the experience.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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In all the years I’ve been skiing, I think I’ve only needed to pee alfresco once.
We tend to stop for a break every couple of hours and that seems to be frequent enough to not have to make my bladder gladder on the side if a piste.
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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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I agree about a pee at the side of the piste, @CoticJon. Yuk. My OH never would but my brother in law was famous for it and we all used to moan at him. I don't agree with your distaste for the "environmentally friendly" loos though. Yes, they are bound to smell a bit and the way the wind sometimes whistles up from those pits is not ideal but I don't think using those is too much of a hardship.
And there's a very simple solution if you don't want to see the pulsating ordure. Sit down.
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@Origen, i reckon if you were to visit the composting toilets at Crete in Les Deux Alpes you quickly change your mind on this. Never mind the smell, I can cope with that, but they should be burned to the ground as a health hazard. Positively disgusting and not at all safely functional.
I’ve been on several camp sites over the years with composting toilets which were more than acceptable but LDA should be ashamed expecting folks to use theirs!
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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.
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Shlt on it! Going around the back was never going to end well, and nowhere even to wash his hands.
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@jirac18, I'm sure some toilets of all varieties are disgusting! People tell me that lots of men's loos are revolting and that that's a good argument against unisex facilities. They could be right! I was in a ladies loo in the House of Lords yesterday - it was clean, but there was nowhere to hang my bag. 
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| CoticJon wrote: |
| So is this a thing now? Is it perfectly acceptable for the male half of the population to just pull up and let fly? Or is is simply that the off-piste was so rubbish that no one would venture off into the woods to do it with more subtlety? (As a middle aged male, I don't claim to be perfect here, but I'll try and find somewhere discreet; bore a single hole, not sprinkle over a wide area; and then kick fresh white stuff over the stain! Some of you also need to drink more!) |
Yes, it is (and has been for at least 35 years) perfectly acceptable to pee just off the edge of the piste, pretty much anywhere where no one will see more than your back. Also: don’t kick white snow over the stain, how else will people know where the yellow snow is in order to avoid it?
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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 used to take the odd pee in the open due to the lack of facilities but these days that really isn't an issue. As I tell the wife, who has a better sense of smell than I, if there is a bit of a whiff just take in a lungful and carry on.
I ski Paradiski a lot and I can't see as I've noticed a yellow snow issue but you can add it to the list I guess - of reasons not to go there, which seem to be many and varied.
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It could be the lack of fresh snow? There will inevitably be occasional yellow snow from staff (night staff in particular) caught short with no facilities nearby. That's totally excusable. Anyone else, no, it's just lazy and disgusting.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Er, we are talking about France...... 
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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 wish I could find it again, but somewhere on this forum there was an account from a lady who skied off the piste into the trees to releive herself. She didn't step out of her skis but merely took down her trousers and pants but forgot the very low coefficient of skis on snow. She then slid slowly back onto the piste into the full view of a chairlift. The way she described it was much funnier than my recollection.
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Some of which could probably be seen from the top of Mont Blanc.
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I assume you mean the chairlift not the more famous mountain of the same name.
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You know it makes sense.
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| billb wrote: |
| Er, we are talking about France...... |
That is one thing noticeable between Austria and France. The Austrians seem to have cottoned on that toilets in public areas aren't a bad idea. Skiing at Bad Hofgastein a couple of weeks back and they had toilets (both M & F ones) at the top and bottom of the main lift. Very civilised.
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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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Top tip from a 64 year old male, don’t drink coffee on a ski holiday! Works for me.
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Poster: A snowHead
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And since we've no place to go
yellow snow, yellow snow, yellow snow
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
The Austrians seem to have cottoned on that toilets in public areas aren't a bad idea.
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There are plenty around Les Arcs as well. Some, such as the bottom of the Pre St. Espirit lift very luxurious indeed.
Years ago I was stuck on a chairlift for perhaps 30 minutes. I was able to hang on but one of my friends, fortunately behind us, had to releive himself from the chairlift.
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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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@king key, yeah, there are no public toilets in France, best go elsewhere.
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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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| johnE wrote: |
I wish I could find it again, but somewhere on this forum there was an account from a lady who skied off the piste into the trees to releive herself. She didn't step out of her skis but merely took down her trousers and pants but forgot the very low coefficient of skis on snow. She then slid slowly back onto the piste into the full view of a chairlift. The way she described it was much funnier than my recollection.
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Some of which could probably be seen from the top of Mont Blanc.
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I assume you mean the chairlift not the more famous mountain of the same name. |
I must have read a dozen variations on that story. Seems there are a lot of unfortunate female skiers… 
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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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All I can say is don't eat yellow snow.
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| Origen wrote: |
| @jirac18, I'm sure some toilets of all varieties are disgusting! People tell me that lots of men's loos are revolting and that that's a good argument against unisex facilities. They could be right! I was in a ladies loo in the House of Lords yesterday - it was clean, but there was nowhere to hang my bag. |
Wasn't there a shelf above/behind the loo? There are in the older wood panelled ones, maybe not in the modern ones
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| Origen wrote: |
| ...They could be right! I was in a ladies loo in the House of Lords yesterday... |
Kudos, managing to drop that into a "yellow snow" discussion 
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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 always wonder why it is 100pct my experience that every single public loo I've ever used in Switzerland is perfectly OK.
Every single one.
What do the the Swiss do so differently?
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| Quote: |
Kudos, managing to drop that into a "yellow snow" discussion
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Was just awaiting my moment, @adithorp. @holidayloverxx, yes, there was a shelf but I had an awkwardly-shaped backpack and a hook would have been preferable. Later I was in a loo in Victoria Station where not only were several cubicles unusable because the very flimsy "domestic quality" locks weren't working, the one I eventually managed to find had no hooks. The lack of hooks in loos (and in ski apartments) is one of my pet moans.
I'd put French public loos on a par with British ones - possibly slightly better. Both far better than they were 40 years ago but with room for improvement. Maybe the Swiss just pay for more cleaning.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@holidayloverxx, tbh I can’t recall seeing a shelf but that’s because I was distracted by the overflowing urinal topping up the already two inch deep layer of urine on the floor and the enormous turd overhanging the rim of the hole in the ground which clearly had been so inaccurately delivered that the offender couldn’t be bothered to clean up!
Apologies just realised you’re referring to the HOL loos in the quote.
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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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@Origen, why are so many people wearing backpacks in public toilets these days? I wonder what they have in them? Did you alert others the stall was taken by pole clicking?
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| billb wrote: |
| Er, we are talking about France...... |
I recall my French teacher illustrating the use of the “ne….xxx” by telling a story of how he needed a pee whilst in Paris. He asked someone where he could go. The response – “n’importe ou”
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You know it makes sense.
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| Layne wrote: |
| @king key, yeah, there are no public toilets in France, best go elsewhere. |
Is that a joke? 
The French often don't have easily reachable WCs. Are you now going to say you haven't seen them pi$$ in the streets?
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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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| jirac18 wrote: |
@Origen, i reckon if you were to visit the composting toilets at Crete in Les Deux Alpes you quickly change your mind on this. Never mind the smell, I can cope with that, but they should be burned to the ground as a health hazard. Positively disgusting and not at all safely functional.
I’ve been on several camp sites over the years with composting toilets which were more than acceptable but LDA should be ashamed expecting folks to use theirs! |
I have NEVER used such disgusting toilets in all my life - was turned away from the restaurant toilets even though we had spent over 40 euros on lunch at what we thought was their snack bar, and by that time my brain was expecting to go so I had no option.
After that we either avoided stopping there, or I disovered that if you told the doorman you were meeting friends in there you could sit for a few minutes, avoid the waitress and use the loos!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Sure it’s people? Dunno about Europe but I often see spots where animals take a leak.
Kiwi hares pee bright orange. Like Fanta.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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