2024/25 Season Review

A snowHead

I seem to remember we had a thread on this last season, so thought I'd open one for this year!

For me, it was a good season, it's the most I've ever skied. I was on skis 11 times more than I was previous season. I also managed to ski some new areas, Schladming, Zettersfeld (Lienz), Bischofswiesen, Pila and Cortina d'Ampezzo with Bischofswiesen being the first time I've skied in Germany.

I had just over 4 weeks of annual leave this winter all for skiing, so that certainly helped get the days in, but I got out on a Friday afternoon after work less than the prior season!

Another first was being able to teach in the mountains for the first time, with the week in Pila in March.

I skied both days this weekend gone, and for the first time ever, I felt like I was ok with, and ready for the end of the season. Shocked

Counting down the days now until next season starts on 1st October! Laughing

A snowHead

We spent some time ski testing piste skis at the season start, which turned out to be a very good decision that resulted in a new pair each around early December. These ended up being our most used skis this season, which was very much piste-focused due to the large numbers of rocks Confused

Other metrics include: my WhiteDots (107mm) didn't even see the snow, although the slightly more playful Faction Dancers (106mm) went out a couple of times in March/April; I didn't even put batteries in my airbag; the batteries on my transceiver were still at 95% at season end – I'm normally well into the second set by then Shocked

We still skied most weekends, (apart from a couple off for minor injury and illness), but not often both days. The season started off well enough, but it felt like we were continually waiting for the “big snow” to come and open up the off-piste, and it never really did. There was never quite enough to cover the rocks. There were a few larger dumps right at the end of the season, but by then the weather was warm and it quickly got heavy. Piste skiing was pretty good though, as the early season was cold and the snowmaking took advantage of that.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Scarlet, given we're about 30km's apart as the crow flies, I'd say our snow/weather over here was pretty similar to yours.

Btw, what skis did you both go for in the end? I tried a few out the other weekend ahead of next season.

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@swskier, given I'm east of the city, possibly not even that far! Yeah, I expect it was similar conditions.

I have the Atomic Cloud C14 in 154cm and the other one has Fischer The Curve DTX in 171cm (but he's quite tall!). Both happy with our respective choices (the Fischer made it to my shortlist as well, but Atomic won out in the end).

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Scarlet, Fischer is the one brand I want to test but haven't had the chance. I'm 178cm tall but ski on something around the 175cm mark, so 171cm wouldn't be far off the mark. I'll end up buying something during the summer, so won't get a chance to test any Fischers, but maybe next time round

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@swskier, you should've asked earlier, he would probably let you have a go, but everywhere's shut now.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Was pretty good. Slightly down on days target but poor snow generally reduced drive for weekend missions. Less off piste than I'd have liked but days that should have been goodat end of season ended up pretty unskiable (perhaps shoulda been on a snowboard).

After all it is free · Last edited by After all it is free on Tue 13-05-25 7:26; edited 1 time in total

WINTER 2024 / 25

November
Hay Bluff in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales

December
Pen-y-Fan in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales

Little did my ski partner Chris and I know at the time that would be it for the worst Welsh Winter I can remember in about a decade.

January
Ski week in Borovets, Bulgaria with my partner Nerys. Crystal late deal. Tremendous value. Great skiing with powder to start the holiday and sunshine to finish it. Also had a day in Sofia. Would definitely return to Borovets, plus staying a couple of days in Sofia skiing the local hill Vitosha.

10 days in Erciyes, Turkiye with freeride skiing legend Dan Egan. Dan was out with his nephew Johnny and a film crew making a new ski movie.

February & March
1-week solo trip to Uludag, Turkiye then on to Kartalkaya, Turkiye (where they had the devastating fire)

Back to Erciyes for 1-week with a ski club from the UK
Then Nerys came out to Erciyes for a 1-week holiday
And finished my Turkish season running a Familiarisation trip for Crystal, school ski company Equity, the Indy Pass, and Mountain Tracks at Erciyes

April
1-week at Passo Tonale, Italy repping for school ski company Equity

May
A wonderful afternoon at The Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead testing Lange boots and Dynastar skis

Unless I win the lottery that will be it for this season.

If I do win the lottery then I'm off to the European glaciers, Norway, and Chile and Argentina.

A very different but hugely enjoyable Winter. Less powder, more turns. Bigger views. Different cultures.

One week (normal) with the family, this time in Baqueira Beret. Loved it for the “side piste”. Will be back.

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February, Canada. Lots of fun. Very cold.

May, scored some very epic pre season turns in NZ.

The remainder of the year is a TBC, but high hopes (as always Very Happy

)

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Fingers crossed for you

Looks like a solid start

snow reports

I could have sworn that there had already been a thread about how this season (24/25) had been Puzzled

You know it makes sense.

Started out 3rd of Jan in Les saises for two weeks, first week just the two of us, weather not the best but loved skiing in the snow, second week we had three family over and perfect weather and snow conditions, I had a bad fall in the snow park landing on an ice rail, luckily nothing broken but mega bruise that lasted more than three weeks, only missed one days skiing.
Then moved to st gervais for three weeks good snow and still fairly empty pistes, had a few trips to chamonix and went through the mont blanc tunnel on a day off and visited the st didier spa which we really recommend.
Thought that it was it for us but had the offer to go to la plagne for four days with family the last couple of days of march, lots of good snow still and plenty of bumps for us to play in, got over to Les arcs where we have never been before, weather a bit foggy in the mornings but great in the afternoon.

Already bought a cheap season pass for portes des soleil for next season and booked up a Airbnb in chatel for three weeks , not sure where we will go afterwards but get five days in la rosiere as part of the pass so definitely going there

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Overall, not as good as last season. Lots of big dumps but too hot in between and, overall, not so much off piste due to either too little or too much or too high avalanche risk.

Pretty good in terms of time spent skiing though, again, not quite as much as last season.

Skied; Zermatt x3, St Anton, Courmayeur, Val Thorens for, overall, just over 30 days ... lot less than last season.

A snowHead

PS. Also did first Snowheads bash ... which was great

A snowHead

Three days in Chamonix, four days in Avoriaz and a week in La Plagne. Was just about enough to satisfy the need for snow though planning on two full weeks next season. All conditions experienced including a powder day in Chamojix and spring slush in La Plagne.

Bring on early retirement I say though, I’ll be in the Alps as long as the rules allow then.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Much better season than last year - not breaking shoulder helping hugely.

6.5 days in Tignes pre XMAS taking my daughter out to son spending his Uni Christmas hols working in Tignes after spending 2 seasons there. Snow great with a couple of decent dumps while we were out there. Resort not fully open.

8 days skiing in 3V in March with friends. Pistes held up well notwithstanding lack of snow in Feb and March.

Week in Tignes pre Easter. Mainly piloting my eldest in a sit ski but getting some skiing in as well in the afternoons. Warm and sunny all week so a fair amount of heavy snow in the afternoons but very enjoyable week. Not sure will get as much skiing in next year as son in second year of Uni and starting to realise 8 weeks skiing may be unrealistic when the year counts towards his degree (in other words now panicking before his first year exams)

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All I need to report is getting kicked by a horse three days before a BASI L3 Tech week. 5 broken ribs. No bumps for me for a while rolling eyes

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@ski, ouch!

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Scratchy start in Verbier mid Nov but pow arrived in Dec and continued over Xmas / NY snowHead

Japow in Jan epic as always

An incredible Engelberg day in Feb followed by first visit to Silvretta / Montafon on way to a decent family week in the Arlberg

Back in V for some fun Oak pow days in March and then a great week touring in Lyngen end March

Deep but heavy after the massive April dump but nice finish on the Bec in pow conditions end April

Fun to try some new places. But warmer temps and snowfall getting more unpredictable everywhere.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@BobinCH, I thought about swinging by Silvretta 2 seasons ago when I had the Verbier season pass (which you helped with), as I drove to Austria to meet the new employers, but I didn't end up stopping. Is it worthwhile?

After all it is free

well...probably one of the worst seasons ever, since it was the first with an injury after my broken ribs back in 2014 (although the broken ribs are nothing compared to ACL)

Managed at least only 18 days
1 x Lenzerheide
6 x Vaujany
3 x Oberjoch
6 X Flaine , and
2 x Lichtenstein

the only positive was the Malbun in Lichstenstein, the worst was that day in Oberjoch were my wife got an ACL Tear...
hope next season will be better and without injuries

I'll just leave this here

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Good season for me, and I thought the snow conditions were quite good. I managed to get in six weeks / 39 days skiing this season - a record for me.

* PSB and PIPAU in Tignes early December - less snow in first week than last season but arguably better groomed, second week was really good snow on piste and far better weather than I would expect at the time of year
* Courchevel / Le Praz first week in January with Singlesports, snow OK bit weather quite mixed
* BB at Arraba in February, wall to wall sunshine and great on piste snow, only downside was losing my luggage on way out, thanks to Spacetrucker for loan of ski socks
* Plan Peisey with a mate early March, weather better than forecast and some great snow conditions both in Les Arcs and La Plagne, far better than the same week the previous season
* EOSB in Val Thorens in April, again weather better than the forecast and the snow held up really well

Whether I'll get the same number of weeks next season is up for debate but really pleased with the skiing this season Very Happy

Edited to add names of resorts to bashes

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I think I had my most varied season in terms of locations and least efficient in terms of ski pass purchasing!

Dec:
2 days in Sestriere (I was there for a week, but the snow was so awful I only bothered with 2 days skiing)
10 days in Argentiere, half touring, half downhill.

Jan
2 days in Northstar (Tahoe, California) "work"
2 days in Vail "work"

Mar
2 days touring in Argentiere
3 days downhill in Argentiere "work"

April
6 days in Val Thorens during the monster storm

snow reports

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

Realy chuffed with this season, after what happened last season - We'd planned for 23/24 to be "the big one". We'd start with New Year at Ste Foy, then five weeks in the Grand Massif before popping home to avoid half term, then back out for another 3 week stint in Ste Foy. As it was, Mrs NBT had a season ending injury on day 7, our last day in Ste Foy: an inncuous tumble on th flat run out from Arpettaz results in a dislocated and fractured shoulder, so we spent a few days in GM to recupreate then went home to begin the long road to recovery. Mrs NBT was at least good enough to insist I spent Easter week in Tignes with friends.

As a result, then, we did not know what to expect for the 24/25 season. Mrs NBT's shoulder had healed in purely physical terms, but her range of motion and power is still limited. On top of that of course we had to consider the purely psychological aspect of getting back on skis. We decided on a 3 week trip to a familiar resort, to ensure that we did not feel the pressure to get out every single day if there were any issues. We rented a nice place in Flaine and drove out. Aside from the small issue of some idiot (hello!) packing one ski pole each and thus having to buy two new sets, the trip was a resounding success, with us being out every day and progressing nicely through greens and blues to reds - we didn't feel the need to try any black pistes. We managed 20 days in total and decided to go back out, as we'd bought a season pass.

Which lead us back out to an apartment in Morillon on the other side of the Grand Massif for 2 weeks in March, which allowed us to ski a further 13 days. Ok, we didn't hit any thigh deep powder or bag countless fresh tracks, but we skiied more than we've ever skiied before and enjkoyed ourselves. Mrs NBT was really pleased with the Kastle DX85 skis I bought for her from FB Marketplace, I think the confidence they gave her helped enormously. I resisted the temptation to buy some slalom skis. Looking forward now to our next trip: New Year in Ste Foy....

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@bigtuboflard, It's a beautiful valley

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Probably around 45 days of skiing in Andorra this season - weekends and school holidays. Early season until Feb-ish tended to be quite chilled due to the conditions - perfectly fine piste conditions but could really only ski pistes. Then from end of Feb right up until the end of the season we had excellent snow so days tended to be long with a lot of smiles.

I got my own touring kit but didn’t use it as much as hoped.

Started on 14th Dec. Finished on 20th April. Overall, pretty good.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Three weeks planned across Grand Massif and 3Vs.

Day 1 run 2, Mrs G had a nothingburger of a fall which fractured the head of her collar bone. Home 2 days later Sad

She's on the mend and the insurance paid up without fuss, so ho hum. Try again in 26.

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Ouch.

Here's to '26

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Good season for me, but like others have said almost no off piste...
Was out just about every week, avoiding weekends! Ski mornings, work afternoons.
Best decision this winter was to buy a pair of piste race carvers... HEAD WC rebels e-speed @175. Absolutely the dogs dangly bits! We had a lot of ice this season so these things let me rip in places where others were looking miserable! Highly recommended.

After all it is free

11 days split between Val T and Tignes mid December. 8 days late Jan St Martin. 7 days mid March Lapland and 7 days late April Tignes. Managed to miss most of the travel chaos so expect payback big time next season.

28 days of skiing, which i am pretty happy about, given I have a full time job. Admittedly, a bunch of these were work jollies, so cheating somewhat.

Two weeks with the children, who at four and six, absolutely love it already. So that was a huge success. Lady F is a fabulous skier, and as we get older I love bombing around, just the two of us. We had a brilliant off-piste day at the start of the season in fresh snow. May be my favourite ski day yet.

Lots of fitness work over the last year (after a health scare) has been brilliant, as suddenly skiing all day is just a lot easier.

Discovered the Line Blade which, if you like being in edge with your hip down, but also love slush (that would be me) are the best skis I have ever tried for combining both preferences. Just so fun - mine are my favourite skis, now. SLs only go out on icy mornings, now.

The best thing though, in a lovely season: we have found and are buying a place in the PdS in France. That is an absolute dream realised, and hopefully means that two small girls will learn to love this hobby as much as Lady F and me.

Huge season. Still pinching myself a bit. Giving thanks for how lucky my family are, frankly, and hoping it can continue. I'm 47, and don't want a decline from here...

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