 Poster: A snowHead
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The only sensible use for poles is on the way up. They should be collapsed and securely attached to the pack for the ride down, once the splitboard is assembled.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Each season that slides through I can't help feeling "have the great winters finished".
My new accommodation is Lütschental, the valley running up to Grindelwald. Very cold when we arrived in early January but little precipitation. A few minor snow falls but hardly on epic scales.
Mid February we walked out of Männlichen gondola station at. 2222m and it was raining, not snow not sleet but rain. The extended periods of really good low temperature seem to be disappearing all too quickly. Powder days are just that, one day, temperature pops up and it's back to piste skiing.
I suppose my hope is for one more really epic very cold very powdery winter.
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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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@swskier, I'm only 6 minutes into that vid, and while I hate you tubes, it's very, very good. I'm getting a lot out of it. Although I don't think my poles are too long, yet ...
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@under a new name, Tom Gellie really knows his stuff. I'm always tempted to try and get a lesson with him when he's in Hintertux in the Autumn, but I dread to think what he charges 
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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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@Phantom Phil, that's why you hold the poles upside down (and ideally with boots on).
I'm still sceptical.
This is me on my normal poles 
I think I look reasonably balanced.
I still have those poles BTW.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Batons d’Alain?
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@kitenski, ...whippersnapper...
under a new name ... quote 'I'm firmly in the upside down hands under baskets camp' - this suffers from punctuation deficit. I have just tried to measure them with my hands upside down as you state. Very tricky.
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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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@hang11, I like it
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@Rogerdodger, ...only one?
We had a very good season close - one day of deep unmarked - three days of chasing stashes (which we found) - and then good but chossy on the north facing side of the valley. Then, I admit, soup.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@kitenski, Slow the video down and you'll see that there is considerable "Up and Down" motion when changing from one edge to the other. 
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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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Great thread:
1. Same observation: The 'usual' pre-season dump, followed by an anything but snow period but an even more sketchy layer than usual. Saw avalanches where I'd never seen them before. Sobering.
2. That drive our doesn't get any shorter. Now always drive at the weekend for reduced traffic.
3. Prefer Hull>Rotterdam but miss the majority of drive being on the wonderful French motorway network.
3a. I hate the Antwerp and Brussels ring roads and to a lesser extent the Basel rabbit warren.
3b. I think it's kinda cool driving in/through 5 countries in a day. With a small diversion I could make it six.
3c. If you can fit a cigarette paper in a gap, a Belgian can fit a car in there.
4. Did Christmas but not NY. It just gets crazy busy. Good decision.
5. I've gone from pack leader to the one who gives everyone a rest, whilst they wait for me. Daughter now 'gets' skiing but complains I am too slow.
6. Strasbourg has an absolutely magnificent cathedral.
7. The new lift out of Lac des Veux is a godsend.
7a. But it can be chaos getting on and you have a nano second to get off.
8. If you don't want to walk up hill in ski boots and then ski Chassoure by yourself in the gloom, make sure you know the exact lift times, not approximate.
8a. That last beer will not taste so good now.
8b. But got down with 'only' one inconsequential fall.
8c. Try not to think about what would have happened if fell and knocked myself out.
9. Painting apartment ceiling is tough on your arm.
10. After a couple of weeks I've kinda done enough skiing.
10a. But a short while after getting home, I want to go again.
10b. Wonder how many more seasons I've got left. The after effects of playing RL on my knees has a long tail.
11. Now have all the gear to service family's skis. Payback will be relatively quick. I'm now interested in edge angles.
12. When I go out shortly, wonder if I'll still be able to randonee up and ski down.
13. I'm 180cm and ski with 120 poles.
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| kitenski wrote: |
| @Phantom Phil, Not sure I see much upright skiing in slalom? What makes you think skiing in a low athletic stance isn't "modern"? I'm 58 and don't find it knackering?? |
As I said it's the way people ski in a lower stance, often bending at the waist rather than doing what Loic Meillard is doing on your youtube image. People misinterpret what it means to be 'low' and they find it knackering. Usually it goes hand in hand with an exaggerated 'must have the hands where you can see them' all the time. So I did a fair bit of instructing and racing (unsuccessfully) in the 80s and the athletic stance (whether low or high) was by no means a new thing then. Thanks to the likes of John Shedden, having an athletic stance was de rigeur.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
Touring is fun. Type 2 fun.
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There will certainly be days where it's type 2 fun, or even not much fun at all! However, if all your touring days are type 2 fun you may well be doing it wrong... or just really unfit
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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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@Nickski, 3C is absolutely correct.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Nickski, Belgians just can't drive, end of story.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Nickski, yes, well, ho hum, our niblings have started doing back flips.
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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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| under a new name wrote: |
| @Nickski, Belgians just can't drive, end of story. |
They do however seem to drive some nice cars.
I really noticed that on this drive, along with the British love of the Volvo XC90
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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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@Jonny996, belgians didn't need driving licences till recently
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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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| under a new name wrote: |
| @Jonny996, belgians didn't need driving licences till recently |
It clearly shows
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Jonny996, it does
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| under a new name wrote: |
| @Jonny996, belgians didn't need driving licences till recently |
They certainly dont seem to understand that speed signs show the maximum not minimum speed .
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@boarder2020, re type2 I think it's because of our combination of objectives and weather.
feb dump tour - short but every cm breaking-trail in deep powder from Aminona to Cave du Sex - only a few kms and only a few 100 vert, but all in deep powder. Lift UUUUP....slide....whoomph down....Lift UUUUP repeat. Thank goodness for brewing coffee in the chapel above Colombiere. Nice footle down though.
Feb post-dump days tour - simple day out at Vercorin. Nice training day. Cold but a good day. Until the last 300m up to the restaurant at top station - argh 60-80kph wind and horizontal snow - I know that it always blows hard over the col but this is BAAD....no googles today so have to put up with sensation of eyeballs freezing for 15 mins...and yikes that snow hurts - cheeks starting to freeze up....and then we are there. Hurrah. Coffee, pasta, warmth.
late march tour - Grom announces at supper - 'think I'll go to Petit Mt Bonvin tomorrow...' 'where from' 'here' -- what!!@? No snow until Aminona so 5am start carrying all gear then onto snow at Aminona and up through the alpage - 1.3km vert - baking sun. Well done him.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Tue 14-04-26 19:06; edited 1 time in total
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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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| boarder2020 wrote: |
| Quote: |
Touring is fun. Type 2 fun.
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There will certainly be days where it's type 2 fun, or even not much fun at all! However, if all your touring days are type 2 fun you may well be doing it wrong... or just really unfit |
“Type 2 kind of fun” IS FUN!
I don’t tour on skis much. But I do it mostly on bike in the summer (and a limited number of days on nordic skis in the winter, when the condition is ripe for nordic). It got my body’s endorphin factory go into full production. (No matter how fit you are, you can go harder and produce the same effect). That’s THE FUN in itself! “Type 2 kind of fun”! For real.
So no, type 2 kind of fun isn’t doing it “wrong”. (I know you’re joking. But it does obscure the “real fun” which is a big part of touring)
Granted, you can add to it with the skiing down part. But for many, that’s almost like “apres”, a celebration of a good uphill slog! Still, the downhill powder run is what got a lot of resort skiers “tricked” into starting touring. It’s much harder to sell uphill travel on its own. Not everyone enjoys that “type 2 kind of fun”, which a lot of converted tourers really are after. So not all resort skiers stay with touring for that reason (or the lack of).
If I have a lot of skiing days in the winter, I too would go touring. But with winter being my “off-season”, I only get to ski ~30 days. And those days still have to be split between Nordic and alpine. I prefer to spend my alpine days going down mountain as much as possible, rather than just a couple of down runs in a day. As a nordic skier, I also found the skinning part of alpine touring lacking in comparison in that type II kind of fun. But I can see many others maybe finding it just right for them.
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| Quote: |
Type 2 fun is an experience that is miserable, stressful, or challenging while it is happening but becomes rewarding, fun, and memorable in retrospect.
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Perhaps I'm the one doing it wrong, but the majority of my touring days don't involve being miserable, stressed, or are particularly challenging and I am getting plenty of enjoyment in the moment, rather than having to wait for retrospect
That's not to say I don't have some days touring that are more type 2, and a few that are even not fun at all! But I would say my average touring day is overwhelmingly enjoyable.
I do think fitness makes a big difference. If you are not fit it's going to be much more challenging and have that exercise feel (which I think for many of us is type 2 fun). If your fit it's more like a nice walk enjoying the scenery and conversation/music/podcast with some good skiing thrown in. Also potentially enjoy the downhill more if not exhausted at the top.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@under a new name, your hand is up by your shoulder in that pic, and possibly in the air from what I can figure out! a shorter pole would lower that hand....I'll let the Tom G video explain the nuances better than I can!
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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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| under a new name wrote: |
| @Nickski, yes, well, ho hum, our niblings have started doing back flips. |
Must admit anything inverted would make me nervous. Got a friend whose kids compete internationally (1 FWT challenger and 1 park rat stuff). I wouldn't be able to sleep.
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@boarder2020, ...being serious, we have some lovely days as you describe. Some are indeed hilarious and relaxing. Getting to high fitness does involve pushing - either as part of an otherwise relaxed day or as a training day. I find mountain-biking and road cycling good season prep.
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You know it makes sense.
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| under a new name wrote: |
| @Jonny996, belgians didn't need driving licences till recently |
Belgium issued driving licences without tests up to 1977, then the test became compulsory. The Belgian number plate stays with the driver not the car. When I was there in early 90s they had 6-character number plates. When we saw one of five characters we would be wary as there was a chance the driver hadn’t taken a test.
There does seem to be a culture of poor driving though. As opposed to the Dutch who just want to drive through you.
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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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They do love a mini trailer as well.
Have to say with the fuel crisis, I took 10Kph off my speed to get longer range per tank & it did make the drive far more relaxing, maybe an hour extra end to end but a lot nicer.
Hopefully getting new car soon & hoping to get radar assist cruise control, looking forward to seeing how that handles the drive.
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Poster: A snowHead
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January trip to Samoens 1600 - great snow but slightly mixed weather wise, snow and low cloud. All in all a good trip.
March trip to La Plagne Aime 2000 - fabulous snow and equally good weather. Resort not too crowded so pleasant skiing and able to pretty much ski on to every lift.
All in all a really good season. Next year I revisit both resorts again but La Plagne in Janury and Samoens in mid March. Also looking at a last minute trip to Val Thorens in April.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| kitenski wrote: |
| @under a new name, your hand is up by your shoulder in that pic, and possibly in the air from what I can figure out! a shorter pole would lower that hand....I'll let the Tom G video explain the nuances better than I can! |
Just camera angles, steep slope, bumps.
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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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@Jonny996, Have you had a test drive? My wife loves it, I can't stand it and dont use it.
I noticed lots of people driving under 130kmh last trip doing the same.
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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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1) Despite living in an Alpine country, 'normal life' gets in the way far too often (or poor weather seemed to hit days when I was free) so I only managed a disappointing 6 days this season
2) Investing in CARV this year has shown I'm not as good a skier as I thought I was! After the six days though my scores had improved a lot though, so maybe next year it will improve further.
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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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I think yesterday was my last day of the season (probably, at least my left knee would like it to be anyway!)
1) 70 times/days I skied this season, my lowest of the 3 winters we've lived here.
2) 4 new ski areas skied, 1 of which was in the Zillertal, so I've now skied every area in the Zillertal (but almost certainly not every piste)
3) Average days skiing cost €17.36, but those that were just in Zillertal were €10.25.
4) Zero days on the touring skis all season. Perhaps next season that will change...
5) 100% of all lessons I taught involved getting the client to stand on the outside ski more.
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@Harry Flashman is the clear winner here.
I'm the loser: didn't come to the Alps this season having made big bets on North America. Worst season since 1979 (too warm, lots of rain). Cancelled big trip to Utah. Skied around 30 days, and I'm retired. My home hill closed yesterday, approximately 5 weeks earlier than typical. I must like skiing an awful lot. Expensive, big time commitment, big carbon footprint, reliant on increasingly rare weather. Had to ford a stream on a nice cruising run in Idaho but at least it was open!
And yet: what a fun season anyway. I was joined by mates in several places, more so than usual. I never had jet lag. I saw the stunning Intermountain West on my road trips. I went to a super old-school area in the middle of nowhere and had a gas. I saw bighorn sheep, elk, deer and foxes. And the lousy conditions meant I could paint the interior of our mountain home 
I am already planning a return trip to the Alps next March and I can't wait.
PS: On poles: length? Whatever. I'm the strapless grip evangelist around here. Why they aren't all that way is beyond me.
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| abc wrote: |
| I’m not done with the season yet. I’ve been skiing well this season (that’s why I’m not done with the season). I think taking 2 years off might have actually helped in my enjoyment |
A week ago, while stuffing my boots into the suitcase and skis back into the ski bag after 10 days of excellent skiing in the Canadian Rockies, I bravely wrote the above “my season is not done yet”! 
But yesterday, the temperature had gone up to the 70F/20C. I took my bike out for several hours. It’s my first ride since the winter. The bike worked flawlessly, my legs the same, crushing all my “early season training hills” plus some!
I think I’m done with the ski season!  Let summer (cycling) commence!
Reflection? Short and sweet! 
- 1 week in Japan: several powder days. But the best day and my last, I got hit TWICE! Once simply standing at the edge of a drop off surveying the terrain below. Some lesson group pushed and shoved their way to the same edge next to me, one of them had so poor control he/she ended up hitting me!  How an instructor dare to take such poor skiers up that part of the mountain is beyond me. Makes me question I’ll ever return to Niseko again, despite the potential of good terrain.
- A long weekend in Vermont: Alternate ice and slush, and some soft bumps. So a mixed bag. Mainly to keep my ski legs in condition.
- A bunch of nordic skate skiing spread throughout the season. Enjoyable. The local nordic ski community got together and bought a grooming machine which vastly improved the quality of the trail condition. Can’t thank them enough.
- 10 days in the Canadian Rockies: Excellent skiing and a lovely holiday. I’ve been to the “big 3” several times before. This time the visibility is better than before, or perhaps because I know where to ski in different condition now after the prior visits. So I was able to ski some rather juicy terrains and caught a lot of good snow despite the often rapidly changing conditions. Each time I landed in Calgary, I add one or two new resorts to the “standard” of Big 3. This trip it’s Revelstoke. I’m hugely impressed, or shall I say sufficiently “stoke”?  Look forward to return in the near future for a longer stay.
* the Canadian trip time slot was originally slated for Zermatt. But the “non-war” in Iran pushed up oil price and consequentially flight cost so much I ended up “settling” to the Canadian Rockies instead. No regrets. (I may do a trip report once I’m sufficiently “grounded” and caught up on my daily chores)
Last edited by After all it is free on Tue 21-04-26 0:00; edited 2 times in total
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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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Quite a busy season for me, started unexpectedly early on Nov 22nd with Cairngorm opening , wasn't quite organised for working at that point but managed to get my gear together for a couple of days on Patrol to help out. Week after I was in Tignes for my early season tune up which was nice, good snow, good company. Back into it with the perma-winter East of scotland blizzard that started at Hogmany and simply did not stop for what felt like weeks. Once every 2 weeks we'd get a clear day with no wind, and then it would be stormy again. All up almost 90 days on skis between Patrol work and 3 trips (Tignes, Cervinia, Trysil). Good fun, loved it. Didn't do much touring this season though.
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| orange wrote: |
| Week after I was in Tignes for my early season tune up which was nice, good snow, good company. |
You timed that incredibly well, whereas I went at the end of December and conditions were... interesting
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