 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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| I gather all they've been saying about here is "runs to resort closed", and completely failed to mention that we had good snow above 2,000m and that we have well over 100kms of pistes and 1,600 verticle m above that level! It does make my blood boil. |
easiski, is there a rep in LDA? No. so the only thing they report is number of lifts running, snow depth, last snow and piste condition. All supplied by the resort.
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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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There is far better information out there than that supplied by the SCGB, with the exception of live reports from reps. This forum e.g is a great place to look.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| easiski wrote: |
snowangel., I got the now snow one, but not the apology. If I hadn't been so busy I'd have complained.
I gather all they've been saying about here is "runs to resort closed", and completely failed to mention that we had good snow above 2,000m and that we have well over 100kms of pistes and 1,600 verticle m above that level! It does make my blood boil. As for "don't worry about the industry" well- how do holiday skiers have a holiday without the industry? The lift companies etc will always survive, but what about the smaller shops and other small businesses? Many have struggled this year here due to "negative spin" - it's not funny. If someone loses 10% of their income on an income of £20,000 that's a massive loss, and in many cases wholly attibutable to the lying press (and some on this forum). |
If times are hard, then the onus is on businesses to adapt, change, diversify, reskill, upskill. Whatever it takes.
Nothing in business is constant and predictable.
Nobody gets a free lunch in this world.
Business is often cyclical. Demand goes up. Demand goes down.
Further, the press, on the whole, has been relatively accurate this season.
Natural snowdepths are below-average in the Alps. Temps have been above-average. The snowline has been higher than normal. Rain has not been uncommon. Ski races have been canceled many times. Photos of grassy slopes have been there for all to see, not just in the press but on Snowheads, too.
I am genuinely sorry if any firms have lost cash during this year's poor season.
But there are two sides to every coin.
One has to consider holidaymakers, too.
Punters pay big money to ski.
They have every right to hear reports that talk down the conditions.
It balances those who talk things up.
Finally, business people might be advised to move to a country or resort that is coping better with climate change.
Switzerland is perhaps one example. They are diversifying beyond skiing and moving into hiking, trekking, green tourism, wellness, etc.
As I understand it, winter tourism revenues in Switzerland are holding up relatively better than most, if not all, Alpine states.
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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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Frosty the Snowman, some of the reporting done here is questionable, as pointed out by ezski
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Tim Brown, My point was that the best reports ore from folks on the spot eg Easiski, rob@rar, snowangel, chris, lizzard, Philip Stanton, Stewart Wooward, others i can't recall, folks on trips geting in touch, and yes.....ski club reps.
I am not in to "dissing" the Ski Club and think little of the Schadenfreude that is often displayed here (but can understand it as we are only here because of the Ski Club Forum going private). If I want to know the conditions in the majority of resorts then the SkiClub is not where I would be looking.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| Tim Brown, My point was that the best reports ore from folks on the spot eg Easiski, rob@rar, snowangel, chris, lizzard, Philip Stanton, Stewart Wooward, others i can't recall, folks on trips geting in touch, and yes.....ski club reps. |
Fair point.
The snow reports from Easiski and Rob@rar are particularly good, with some excellent photos.
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Whitegold, Your point re Ski club quantitavie historical stats is fair. But it's the 'current conditions' reporting that is clearly being 'talked up' or down by their marketing people with scant regard for the facts. The fact that they have sent out two emails 'correcting' and 'apologising' for the misleading impression created by the first shows that they recognise this themselves.
I Have no Axs (  ) to grind with the club, and I am a member. As such I would prefer they set a higher standard than the press manage with regard to accurate reporting of conditions. As Frosty the Snowman, says, there are far better places to look (including the excellent posts on here) if you want to know what conditions are really like.
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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 feel the snow reports on their website (and possibly some views on here) seem very biased toward imagined "perfect conditions" - anything less and the reports suggest its not worth clipping your boots on. This also seems to be in some way related to promoting off-piste skiing. As I've heard others (here) say sometimes the conditions on piste are perfectly OK even after fairly long periods of little snow. I realise that probably means not perfect powder conditions, but for many (holiday makers) decent pisted snow is enough.
I really do think the ski-club reports are all measured against an ideal of deep powder and some how anything less gets reported as poor. I've skied in their so called poor snow conditions and to me it's just part of the process. Skiing conditions will always be variable (unless you go to some indoor artificial environment). I really feel for people who make a living from seasonal bookings. It must be hard to re-spin the negative global warming/no snow/grass everywhere stories which the press and SCGB want to write about.
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Whitegold, No question about there being the need for recognition of both supplier and customer perspectives , but:-
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| Further, the press, on the whole, has been relatively accurate this season. |
... it is comments like that have been annoying folks.
You will have read easiski and others suggesting that the media - and people like yourself here- have in fact been inaccurate and overly negative about the real conditions and the relativity to skiability/norms/averages/ recent years etc. She has stated that it is not just the UK press but the French press has been 'doom-mongering' as well, so not restricted to the Anglo-speaking world.
To make judgments like yours, one has to be extremely familiar with 'real conditions' over the current and a number preceding seasons and how those conditions have been reported.
My own experience is very limited - having only been skiing in 5 resorts this season and driven past / through perhaps 30 more. I have to say that conditions have been (Dec 16th-Jan 30th) better than last season where I can compare resort for resort, and the weather immeasurably nicer ( sunny days bring a smile to my face!!). I'm talking France only and is obviously limited to my experience - and yes, there is one resort I haven't been to as reported conditions were so bad!
On that theme were was 1 1/2 pages in Nice Matin yesterday on the same subject. The local resorts basically kicking back at the media , demonstrating (through facts and examples) that this year's snow has not been overly bad, nor unusual, nor abnormal nor unski-able but that it had been reported as such and, they suggested, this had had significant impact on visitor numbers. I can not find the articles online but I will keep looking .
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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brian
brian
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I got both.
Just spotted where Caroline Stuart-Taylor (prejudice reinforcing name or what) is located. Deep ambivalence is recorded 
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brian, does the location begin "up her own"?
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brian
brian
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Wear The Fox Hat, 
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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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Wear The Fox Hat, brian, 'Where' is she really located? I seem to be the only person not getting these she-mails ...
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brian
brian
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Agenterre, dans le village de mes rêves. I don't mind some  s turning up there but the thought of it being infested with ski club types (prejudice is all mine) ......
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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brian, Je pense...je comprends ...je pense 
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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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Whitegold, I agree their snow data is very good.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| brian wrote: |
| Agenterre, dans le village de mes rêves. I don't mind some s turning up there but the thought of it being infested with ski club types (prejudice is all mine) ...... |
You one of those racists from north of the border?
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brian
brian
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Tim Brown, I find upper class Scottish twits are equally irritating, if that helps you decide
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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richmond, ah - that's much better.
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cathy, would you like my copy, it's still in the bin 
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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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Tim Brown,
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| You one of those racists from north of the border? |
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objectionable, or what?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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brian
brian
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Pity that Tim Brown, hasn't responded to what I said. Perhaps he needs more time to digest my post and understand that I really do object to broad generalisations which slag off a whole nation. Strikes me that the accusation of racism should be directed inwardly Tim. 
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Tim Brown,
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You one of those racists from north of the border?
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As the English are not a race one can hardly be racist about them.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Whitegold wrote: |
Their quantitative database, both historical and present, is excellent. |
Are you talking about the snow depth figures that come from the tourist office?
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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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| T Bar wrote: |
Tim Brown,
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You one of those racists from north of the border?
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As the English are not a race one can hardly be racist about them. |
The law governing racial discrimination covers discrimination against the English by, for example a racist Scots person. Of course not all Scots are racists.
But of course it's ok for Bwian to make a sweeping generalisation about SCGB members. It's the SCGB, so it's fair game on this website.
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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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| Tim Brown wrote: |
| T Bar wrote: |
Tim Brown,
| Quote: |
You one of those racists from north of the border?
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As the English are not a race one can hardly be racist about them. |
The law governing racial discrimination covers discrimination against the English by, for example a racist Scots person. Of course not all Scots are racists.
But of course it's ok for Bwian to make a sweeping generalisation about SCGB members. It's the SCGB, so it's fair game on this website. |
So it seems as thought he does nothing more that you do.
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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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Are we implying that the Ski Club are actually a separate race?  ...that'd be the master race presumably?
FBB
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brian
brian
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I really feel for people who make a living from seasonal bookings. It must be hard to re-spin the negative global warming/no snow/grass everywhere stories which the press and SCGB want to write about.
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Fair point JohnnyH but anyone that goes into a business dependant on the weather has to accept that there will be the occasional bad year and need to build it in to their business plan.
My brother and family were considering cancelling this year but were assured by the chalet owner that conditions were fine and great skiing/boarding to be had. They got to the resort and found that lower slopes were brown and bare and upper slopes were icy. Fine if you were an expert I guess but intimidating for the occasional skier with kids.
It may be idealistic for a holiday maker to expect the mountains and calley to be covered in a thick white blanket but if that's what they want, don't tell them that these conditions exist if the snow cannons are on overtime and people are walking around the village in t-shirts.
You cannot condone the press over-hyping the problem but the ski industry as well have to be fair to their customers. The skiclub or a snowsports correspondent in a broadsheet paper or the BBC may have their own agenda but are probably a better guide to conditions than someone deperate to sell snow related holidays and pay off a business loan.
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I think all of the trouble over the emails stems from the changing of the club from its origins as a club to what it is now which is a far more commerciall opperation and thus has to act accordingly
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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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Paul100, I take your point. But some locals can and do report accurately - easiski and davidof spring to mind.
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achilles, absolutely, and it is infuriating when press are reporting 'green slopes' 'no skiing this year' when the pistes are open, and although perhaps not powder perfect, are still enjoyable.
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FAQ
