Benchmark runs

A snowHead

Another thread got me thinking about how you rate yourself for the purposes of trips with people you've never skied with before. Ignoring rubbish scales like S&R are there benchmark ski runs or routes in named resorts you should be able to handle with speed, reasonable style and control in any conditions to determine where you think you stand.

Some examples of blackish ungroomed runs -

Swiss Wall - Porte de Soleil
The Face/Gunbarrel or Mott Canyon- Heavenly
Mont Fort frontside off the groomed- Verbier
Peak/shale slope - Whistler

The problem with these if they are recognised box-ticking runs is actually through popularity they are almost synonomous with big mogul fields but then its hard to say -third chute over, entrance round the bend just off that cattrack and have anyone know what you're talking about.

Any thoughts?

A snowHead

Blue groomed runs - La Moraine , Val Thorens.

If you like hooning down this, trying to do GS turns, and laughing with joy, "speed, reasonable style and control" then I will fit in your ski group.

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

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fatbob,
back corries at nevis range.
They aren't that difficult once you have "droped in" (if the snow is good) it's just the dropping in that makes me want to change my underpants rolling eyes

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

What is more concerning is that the “signature run” of Cairngorm may be about to lose it’s dedicated tow. The White Lady tow didn’t run last year as the bull wheel fell off.
Rumours are (some bird told some bloke on a train) that they may not fix the tow.
There are other lifts to do the run but:

Very sad if it’s true Crying or Very sad

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Frosty the Snowman,
It is a t bar but I wasn't there that day Laughing

After all it is free

Red groomed run Piste G Val d'Isere
Black groomed run La Sache.
Black ungroomed run Spanky's Ladder Whistler.

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Black Moguls: Outhouse or Derailer at Winter Park

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snow reports

The Tunnel, Alpe D'Huez for a piste. Black. Very steep and heavily mogulled when I was doing it season before last. No sign of grooming.

The tunnel is a lot of fun. Especially at the top, with everyone frozen in fear. Laughing

You know it makes sense.

achilles,

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

Thing I found toughest at the Tunnel was the very start, which had had the obvious line bulldozed deep and with only a snowboard's width Twisted Evil

. The way I found round that was a rather icy traverse to the right, followed by a hard steep, left-turn. Bit of a heart-stopper.

At the EOSB there was an off-piste pitch on Carron which woke me up. Steep. A bit icy, rocks around. Falling not a good idea. I found myself side-stepping gingerly down until I felt I had a clearer line. I was very grateful to have Bernard_C behind me. There was the feeling that at least he would be able to pick up my body and post the bits back to Mrs a if the worst came to the worst. Afterwards, he gave me a tip about side slipping in such extreme conditions - which I have forgotten Embarassed

. Something like having both poles up hill, and leaning on them a bit as I side slipped. Can anybody confirm that's right? I don't doubt Bernard_C knows what he is talking about - I do doubt my memory of what he said.

A snowHead

achilles,

A snowHead

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

Shite, I don't know any of these runs.... hardly. I do agree with fatbob's very apt take on pierre a ric. The worse 4 o'clock run ever but really worth doing inthe morning...and there is nobody on it....!!

The Reds over to Zurs are a blast..particuarly the one off the back to get into Lech and the run down into the centre of Lech before you get on the lifts back to Zurs are pretty fast and open.

The steep and icy 4 o'clock black run into Zinal is memorable but you will need edges or you'll hit the nets. And that would be a good thing because you'll go a very long way without them.

Can only remember Tortin and Mont Fort in my third year skiing and thought Mont Gele was the Dogs... !!

I think Mont Vallon was quite good but I don't generally know the names of the runs.

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JT I agree, both the runs down from Mont Vallon are great fun (cant remember the names either)

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Isn't one called Mont Vallon? wink

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I'm impressed with you all. I have no idea about the names of about 99.9% of the runs I've done. I tend to look at the numbers to make sure navgations working - but that's about it.

I can't remember any lift names either.

However, whilst I have done the "Mont Fort frontside off the groomed- Verbier" via the rock garden at the top, the phrase "...with speed, reasonable style and control in any conditions" didn't really apply, at least not until about half way down.

Seeing one bloke trip and slide the full length of it was impressive though (is it about 1000m or so?), the same bloke doing the same thing on the very next run just made me giggle I'm afraid.

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Trouble with benchmark runs is they can vary so much with the conditions. I've skiied a coule of the runs mentioned here: Tunnel at Alpe D'huez and La Sache down to Tigne les Brevieres. When I did Tunnel it had only just opened after beeing closed for a couple of days and the run was nice, moguls weren't too big, snow was soft and, bar the exit from the tunnel which was a little scary, I found it relatively easy. I actually found the mogul run down to the start of the tunnel harder as the moguls were bigger and the snow between the moguls was hard and icy. La Sache I did last year in various conditions, once immediatlely after it opened after a couple of days of wet snowy weather - it was covered in bottomless porridge completley un pisted. All I'll say is I got down it. Did it again several times more, but it had been pisted and was easy even though the last section was hard and icy and the moguls were big - much better than the bottomless porridge. Most of it isn't particularly hard - only the last section is steep and narrow.

After all it is free

Best to rate yourself a tad lower than you really are, so that you don't look like a complete baffoon when meeting up with others. I add, that I am completely at ease heli-skiing off the top of Mount Everest. wink

chris, ha!. That's the worry about the first time you go to a snowheads bash, innit? In practice, for most of us, it's worked out OK - so we must be a moderately honest bunch. Cool

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Mosha Marc,

Me neither, I know the geography and the direction but a run with a name? I am not all that fussed about a piste map but they are useful for connections and eating places so I'll mostly have one as a backup.

Having said that, I love looking at maps and can visualise the terrain easily, so an OS type map is more use for me. If I look at one, I can probably draw it pretty accurately. You should be able to 'read' terrain as well, so if you duck down here, it ends up there. If you aren't too bothered about the terrain, this can be useful. Mind you, I have ended up being shouted at a few times...!! " why did you f**** bring me down here/" .... ringing in my ears. And I am thinking...you ask me to get you there - because you haven't a clue - and then you complain ??.... Laughing

But... I can step it up a bit and be sensible as well... Laughing

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the tunnel is quite a good intro to steep skiing. i generally avoid the bumps by traversing skiers right as soon as i can. it's a bit steeper than the piste, but generally really nice snow

the sarenne at ADH is quite a good into to long runs with no bale out, which is my favourite type of off piste

brian

In my day you graduated up through the Cas gunbarrel to the White Lady and on to the Tiger.

Almost all of the runs mentioned here I haven't skied. My friends did the Tunnel and Sarenne at AdH, but I was only a beginner so still on blues and greens until the end of the week when I did Stade, my first red.

My favourite black is Suisses at Courchevel 1850. The hardest black I've done was Black 14 at Hinterglemm but that was somewhat down to the conditions - of itself it didn't seem too hard. The hardest piste I've skied was a red - Marmottes - at 1850 - huge moguls that particular day, bodies everywhere.

My favourite runs are really fast blues or reds where you can carve GS turns or make fast slalom turns - runs like Loze and Chenus at 1850 and Ariondaz at 1650. Mont Vallon is good fun provided there is snow, but ISTR when we did it it was rather busy and over-populated with people who weren't in control, leading me to take to off-piste on several occasions to avoid flailing snowploughers.

I'm really into piste skiing, don't particularly like off-piste although I can do it just fine - didn't fall over all day when the whole glacier turned into off-piste at Kaprun thanks to a huge dump. I just love a hard grippy piste and lovely big double tramline carved turns.

You know it makes sense.

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

fatbob, The grand colouir in Courchevel 1850 can seperate the men from the boys. If you can get down to the piste and still fancy it it is a great unpisted black run.

Mount vallon the Combe vallon is the best pisted run and off piste directly under the bubble is great.

Mount fort from the high right hand side as you are looking down is very hairy IMO.

A snowHead

skimottaret,

A snowHead

Hurtle, are you the lady who screamed at me in Val d'Isere?

Dropping off the side of the piste into a nice tree run with a bit of a pitch, the guide I was with went first, and just before I dropped in, a very nervous lady skied up to me, and berated me for being so stupid as to consider doing such a foolhardy thing, and asked me if I was mad. Laughing

Any snowHeads who've skied with me may refrain from answering that last rhetorical question. Evil or Very Mad

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

Kramer,

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Well, I haven't skied any of those mentioned......so does that mean I can confidently rate myself as a non-skier?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

skimottaret,

Skier's right on the front face of Mont Fort if you go in right at the top is 40 degrees (tragically I measured this with an inclinometer). I've got some great helemtcam footage of me and a friend skiing it, I just need to edit it slightly to remove the swearing and panting and I'll try and post it

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a valid, honest testpiece and not a hero run?

The main run, sous-bois not required.

After all it is free

Robert Blanc above Arc 2000. Kinda steep.
White Lady Cairngorm. Icy Moguls the size of small cars
Anaconda Glades Fernie. So tough can't believe it's a marked run
Stade on Mont Cherie, Les Gets. Best hooning run I've ever skied.
KL Les Arcs. Kinda fast.

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BGA, are you sure it's that steep Shocked

We could be talking about different bits of the hill here.

I meant the bit straight below the lift station, and under the wires, on this pic.

Help!!

Benchmark runs

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