January steep & deep- update on update

A snowHead

I put in the thread below some time ago but found nobody who seemed the right standard. However we have now lost another person through injury and have room for two. Contact me if you want more details.

Update: Our injured member is going to be OK but we still have room for one more (though I'm not sure about rooms till we try).

I also have someone who wants to back out of another holiday based in Bourg St Maurice, skiing the whole area with a guide (Les Arcs / La Plagne, St Foy, La Rosierre, Val d'Isere / Tignes) if I can find someone else - because he is getting married and needs to save the money. we go out Feb 22 on the Paris Ski Train and back the next Saturday. Again, contact me for more details.
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For several years I have been arranging off-piste holidays with guide for a group of friends . We ski at Ski-Club-of-GB Gold standard and want to find the steep and deep. As the group expanded this grew from one holiday to 2 and this year to 3.
A month ago I thought these holidays were all fixed but someone has had to withdraw and then two people wanted to change to a different holiday. Meanwhile those who had asked to be on the reserve list have committed to SCGB repping or holiday leading or other things.

Consequently I am left with a place to fill and wondered if anyone out there who is Gold standard might be interested.

The holiday was originally the first filled and is with our most established and favourite guide: Zeb Roche .
It is based in Montgenevre (staying here and will ski the Milky way area in Italy/France and probably other nearby resorts such as Serre Chevalier and perhaps even La Grave(Zeb has a minibus).
We go out early on Friday 18th January and ski 2 1/2 days on our own, then 6 days with Zeb, returning late on Saturday 26th (ie total of 8 1/2 days skiing). Total about £825 all in, excluding lunches and drinks.
Zeb is an inspirational and exciting guide rather like Phillipe Andre and Remy Lecluse. He also teaches paragliding (he used to be in the French team and his wife was twice word champion: he spent his honeymoon climbing Everest with his wife and they then paraglided off the top). His own home area is the Haute Maurienne but he knows several other areas well (he has also guided us in Verbier - where he has lived - and the Dolomites) and suggested Montgenevre as a base. Here is a witty account with good photos, by Cedric (Horizon) of our Dolomites holiday with Zeb.

Anyone interested I will send more details.

A snowHead

For anyone who's thinking about this - it should be great.

I happen to be one of the persons who has changed to a different holiday (also with snowball and a similar group of skiers). I only changed because this was clashing with a free skiing weekend, and I'm already regretting it!

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

horizon, did I point out to you that the hors pistes area of Zeb's website features pictures of our group (particularly you!)

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Snowball, what is Gold standard by the way?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

This is the ski-club definition but if you ever skied with a ski-club rep or on a Ski Club holiday you will have been graded and these grades are (I think) held by the ski club.
Basically we are looking for the sort of skier who likes to ski fast, can ski breakable crust fairly fluently (if necessary) and who is happy on a 45º slope.
He/she will probably have skied mostly off-piste for quite a while and own avalanche transciever, shovel and probe.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Would love to. Sounds fantastic.

But unfortunately I will be skiing the not so steep but ever so deep of Hokkaido in January wink

Enjoy, and look forward to the TR.

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

I am certainly interested (finances depending)....as am in Flaine the week after - but would you have have a snowboarder in your midst....... wink

I have spent time riding with Phillipe Andre in the La Grave area and surroundings, would love to go back.

After all it is free

Well, I don't think any of us are prejudiced but I'd have to ask. If you are serious I could contact Zeb and see if he thinks it might be a problem (given the snowboard problem on flat paths etc).
I should say that most Ski Club reps aren't Gold standard. It is quite hard to judge standards from a description but could you try?

snowball,

Thanks, I need to speak to my wife about it as there was a possibly that our Flaine trip has to be put forward a week due to her work commitments.
Did you want a description of my riding ability, sorry slightly muddled!

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Well, that was what I meant but perhaps it wouldn't take us very far. I imagine you must feel my description of Gold fits you. For a skier the requirement to ski breakable crust fairly easily would define a standard that it may not do similarly to a boarder.

You have no profile so I don't know what sort of age you are. It doesn't bother us, but on this holiday we are late 40s to very late 50s (but several people we ski with are 30s.) Just don't expect us to want to go clubbing.

Let me know if your interest becomes serious and I'll contact the guide. There is a possibility he might think it would limit us since many remote bits of off-piste involve long paths to get out and you should expect to climb sometimes to reach some routes. It is fairly rare for us to use skins but we do sometimes (though only a few of us own them).

I just PMed you more details.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

If anyone else is interested I'd still like to hear from you.

snow reports

norris, Ive been talking to one of the other guys and I've got to bactrack a bit. We are worried about practical compatibility with a snowboarder. Much of the stuff we did last season with Zeb would have been impractical (involving lots of long skating and poling out, and a long day on skins accessing the only good snow high on a glacier. I'm not saying no at this stage but we are having doubts.

No Problems snowball...

You know it makes sense.

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

I skied with one once (for a day) who must have been the worst guide in the Alps. He also couldn't ski that well and when we got tired of skiing rather slowly and passed him he fell over trying to keep up.

A snowHead

Sounds like a nice trip and I would have been interested but I think I have late Jan coming together now. If anything changes I will PM you guys and see how you are fixed up.

It is funny, nothing happens for weeks and then I can get two chases in 2 days. Oct must be the time when everything comes together

A snowHead

Is this an official snowHeads trip now?

If so you need an abbreviated title.

So what could we call the Steep And Deep Official Snowheads trip?

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

Mosha Marc,
Laughing

You need to Login to know who's really who.

But if you trip in the steep and deep you usually become a snowhead anyway.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Fine, JT,

You'll need to Register first of course.

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

Re Antipodes, yes you are right, I had thought you were one of the two in red at the front of one of them, but I see now that you aren't. But you've got the BEST ski picture and you are being a bit of a pin-up in the foreground of another, so I reckon you are still the best represented.

After all it is free

I'm still looking, by the way. Seems like most people are already booked up.

I'm still looking by the way.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I put in this thread some time ago but found nobody who seemed the right standard. However we have now lost another person through injury and have room for two. Contact me if you want more details.

I also have someone who wants to back out of another holiday (again SCGB Gold, or perhaps Gold minus standard) based in Bourg St Maurice, 8 days skiing the whole area with a guide (Les Arcs / La Plagne, St Foy, La Rosierre, Val d'Isere / Tignes) if I can find someone else - because he is getting married and needs to save the money. However he will stay in if we can't find someone the right standard.we go out Feb 22 on the Paris Ski Train and back the next Saturday. Again, contact me for more details.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snowball, Where a group of yours skiing in St Anton last season with a guide from Piste to Powder by any chance? It's just that in your dolomite trip report there are a couple of pictures of a guy called John who I know from years back and I bumped into him in St Anton last year. He was with a group of people who had some connection with SCGB (one guy had a gold test lapel badge) and had hired a guide for themselves for the week. In fact I seem to remember skiing some of the same pitches as that group with our guide Franz.

snow reports

Yes, that was us (several of us are SCGB members) skiing with Graham Austick. John is John Kotke and I was the one with the Gold lapel badge (I think Stuart had one on his backpack). John wanted to come on this holiday but it was already full by the time he said so, and when the first person withdrew he had (the day before) agreed to lead a ski club holiday which clashed.
I don't suppose you are interested or know someone who might be?

I would be interested, but having just done the SCGB reps course myself I am committed to doing some repping this year for them (albeit only one week, owing to lack of annual leave), unfortunately I don't know anyone who might be interested at present, sorry about that.

You know it makes sense.

Perhaps I should make a note of your email for future years?

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

Yes, could make sense as I don't intend to use all of my annual leave for SCGB duties - just add @hotmail.com to my snowheads username that will find me. Say hello to John the next time you're in contact him - tell him I'm sorry I didn't make it to the bar in St Anton, but I was having a 'fully-focused' (i.e no hangovers) skiing week, my name is Peter BTW.

Your report from your dolomites trip was great BTW some of those couloirs looked like really good fun.

A snowHead

OK - I will be skiing with John in March at Engelberg (my third and last this year). Actually the report was by Horizon (= Cedric). I am David Johnson (also on SCGB web-chat).

A snowHead

UPDATE Stuart now reckons he will be better in time for Montgenevre - but we still have one place available.

Help!!

January steep & deep- update on update

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