 Poster: A snowHead
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The idea:
Wow, won't it be great going on holiday with all my mates and their kids and a few friends that they know? We can ski around together in a big group, have lunch together, split up into smaller splinter groups, get drunk together and have a great laugh...
The reality:
First day or so sees most people roughly sticking together, people finding their ski feet again, a few of the unruly kids head off to do little off-piste runs between slopes and get scolded, a few of the better skiers nip off to do a few reds and maybe a black or two to drop into the conversation later that evening... "so where did you and Simon get off to when we were on that nursery slope this afternoon?" "Oh we just saw the opportunity for a quick look round, scouting out the place a bit, thought we'd have a quick jaunt down the 'murder-rennen'." "The murder-rennen? That famous icy-black-run-that-kills-47-skiers-each-year-and-eats-their-first-born ?" "Yes, well, it's not that bad once you get into it... rhubarb, etc..."
Day 2 sees the fun and games start as the intermediates in the group start to get a bit quicker and more impatient and the boredom starts to set in at the top of the chairlift...
"where's Janet got to?"
"Oh she had to pop off to the little girl's room, she'll be up here in a minute..."
"I told her not to have that extra cup of tea... Hang on, where have those lot gone to?"
"They're down there waiting by the corner of the piste... where it turns off on to that run down to the double chairlift..."
"What double chairlift?"
"You know...? That one we went to four times yesterday? Where Martin fell over the fat German?"
"Oh yeah... hang on - what's Simon waving his poles at us for? WHAT? CAN'T HEAR YOU! OH! THAT WAY? THAT'S THE BLACK RUN...! YES IT IS... " <walkie> "Chris... schhhhhhhhrrrr... Chris? sccchhhhhhrrrr" "Oh bloody hell... let me get my glove off... Yes? Hello? Simon? What? Oh for god's sake... answer me man... HELLO?"
"ssssssccchhhrrr... <incomprehensible> "
"Oh get off the channel you stupid... No, sorry Simon, not you... Listen, we're just waiting for Janet... she'll be up in a minute... just hang on by the corner there and we'll come down to you? What? What do you mean he's gone down there to catch the chair back up to us? That'll take him ages - that chair's not running today! Who's lost a glove? Oh bloody hell... where did he last see it? In the cafe? Hang on, I'll call Janet on the mobile, she's in the loo down there, she can check for it... Janet? Rick's lost his glove - can you check for it before you come up the chair? What do you mean 'which chair?' The one told you to come up in the cafe! You've gone up which drag? What on earth... hang on... Simon? SIMON? Yes, sorry mate, Janet's gone up that flaming drag lift behind the cafe... yes, I know... yes... I KNOW! I told her! Yes, ok, we'll ski down there and meet up with Janet over by the double chair then.... The one that Martin fell over the fat Germ... yes, that one... OK, you've got the rest of the group with you, yeah? You're joking? Where did they go? They've gone to catch up with David and tell him the chair's not working? Oh good grief... they'll have to ski down to the valley and get the gondola up now! Hang on... who's this just coming off the chair...? It's David! DAVID! DAVID! How did you get up here? Yes, we know that chair isn't working... half of the rest of the group has just gone off to catch you up and tell you that... Oh... there's a drag half way that brings you back to the bottom of this chair? Oh well... Simon... David's here, we'll go and get Janet and see you by that double chair, you go and catch up with the ones looking for David and bring them there too... Hang on, David's saying something... Janet's gone where? Oh give me strength... "
"scccrrrrrh Chris... Simon here... Jake needs a wee, we're going off to catch up with the others then going up the gondola to that black bit again, can you come and get him and take him down to the loo please...?"
By day 4 there are 6 splinter groups of 3 people all sulkily going around the mountain occasionally meeting up to trade abuse and stories of missing gloves, children, ski passes...
Or is it just my group that this happens to?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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carled, What an accurate description of one of our trips!
We lost a whole day in ValD'Isere because of losing one of our party who wasn't paying attention.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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lol
we have decided after many miserable holidays with friends that we just go on our own from now on, more hassle than it's worth besides you usually meet new people and get others to ski with when you get there
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carled, very funny except... this year I have organised a group of 18 in a chalet - is this what I've got to look forward to? 
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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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Nick L, oh dear.
carled LMAO 
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Nick L, Good luck 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Nick L, can you cancel?
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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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Nick L, You will not all ski together. Don't worry it will be fine. Split em up, or say things like "see you at the X resto in 1hr"
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for the sympathies guys and gals.
I'm not really worrying - but if I appear at the EOSB having pulled all my hair out  , you'll know why.
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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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| Nick L wrote: |
| ...but if I appear at the EoSB having pulled all my hair out ... |
Didn't that happen last year?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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answering others Walkie Talkie messages ...how annoying is that! 
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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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Even a foursome can prove troublesome. We lost our youngest in Whistler a couple of years ago, pistes forked and he took the wrong one, which didn't go down to the same chairlift. It took us ages to find him, me waiting at the lift, and the other two going back up and down looking for him. He eventually turned up on his own at the lift again. Wasted half our last morning though. And try explaining to the piste patrol that your son is lost when he is aged 15 and 6ft tall. 
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Yeah it is a thing with my family with a smaller group.
2 competent skiiers. One who specifically is dying to get some piste action in. Perfect skiing match with one pushing the other. One has slightly better skiing control and one has more confidence. We like skiing blacks and reds together.
2 skiiers with no confidence. One is imrpoving though, at the moment perfect skiing match. They like skiing greens and easy blues. If the conditions even detoriate to cloud or a bit of flat light its call it a day.
However we spend a lot of time on pistes which is either too boring or apparently pushing it a bit too far. A lot of blues are pushing it too far apprarently. Also lots of boring hot chocolate breaks.
Apparently we have to stick together at times. Its not as if we dont have family cohesion, or we never spend time together.
Cant wait to go skiing with my friends who are of a similar ability. 
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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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carled,
chortle chortle, very good,reading it brings so many pictures to mind, especially now in half term time!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Been with another couple a few times. But never again.
Myself, Mrs JB and my mate are all capable off skiing at the same level, however mate's wife has been skiing 3 times (Only ever had 1 week of tuition) and thinks she should be skiing difficult reds and blacks despite the fact she is crap. Prob is she either wants all of us to ski as a group or for my mate to ski with her all day. Anyway, she is up the duff this year, so we are free!!!
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friends who we invited to our apartment - and to the ski area of which we were very proud - p'd us off by noting, afterwards, that they thought the area "lacked challenge". They had done none of the blacks, none of the off-piste, and had skied mostly blues and a few reds, very slowly.... we didn't ask them again! I have identified a few spots now where there are a variety of runs going to the same chair - so people can choose which run to do, and what speed to go, and wait at the top of the chair when they're ready to go on to something else. It works fine.
If any of our visitors ski too well, I persuade them to get on a snowboard. That sorts them out.
The irony is that my son, who is a superb skier (spent a season in Val D going out with his BASI 1 flat mate and his colleagues on their days off) never, ever, complains that the area lacks challenge. He shoots off and finds plenty of challenge, emerging from thickets and forests covered in powder, or practising new moves on his snowboard, or finding bits to jump. Or doing entire runs backwards, or on one leg. He's never bored, even with the easiest pistes.
Big groups are a real pain. But I do wish our friends had complained about the "lack of challenge" when they were out there.... I'd have been happy to find something stretching for them! Like the person johnboy was complaining about, they had scarcely had any lessons - maybe there's a pattern there, because people interested in improving, and who have had some good tuition, seem well capable of using any runs as a development opportunity. People who complain about runs being "boring" should maybe try them backwards, or on one leg.... or just enjoy the mountain view and chill.
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I personally like skiing with a group. If you dont, you can always go and play with (by) yourself!!!
pam w, Lack of variety or terrain like your friends mentioned is a reflection on their abilities not a resort. Mrs RH skied all her formative years on a 12km hill, and she can ski properly. Took a group of my friends out this year and spent the first day on blues (to their dismay and frustration), she suggested that this is the way to perfect their technique!!! A problem with the language as the lads did not know what she meant by "technique".
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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 too like skiing in a group. However the best size group is about 5-8 of the SAME standard. Or for off piste 4-6, or for semi extreme off piste (for safety reasons) perhaps 3 or 4.
If you have got a bigger group you can subdivide and people can shift from group to group to ski with different people - otherwise it just gets too frustrating.
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I've somehow got lumbered with organising a trip for 9. I just want to ski, and am not fussed on the type of accommodation, as is one other in the group. I've sent out daily updates on where I am with finding something, and no one replies with anything other than "I don't mnid where we go". Sorry, but that's crap - what if I chose La Grave?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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I skied in a group of five this weekend. I was the worst skier by some distance. We stuck together in the morning (they were very patient), but by lunch I suspected they were gagging for a bit more of a challenge, so I left them to it, skied a couple of blues/greens, and headed back to base for a shower and an early beer. Only problem with this is that I missed out on skiing time.
If I was in the same situation again I think I would arrange for some one to one lessons for myself in the mornings, so I could actually progress and hopefully be able to join them with the more challenging stuff later on the trip.
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hyweljenkins, chose La Grave if you are not getting any feedback from your group. If it is up to you it is up to you. I know what you are going through, I have organised six out of the last 11 holidays. Our group in fairness get together and get a consenus, Country, Time, Type of accomodation and price! Most are intermediates and ski as a group, on the last day we would all ski together, beginners to experts so that everyone feels part of the group.
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You know it makes sense.
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We actually only (hah... "only"... I'll regret that...) have a group of 10 this year to Wengen and no kids. Trouble is we have (try and keep up) 3 boarders, of which 2 are gnarly-ish dudes that will want to be on reds & blacks & any (please!) powder and one is a 1-week beginner. 7 skiers of which 3 are women, one is a top-advanced skier with dodgy knees so stays on-piste only, one is an intermediate who thinks he's better than he is, one is a over-ambitious intermediate who thinks he can handle powder and general off-piste, one of which is an impetuous youth with no real skills but plenty of (too much) gung-ho, one of which is a very timid beginner who broke her wrist last time out, one of which is a slightly more advanced beginner who always pirhouettes when she turns as she has her weight too far back and one of which is a fair intermediate who likes to take on jumps and falls over a lot.
Two of the women take 3 hours to get ready in the morning/after every cafe stop and constantly drop and/or lose goggles, hats & gloves, two of the youths (one boarder & one skier) are very competitive siblings and prone to doing the "which lift are we heading to? That one? Yahoo!" and disappearing off in completely the wrong direction anyway, one of the boarders is a foreigner who fails to understand the English way of bickering and piss-taking such that he frequently thinks we've actually fallen out and goes off to do his own thing while we make up, all of the skiers think that the boarders are beer-swilling oiks that say, "dude" too much and take every opportunity to seek out and use every drag lift in the resort and the timid skier will probably kack her pants if we try and take her down anything steeper than a kindergarten slope.
We'll be easy to spot in Wengen, trust me... I'll be the one clubbing some dazed-looking skiers with my snowboard...
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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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carled, your post is so so true ! I feel for you! We always go in large groups and for the period leading up to and dfor the first few days I am constantly saying "we need to split into managble groups of similar abilities" By day 3 of losing people, boards, walkie talkies etc... I have given up and welcome any chance I have to lose any of the ignorant useless idiots that I call my family or friends
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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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FTS... I'm one of the Gnarly-ish snowboarder dudes... not fully gnarly. Maybe a bit scraggy. And gnarled.
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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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carled aren't you the one pointing out the weather patterns to the group and explaining why the 20cm forecast by xyz.com didn't turn up/turned up late/was more[less] than forecast
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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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No, I'm the chump getting abuse because I failed to predict six months in advance that there would be a snow drought and a heatwave during our ski/board holiday...
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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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carled, I got moaned at for the 4 hour transfer, had to put up with sulking from half the group because my apartment for 6 got upgraded to one with an extra bedroom and got told the snow looked 'A BIT CRUDDY' from the coach on the way in, even though they hadnt set foot on it. To top it all the miserable sods didnt even say thanks or buy me a beer for the effort.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I think the only solution is to ski on your own. Proof, as if it was needed, was the wife has just phoned from girls ski trip to say she's skied all day and tackled several blacks. She has NEVER a) skied all day and b) tried a black with me - usually combination of too tired or too difficult.
Sulks
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Oh my lot are great for that - they treat me to a meal out and last year bought me a new battery handgrip (£120+) for my SLR camera... I am well appreciated... as I should be...
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This thread reminds me that I have to buy snowball a bottle of whisky for organising several excellent trips (and putting up with me changing from one to the other).
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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 love going with a big group - I find it's more of a pain when we are SC or B&B though.
Deciding on where to eat at night is much more of a challenge than daytime co-ordination! (especially with mobiles/radios)
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| Quote: |
| She has NEVER a) skied all day and b) tried a black with me - usually combination of too tired or too difficult. |
This time she was probably out in front and calling the shots; so much more fun than trailing round in hubby's wake!
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