 Poster: A snowHead
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A number of shops around the French Alps have decided to call a halt to upper range ski and board rentals until the beginning of February, hopeful of better snow conditions by then.
I asked around the Bourg St Maurice Les Arcs resort, by no means the worst affected in the French Alps, talking first to a somewhat morose manager of the Twinner shop at Arc 1600, who described business as 'desperate'. Fewer than usual visitors in January, combined with damage to most equipment on return means they are having to work around the clock to make ends meet. The manager of the Tip Top shop in Bourg this afternoon confirmed that they would not be renting out quality or test equipment for the time being.
Gordon and Rosy Horn who run the equipment hire and storage shop Polaire Star at the Bourg Saint Maurice funicular echoed this sentiment, adding that the problem was made considerably worse by a general lack of care taken of rental gear. Gordon mentioned that he had even spotted someone attempting to ski along the tarmac of a road - completely devoid of snow - in Bourg Saint Maurice recently, on Polaire Star hire equipment. In terms of keeping hire prices down, as Gordon suggests, sometimes visitors are their own worst enemies - with the reasonable and respectful majority paying for the antics of the few.
Gordon and Rosy confirm that they are not restricting rentals at the moment, although test equipment is not available. Visitor numbers are down considerably, echoed by snowHead's Admin up in the 3 Valleys at the moment, who phoned in this lunchtime to confirm that he had found himself skiing virtually alone on the Courchevel pistes on several occasions so far this week.
A sprinkling of snow has been forecast for Thursday morning, but with the influx of visitors to arrive early February, resort managers are desperately studying long-range forecasts for signs of substantial snowfall over the next two weeks. At the moment there is little room for optimism.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Wed 12-01-05 15:03; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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No surprise I guess, out local place is still renting premium stuff, or was last weekend for a couple of guys who were here. Mrs Ise was going to get some new skis but it's not a good time for new skis now so she'll wait.
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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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It's good business sense, bearing in mind that a pair of skis are easily wrecked in 5 minutes in adverse conditions. Rock-hoppers are the only things to use in these conditions, sadly.
As I mentioned elsewhere, blades can be a lot of fun when snow is short in supply. I'd recommend renting a pair if things are a bit desperate. They are maneouvrable, making it easy to skip problems and walk out of situations. The short length is great for automatically correcting fore-aft balance and posture.
If the blades don't have release bindings, avoid situations where the ski may get trapped in a rut or hole, for obvious reasons.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I think they are right to do so, if it were my business I would do the same I'm sure they get some support from manufacturers but they still have a fair chunk of their own investment in the equipment they hire. The high end gear will need to be rented out in good condition 3 or 4 times to come even near the cost price.
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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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PG, think I'd be happier seeing someone "skiing" down a smooth tarmac road devoid of snow than a rocky, rubbly mountain devoid of snow 
On a serious note though, I was quite surprised how quiet La Rosiere was, given that the week we were there (26th Dec) is supposed to be one of the busiest. Were it not for the day trippers and weekend visitors, the place would have been practicaly deserted. The local businesses in the Tarentaise must be getting quite worried. If no snow falls in a sufficient volume before the end of January, there are really only 3 months left of the season!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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From the consumer's point of view it's best not to rent top end gear when rocks are unavoidable, anyway. A hire contract would normally hold the user responsible for damage, or writing off the equipment (though shops obviously apply discretion on enforcing these extra charges).
I rented some quality skis in Italy a couple of years ago and found myself in a nasty off-piste situation, took the skis off and hiked down the slope for 100m, carrying them. I really didn't want to return a pair of wrecked skis to the shop.
That's odd. A halo just appeared over my head as I typed that.
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
Rock-hoppers are the only things to use in these conditions, sadly.
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It may not have snowed for some time but it is reasonably cold. The slopes in my local resort which begin at 1350 meters are great. I was ski touring yesterday (the Dent de Crolles) and there was skiable snow to around 1000 meters on sheltered slopes off piste without wrecking your gear.
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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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Most of our shops are still renting the good gear out, but it hurt me recently to tell my student to ignore the rocks! My friend in the ski shop said she knew I'd said that! Horrid - but many people are just not even attempting to avoid the rocks at all. They don't seem to care that the price will go up next year for them as well as everything else.
PG, I also saw someone attempting to ski the road recently. I told her off but she just shrugged and carried on anyway. 
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then i suspect that when i try skiing for the first time next week, it will be courtesy of a pair of 10 year old narrow skis, probably with a fetching pink and white pattern. maybe I'll even get some rear entry boots. (actually i don't know what I'm talking about and I'm sure that DG or someone will tell me that there is nothing wrong with such equipment and that my skiing will be all the better for it!)
my board that i lovingly waxed at the weekend is staying in its bag until some new snow arrives (or until my mates have scouted out some rock free pistes in Tignes and Val D'Isere, using their boards as cannon fodder!). unfortunately i think that might mean that it never sees the light of day on this trip....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I was a bit put out to be refused 'prestige' skis in the first week of the season last year. On the very last run of the week, I practically sliced a ski in two on a rock that I just didn't see (at Les Contamines). Somehow I escaped injury, and now I'm sympathetic to hire shops keeping their best kit under wraps in such conditions.
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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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lets have some of that Californian snow over here  to sort out the problem.
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