 Poster: A snowHead
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moffatross, I'm discovering I like skiing out of season, and while I can get a bit disheartened by doing endless technical drills I console myself with the knowledge that it will increase my enjoyment of skiing in season. Having said that, when I've been coached at Hemel or done courses there the skiing has always been extremely enjoyable and the hours just zip by  All year round skiing seems to work for me!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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There is a recurring theme in these threads of 'I've skied Scotland once and iit's cr*p'
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well not in my post there isn't. I just described my worst day. 
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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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Oh the joys of skiing in Scotland, I recall a week of staying in Glenmore Lodge for a ski mountaineering taster course, which consisted of
Had to leave our minibus and use skins to reach the base station at Aviemore because the access road was closed, and finally arriving absolutely k......ckered at the car park to be met by lots of daytrippers in cars and coaches (they decided to open the access road just as we arrived)
Having bad weather and several white out conditions during the week which meant using skins (even to ski downhill) on compass bearings
Skiing off cornices on the end of a rope (to practice crevasse rescue)
Arguing with ghyllies over whose land the group leaders should have got permission to access
Staying overnight in a snowhole due to bad weather, and then having to dig our way out due to the amount of snowfall
Being licked to death by huskey dogs doing sledge runs in the forest (though that wasn't so bad)
Skiing in mist and bad light conditions nearly every day with only rare appearances of the sun
Whilst I can see the attraction of a short break in Scotland if the conditions are good, I personally would prefer a technique session in a "fridge" as a warm up prior to going to the Alps
Also, I don't seem to recall much difference in the cost of a weeks skiing in Scotland compared to going abroad
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valleyboy, that post conjures up such a clear picture.  Character-building stuff.
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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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If I lived in Scotland or maybe an hour or possibly two hours away from a Scottish ski centre I'd probably nip there for the odd day or two or weekend as well if the conditions looked good and I fancied a ski. Much easier if it's on your doorstep as I'm sure most would agree. It's a long way from here though, hours and hours in the car or by train. Here to Glasgow is 6 hours I think by train, obviously a lot quicker than driving it from here mind you, but then I'd have to get to Fort William/Nevis from there (using Nevis as an example) so all in all we're talking rather a long time to get to a Scottish ski area and I'm not even living as far south as some others do. I don't really use snowdomes in between seasons as it goes either, probably a lot of that has got to do with the fact there's not one really close to me for it to be handy, but on the odd occasion I do go to one I'd rather drive for a 1.5 hours/2 hours to get to one than to go all the way up to Scotland and back to be honest with you. I skied in Scotland during Easter weekend 2008 and enjoyed it, but like I say, it's a bloomin' long way from here. Glad I went to try it though. I think if it's right on your doorstep or within a couple of hours travelling distance then that's great to take advantage when the conditions allow and nice to be out in the fresh air too I bet.
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VolklAttivaS5, just as a point of interest, the vast majority of even Scotland's own population is over 2 hours drive from their nearest ski centre too and maybe that's why Glasgow's XScape remains busy. People are prepared to spend many hours over the working week commuting from home to work and back but will shun a drive to pleasure !!! 
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moffatross, yeah thanks for pointing that out, although I did realise that the ski areas are not right there next to everyone living in Scotland, but it's certainly a lot closer for you guys than it is for me. I'm based in Cardiff at the mo so that's a pretty long way from Scotland. Besides as I said, I very rarely ski in between seasons anyway, so I'm probably not the best example to consider.
Are you saying then that despite mountain skiing being massively closer to resident Scottish people than it is for people living elsehwere in the UK, that even those resident people are choosing to go to a snowdome such as Glasgow's Xscape than to their nearest hill in Scotland even though both are a couple of hours drive away? Obviously they will opt for the snowdome if they want to go skiing when the ski areas are closed in the Scottish ski areas, but are you saying that they go to Xscape also at other times when they could have gone to a hill to ski potentially?
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VolklAttivaS5, yes, exactly that. I think it's down to a lack of awareness from some folk but for some others, there's no excuse really.
I worked with a ski instructor from a Glasgow ski club who would alternate his weekend classes between dendex and artificial snow. I did ask him why they didn't use the mountains for group classes or why he never went himself and the answer was almost verbatim 'it's too far, we like perfect snow & don't like the unpredictable weather'.
Each to their own I suppose. 
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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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moffatross, ok.
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Bump! Two years to the month after my 72 hours of rain in South Lake Tahoe, I returned to Tahoe, to arrive in the Squaw Valley parking lot to be greeted by a desolate empty expanse, horizontal rain and the wind sustained at 100mph+ at the top of the Funitel. The snow line was just above the funitel, so no chance of getting out of the rain. There was just one lift open on arrival, the KT22 Express. But with the legendary KT22 spinning and barely double figures skiing it would have been rude not to have.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Was that not at the same time as another epic dump was being enjoyed at the Gorm? I seem to recall feeling rather sorry for you that day ...
... I presume you now tell everyone that Californian skiing is cr*p
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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 recall skiing in gale force winds at Mammoth, had to buy a face mask to stop my skin freezing ... 
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roga, indeed it was. Glencoe and CairnGorm were topping the world league tables for fresh powder! Certainly the first time I've ever been aware of folk jumping the mountain river below the Access Chair at Glencoe....
^Bottom of the Glencoe Access Chairlift.
Certainly if I used the same matrix to assess CA skiing as some use for Scottish Skiing then clearly Californian skiing is crap!! Welcome to snowsports in a maritime climate! To quote a guy from Perth on the Cornice Express at Kirkwood in 2005, welcome to Glencoe on Steroids with trees. I have no desire to rush off to the Alps, but Kirkwood will always be calling.
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You know it makes sense.
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Yeah, I love Mammoth ... but then I've never skied Kirkwood! 
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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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| Winterhighland wrote: |
Certainly the first time I've ever been aware of folk jumping the mountain river below the Access Chair at Glencoe....
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I was there that morning
There was a film team filming a pro boarder doing a few jumps across the burn. Never have seen the footage, but would like 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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wicked weekend that top to bottom skiing 
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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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| mountainaddict wrote: |
I haven't checked this, but I am fairly sure that I'm correct in stating that in about 7 or 8 of the last 10 winters, Cairngorm has opened for skiing in November....
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Not before Christmas for the 4 years starting 2001/2, unless my figures are very wrong. In 2001/2 and 2004/5 there wasn't anything much till February. 2006-7 there was a slump in February.
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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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Haggis_Trap, thanks for that. we were getting ready to get on the chair just as he jumped...
great days skiing.
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FAQ
