On a related note, James Cove has discovered a new source of unlimited wine in the famed cellar of the Arlberg Hospiz (St Christoph, nr St Anton).
So I've taken the liberty of lifting his Facebook 'trophy photo' to illustrate that point.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
rob@rar wrote:
There's not much in the way of lift infrastructure (not least because it sometimes gets engulfed in lava) but if you have one of these there's no problem
Well the main bubble is quite long,
plus there are 3 drags. I visited Etna in the late spring (but there was still lots of snow higher up) and went on up above the ski area on a special bus up this crushed lava road
to see this side crater (they had just had an eruption from the main one so tourists weren't allowed up).
So are those your ski photos rob@rar?
After all it is free
After all it is free
snowball wrote:
So are those your ski photos rob@rar?
Yes, although I wasn't there for skiing. The main gondola is the 3rd version of a lift in that area, the previous two having been destroyed by eruptions.
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.
Prince James Cove and Prince Harry are both in Verbier right now ... and Planetski seemingly got the scoop on this story about 12 hours ago ...
"I saw a person that looked like Prince Harry walking up the Rue de Medran this morning just chatting on his mobile phone. He didn't appear to have any bodyguards with him and looked just like any other holidaymaker," said a PlanetSKI reader in the resort on Wednesday.
It seems that the person that looked like Prince Harry was, indeed, Prince Harry.
ITN's royal correspondent Tim Ewart is also "... here with my daughter, Holly, strictly on holiday. And TV news would not cover a private royal trip like this anyway." So I guess this is 'TV news without TV'.
T'was spattered all over the cover of Metro this morning too. Note in one picture Harry carries his ladyfriends equipment for her. Perhaps he's been reading "The Rules", with special attention to Rule 31 in particular...
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
The Daily Mail has shots of Prince Harry and the Duchess of York (Fergie, for those who've forgotten) in ski helmets.
Interestingly, Harry's girlfriend Cressida Bonas is in a large white bobble hat and shades, which suggests there's no helmet lurking in there.
Hopefully, Harry and Cressida are having a vigorous helmet debate at this moment.
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.
Back to Planetski and BBC Radio 4 - where this thread began last November. Another media-hugging opportunity beckons for James Cove tomorrow ...
... it's the ski hosting/ESF story and ...
Quote:
Our story has been quoted by The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Metro and on Friday the PlanetSKI content editor will be on BBC Radio 4 discussing the issue in a lunchtime news programme.
If that means the World at One, let's hope nothing too dramatic happens to the news agenda on Friday. There's a high standard of journalism on that show, so it'll be interesting to hear what they make of the Napoleonic wars on the pistes.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
In fact, James Cove is scheduled to be on 'You and Yours' - the same programme link that kicked off this thread - tomorrow Friday at 12.00 Radio 4 ...
This morning I bring you the astonishing news that James Cove has left the country again. But this time it's not because of the lure of the mountains (or maybe it is) ...
James Cove on Facebook wrote:
... it is so depressing in the UK.... can hardly bare watching/listening to the news here as it is all doom and gloom
But that would be rather out of context. Here's the full escapist JC rant ...
James Cove on Facebook wrote:
Right time to pack for Canada..... off to Lake Louise with Inghams tomorrow. Been great to be home for a few days but it is so depressing in the UK.... can hardly bare watching/listening to the news here as it is all doom and gloom... bring on the Canadian powder...
Inghams? Is that his mistress, something he packs in his suitcase ... his gracious benefactor? Well, sort of, but let's not be cheeky - it's bound to dump 2 metres in Lake Louise now that Cove is on the case, and this offers him a well-deserved relief from gloomy old England. Inghams - respect - is one of the great early ski tour operators, like Erna Low. And it's been owned by the Swiss since 1963. Read more here ...
Interesting quote in this Planetski story about late season ski deals (and I'd confirm that there are some astonishing bargains on chalet/chalethotel packages for the final weeks of the season - particularly 6-13 April (which, in my experience, is usually stunning because crowds vanish after Easter Monday) ...
"The advantage of the weekends by coach is that you travel at night so you get the maximum time on the slopes. For example, you leave after work on a Thursday, have three full days skiing and are back in time for work on Monday," added James Box [Iglu's Head of Ski Product].
It would be interesting to unpack the box on that one. So ... you get on a coach Thursday evening for three full days skiing (i.e. Friday, Saturday, Sunday). When does the coach deliver you to the resort? How long does the return coach take, to get you back for the office on Monday?
Wouldn't want to box with Mr Box, but has anyone (e.g. Mr Box) tried this? [that's enough Box office queries. Ed.]
C.G. Yes, done a ski weekend with skiweekends.com. Left Victoria coach station Friday evening after work, got into Bride Le Bains about 10am (after incurring a 1 hr delay on boarding Eurostar). Left late Monday afternoon. Got back into London about 10:30 (again delays but at the london end - that weekend had seen heavy snow in the UK so roads/transport knackered as usual).
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
You've got to admire anyone as self-deprecating as James Cove.
The clue, should you need it, is in the sign above our hero's head.
[Snipped from JC's FB page today, live from Andorra]
After all it is free
After all it is free
Breaking news: James Cove has been on yet another well-deserved ski break [brief interludes in London are, of course, very stressful and simply induce withdrawal symptoms] ... this time to the little-known French Pyrenees. He's knocked together this worthwhile 6-min roadtrip video of what's to be found at various ski resorts in the region (including a chairlift buried in record snow depths) ...
Note the section on Cove spotting Planet Ski through a telescope at the mountaintop Pic du Midi observatory. It must have been a shock to finally discover he's on the wrong planet!
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.
Good heavens ... over three months have passed since the last 'Cove update' ... but during that silence (in mid-April) I actually enjoyed a completely random encounter with James (+ son) at the foot of the long snaking forest run down to Zermatt's Sunnegga base station, where we were both getting off our skis. So I never skied with him!
So ... why this urgent update? James would like you to know that he's off to the glacier at Les Deux Alpes this weekend to cool off, and he'd also like you to know of the sacrifices involved in this mission [hence the re-titling of this thread] ...
We have all gone to some effort to get out fix in between seasons. We are all passionate about skiing or snowboarding.
Then in the afternoon it is sunbathing, tennis, swimming, mountain biking or whitewater rafting.
And having a few cold beers as the sun goes and the temperature cools.
I assume he's referring to the temperature of the beer.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Hold the front pages - the latest update actually says that DG has actually been skiing! Is this true and how does the new gear compare to the leather boots you used the last time you went for a slide?
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
A Lurker, my skiing last winter was performed on 18-year-old (but mint) Nordica Syntech boots - outstanding - and 19-year-old Volkl P10 RS Super (205cm) - again, outstanding after tuning in a Zermatt shop. I did use some (so-called) 'gold' rental carvers in Austria - very disappointing, no tracking ability.
------------------
This morning's breaking media news is that James Cove is about to change hemispheres ... in a last-ditch summer quest for skiable snow of satisfactory quality ...
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.
Actually, on a second reading, I might have got that wrong ... it could be that someone will be making 'delegated turns' for the editor ...
Quote:
In New Zealand, Mt Hutt, is celebrating its 40th birthday this weekend and PlanetSKI reporter, Brenda Griffiths, plans to be there and will be reporting back on the party.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Useful PlanetTypo story for ski tourism data geeks ...
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
