Ski season 2016/2017

cormee

fmlarnapairce wrote: »

Heading to Montafon sat week as well, snow you bstrd!

The webcam I visit shows a fairly healthy snowfall overnight. Now, it just needs to snow continuously for the next 11 days and we'll be grand.

fmlarnapairce

cormee wrote: »

The webcam I visit shows a fairly healthy snowfall overnight. Now, it just needs to snow continuously for the next 11 days and we'll be grand.

just checked mine as well, amazing the difference a dusting of snow has made to my first day back at work!
For the first time in 3 months montafon's astro soccer pitch isn't green!

cormee

fmlarnapairce wrote: »

just checked mine as well, amazing the difference a dusting of snow has made to my first day back at work!
For the first time in 3 months montafon's astro soccer pitch isn't green!

Snowforecast.com is forecasting 54cm of snow tomorrow in St. Anton.
Please lawd, please! That would be just what the doctor ordered.

a148pro

cormee wrote: »

Snowforecast.com is forecasting 54cm of snow tomorrow in St. Anton.
Please lawd, please! That would be just what the doctor ordered.

And looks like more at weekend and next week, Winter starts at last

Rew

If you in St Anton for a fresh dump its worth getting to the Gampen chair first thing in the morning and coming straight back down off piste under the same lift before it gets tracked out. You can prob get a couple of runs in before its trashed if your quick.

cormee

Rew wrote: »

If you in St Anton for a fresh dump its worth getting to the Gampen chair first thing in the morning and coming straight back down off piste under the same lift before it gets tracked out. You can prob get a couple of runs in before its trashed if your quick.

Will try that, if we're lucky enough to be there for a dump. Thanks for the tip.

cormee

Looks like the snow is falling, and 42 cm forecast for tonight!

a148pro

Have you been before Cormee? Savage off piste if that floats your boat

Savage boozing too if it doesn't

cormee

a148pro wrote: »

Have you been before Cormee? Savage off piste if that floats your boat

Savage boozing too if it doesn't

Never been before, no, can't wait now! The off piste is one of the main attractions for me, which is why the fresh snow is so important!
Regarding the apres ski, I'd be just as happy in a quiet pub, knocking back a few pints and having a chat, to be honest.

AlternateID

cormee wrote: »

Never been before, no, can't wait now! The off piste is one of the main attractions for me, which is why the fresh snow is so important!
Regarding the apres ski, I'd be just as happy in a quiet pub, knocking back a few pints and having a chat, to be honest.

Found a pub just up a hill called Kiwi with good Guinness when I was there last year. Sorted me out before hopping on the bus back to Galtur.

Watch out for that new law in Ischgl.

"We would like to inform you that from November 20 to May 5 walking in hard-soled footwear (eg ski boots or similar plastic soles) and carrying skis, ski sticks or snowboards will be prohibited on all of the routes and squares in the centre of Ischgl between the evening and night-time hours of 20:00 to 6:00."

"Any breaches of this regulation will result in a fine of up to EUR 2,000"

cormee

AlternateID wrote: »

Found a pub just up a hill called Kiwi with good Guinness when I was there last year. Sorted me out before hopping on the bus back to Galtur.

Watch out for that new law in Ischgl.

"We would like to inform you that from November 20 to May 5 walking in hard-soled footwear (eg ski boots or similar plastic soles) and carrying skis, ski sticks or snowboards will be prohibited on all of the routes and squares in the centre of Ischgl between the evening and night-time hours of 20:00 to 6:00."

"Any breaches of this regulation will result in a fine of up to EUR 2,000"

Yikes, that's a bit harsh. Anyway, it's St. Anton I'm going to.The reason the screen grab says Iscghl is because that's the nearest weather station the app can access.

Timmaay

Ok I still haven't booked anything with action Outdoors for the 15th (which just over a week away!), and conditions really really not looking great at all anywhere in the French alps, I could fly into Zurich and go Austria instead tho, considering St Anton appears to have got a serious dump. Anyone any lastmin.com suggestions for where to go, accommodation etc, would be 2 of us and looking for decent skiing and reasonable few bars/clubs.

a148pro

cormee wrote: »

Never been before, no, can't wait now! The off piste is one of the main attractions for me, which is why the fresh snow is so important!
Regarding the apres ski, I'd be just as happy in a quiet pub, knocking back a few pints and having a chat, to be honest.

I think its some of the best I've seen, loads of routes off the back of mountains that lead either back to the valley or down to a road where you can get lift or bus back. Well worth taking a guide. Fattes used to talk about a powder club for ten euro but I ended up with piste to powder for hundred euro a head. Very good and professional but there might be 8 in a group and thought that was a bit steep per head for that.

Some great bowls off the Schindlergratbahn too which are easily accessible but I'd prefer to be with a guide to be honest - this is the first significant snowfall of the season and that has implications for avalanche risk.

Also don't miss the wellness - great way to unwind aches and pains of a day on the snow. There's a communal place in town, very good, nice new pool and outside area with wave machine. Head upstairs for the hardcore hot saunas. Highly recommended. Nudity mandatory by the way!

I'd be like you in the sense that I'm more interested in the skiing than the boozing, though I inevitably end up doing too much boozing as well, but the apres in St Anton really has to be experienced at least once, the atmosphere and shenaningans in the Moose after a day on the slopes is hilarious.

CardinalJ

Timmaay wrote:

Ok I still haven't booked anything with action Outdoors for the 15th (which just over a week away!), and conditions really really not looking great at all anywhere in the French alps, I could fly into Zurich and go Austria instead tho, considering St Anton appears to have got a serious dump. Anyone any lastmin.com suggestions for where to go, accommodation etc, would be 2 of us and looking for decent skiing and reasonable few bars/clubs.

You could do Mayrhofen with Crystal ski from 373pp. Flights transfers
and accom. Would be a bnb and pretty basic breakfast but thats so cheap.

Also hotels for 700 half board.

Theres always great last minute deals if you go through an agent this late.

fmlarnapairce

a148pro wrote: »

I think its some of the best I've seen, loads of routes off the back of mountains that lead either back to the valley or down to a road where you can get lift or bus back. Well worth taking a guide. Fattes used to talk about a powder club for ten euro but I ended up with piste to powder for hundred euro a head. Very good and professional but there might be 8 in a group and thought that was a bit steep per head for that.

Some great bowls off the Schindlergratbahn too which are easily accessible but I'd prefer to be with a guide to be honest - this is the first significant snowfall of the season and that has implications for avalanche risk.

Also don't miss the wellness - great way to unwind aches and pains of a day on the snow. There's a communal place in town, very good, nice new pool and outside area with wave machine. Head upstairs for the hardcore hot saunas. Highly recommended. Nudity mandatory by the way!

I'd be like you in the sense that I'm more interested in the skiing than the boozing, though I inevitably end up doing too much boozing as well, but the apres in St Anton really has to be experienced at least once, the atmosphere and shenaningans in the Moose after a day on the slopes is hilarious.

i used piste to powder as well, was lucky in that had a much smaller group but unlucky in that there was feck all snow. prob why we had a smaller group.....
found them good though

cormee

a148pro wrote: »

I think its some of the best I've seen, loads of routes off the back of mountains that lead either back to the valley or down to a road where you can get lift or bus back. Well worth taking a guide. Fattes used to talk about a powder club for ten euro but I ended up with piste to powder for hundred euro a head. Very good and professional but there might be 8 in a group and thought that was a bit steep per head for that.

Some great bowls off the Schindlergratbahn too which are easily accessible but I'd prefer to be with a guide to be honest - this is the first significant snowfall of the season and that has implications for avalanche risk.

Also don't miss the wellness - great way to unwind aches and pains of a day on the snow. There's a communal place in town, very good, nice new pool and outside area with wave machine. Head upstairs for the hardcore hot saunas. Highly recommended. Nudity mandatory by the way!

I'd be like you in the sense that I'm more interested in the skiing than the boozing, though I inevitably end up doing too much boozing as well, but the apres in St Anton really has to be experienced at least once, the atmosphere and shenaningans in the Moose after a day on the slopes is hilarious.

Excellent info, much appreciated. Especially Piste to Powder, will look into them as we are planning on getting a guide for a day off piste, thanks.

**quick maths calculation ... so some lucky sod (or his/her boss) is getting €800 per day for riding around, off piste. Nice!

AlternateID

cormee wrote: »

Excellent info, much appreciated. Especially Piste to Powder, will look into them as we are planning on getting a guide for a day off piste, thanks.

**quick maths calculation ... so some lucky sod (or his/her boss) is getting €800 per day for riding around, off piste. Nice!

That probably covers cost of investment in avi kit and insurance. Cost about the same for us in zillertal valley if you had kit or not.

Rew

Guy in the US got stuck exiting a chair lift and was hanging by the neck, another guy climbed along the wire and cut him down:

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/05/arapahoe-basin-chairlift-rescue/

a148pro

AlternateID wrote: »

That probably covers cost of investment in avi kit and insurance. Cost about the same for us in zillertal valley if you had kit or not.

Think I paid 200 for half day's private guiding in France, with gear, maybe 350 for a full day, which can be split between up to four. Meh, anyone who can afford to engage in a premium expense activity like skiing, on a whim, cannot complain about paying someone reasonably for highly skilled work that you want to be able to rely on and for which the working season is short. BUT I did think 8 in the class was a bit rich, 4 appropriately similar skiers would have been better. Still recommend them though, guide was very good.

Interestingly can anyone tell me going rate to rent gear (bag, probe, shovel, tranceiver)? Thinking of buying but may not be worth it for four day's skiing a year.

a148pro

Rew wrote: »

Guy in the US got stuck exiting a chair lift and was hanging by the neck, another guy climbed along the wire and cut him down:

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/05/arapahoe-basin-chairlift-rescue/

Wow that is some story! Fair play to your man. Not unusual for people to die in that circumstance, if like me you wear a bag be conscious of it on the lifts.

Is that why they tell you to take off the bag actually?

Rew

a148pro wrote: »

Wow that is some story! Fair play to your man. Not unusual for people to die in that circumstance, if like me you wear a bag be conscious of it on the lifts.

Is that why they tell you to take off the bag actually?

I remember reading about a kid dying on a lift in France and the lift guy being charged over it. There was a vid knocking about of a kid in the us hanging by his bag but not in imidate danger. Ski patrol were on it pretty quick with a ladder but not quick enough if it was as by the neck.

I've never been told to take the bag off but I find even a small bag pushes you forward uncomfortably so can be handy to take it off. Been thinking of ditching the bag this year but if I don't lose straps will be well tied up!!!

olaola

a148pro wrote: »

Is that why they tell you to take off the bag actually?

Yep, himself and a friend got theirs caught on a chairlift with fortunately more hilarious outcomes. Most of newer lifts have a slower cog for getting on/off, so you're in less of a rush to get sorted.

I use a bag that has minimal straps/loops or anything that can catch. The cheapy ones in Decathlon are very handy - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/arpenaz-10l-grey-green-id_8358165.html

Rew

Electrical tape is your friend for backpacks, size it then tape up all the straps tightly.

AlternateID

Rew wrote: »

Electrical tape is your friend for backpacks, size it then tape up all the straps tightly.

I've used double sided velcro tape for years. Have never been asked to remove a pack.

gingernut79

the now becoming annual short hop to Mayrhofen is booked for Feb 10th. There's comfort in knowing a few of the runs and where the lifts go. For me this year this year is the first to be staying in the town centre, am really looking forward to it. Really only a decent beginner yet, so am going to fork out for some lessons on day one and hope to improve a good bit!

a148pro

Gorgeous town and great resort -only visited for one day and would love to go back

prunudo

New season of Ski Sunday starting just now on bbc2 if anyone is near a TV.

prunudo

gingernut79 wrote: »

the now becoming annual short hop to Mayrhofen is booked for Feb 10th. There's comfort in knowing a few of the runs and where the lifts go. For me this year this year is the first to be staying in the town centre, am really looking forward to it. Really only a decent beginner yet, so am going to fork out for some lessons on day one and hope to improve a good bit!

Big fan of Mayrhofen myself, nearly the perfect resort in my mind, has an awful lot going for it and hard not return even after 4 trips there.
Stayed in the Strass last year and it was an ideal location.

cormee

olaola wrote: »

Yep, himself and a friend got theirs caught on a chairlift with fortunately more hilarious outcomes. Most of newer lifts have a slower cog for getting on/off, so you're in less of a rush to get sorted.

I use a bag that has minimal straps/loops or anything that can catch. The cheapy ones in Decathlon are very handy - http://www.decathlon.co.uk/arpenaz-10l-grey-green-id_8358165.html

My wife got me a brand name version of something like those, probably paid about 10x as much they are so much better to wear, when snowboarding, than the bigger backpacks, as it's far easier to move/swivel your upper body.

Although, for the last three years, or so, I usually don't bring any bag at all with me, unless I'm taking the GoPro (and all the crap that goes with it). I realised one day that when I brought a backpack I filled it with rubbish that I never used - chemical hand warmers, spare batteries, and the likes. All I really need is water, so I carry one of the smaller bottles in my pocket, and if it looks like I'm going to empty it, I fill it with snow. Happy days. :cool:

Rew

FYI friend of mine just back from Austria was saying that Aer Lingus have new scales at checkin that refuse to print your luggage tags if its over weight (he reckoned there was a margin of a kilo or so).