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Couple of metres of snow forecast in Zermatt over the next week. Shame I'm booked in for surgery on my knee on Tuesday. They are drilling in from underneath to push the top of the bone and cartilage back into place, and then filling the gap left with allograft bone material. Then screwing a plate to the top bit to hold it together. Looks like I'll be getting my ski fix vicariously from this thread!
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Oct 27, 2018 09:10
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Kristofferson was training up at Saas-Fee when I was there the other week. Also its super weird, I would suddenly realise I was sharing a T-bar with e.g. some team USA slopestyle woman but no idea who they would be. The standard of skiing up there is incredible. Anyway I have had my op and they've strapped me into the torture machine 
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Oct 31, 2018 15:29
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Landsknecht posted:well I mean what does 5 days of skiing in CO or utah cost a family of four coming from the NE? It's not cheap Having skied in Euro resorts all my life it was a surprise to find out a lift pass in Salt City is 3x as expensive as Zermatt. Went to Whistler instead which was only 2x. There is nothing else about Zermatt that makes it look good value though.
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Dec 8, 2018 02:55
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Ola posted:In this case, he just didn't agree with the sports drink he got during the race. Many athletes struggle with this apparently, in all sorts of endurance sports. He was actually faster after throwing up! All downhill sections on cross country skis are Bad. I've been cleared to start doing some xc in January so will at least be able to get back on the snow 
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Dec 11, 2018 13:51
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Drove up to Verbier today so I can sit and drink beers (still broken) and my girlfriend can get some runs in. There are a lot of other British people here, so much bad skiing and huge helmet gaps. Great snow quality, its tracked out off piste. Can't wait to get back, some x-c later this month and alpine in a few more weeks. Can't wait. 
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Jan 6, 2019 15:45
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Kalman posted:Looks like I'll have a few days after a work trip to the Netherlands to gently caress around skiing in Europe in mid-February. Any recommendations for where to go? (I'd say I'm a reasonably good intermediate skiier; I'm not interested in backcountry or skiing the steepest thing possible, just a decent selection of intermediate trails and some nice scenery. I also am old and married and don't drink so I don't really care about apres, but good food is always nice.) How long do you have and do you just want to go to one place? In terms of large resorts you can reach Verbier or Zermatt pretty easily from Geneva by rail. I think Zermatt is my favourite place to ski in Switzerland - accommodation and food costs are high though. If you are just there for a couple of days then rent a car in Geneva and ski Chamonix or Megeve which are quite a lot closer. The piste skiing in Chamonix is less cruise-y but the scenery is pretty amazing. If you can fly into Grenoble easy places to reach that would suit are Les Deux Alpes and Alpe d'Huez. The good mountain food (by quite a margin IMO) is in Italy but it's more difficult to access the resorts. If you ski in Zermatt you can have lunch in the mountainside restaurants in Cervinia.
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Jan 16, 2019 10:24
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Kazak_Hstan posted:Gonna get out on A/T skis for the first time on Saturday What did you get?
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Jan 18, 2019 10:33
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Residency Evil posted:I do this once a season, and have had it work more often than not. I'm unsure how much the instructors hate it. Last Saturday at squaw was a blackout day on ikon, and a lift ticket+ lesson package was only $50 bucks more than the window price. My wife and I essentially got a private instructor for a full day, which would normally be $800 or something ridiculous. $800 is crazy. I think it was about the same in Whistler, my impression was that they were trying to encourage people towards the Max 4 small-group lessons, which I thought were great. The level 6 or whatever the advanced one was not really so much a lesson as really fun guided skiing with people a similar level. (Just looked round here and it's Fr 450 in Verbier or 300-350 in smaller resorts) (Re touring boots I bought some of the Salomon S/Lab X-Alps which look great in my living room, but I am still broken and not allowed to ski yet  so no idea how they are in the snow)
knox_harrington fucked around with this message at 16:38 on Jan 23, 2019 |
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Jan 23, 2019 16:34
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spwrozek posted:I can't ski until mid March due to injury. Same  Turns out watching people ski can be OK. (at the army ski champs)
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Jan 26, 2019 16:16
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Jan 27, 2019 10:39
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Dangerllama posted:Anyway, this is all by way of saying that yes, I am aware that mittens are a thing and are warmer than gloves. Latex gloves for skiing sounds like a terrible idea. Hestra make some mittens with a felt liner made from goat hair which is great in the cold.
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Feb 2, 2019 06:17
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Off to Megève today for the weekend. I did some careful laps of the kids slope (kill me) at Villars last weekend to test out my knee and it felt good, so going to show a mate who hasn't ever been on the snow before the basics. Obviously being very careful not to gently caress my knee up again but it's great to get back on skis.
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Feb 8, 2019 10:07
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Aphex- posted:That sounds good but I'm in the UK so probably cheaper shipping wise to get some from over here. My MTB goggles are Melon Parker ones which come in both MTB and snow varieties, the only difference with them being the lens itself so I'll probably pick up a snow lens for them. They're really well vented goggles so it shouldn't be a problem. Have a look on Sportpursuit https://www.sportpursuit.com/accessories/sunglasses-goggles/goggles?sport=Skiing%2CSnowboarding There are some POC googles on there for £30
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Feb 22, 2019 23:36
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Yeah broken ribs make absolutely any movement hurt. Condolences. Today instead of skiing I got to spend three hours waiting for a broken train to get unfucked to get to Zermatt. Going to get expensively trashed when I finally reach the hotel.
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Feb 23, 2019 15:05
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HookShot posted:Thanks. Do a trip report on Zermatt, it sounds like it would be a super cool place to visit! Zermatt is a really lovely place. I have only just been cleared by my surgeon to start skiing again so didn't do anything adventurous but...  It was an absolutely beautiful day. This is looking up towards the Breithorn and on to Monte Rosa from the Kleine Matterhorn.  And looking the other way for the obligatory Matterhorn shot. Temperature not great for the snow but up at 3900m (13000 ft?) that doesn't really matter. Had a really great day skiing easy pistes, and amazing lunch over in Italy. It's a bit of a pain in the rear end to get to and I have to drive past a lot of other ski areas to get there though.
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Feb 25, 2019 07:24
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HookShot posted:Oh nice, that looks amazing! I thought you could ski over to Italy from Zermatt to have lunch, though? Oh yeah you absolutely can do that, and if you stop at Plateau Rosa you can eat in Italy and cross back into Switzerland without taking a lift. I meant that to get to Zermatt I have to drive past Les Diablerets, the Portes du Soleil, Verbier, Crans-Montana etc and then get a train so it will just be an occasional treat.
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Feb 25, 2019 19:30
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Question Mark Mound posted:I'm just back from a snowboarding trip in Mt Vogel in Slovenia (don't go there btw, although Slovenia itself is lovely!) and figured it's about time to upgrade from my bottom-of-the-line Trespass/TK Maxx clothing to something maybe a little better. As you're in the UK I'd recommend looking on Sportpursuit, high quality kit is generally 40-50% off there. Getting some Arcteryx stuff or whatever will last you for years.
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Mar 5, 2019 14:02
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Finally got to try out my S-Lab X-Alp boots in the 4 Vallées yesterday. Maybe I am just super unfit after not being able to train through winter but it was loving hard work uphill. Much better than the skimo race boots on the downhill so yeah. Spending the weekend looking at maybe getting a little place up in the mountains, Crans-Montana today. Come visit
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Mar 10, 2019 09:48
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For European ski goons thought I'd mention the Magic Pass went on sale this week. 400Fr covers 30 resorts in western Switzerland including Crans-Montana, Saas-Fee, les diablerets etc for next season. Doesn't include Verbs or Zermatt and some of the places are really small but I think it's a good deal. https://www.magicpass.ch/fr/
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Mar 15, 2019 08:45
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This is what I have! Though I can't tell if that's an RS or an S (mine's an S). It is just practical enough as a ski car for 2 and I can get skis up to 170cm plus all the other stuff in the back if I put the seats down. The roof bars are a bit of a pain to put on but pretty good to be able to get a bike and a few sets of skis on top. Also it's hilarious on the mountain roads up and from ski villages. 
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Apr 5, 2019 11:08
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Doesn't your helmet get smashed up if it's in a ski bag? Had I guess my last ski of the season at the weekend, a couple of very sunny days in Verbier. Snow was obviously super hard in the morning and the moguls on the itinéraires were pretty grim but nice spring skiing once they had warmed up a bit.
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Apr 23, 2019 19:44
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big crush on Chad OMG posted:Kind of a dick move on their part. This is the one I have that also accommodates a helmet. Yeah standard boot-shaped bags are a bit of a waste. I got a Leki one that you stick boots in the side and the rest of the bag is a cuboid so plenty of space for helmet, gloves and whatever spare kit. It's been great as a kit bag. https://www.leki.com/fr_CH/ski-alpin/accessoires/3014/bootbag/
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Apr 23, 2019 20:43
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Pretty disappointed that the Swiss ski resorts are starting to capitulate to the US tentacles. Sounds like the Vail bullshit is pretty bad for skiers.
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Sep 15, 2019 08:54
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The turnstiley things are on every lift in pretty much every European resort I've been to. Maybe not the lifts for 3 year olds. On the letter that came with my Magic Pass (covers most of French speaking Switzerland and a couple of other places) it says it takes a photo of you every time you go on a lift to check for pass sharing.
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Sep 18, 2019 14:20
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IncredibleIgloo posted:As a quick pivot to some positive loving topics, what is everyone's ski goal this season? I did 41 days last season so I want to hit 45 ski days(Stretch goal 50), lose 40 pounds by the end of ski season, and tackle the "Peak to the Creek" trail at Whistler. I also want to try my hand at some black diamonds. What is everyone else up to? 1. Patrouille des Glaciers in 13 hours - first hurdle is my team getting a race start, second is doing it. 2. No broken legs.
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Oct 18, 2019 10:47
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Can anyone please point me towards good instructions for ski servicing? I feel like I should be doing it myself now I live out here. The resort here is opening this weekend, I can't wait. We have quite a bit of snow. https://www.valdanniviers.ch/en/webcam-73.html
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Nov 20, 2019 07:50
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Good opening day here in Grimentz. Only a few lifts open, the pistes were skiing nicely and with a bit more coverage the off piste areas should be in business. Saw a little kid getting picked up by the bloodwagon, it looked like a broken leg. Poor little guy.
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Nov 23, 2019 16:36
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My girlfriend's family are here and we are all heading up to Verbier to NOT ski and just walk around for a bit for some reason. And then I'm heading to Orlando to do some more not skiing for work. Also my BBQ was delivered but not actually to the chalet.  130kg.
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Nov 30, 2019 08:41
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I just found out my team got a place on the Patrouille des Glaciers next April. The other guys are pretty fit and about 15 years younger than me so I have some training to do! Pretty stoked for the season training and the race
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Dec 1, 2019 13:26
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Re ski lessons for better skiers I thought the Max4 small group lessons at Whistler were excellent. Other than that, the race camp last year really improved my skiing, right up to the point I broke my leg. I'd still recommend it though!
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Dec 7, 2019 00:55
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Happy Christmas Ski Thread! Great conditions here in Grimentz. Bit warm in the village but decent powder up on the mountain and hero snow on the piste. Now for some beers.
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Dec 25, 2019 14:48
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Turns out it gets pretty loving cold when the sun goes down. This is the point I decided more uphill was unwise and headed home for turkey sandwiches. 
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Dec 26, 2019 23:54
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spwrozek posted:Tripped wrapped up nicely. There is going to be some serious avalanches with all the snow. Few pics: So much snow. Looks like a great trip. We haven't had any fresh in the past week and it's been a bit warm. I am in the process of getting a new touring setup, my existing gear is great uphill but is too lightweight to have much fun on the downhill. So far picked up some new boots https://www.fischersports.com/ranger-free-130-walk-dyn-46?c=157 and I've been trying out some Black Crows Camox Freebirds which seem fantastic - though any opinions on alternative do-it-all touring skis would be welcome. Will probably pair them with some of the Shift bindings.
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Jan 2, 2020 14:14
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luminalflux posted:Both my partner and I had really lovely time with our feet going numb, and we ended up getting her a pair of custom-fitted Nordica boots from the bootfitters in South Lake Tahoe. She ended up going back 3 times for adjustments since each time we thought we had it dialed in, we got to the mountain and she couldn't feel her feet after we got up the first lift. Thankfully if you get boots at the custom boot place, they do free adjustments over the lifetime of the boot. Mine are breaking in, so each day feels a bit better, but still very irritating. They should get a bit better - but if you weren't already doing this, you may have a better time loosening the boots when you're not actively skiing downhill. Particularly if you have odd-shaped feet. I have some race boots which tend to have thinner liners and my feet go to sleep pretty quickly if I don't remember to undo the second buckle on chairlifts.
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Jan 2, 2020 21:16
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WHERE MY HAT IS AT posted:I'm looking at buying my first set of skis, could use a sanity check/suggestions. I'm an advanced/expert boarder but this will be my first season on skis more than a couple days a year. Yes I'm buying skis at peak season and yes I am an idiot. I can sort of manage my way down blues at current skill level but it isn't always pretty. Probably not what you want to hear but I'd get nice boots and rent piste skis until you can do it a bit better, and make a better decision about what you want. If you want to buy straight away can you rent some of those 4FRNTs and see how you get on? Are you interested in backcountry / touring? Different setup needed. Also get lessons at this point and avoid being a hacker in future.
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Jan 3, 2020 19:04
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I'm doing a kids instructor course the week after next and got a lesson this afternoon to go through the things I'll be tested on. It's so hard to look good snowploughing! :-| Do they still start with snowplough in the US / Ca? And I will also be tested on weird step turns I guess to check your balance (as well as normal skiing). Also I picked up flu from my girlfriend and feel like death, but a mate who lives in Italy wants to meet at the top of Zermatt/Cervinia which would be cool. I am currently a zombie but probably should HTFU. Poor me
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Jan 4, 2020 20:15
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TMMadman posted:Yes the snowplow is still the first thing taught to beginners. And I'm guessing the weird step turns are stem Christies? Basically a half snowplow and then lifting the uphill ski and placing it parallel to the downhill ski. If so, it's a turn that was developed in the early 1900s and was used primarily until the 60s when it lost favor to the parallel turn that is now used. However, it's still a good turn to learn and makes for a good transition between the snowplow and parallel turns. It's not stem christies (though I remember them from when I was small), apparently they are called "pas-tournants" as shown in this extremely Swiss video that I found https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2QR-YIKT4s
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Jan 4, 2020 21:43
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Zermatt was nice even if I felt lovely. Great lunch in Italy as well.
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Jan 7, 2020 10:35
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Mummy Xzibit posted:Anyone ever been to Zermatt in Switzerland? What do you like to do? It's a lovely place. I'd say to get the international pass so you can ski Cervinia as well, food is great and cheap in Italy. Do the 20km run from the klein Matterhorn to Valtournenche as well if it's open. It's worth bothering to walk up the steps to the viewing platform at the klein Matterhorn, it's an amazing view. There hasn't been new snow since Christmas so off piste is skied out, but more is forecast this weekend. There's quite a bit of "in bounds" freeride on the Gornergrat side if the snow is good. Or yeah do the haute route instead, or the trip from Gressoney over Monte Rosa to Zermatt (on my bucket list).
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Jan 15, 2020 22:08
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MMD3 posted:a friend invited me to go in December and as I was researching how it is I saw a lot of complaints about this at all... stories that it can take 2 hours to get from the town to a run because of all of the lines and catwalks. I've been there in the summer though and would love to visit in the winter even if I just focused on snowshoeing or crosscountry or something. Switzerland in the winter is a dream bucketlist trip. I've skied there a lot and can't really see 2 hours being true tbh. Maybe 1 if it's super busy. I guess part of it is that the vertical difference is big so it naturally takes a while to travel 2km upwards. Zero queues last week at any rate.
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Jan 16, 2020 02:23
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