You are NOT Logged in.
Meet up and have a chat about anything, just about. Pop in and get the craic...
Goto Thread: PreviousNext
Goto: Forum ListMessage ListNew TopicSearchLog In
Goto Page:  123Next
Current Page:1 of 3
Lionel


Posts: 1130
Joined: Jan 2007
Last Visited: 01:15
26th Nov 2017
Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 11.25hrs on Fri 14 Oct 11
That's already a new winter season that is going to start soon... or that already started.

I am opening a new link for all your slides, rides, tours on snows outside the U.K.

If you come over to the Alps, to the Portes du Soleil area come and say hello and share some runs between France and Switzerland.

My first slide of the season took place in Avoriaz last Sunday, October 9th after a 20 - 25 cm dump of powder snow. I really enjoyed that and though all the snow melted a few days later, I am looking forward to skiing again very soon...

Here is the slideshow link :

[www.flickr.com]

My nephew Florian took a ride with my skis and boots !



Then it was my turn !



Absolute powder pleasure.



Avoriaz snowfront under a very nice coat of white stuff.



Greetings from the Portes du Soleil !






Edited 1 times. Last edit at 11.31hrs Fri 14 Oct 11 by Lionel.
Scomuir


Posts: 300
Joined: Sep 2004
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 21.03hrs on Wed 19 Oct 11
Hi Lionel,

Looks good, although you are cheating by living in the Alps smiling smiley

However, I also cheated recently, and was skiing last month: spring skiing on volcanoes in Chile. Some pictures from our days out here [www.scomuir.com]

Also, i've put together some more specific details about each volcano on this page [www.scomuir.com] (takes a while to load, sorry)

cheers,

Scott


Lionel


Posts: 1130
Joined: Jan 2007
Last Visited: 01:15
26th Nov 2017
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 20.07hrs on Thu 20 Oct 11
Hi Scott,

I know I am cheating by living in the Alps but I am so lucky to be here. The very good thing is that I didn't have to climb very high (above 3000 m) as I skied from altitude 2200 down to altitude 1800 m in perfect snow.

Your spring skiing trip to Chile looks really fantastic. Truly stunning pictures especially the ones on top of volcanoes with at the same time, snow, ice and fire !

Well done for that amazing and spectacular trip !

So now are you going to ski the volcanoes of Scotland ?

Greetings from the Portes du Soleil !

Lionel
Lionel


Posts: 1130
Joined: Jan 2007
Last Visited: 01:15
26th Nov 2017
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 21.20hrs on Wed 28 Dec 11
Just a quick look backwards to show my second ski tour of the season on December 9th. That was a ski tour to inaugurate my new nordic ski-touring kit. First experience and first telemark turns (very hesitating of course). But I enjoyed it and I had a great time climbing up to the top of Char des Quais at the back side of Les Gets ski resort in the Portes du Soleil area. More stuff to come.

[www.flickr.com]


telemarker


Posts: 2934
Joined: Oct 2003
Last Visited: 14:59
12th Apr 2021
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 11.55hrs on Thu 29 Dec 11
Hi Lionel

great to see you have bought some telemark skis!
keep working on those telemark turns!

did you get plastic boots or leather with the skis?

the skis look reasonably wide so should make turning easier
Hustler


Posts: 760
Joined: Oct 2006
Last Visited: 07:52
19th Aug 2019
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 13.23hrs on Thu 29 Dec 11
Lionel,

Congratulations on finally freeing the heel, I hope that you and your legs enjoy their new-found liberty..
Perhaps you could bring your new kit with you on your next expedition to Scotland..?
Lionel


Posts: 1130
Joined: Jan 2007
Last Visited: 01:15
26th Nov 2017
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 12.03hrs on Fri 30 Dec 11
Hi Telemarker and Hustler! Seasons Greetings from the Alps,

Thanks very much for your comment. I am very much grateful to you guys, Telemarker and Hustler because I was really fascinated by your telemark skiing when we skied together in the Cairngorms nearly 2 years ago. When I was back to France, I decided I would try telemark one day and this winter I bought a complete kit.

Telemarker, I bought plastic boots Scarpa T4 and I am very happy with them as they are light comfortable and they hold my feet very well when skiing down.

The skis sidecut is 109-78-95mm and the bindings are Rottefella Chili.

Hustler, so far I have been nordic skiing 4 times and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I really liked the free heels and the low position close to the snow when turning. I love everything of it. For sure, I will bring my new kit on my next expedition to Scotland that should be either in 2012 or 13. Before hand, I must train and practice my turns and movements.

Again thanks very much for inspiring me in this new discipline to me.

One question : have you been out telemarking recently or do you still have to wait for more snow to go ?

Here is a picture taken by my nephew Florian (he wants to do telemark too) on my second day. I know that the position of the body is not right but anyway it's a great start for me.




Hustler


Posts: 760
Joined: Oct 2006
Last Visited: 07:52
19th Aug 2019
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 19.14hrs on Fri 30 Dec 11
Lionel, I've been lucky enough to have had one good day out so far this season. During the snowfalls of a week ago, I managed to get out telemarking along with a pal on her alpine kit. A full first day at Glenshee, starting around 0930 and skiing steadily all day until a walking climb up onto the Cairnwell for a single last run down the closed Tiger in the last of the dusk. That pretty much destroyed my legs. A summer of VTT keeps the heart and lungs healthy but doesn't do enough for certain of the leg muscles, so I spent a couple of days being constantly reminded of how hard I'd worked..
Take your time learning, be patient and the skills will come to you. Aim for a more open, gentle style of turn than you normally would on your alpine gear.
And smile lots. It helps..
Lionel


Posts: 1130
Joined: Jan 2007
Last Visited: 01:15
26th Nov 2017
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 09.37hrs on Fri 13 Jan 12
Hi Hustler,

Thanks very much for all your good advice for a beginner like me. On Saturday, I will take my first telemark lesson with a telemark instructor in Morzine, le Pleney. I am looking forward to it and I will try to take into account your advice. Relax and smile while telemarking ! : - )

Yesterday I went skiing to Abondance, in the Portes du Soleil. The conditions were fantastic : fresh powder snow packed in soft corduroy on the pistes, blue skies, sunshine and fantastic views over the Chablais mountains and Switzerland, no queues at all and a very good price for the pass : 10 €uros for the day (8,36 £). I was with a friend from Belgium who had never skied before in Abondance and he was amazed by the place, especially the runs that are marked blue and that would be red runs in other resorts.

On our way back down to the village, the "return run" is quite an adventure as it's not finished yet (needs to be redesigned) but most skiers use it instead of taking the gondola to go down the mountain. The piste follows partly a summer road leading to a hamlet and while skiing down that bit, we came across an old French car driven by an old local Savoyard chap. He was speeding up the ski run to reach his chalet and that was quite a surprise as we were speeding down the run. We had to let him go as he didn't want to lose his momentum. It's a shame I didn't have my camera.

Here is a short video of Abondance, it was shot on Monday 9th February, so it recent and it shows the very good conditions.

[www.youtube.com]

[www.abondance.org]






Nelbert


Posts: 281
Joined: Oct 2009
Last Visited: 16:26
23rd Aug 2015
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 01.01hrs on Sun 15 Jan 12
I headed over to Washington DC for New Year to visit the girlfriend's family. I had been eyeing up a few resorts in Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia within a few hours drive of DC, in the hope of fitting in a day or two's boarding.

I packed the snow clothes more in hope than expectation and never bothered taking the board - the east coast had had a ridiculously mild winter to date and the chances weren't looking good. At most resorts it had been too mild to fire up the snow cannons to any great extent, and when I arrived on the 29th December there were only a few runs open on manmade snow in the whole region. On going for a walk about Washington on the 30th December you could comfortably stroll about in a t-shirt, and some locals were wearing shorts!

On the 1st January a blast of cold air suddenly swung down from the north, and snow forecast was telling me there would be about 5-10cm of snow in the West Virginian resorts.

Checking all of the resort websites Timberline

[timberlineresort.com]

seemed to be doing ok on the webcams so we headed there. The Appalachian scenery is stunning, slowly gaining height and climbing over rolling hills and down into valleys over and over again. Fortunately snowforecast was way out as normal, and when we arrived it had been snowing all day, and according to the locals wouldn't be stopping until at least the following night. The resort is small, friendly and welcoming, with a hotel and a few lodges right at the bottom of the slopes.

Next morning it was still snowing heavily, and there had been about 13 or 14 inches of lovely dry powdery snow so far. Given there had been no chance of firing up the snow cannons up until then, they ran constantly for the whole time we were there.

The mountain is at 3000 to 4000 feet, so a respectable 1000ft of vertical, served by a couple of bottom to top chairlifts. We had a cracking day, with fresh falling and powder drifting in all the time. It was so cold we had to buy facemasks, and even then you had to take a break every couple of runs to thaw and get a coffee.

Last run I went for a closed trail that was looking tremendous from the chairlift. Sure enough had a superb deserted run through the trees in loads of fluffy powder.

All in all an excellent experience, and I look forward to returning and trying a different resort next time. Video from the day

[www.youtube.com]




Edited 1 times. Last edit at 01.07hrs Sun 15 Jan 12 by Nelbert.
Lionel


Posts: 1130
Joined: Jan 2007
Last Visited: 01:15
26th Nov 2017
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 21.20hrs on Mon 16 Jan 12
Hi Nelbert,

Thanks for your interesting report and for sharing your video ! Did you hire a board ? What was the temperature when you were boarding ? At the moment, further North in Québec, my girlfriend has just told me that the temperature is - 30°C without windchill.

Greetings from the Alps,

Lionel
Nelbert


Posts: 281
Joined: Oct 2009
Last Visited: 16:26
23rd Aug 2015
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 23.17hrs on Mon 16 Jan 12
Cheers Lionel.

I have always appreciated your reports and photos so it is good to provide something similar myself. I don't imagine too many Europeans find their way to resorts like this.

We hired boards in the resort. Lift passes, boards and one nights accomodation came in at around $220, so about £80 per person. Can't complain!

It was getting down towards 0 farenheit which means about -15, with a significant windchill in the fairly strong winds. It was just about as cold as I've experienced on a day in the mountains. Can't imagine what -30 with windchill on top is like. Do some Canadian resorts not close if it gets too cold?
Lionel


Posts: 1130
Joined: Jan 2007
Last Visited: 01:15
26th Nov 2017
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 08.09hrs on Tue 17 Jan 12
Thanks Nelbert,

It's good to see that some Europeans like you head to places very different from the traditional famous ski resorts. I plan to go skiing in Canada next winter in the Laurentides mountains on the East coast. Last time I was in Quebec I drove through the Northern Appalachians and I was not far from the US border and the state of Maine.

In Quebec yes indeed ski resorts close if it gets too cold as it can be dangerous for skiers and boarders and maybe it's also hard for ski lifts to work properly.

Where my girlfriend lives, I know that occasionaly the Massif ski resort closes when temperatures are extremely low.

This is the Massif website, a beautiful place to go skiing or boarding.

[www.lemassif.com]







Edited 1 times. Last edit at 08.14hrs Tue 17 Jan 12 by Lionel.
Nelbert


Posts: 281
Joined: Oct 2009
Last Visited: 16:26
23rd Aug 2015
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 01.39hrs on Sun 22 Jan 12
Looks great Lionel. Funnily enough my friend lived in Quebec City for 4 years and he told me about an "upside down" resort where you parked at the top of the hill, boarded down to the frozen ocean, and then took lifts back up. Massif looks like the place!

Unfortunately this was a few years ago when I didn't have the money to visit him. I may have missed the chance to visit this amazing place. I'm sure you will enjoy when you get there.

Next off to Les Arcs in 6 weeks. You seem to be having a very snowy season over there...can't wait
Lionel


Posts: 1130
Joined: Jan 2007
Last Visited: 01:15
26th Nov 2017
Re: Skiing or snowboarding abroad 2011 / 2012
Date Posted: 21.21hrs on Sun 22 Jan 12
Hi Nelbert,

For sure your friend was boarding in Le Massif de Charlevoix ! The winter season so far is fantastic as we got loads of fresh snow. I hope it goes on until late in Spring. Have a great time in Les Arcs, Nelbert.

Last Sunday, I didn't ski but I went to watch the Nordic Combined World Cup in Chaux Neuve in the Jura mountains. It was a beautiful sunny and cold day (- 12°C without windchill) and the jumping and Xcountry pursuit competitions were very exciting. Here is a set of pictures for those of you who are interested in Nordic Combiné.

Greetings from the Alps,

[www.flickr.com]


Goto Page:  123Next
Current Page:1 of 3
Your Name: 
Your Email: 
Subject: