Author Topic: The Ski Locker thread (Read 126915 times)

Ham · « **Reply #100 on:** 10 February, 2012, 11:12:11 am »

Off to La Plagne - bye all!!!

Pingu · « **Reply #101 on:** 10 February, 2012, 05:57:56 pm »

Enjoy

hatler · « **Reply #102 on:** 18 February, 2012, 10:31:54 pm »

Just back from Flaine.

What an ugly place, but impossible to fault this year's snow and the fantastic skiing. I think we're heading back there.

CommuteTooFar · « **Reply #103 on:** 19 February, 2012, 12:29:56 pm »

I think the older part of Flaine's architecture is honest and consistent. I find the modern copies of Valmorel style wood clad concrete buildings dishonest. These Heidi boxes are totally unsuitable for the high mountains. They need a lot of maintenance or look terrible after a few years. Low lying Valmorel built in the early seventies is honest they designed it in the now ubiquitous wood clad style before anyone else had thought of it to create one of the least brutal resorts ever built. It amused me when the Tour de France climbed over the Col De Madelaine Paul Sherwin announced as they rode through St Francois Longchamp, the cheaply built undesigned tower block and concrete bunker sister resort to Valmorel as one of the prettiest ski resorts in the alps. I think it is good when a resort has a style. Look at the original buildings Arc 1600 with its funny shaped sheared designs. Arc 2000 has its ski jump roofs. Arc 1800 has no obvious design. Arc 2000 minus fifty is unremarkable but I admit I like it, not as much as skiing through it before it was there though. Courchevel recently demolished its authentic post office building and replaced it with a Heidi box. Les Menuires, renowned as the ugliest resort blew up one of their oldest signature blocks a few years ago. It was a little sad. One of the older farmers said it was the best thing that ever happened to this valley it brought electricity and water mains up the valley and "we we allowed to use the showers". The communal wash rooms are less acceptable these days, and nobody wanted to refurbish that ugly building. Flaine Forum built in the early 1980s had a white painted concrete design that was continued in the later Flaine Foret. The newest parts Montsoleil and Les Gerats are Heidi boxes.

Ham · « **Reply #104 on:** 20 February, 2012, 08:56:53 am »

Just back from La Plagne in all it's bizarre architectural glory. I've always maintained that the best reason to go to Aime La Plagne is so you don't have to look at it. Overall I'd put the entire resort somewhere in the lower middle ranges of overall rankings, with some parts - Soleil, Belle Plagne reasonably attractive. Of course there are some butt-ugly buildings (The whole of Bellecote, Aime, La France in Centre etc) but somehow it isn't too bad, maybe because there are so many ridges the buildings get blocked from view very quickly.

My favourite of the French resort is Arc 1950, probably the most recent to be designed, all wood clad, ski in - ski out from everywhere, no roads at all (access and deliveries from the car park underneath the whole resort)

Jakob · « **Reply #105 on:** 26 February, 2012, 05:03:35 am »

Had a pretty epic day at Mt. Baker today...and almost more snow than I could handle. (They had more than a meter in the last week, 50+ cm yesterday!)
Got stuck a couple of times in chest-high snow and it took me more than 15 minutes to crawl out.
And talking about architecture, Mt. Baker has none...being a national park, it's not a resort and the nearest village is 30 mins drive away...but the terrain is wide, varied and open, with easy backcountry access.

CommuteTooFar · « **Reply #106 on:** 07 March, 2012, 01:17:19 pm »

I normally have two weeks a year. This would be the second week but I ski with my brother and he could not go because a colleague on the same shift wanted a winter sun holiday. So I am sitting in the office as usual

Pippa · « **Reply #107 on:** 11 March, 2012, 10:34:27 pm »

I arrived in Val d'Isere today. It's gonna be an awesome week.

Ham · « **Reply #108 on:** 11 March, 2012, 10:47:29 pm »

Quote from: Pippa on 11 March, 2012, 10:34:27 pm

I arrived in Val d'Isere today. It's gonna be an awesome week.

Show us yer pictures so I can get proper jealous

Pingu · « **Reply #109 on:** 12 March, 2012, 10:24:04 am »

Quote from: Pippa on 11 March, 2012, 10:34:27 pm

I arrived in Val d'Isere today. It's gonna be an awesome week.

You asked for it: Git!

Have fun, Espace Killy is great.

Pippa · « **Reply #110 on:** 12 March, 2012, 04:51:23 pm »

It is boiling here. T shirt weather. Great for sun tan but snow is a bit slushy lower down. Went and did Sache today which was brilliant for the most part but the last 5 piste markers were moguled and slushy which was hard work.

Apparently they've completely closed the 3000 drag lift, so much as it disappoints me, I will now never get a chance to do the tunnel. The shame

Went to the Folie Douce on our way back to the chalet. Always good fun.

There is a guy in the chalet who does audaxes

Pingu · « **Reply #111 on:** 13 March, 2012, 02:39:54 pm »

Quote from: Pippa on 12 March, 2012, 04:51:23 pm

Went and did Sache today which was brilliant for the most part but the last 5 piste markers were moguled and slushy which was hard work.

The place where Mrs P had a sense of humour failure a few years ago

Feanor · « **Reply #112 on:** 13 March, 2012, 02:48:45 pm »

In the last narrow section just before an it joins the red 'Pavot' run into Tignes les Brevieres ( nice lunch spot ), it does indeed get moguled, and the slush of which you speak will freeze into rock-hard icy lumps overnight.

The short section of the red pavot run is also often an ice-fest.

The scene of many a hissy-fit, I'm sure.
The trick is to remain > ski-pole-whacking distance ahead...

Pingu · « **Reply #113 on:** 13 March, 2012, 02:52:52 pm »

Quote from: Feanor on 13 March, 2012, 02:48:45 pm

The trick is to remain > ski-pole-whacking distance ahead...

I did, the moguls didn't.

Pippa · « **Reply #114 on:** 14 March, 2012, 05:11:02 pm »

It is 11 deg here so pretty toasty. We did Face before 10am today and the bit where it actually gets a bit steep was already getting chopped up and slushy!!!!

So after that we went over to the glacier above Le Fornet which was fabulous. The snow over there was amazing and they've now opened a very reasonably priced restaurant there as well which makes it much more sociable. It is perhaps not quite as nice as the Tignes glacier, but far less crowded. That might have something to do with X games which are ongoing in Tignes this week. We sat and watched a bit yesterday, it was totally gnarly. Dude. Or something.

Jakob · « **Reply #115 on:** 17 March, 2012, 10:17:53 pm »

It's a bit crazy here in PNW. Mt Baker had 110inches in 6 days...that's almost 3 meters!. (They then also had a massive avalanche on Thursday, which carried into the lower runs...luckily no one got hurt)

We're heading to Whistler tomorrow. It's been pummeled by snow as well, but I suspect most of the powder will have been tracked out by tomorrow...we should still have 10cm or so fresh snow to play with, on top of a relatively soft snowpack.

Main problem is that we're on 6 day weeks at work at the moment, so it's a bit of a struggle to get up.

Jakob · « **Reply #116 on:** 27 March, 2012, 10:05:13 pm »

Should be heading to Whistler again this weekend. Sun might be out in the alpine, so it's time for the sunscreen to come out too!.
Lots of snow forecast for the weekdays, so with a bit of luck, there may still be stashes of pow to be found.
I'm definitely not ready for spring yet...

Ham · « **Reply #117 on:** 30 March, 2012, 10:35:32 am »

Know it happens all the time, but sad all the same - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9173743/Charterhouse-tributes-paid-to-star-teacher-killed-in-650ft-Val-DIsere-ski-crash.html

( the Face connection is why it's here rather than being ghoulish - I may be wrong but I thought Rocher du charvet is around Face?)

Feanor · « **Reply #118 on:** 30 March, 2012, 10:37:50 pm »

Finishing up packing for departure tomorrow AM.

Fly to Denver tomorrow, pick up hire car.
Drive to Snowmass village, Aspen for 1st week.

Then back to Breckenridge for the second week.

The snow report is looking like rather 'Spring' conditions...

mark · « **Reply #119 on:** 31 March, 2012, 01:58:31 am »

Quote from: Feanor on 30 March, 2012, 10:37:50 pm

Finishing up packing for departure tomorrow AM.

Fly to Denver tomorrow, pick up hire car.
Drive to Snowmass village, Aspen for 1st week.

Then back to Breckenridge for the second week.

The snow report is looking like rather 'Spring' conditions...

That would be the resort-speak version of 'Spring' conditions. I think more people are riding bicycles around Summit County than are skiing.

Jakob · « **Reply #120 on:** 01 April, 2012, 12:51:09 am »

Whistler will be open until at least May 28th...and is still getting loads of powder. (and I'm still stuck in the office, slaving away).

Feanor · « **Reply #121 on:** 10 April, 2012, 12:41:01 am »

Quote from: mark on 31 March, 2012, 01:58:31 am

Quote from: Feanor on 30 March, 2012, 10:37:50 pm
Then back to Breckenridge for the second week.
The snow report is looking like rather 'Spring' conditions...
That would be the resort-speak version of 'Spring' conditions. I think more people are riding bicycles around Summit County than are skiing.

Well, just arrived in Breck from Aspen. Both had a bad snow season, but I'd say Aspen Snowmass has held up better than Breck.

You're right: there were an impressive number of cyclists out in Frisco, and on the lanes around Breck.

Still, we just had our first day out here, and though there's a surprising amount shut, there's also plenty to do, if you go look for it.
Imperial chair is running, giving access ( with some hiking over rocky outcrops ) to the gated terrain above peak 7 ( Whale's tail, Art's bowle ) and to the Lake Chutes. Imperial Bowl itself is bare.

The gated terrain to the outside of Peak 10 is closed, mostly because the flat trail out is bare.
But The Burn side of peak 10 is still passable, with care, popping out onto barest Upper Lehman I've ever seen.

I've been toying with my new Edge 800 cycle GPS: it fits in a pocket well:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/166548529

--
Ron

Exit Stage Left · « **Reply #122 on:** 20 April, 2012, 06:57:38 pm »

Off to Val d'Isere on Sunday, via York for an LEL meeting, then Coventry to visit a friend in hospital, on to West London to drop off some stuff a friend left at our house, then on to Gatwick for a night in the car prior to a 7am flight. The forecast is for lots of snow, so we might find ourselves staring into murk. Wish us luck.

Ham · « **Reply #123 on:** 20 April, 2012, 06:58:47 pm »

Good luck!

(Walsgrave?)

Exit Stage Left · « **Reply #124 on:** 30 April, 2012, 08:59:24 pm »

It was the usual clash of cultures at the final week in Val. We lucked out with our two days off-piste, we'd normally be walking to find a couple of pitches of heavy powder, or be skiing spring snow, but we had two days of powder, the rest of the week was varied, by the time we left it was raining hard.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/VkgPSu52-s4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/VkgPSu52-s4&rel=1</a>

Author Topic: The Ski Locker thread (Read 126915 times)

Jakob

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