J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by andymol2

I just like the serenity of being on an empty mountain and so don't listen to music whist skiing.

I don't think it would be dangerous - perhaps you might not hear someone coming from behind but that's supposed to be their look out. (likewise a piste basher - but they got loud horns)
I'm not sure which way I'd go if there was a shout of avalanche so perhaps better not to know! )

Size & fit are more relevant than sex-specific helmets (no innuendo intended!)
There is a wide variation in skull shapes - even at the same notional size hence many helmets are adjustable & if it fits OK the gender that it's marketed too isn't likely to be too important.
What makes it a men's or a women's helmet is likely to be about colour or pattern - possibly size but that's offset by many women having rather more hair.

Have ski'd in Andorra and will go back again at some point.
My only gripe was that the mountain cafe's were a bit naff & you had to ski down to the bottom for a decent meal.

The ski schools were good, the drink cheap (compared with France) and the snow was pretty good.

The snow was OK in a year when there wasn't much snow anywhere - a lot of man made snow but unlike many ski areas they really do use their snow making facilities.

If it's nearby I wouldn't want to be in the midde of a wide piste wafting my pole in the air.

Far Queue is pretty much spot on with his assessment of the different lift to get caught on!

Tony_H wrote:My helmet was nowhere to be seen either. Unusual for bedtime.

Must have left the light off!

If the Euro goes, some currencies such as the new Mark may well be strong currencies. Finding levels at which exports from Germany are hit by the strength of the Mark until an equilibrium is found.
(In some ways Germany has made the greatest benefit from the Euro in that the costs of its exports have been kept relatively low because concern over the Southern countries has prevented the Euro climbing to the point that German goods are priced out of the market)

The new Lira & Drachma will probably fall given that historically Greece has, in particular, printed money to cover costs. I guess to an extent that is what a lot of countries are doing as a short term measure - call it quantitative easing if you like, including the UK - it helps stop the Pound rising to the point that exports are hit and more jobs are lost.

I guess the markets are betting that's what will happen with the Euro - a lot will need printing to rescue Greece and perhaps others. The richer Euro nations don't want to do this as it devalues their own wealth but ultimately simply lending money to the weak economies probably just increases debt which they already can't afford and austerity measures needed would be politically catastrophic.

How will it affect skiiers in the UK if the Euro goes? Germany more expensive, Switzerland probably less so. Austria - uncertain. Italy probably a bit cheaper. Spain probably cheaper. France - who knows what value a new Franc would have but the more it falls the more they will up the prices (at least to foreigners - the locals will no doubt have discount vouchers)

If you like dressing up then fine but assuming you are over 12 years old it probably is a bit strange to dress up in your ski gear. (Unless it has the desired effect on your other half ) )

Walk around in new boots to break them in would be pretty routine.

There real difficulty of a piste may well not be directly linked to it's grading!

There are those that are overgraded to make the area seem like it's got some difficult terrain to interest skiers who like the challenge and there are those that are undergraded so that newbies still come to the resort (after all once you've paid for your accomodation and lift pass they've got your money).

If your technique is sound and you are not spooked by steeps then even a relative novice can get down a lot of blacks, perhaps inelegantly and not ideal for improving technique (although it can be a stimulus to do so)

A snotty mogulled blue can be far more difficult for a novice than a wide smooth steeper red.
Blacks can be black for a variety of reasons - steep, steep & narrow, mogul field and may be so because of relatively short difficult stretches yet be blue/green for much of their length. Certainly scout them out before you take less able skiers down them - skiing is meant to be fun and a testing piste can be fun providing it's not beyond the skiers abilities or so far out of their comfort zone that they get spooked or even worse get injured. That shouldn't happen if they are not made to feel pathetic for side slipping where they need to.

Someone mentioned the Grand Vallira area of Andorra as a relatively easy graded ski area, I would also add that they were consistent in their grading with no hidden horrors and generally quite wide pistes so you have pleanty of space for skiers and boarders to spread out into.