J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ise

bandit wrote:What about these fellas on Telemark skis this year?

http://www.meatheadfilms.com/blogs/bd/2008/06/10/The-K2-Tall-Mountain-Expedition/

I thought I read that bad weather had forced them to abandon the attempt.

bandit wrote:Has anyone tried to ski K2?

Personally? No )

I know Fredrik Ericsson has a planned ascent/descent for next summer as part of his objective to climb/ski the three highest peaks. He was on Kangchenjunga last month but didn't make the summit so I'm not sure where that leaves the project, I presume he'll push on and try again next season now.

Some news at http://www.fredrikericsson.com/news.aspx

Has it been skied before? Not that I recall.

duncan72 wrote:heading to saas fee am i better buying skis in the uk or in switzerland

The UK, just the exchange rate alone makes it cheaper now.

1 GBP = 1.810 CHF

indeed and the first bad weather for ages I've not been out in which makes a fantastic change. I'm going to light the fire and watch TV ** )






** unless it snows a lot and covers the satellite dish and we lose the signal

jonah690 wrote:If it were me and i have dreamed about this a lot i would say Le Fayet. Its just down from St Gervais already mentioned and within a short driving distance of some of the best skiing in Europe. Chamonix, Argentier, La Tour, Combloux,Les Contamines,Megeve,Les Hoches,Brevent,Flegere,and of course the Vallee Blanche.

It has a main train station,is an hour from Geneva Airport and Snowcoach http://www.snowcoach.co.uk/page.php?id=36&pid=4&mpg=greatplacestostay have a Hotel there and run an overnight coach service thoughout the season sometimes twice a week as an option for getting home.
Accomodation should also be much cheaper as its a living working town and not just a ski resort.

Other than that somewhere like Morzine which again is about an hour from Geneva.
If you want cheap accomodation though your going to need a car.

unfortunately the train from Le Fayet doesn't connect to Geneva airport directly and it's 2.5 - 3 hrs on the train

Jimbo261 wrote:Not too far off the point then!!

I was refering to http://www.ski-i.com :D

and travel companies wonder why people don't believe them )

Accurate

http://www.ski-i.com/FRResortShortDescriptionPage.aspx?ResortID=5450
http://www.ski-i.com/FRResortShortDescriptionPage.aspx?ResortID=5884

taking the ****

http://www.ski-i.com/FRResortShortDescriptionPage.aspx?ResortID=5405
http://www.ski-i.com/FRResortShortDescriptionPage.aspx?ResortID=5432

special commendation

http://www.ski-i.com/FRResortShortDescriptionPage.aspx?ResortID=5888

I love "enjoys incredible views" which I take as code for it's not very nice itself :D

Neiltoo wrote:

Dave Mac wrote:
It not just a possibility, but frequently achieved, to pay between say two and three times more, (or even greater multiples) than the lowest price, for the same product or service.

I agree completely.
Once you have decided on the product you want you would be daft not to pay the cheapest price and to spend some time searching for it(services are different though cos you dont know if it will be the same service till after you have got it!)

Don't forget customer service, most people will consider paying a small amount extra for any article if it comes with a good after sales service. Mostly shops here are expensive but the after sales service is pretty good.

Salski wrote:

From my perspective, I think you're being a little unfair to Les Gets. I've been there quite a few times & always enjoyed it & thought it was a pretty village. You guys are clearly lucky enough to spend much of your time in the mountains & ski in some fantastic places so I guess your expectations are different to those of others. I for one, live in a North Nottinghamshire ex. mining town which I consider to be particularly unattractive, especially in the dark, miserable winter months. To visit a pretty, snow-covered village in the Alps is a breath of fresh air & I don't consider that anyone would be disappointed to find themselves there. Samoens is more authentic I suppose in terms of a 'typical' French village but I would happily return to either of them.

However, if you've only ever visited resorts like Flaine or La Plagne, then I'm sure you would find Les Gets charming. In fact, looking at many of the purpose built resorts, charm isn't an important factor to many people when choosing a ski destination. In conclusion, I guess it is all relative. If you live somewhere grotty then Les Gets is charming. If you live somewhere stunning in Switzerland then maybe it is less so )

I'm sure a lot of visitors to Les Gets enjoy it enormously but it can't really be described as a pretty village or in any way unspoilt. As bandit observed the main street is just awful, shops selling English newspapers and English cars parked bumper-to-bumper all over the town. The skiing is OK and again something families and intermediate skiers might enjoy enormously but it's also fair to say that for all the claims of distances in the Portes du Soleil some of the skiing is going to be pretty uninspiring for some skiers.

If, for example, you were someone who'd spent some holidays in France in the summer and went to Les Gets for your fist ski holiday expecting to find some of the charm you were familiar with from the summer you'd be rather disappointed. I think most of us when seeing a description like "picture-postcard resort" don't automatically qualify that with "compared to a spanner factory in Gdansk"

Whatever the merits of Les Gets, and the Ported du Soleil in general, traditional charm just isn't one of them. I skied in Les Gets on my first ski trip to the alps some 25 years ago when it was a small village, seeing it now is like returning to the park where you played as a kid and finding it concreted over for a motorway service station.