J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

Tony_H wrote:With respect, all that seems way too much for your average holiday skier to think about when venturing off piste

With respect, Tony, anyone venturing off piste should be thinking about this stuff. Even if they think about it and make an informed decision that the risks are so low that they don't need any kit, or (hopefully) that they should at least have the essentials. The "holy trinity" of avi kit, and a half day getting an intro to off-piste, will probably cost you less than your GoPro.

The avalanche doesn't care how average you are; it'll kill you just as dead.

Seriously, have fun but take care...

GlenH wrote:I had a great day skiing at Flims Laax and achieved my goal of skiing at 3,000m! :-)

Always good when a plan comes together! 8)

Were you able to hire ski clothes, as you were thinking, or did buy something in the end?

Iceman wrote:Adders, have you ever been to La Clusaz? ;)

Where? Never heard of it... 8)

La Residence is "across the road" (the other side of the main drag through town) from the ski lifts so you've got a little bit of a walk from there. So leaving your kit in town is probably a good plan. You've got a choice of walking downhill (ish) - cross the road and head for the church - for a mixture of lifts out of the town or you can yomp uphill to the new Bossonet lift.

We've had our skis from Sport Boutique (on the main road, not far from La Residence and slightly lower than village centre - you'll see what I mean when you get there) at least half a dozen times and they're very good. They are one of the SkiSet shops (I think there are two in the town) so you can book any rentals in advance if you need them (linky to the left!) 8)

They know their stuff technically (as do most of the ski shops here; it's very much a town that loves its skiing, rather than a resort full of season workers...) and I'd be very surprised if you couldn't leave your skis/boots with them overnight.

There are ski shops closer to where the runs converge (and the lifts out of town) BUT you might want to use the bus to "get out of town" more easily at some point (see below) and IIRC there's a ski bus stop close to Sport Boutique (although they have changed the road layout a bit in recent years and that may have changed).

For private lessons; I've not used them myself (yet!) but have had Evolution2, in particular, recently recommended to me as having good instructors and good English speakers.

Friday will likely be the quietest day and the weather on the Saturday will determine the turnout; I'd not expect either of those to be busy TBH. The people out on those days will include a good proportion of the local hotshots - and there are quite a few, of whom Candide Thovex is probably best known.

Sunday, however, is looking like the first "Bluebird Day" of the season so will bring the locals out in force and from down the valley. Have a good look at the piste map and go exploring on the Friday!

If the traffic is rocking up on Sunday morning and you want to get the jump on the crowds then consider hopping on an early bus up to either La Balme or l'Etale. You can, of course, just uplift from the town and ski across to either. La Balme is a freeriders paradise and the car park will look busy on Sunday but there's loads of space and once up the mountain everyone spreads out. L'Etale is a nice area and usually less crowded than the runs immediately above the town. Both these areas have some nice reds. They also have some long blues for your novice.

HTH, enjoy!

Hi Lorraine,

You've picked a good week...

Top lifts are shut this morning due to avalanche risk as they've had a lot of snow on the mountain. Rain/Snow line was quite high over the weekend but dropped to resort level last night and should stay there. More snow forecast this week and next week is expected to be cold with regular clear skies and a little more snow into the bargain.

That do you?

Here's a current webcam...

Tony_H wrote:Wow Dave, thats incredible. How do you think they managed to train that Ostrich?

Don't be silly Tony.

We all know only penguins can ski like that; so it's clearly a penguin in an Ostrich suit.

J2SkiNews wrote:
(A lift gate at Paradiski pictured this morning)

:shock:

I think that's the gate to the Marmottes chair just below Arc 1950, with the Bois de l'Ours chair in the background... it didn't look like that 3 weeks ago! :lol: Time to plan a return trip methinks... 8)

CanadianSkier wrote:Piste and off-piste are not common terms here

In Europe we don't have the "inbounds" idea; generally speaking, "off-piste" is neither patrolled or avalanche-controlled - it's very much "ski at your own risk" as soon as you step outside the marked limit of a piste (trail).

It is a little more complex, in that some ski resorts do have "freeride areas" (pretty much equivalent to your "inbounds" off-piste) that are controlled. Many resorts also have a few "un-pisted" runs which are both marked and controlled (just not piste-bashed), and others have "itineraries"... vaguely signed routes that may or may not be controlled depending on the resort...