J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ise

tino_11 wrote:

ise wrote:err.. you do realise it's not actually the summer right now? :D

Try the third paragraph again ise, might pay to get them eyes tested before you go out the hill again :)

the point being you're not going to settling any debate about summer skiing as you opened with, you've not been )

tino_11 wrote:Well, I'm back and I can share my experiences (and some piccies) to help settle the debate.

err.. you do realise it's not actually the summer right now? :D

Zermatt's pretty bad for people who need everything handing to them on a plate, it does reward people who like to take time looking at maps and making plans.

Saas Fee isn't ski-in/ski-out either though. As for Wengen, I don't know, are there really many good novice slopes? Some good terrain for the self-styled intermediates for certain. I just dislike how badly linked it all is. Zermatt has that advantage that it all radiates from the town even if it involves moving around town in the morning/evening.

The scenery and landscape in Wengen is good but really the skier isn't engaged in it at all, it's just a backdrop; in fact I think this is why it just doesn't work for me. The real mountains are accessed from the Jungfraujoch and the shortest route is a day tour with about 3 hours climbing. The fans of the area never get that far of course.

Whereas in Zermatt, you're in amongst that landscape all the time, you can ride lifts and ski on the Klein Matterhorn, without much expertise you can join a trip and ski on the Breithorn. For 170chf a day you can join the guides office and ski off piste and you'll be in amongst seracs and glaciers in that huge mountain landscape.

haven't managed to sort the 150 I took in the last 4 days yet, but here's one at random, some of the group climbing the ridge of the Blanc de Moming 3661m in the Val d'Anniviers in Valais, Switzerland

SkiFam wrote:Spot on bandit - a real far way! And yes, needs to be real Swiss spectacular! The difficult part being we keep on comparing to US resorts, and as you mentioned, cannot compare at all. We'll be coming into Zurich IA though.

I'm comparing Verbier, Saas-Fe and Wengen at the moment. Just flicked through Saas-Fe though. Will have a deaper look.

I'd skip Verbier, not very Swiss at all, it just happens to be here and attracts the crowds which is handy as it keeps them away from elsewhere. The skiing in Wengen isn't really very special either so I'd skip that as well.

Saas Fee is pretty nice but Zermatt is better in that area.

bandit wrote:Eeek :shock:

Oooh ise I think you've done terminal damage there.

You're going to have to add spare boots to the AT kit list, you know )

I don't see why the bolt can't be replaced, my worry is that it'll need to return to Garmont to be done which will take an age.

chaletslovakia wrote:
Tino_11:

I think you are overestimating what summer glacier activity is all about.
They are not vey big.
They are pretty featureless unless there is a park there.
Normally there are no chairlifts installed because a glacier is a moving mass of ice and hence there is no chance of installing the engineering required. Drag lifts are a lot easier to install.

The conditions are ice in the morning turning to utter slush by about 11am...

They are okay for a day or two as part of a summer holiday. But you'll probably be a bit let down expecting days of good riding / skiing.

that's correct in every single way. I'd only add that they're useful for technical training of course, teams, instructors etc. Probably all fine if, as you say, there's a park and you're into that sort of thing.

or maybe for this ski boot it is ....



the bolt/hinge/pivot seems to have sheared through, obviously this happened at 3000m two days into a tour fulfilling every mountaineers worst nightmare of kit failure. This wire held for climbing and skinning but wasn't so hot downhill, high up on powder, steeps or ice it was fine as I could easily drive the boot but just skiing out through the valley in slush without any lateral control in one boot was pretty non-optimal :D

now to see how quick this can be repaired, I rather needed my boots :D