J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by verbier_ski_bum

This happens every year with rare exceptions, warm April followed by snow at the very end. It's game over, it doesn't matter how much snow may still fall, it's only good higher up and not for long, by noon it's a heavy mash. Temperatures already were in 20s for some time, so ground is quite warm and lot of old snow already slid. probably Ok to ski couple of hours on groomed runs, but it's end of April, not end of December, so forecasts like this is a source of annoyance, not excitement.

alexa wrote:Thank you both for your advice. My plane will arrive on Saturday, 8 am, so I will have a full day to get to Val Thorens. But, if I go with a train, will I have to change the train in Paris first, then Lyon, then take bus/cab in Moutiers? It is minimum 3 transfers in unfamiliar territory and with no knowledge of French! Yesterday I checked another option: to fly from CDG to Geneve and take direct bus from Geneve airport to Val Thorens, the total cost about 130 euro one way. Will it make more sense (even if it might cost a little more than train option)? Please correct me if I am wrong.

You don't need to change the train in Lyon, there is a direct train from Paris to Moutiers, but you will need to get from CDG to the train station in Paris (gare de Lyon). I know that TGV also stops at CDG, but I don't think that it will bring you to the right train station in Paris as there are a few.

TGV is probably the best option as it goes straight to Moutiers where you can get a cab/bus. www.sncf.com is the website. Don't think it matters where you are for a ticket, but with TGV you are booking a place in a particular train that leaves at a particular time on a particular day, so check your arrival time to Paris and allow for travel from CDG to Gare de Lyon. Not sure how early in advance you can book.

Yeah, it's done. We had about 10-15 cm of fresh snow up top on Saturday but still more people headed down the valley to watch cow fighting than headed up the mountain. Lot of people going up from Le Chable in gondolas already have bikes with them and not skis. It's mostly tourists who ski at the moment and there are very few of them too. More snow forecast for the following weekend, but I doubt I will ski. It's over and this is how it feels. Still I skied 60 days this season and some of them were epic, so ready for summer now.

Ranchero_1979 wrote:Have to say if you are not planning where to ski (argument for linked resort) then you are not planning to ski offpiste. Last thing at night at first thing in morning you need to be checking weather/avalanche bulletin and decide altitude, aspect and slope angle.
Good heli-skiing withing 45min of Chamonix, have heard that is pretty reasonable ~100 Euro a drop if you can fill the helicopter.

This is not necessarily true. We check bulletins and conditions so generally have an idea where and when it can be OK to go (with care), but that gives us many options so the rest is often decided on a spot. Yesterday I thought we'd stay on itineraries as conditions were amazing so no need to venture far, at most I thought Mont-Gelé would be our fun for the day, but after seeing the queues when we reached top of Mont-Fort (which took us some 1.5 hour and Mont-Gelé doesn't usually open till late morning)the decision was to go off the backside - at least in this way we were not to see any lifts for couple of hours and we knew that we were having a good window of opportunity to use: relatively stable - the main danger there is at the exit, so it has to be cleared before 1 pm - and we had this time, good weather, and we also saw guides headed that way with clients. And we still managed to get up Mont-Gelé later in the day when crowds of fair weather skiers were having lunch and the queues to get back to the resort were minimal. This is what skiing in linked resort gives you - options and an easy way to change them and still have an amazing day. But Verbier is very special in this respect due to ease of access to some spectacular terrain. One of our friends is an amazing skier from Tyrol, who has been skiing since he was 2, but above that he is also full of knowledge, can read terrain and spot any danger and know how to get out of it.

I also don't understand how an air bag can send someone into trees. Avalanche does it not an air bag. All the bag ever does is helps a skier taken by avalanche to stay closer to the surface, it has no control of the direction a skier is taken.

Hard to tell what it's going to be like in a week time. It's been snowing for the last few days (since Sunday I think) and is expected to snow till Sunday/Monday, but given that it's spring time lot of this snow can be gone in a week if the sun comes out and freezing level goes up considerably. There should still be plenty to ski on, it just may be not powder snow but typical spring conditions - icy mornings and slushy afternoons.

CanadianSkier wrote:Did I read you right?

Your insurance does NOT cover you if:

"You hire a guide" - does that not make it safer?

"Beyond my capability" - How can they quantify something subjective?
(actually I know the answer to that, insurance companies love wildcard excuses to deny claims)

and

If your over 50 you can't play in fun parks?

I'm going to hire a guide, to ski above my ability in a closed fun park!!!

(yes, I'm over 50)

I think he meant that insurance doesn't cover you if you had accident while skiing off-piste without a guide where a guide is required. This is bit vague I agree, and can be very subjective. I don't think a guide is required for off-piste unless it involves skiing on glaciated terrain with crevasses etc. but I am afraid insurance companies will apply their own criteria if it helps them to avoid paying.