J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Dave Mac

Tennis, running a tennis club (not the same thing), summer water colour painting, birdwatching, building stone walls, hill walking, training a guide dog, organising youth sports development, song writing, choral singing, as well as the usual washing and ironing, planning the winter, keeping up with J2ski. Not as active as I would like, but then I tend to have a snooze in the afternoon.......

freshfreshpowder wrote:Wow, thanks for the wealth of information everyone has provided in this post. This is a great forum!

That's nice FFP. The invoice is in the post. )

Far Queue wrote:

Dave Mac wrote:
I disagree with FarQueue about when to book diy. If you leave it late, the air fares will always increase. Also, I have never known privately booked accomodation costs to be reduced.

In fairness Dave, I did point out that it is an advantage as we drive down, so flight costs are not an issue for us.

Sorry, FQ, I wasn't responding to your situation, but to the general situation as raised by the OP.

As Tony points out there are second tier opportunities with the main carriers. It is good info from Mekka about the new Easyjet route from Manchester to Munich. My skibuddy has generally used Luftahansa out of Manchester, averaging £120/£130. I would expect to pay around £60/£70 return. (With one free Frequent Flyer return flight per season!).

This reinforces the general point that I make that it is not possible to give a one size fits all response.

On the issue of luggage allowance, that may be a problem for some, but I never go over 17kgm, including my ski boots. Good point about the skis inclusive though.

As for "the hassle of fighting to get on", I go last in the bus queue, and stroll on to the plane. I know there will be a seat, not sure why other people don't do the same.

Good to get all the different experiences. I would guess that London & the south have the best choice of flight types.

OldAndy wrote:

snowb4ndit wrote:At the risk of shattering my demure reputation...I'd be happy to go down the road of straight forward pebble dashing!

And you have regular experience of that?
:mrgreen:
It is an expert job to manage competently and involves a Tyrolean machine.
DaveMac - your experience?
:wink:

Magnolia.

It is not possible for any individual to say that diy is better than package. There are too many variables. Significant factors include:

The door to door time & cost for independant travel. So for me, I can get low cost flights from Edinburgh to Munich, Milan, Geneva, Grenoble, Salzburg. However, I have friends in other areas where they are restricted in useful availability. eg from Mancheste and Belfast, there doesn't seem to be a low cost route to Munich.

Availability & cost of accomodation. In my favourite resort I pay 19~25 Euros. Even at New Year in Scheffau, I paid only 45 Euro pppn, for DBB. On the other hand, in resorts that have restricted accomodation, an example is Obergurgl, accomodation costs can be prohibitive.

I disagree with FarQueue about when to book diy. If you leave it late, the air fares will always increase. Also, I have never known privately booked accomodation costs to be reduced.

With regard to last minute offers there is a mixture of truths and myths. TO's are not stupid, in fact, they are quite switched on. If there is a big dump of snow, it is the offers that melt, not the snow. If the take-up at a particular time is not strong, then offers emerge. If you bag an offer, and you then get a dump of snow, you have struck white gold!

Finally, do your research. I do a cost spreadsheet of ALL costs for every trip. Often, a great looking baseline price does not migrate through to the bottom line cost, once the full range of costs are factored in. Lift passes are a high cost, and vary hugely. Food costs, day and evening, can be high in France, and to a lesser extent in Switzerland.

So start looking at low cost flight possibilities NOW. Then look at the range of possible resorts, and how you travel to them, and how the travel times work with each other, and what are the costs. Choose 2/3/4 resorts, and blitz the accomodation. Look on this site at the top of the page. Look at tourist offices.

Then factor in the ski runs.........

He had a parachute, so was never going to go too quickly. However, he wasn't going slow. He was getting turns in, so not as quick as a speed gun. Educated guess, 40/50mph.

It's a tad inhibited , Scap, I suggest that you give your imagination a bit more rein. Its just, you know, lacking PISte.......

Hi SS, welcome to J2ski.

At Easter, a strong consideration is Breckenridge. With the village at over 9000ft, the snow should easily last. It is a great resort for getting lots of run time. A benefit of being based in Breck is that the area pass covers five other resorts, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, and my favourite, Arapahoe Basin. You need a hire car to take advantage.

Foodwise, you can get good meals at modest prices.

Accomodationwise, I generally go with a group, and we get a condo between us. It doesn't matter much where you stay, the ski bus system is great. So if you just google for accomodation, and look for the low cost end. The Fireside Inn offers Dorms at $30/40pp, and 2 person cabins at $75/105 per room.

Ski well.