J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by andyhull

I don't recall a drag like that in Tignes so guess I avoided going on it!
I have been on one or two which could easily leave a chap with a voice an octave or two higher!

Only advice I can give is to ride them with your skis flat. The problem some beginners have is edging their skis in a bit of a snowplough, a recipe for disaster.

I remember watching carnage at Avoriaz. We'd skied the wall and we're enjoying a hot chocolate in a restaurant below. There are two adjacent T-bars going back up, now being the wall the gradient is seriously steep. Towards the top one of the skiers on the lift fell and slid down taking out every other skier below. We sat and watched for well over 20 mins as people struggled to first find and then collect skis, poles and assorted bits of equipment.

If you think of the Sella Ronda as the face of clock, coming off at 2 is the Alta Badia area, at 5 Arabba area leading to Marmolada. 7 Canazei and 10 Selva, Val Gardena and St Cristina.

The circuit can be done in either direction, intermediate skiers will be able to get round in a day, just watch the time when you're off the circuit in one of the linked areas.

I stayed in Canazei, which was a bit of a trek to the more demanding skiing in Arabba or Selva, so if I went back I stay in one of those resorts.

Marmolada is the highest peak in the area at 3350m. I remember it being -25c up there!

The Camelbak bladders won't freeze as they are insulated. You can also get a neoprene insulator for the tube.
It's worth getting a valve with a tap, as the bite valves can leak down your jacket when the bladder gets squeezed when you sit of a chair lift.

That's a special story, what a wonderful sport.

Make sure you ski the Saslong (Mens downhill run) in Val Gardena, it's one of those runs which makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up on end. The rollers which you see the skiers going airborn off on tv are huge and make you glad you're not racing the clock!

The womans downhill (or might be super GS) run in Arabba is also a great run.

Conditions were superb when we went, so the black (Avet) back to base was a blast. And because 95% of the skiers there are beginners or early intermediates it was always virtually empty. (There is a blue run down as well, or take the gondola down if it is icy or silly busy)
Last one to The Iceberg Pub is a boarder! (2 for 1 happy hour)

I found the lift system in Portes Du Soleil to be about 10 years behind all the other big areas I've been.
Morzine and Les Gets areas were great, but the link to Avoriaz was so slow. The queues were ridiculous. Things got worse on the Swiss side, slow rickety old chairs. From Morzine, not worth the time and effort to get there.
After skiing 3Vs and Espace Killy areas, the lift system of Portes Du Soleil was a huge disappointment.
Has much changed since I was there in 2003?

The history is fascinating, the area was Austrian until after WWI.
10,000 soldiers were killed by avalanches (many set off deliberately) during the winter of 1916 alone. This was just as much the front line as the trenches of France and Belgium and just as brutal. Such a stark contrast to the breathtaking beauty of the area.