J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ise

well, who's to say what real skiing is of course? :D

Things like the Haute Route are a long way from the minds of a lot of skiers and there's no reason that should be, any reasonable skier with enough motivation can ski that sort of route. I was talking to a couple of English guys a few weeks back on one of the high cols and they were doing the hiking Haute Route, one was a keen skier and intimidated by the idea of skiing it yet hiking it is no picnic, they'd spent some days in deep snow at altitude on their trip.

It's just human nature, I defy anyone to climb away from ski area for a few hours, leave the noise of the lifts and the last plank on some fat skis far behind and not think it's the real deal as they drop the skins off, point the skis and head down :D

While searching for something else I came across a fantastic video from Chamonix Guiding on the Haute Route :

The Haute Route guided and fimed by Sébastien Montaz- Chamonix Guiding

Turns out they've a variety of other ones which are equally stunning :

http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=chamonix+guiding+ski

enjoy :D

freezywater wrote:

I see now, what boots are we talking about here? Don't they drop into pegs on most boots?

That's the ones, mine are Salomons - 29.5's, it took me ages to explain it to the chap in the ski shop, I think he probably thought I was mad whittling on about these 'bits of plastic' that are 'heel-shaped' :!:

I might have some of them. I just checked on old pair of boots and they're absent which means I took them for spares. In which case they're in a box at the other place. If you don't get sorted maybe we can sort something out.

freezywater wrote:Bandit

thanks, I knew it was a bit of a long shot but I do mean the plastic tray, although it was only the heel section that I had which comprised a plastic wedge that sits loosely in the boot under the liner, the effect being to raise the heel slightly ensuring that both the heel is secure in the boot and also had the effect of making you lean forward. I've tried my local ski shop, perhaps it's time to try a bit further afield / the supplier. The dog is fine thanks for asking :wink:

I see now, what boots are we talking about here? Don't they drop into pegs on most boots?

clareybearey wrote:Hi there. You sound like you know your snow! Question for you. Thinking about going to Saalbach early Feb or early March. Which week is probably going to be best for good snow conditions?

Yes, there's some good collective knowledge on snow round here.

For me, it's pretty hard to make that finer judgment. It's late enough that the base should be good so it's down to how much snow's falling right then which is hard to predict.

As for speculation, this is a La Niña year and apparently some of the models for that have a follow-on of substantial snow falls the following Jan' and Feb'. Who knows? But it's fun to imagine :D

ellistine wrote:

Emmac wrote:I'm going to Tignes on the 1st Dec, you've got me thinking now, is the whole Espace Killy open then or not? If not then what is open from 1st-8th Dec?

I think last year the Espace Killy opened on the 24th or 25th of November so you should be fine.

I think they're scheduled to open 1st Dec' this year. It's pretty sure that the whole area won't be open at that point but they're should be some a reasonable area open.

If there's a replay of last season they'll be some problems again of course, the snow accumulation at altitude should be starting from October onwards really and that just didn't happen last year.

ellistine wrote:

bandit wrote:Are you going on the Atomic Boot Camp by any chance

I am indeed! Seemed to good an offer to miss out on. Orignally it was just myself and my girfriend going, now there are eight of us!

Are you going to?

It's a good offer indeed. For anyone coming from the UK the transfers from the airport must be the best feature.

Over here though it's a regular thing, local stores will run ski test weekends with transport from town. Normally they tie it in with cheap accommodation in places like Zermatt or Saas Fee in the autumn when people are thinking about buying new skis for the season.

bandit wrote:

ise wrote:

Like most ski-mountaineering boots they've also got rocker soles. In fact most rigid mountaineering boots are the same otherwise the lack of flex is just too much when you're walking.

I was sure that I had read about the Megaride having a walk mode, how inconvenient, not having that function in a touring boot :shock:

some misunderstanding here I think :D

All Garmont touring boots have walk modes, it breaks the flex between the upper and lower parts of the boot. Some also have an adjustable forward lean which I find about impossible to engage personally and I know some others find the same. They also have an extra notch on the cuff buckles for walking. Obviously for touring by walking we mean climbing or ascending on skins.

Additionally to help walking you've the vibram mountaineering soles which are on a rocker, ie a a slight curve to help walking. That's a common feature with rigid general mountaineering boots.

All of which makes them 100% more practical to walk around in than normal ski boots.