J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Jan I Stenmark

Hi All,

I don't know what all the fuss is about, we've had nearly a week now of bright sunshine during the day with a max temp of about -2 and then heavy fresh snowfall over-night :) The off piste is totally untracked and there are no lift queues, the après-ski bars are so quiet that they are giving away free beer and schnapps to anyone who asks and the lift company is paying people to ride the system. Urr hang on, that damm alarm clock is going off again :( (if you got this far and were kinda going with it, I'm sorry for teasing)

Actually we have been having some great sunshine and almost all the runs are skiable, yesterday the runs were holding up well until after lunch and even then they were just a bit "spring like" ...

I too have been keen to know what the bleep "Mr Snow God" thinks he's been playing at but a brief survey of the local meteorologists (in the bar) say that snow by the weekend isn't unrealistic. So what with Mr Admin’s wibbly wobbly things and my finger in the air it looks like next week should be one to watch :)

Jan

ldavies wrote:but if first choice is a sister company to Thomson, then you will be with the Wildschönau ski school as a matter of course.

Hi All,

I was confused about this and so today I tracked down the 1st Choice Rep and asked him for the low down. It seems that 1st Choice use the "Aktiv" or Blue ski school. Apparently it does say this in the brochure (but maybe it's in that huge block of small print at the back!)

As an aside the rep gave me this number: 0043 535 667 220 which is their central number for local enquiries. May be a useful number to try!

Finally he said that as Thomson, Inghams and First Choice are all owned by the same company, the company may well decide to book ALL lessons with the "Reds" next season.

Hope this helps someone.

Jan

Fantastic!

The most eloquent distillation of metrology I've ever heard :P

I may now make this post the "wallpaper" for my PC!

Anytime you want to talk technical just crack on I say 8)

Happy wiggling,

Jan

Watching the ebb and flow of skiers and especially snowboarders I think I have identified a substantial flaw in my technique. My trousers are way too comfortable!

It would appear that to ensure the perfect posture it’s a critical requirement that each pace forward (when walking) is accompanied by a hand (either is OK) that hitches your ski pants up to a point just below that which would ensure the trousers actually stayed up!

Once moving on skis or board then all attempts to retain the vertical positioning of the lower garments should be stopped. It’s interesting to note that even extreme lack of manoeuvrability is not sufficient motivation to ensure an upward relocation.

Today provided me with a great learning opportunity, a young (16-17yr old) guy, skiing in an exclusively male group was compelled, whilst navigating a route between two pistes, to actively reduce the gap between feet and waist band to the point where the flesh at the top of his thighs was visible below his foundation wear. Needless to say, when the piste opened out and became steeper there was one member of the party who was so totally unable to demonstrate even the most basic of techniques that he ended up collapsed in a heap at the side of the slope with what looked like a substantial quantity of snow in an uncomfortable location …

So, you young guns, what’s the word? Or am I just so hopelessly old that I couldn’t “get” the importance of this new-fangled technique? :oops:

Technical answers anticipated!!

Jan

p.s. perhaps a pair of braces or a belt should be awarded to the fullest answer!

Hirsty,

Without getting into unnecessary detail, do you enjoy long toe nails? Sounds mad but you’d be surprised at how many times this can have a bearing!

Alternatively, perhaps you just need to give the boots some time. A the start of this season my feet hurt like hell – not because my boots didn’t fit, just because I hadn’t skied for a few months. Now, a month and a bit into the season I can wear them all day long and my feet and liners have got reacquainted!

I wouldn’t go doing anything crazy on the basis of one night at Hillend, well there was this one time when ... ah but that’s another story 8)

Jan

Did you notice that they all had "Rental Property of Dorset Snowsport Centre” etched into their shot bases ???

Guess some maverick beaver must’ve done one too many Dead Ants there 8)

Still as they were all twin tips I guess it’s no great loss :shock:

Jan

I love it when you talk technical 8)

Go on say something really technical ... :D

All I know is that the snow you promised for yesterday turned up on time and without any problems. I signed the POD slip without delay :P

Jan

Hi Tom,

As a number of learned people have noted above, skiing on an artificial slope (by which I am talking about plastic rather than man made snow) is HARD to do well!

Yes, you may well break bones especially in your hands and arms but don’t imagine that snow is always soft and fluffy and painless when you stack … Your comment

Luckily snow is soft

is probably only true in Warren Miller films and in all our dreams :D

I would recommend you go to your local slope (hiring skis) as much as possible, train hard or take some intensive lessons. Then, as also mentioned above, when you get onto snow you’ll be in paradise!

As an aside, there has been at least one World Championship Slalom event held in the UK on a plastic slope (Wycombe). Teams from Austria and as far a field as Korea turned up and to a person they couldn’t compete with even average racers from the UK. And just to head off the obvious comment, No, not every UK racer who trains on plastic can transfer their skills to snow, but this doesn’t mean that the training is without relevance.

Jan