J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by andymol2

It is generally quieter in the Sauze area than Sestriere although that is influenced by how much snow is left so later in the season skiers get squeezed into the higher places which can make many areas seem busy.

Personally I'd opt to stay in Sauze but if you are staying in Sestriere you are probably better off taking your lessons there - particularly if you have to start early in the morning or if the weather is bad which may make getting across take longer.

The problem with boards is it gets flat in places!

Snow boards certainly changed the ethos of ski making and transformed skiing. Mind you, if we had mountains in England you wonder what some of the F1 teams would do to ski design.

andyhull wrote:
A mate used to go into 'out of control snow plough' mode and head straight for them screaming as he went. Believe me they got out of the way when 20 stone of ex-para headed towards them!
He doesn't do that anymore, he's joined the dark side and now boards.

I've been known to do that when I see people taking a leak on the piste.
Scares the cra* out of them.

For me the safety argument is a veiled way of legitimizing a jobs for the locals policy.

The host from the chalet I stayed at last year in Courcheval was quite clear about how it used to be. He worked for one of the chalet operators and in the past, once he'd done breakfast would have offered to take guests out to orient themselves on the mountain. Not for payment, nor to instruct them just as a friendly act to make his guests feel welcome and a bit of company for himself.

However they had had strict instructions that he could no longer do this as he and the company risked prosecution if he did as he hadn't got the requisite "qualification" even though there was no question of payment for service.

A few experienced skiers choosing to ski together is no different to the same people walking to the bar together. If I was paying him to teach me then there is a good case to state that he should have an appropriate qualification, and the same of off piste guiding. Given that we are in the EU it would not be unreasonable that the standards should be the same in all EU countries. I would have no objection to being taught by a French instructor in Scotland or by a Scot in France. It's the EU after all and should be a free market for employment for all. It most certainly is not in the ski world at least. Why are there so many more foreign instructors in Andorra than in France - simply because the is very much a closed shop. Yes there are exceptions, but not many.

Who the hell hosts me is not a safety issue so we should not be complicit in this: we are not talking about Doctors, Nurses or driving instructors.
I don't want an incompetant or a paedophile teaching my kids to ski and yes I would expect qualification to be mandatory, ideally with pan-European standards where a qualification in Austria is recognized in France, Italy or Sweden. The Swiss, like the Andorrans and Norwegians can do as they will as they are outside the EU, but those in Europe should abide by the employment rights open to all EU citizens and not abuse pseudo-safety excuses to give the locals jobs.

Is the standard of teaching that much higher in France than Austria, Andorra, the USA or Canada?

It's protectionism.
Adults should be able to ski with who they like. As long as that person doesn't falsely claim to have teaching or guiding qualifications then it should be none of the authorities business.
If taking guests off piste then, as a matter of safety, an international guiding qualification and evidence of local experience should be mandatory wherever you are, be that France, Austria or Scotland.

The French whine when the UK declines to fund their agricultural policy yet use the law to favor their own nationals.

Mittens for me. I've got a pair of North Face ones and a pair of Aldi ones and I'd recommend both, the latter being a 5th of the price and only marginally less breathable and just as warm.

When it's really cold I wear a pair of liner gloves.

Not only do you get ripped off in France for drinks, they also seem to have dual pricing with "locals" paying less than Joe Public. La Plagne seemed to have some sort of voucher scheme for locals so they can rip off the visitors without upsetting the regulars.