J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Innsbrucker

I went up there last week. Normally Euro 40 for a day pass, 36 for half day, more than I am used to paying, it was only slightly cheaper for end of season. And you have to pay fairly high car park charges. Lots of nice lifts. Soft spring snow lower down, I am not a great skiier and took a couple of heavy falls (which I put down to my poor weight transfer skill creating more problems in the soft spring snow than in easier snow).

I hired skis at a restaurant on the way for Euro20, the skis were called Dynamic, all round carvers, so far as I could judge heavy and poor quality. Maybe the hire places at the resort are better.

In my mind the fact they offer you poor skis went with the fact it is not a skiing area, very different from the Alps where the locals pretty much all know their stuff when it comes to winter sports. Sierra Nevada was full of beginners, and full of locals giving skiing a go for an odd day. There must be lots of new skiiers as the resort was reporting unprecedented custom, and at the weekend the news said the only road in had been closed owing to excess traffic.

There were a few half-way decent skiiers, and very few really good skiiers. Baby slopes were full, difficult slopes empty. My impression was that most of the snowboarders were real beginners going fairly slowly (rather than the kind which bugs me in the Alps, ie. guys whose speed and confidence look like they are accelerating ahead of their skill). I went down a short and relatively easy black, marked 'Very Difficult'. It was at the limit of my skill, but the nice thing was it was deserted, so pretty safe.

It was the brightest, warmest, most burning sun I hvae ever seen in the snow. I have a bit a phobia against sun glasses and tinted goggles, but in this case they were essential, so I bought a pair for Euro10 from one of the many north African hawkers you also find on the beaches in that part of the world.

The resort's main webite seems to be Spanish only, the 'idiomas' ('langauges') button does not seem to work. Spain is generally a country where you cannot rely on people knowing English, even in tourist places or the areas where there are a lot of British immigrants. For example in the ski hire place the guy showed willing with 'thank you' but could not speak any English at all. There are however many British-run businesses of all kinds catering mainly for British customers, including in skiing.

not everyone is interested in doing carving, as the goal. I know this is true for me. I see it as one of the techniques, and I'll use it when it seems appropriate, and I'd certainly not want to spend my time making big carved turns on machine groomed slopes, there is too much else to go ski.

I am a bit confused. GF learnt to ski the old way, and told me I should learn to control speed by using short quick turns. She said that is my next goal now I can ski parallel on blue slopes. She has almost new carving skis (with releasable-heel bindings for touring). But I only ever see her doing these short wiggling turns ('weddeln' in German). So I asked her, Why do you have carving skis then, if you don't carve?' She said, 'Oh, I do carve if I go somewhere steeper and it is not so busy and it is safe to go fast. That is how I prefer to ski. But it is not suitable here.'

So is she wrong about not carving on a slope full of inexperienced skiiers, where it is not safe to go fast? Or is carving now also good for well-controlled slow skiing?

And is it important to get modern wider shorter skis (or even wider long skis?) if you are not going to be carving?

Incidentally my old skis are called Pro-carve, although they are fairly narrow, so the designers obviously thought they were suitable for carving in their day.

Last year I learnt on 8-year-old skis. Same length as me (180cm). It was a struggle. So what, everybody did that 8 years ago!

But it did bug me knowing that there were easier skis around and feeling I could not afford them.

I don't regret learning on old skis now I have got past the early struggles. I assume that my skills will make a leap when I get newer skis, and in the long term progress will be the same. Is that right?

Anyway, I feel good on my old skis now I am used to them, I don't see why carving is such a big deal if you are not a speed junkie. Maybe the higher speeds which the newer skis encourage have contributed to the greatly increased accident rate which was on the news every week in Austria.

Perhaps I am missing something in not caring about being up-to-date?

Probably for a beginner not to get discouraged, it is just as important to have boots which do not chaff or cause blisters.

The winter tyres they use seem fine for driving up and down mountains in snow, I have done it around Innsbruck in an small car.

Remember to check you have vingette on the windscreen to show you have paid motorway tolls, which is good for all motorways apart from one short stretch where there is a toll gate. Occasionally they check vignettes.

The one time I regretted not having snow chains was taking a Transit van I hired in East London across the Pyrennese in January. That was a mistake.

I skied in Seefeld all last season. By mid March the snow on the lower half was yukky and mushy, especially in the afternoons. Probably Stubai Gletscher (glacier) is better. Maybe the best thing is to look at the altitude. Not much is open in October.

Seefeld is great. I must have been at Roshütte (Seefeld), 30 times last season (my first season skiing). It is easy enough to learn there. I used to drive up from Innsbruck, which I visit every few weeks. Plenty of nice bars in Seefeld, where you can always warm up with a gluhwein, and the typical Austrian soups.

I did not encounter many British people there, there are a lot of locals (especially at weekends), who are normally competent and safe. Also you find parties of local schoolchildren, either following an instructer down the lower slope in perfect formation, or schussing at irritatingly high speed. Most of the foreigners there were Germans.

Probably like a lot of Austrian slopes, if the weather is decent, it gets over-crowded, and that is the one down side. What with a big range of ability, and some skiiers and especially snowboarders who are obviously going too fast for their control, it can be a bit dangerous. But it should be OK if you are careful.

I don't know about the hire shops, but everyone there skis. You can be confident that all the shops and instructers know what they are talking about, and are alive to the issue of finding comfortable boots. In Innsbruck, and I imagine Seefeld, you find a bigger range of equipment in the shops than is normally found in the UK. (A few weeks ago I went into Lillywhites in London and asked a member of staff, Where are the skis? He looked puzzled and said, What are skis?...Eventually I found someone who knew what skis are, and that they don't stock them out of season.)

The Austrians have some great ski instructers. I picked up some good tips from this video of an Austrian instructer teaching a German family: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGE8-D-EiUU

There has to be a connection between the way Austrians start skiing young and sporting success.

I saw a massive argument on a discussion board over whether it is possible for late starters on violin to catch up. The most experienced teachers and performers tend to think it is not. One experienced teacher I know says that starting at 3 is far bettter than starting at 7, let alone as an adult. Some late starters, and teachers who specialise in late starters, regard that as negative thinking.

Speaking personally, my GF who introduced me to skiing is not heavily into skiing, does not practice, does not think about skiing or whether the ski equipment is good. But to my untrained eyes she makes skiing look as secure and effortless as walking down the street. I would like to achieve that. Does that only come from starting young?

The conclusion on the violin site was that on their best day the really serious committed adult beginner can ultimately learn to play as well as the greats - but the great professional players have skills so deeply ingrained that they generally get things right reliably, all the time, in front of an audience, and their bad days and in emergencies too. Adult beginners do not get skills so deeply ingrained.

I am a beginner at skiing.

I was surprised in the two ski station bars I've seen in Austria (Seefled-Roshütte and Stubai-Gletscher) they had hired DJs with Apple Macs who blast out International and more often Austrian pop and pop-folk music LOUD when you want a quiet beer at lunch time. Speakers outside too. GF who introduced me to skiing said it was new. I hate it.

Is this only done at pistes aimed at younger generation? Is it only Austria? Is it normal? Does anybody actually like it?

Is it done because the local ski managers think a lot of the foreign skiiers are largely there to pull? (Some local people do think that.)

Maybe piste reviews should mention which places do it.