J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Lynn_D

Aside from lessons, which are of course a given, another thing which helped me was to read up on the theory of skiing. Knowing what should be happening was basically enough to get me to do it. I have an excellent book called "The All Mountain Skier" which covers most things from parallel skiing upwards (powder, steeps, moguls etc.) which wasn't very expensive. I also read quite a bit online and found some great articles.

Whether this is any use to you or not depends on how you learn. For me knowing the theory really helps, especially as I now know (or can guess) what the drills in lessons are trying to achieve. However for some people this may be no use whatsoever.

Blindly following someone down a mountain copying what they do works less well for me as I tend to do what they ask and then forget the point of it 5 minutes later. Fortunately I had an excellent private instructor who's teaching method worked perfectly for me and got my basic technique right before I'd picked up too many bad habits, hence I progressed relatively quickly.

It's tricky for me personally to grasp the snowplough 'rut' as I was lucky enough not to fall into it. After 2 days of snowplough destroying my knees I was taught to parallel ski which clicked and I've never looked back. Even now I avoid it if at all possible – my very short turns are pretty effective, even on paths most people snowplough down.

Maybe private lessons may suit you better than group so you can learn at your own pace? It can't be easy trying to keep up with your son and sometimes seeing others taking to something more quickly than you can be a bit demoralising. After all, this is meant to be fun and with your obvious love of the mountains I'm sure you'll get there.

Best of luck :D

Normally neither would I, for any flight. However:

KLM from Newcastle: over £500 return and that wasn't the flights I wanted, which would have been even more. Normally pay £300 with skis and sensible flight times.

Ryanair from East Midlands: £200 including luggage but not skis.

We need to be careful with flight times to tie in with free transfers (need to land by 5pm and not leave before 11 am) which limits some routes that would otherwise have been an option.

It was basically Ryanair or don't go and I'll put up with a lot if it gets me more time on skis. -)

Flat country skier:

Normally I wouldn't go so late in the season as the snow in the area can be a bit erratic (last year would have been a nightmare late March). I certainly wouldn't book this late a year in advance. However the snow is so good this year (which you'll know having been twice) that I would say go for it if you can get a good deal for mid March.

Personally I wouldn't risk very late March or April but you could be lucky, especially given there is currently over 1m on the lower slopes in Arabba and over 6m at the top of the Marmolada. :shock:

I guess the end of March/early April will be Easter holidays so probably more expensive anyway.

Also depends on where you're going as somewhere like Arabba is likely to be more snowsure than say Pedraces as it's much higher and many slopes are north facing.

If you do go hope you have a lovely time. :D

rustyinn wrote:U know it makes sense.... do it !

Well, after numerous Facebook photos of Arabba driving me insane with longing the temptation became too much..... so..... going back on the 16th March!!!! :D :D :D

The snow out in the Dolomites is amazing this year so was too good an opportunity to miss.

Also means I can try out some more all mountain skis and narrow down my shortlist. Decided against taking our own skis due to the high cost of carriage with the 'Irish Lot' – unfortunately our usual route with free carriage would be too expensive having booked so late.

Can anyone tell I'm just a "little" excited about this trip? :lol:

Lovely photos (particularly like the ice climber) though not helping my ski addiction, especially when I keep getting powder alarms and posts on Facebook telling me there's a last minute cancellation and a free apartment for next week! Lottery ticket on the way home I think....

The 'nasty' slope (red 1 from the top of Porto Vescovo) looks horrendous (I thought it was bad when I was there!) :shock: It is a key Sella Ronda link but I think that it can be avoided by taking the 2 man chair our of Arabba and skiing down to a six man but I've never done it so don't quote me on that. Down side is the 2 man chair is nasty - metal bits crack you in the back of the legs for one, it's always in the shade and slow which = cold and is probably not a good idea for anyone iffy with heights as there's quite a sharp drop to one side when you get further up. Must admit I didn't like this lift, though doing it on my own about quarter past 4 on a cold day probably wasn't one of my smartest moves (excuse was trying to avoid slope in question).

The bit you see is the only problem section, the rest of the slope is easy, ish. There's no need to do this in an afternoon from Arabba, would actually be your first slope on the Orange Sella Ronda in a morning. More of an issue for those trying to get back to Selva or Canazei but if you're skiing reasonably quickly could easily get this out of the way by lunchtime.

Hmm, getting a bit worried about that, particularly as I keep recommending the Dolomites.

I lied, Italy's terrible, particularly the first couple of weeks of January, go elsewhere. :wink:

It's a shame (but not a surprise) that so many of the best ski resorts in the world are so expensive for food and drink on the slopes. There are so many places I'd love to ski but have to rule out simply on cost.

I once tried the packed lunch option (they were included in the cost of the package) but hated it. Even in the sun you cool down really quickly when sat on the snow and dedicated tables are very rare. I like to warm up over lunch. Never again, even if it could save a fortune.

It's often tricky to tell how expensive a restaurant is before you sit down and I feel uncomfortable getting settled, taking one look at the menu (maybe already having ordered drinks) only to leave. I can cope with a little over the odds but not extortionate prices ('Russian' prices are a different league entirely...). So far have never had a horrendous bill, other than in Geneva airport, over €20 for a couple of sandwiches and an orange juice, ouch! :shock:

Like many, I have a holiday budget for the year that I really need to stick to (if you can afford to say sod the cost then great, no worries) and would rather have two reasonably priced ski trips than one expensive one. We already 'sacrifice' a summer break for skiing as can't realistically do both, much as OH would like to (personally I'd rather spend my summer horse riding at home, summer breaks aren't really my thing, but that's irrelevant).

Think I'll be sticking with Italy for the foreseeable future, I keep the hosting option and the food's better anyway! :lol:

As a note on ski carriage, I priced up holidays with Crystal this year and found that if taking skis it's cheaper to book the ski carriage and area lift pass option than the two separately. If taking 2 pairs of skis, especially in a double ski bag, is only a fraction more than paying for one pass and carriage plus an additional lift pass and if they weigh it you should be covered (having paid for 2).

With KLM you can take a ski bag up to 23 kg as your only checked bag (or 1 ski bag plus a suitcase if travelling as a couple) for free, plus 12 kg each hand luggage. However I think ski carriage on top of a suitcase is quite expensive.

You do need to let them know at least 48h in advance that you have oversize luggage (which a ski bag is classed as) otherwise they can refuse to take it (in Ts&Cs on the website). We almost fell foul of this last month as I'd forgotten the 48h bit and rang the day before. It didn't go through the system immediately and had an anxious couple of hours before I got conformation all was OK. Ski hire for 2 of us for a fortnight would not have been cheap, even in Italy!

Ditto but without the 'last lift', at least not every day (first isn't a problem). -)

We ski as a couple quite happily but a change of conversation is always nice, hence why guiding works for us. Hoping we can organise a trip with some friends next year who I think are similar ability. They have been working in Vancouver for the last couple of years with regular trips to Whistler.

Jealous, moi..... :mrgreen: