J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by steverandomno

Thanks for the advice.

Our quick weekend quickly turned into a week once I started looking at youtube ski vids e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQf_njA02jY

We have booked to go to Zermatt for a week during mid Dec. Can't wait!

First time in Zermatt, so any tips on good ski routes etc... would be much appreciated.

I toyed with the idea of driving there when I realized we could only get a 10am return flight out of Geneva. But in the end, we opted for a hotel near Geneva on our last night.

Thanks for the stat's Dave. I guess Zermatt's edge, is that there will always be some decent skiing up high, even if its a slow start to the season.

Zermatt is looking like the leader at the moment. 1/2 an hour extra from Geneva airport according to Google maps, but probably worth it.

We're planning an early trip to either Zermatt or Val Thorens out of Geneva airport on 15 Dec.

We skied Val Thorens last year at about the same time and had some amazingly good early season conditions. We were thinking of trying Zermatt this year. I know there is Glacier skiing in Zermatt. However, will any of the winter areas be open by 15 Dec? If so, will these areas be any good, and what are the chances of decent snow at that time of the year? (i.e. for early season, we're not expecting 40 cm fresh)

Any thoughts?

Only just found out about this. Great news!

Here is a link to a pdf on the resort's website. Page 2 has a map of the new terrain:
http://www.kickinghorseresort.com/KHMRSiteAssets/files/press_releases/KHMR_Super_Bowl_Annoucement.pdf

The advanced terrain at kicking horse is fantastic already, this just makes it even better.

P.S. I would definitely take look at the Salomon Shoguns if I were looking to get some new all mountain skis. Bamboo, Basalt top sheet, new rocker design, rave reviews! Sounds promising.

Check out this thread:
http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/8580.page#77080

colinstone wrote:steverandomno - The other ski I was looking at was the Crimson Ti at 169cm - ex demo at a good price? - less than 50% new. I'm 5ft8 and 72ish kg/160lb. 60/40 would be OK. Wondered if the C Ti would be too stiff/take too much effort. Only switched to modern skis this year, after Salomon Equipe PR8 narrow jobs, and had the lowly Salomon Xwing 6 for 11 days, which I thought was pretty good both on and off piste. No really deep powder, but seemed OK in crud as well. I'm quite happy cranking the pressure on the edges.
Too many choices!!!

Sounds like a pretty good deal. I would say that you might find the C Ti's a bit stiffer than the x wings. Though, this is just a guess really and after looking at some reviews, the TI's are considered to be quite a flexible ski. I think the C Ti's are slightly wider underfoot (about 1cm) which is an advantage off piste. I find that they really excel in awkward/interesting terrain and choppy snow. They just power through it.

My GF bought some skis in Canada last winter. She had a good idea what she wanted beforehand and then did some demo's of about 4-5 pairs. In the end, she opted for some used ex-demo skis that she found to be amazing. They were completely different to the skis she would have bought without trying them out. (i.e. they were a completely different colour and pattern to the ones she wanted to match her outfit, that is how much better the skis were that she eventually bought!) Paradoxically, buying skis this way can be a bit more expensive than buying in the UK (though not if you get ex-demo). However, if you have the time, it is very worthwhile given the investment you are making in your future skiing enjoyment. I will definitely do the same next time I buy skis.

I'm not sure the ski manufacturers have managed to nail the all mountain ski yet.

I bought some Atomic Crimson Ti 169 cm skis a couple of years ago. They are good pseudo all mountain skis, but I'm not sure it was worth the money. They do not really feel as light as I had hoped given the extra cost of the titanium version over the non-titanium version (seems like a bit of a gimmick in reality).

They have a good compromise between piste and off-piste - I'd say they are suitable for about 40/60 off/on piste usage ratio. I was a little disappointed about the performance in powder, but I suppose that is what you get with the all-mountain trade-off.

We skied Niseko, Japan, last season and I left them at home in anticipation of mostly skiing in powder. (Yes, the stories about the powder in Hokkaido are real, 9 m annually!) I hired some head John's:
http://www.altrec.com/head/mens-john-94-sw-freeride-skis
Whilst the weird name and the lame design is a bit of a turn-off, they were an amazing powder ski. They even performed well on non icy pisted runs.

All in all, if you are not constrained by airline baggage requirements, I would choose some ex-demo powder skis in addition to some ex-demo all-mountain/carving skis. It is probably a better deal than getting some new 'all-mountain' skis.