J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

Maybe you could contact the ski school and explain that you're not sure whether to have group or private lessons, and ask them whether if you start in group lessons and then find you don't progress as well as you'd like to, you could cash them in for private lessons. I've seen people do that before. And I've also seen people give up on their group lessons and just totally waste their money.

I've had group and private lessons and I find I much prefer group ones. But I guess it's a personal thing.

I'd also suggest reading up on ski-ing to make sure you understand the basics before you go. There are plenty of free articles on the internet, including videos. I find this helps me a great deal, as I understand what the instructor is trying to tell me to do.

Best wishes for a great holiday :D

Ally

Snapzzz wrote:

AllyG wrote:Gardening, cleaning and walking.

I find gardening a chore, ours is tiny and we often fall out about who's responsibility it is!

Our garden/s is about half an acre and it takes me about 4 hours just to cut all the grass and a lot of the work is more like forestry because we have so many trees and bushes. We also have a huge pond where mallards and moorhens nest in the summer, so I have to clean the ditches as well. I actually like that kind of outdoor work and it keeps me pretty fit as well :D

Ally

Sm4sh,
It takes a long time to learn to do a correct parallel turn. My daughter began to learn how to do it when she was 10 by following the instructor in her class, doing snow-plough turns in an S, and gradually tightening up the turns - so she didn't even notice the change from snow-plough turn to stem turn (a bit of a plough just for the turn) to true parallel.

I got taught the foot picking up method (in a lesson on a dry ski slope) and the problem with that method is that it's very difficult to drop it later on. The only good thing about this is that when the instructor has us all ski-ing on one leg these days (as an exercise) I'm pretty good at it :D

As you will have discovered, the main problem with trying to do a parallel turn is how to get the weight off the ski you're standing on, in order to turn it to face the other way. It's easy enough on a green run, because you can just pivot the two skis together, but on the steeper slopes you have to get an edge on the downhill ski to stop yourself sliding down the mountain, and then somehow get the weight off it to turn it and make the other ski the downhill one and get an edge on that one without totally losing it when you're in the dangerous position facing straight downhill.

It has taken me about 7 weeks of ski lessons to get reasonably good at parallel turns, and even now I sometimes sneak in a snow-plough, or a stem turn, when I think the instructor isn't looking :oops:

I think lessons and practising in a snow dome is a very good idea :D

I wish I lived nearer one :cry:

This is a description of how to do the stem turn:

http://www.mechanicsofsport.com/skiing/manoeuvres/stem_turn.html

Ally

Gardening, cleaning and walking.

Rose,
I tried scuba diving once, and I found it pretty frightening as well - not my sort of thing at all. I like the sun and the wind on my face. But best of luck with it :D

Sailing, however, I do like and I used to do a lot of it - but not now because I'm too busy with other things.

Ally

Bandit,
Can we please stop all the bickering :(

I come on here to enjoy myself and relax (as well as learn something about ski-ing) and escape from the unpleasant realities of life (currently a blocked toilet, rats in the wall, disappointing modular A Level results, a routine GP appointment that turned into needing another one at the hospital etc. etc. ...).

We seem to have lost EmmaEvs now because of bickering, and I don't want to lose Tropicana as well. I miss Emma's amusing informative posts.

Please, just let it go ... for me ... please ...

:D :D :D

Ally

It's interesting the way people interprete things differently.

When I read the title of the thread I assumed that PostGrads was shorthand for postgraduate students,i.e. studying for a Masters or PhD. and therefore probably very short of cash. I certainly didn't think it meant ONLY skiers who had a degree could join them on their holiday! I thought it just described them, and their likely life-style in the apartment so that people could see if they thought they'd be compatible with them.

I mean, if I was advertising for a fourth person, I might say something like 'middle-aged female skier who goes to sleep at 10 p.m. requires fourth female to share apartment and bills'. And this wouldn't mean that only other middle-aged women who go to sleep at 10 p.m. would be welcome. It would mean that I would like a female who could keep quiet after 10 p.m. (like go out and come back in very quietly).

Tropicana,
Have they found anyone yet? I hope they have a great holiday, even if they do have to pay a bit more than they were hoping to :D

Ally

I had no trouble preparing hot food for all of us in our apartment in Courchevel 1550, which I believe is slightly higher than Borovets at 1350.

Although I agree the air pressure does have an effect on cooking at altitude - cakes tend to rise too much and then collapse, for example, if you try making them the same way you do at home :lol:

Ally

I had an e-mail from Edge to Edge the other day, and apparently they're now doing door to door collection and delivery of ski gear from the U.K. (as skis2you.com) to the popular French resorts. I can't remember the exact cost, but it was something very reasonable, like £60 return.

Edit
Here is the link:

http://www.skis2you.com/pricing.php

Price Tariff

DELIVERY
Ski Bag with 1pr
Board Case or Ski Bag with 2prs *


Drop off Edge2Edge shop UK / Deliver to resort / Pick up from E2E UK
£25.00
£30.00

Drop off E2E UK / Deliver to resort / Returned to your home
£35.00
£40.00

Drop off Affiliate Shop / Deliver to resort / Pick up from Affiliate Shop
£30.00
£35.00

Drop off Affiliate Shop / Deliver to resort / Returned to your home
£40.00
£45.00

Collect from home / Deliver to resort / Deliver back to home
£45.00
£50.00

Delivery One way only Reduce Price by 40%
Northern Ireland & Northern Scotland Delivery or collection in addition to above service each way Charge £10 .00 £10.00
Additional Services



Store in France with 2nd delivery
£15.00


Ski Service if required
£22.00


Board Service if required
£27.00

What resorts do you deliver to?
We will deliver to the following resorts and satellite villages:
Courchevel, La Plagne, Les Arcs, Meribel, Tignes, Val d' Isere, Val Thorens, La Tania, Meribel-Motterat, Brides les Bain, La Rosiere or St Foy.



And, I completed the survey for the OP

Ally