J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

We used the TDC in Tignes - British instructors who specialize in individual and small group coaching clinics. But they are more expensive than the ESF - 189 euros for 3 hours per day for 3 days in a group of 3-6 people.

They seemed to be very technical if you like that sort of thing. I found it helped that I'd studied a book on ski-ing before we went.

Ally

sm4sh wrote:I would like some more lessons in this country. i want to know how you turn without snow plow all the time. cos that really did my legs in when on them blue runs.

Hi Sm4sh,
It sounds like you did really well and I'm glad you had a good time :D

But as for sore leg muscles - I'm afraid that's what happens if you ski without doing an exercise program before you go! Even after you learn to do perfect parallel turns your legs will still ache unless you're fit enough - especially after long days in the powder and on the steep runs.

Have fun checking out the ski brochure for your next holiday!

Ally

yani2k8 wrote:Just one more thing. Am I better off withdrawing cash from the local cash machines at the resort, or should I get some euros whilst still in the UK?

My bank doesn't charge me for cash withdrawals abroad so I think that would be a better option.

I'm pretty sure your bank will be charging you for withdrawals, but not in an obvious way. When I bought my lift passes on the internet I checked the Visa rate at the time which was 1.18 euros to the pound and then afterwards I checked the rate I actually got with my Lloyds Visa debit card and it was only 1.14 plus they charged me £1 transaction fee as well. Santander later swiped even more of my cash for a Visa euro transaction with an even worse currency exchange rate!

The Brides-Les Bains/Meribel lift shuts at 5-30 p.m at this time of year, but the piste map doesn't say at what time it opens.

Navigating around a vast area like the 3V's isn't exactly easy. I made several 'wrong turns' just going around the Courchevel area. There are lifts and pistes in all directions. But if you want to know where you are, just read what it says at the bottom of the lift - they are all named. Whereas the pistes I was on seemed to be numbered but named on the map, and some of the signposts were quite misleading (although still much better than those in the other resorts I've been in).

And if it gets really foggy you will find you can be lost within a few yards of your own apartment/chalet, never mind out on the mountain somewhere!

If the OP has really only done one week of ski-ing so far I would have thought there'd be plenty of pistes to satisfy him just in the Meribel valley - and the lift pass would be cheaper as well.

Ally

Tony_H wrote:I've found out what helmets are useful for. Playing pass the head gear whilst half cut in an apres ski bar.

Well the Germans on the next table found it hilarious anyway.

Sorry Tony, I don't get it :?:

Why were you passing headgear around in a bar?

Ally

Steve,
If you're comfortable on reds I wouldn't call you a beginner. According to the lesson groups I've been in, if you can pole plant and parallel turn on reds and go down blacks (not on your backside I mean) then you're upper intermediate, if you can't quite manage this then you're lower intermediate, and if you can carve down reds and parallel turn on blacks and do a bit of off-piste and moguls then you count as advanced. I rather think experts can ski like James Bond and the ski instructors :D

But everyone seems to have a different way of defining ski ability levels.

Anyway, I just told the boot technician what I could and couldn't do on the ski slopes and he gave me a flex of 90. I'd done 6 weeks of ski-ing as an adult by then, including 4 weeks of lessons. So if you do the same I would think you'll be fine.

Ally

I've never been to Brides-Les-Bains, but I have the 3V's piste map here, and it's the lowest of all the resorts (at 600m) and there aren't any pistes back to it, so you will have to take the gondola back.

Meribel has trees as well, but at a lower altitude than Courchevel. Trees are very handy when it's blowing a blizzard. And don't forget it can get very foggy - last week was pretty bad for that - at one point we could only see about 6 yards. Val Thorens is all white and open and exposed.

There are 4 valleys really - Courchevel, Meribel, Belleville (with VT, St Martin and Les Menuires) and Orelle.

Ally

yani2k8 wrote:Oh, and also, the only lift pass they had was for 6 days, meaning that we won't be able to hit the slopes on the day we get there. Is there a way around that?

You can buy a lift pass for the day when you get there - probably at the gondola in Brides-Les-Bains.

My daughter and I are ski-ing off-piste now and still having lessons. If you can afford them they will help you to enjoy yourselves and ski safely. Anyway, have fun. And I don't know which area is the best - Val Thorens has the best snow, Courchevel has plenty of trees but is very expensive, Meribel is very pretty, and Les Menuires is hideous but the runs are fine. Orelle and Courchevel 1650 are probably the quietest because they are at the extreme ends of the 3 Valleys.

Ally

Or,
You could use an old helmet as a hamster nest - I wonder if the contents are safe for hamsters? There was a lovely photo in the Telegraph at the weekend of a ? harvest mouse living in an old Wimbledon tennis ball.

Maybe Snowbandit could use one for her tortoises?

Ally