Messages posted by : AllyG
I can't see any snow on that webcam :?: |
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I think most people just hire from the closest ski shop. We got ours from the Intersport shop in the Caron area in the sports complex, but only because it was opposite our apartment. Our skis and boots were fine - no problems.
I'm hiring again this year in Courchevel and the prices seem to have gone up, even after the 30% discount for ordering them early on the internet (130 euros for 'black' skis and boots and 84 euros for 'black' skis only). Ally |
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I don't think you need to put rocks in your pockets, just put all the avalanche gear we now need to be insured whilst ski-ing off-piste in your backpack, plus a few bottles of water etc. :D And I walked several miles today - so I am making a start on my get fit to ski program! DaveMac, can you really do one legged squats? I find the normal 2-legged variety quite hard enough :shock: Ally |
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AlistairS,
I was only joking really, about Borovets. It does have lots of trees and the pistes are beautiful but it also has lots of problems, and I wouldn't go back and ski there now, after ski-ing some of the top resorts in France. Ally |
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Simple solution Snowbandit - lose weight and then chop a few inches off the end of your new skis with a saw :lol: |
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Bandit,
Yes, you're quite right, I have had lessons for the last 6 ski holidays - a full week of all day group lessons with ESF and a private coaching session with TDC both times we've been to Tignes. I think you're very sensible booking some lessons. I mean, even the Olympic skiers still have coaching. I find I learn much faster in lessons, not just from watching, listening and following the instructor but also from watching the others in the group and listening to what the instructor says about their ski-ing. And I like the social aspects of group lessons because I get to meet new people. I think private lessons are very good but also much more expensive than the group lessons. Because we went out of season our TDC lessons were about half the usual rate, and I only paid 75 euros for 2 1/2 hours for the two of us. It's supposed to be a 3 hour coaching session but I said I didn't think I'd stick 3 hours without a break because of not being very fit, and our instructor very kindly stopped when I was too tired to ski any more. One problem I have discovered is that once you can ski basically okay the instructors have different ideas about the finer points of technique. Like, last year our French ESF instructor insisted that we still used the up and down movement when carving, whereas our TDC instructor said we don't need to do that any more and we can do it all by using our edges. However, watching the ski slalom racers at Tignes I noticed that they are still going up and down. And a big advantage of being in lessons all week is that the instructor can keep an eye on you and make sure you are carrying out his/her instructions and still using the new techniques. I find when ski-ing without an instructor it's difficult to know if I'm doing it right. And I still have lots of things to improve on. Ally |
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Borovets in Bulgaria has masses of trees. It's really pretty :lol:
Courchevel has also got quite a lot although I don't know what the percentage is. And I definitely saw trees in Zell am See. |
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EmmaEvs, I have the book here. It gives you a progressive 8 week training program. It includes exercises for stamina, strength, stability (balance) and stretching. The first year I used it I thought I was fairly fit, but the warm up routine totally knackered me! This consists of: one minute of jogging on the spot, one minute of star jumps, one minute of squats, one minute of rotating jumps (you jump turning your lower body one way and your upper body the other way), and lastly 5 X 5 jogging on the spot sprints. After that you do stretches - calf, back of thigh, front of thigh, back, chest, abdominals, and shoulder and upper back. The exercises consist of things like lunges, squats, press ups (starting in the first week on your knees), triceps dips (with a chair behind you), the plank, and side shuffles. As the weeks progress things get more difficult - like adding pulses to the squats, lifting small weights, crunches, and odd exercises like standing on one leg and rocking backwards and forwards. I went running as well as doing these exercises. After about 8 weeks I was amazingly fit. And last holiday it was great because I got into the 'advanced' ski-ing lesson group and I could keep up with the others. As Bandit says, being fit makes a huge difference, especially if it's with these special sort of exercises because they improve your balance and flexibility as well. I am determined to get fit again. A couple of years ago someone got demoted into my ski group because he wasn't fit enough to ski with the higher group - how embarassing! I don't want that to happen to me. I have found that the higher up the groups you get the faster they ski and the less rests you get, so you really do have to be much fitter. Plus, you're expected to make much finer body movements to perform more complicated manouevres on skis so you've got to have really good balance and flexibility. And I also think you're less likely to be injured if you're fitter. Best of luck everyone with starting your fitness training :D Ally |
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