J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by tino_11

Tony, bring me some duty free Hendriks Gin and you and the missus can stay at mine for a week )

The lift pass alone in Zermatt will cost you about £400 :shock:

So the crappy summer has finally got me beat, Zermatt's glaciers are only so good and I can't look at un-ridable mountains for another 3 months without going stark raving mad. After a heavy night with colleagues I woke up and booked 7 nights in Valle Nevado followed by a weekend in Santiago. Heading over with a colleague and friend for some serious off-piste, heliboarding and general nonsense.

After riding Portillo in 2009 with a fractured skull and collarbone, I vowed to go back and really let loose in some big powder bowls and steep terrain. Only 4 weeks to go, I feel like a kid at Christmas. No bike riding for me for a month )

Tony, I did a week in Saalbach Hinterglem before Christmas 2009 and loved it. Its not high but they have one of the best infrastructures going both in terms of modern lifts and snowmaking (>90% iirc). There is off piste to be had, and some good bars both on and off the piste, but it's strength is the distance you can cover. I managed 70km not including lifts acc. Skiline one day, and they are usually conservative. Was considering a return sometime myself.

If you wanna do a budget holiday, go to the Ski Amade, stay privately housed in one of the outlying little villages where there will be one nuts bar and plenty of stuff for a couple, research before you go an ski a massive area. Okay a bus or two is needed, but your nights will be cozy and your days have endless possibilities.

Krazy Kanguruh, St. Anton? Been there but never peed in the gents :oops:

On topic, finish up at 4.30, bar up top, let the piste control do there final run and tilt down the mountain ;-) only in a group though. Après ski, Austrian style till about 9pm, be awoken by the local bobby in a field at 10pm, apologise and head for the nearest bar. Killer..

I use boosters on my snowboard boots, 2 of them on my front boot to get maximal stiffness for response and turn. In contrast I leave my back boot slightly loose so I can use the most possible movement in my ankle for bailout and elegant (lazy) riding. It gives the overall appearance that I'm just standing there taking in the scenery whilst ripping turns. The slightest bend of the front knee initiates the turn, the flex in the rear allows you to either throw it (exaggerate) or drag the turn to give an effortless look. it is however extremely demanding on the rear thigh, and only really effective on a rocketed and cambered board, I know this as I tried it on my stiff normal camber free ride board and nearly lost my teeth :D

Slightly off topic, but hey, it's been a crap day.

Does your front binding shearing at about 40km/h count?

St. Anton is about the best choice in Austria, plenty of off piste to go at. Given your requirements I would chose Verbier over Zermatt (where I live) in Switzerland, however the atmosphere is nowhere near as authentic as Saas Fee or Zermatt. Before I got to the end of your post I was shouting Chamonix. It will be busy, but you miss the European school holidays and if you have a car you have 3 countries to ski in based there. It also has enough to keep you going for 2 weeks. It terms of pure terrain La Grave would be a great option but I have not been and given the size and facilities I doubt it's a 2 week-er. If it's a one off to Europe why not try 2 resorts? Taking Switzerland for example I would suggest a 4 or 5 day week in Engelberg (masses of off piste, close to airports and great powder record) followed by Verbier and the Valleys (much bigger area, more lively nightlife and some great steeps). I would say that Val d'Isere and Tignes would be great, altitude, linked resorts, plenty of nightlife, but can be feroiciously cold at that time of year (-30C and 60km/wind stuck on a lift one day up on the glacier at Val d'Isere nearly put me off for life!).

Good luck!