J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

Tony,
I suppose, to be accurate, you'd have to add on the cost of insurance and car recovery. We were coming back on the train once and there was a family who's car had broken down in the Alps and fortunately they'd paid extra to get car recovery from France included on their insurance. But I don't know how much it cost them.

Plus, I suppose, the cost of winter tyres and/or chains, although you wouldn't have to pay for this each holiday so you could split it over several holidays.

Ally

PSC,
I would say you were amazingly lucky with your eBay purchase :D

Have you tried taking your new boots back to the fitters? I'm sure they are supposed to be able to 'blow up' sections of the shell to accomodate any painful parts of your foot.

My conclusion at the end of the boot fitting was that using a good boot fitter saves a lot of time because they know which size, make, and model of boot is likely to fit the shape of your foot, and that the orthotic insole does work, but that as far as whether the boot actually fits or not you are pretty much on your own - it's your own opinion because only you can judge how comfy it feels.

Ally

Thanks from me as well, for the report, Nugget. We drove through Solden on the way to and from Obergurgl, and we were given the option of buying a pass with a day at Solden but we had plenty to keep us busy in Obergurgl.

It sounds like you had a good time :D

Ally

I'm glad your trip worked out so well, Tony :D

So, it cost you £230 for the tunnel plus the tolls, which divided by 4 is just under £60 each. But I suppose if you'd had to pay for petrol it would have cost quite a bit more - but still much cheaper than flying once you add in the cost of transfers and the charge for carrying skis.

Ally

Hi Tony,
Actually the fitting only cost £40. What made the whole thing so expensive was the special insole (£110), and I expect this would have cost the same wherever I'd got it.

I like hot chocolate (there was also coffee etc.) and in my dentist's (which always costs me considerably more than the boot fitting) they only have free water - although I suppose they might think water is more healthy :roll:

I have discovered another query about boot fitting now. Underneath my boots it says 27.0 - 27.5 and on the back by the heel it says 27.5 and my bill says 27.0 and my feet measured just over 26.5. I phoned them today and they say that actually those boots don't come in half sizes and the only difference is a few millimetres in the lining between a 27.0 and a 27.5.

I am very surprised by this.

And I asked about my nice wheelie boot bag as well. Apparently the staff all use it as a flight bag, so far without problem.

Ally

Bandit,
I think the one in Courchevel was free, but I never got to find out, and they provided all the equipment. I think the idea is that if they train enough people there will hopefully be some trained holidaymakers on the spot to help if there is an avalanche.

I would guess that the more trained people you have searching, the better the chances are of finding someone alive.

Ally

Hi Bandit,
I guess you just need a bit more practice :D

There was one of those centres in Courchevel as well. We were going to have a go at it on Saturday morning, but we decided to go ski-ing instead 8)

Was the one in Zinal free?

Ally

Thanks for the update Stewart. It sounds like you and Tony have been very lucky :D
That's the sort of ski-ing I like too - lots of snow and sunshine.

Something has gone wrong with the way I see this site. The latest chat list is only old threads, and I have to go on to chat to see what has been posted. It's been like this for a couple of days now. Has anyone else got this problem, or is it just me? I am hoping that it is just due to site maintenance and it will fix itself.

Ally