J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Lynn_D

I’ve also recently bought a pair of Nordica SM8 ski boots and although I haven’t skied in them yet, they seem to be really comfortable (wandering round the house at least!). My only problem was the width of the cuff which seemed a bit tight for my lower leg (not sure if this is common or not?) Fortunately, my friendly neighbourhood boot fitter (I can highly recommend Sayers for those of you in the North East) adjusted them for me so they now fit like slippers, without having to have the buckles on the loosest setting.
It’ll be nice to be able to put boots on in a morning without having to virtually dislocate my ankles to get my feet in – oh, the joys of hire boots… :roll:

julietP wrote:

Lynn_D wrote:My skis are propped up in our living room at present due to lack of space elsewhere. We are just about to start an extension on our house so space is at a premium – we have a full bathroom suite, tiles and grout in the conservatory and a shower, two radiators, lights, paint and bathroom taps in the living room (along with my riding gear and my husband’s cycling kit) so they don’t really look too out of place… :roll:

Does your husband have a road bike and does he find cycling helps his skiing?

No, he does a lot of mountain biking which keeps him fit so I guess yes, it does help with the skiing. Not sure it’s quite so good for his general health though as lately he keeps taking chunks out of his legs (pedals, trees, I’ve given up asking!) and coming back covered in insect bites. :roll: Maybe a road bike would be safer! Still, whatever you enjoy I suppose….

Any chance of squeezing me in your case???????

freezywater wrote:

Tony_H wrote:

caron-a wrote:

Lynn_D wrote:My skis are propped up in our living room at present due to lack of space elsewhere. We are just about to start an extension on our house so space is at a premium – we have a full bathroom suite, tiles and grout in the conservatory and a shower, two radiators, lights, paint and bathroom taps in the living room (along with my riding gear and my husband’s cycling kit) so they don’t really look too out of place… :roll:

you've got skis after one trip? blimey, you are keen!

.....or a natural

or loaded :roll:

Keen – definitely have a ‘skier A attitude’ according to Pavel’s ‘classification’ … (nothing else would have persuaded me to do some of the bizarre exercises I was told to, which strangely enough, worked every time…..) :roll:
A natural – I really don’t think so (you’d have to ask my instructor, but unlikely…) :?:
Loaded – I wish…. )
Just figured it would be better to have my own kit and get used to it rather than hiring each time.

Hi Tony and thanks for your reply. With going for a fortnight this time we were planning the first week in ski school to improve our technique (and get used to the new skis and boots) and then use the second week to go exploring. It’s nice to know that the trip to Sestriere shouldn’t be an impossible challenge as we were a bit concerned about pushing ourselves beyond our capabilities. Did you go over to Sansicario by any chance, and if so, what did you think?
We may also consider a trip to Montgenèvre for the day as I believe the tour operators run a coach transfer on certain days (for a small fee...)
Will have to give the other café a go too and see how it compares )

My skis are propped up in our living room at present due to lack of space elsewhere. We are just about to start an extension on our house so space is at a premium – we have a full bathroom suite, tiles and grout in the conservatory and a shower, two radiators, lights, paint and bathroom taps in the living room (along with my riding gear and my husband’s cycling kit) so they don’t really look too out of place… :roll:

Thought this may be helpful to anyone considering a trip to Sauze D’Oulx, particularly as a first skiing holiday…
We went to Sauze at the beginning of January 2008 and apart from an hour on a dry ski slope we were complete beginners. I’ll admit that after reading a couple of reviews on the resort I was a bit worried as many said ‘not for beginners’ and ‘lively aprés ski’ (despite being in my 20s, I like my sleep!).
However, we needn’t to have worried as Sauze was everything we’d hoped for from our first skiing holiday and more. We were told by several people that we had the best conditions seen in ages and I can easily believe it. The snow conditions were perfect all week (with at least 3 new snowfalls) and made learning to ski a lot easier.

Like Larey (‘Sauze D’Oulx Great Week’) we went to ski school and had Corado as an instructor. I can’t speak highly enough of him and he had us happily tackling red runs a few days into our holiday.
It seems that there is a ‘Kamikaze’ in every group as we had one too ) Unfortunately, ours really lived up to her name and seemed to have a death wish not just for herself but for the rest of the group too. It’s a little scary when someone who you know has a limited ability to turn points their skis straight at you and just goes…I’m amazed she made it through the week in one piece!
We found the group lesson format to be really good for a first holiday and made lots of friends who we went skiing with in the afternoons. One of our group also had a private lesson with Corado (as she was finding parallel skiing a little bit tougher than the rest of us following a bad fall) and her skiing came on leaps and bounds, as did her confidence. The race at the end of the week was also good fun, particularly for my husband who won it! Not that I’m competitive or anything, but I’m determined to beat him next year :D
We enjoyed the challenge of the steeper slopes, however I would guess if you are really having trouble finding your ski legs the lack of wider green and blue runs could be a problem, particularly if you are going it alone without an instructor (with ski school everyone managed fine as there are easier ways down, you just have to know where you’re going!)
The signposting on the runs could be better, although never having been to another resort I can’t really compare. We got lost a couple of times, but generally there was a friendly instructor to point us in the right direction (at least on the runs we were on.)

We stayed at the Hotel Gran Baita and can wholeheartedly agree with all the nice things people have said about it. The food is superb and it really is a struggle not to eat too much! The staff were all really friendly and helpful and kept me provided with copious amounts of ice when I twisted my knee. Luckily, I didn’t miss any skiing because of it (combination of a knee support, Ibuprofen and a very high pain threshold!)
I particularly liked the lounge area in the hotel, with the lovely log fire – it was really nice to sit round it on an evening and chat to the other guests. (After a full day’s skiing, we were too shattered to enjoy the après ski!)
The hotel is in the centre of Sauze but down a side street so you are close to the bars but far enough back to have a quiet night if you want to. The ski bus stop is at the end of the road and we used this all week not fancying the uphill walk to the Sportinia lift, which I guess would take about 15 mins. The bus pass was €5 for the week and there was usually a bus when we wanted one. Clotes is easily walkable. We also used the ski deposit at the top of Sportinia, which was pricey for what it was but worth it for us this time. We didn’t want to risk injury to us or anyone else on the motorway back to the village as we were told that it can get very busy and is steep in places (not a good combination for two tired novices.)

I can’t comment on the bars and restaurants in Sauze as we didn’t use them however the restaurant on the right at the top of the Sportinia lift was great for lunch. For all other things Sauze related, I can recommend www.sauzeonline.com (may have been mentioned before by other people, but well worth a look.)

We’ve spent weeks looking at just about every ski resort going for our next holiday and have decided that we really can’t beat Sauze for convenience (we can fly from Newcastle which isn’t the case for a lot of resorts), value for money and excellent skiing. We will be going back for a fortnight in January 2009 (putting in a special request for Corado for our lessons) and can’t wait :-)
I just wish we were going sooner, as after an hour on the slopes I knew I’d well and truly got the skiing bug (and I can tell from the people on this website that once you’ve got it, it’s not possible to get it out of your system – not that you’d want to of course….!)

Hi and thanks to everyone for your replies which are really helpful. By inline skating, do you mean rollerblading and if so, will ice skating do the same job as I’m sure the technique is very similar? I have a pair of figure skates (which I am competent on as I did a lot of figure skating when I was younger) and an ice rink 5 minutes away from where I live. I don’t have rollerblades, although I can easily invest in some if people think this would be better?
Caron-a, if you could send me your list of exercises that would be great (but don’t go to any trouble.) Hope your recovery is going well. )
With regard to seeing a physio, as you say, it may be a good idea. I don’t think I’ve done anything too serious (though who am I to tell?) but figure that the prevention rather than cure option is best.
Thanks again
Lynn