J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by steverandomno

A bad day skiing beats a good day doing just about anything else.

I've never been, but from what people tell me, the skiing can be suprisingly good if the conditions are favourable and the Pirin Park is a UNESCO world herritage site.

Please post a quick report when you get back. I'd be interested in your experiences.

Maybe I've been lucky!

Was this the same week when it hit -41 overnight? I think it was a record for Banff.

Did you ski in -30?

Whilst it does get down to -20 or -25 it is not that often during the day. I can think of only 2 or three days when I have been skiing in banff when it was arround the -20 mark and to echo what JamesA said, I could only do a run or two and then had to spend an hour defrosting my feet. Probably would have been better to stay by the fire. You sould probably pack some emergency rations in your SUV (lots of chocolate, and loads of water, some warm cloths) there are many places in the parks that have no cell reception, so if you break down, you should be prepared for a long wait. Also, remember to brush the snow off your tail lights!

For Xmas dinner - try the Banff Park Lodge - they have a nice restaurant and will have a good value deal on. Other good places to eat:
Bison Mountain Bistro, The Restaurant at the Juniper hotel (good value), Banff Springs, Fuze Fine Dining, Athena Pizza (the best Pizza), Melissa's for breakfast (an institution), Bumpers (Really good value).

One way or the other, check out the Banff Springs, have a meal there or something. The common parts of the hotel, the dining room and lobby etc.. is one of the most amazing buildings in the greatest setting you will ever see.

Other non-skiing things to check out:-
-Take a day to drive the Icefields Parkway. This will be the most amazing drive you will ever do:
- Stop for a coffee at num-ti-jah lodge along the way.
- Park up at Bow Lookout and walk to the Lookout (its the view they always show on the HD demos for new TV's). It's a liitle bit tricky if there has been some snow, hence you really need to hire some snow shoes to do it easily. You can try it without, but it will be tough going. It is well worth it though.
-Stop and look at the athabasca glacier (but don't go on it, obviously.

-Drive along the bow valley parkway, you will almost definately see some wildlife.
-Drive to lake minnewanka (a few minutes from town).
-Vermillion Lakes - a few minutes at the edge of town
-Discover Banff tours do some good excursions if you want somebody else to take the strain. (the Ice walk is good)

I think the custom footbed make a huge difference to comfort. Even the off-the-shelf advanced footbeds. It's almost not worth buying a new pair of boots until you have tried a proper footbed.

If you look at the footbeds they put in even the most expensive boots, they don't offer anything like the arch support that you get with the ones you buy seperately. I have found this to be important in getting a comfortable fit.

ise wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:I'm thinking about having some off piste lessons this year, and i wonder if you have any advice on a ski to use off piste.

what do you have already? and where are you going?

off piste needs definition as well, a lot of people just mean powder when they say off-piste and buy some fat ski on that basis. In reality a lot of off-piste skiing is hacking around in crud in steep places (or it is for me) so fat skis don't always work too well. Also, in truth good powder in European quantities, say 10-50cm, isn't so difficult to ski so you hardly need a special ski for it although obviously everyone does get a special ski.

It's probably the case you're already making the best investment in getting lessons and won't need an ultra specialised ski anyway.

I think it makes a huge difference how heavy you are. I still have my first pair of Atomic C9's which are a great versatiule ski. They are OK in powder too but as a heavy skier (think Hermann Maier :-)), I need to lean way back and be going about 60 MPH to get any flotation :D

I hired some B3's a while back before Rossignol messed around with the bandit range. They are 'proper' fat powder skis and realy noticed the difference, they were a bit less versatile in tricky terrain though.

you probably want to look at something similar to the classic old Rossignol B2. This type of ski is sometimes called 'all mountain'. It will give you good floatation in the powder but be versatile in tricky terrain and conditions. I've got my eyes on this season's Atomic Nomad Crimson Ti.

Not wanting to cast dispertions on a whole bootfitting industry, but I have had some frustrating experiences with boot fitting here and in Canada.

I have always owned my own boots, but seem to have difficult feet. I have done boot modifications, custom footbeds and spent valuable skiing time trying to get a proper fit. My mistake seems to have been to put too much faith in the fitter and not enough in my own instincts. I've spent a lot of time trying different suggestions only to end up solving the problem myself, which is frustrating and costly.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying fitters don't want to help solve your problem. However, it is a myth that a bootfitter alone is going to solve all your fit problems.

If you are a beginner, then you have no choice in relying on the fitters advice. But, once you have done a lot of skiing and know your style, you know a lot about what you should be doing with your boots to improve the way you ski. Even with the best communication. It is a mistake to place all of your faith in the abilities of the bootfitter to solve all fit problems.

A fitter can give good advice about the modifications that can be made and the possible effects, but ultimately, you know your own feet and can decide which modifications are likely to be the most successful.

I know this might be a bit controversial, but I wondered if anybody else had similar experiences. Sorry for the essay.

Le Tour is a great place for beginners. It's also the least expensive for a day pass. Good snow and easy - open slopes. Probably much less crowded than Grands Montets area which would be quite busy and intimidating for a complete beginner, though fine for early/intermediate.

Have fun!

I second RossF's list however I would put Big White and Silver Star at or between Sunshine and Lake Louise.

The new Revelstoke resort is epic. We tried it last year (second day of opening) and it took us the whole afternoon to do a couple of runs.