J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by AllyG

Coop wrote:
I'm talking about the ache you get when you wear those horrible rented skiboots all day long. Especially if you're new to the sport. As my wife will be/is.

So...to plan in advance, I'm going to take a whole heap of 'remedies' which will enable her to get through a week of skiing.

I've read that simple things like ibuprofen gel works well. I was also thinking deep heat or ralgex.

What else can be recommended, out of experience?

Cheers....

Coop

Coop,
Why don't you just pay extra and get good quality beginner boots for her? We've just booked hire boots from Intersport, and they give you three price options and then 3 ability options for each price option on skis and boots. I would guess that more expensive boots means more comfortable ones and less pain :D

Ally

Sm4sh,
I didn't know you were in the Flora apartments, I thought you were in the Flora hotel. The apartments are supposed to be better than the hotel, according to those reviews on Trip Advisor :D

And if you're in the apartments I suppose you won't have to worry about the standard of the evening meal, because I don't suppose there is one!

Ask Bandit about the rescue services in the Three Valleys, where we're going. She had a really horrible experience in Val Thorens where they refused to help her (I think it was take her to hospital - she wasn't actually lying flat at the top of a mountain somewhere) until she paid them up front in cash, although she was badly hurt, and as far as I remember (as I said it's her story really) one of her friends had to go to a cash machine and get out a pile of euros :shock:

You're quite right, your own ski insurance does cover being rescued and medical help, but of course you don't get the money off the insurance company until after you've put in the claim form and it's all been agreed. In Bandit's case they wouldn't take her word for it that they would eventually get paid, and they wanted the money up front. The Carre Neige insurance is a French insurance linked to the lift pass (if you pay exra for it), so they know they'll get their money, and they will rescue and give medical help without arguing about it.

Anyway, after what happened to Bandit, I wasn't risking it, and we're double insured (although we can't claim twice of course!).

Ally

bandit wrote:

Pablo Escobar wrote:Have to leave at 3am, won't bother sleeping :lol:

Well you do insist on going to these far off foreign destinations, when there are epic conditions just up the road )

Indeed Bandit, they just had Glenshee on the BBC news! The snow there looked pretty good to me :D

Have a great time Pablo, and I hope you're not too tired to ski when you get there.

Ally

andymol2 wrote:Kids get more nosebleeds for lots of reasons - usually minor nasal infections such as colds and digital trauma. Some kids are just prone to them from superficial capillaries just inside the nose.

Andymol2,
I thought you must be a GP - digital trauma indeed :D
I believe it's more commonly known as kids picking their noses :lol:

My Mum used to be a GP (before she retired) and she always told us to squash the end of our noses with toilet paper, and it seemed to work fine, one just has to wait a few minutes for the bleeding to stop before carefully removing the toilet paper.

Ally

snowb4ndit wrote:

Tony_H wrote:But one gets what one pays for, doesnt one?

Oooh you've gone all posh...Maybe you should go to Courchevel with Ally! :D

Snowbandit,
You needn't bother trying to get him to come with me, he doesn't like me any more, he won't give me any more cuddles ... :cry: :cry:

Tony,
I think you forgot about the price of lessons for Sm4sh :?:

Ally

jastem wrote:Ally - you're right about the budget - I had forgotten that he would need equipment hire and lessons. ) It isn't an ideal beginner area either. We stayed in Courchevel 1650 a few years ago and found 1850 the most stupidly expensive place ever to eat or drink on the mountains! The lower villages were better value though. It is a fantastic ski area.

Jastem,
We will be staying in a P&V Maeva residence in Courchevel 1550, and not eating out anywhere! I have heard about the terrible prices, and I shall enjoy myself very much looking at the prices of all the clothes I'm not going to buy and meals I'm not going to eat :D

Sm4sh,
Self-catering is usually the cheapest option, but not if there are only 2 of you. Apartments seem to cater for a minimum of 4 people, and if there's only 2 of you to have to pay a supplement if you get it through a tour operator, or you have to pay the full price of an apartment and divide it in half, if you deal direct.

Feb half-term is generally the most expensive time to go, and prices are often double what you pay during the cheaper weeks.

Our budget looks something like this, for the one coming with us who's only done one week of ski-ing before.

Direct Eurostar train return from St Pancras to Moutiers = £300
Return bus transfer Moutiers to Courchevel = 15 euros
1/3 share of apartment for 4 in Courchevel 1550 = 330 euros

esf ski lessons 6 days 9.30 -11.30
= 190 euros

Intersport ski and boot hire 7 days = 80 euros

7 days lift pass Courchevel valley = 219 euros

7 days extra carre neige ski insurance (so they take her in a helicopter if necessary without arguing about it) = 18.9 euros

Total = 853 euros plus £300 = about £1100-

Ally

jastem wrote:

AllyG wrote:Sm4sh,
St Anton and Lech have great snow, but they're one of the most expensive places in Austria!

Lech is an upmarket resort but we found most of the mountain restaurants much better value than AdH for instance and we book late deals to help the budget. Certainly can't afford the swanky hotels )

I'm not criticizing expensive resorts (or those who go to them), because I am in fact off to Courchevel myself in 3 weeks for Feb half-term on a budget DIY holiday. I was just a bit worried that Sm4sh might think he could afford Lech on his Bulgarian price of £665 including lift passes, ski hire, and ski lessons! I'm not sure even Tony could find an offer like that in Lech :roll:

Ally

Sm4sh,
St Anton and Lech have great snow, but they're one of the most expensive places in Austria!