J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by felthorpe

Gosh you are all so adventurous. Sounds exhausting.

I gave up camping years ago, I like my home comforts too much.

Skiing is my only strenuous exercise on hols, if i'm not on the slopes, I am on the beach.

Spain for me..... again this year (but I am still hoping my hubby may relent and we can squeeze in another ski trip before the end of the season) Fingers crossed.

If they went in the jacuzzi they might not smell so much? Eeeeew

We have tried hotel/catered chalet and sc. All have their drawbacks and merits.

Hotel - can be very impersonal but you get your room en suite and you can lock yourself away in it at the end of a long day. They can be noisy places as the walls are often paper thin.

Catered Chalet - Close living with total strangers, can be a bit of a challenge but you can at least be assured that you have one thing in common. En suite bathroom is essential, sharing the dinner table is one thing, sharing the bathroom is a no no. We met some interesting people when we went to Les Arcs and although one or two were a bit annoying (loud and self opinionated), generally everyone was pretty friendly and it was overall a good experience.

SC - shoe box accommodation but at least you can treat it a bit more like being at home and do your thing in private.

We found Crystal to be good except they obviously have a flavour extractor in the kitchens, food looked great but tasted of nothing.

We have also been away with Alpine Elements and found them to be better, nice accommodation and decent food. Their chalet hosts were a little more experienced, not just kids.

Personally I don't really mind too much what the accommodation is like, so long as it's clean. It's the skiing that important.

Also clamp them tail ends forward, otherwise they can flap!!!

I haven't skied there but I did go up and have a look. It was wierd to leave the beach in my shorts and sandals and later step out in the snow up at the resort. Brrrrr

We went to VT in December and were impressed by the huge ski area. It is also quite an amazing site looking out from the village onto the huge bowl that opens up before you. It's a lovely place to sit and enjoy the sunshine and watch the skiers coming down the valley.

We did find that mogul fields appeared where there hadn't been any a few days before because they did not piste all the runs every night, this may have changed since then. I am not a mogul fan and so found this quite alarming when going down a red I thought I knew, only to find it was very bumpy and way out of my comfort zone.

The good thing about this area though is that there are off piste bits that link the runs and so it is possible to cross over if you get stuck. Watch out for gullys though, I saw one chap come a cropper because he didn't see one in time.

The only other thing I found different to other resorts was how the extra altitude affected me. I know it is not much higher than some other places but it took 24 hours for me to get used to it (I know I am an old girl). Going up to a glacier and skiing down is one thing, living up at that altitude takes a bit of getting used to.

We drove up and went self catering, so we had a car full of stuff. Crisp packets and shampoo bottles did the usual thing and looked like hot air balloons and all out walnut whips exploded their walnuts off the top and did mini vesuvius impressions, quite funny really.

Enjoy it though, there is just so much to do but don't expect the place to be pretty, a picturesque village it isn't.

Oh and if you want to treat yourself, there is a 2 star Michelin restaurant at L'Oxalys.

We went into a huge ski shop in la Vella (other side of the river from the main shopping area) when we went there a few years ago and my OH bought a complete set of Rossignol skiwear half price.

Don't forget to go for a Fondue and a spa at Caldea (not at the same time, too messy).

It's the only thing that I am envious of with Boarders, their comfy shoes.....

Shame they all get wet bottoms :shock:

She seemed to get more confident and parallel as she went down. It was only the bits at the top where whe seemed to revert to serious snowplough. I guess that was a natural reaction to thinking she was going to fast?

Perhaps more traversing across the slope on the wide bits would help her feel more in control? Or is it turning that she is nervous about and that is why she goes straight down and then snowploughs?

Anyway, she looks like she is having a ball and no doubt it will all come together in time.

Great video