J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

Hey hey, thanks for the comments Mr. Souldrive but lifetime commitment's not required... enjoy the moment while it lasts (which could be forever, of course) :lol:

Must admit I hadn't realised Pav was quite so far ahead! Kinda embarassing to be out-posted on my own forum... :oops:

I'll have a look at knocking up a stats page for the "j2ski massive"... we're a little busy behind the scenes at the moment but will try to get that done soon.

BTW, what kinds of music do you bring to the mountains? Any regular venues?

:lol:

nick911e wrote:Also, my birthdays coming up and a set of ski's would be an ideal present.

What crashandburn said - decent, correctly fitted, boots will be the best investment you can make at this point (before or after lessons!).

But you need to take your time; read all you can find on ski boots and then find yourself a proper, experienced and recommended boot-fitter. You will probably have to pay a little more for your boots that way, but it will be worth it.

Skis are probably among the last things you should buy yourself; your ideal ski is going to change rapidly in the first couple of years of learning, so a good ski for you now probably won't be the right platform for you to be progressing on next year. Hire for now - buy boots!

Courmayeur? A little further up the Aosta Valley but it's all Autoroute and dead easy to get there.

Did you try the Hotel Castor in Champoluc? Stayed there a couple of years ago and thought it was very good value for the standard. Champoluc's not the wildest of towns for apres though.

carona wrote:can tell you that neither I nor my children will ski esf again after an experience last year in alp d'huez.

I hope you complained at the time. That sounds quite appalling and the instructor concerned should be prevented from working with kids.

The ESF have had a bit of a problem with "quality control" in the past but that's thankfully no longer typical. There are some excellent instructors in the ESF nowadays, and I would hope they would take complaints seriously, especially as they have a lot more competition than they used to.

Tony_H wrote:Well, I am sorry to say but thats the French for you.

Hardly. There are many superb ski schools in France - some of them under the ESF banner.

The service carona experienced is unacceptable but in 20 years of skiing in France (among other places) I've never encountered anything like that.

You might as well decide not to holiday in the South of France because it's raining in Calais... :P

skiduck wrote:I've heard good reports about Prosneige so I'll assume the best unless someone knows better.

Prosneige do have a good reputation and they have a number of English-speaking instructors. If you mention j2ski they should give you a small discount on group lessons at least.

ellistine wrote:I must phone the cattery

Your cattery takes Marmottes? Awesome! 8)

...have a good time (I believe you may)...

Anyone travelling to The Alps this weekend should note this forecast.

Spring-like weather conditions may have "blessed" much of the alpine region this week, but that's about to change. As predicted last week, the first week of February is looking a lot more seasonal.

Across most of Europe, temperatures will fall significantly through the coming weekend and that cooling will be accompanied by the first of two distinct bands of snow expected in the next few days.

The North and central Alps should see falls of anywhere between 10cm and 30cm, maybe more, in the period from Friday afternoon through Saturday. Depending on local temperature, quite heavy snow could fall to the valley floor in some areas. If you're driving, make sure your chains are to hand and that you know how to use them - there are some good tips in a recent forum discussion :- Using Snow Chains. If you're travelling with a Tour Operator, be prepared for some disruption to your transfer.

Sunday looks like being clearer, and could be a superb day to be on the mountain.

A further band of snowfall should sweep the area again late Monday or Tuesday - perhaps with a little less snowfall - and clearer weather should follow, making this a great week to be skiing.

Jolly Good!