J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Dave Mac

Bandit wrote

I'm not at all certain that it's possible to strengthen ligaments, only the muscles.

Yup, that's how I see it too. My good knee has been favoured so much over the years that at one stage, the thigh circumference was 2.5" greater than that attached to the the bad knee. Thankfully, the gap is down to one inch. It's all down to maintaining the muscle around the knee, combined with knee flex work.

How you ski, your ability, where you ski, steepness, age, typical speed, snow condition, are all factors that will affect the knee performance, when an injury exists. I take the view that I am managing the knee.

Hopefully, knees and hips will outlast the brain. (or maybe that has already happened!)

Tony_H wrote

I would like to see other places, however this trip is going to be based on cheapest costs only.

What! No questions about altitude? 8)

I carry out a knee strength exercise routine each day, in addition to a fitness program. The strength work is mostly resistance work, so is all done at home.

Single leg squats, repetitions
Clock squats, repetitions
lower leg bends, forwards, backwards, repetitions, (using theraband)
Lying position, raise leg slowly, right, left, slow lower, reps, alt. leg
cycling

You are wise to latch on to this while the issue is not too serious. It may well be worth your while paying for a visit to a sports physio, football, rugby or similar. Tell them what you want to do, and obtain a program.

I like Soll, for it's access to the skiwelt, for it's beautiful church, old buildings, history, musicians.

I love Niederau.

If you have had a good time in Soll before, you will probably do so again. I would stick with what you know.

Plan A might be to drive to Niederau and take a day ticket. It is only 10 minutes from Hopfgarten, about 20/25 minutes from Soll.

Day lift pass cost is 31.8 Euros HS, 28.6 Euros LS.

Driving up the road leading to the Fox Galcier, South Island, New Zealand, there is a sign marking the head of the glacier in 1924.

Four miles later, you reach the head of the Glacier. The hotel built beside the glacier in the 70's, is already half a mile below the glacier.

Global warming is in evidence. The question is the degree of that which is man-made, and that which is an oscilatory process.

When I worked in N-, there were a couple of Tasmanians, working in the ski hire, they kipped in a camper van for the whole winter. They did OK, apart from hot & cold dripping noses.

Camping.
I assume that the driving reason for using a camper is cost. There are quite a lot of hidden costs to this. Try:

Ferry £? £100?
Fuel £150
Oil £10
Wear & Tear £150
Insurance extension to cover Europe £? £60?
Breakdown Insurance £115
Adding a driver to your insurance £110 per driver
Tolls, Vignette £? £20?
Continental requirements, bulb set, yellow vests, headlamp diverters, triangle, first aid kit, snow chains, et al £30?
Did I forget anything? Costs of meals on route, type of thing.

Add up the true cost.Above totals £745. Say £700, if you get better costs. That is £175 pp. Add camp site costs of £12 per night. For a week, £20 pp. That is £195.

Flying
Then start from the other end. It looks as though a small resort would be OK for all of you. (Cheaper lift passes)

From your location, where can you fly to cheaply?
Where can you get transport to from the arrival airport?
To avoid high day costs, avoid France. The day costs will surpass all your other planned low costing.

If you plan now, you ought to be able to fly to the Alps for £60/£70 return.
Typically train fares + postbus would be £50/£60, return.

So you are in the resort for £110/£130. Say £120.
In N-, it is posible to stay in a modern high standard apartment, where the cost is 14 Euros per night, £82/week, + local taxes, one euro per day, and cleaning charge, total £97 per week/person.

So you are in resort, flight, transfer + apartment, for under £200.

Like for like, the cost is the same, except that you have saved two days, have proper accomodation, drying & bathroom facilities. Also, saved a heap of wear and tear on yourselves. Those two days saved can be spent skiing.

I understand that you may feel that you cannot achieve all these costs. On the other hand, I can find accomodation in N-, good location, for 9 Euros a night. I am sure that this situation exists in many other tyrolean resorts. This is true of Austria, where some accomodation is in converted farm buildings. Location is a key aspect.

If you have paid for accomodation, it is normal that this entitles you to use of the ski bus, a cost that you would have to bear, should you be camping.

So, I respectfully suggest that is all a no-brainer.

Alternative.
Worse/better than that,you could pay Tony-H some kind of consultancy fee, half of bitter may work. In return, he has a vast knowledge of ski holidays at £99, £115, £175, all heaps better than the average punter can manage. Of course, there is a drawback, most of them would be in M-. :lol:

Ski Hire.
Skiset has already been suggested. I have used Skiset several times, in my view, the service and equipment are good.

Lift pass.
When you are considering the resorts, just check the lift pass prices. Go onto the lift company website, and check.

Ski School.
This is the one area where most people with your limited experience fall down. All four of you should be in ski school. It sounds as though you are early intermediate, and of course, it is some years since you last skied. You are not a ski instructor.

Invest three years of ski school in becoming a competent skier.

So good luck. Have done it myself, all round Europe, USA, Australia.

But only in summer.

Ise wrote:

Dizziness from altitude is one of the symptoms of AMS, that does occur from 2000m upwards. Even at 2000m there's only 80% the oxygen in air that you get at sea level which is enough to make you dizzy.

That's quite interesting Ise. I remeber at Breckenridge, (2926m, town level), there was a fair sized medical station, with oxygen chambers, located at the bottom central slope arena. Also recall getting off the chairlift at Arapahoe Basin at somewhere near 14,000ft, and feeling OK. My OH though, felt giddy, until she started to ski.

So using the 80%/2000m value, assuming that one is aerobically fit, the heart would pump at 20% higher rate than at sea level, in the same exercise conditions. So with a pulse rest rate of 60 bpm, just standing still at 2000m, would take the heart beat to 75 bpm, and a bit higher, if just piste skiing.

Using your 3%/100m altitude gain, this equates to +30% for an additional 1000m altgain. So assuming that the heart responded to the full oxygen demand, this would take the beat up to 97bpm at rest, and a bit higher when skiing. Still OK. But if you move to the 3900m level, this would take most fit people into an uncomfortable position.

Last year, my eldest son walked into the Everest base camp, at around 18,000 ft, and suffered dreadfully for four days.

Interesting information, and very relevant for people who move from low Alpine skiing towards the 3000m/4000m levels. Thanks for that Ise.

Snow History for both resorts, in cm. Since the reports are likely to be the mean for December, both reports are likely to be on the low side, since you would be there at the end of December.

To get a clearer picture, you might also look at the January mean, and average December and January.


Meribel Lower/Upper Dec 2001 to 2007
8/38 6/75 6/64 20/39 28/41 13/29 59/124, Average 20/59

Tignes Lower/Upper Dec 2001 to 2007
18/35 33/149 33/112 38/95 33/60 20/62 83/117 Average 39/90

Averages are only a guide. You should also look at the absolute numbers. Meribel has 4 seasons from 7, where the village snow level is less than 150 deep. This an indication that the snow is only just arriving in any quantity.

The other factor to take into account in a typical year, is that most Alpine pistes will be covered with artificial snow.