J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Dave Mac

Trencher, I had a look at the Clarence Bass site. Although I have no interest in maintaining a "six pack", there were some interesting aspects. I was surprised at the treadmill reading by Jenson on Bass at 183bpm. On a recent hill walk in Scotland, I hoofed it up to the ridge, in a quite competitive stretch with other walkers. While waiting at the top for the others, I was surprised that my pulse rate was up at 160 bpm. My view was that this was too high, and that it was a reflection on a state of unfitness.

The casebook stories are interesting, though.

We might be a healthier lot if it was routine for everyone to have a full health & fitness MOT every 5 years. I once put this to my GP, and he rejected it as not cost effective.

RosrR wrote

having reached the over 50 stage I really should start doing something about it.

Rose, you are just a young thing.

There seems to be something odd about your description of when your dizzyness occurs.

Were there to be a defiency of some kind, you might expect the dizzyness to be persistent. However, you report that it occurs during the first three days of a holiday. Almost as though there is a trigger.

Dizzyness from altitude is not something normally suffered from at typical Tyrolean altitudes. Many of us suffer to varying degrees at 3000m to 4000m.

Your local knowledge would be helpful here Ise. Still researching a New Year trip, suitable for beginners and experienced skiers.

Preferred option, Austria, is proving difficult, charter flights appear to be fully booked from Scotland, the EDI~MUN flight has gone expensive.

We can get a reasonable easyjet flight to Milan Malpensa. The drive to Brig looks to be achievable by road. Does this road tend to remain open through the season? And might the journey be around two hours?

If this does look OK, would have further questions, but one step at a time.

Well put Admin. I think I may have overcooked the milage thing, but I was responding to JulietPs points. Although, having just re-read J doesn't actually mention milage, so I'm not entirely sure why I opened that gate.

In the end, most folk find a place that they deem to be good for them, and make frequent return visits. A few, like Jan, take the extra step and make the place their home.

The minimum to enjoy the skiing is to have a level of strength endurance. As Ise indicates, that can be acheived by an aerobic fitness approach. Yes, cycling, but also 20/20 minutes a day of strength work helps retain a level. I don't go to the gym, as I find this is not a good use of time. So with the TV on, I do, after a 5/10min cycle warm-up:

1. Single leg squats, 5 X 10 reps
2. Clock squats, 5 x 10 reps
3. Lying down, slow leg lift, right,left,slow down, alterate leg, 5 x 10 reps.
4. Theraband, hooked around desk chair leg, other end of loop round your ankle, sitting, rotate knee upwards, (ie raise leg against the force of the theraband) 10x10reps, alternate legs
5. Repeat Theraband, but facing chair, standing, rotate lower leg behind you. 10 x 10 reps

I don't always manage the complete program, due to time pressue, but it is important to do a little everyday.

The other aspect, which helps from a safety viewpoint, is where you can, extend some of these exercises, every second day. This is to improve the basic strength. Why safety? Imagine you are skiing fast, (fast in your terms), and you come across an unexpected event, an accident, fall, someone cuts across you. Basic strength will provide the extra % to enable a quicker and stronger re-action.

Strength endurance provides us with the means to ski all day.

Don't get too excited Karen, the instructors are slapping their own thighs :wink:

Oh JulietP, I don't know how the others are containing themselves. Jan, Adele, Hamish, and others, please contain yourselves.

In fact only a small fraction of J2Skiers are positive correspondents about Niederau. I do suspect however, that Niederau is the most mentioned J2Ski resort. Can this be justified. Let us first address your perception of it's severity.

If you believe that Niederau blacks are blue equivalents, then I believe that you are an extreme ace skier, at least wearing international colours.

Most years, in the week before the Kitzbuhle Hahnemkahn rennen, the Austrian ski team train in Niederau, including during his time, Hermann Maier. Last season three national teams trained there, including the Japanese team. A few years ago, the Polish downhill team trained on the Hochberg, and sad to say, one of them was killed, missing a turn, and flying off into the trees.

Yes, I guess Europes ski teams must scour the world looking for testing blue runs???

There are a couple of "black" runs in Zermatt that would scarely be rated as red runs in other resorts. The reason their status is black, is, I suspect, more to do with each area of Zermatt needing to be seen as having the full range of runs. I am not knocking Zermatt.

The blacks at Niederau are not US standard Double diamond, but if you can easily ski the Stuck, under the gondola, then good on you.

Coming on to milage. More years than I care to remember, a couple of us set a record for the downhill milage in a day. Mark Heller, (he of the Heller World Ski Year book), mentioned it in the following years book, as a couple of Lancashire guys having come close to the world day descent figures. In 2001 I clocked 32 runs, which was reckoned to be a modestly good milage. The record now stands at 37 runs, carried out two seasons ago, by two 17 year old Austrian s...s. Have they no respect for their elders?

Then you could tackle the steep runs through the trees. You won't be insured of course. Or the beautiful Katzenberg run to Oberau, a run that I liken to that of Klosters to Davos, The "Erzahts Standard" It is of course, officially closed, er hrmm.

Skiing is only the half of it. The whole Wildscoenau valley is steeped in Tyrol history, has wonderful music, great old pubs, several of the best harp players, some great characters, fabulous old farm buildings, lovely pubs at the mountain tops, great views from the top over the Kitzbuhleralps, and down the Inn valley.

The main ski school is rated second in Europe, (says Jan)

Stop faffing about, just go there.

Still trying to organise a New Year week in Austria, and Niederau would be ideal, it's just that I will be there for two weeks in late January, and again in March. Maybe would like to ski elsewhere at New Year.

Am very interested in Saalbach/Hinterglemm, also.

Main issue is that the charter operators are not offering flights from Scotland at New Year. Either they are full, or the companies are holding on to them.

Can get easyjet to Munich, but sourcing suitable accomodation is an issue.

So, we may well be in Niederau at New Year.