J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

The Aiguille Rouge, despite its name, is a Black Run that descends the peak of the same name from way above Arc 2000.

It is notable for its length (8km) and vertical descent (over 2000m), spectacular setting and opportunity for some challenging variations off the run.

From the interestingly steep start the first section widens out onto a gentle initial gradient before descending through a wide variety of slopes. For more than 8km the run continues, dropping away to the other side of the ridge from Arc 2000 and descending, eventually, to the hamlet of Villaroger in the adjacent valley.

There are a few points that can be challenging but most of the run can be tackled by a confident intermediate. The piste starts above 3000 metres altitude so good quality snow can almost always be found on the upper half at least. The lower half of the run is fairly sheltered (being North facing) and so holds the snow well, although late afternoon descents can be made tricky by failing light.

The marked run itself can be left at several points, notable among which are several different routes down into Arc 2000 (which include a wide and steep slope and a couple of possible couloirs), and interesting deviations through the trees toward Villaroger.

Refreshments can be grabbed in the latter part of the run, either at Henri's mountain restaurant or at Le Ferme in Le Pre.

A fine place to stay, for a weekend doing the Aiguille Rouge, is with <a href="http://www.optimumski.com" target="_blank">Optimum Ski</a>, in Le Pre - at the end of the run.

8)

Screams are now christened... at Tignes on Saturday and Sunday just gone...

Off piste was out of bounds so I was "confined" to blasting the Reds down the Grande Motte to Val Claret but that gave me a good feel for the skis on piste.

I'll post a fuller review later but, in summary, I'm well pleased so far. They lock into the carve beautifully, whether vandalising the corduroy behind a piste-basher or running from hard-pack into soft stuff and then back into crud.

They do need to be edged properly (e.g. will not suit a "lower" intermediate coming straight off carvers) but feel very light under foot and flick edge-to-edge very quickly.

And they do need stiff boots - I did my first run with boots not fully tight (to let my feet warm up) and was all over the place... but...

With everything set right the Screams are the most precise and predictable I think I've ever skiied on.

And, yes David (;^), they do "chatter" a bit on the hard-pack but at least those dopey snowboarders who sit down out-of-sight below the ridges can hear me coming for once!

Bring on the powder... please...

I'm looking at the Suunto S6 - so I can relive my skiing day when back in the office... ha ha.

Have to say I'm a little concerned that keeping track of my daily "vertical" might just encourage me to travel everywhere at silly speeds...

davidof wrote:I have a Suunto vector... although fairly logical I have trouble remembering all the feature and would go for a more basic version next time...

Suunto do a range of interesting looking watches described here. There are a couple of other manufacturers of such things but most seem more aimed at pilots than skiers.

...skier killed ... while skiing off piste on the Grande Motte glacier at Tignes this afternoon... He had crossed ropes and a ski piste reserved for competition

May his soul rest - but why do people do this?

I recall, about a decade ago, riding the chair back up the Black run on the Grande Motte and watching aghast as a skier below waved up at his mates... while he stood on a snow-bridge over a crevasse about 100m the wrong side of the danger markers and ropes at the piste edge.

We skiied back down (on the piste!), with the intention of yelling at him, but saw no sign of him so continued on. As the chair back up took us over the crevasse again we saw, literally, a skier-shaped hole, as if made by a cookie-cutter, in the snow-bridge! A piste-basher was already on the scene and we watched a pisteur descend into the crevasse on a rope (attached to said piste-basher). On this occasion the guy was lucky... but what a complete idiot?

Glaciers may make for reliable skiing but they are not good places to venture off-piste.

Although a little warm it looks likely to precipitate for most of the next week to ten days in the French Alps at least...

...and that has to be good news...

!amazed

Some of the latest variants of these look feature-packed enough to satisfy the most gadget-obsessed amongst us.

For those unfamiliar, the more advanced models not only tell you your altitude but keep track of your cumulative vertical over the day. You can download your skiing day onto your PC, compare one day with another, analyse your vertical velocity relative to the space-time continuum (ok I made the last bit up...)...

Anyone got one? Is it (still) fun? useful or just entertaining?

Yet another reason not to ski alone, even when close to the piste...