J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by tino_11

That'll be right, I chose to go to Chamomix for the weekend and it snows at home!!!

The GM was just about it for the weekend Bandit, I think I have detached my retinas ;-)

Not gonna wade in to the sensibility of these notices. I do however have a question about liabiity which close to my heart. As someone who is no more at peace with the world than when he is on his own with a snowboard on a big mountain, someone who is a little further progressed than groomer riding and someone who lives in a ski resort supposed to get the best from his days off work? A shovel, transciever and probe are bog all use to a solitary rider.

I had a demo of an ABS system last week and am seriously considering a £800 - £1000 investment. All well and good, but if my insurance (which says nothing about back country alone) would refuse to pay due to these public notices, what possible justifcation can I make to my girlfriend/parents/daughter for doing so?

Insurance used to be a co-operative, and some still is in some respcets, I recenltly joined the Austrian Alpine Club for mountain rescue which on the face of it have a very sensible policy for getting you off the hill at least.

Seriously though, does insurance cover two well heeled novices off piste with all the right kit, but not an experienced individual with the best protection he can get? I'm not that individual yet, I'd like to be, but the investment in avalanche training, paying guides and getting the safety gear seems frivolous if I can't use it cos my insurance won't pay out.

Sorry, rant over.

In case I was not clear, Mayrhofen is open that week, without a shadow of a doubt.

A short meassage from the Unofficial Hintertux Tourist Association....

By far the best glacier skiing I have done in Europe (Tignes, Zermatt, Saas Fee, Engelberg and Hintertux). Biggest area, mixture of steeps and cruisers, great vertical until late in season and a topper lift system that means you don't need a drag unless you want to do every corner.

April 2nd I hear you say?? Why not get down to the Hof as well and experience some of the chaos that is http://www.snowbombing.com/en/

This will be my 5th year in the Zillertal at that time of the year and there is nowhere better, to be honest I am too old for the entire Snowbombing chaos, so we normally stay in Lanersbach and split our time between Tux and Mayrhofen. Best of both worlds.

Over and Out

Congrats on getting there!!!

You guys are gonna love it. It has taken me a little longer than I thought to get into the ski-resort way of life, but now I have it's the best thing I have ever done.

Good luck to both of you and have lots of fun!!

Not started a post for a while, so might be a little rusty :-)

Decided last night that I would have a lie in and go riding a little later in the day. So alarms switched off, watch in the bathroom and TV unplugged I fell asleep, only to wake up at 6.30am. The trouble with getting up at 5am every weekday is that your body believes 6.30am is a lie in. So 3 coffee's, a quick edge of the board, tighten the bindings and I'm off.

Just after 8am at the top of the Gornergrat and first track territory, not a cloud in the sky and a mere -27C, luckily no wind. The conditions were great and after messing about with my settings for the last 3 weeks it was just right and I was flying, really enjoying myself. Playing around before heading up to the Rothorn, I was having more fun than I've had for ages. That was until I was taking a corner with a long toe side turn only to realise I wasn't turning and getting closer to the edge of the piste (quickly).

It's funny, if you were in your first 5 or 6 weeks riding that would really throw you, however it's amazing how rationally you think. I had no idea what had happened, so decided to drop to my knees and see if I could get enough of an edge in to stop, which I managed quite easily. So stopped and covered in a coat of very fine ice at about -20C I looked down to see my front foot was no longer attached to the board, the bindng had failed spectaculary. No fixing this as they are a hybrid step-in binding.

I was enjoying myself so much too.

A beer at 10.30am to console myself I decided to head home and change to my big Prior board (177cm) which I was reserving for powder. It has a new set of bindings on it which I'd never used. 1st run out I decided to take it on a flat run to get used to it. Absolutely useless. With the hybrid camber and the extra length it was like trying to drive an elephant round an ice rink. However on the steeps it was more fun than taking a Penguin to the supermarket. The camber coupled with and extra 12cm meant I could rocket down sections with abandon. The entire edge is tuned (no de-tuning of the nose and tail) at 87deg and if you look up to take in the view you find yourself rapidly carving back the way you came from. In short you need to pay attention. However, when doing so it is hilarious fun!!

So all in all a great day and sometimes the best things come out of adversity, I'll be out on her tomorrow for some fun before heading to the bar to watch Newcatle vs. West Brom at 2.30 :)

Oh yeah, the bindings are 1 week over 12 months old, had 50+ days on an extremely stiff set up and been good servants. Any point in trying to persue the manufacturer or should I just cut my losses and spend the effort looking for something new? I bought them in Ellis Bignham in London and have no reciept.

Oh dear, I have 5 days off from Friday evening, what to do :D Think I might go on a wee snowboarding tour, Engelberg is legendary when it dumps and I need somewhere to rest my new 177cm hybrid cambered board.

Tony_H wrote:Ischgl and Schladming would be my 2 choices for a January trip to Austria, both have runs back to resort. Ischgl has a bigger area and probably better snow, but its mainly above the tree line, Schladming is much more in the trees. I really like the look of the place. Saalbach has god cruises and runs back to resort.
St Anton is simply brilliant, but your Mrs might prefer Lech, if you can afford it )
I'm off to Mayrhofen in Feb, no runs back to resort but fantastic skiing and a cracking little town.

Nonsense!! The Ahornabfahrt drops you right back into the resort, and is one of the best runs in the place!! And there is an Igloo at the top to have a few sups in :wink: