J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by OmanSki

Have you looked at Meribel in France, part of the Three Valleys? We skied there this January (we have a 3 and 5 year old). It has a lovely village with plenty of shops and there is an indoor entertainment centre which has an indoor pool and ten pin bowling centre. You will also have access to one of the largest ski carousels in the world, The Three Valleys. It's amazing! We loved it so much we're going back for 2 weeks this January:) Very well set up for families with independent nanny companies http://www.merinannies.com/ . We booked our chalet with www.skicuisine.co.uk and they were excellent. Took care of everything for us including arranging a nanny. I know you say you will have your mother in law there but you could always arrange a nanny for the evening if you all want to go out for dinner or she needs a break:).

Meribel has a great area where you can take the kids sledging too and watch aeroplanes land and take off and a great free bus service that runs regularly. http://french-alps.meribel.net/ski-france-2011.html

I wanted to ski early last year so decided to take the risk and went to Zermatt (10-17 December). It was ok but definitely not great. Lower runs weren't open so we spent most of our time on lifts trying to get to pistes that we're open and we only got to ski over to Italian side once the entire week as it was closed due to high winds every other day. The risk with going at that time is not only if there will be enough snow but the temperatures at that time are also bitterly cold... After our December skiing experience I would not recommend to spend your money at that time of year. We skied again in Meribel for 2 weeks a month later and it was AMAZING! IMO save your money and go a bit later. The middle of January has worked well for us two years in a row and it is also cheaper as its considered low season.

Cool, thanks Verbierskibum! Sounds like the Titans will be right up my alley so will steer clear of the Maya:)

Trencher, great info, thanks!

SwingBeep, I really can't remember whether it was 66 or 71... unfortunately the guys I'm renting from don't stock the Magnum so I've gone with the Titan... I'll be sure to let you all know how I like it! Pity I can't try the RTC in Meribel. Switzerland obviously make some great skis. We had our boots custom fit at Stoked on our last day and all the staff were raving about the new Zai skis they had just got in. They looked amazing!! One seriously beautiful looking ski. Unfortunately the guy who stocked them in Meribel isn't getting them this year otherwise I would have tried those.

Happy New Year to everyone by the way and thanks very much for your input and advice:)

Alex

My experience with skiing is I learnt as a toddler in Australia (don't laugh too loud :wink: ), skied every year then had a big break after leaving school and have just returned to it this year (after marriage and children!). So basically this is my first real experience with parabolic skis and I'm absolutely loving it! I had lessons in Italy for my first time back on skis after 15 years and was moved to the advanced class after the first day. I would consider myself a confident skier able to go down any run without hesitation. I am definitely not a 'girlie' type skier who likes to gently make her way down the slopes though I do like to stay on piste (at this stage anyway!). I like to go fast and fit as many short turns in as I can! I guess I am quite an aggressive skier and like being thrown in and out of my turns and this was the feeling I got from the Heads in St Anton in Feb this year.

Pavel, I love that your wife refuses to ski on a womens ski! I had so much fun on the HEAD Chips so after your comments I don't feel silly or embarrassed to insist on changing my skis to the Titans (which sound like an awesome ski!) We're there for 2 weeks so will try out the Salomons too just to compare and will steer clear of the Scotts - thanks for the tip bandit!

We're skiing in a couple of weeks time in Meribel and I have pre-ordered my rental skis and am trying to choose which ski to go with

In February this year I skied on the HEAD Chip skis and absolutely LOVED them! A seriously fun, fast and aggressive ski. I've just been to Zermatt and skied on the Nordica Spitfire Doberman which were good but a much softer ride in my opinion. I preferred the HEAD for sure.

The rental place we're using don't have the HEAD Chip which is ok, I'd like to try something different as it's fun to try something different each time. They do have HEAD skis and I'm leaning towards the Titan. Do you think this is too much ski for a woman? Is it anything like the Chip or will it be much more aggressive than the Chip? It is advertised as a men's ski. I'm an advanced skier and I like an aggressive ski, just don't want to get too ahead of myself though :lol:

I like a slalom ski, like to go fast and get stuck into my short turns :D

Their 'Black/Advanced' range is:

Scott Maya Womens Ski
HEAD X-Shape MTX Ski (he has recommended this as a softer option)
Salomon 24hrs Ski
K2 AMP Rictor Ski
Salomon Enduro XT 800 Ski

Look forward to hearing your thoughts about the Titan or if anyone has had experience on any of the other skis.

Of course, I can always change them whenever I like :-)

Cheers, Alex

I'm here too and there is definitely plenty of snow and the majority of the runs have been great but we're spending a lot of time on lifts because the bottom runs are closed... The best run we've done so far is the run down to Italy (no. 7) but we had to sit on 2 gruelling t-bars in the freezing wind to get there as the big cable up to Glacier Paradise is closed. Saying that, I think it was still worth it! It was super windy over at Schwarzsee and the glacier paradise area so rug up if you're going over there! High winds predicted for today (according to accuweather.com) too. I think we will stay over Sunnega and Riffelberg today, it seems to be a bit more protected from the wind and although the runs are relatively short they are all very good. They've now opened the run down to Gant from Gifthittli which was a good long run. The black option you can choose half way down was very icy though. Maybe see you on the slopes Linda! I'm in a white Kjus jacket with a black belt:) Haven't seen anyone else with it so I should be easy to spot! Hope you have a fab day!

Hahaha, the neighbours will definitely think I've gone mad - my car said it was 40 degrees yesterday! :lol: I have warned all my facebook friends that a dance is on the cards soon so I'm sure they would all love to see me follow through as they already know I'm snow crazy :wink: