J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by SwingBeep

The journey from Venice airport to Ponte di Legno via Trento using public transport takes approx 8.5 hrs and involves 7 changes. Much quicker (5 hrs) would be shuttle bus to Venice Mestre station, train to Edolo via Bresica and a taxi from Edolo to Ponte di Legno, total cost will be about €130 return.

Following the above route the journey by car would take about 3.5 hrs. Assuming you are going for a week starting 5th April you could hire a car for about €110, motorway tolls would cost a further €24 and you would need fuel for 600km.

I also would go for the Burton EST bindings. They will probably be cheaper if you buy them in Germany.
http://www.blue-tomato.com/en-GB/products/brand/Burton-12/categories/Snowboard-00000000--Snowboard+Bindings-0000000A/
http://www.snowlab.de/index.php?cPath=20&filter_id=1
http://fun-sport-vision.com/shop/__Snowboard/Bindungen/_66.03.html

There are videos on how to mount them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySSL1WtGu7U

Good to hear that you managed to fix it DM, presuming they are Mrs Mac's skis it might have been expensive if you hadn't! Have a good holiday.

The statement doesn't mention that he was also charged with the same offences in 2006, but on that occasion he was acquitted. The 2013 sentence was 6 months imprisonment and a €10,000 fine, I think the appeal is scheduled to be heard some time in April. If the court of appeal upholds the conviction it could increase the sentence. The latest case is set to be heard on April 7th, probably before the appeal. I think he will need a very good defence.

All this seems to be having a detrimental effect on his business; one of his creditors has petitioned the high court to have his business wound up http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/60782/notices/1998385

Like it or not it looks like the Eurotest is here to stay, the MoU mentioned in the statement http://www.uhr.se/Documents/Bed%C3%B6mning%20av%20utbildning/MoU_and_annexes_signed_EN.pdf aims to set up a pilot project for the issuing of professional cards to professional ski instructors in the context of Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications. This directive allows member states to require that migrant workers take an aptitude test such as the Eurotest. It has been signed by Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain and the UK.

Ski instruction seems to be a job for life, the ESF recently tried to set a retirement age, but some of the instructors affected took them to court for age discrimination and won. All of the instructors of retirement age (62 in France) and over will have qualified before the Eurotest came into being.

The Atomic XTL 9 looks like a rebadged Salomon Z series binding so a Salomon tech might also be able to help. I would ring Pete Evans at Anything Technical in Kendal, he has loads of experience, he used to work for Vielhaber remember them? I wouldn't dismantle it, I once took a Tyrolia toe piece apart and had a devil of a job getting it back together.

The Schönegg is a very good hotel in an excellent location; I hope you managed to get a room with a Matterhorn view. The entry tunnel is 80 metres from the entrance to the Sunnegga funicular and 200 metres from the Gornergrat railway station, there is also a bus stop (Getwingbrücke) 30 metres away. If it's busy it is better to get the bus to the southern end of the village from the stop outside the Sunnegga lift station (Rothorn paradise) http://www.e-bus.ch/cms/file.php?id=128 A copy of the Gornergrat railway timetable might come in handy http://www.gornergratbahn.ch/en/timetable_tickets/timetables/dec_apr14/ztt_gg/Pages/default.aspx

The lifts open at 08:30 and the first train up to Gornergrat for skiers is at 08:00.

Flexrent is just across the river and has a good selection of good quality equipment; they only hire skis, boots etc. so they can't afford to hire out rubbish. Storing your skis there will save you a 70 meter walk in ski boots down the hotel entrance tunnel. They also have a depot close to the Matterhorn paradise gondola at the other end of the village.

Zermatt had brilliant weather today,

but Cervinia wasn't so lucky.

Admin is forecasting another 15cm for tomorrow, if you want to see it live the SLF (Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research) has some online measuring stations around Zermatt http://www.slf.ch/schneeinfo/messwerte/stationsdaten/rk42_sd_c_EN the automatic stations record the snow depth every 6 h and the observer stations once a day at 08:00 h, mouse over and click on the blue and black triangles. At the moment the observer station at Furi is recording more snow than has fallen in the last 10 years!

If you need any more info just ask, getting from some hotels to the lifts can be a bit of a pain.

The International Aosta (Zermatt / Val d'Aosta) pass gives access to all the Zermatt Cervinia/Valtournenche lifts plus 2 days in any of the other resorts in the Val d'Aosta http://www.skivallee.it/interna.asp?codpage=stazioni_sci as well as La Rosiére and Alagna.

If the weather looks like it's going to be OK most people get the international (Zermatt Cervinia/Valtournenche) pass, if the weather forecast isn't good or if you just want to go over to Cervinia once the Zermatt pass can be extended on a daily basis for CHF 41.