J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by erogenous jones

Can anyone recommend a pair of 185cm recreational skis which have a groove in the base, that are not "carving" skis as I think that the problem of low speed stability is not having a centre base groove. On the pistes, I am constantly on the edges and having been a very competent technical skier preferring mogul fields to powder (and don't get me wrong, I love deep powder) with my feet locked together. And this is almost impossible with the shovel headed skis nowadays.

Bindings as far as I am concerned these days are superb, so I just crank them up and leave them alone.

About me? 5'6" tall in my mid 50's weigh in at 11st 8lb (75 kg / 165lbs) - for 20 years enjoyed thrashing moguls on my 200cm Maxel GS skis with Caber bindings but feel it time to take things a little easier. I loved my Firebirds but tore an edge off hitting a big rock and not a fan of my Head carvers (fine on pistes but useless on the flat).

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice. Have just booked ski school for Mrs Jones and it looks as if the Estrella's fit the bill.

Another throbbing feeling in the wallet!

My wife is not a very brave skier and I want to buy her a new pair of skis. Any recommendations?

She will not ski off piste and can manage blue runs with some style, red runs very slowly and black runs is a horror. She does not trust her ability which is a shame and likes to be in grade 3 or 4 ski school.

Her last pair of skis are somewhat dated. Any recommendations at all?

You are required to have winter tyres AND snow chains in Alpine areas.

I am particularly smug in my Range Rover with chains and winter tyres for all 4 wheels, but believe me, the fine for not having these basic things is eye watering.

This year:Load car with all luggage and drop children at school.

Leave work on Thursday afternnoon, drive to Ashford. Stay in comfortable hotel with a decent dinner. Grab the 8:50 train and slowly drive to Frankfurt. Stay in one of the airport hotels on the Friday night. A leisurely start as will become obvious..

Meet my wife and children on the flight from Heathrow that arrives at 13:00 and treat everyone to lunch in Germany. They will have flown from Heathrow leaving on the 11:30 and staying in one of the hotels at the airport. We then have a 5 hour drive arriving at 18:00 ready to party !

I am afraid that I am a bit of an old hand at driving to the Alps - every year for the last 30 seasons.

You have a simple choice - easy, difficult or really easy. Let's take the difficult one first.

Difficult:

Pack bags and drop into office on the weekend before the holiday starts. Drop children at school at 08:15 on Friday (we live in mid Wales) and collect them at 15:30. Drive to Dover (6 hours),drive through night. Be at Swiss border around 10. You will be starving, the car will stink, your children will have not eaten and you will have 4 hours to your destination.

Easy Pack bags, drop children at school on Friday and collect in normal way. Drive to Dover and stay in a hotel with dinner in restaurant. Leave at 5 and drive as before - you will be in your resort by 18:00


This year I am doing things a little differently.

Sheesh - it is either a ski trip or a stag do! Make you mind up. If you want to ski in April, then you need to be well above 6,000 ft altitude. If you want a party, then go where you and your friends feel most comfortable.

Skiing with a load of drunken blokes is not my idea of fun, but if that floats your boat then I heartily recommend either St Anton, Zermatt, Verbier or Chamonix - I can honestly say that the opportunities to get pissed in the villages are numerous, this, coupled with excellent skiing is something that engender a certain respect.

I have fond memories of Zermatt, paid a heavy penalty for wearing a kilt on New Years Eve there once - but Zermatt is a magical place. I will not return after a run in with one of the local yokels.

You have indicated that you are a novice skier - and by that I mean you might have been skiing for 4 or fewer seasons. As an old timer, I have skied each season for just over 35 years in many ski resorts in Switzerland, Austria and France. The last 11 seasons with my family and teaching them to ski.

We have always chosen resorts appropriate to their ability. 5 weeks in Villars, 1 week in Chamonix (disaster - never again to France), 4 weeks in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis (highly recommended) and this year back to Fugen for the 4th time.

This has also been punctuated with a couple of weeks in Maria Alm and a week in Crans Montana.

As my sons are now strapping 17 and 18 yr olds, their requirements haave changed. THey are starting to explore the bars and night clubs and are pretty proficient. Therefore a resort with variety of slopes where they can do their own thing and explore a region is as important to them as it is to my wife and I - we are returning to Fugen (Zillertal valley).

So, to answer your question, Serfaus will fit the bill - it is a little hidden gem, as will Maria Alm and Fugen.

Insofar as expense is concerned, skiing is expensive - get over it! Work on £800 per week per person self catering and that should cover it all (if you have your own equipment). Hotel will be another £200 or so an a chalet £300 or so on top of the basic price.

Anyway, I do hope you have loads of fun skiing, or boarding - love to have done that when I was a youngster, but I didn't start skiing until I was 19 and boards simply were not really in production.

You will find that you willl really start to improve when you have skied about 12 weeks - have 3 seasons in ski school as a minimum when you start. Give it a break for a few years and get some mileage under your belt. Return to ski school to get some style in your skiing on your 10-12 week.