Messages posted by : SwingBeep
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I often have to walk considerable distances to get to the lifts so I use Cat Tracks. http://www.seirus.com/snow-sports-detail/104/?ltag=snow-sports-ByTag/hard-goods/ They make walking much easier and safer, but they are a bit of a PITA to put on. Punching holes in the tabs and attaching a piece of string makes putting them on much easier.
Don't forget to take a couple of plastic bags or your pockets will get wet and muddy. |
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Have you any idea what these revolutionary innovations might be? Ski Republic is a franchise company, it runs the booking platform and services the skis for its franchisees. The skis are transported to a central service centre in Bourg Saint Maurice where two CSA tuning centres 'scuff and gadge' them at the rate of 90 pairs an hour. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1klTlqluRNo One of these machines will set you back 350 grand and cost at least another 10 grand p.a. to run, they also have 10 vans to transport them back and forth. Unfortunately the business plan seems to have turned out to be a triumph of optimism over reality. Before making a booking I would strongly recommend a look at their financial situation http://www.societe.com/analyse-financiere/ski-republic-443948765.html Coreupt went bust last year reportedly owing 12 million, the brand and assets are now owned by a Swiss company NewGliss SA. Looks to me like Ski Republic have obtained a license to put Coreupt branding on some skis that they have probably sourced in the far east http://www.sisco-sports.com/index.html |
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I don't think ski reviews / tests should be taken too seriously. The testers usually only have a very short time to evaluate the skis, immediately after which they have to fill in a score card. They usually aren't allowed to make a comparison after they have finished testing all the skis in a category.
The skis provided are usually in the design length, most manufactures design and test their skis in one length and then stretch or shrink them to the other sizes, a 160 won't ski like a 180. The rental bindings fitted to the test skis will likely have a different ramp angle to those sold with the skis, this can have a dramatic effect on a skis performance. The test skis will have been tuned, whereas the ones sold in shops are usually straight off the production line. The state if the edges and bases varies according to what state the sanding belts and grinding wheels were in when they were ground. We almost never get to see a tester actually skiing on the skis they are testing. During the summer I came across some YouTube videos showing one guy testing a number of skis; http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCinephil/videos he has several traits that intermediate skiers tend to have, very little ankle flex and his arms keep dropping back (ideally the elbows should always be in front of the body), which put him in the back seat. These skiers usually prefer a ski that has soft forebody and a stiff tail, he seemed to enjoy the Dynastar Chrome 74 Pro. But he didn't get on so well with the Blizzard Bushwacker, skiers like him tend to struggle a bit on skis with a stiffer forebody and a soft and /or rockered tail as they can't pressurise the tip as easily and the tail doesn't provide a stable platform for them to stand on. |
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If these are the real deal 100 Euro is really cheap, it's about what it costs to make a ski like this.
But, the eBay listing states that they have the same sidecut as the Völkl Wall, which is incorrect. They have the same side cut dimensions as the Völkl Karma and T-Rock, both of which have been discontinued, but the lengths are different. TECNOpro along with Firefly are Intersport (a sporting goods purchasing & marketing organisation with a turnover of nearly 10 billion Euro) brands, they market a range of budget skis aimed at intermediates. There is a ski called the Stalker in the Firefly range but it doesn't have the same dimensions or construction as the skis on eBay. It's rumoured that they source their skis from Elan. I would be surprised if they had been made by Völkl, I don't think they manufacture for other brands and in any case German labour costs would make them too expensive. It's much cheaper to get skis like these made in eastern Europe, there are manufacturers there who specialise in making freestyle / freeride skis in small quantities. If you look closely at the top sheets you can clearly see the weave of the fibreglass, this isn't normally the case with skis from the big manufacturers. |
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A 6 seater like this one costs about 5 million Euros.
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If you are an EU citizen you shouldn't need health insurance, it's not the same as seasonaires travel insurance http://seasonjunkie.com/seasonaire-insuranc/
If you have an EHIC card you will be able to access the French healthcare system. There's lots of info on what to do and how to claim back most of the charges on the Centre of European and International Liaisons for Social Security website http://www.cleiss.fr/presentation/index_en.html and there is a list of doctors here: http://www.doctoralia.fr/ try to find one who charges the official social security rate "Conventionné secteur 1" as they only charge €23 for a consultation 70% of which is reimbursable whereas a "Conventionné secteur 2" doctor can charge what he wants (usually €50) of which only 70% of €23 is reimbursable http://www.ameli.fr/assures/soins-et-remboursements/combien-serez-vous-rembourse/index.php It might be a good idea to go and see one of the doctors upon arrival to check things out. Make sure you keep a claim form for your Carre Neige handy as I think you have to make a claim within 7 days of having an accident. |
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If you have to ask the price........ If your based in the UK then you will most likely find Switzerland considerably more expensive than the rest of the Alps. One of reasons for this is that since 2007 the Pound has lost 40% of its value against the Swiss franc, whereas it has 'only' lost 23% of its value against the Euro. In spite of this I think that the prices here aren't much different to those in French resorts such as Courchevel and Val d'Isère. The large resorts are always packed at New Year, the locals like to celebrate New Year in a big way. Last year there was an announcement on local radio asking people not to go to Saas Fee as it was full to bursting point.
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No! The insoles are rubbish and the boots are pretty wide high volume boots aimed at free riders, you need a recreational ski boot that fits the length, width and volume of your foot that also has an appropriate flex. Rather than going to one of the large chain shops I would strongly recommend that you get your boots from one of the specialist independent retailers, preferably from someone on this list http://www.skibootpro.co.uk/Findabootfitter.html it's best to ring and make an appointment as the process can take a couple of hours. They will assess and measure your feet and then recommend a couple of boots that should work for you, they will also recommend a suitable footbed. These videos give an overview of the process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK0h_4VJdoA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK0h_4VJdoA Whatever you decide to do, do not buy mail order. All the sizing info provided by the manufacturers is so approximate that it's practically worthless i.e. there are no half sizes even though they list them, a shell check is a must. Bear in mind that if you progress quickly you will probably need a closer fitting, stiffer boot after a short while in order to allow you to progress further. |
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