J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Ranchero_1979

So on Monday 4 friends narrowly missed an avalanche on Toula glacier. One of them was late getting ready and one of them insisted on coffee at bottom of the Helbronner lift and hence missed it by <10min. 5 buried, 2 deeply but all survived as seems was a lucky but well equipped party.

Was interesting to have beers with one of them last night. She was full of reflection on how you can perhaps be led into believing you are safe group because there are others around pushing the boundaries far more.

Skied in Le Tour yesterday, so many signs of avalanche activity on the steeper slopes.

One thing I would say is that now 90-100mm underfoot is really considered an all round ski. Only really above 110 would people see it more as a dedicated powder ski. Right now have head magnums for piste (71mm) and Salomon Shoguns for touring (99mm but quite "old fashion" in sense if very little rocker). Hence am trying the DPS as a sort of short skin, proper powder ski.

I know people like to own their own gear but rental stuff is really good now. There is a lot to be said for renting for the conditions. So far this year have been on piste ski only. At 5-600 euro for piste skis and 1000 euro for touring setup once skins are added is a pretty huge investment unless you are really clocking up the days. I would say 90% of my friends who visit during season rent for this very reason despite some of them being great skiers makes no sense to buy. Also ski technology is really moving fast, 5 yr old skies are like driving an 80's car, does the job but not much more.

Just managed to blag a set of DPS Wailer RP 112 for tomorrow. Super amount of rocker in them so we shall see if the 178 is enough. Unfortunately not mounted on the +1 position which people seem to like. Will definitely be fun to try for the day though.

Strange how people were laughing at my 100mm skis last night.

Tons of snow in Chamonix yesterday and overnight. Can hear a good few seconds rumble after the bombs so must be plenty up there :-).

I actually believe from a rental yield point if view does not make sense. Buy somewhere with potential to increase in value or that you intend to use for yourself throughout the year.

Undoubtedly fat rocker skis have made offpiste accessible to many more people. Strangely I believe it actually makes a lot of runs far safer. Take any somewhere like Chamonix, big terrain and people seemingly going for it regardless of avalanche warnings. The high number of skiers does however do a great job of preventing layers forming on a lot of the offpiste. Objective dangers of rocks, crevasse, serac etc remain but avalanche danger is far less than it should be. Am guessing this is why overall there is little change in the stats even though root cause has probably significantly altered.

Plenty of snow in last 24hrs in N Alps and currently ongoing although freezing level looks to be above 1800m. Enjoy the powder, if you can get high enough for it to be light.

Agree with Wanderer, if you are trying to improve your skiing is excellent idea to have a few reference points. When I am having an off run I always try and revert back to.
1) did you pull downside ski backwards before committing to new turn.
2) Really accentuate the angle of the body to ensure you are keeping weight on downhill ski.
3) Body position, check uphill hand never moves behind your hip and line of sight is never more uphill than tip of downhill ski.

Thigh burn is normal part of skiing hard (am sure any downhill racer will concur). Yes you need to keep body in correct position but fitness is a massive part to enjoying skiing. If you can't enjoy a 30min run around in gym/park then cannot really expect to enjoy 4-5hrs a days on skis.

Well have had a place in Chamonix for few years now and basic reasons were.
1) amazing all year town.
2) great terrain for Skiing and climbing.
3) year round shuttle bus and good bus and train service once in town (cars in France are expensive)
4) Geneva airport which is frankly awesome as you can get to all the big hubs for work and cheap flights into UK.

St Gervais looks a great town to me and would certainly position you right in the middle of some amazing areas. I would certainly prefer to be there than a resort with limited skiing and not much going on for 8 months a year.

Went ice climbing in Cogne today, -12 deg in town. Chose a route specifically for low risk of avalanche from above but still nearly got pulled off from a big sluff (10cm deep slide from a rock slab on side of route maybe 20m2). Certainly enough to wake you up and fill your jacket. Snow amongst trees on walk off was actually stable, waist deep super light power. Dug a pit out of interest and no obvious weak layer at 1800m.