J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Ian Wickham

bandit wrote:If that is what you are used to, then that's fine. On rare occasions I have joined in with friends who are drinking wine at lunchtime, but I tend to feel fuzzy headed in the afternoons skiing.
I saw plenty of alcohol fuelled heroes this afternoon :shock: Just off the piste and out of their way was definitely the safest place to be!

Just polished off a can of Desperadoes :D

Pablo Escobar wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:You guys have gotta keep it in perspective this year has been a good snow year for you, which is excellent, but you have to agree that it is inconsistent from year to year, next year there maybe zero snow :cry:
and thats because of the height, it will always be inconsistent snow cover in scotland 8)

Ian, please refrain from commenting too much on a subject you only really have press-based knowledge of :wink:

This year has been a bad snow year, in terms of skier days it has been passable, better than the last few days perhaps but only passable.

It just happens that this year the good snow coincided with half term and the 'credit crunch' to create the numbers to turn a profit, other than that it has been pretty dreadful. Last year was FAR better but the good snow did not coincide with the holidays as well as it did this time round.

Making good money is more complicated than just having good snow, it has to come at the right time. If it doesn't it can be a "HORRIBLE YEAR FOR SCOTTISH SKIING" but a great year in terms of snow (especially when I only live an hour down the road).

snowb4ndit wrote:Amanda summed up our week so well there is nothing I need to add. We did have a fab time, the weather was good to us and the skiing was brilliant. Val Cenis is a bit too quiet for me (in the evenings)and I don't think I'll go back. If I were to go back I'd go earlier in the season to ensure the ability to ski in and out of accomodation. I did manage to do it on the first day but the snow down to the village was too patchy after that. L'escargot (a 12km green run) was very long and boring and after skiing part of it on the first day Amanda and I made a joint decision to avoid it for the rest of the week. We worked hard on some very tough reds and blues. (The slope grading was a bit hit and miss, as Amanda said) On the last day four of us wanted to do a black. When we got to the top it was a complete white out, very very icey and it was closed! I was secretly happy.

Scapula pulled a muscle by taking a short cut and venturing into meter deep powder. It took him some time to get out of it and it was very entertaining for the rest of us who watched whilst we sipped our hot chocolate. The injury was minor thankfully and he still managed to continue to ski the day after (which was the last day).

I managed to bump and cut my head on the second day by walking into a menu board, on my way to the bar. That'll teach me for sarcastically suggesting in another thread that we wear helmets to the pub!

Amanda is a very confident skier and I'm flattered that she thinks I'm good. I have good days and bad days but she is consistently good.

Amanda is fun and I will not forget how much we laughed when venturing on to a red that had not been pisted. The idea was to take the quickest route down and we ended up crying with laughter for ages trying to get out of knee deep powder. Scapula, watching from the top, saw me searching for a buried ski and opted out...he told Amanda and I that he'd meet us at the bar. He was there half an hour before us!

I'm sad now that there'll be no more skiing for 8 months.

Mike from NS wrote:People, people ... this is a Pavel Quiz which requires careful and cognitive thinking and knowledge, with answers utilizing best resources offered without use of the shotgun method of answering.
I've tried this method before ..... :oops:

Look at it this way ..... depression, due to end of skiing season time of year, is being replaced by sleepless nights :!: Ya just got to love spring :mrgreen:

I know that this quiz will help prepare us for next winter. :D

Mike :wink:

SkiGirl wrote:Anyone any views on Soll? A few of us in work are toying with the idea of organising a group holiday to Soll mid Jan next year. There's gonna be around 8-12 of us, with 3 beginners and the rest intermediates. The price from Inghams based on 8 people, 3* HB with lift pass and ski hire is working out at around £660 (just over £700 for the beginners). )

bandit wrote:

Mike from NS wrote:

bandit wrote:
Mike, Do you think more Absinthe will help stop me skiing like a carthorse?
:D

Not sure what describes your style bandit;

Mike :wink:

Er...wooden top tourist I reckon :lol:

Just for the record...I ski sober and avoid alcohol when on the hill :D My failings are mostly down to my body :lol:

mfc wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:

freezywater wrote:whilst i agree Ian, unfortunately they do a rather good job. for example i've priced up holidays to Austria on a diy basis and TO and can't see enough of a difference to make it worthwhile. maybe it's me and i'm not looking in the right place but i'd prefer to pay that little bit more in return for not having the stress of having to book all the individual parts

It really depends what you want, I like to select the people I go on holiday with, with the TO's unfortunately you can't do that, also in hotels they screw the hotels to a low per person price and what suffers is food quality, I have stayed in a couple of chalets in the summer and hated it I do have a very low fresh hold for dealing with pompous fools and I have met a few on these chalet stop overs.

I only speak for myself and my family if I stay in a hotel I expect a certain standard of food which I have always found on a direct book hotel, and this has not always been the case on a TO book hotel, I will not settle for an averagely prepared meal, I have never stated anywhere on my postings that it is cheaper to DIY your holiday because it isn't. I do it because I prefer to.. 8)

Do you line your family and friends up and select them from some sort of identity parade? "Son you took the piss out of me last week ya not coming on holiday, wifey you didnt try hard enough in bed last night ya not coming on holiday"