J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by johnski96

Oops. Looks like the video has been blocked by youtube because I've put a musical soundtrack to it and infringed copyright. It was Coldplay and Luciano Pavarotti, no doubt they would have gone bankrupt following the billions who watch my videos!

Welcome to the free world!

Will do a silent version!

JS96

Hey John987,

We were also in the Portovescovo at half term! Loved Arabba, although the hotel less so. Hate Inghams who, having taken every penny well in advance, tried to ruin our holiday with various late changes, culminating in the 2.45am departure.

Brief notes on Arabba and Sella Ronda in general: Amazing scenery, fantastic and good value food e.g EU 2 for a glass or really decent "house" red wine at lunchtime. From Arabba, there is a good range of skiing - some tough stuff from the glacier, access to the Sella Ronda circuit, or easy cruising towards Corvara. The food was also very good. We took the trip to the hidden valley which is the most spectacular pisted decent I've ever done. Although its a must do, I found doing the SR circuit (clockwise) a bit of a chore and it was quite busy in places. Did I mention the food?

Snow was a bit iffy, they use snow cannons well, but there was nothing off piste which showed the lack of natural snowfall (this year at least).

Overall we loved it and would go back again. But not with Inghams.

Please follow this link for my youtube effort!


We've just got back from an excellent trip to Champoluc, including some fresh powder in April! Will post a vid when I get round to it. Just got to hibernate 'till next winter now :-(

Johnski96

Happy New Year to everyone.

I fancy a new gadget for this year, but don't know if what I want actually exists!

I'd like to be able to see the following:
- speed: average and maximum
- distance travelled
- vertical

Plus also (maybe) download where I've skiied when I get home and overlay to a map e.g. google earth.

I'm sure a very expensive GPS device would do this and much more. But is there anything a bit cheaper on the market that would just give me the basics? NB I definitely do not take a laptop on holiday with me!

Would be great if anyone could suggest some kit.

Thanks

Johnski96

We have planned our summer holiday in Zell am See, partly so that we could do some summer skiing at Kaprun. However, I have heard the glacier is closed for skiing due to a lack of snow.

Can anyone confirm that its closed?

Thanks

JohnSki

Thanks for the replies,

Daved - how long does it take on the bus to La Thuille?

Pablo - sound advice. Food+beer+Johnski96 = [smiley] (if I knew how to do smileys!)

Mrs Ski96 and I are off to Courmayeur on Wednesday, never been before! Can anyone offer advice on what to do/not to do? I'm quite tempted to try the vallee blanche so any advice there would also be most welcome.

It looks like there is some snow and lots of sun, can't complain about that in late March.

Johnski96

All, my twopenneth.

We've skiied in the area 4 times now, staying twice at Lanersbach (Tux) plus Koenigsleiten and Hochkrimml (Zillertal).

Our experience is that as both M and ZaZ are the 'big' towns in their respective areas, the local slopes get busy and worn. Hence getting to the far ends of the ski areas is a good idea during peak holidays. At Lanersbach during half term, we NEVER waited for the Eggalm gondola or any of the other local lifts until we got to the 8 seater chair on Rastkogel. Also the big queue for the 150 Tux cablecar was all but gone by the time we headed home in the afternoon (when we'd been to Penken). Staying in Konigsleiten and Hochkrimml was a similar story.

So my advice to get the most out of these great ski areas would be either stay at the 'quiet end' or invest in the 30 min bus rides in the morning if staying in ZaZ or M.

I find a good look at the pistemap plus GoogleEarth then Tripadvisor works wonders!

On the subject of mountain restaurants, Prolleralm on Black 36 (a not too tricky black) from Gerlos towards Konigsleiten is a treat.

Have fun

Johnski96

We got back from a little village in the Tux valley above Mayrhofen yesterday - half term week was excellent after the preceeding dry and warm weather, we finally had some snow!

Last Sunday (day 1) was chilly and sunny, but grassy meadows lower down and hard packed icy pistes did not bode well for the week.

Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday - SNOW! Not a huge amount, maybe 15cms but it was also cold, so when the sun came out on Wednesday and Thursday the skiing was awesome.

We got pretty much everywhere during the week: Eggalm, Rastkogel, Penken and the Hintertux glacier on Saturday morning. There was another dump of snow on Friday (which was the worst day visibility wise) and getting on for a foot of perfect powder and blue skies greeted us at 3200m. It was also a 'warm' -8 degs, having been more like -20 earlier in the week. Absolute perfection and a great way to end a fantastic week in this pretty much unspoiled but extensive ski area (NB we did not stay in Mayrhofen itself).

Its also still very good value, beer around EU 3.30 for a big'un and lunches EU 7-10 for a main like Tirolergrostl or Kaisespetzle. If you're going, I would recommend Vogelnest at Eggalm and Spannagelhaus on the glacier. Having skiied in all the major European countries and a little in Canada; Austria still holds something very special for me with its combination of unspoiled charm, value and atmosphere. Here's a few pics (I'll also put up a youtube video when I have some time).

Looking along the Tuxertal towards Hintertux




Snow glorious snow !!


Johnski96