J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Grizwald

Tbh IMO 4 weeks is the very minimum you need to see any tangible difference to fitness etc anything less might not be worth it. You only really have 2 weeks where you can do more strenuous exercise, what sort of light exercises have you been recommended?

Depends what sort of level skier you are, allot of people run out of ability before fitness but if you're technically good skiing isn't necessarily hard work!

Darrylhuk

What do you like in a resort? Courmayeur is very nice and also Pila further down the Aosta valley-I rate Pila higher both relatively small resort but pletny to go at.

Courmayeur is about 2.5 hours from Milan. I really like Cervinia too but mostly as it allows you to ski in Zermatt.....

Quite frankly both are awesome resorts. I wouldn't be worried about snow reliability in either Ischgl is usually open into May and St A up until the end of April and into May.

Ischgl and St A seem to compete for the liveliest après in Austria/Alps and it seems to swing from one resort to the other season to season. They are both 'party' resorts but it is avoidable-choose accommodation carefully for this reason and both areas are quite spread out.

Strangely the stats will show you that St A has more blue (easy runs) but I believe that many of these would be reds easily in other resorts. I could prattle on for ages about each resort but will try to summarise a bit. Ischgl has great off piste-St A has more challenging off piste and more of it.

For pisted runs Ischgl has a great variety of runs. And the lift system is really top-notch.

I assume your Canadian and over the pond you like to know your vertical stats-they're about the same. St A pass with Lech and Zurs is a real bonus it's not lift linked but a short bus ride. These along with Stuben (generally some of the highest snowfall in the Alps) are superb areas particularly for intermediates.

In conclusion I don't think you'll be disappointed with either. There has been talk for years now of trying to get a lift link between St A and a resort in the same valley as Ischgl. If you have a car could you do both?

In a word ski!!

OK I'm slightly biased as I started out skiing and given the choice will take my skis every time, but I can board/teach to a decent standard (makes you a bit more employable back when I taught).

Learning wise essentially 2 different learning curves but BASICALLY take a complete beginner, clone said person and put one on a board and one on two planks and I'd expect to see the following after a week.

Skier at the end of a week will be able to get around the resort on blues and some reds and hopefully at the stage where they enjoy themselves (ie not failing every 2mins).

The boarder will most likely spend allot of time on their backside in that first week and maybe just get to the stage where they can handle some easier blues.

Any lift you can name is easier on skis, infinitely easier when you're starting out. Proficient boarder can re-bind up while on a lift.

The learning curve then changes, you can get from the pain stage on a snowboard to a pretty decent level quicker IMO than skis. On skis most people progress form plough to parallel pretty easily but then plateau-allot of people spend their entire ski careers at this level-a lower to mid-intermediate recreational level-nothing wrong with that though. I found once you have the basics you can get down pretty much anything on a board you just stand on you heel edge-this annoys skiers as boarder scrape off any nice fresh layer of snow. Other than the obvious i.e. in the park on the slopes you'd really have to know what you were looking for to compare a very competent boarder with an intermediate boarder IMO.

Tis true that boards were the folly of those seeking an entry to the powder, but as Verbskibum says fat skis have changed the game again. Snowboards aren't a great deal of fun on piste when it's boiler plate I'd much rather have my skis. You can go faster on skis than a board, and those poles do come in handy with skis. Although attitudes have changed in recent years ski resorts, lifts etc were designed with skiers in mind, flat tracks are one of a boarders worst nightmares and if you don't have the confidence to maintain momentum they can be very frustrating.

Snowboard boots are very comfy, but so are my ski boots. I'd happily spend all day in my ski boots as they fit well, but many newcomers with hire/ill fitting boots struggle with the comfort at times, board boots are easier to walk in.

So there are just some sweeping generalisations to give you an idea. What does she want to do? If she has no incline either way point in the direction of two planks, when I frequent the Glasgow indoor slope I tend to see more people taking the introductory board lessons far more than skiing-maybe it still seems to be the 'cool' choice?!

Boarding can be a good laugh. But IMO it's no skiing!!!

bandit wrote:

Grizwald wrote:Head to the Pass Thurn area, pretty much everywhere is off piste. I was there the week before last and had some cracking conditions. I'm not sure how things are looking now with higher temps but I believe there's been some fresh and colder temps this week.

Try Blacksheep, found them to be excellent.

Do you have a web link for Blacksheep please?

http://www.blacksheepski.co.uk/

Mileeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees too long! As Pavelski says depends on a few more variables but my piste skis are 177cm and I'm 6'4" and 220lbs.

Probably not what you want to hear but they be more of a hindrance than a help.

Head to the Pass Thurn area, pretty much everywhere is off piste. I was there the week before last and had some cracking conditions. I'm not sure how things are looking now with higher temps but I believe there's been some fresh and colder temps this week.

Try Blacksheep, found them to be excellent.

I love slush-poor mans powder!!

Best advice as always is that if you can wait to see how things are closer to the time then do. Just because the low lying resorts are 'low' doesn't necessarily mean things will be poor.

I don't have kids so I'm not privy to the holiday dates but know they're later this year for Easter. The lower lying Austrian resorts are normally scheduled to close around the 18th of April. Ischgl is always a good bet into May and there are several others that would also be a safe bet if you need to book sooner rather than later.

You ask about Andorra and Spain. The Pyrenees by all accounts haven't had such a good year snow fall wise and by April things can be warm which is a dangerous combination, there's also the Ski Sierra Nevada in southern Spain.