J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by SwingBeep

All skis are great these days!

This simply isn't true; there are still considerable differences in performance and quality of construction between skis sold by the major manufacturers. In general skis with wooden cores and sidewalls perform better and last longer than cap skis, especially the ones with foam-injected cores.

From time to time Stiftung Warentest (a German consumer organisation) carries out ski tests.
In addition to performance tests (which are carried out in accordance with ISO 8783: Alpine skis -- Guidelines for conducting slope performance tests) they also measure the thickness of the edges, the flatness of the bases, determine the pull out strength of the edges and carry out impact tests on the tips and tails. Although they are in German and not up to date, the tables in these pdfs should give you some idea of what to be wary of.

http://www.test.de/themen/freizeit-reise/test/Carvingskier-Head-und-Voelkl-vorn-1725172-1728805/

http://www.test.de/themen/freizeit-reise/test/Carvingskier-Racer-machen-das-Rennen-1590245-1594928/

The train journey from St Anton am Arlberg to Zermatt is pretty straightforward, it takes about 6¼ hrs with changes in Zürich and Visp.

Getting to Val d'isere / Tignes is more complicated, train to Bourg-Saint-Maurice which takes at least 10 hrs and involves 3 or 4 changes then bus or taxi up to Val d'isere / Tignes, about 30 min.

You can plan your journey using the Swiss Railways online timetable http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en bear in mind that the winter timetable hasn't been published yet (it comes into force on 12th December) so it won't display any times for the dates you want to travel on.

Anything that has "3D shape" in the description is a cap ski.

Storm skis are made by Sporten in the Czech Republic. Their traditionally constructed skis are quite good, but their cap skis aren't up to much. There are several models on eBay uk from £110.

Tony, the rust could be caused by water vapour condensing on the edges due to a drop in temperature during transit. It can easily be removed with a 'Gummi' stone, to prevent it you could, as Ian suggested rub some wax on the edges or cover them with masking tape. Don't worry about the glue blocking the 'pores' because there aren't any!

Pavelski, the skis you saw could have been carving / all mountain skis with early rise shovels
http://www.kaestle-ski.com/en/techcenter/ski-geometry/early-rise/

No rush Ian, you won't have any problems finding something here no mater how late you leave it! )

I use a base repair iron Item #MMN-EU: $39.95 from Tognar Toolworks http://tognar.com/base_repair_tools_iron_ptex_gouges_damage.html use wire wool to keep the tip clean.

Zermatt normally has better snow conditions for longer as it's higher, has a greater proportion north facing slopes and has better snow making facilities. Here is a trip report from the 15th April http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=39534

The ski areas around Chamonix are strung out along the Arve valley, the main area is Les Grands Montets above Argentière, this is high and north facing and should be OK the others are lower with some south facing slopes. If you want to ski the Vallee Blanche http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=21730 it is likely that this will be in better condition a week or two earlier than when you plan to go.

Negative aspects are the longer journey from St Moritz and the extra journey back to Zermatt.

The ideal solution would be to bring the trip forward.

The Swiss Transfer Ticket is not the ticket you need; it's intended for people making a journey from a point of entry to say Zermatt and back. As you will be making multiple journeys and there are two of you, you need a Swiss Saver Flexi Pass for the number of days you want to travel http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/content/offer/tickets/prices/ You will obviously need extra tickets for the cross border journeys.