J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by SwingBeep

At 32.6° the Forcella Staunies isn't all that steep. The Tunnel in Alpe D'Huez is about 35° and the Harikari is reported to be 38° a flight of stairs is about 37°. As for difficulty it depends on the snow, but its better not to fall as you might have a long walk to retrieve your tackle!


The Couloir in Andy's video is the Canale Staunies Nord which is off the back of the col on which the top lift station is built. The steepest bit is 50°/119.2%

There is a bus service from Geneva airport to Courmayeur via Chamonix operated by SAT Mont Blanc http://www.sat-montblanc.com/fr/lignes_regulieres/telecharger.aspx and Savda http://www.savda.it/index_eng.htm Here is the timetable: http://world.chamonix.com/PDF/courmayeurhiver.pdf 46 Euro each way.

What about Cervinia, lots of cruising and very good snow with more to come this week. You would have to fly to Turin and the transfer will be a bit of a pain http://www.exnetsystems.co.uk/climbing/Travel01.htm unless you book a private transfer. There are some photos from last week here: http://www.jacomet.ch/themen/skilift/album/displayimage.php?album=265&pos=53

If your committed to Geneva, Saas Fee would also fit the bill, you can get discounted rail and lift tickets via SBB Snow'n'Rail http://railaway.sbb.ch/english/snow-n-rail/ I don't think accommodation will be a problem as due to the exchange rates there aren't as many people about this season http://www.saas-fee.ch/en/reservations.cfm

The motorway tax sticker is valid from 1 December of the year prior to that printed on the sticker through to 31 January of the year following that printed on the sticker, so they had plenty of time to change it. The fine for not having a valid one is CHF 100 and you have to buy a new one. If this had have happened to a Swiss there would be hell to pay! I would write to Hertz, the address is:

Hertz GmbH
Rütistrasse 22
CH-8952 Schlieren

The managers and directors are listed here: http://www.moneyhouse.ch/en/u/g/hertz_gmbh_CH-020.3.911.482-7.htm If you don't get a satisfactory reply you could ring the chairman up at home (he won't be used to that happening) he's in the phone book http://tel.local.ch/en/

Looks like there's going to be some action on the 14th

Dominator Zoom Lime is a very good universal wax with a wide temperature range http://www.jonsskituning.co.uk/index.php Data Wax Green http://www.datawax.com/datawax/showrange.do?range=1 is supposed to be good for indoor snow.

Atomic skis are usually shipped with 1° base bevel and a 3° side edge angle. To set the base bevel I would get a 0.7° or 1° Kunzmann base edge file guide, for the side edges just get an 87° aluminium angle guide and a spring clamp. Avoid multi angle file guides as most of them aren't very accurate. You will also need a chrome alloy file the best ones are made here by Vallorbe but they're expensive, the ones made by Viiala are much cheaper and aren't bad. Don't forget to get an aluminium oxide stone to remove any case hardened spots otherwise you will quickly blunt the file. Once the edges are set the easiest way to keep them sharp is with diamond stones 200 grit to sharpen and 400 to polish. At some point you will need a side wall cutter to cut back the sidewalls otherwise the file will get gummed up with plastic.

Before you start it would be good idea to get the bases ground flat and structured on a stone grinder.

eBay.de has loads of tuning gear on it and most suppliers will ship to the UK. Rain Sport http://www.rain-sport.de/index.php?page=index have a large range.

I don't think helmets will be made compulsory (certainly not here anyway) simply because of the problems of enforcement, although Eurosafe thinks otherwise http://www.eurosafe.eu.com/csi/eurosafe2006.nsf/wwwFreeText/headinjuriesarethemajorcauseofdeathorsevereinjuryonskislopeseurosafecallsongovernmentsandskislopeoperatorstomakesurethatthereisnoexceptiontotherulethateveryonewearsahelmetwhileonskislopes.htm

One of the reasons why the uptake here is so high (76%) could be because accident insurance is provided by employers. So along with the possibility of the claim not being met in full, you might also get a bollocking from your boss.

As well as saving the bobble what about putting a word in for the balaclava http://www.beardhead.co.uk/

Conditions above 2000m meters are still very good. I skied in Saas Grund (just down the road from Saas Fee) last Sunday it was quite cold but not too icy, there was even a dusting of new snow. It started to get warmer again on Wednesday, and today it was 7° at 2000m so the snow was a little softer. If I were you I would head for Saas Fee.