J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ise

bandit wrote:
Yes I'm here all weekend, and if all goes to plan I shall ski 3 days next week as well :D

I may ski at Grimentz on Saturday if I can be bothered to get the car out and the road's not under a couple of metres of snow :D

smirnoff_skier wrote:And there was me trying to be clever.

:D :D

that figure keeps turning around in my head though, 10,000 hrs for a skier is just huge, I reckon a skier starting around 8 or 10 could go through junior levels, Europa cup and onto the FIS circuit without hitting that level unless we included dryland training. And a ski instructor at, say, level 2 CSIA or BASI would be a way short of that. Which probably means as skiers we're none of much good.

Luckily I'm an elite athlete anyway :D

bandit wrote:
ise What are you studying?

so very many things )

I didn't you think you were still there for the weekend?

still snowing :D so much that the weight of it's bought down tree's near the village so we were cut off this morning and I missed my train into town and was late for class :roll:

Roger Mayne wrote:Hi there, driving down to Notre Dame de Bellecombe next week. 8) wondering how long it's going to take from Calais, what to expect on the way down there and what the resorts like? :?:

around 10 hours to St Gervais when we used to do it regularly a few years back so about the same from memory.

And it's nice, the Arly is very picturesque, the most Austrian of French areas if that gives an idea of what to expect. I'd go there f I had the time :D Along with a few dozen other places I suppose.

HeadAddict wrote:Fair enough, but that is all assuming you're doing it for the masses on location. Why not take pictures for the people who can't be there, just as an example. I couldn't do it, but there is a money-making niche everywhere if you use your imagination... Personally, my business is virtual and needs only an internet connection to operate, so when I do go skiing, my Blackberry becomes only an emergency paperweight, as it should be. There are ways to do anything you want, that is the main point I wanted to make.

I don't think there's any shortcuts, any dream won't really do to coin a phrase :) I think we've all seen on UK TV the endless programmes where people try and relocate to other places with rather pie in the sky ideas and come unstuck. Some people are born entrepreneurs and can make a life for themselves pretty much anywhere but you have to recognise most of us will succeed only by the rather boring hard work and application that'll be familiar to most readers from their own lifes. The advice to any young person wanting to make a life in the outdoors is little different from the advice if they wanted to be successful in any business, hard work, application, as many qualifications as they can get and to have some goals.

I think you probably underestimate the difficulties in getting established in ski towns at least in Europe, pretty much every profession is regulated to some extent and the hoops a ski instructor needs to jump through (i.e. speed test etc.) exist for most professions.

I'd like to make a living selling photo's though if that were possible :D

Tony_H wrote:
I can think of a better word than interesting. I was pretty damned scared hurtling down the mountain road from VT on a bus in thick snow with the driver on his mobile phone, swining the thing round corners one handed.

the route bandit's talking about is to the VT road what the VT road is to the promenade at Brighton :shock: you have to go there to really get an idea.

HeadAddict wrote:As with anything that involves chasing or creating a dream, one's ability to think outside the box is usually the deal-maker (or breaker). If you're looking for a life on the slopes, perhaps developing a talent like park ranger or photographer/cinematographer would act as a nice dovetail to coincide with his passion...

I sorry to say that people leave ski stations every season after a few months discovering there's already a local photographer or hairdresser or plumber :cry: