Just dropping in to say hello

Well its been a while since I was last on here. I can't remember when it actually was but I have to be honest and say I lost interest in this forum mainly because of a couple of over dominant members. Having said that, I was somewhat vocal myself, but it seems some people didn't get my sense of humour - always difficult on a written forum I suppose.
Anyway, time has passed, things have happened, my life has changed massively, and I am still absolutely loving skiing so I decided to drop in and see whats what these days. So I was wondering:
* is the forum still managing to put a group trip together?
* are the same chatty regulars still around?
* is Franz Klammer still racing?
* are people still writing and reading other peoples reviews after trips?
* where is the IN place this season?
Looking at links and photos I have been sent, its the best early season in the Alps for many years. Unfortunately with that comes travel disruption, and I noted the Crystal FB page was on fire with complaints and tales of woe......do people really expect cash handouts when the weather delivers amazing snow???
Last January I had a week with a mate in Gressoney, exploring the MonteRosa area for a second time which was fabulous yet again. This really is a quite special ski area which remains beautifully quiet - we had the slopes to ourselves at times - and I hope it remains that way rather than become over populated like many good places.
In March I returned for the 3rd time to Sölden. The skiing high up was excellent, particularly on the glaciers, but unfortunately it was REALLY warm and anything below mid station was horribly cut up and wet after lunch. My partner was in ski school on her first ever ski trip (yes, I am now divorced from my skiing ex wife) and struggled with the heat and the poor conditions. I have really enjoyed Sölden but I have to say in places its getting dangerously busy - on a par with St Anton at times, particularly the mid afternoon exodus from the Rettenbach. There are large groups of men - German, Dutch and Austrian mainly, and a lot of drinking on the slopes, which continues down in the town to massive excess in many places. My experience last March was not as good as previous visits, and as such I have had my fill here. Shame, as the mountain is outstanding to ski.
Now that I am with a developing skiing GF, we have taken the decision to go with Club Med just because of the benefits thrown in - mainly the included lessons. My mate's wife is a nervous but technically decent skier who has decided to come out of her 5 year retirement so the girls are going to take lessons together, leaving us chaps to bomb around the deserted slopes of St Moritz: the only affordable way to visit this spectacularly beautiful and expensive resort. I am hoping the ladies will both develop and grow sufficiently confident to be able to ski with us in the afternoon at least by the end of the week. My GF is a competitive little thing, naturally fit and sporty, an ex kick boxer and into road cycling with me so I have no concerns over her fitness and conditioning, and I hope she can make the transition from early parallel turning where she's currently at to confident on reds on the coming trip.
I have new hardware to try out this season: I picked up a bargain pair of Faction Soma's and being me decided to go with something am little off the wall. No idea how they're going to ski, other than the reviews etc I read, but they should be perfect for someone who likes to just do a bit of anything and everything without taking it too seriously on the slope, and a bit of off the slope as well. Plus, they're really cool colours......!!!!!
So all I can say is I hope everyone is alive and well, and enjoy this season. I am already frustrated at the webcam shots I am seeing daily with such amazing conditions out there, and its still 4 weeks until I go!
Have a good one out there.

Hi Tony. Happy New Year!

Good to hear about last year's skiing. We've still not made it to Austria but I'm hoping it won't be too long now.

Unless we have a huge warm spell, I think conditions will be set for the season. We had an epic week in Zermatt just before Christmas (some photos and brief report in the Switzerland section) and there's been lots of snow since.

We're hoping to go skiing again this season, although we are in the middle of moving house which might scupper things.

Cheers!

Hi Tony, nice to see you! Much of the wibble happens on Facebook nowadays but your reports still get referenced regularly - and yes, they're still being read!

There are several group trips happening this season (and quite a few places being taken on non-J2Ski groups) so check out the Ski Buddies section for details - or post in there if you have a spare bed/room to fill or want to split the cost of an instructor, etc.

Very easy now to send in pictures directly from the slopes, so you can annoy us/amuse us with your brightly coloured Factions. Presumably you'll be riding like Candide this winter then? (all it takes is a pair of Factions) so we'll be expecting most of your pictures to be inverted and taken from high above the snow... :thumbup:

Good morning TH from Courmayeur

Hi Tony

Good to have you back. Your resort reports and other insights have been missed :thumbup:. The site continues to offer a friendly environment where advice is freely and generously given. A lot of the recent activity has been around group trips with some of them becoming quite large affairs.

As always the recommendations and feedback on resorts is very useful in helping to determine where to go next. We tend to be creatures of habit and can be reluctant to try new places. Getting good recommendations and information helps us to explore further.

My own preference in recent years has been the Dolomites - it took me a long time to get there but am now hooked. Reasons for this include
- very large extensive ski area where each day feels like a journey rather than simply up and down a few slopes;
- beautifully groomed and maintained slopes, even in poor snow years;
- very friendly people;
- generally uncrowded slopes, even in peak weeks though some bottlenecks are inevitable. The slopes tend to empty very early so late skiers can have the slopes to themselves;
- very good value compared with the other major ski areas - I got completely fed up with paying E5+ for coffees and hot chocolates in France :evil:.

Keep well and stick around :mrgreen:

Hello Tone

Nice to see you back and reporting again. Always appreciated your trip reports and trust I was able to reciprocate with my write-ups. Shame about Solden but the Rettenbach free-for-all race down at the end of the day and the busy main road prevents me from returning. Will look forward to your views on the Club Med experience in St Moritz - only been there for skeleton and would love to return to ski sometime soon.

If they're good enough for Mr Thovex........

Hi Tony
I've not been on the site for a few seasons I think, welcome back. Happy new year
Hope you all have great skiing.