[Paul B]

Closer to home

http://www.steepscotland.info/index/

Gully skiing season is in full swing!

Their twitter feed has some stunning shots. I've got the remainder of the week spare?

[SA Chris]

This week? It's not that nice weather up here this week unfortunately, have a look at MWIS.

None of the Tweeted pics are that recent unfortunately, go onto the British Backcountry page on FB for more info, back corries at Nevis are in good shape, as are Cairngorm Gullies. Loads of other stuff too, but you will need to walk or bike a bit to get to snow line.

[Norton Sharley]

http://www.editionsvamos.com/index.php?option=com_phpshop&page=shop.browse&category_id=070d66c1b6f2c16fbb1ba245d7aa6815&option=com_phpshop&Itemid=8

Vamos have printed loads of guides covering most major French resort areas but are unfortunately mostly out of print.  You can pick up in resort or on eBay mind.  They give a general idea of the more obvious routes, just don't expect locals secret knowledge in them.

[bigtuboflard]

not so much a guide (though it does contain trips for each mountain range covered) but a really nice book about the history of north american ski mountaineering;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wild-Snow-American-Alpine-Series/dp/0930410815/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396386438&sr=8-1&keywords=wild+snow

[Paul B]

I thought I'd update this thread having just returned from St. Anton at the weekend.

Next time your in St Anton, save up and book on with these guys, 1 - 5 days.
http://www.pistetopowder.com/our-courses.php

I did just that for 2 days whilst I was away. Being disorganised helped me this time as a week or so before they had no spaces but randomly emailing them when on a chair lift (from the base of Stuben) watching people smash through a load of trees paid off and I ended up with a whole day with P2P after 2 days of fresh snowfall (115E) and another day later in the week (where we walked quite a bit to find better snow).

I also lucked out by getting my hire shops mixed up. I meant to book with Fauner who I used last year but instead ended up with Alber. Alber also have Alber freeride and the guys in there were very happy to spend time chatting about various skis and swapping them out for me simply becaused I'd paid and I might as well.

I ended up with a set of Rossignol Super 7s on the first day off-piste and I was completely blown away by how good they were not only off piste but on as well. Ok, they weren't perfect but compared to the Atomics I had later on in the week they were much much better. Later on in the week the snow was less good so I opted for the Soul 7s and once again I was blown away (but not quite as much). This made me realise just how much ski tech has come on since the first pair of 'fat' skis I tried (Salomon Pocket Rockets) some time ago. They flapped around like mad at any kind of speed and that issue seems to be long gone. Allegedily the S7 series suit a lighter rider.

P2P were great (I had Buckhard both days, what a name!). However, like it has been said here, given it was an open group it was more of a follow-me type day(s) rather than learning about the snow/group management/tranceiver usage. Last years day with Stance seemed to have helped a tonne with my techinque and I realised just how spoilt I've been over the years with the hours of tuition I've recieved.

Once again it confirmed that for me, I need to do this to maintain interest in skiing. The first few days were speant on-piste and I was worryingly bored.

I'm now going to order the book recommended on page 1 and next time aim to do more of an avalannche awareness/snow knowledge type day/course. Also, I once again failed to make to the free tranceiver course, this needs rectifying.

Nat is also enjoying it (a lot actually) and progressing well. She's now pretty confident on-piste but needs to learn how to go about moving faster in general and then we can consider seeing if she too fancies learning off-piste too. I'd image the best plan for this is to go to the USA/Canada.

Ta for all of the beta.

[galpinos]

Glad you had a good trip, with the state of the snowpack at the moment having a guide was probably the way to go!

I've got a pair of Soul 7s, the ultimate punter ski! Very easy to ski though floppy in crud or at any kind of real pace.

[ChrisC]

I'm now going to order the book recommended on page 1 and next time aim to do more of an avalannche awareness/snow knowledge type day/course. Also, I once again failed to make to the free tranceiver course, this needs rectifying.

Paul, you could do much worse than to read this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Avalanche-Essentials-System-Safety-Survival/dp/1594857172

It's a lighter weight more focused version of his more well known book "Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain".  It's very good.

[Paul B]

Glad you had a good trip, with the state of the snowpack at the moment having a guide was probably the way to go!

I've got a pair of Soul 7s, the ultimate punter ski! Very easy to ski though floppy in crud or at any kind of real pace.

I couldn't tell if the reason I preferred the Supers was down to the ski or the improved conditions the day I had them, either way both were very enjoyable.

[galpinos]

It's always hard to tell unless you're out skiing all the time. The Supers have more ommph off piste as they are wider and a bit stiffer but are less playful on the piste. I would imagine they would have given you more confidence when going for it as they'd be more stable.

My Souls are set up as a touring ski as I don't do enough anymore to warrant more than one set so I need (well, want, I don't actually need skis anymore) something for every occasion.

[Paul B]

What's the wisdom these days regarding kit? It cost me 220E / week / person to hire skis and boots. Now I know there's maintenance and transport but at those prices your own equipment is looking like a fairly favourable option?

Boots are a definite purchase. My right shin is pretty fussy after I broke it and is a little sore still from the past week.

[tomtom]

What's the wisdom these days regarding kit? It cost me 220E / week / person to hire skis and boots. Now I know there's maintenance and transport but at those prices your own equipment is looking like a fairly favourable option?

Boots are a definite purchase. My right shin is pretty fussy after I broke it and is a little sore still from the past week.

I recon - if you go every year its borderline buy/rent... if you go less frequently rent - more buy....

+ves of buying are you have your comfy kit that you are used to/works - but it gets old/knackered/broken/untrendy etc.. if you break it or lose it ££ or insurance etc..

+ves of renting are you get new season kit (never had old shonky ski hire stuff - always this season), you can often chop and change kit during the hire (ie for me try different length/stiffness boards) if something doesnt work/or for curiosity, if you break/lose etc.. something its just your deposit that disappears - but it can cost a bit (yours seemed a bit pricey Paul) and you may not get the boots (especially) that you've worn in etc.. blah blah..

[tomtom]

PS - I am a punter who goes on average every 30 months... but used to go annually with a mate who bought his own kit (largely spend in the attic) and I've always rented..

[Paul B]

yours seemed a bit pricey Paul) and you may not get the boots (especially) that you've worn in etc.. blah blah..

Tell me about it. I did a lot of digging around even contacting the people I used last year and they basically all said they were the same price and they'd do no further discount. I got an intersport 50% of voucher sat in the departure lounge.

Interestingly I used a comparison website for insurance this time (cover seemed good, cost was relatively low) as Snowcard seemed expensive and The BMC were 50% more than Snowcard.

[Fultonius]

I think the most difficult part is the boots. Rental boots are always going to be fairly wide and comfy, so unless you have a lucky foot shape that fits a typical rental boot, you're going to be slopping around too much. You probably won't really notice for the first three or so days of your holiday.

So - "buy boots" but then, ahhh, you need to get them fitted. If you're serious on buying boots the best thing to do is set aside one holiday as your "let's get the boots to fit" holiday. Book an appointment with a good bootfitter and be prepared to be in 2 or 3 times during the week to them just right. Then you're sorted for the next 5 years! You could try and get some fitted in the UK, but it's hard to know which bits are too tight or loose when not skiing them.

Skis / bindings - that's the easy bit as when you know what you like you can search around and get a good deal on the likes of Sport Conrad - my mate just bought an Atomic Automatic 102 after skiing them for a week for about £300 (he's a mid level holiday punter so they suited him well).

[galpinos]

I want to be able to tour and head out in the Peak/up to Scotland - that's my excuse for my indulgence so I'm sticking with it!

For alpine kit:

Boots - Buy, always. Boot technology doesn't change and your boots will last, you can even get new liners if required. Having your own set of decent well fitting boots makes the world of difference to your skiing.

Ski - Rent. You can swap skis to suit conditions and can always get "the next best thing".

Arlberg is always espensive to rent but the booze is cheaper than, say, France. You just have to drink enough to make the steep hire prices seem worth it!

[tomtom]

If you drive over - you can always rent in the UK? or places other than the resort?

[SA Chris]

I've got a pair of Soul 7s, the ultimate punter ski!

No more Beta Rides?

If you are more inclined towards off piste  / touring stuff it's worth looking at a touring boot / set up. Bit more expense initially, but cheaper in the long run if you eventually end up going down that route anyway.

[El Mocho]

I've got a pair of Soul 7s, the ultimate punter ski!

No more Beta Rides?

If you are more inclined towards off piste  / touring stuff it's worth looking at a touring boot / set up. Bit more expense initially, but cheaper in the long run if you eventually end up going down that route anyway.

Agree here, been on a touring set up virtually all season (broke my piste ski in Dec) and I can't tell much difference on piste (binding and boot wise) Got Scarpa Freedom SL which are at the heavy end of touring boots but perform really well (you can get an Alpine sole as well the Tech one for an extra £30) they have a great walk mode and have toured in them a bunch and they are fine if a little heavy then (my whole touring set up is on the heavy side!) Got the Tyrollia frame touring bindings which are pretty good - not felt the same issue with lean as on the Fritshi bindings and the whole transition into tour/ski mode is really simple.

Demoed a few diff skis this year and would recommend going with something you have tried and like, huge difference in how things feel and ski (although if you are feeling flush I demoed the dps Wailer 112 in the new touring construction which was amazing - ski really well for such a light ski but they are ££££)

Enjoy

[galpinos]

I've got a pair of Soul 7s, the ultimate punter ski!

No more Beta Rides?

Still in the loft but gathering dust. Souls and Markers now........

[SA Chris]

I need to shop for some new skis soon, my 12 year old skis are exactly the same colour as my 12 week old touring boots, looks like it was deliberate

[Paul B]

Does anybody on here have 1st hand experience of any guiding outfits in Les Arcs? I failed to book in time to get on one of Alison Culshaws' courses this year.

[SA Chris]

My brother's sister in law lives there, I can see if she recommends anyone.

For when?

[Paul B]

25/3 for a week (conditions allowing obv.). I'm only after a day or so.

[SA Chris]

PM sent