Tony_H wrote:
Has this made you rethink how you select next years trip?
No, I don't think so. We all had a great holiday in spite of the lack of snow and the wind during the first few days, and they were most unusual weather conditions for the time of year that no-one could have predicted.
We didn't lose a day ski-ing or boarding because of the snow and weather conditions. I admit some people did miss out on a day on the snow, but that was due to either injury, a nasty cold that was going around in the group, or because they'd been out too late partying and drinking too much the night before (!). Come to think of it, the latter factor might be a reason to be more careful selecting a ski resort for next year ;)
Ade73 is an advanced boarder and he was looking for off-piste powder, so that's why one day of being on the hard, icy pistes in Sauze was enough for him! But as I said before, we had planned an emergency escape route to another resort beforehand, and he and his car group of friends had a great time in
Val Thorens for 3 days before the powder arrived in Sauze.
I was ski-ing the first Sunday and during the morning, before the others arrived, I mostly stayed between the top in Sauze and the Sportinia level because that's where the best snow was, and there was hardly anyone there (as it was cold and windy at the top). So I had a good chance to get used to my hired skis and remember how to ski, as I hadn't done it since
Folgarida the year before. And they only charged me 25 euros for my one day lift pass, instead of 35 euros because of the limited ski area.
And in the afternoon I skied with one of the others on the lower half of Sauze and we had a chance to learn how to ski on the ice. I saw it as a learning opportunity and a challenge, rather than something to grumble about. I mean, the good skiers and the instructors could cope with the ice no bother, so the problem was clearly with myself and my lack of technique.
It was only for the first 2 days, Monday and Tuesday, that we were restricted to limited pistes in Sauze, and it was lovely and sunny, and by that time we'd got used to ski-ing on the icy pistes :)
Even those who'd only done one week of ski-ing before this holiday seemed to cope OK with the conditions :)
On Wednesday they opened up the links to
Sansicario and Sestriere and the ski-ing/boarding was great! :)
Thursday we went to
Orelle and skied Val Thorens and there was plenty of snow and it was lovely and sunny, although it was very windy at the top.
Friday they shut the links again but it was snowing and there was plenty of fresh snow, about a foot I think, on the pistes in Sauze, and more at the top I reckon.
And Saturday they re-opened the links and there was plenty of snow and sunshine and most of us went over to Sestriere.
On past family ski holidays there have been times when I have been totally unable to ski because the lifts were all shut. And this has been due to too much snow and the avalanche risk and the wind. The good thing about Sauze is that the trees sheltered us from the wind so the local area could stay open when we were there and it was only the links that shut due to the wind.
So, what I am trying to say is that actually the wind was more of a problem for us in Sauze than the lack of snow, as it was the wind that made them close the links to Sestriere and Sansicario.
We will just have to wait and see what the conditions will be like on next year's J2Ski group holiday to wherever it will be on whatever date. I'm not organizing the holiday next year - one of the others in the group is doing it. I'm sure they will post up about it once we know where and when we're going so that new people from J2Ski can join us :)
