J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by powderhound

This year's riot of wild and wondrous skiing (and boarding) hits the cinemas in a couple of weeks, courtesy of Black Diamond.

If you've been along to one before, you'll know this is a great way to get yourself pumped for the season - expect the usual mixture of film and an entertaining interval with personalities and some great prizes to be won (including Ski Holidays to the USA).

The dates so far are as follows :-

29th October, Monday, Oxford Vue
31st October, Wednesday, Milton Keynes Odeon
1st November, Thursday, Leamington Spa Apollo
5th November, Monday, Portsmouth Vue
6th November, Tuesday, Southampton Cineworld
7th November, Wednesday, Snowsport GB at Vue West End
13th November, Tuesday, London Vue West End
14th November, Wednesday, London Vue West End
15th November, Thursday, London Vue West End
19th November, Monday, Nottingham Cineworld
20th November, Tuesday, Newcastle Empire
21st November, Wednesday, Edinburgh Vue
22nd November, Thursday, Glasgow Odeon
23rd November, Friday, St Andrews New Picture House
26th November, Monday, Perth Playhouse
27th November, Tuesday, Glasgow Film Theatre
28th November, Wednesday, Aberdeen Vue AND Perth Concert Hall - Norie Miller Studio
29th November, Thursday, Edinburgh Vue AND Sheffield Cineworld
30th November, Friday, Stirling Macroberts
3rd December, Monday, West Thurrock Vue AND Manchester Vue Red Cinema
4th December, Tuesday, Brighton Cineworld AND Aberdeen Vue AND Leeds Light Vue
5th December, Wednesday, Reading Vue
6th December, Thursday, Fulham Vue AND Inverness Eden Court Theatre
7th December, Friday, Wimbledon Ski Club of GB
10th December, Monday, Bath Odeon AND Ambleside Zeffirellis
11th December, Tuesday, Exeter Vue
12th December, Wednesday, Bristol Vue AND Cardiff Vue
13th December, Thursday, Cheshire Oaks Vue
18th December, Tuesday, Cambridge Vue
19th December, Wednesday, Clapham Picturehouse
20th December, Thursday, London Vue West End
8th January, Tuesday, Fulham Vue
10th January, Thursday, London Vue West End
15th January, Tuesday, Edinburgh Vue Omni
16th January, Wednesday, Aberdeen Vue

To book tickets or to find out more, go to www.warrenmiller.co.uk

freezywater wrote:Enquiring minds want to know 8)

GFS for Geneva is showing temperatures dropping 10-15 degrees over the next couple of days, staying cold for a week, then a good chance of some precipitation... 8)

Wait and see, but it's going to be significantly colder across the Alps for the next week - which will cool the ground nicely after the latest mild interval.

Jan I Stenmark wrote:December is spent bent over Runes, reading Tarrow cards, gazing into Schnapps glasses

And of those, the latter does without doubt produce the most optimistic snow forecasts... and is definitely the most fun.

Thanks, Jan - some great info there and reinforces the point that there is often great skiing to be had in some of the lesser-known resorts; and the less well-known / popular a mountain is, the longer the snow will stay.

Hmm, the longer-range forecasts are looking interesting... :D

Prestonian wrote:I may just book a flight for early Feb and then book the hotel/hostel nearer the time.

I'd recommend doing late January if you can - to avoid the half-term break; slopes will be less crowded and accommodation much easier to find.

Other than that, your choice of resorts with decent snow will almost certainly be better in January than December... although my onion skins are telling me we might get an earlier start this year... :lol:

Apparently, according to this thread here it has something to do with onion skin thickness.

Obviously local onions will be the most accurate so I urge everyone to head down to their nearest supermarket tomorrow and demand the entire stock of French, Austrian and Swiss onions!

We can then produce an entirely scientific and robust forecast for the entire season.

I think we will need to place our onions in a row for this - in date order of picking - to give us a snow profile for the winter.

But seriously... there was plenty of snow in many places, particularly toward the end of last season. We just need it to arrive earlier and hit harder (and lower) than it did last year!

Onionhound

Hi IceGhost, welcome aboard.

Ok, first off I hope your injuries are healing well; take your time and make sure everything is mended right before you ski again. You'll enjoy it so much more.

Now, I think the title of your post is wrong. 8) After an "adventure" like that you are, seriously, lucky to be alive!

Modern equipment makes it very easy to quickly access some very dangerous places, and to ski fast well before you really understand how to ski right.

I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm at all - but think you need to just redirect it a little for the moment. Learn everything you can about mountains, about snow and ice, your equipment and your ability and take your time to practice in safe locations.

The absolute best way to deal with situations like that is to avoid getting into them in the first place :-

Don't ski in areas that you don't know are within your ability.
Don't get lost.
Don't ski alone - ever.

You obviously have a feel for the mountains so how about taking some time to enjoy them at a more pedestrian pace? Go hiking / walking and immerse yourself - look at the landscape; visualize yourself skiing down a slope - what if you fell just there? what if your ski bust over there? Sit and watch the view, do some route-finding, plan escape routes in your mind, and watch the weather. Slow down a little... 8)

Keep it real, dude, and remember to take care of your body enough so that you'll still be skiing when you're 80!

Powderhound

Hey blaze, hmm a nice mixed set of requirements... 8)

I think you should add Les Arcs to your short list - it has superb skiing for all levels (definitely ticks your first three boxes), and will probably suit your beginners better than either of the others.

The nightlife will be wildest in Val, but not too shabby in Tignes either (Lac livelier than Val Claret). Depends how wild you want it... Les Arcs is probably the least riotous but still plenty of fun to be had.

TBH, with 14 of you, you'll probably be able to get a party started in most bars! :lol:

Hi Daiana

Welcome to the world of skiing - you will never leave! 8)

Pavel covers the bases pretty well but (I'm assuming you're in the UK) there are some specific pointers you might find useful.

• Get as familiar as you can with the jargon, and read up on the basics of technique - this will help you make faster sense of the lessons once you hit the snow. Browse through the Ski Technique section here on j2ski and scan the old forum discussions.


• Find some pictures of mountains and put them on your wall (I have a beautiful panorama of Mont Blanc dominating my lounge), and imagine yourself there.


• Get as fit as you can before you go - learning to ski is great fun, but hard work.


• Time your holiday to avoid the peak weeks (Xmas and the February half-term) if you can. March is a good time to ski - not too cold, good snow and few crowds (usually).


• Go somewhere small - as beginners you don't need a big mountain; you want somewhere you can get to know quickly. With ski resorts, small usually means friendly.


• Pick somewhere that you can take a day off and do something else (like sit in a Spa!) to rest those aching muscles.


• Have Fun! Learning is fun, falling is fun (usually), snow is fun, face-plants are, er, a good excuse to break for a hot chocolate or something stronger...

And finally... start getting excited! You can do that now - the solstice is well past and the days are getting shorter. Forget summer (not difficult if you're in the UK at the moment!), it's now winter you live for...

Powderhound