J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by graviteski

It may just be me, but I can't see any link to this pic/pics? :?

And the toolbox pic (later posting) has lost it's link too - but this'll work http://www.j2ski.com/images/pavelski/toolbox.jpg :wink:

All ski hire in the area comes with poles included.

If you pre-book your lift pass online then you will need to collect it from the central pass office in La Clusaz - a little bit tricky if you're based in Merdassier without a car! I'd recommend that you buy it from the pass office at Merdassier when you arrive as there will be little or no queue at that time of year. :wink:

Hi Stink,

Sorry I've taken a while to pick up on your thread here - been spending far too much time in the powder! 8)

A 3/4 day La Clusaz pass will cost you £55/£72. You can find a full list of pass prices on our site

The Etale area is one of the best in La Clusaz with my favourite mountain restaurant too and the beginning of Feb should be about the best time of the year for snow although I don't want to jinx it by saying anything stupid like you'll be guaranteed excellent snow! :twisted:

I believe that the L'Etale apartments may be up near the Medassier/Manogod area of the resort (which is approx 8km out of the village). This area is very good for families with gentle tree-lined blue runs on one side and faster reds on the other.

Let us know if you have any more questions about the area and I'll try to help. :wink:

powderhound wrote:
Our local La Clusaz expert (who seems to be spending too much time out skiing, and not enough time on the Internet lately (;^) ) can maybe tell you more about the non-skiing options.

Powderhound

As soon as my knees give out (which should be any day now!), I'll be back in front of the computer again :wink:

Obviously I would just like to second all that Powderhound said about La Clusaz and Annecy. We regularly have non-skiers staying here with us and none have gone home disappointed. Besides the multitude of local bars and restaurants in the village itself, there's a swimming pool with sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, ice rink (if your knees are up to it) and a host of snowshoe or cross-country ski trails which will be much kinder on your knees.

Mind you, I think that a lot of people forget that they don't have to do something on every day of a chalet holiday and sometimes taking the opportunity of chilling out in the chalet in front of the fire with a good book or DVD should not be overlooked. :)

Feel free to PM me if you need any more info on La Clusaz or our holiday offerings.

Hi Paul,

Just got off the slopes here in La Clusaz this morning and considering the current snow drought and the large numbers of people clamouring to get on the slopes they are holding up pretty well. :) Most people are heading for the La Balme area where the highest skiing is to be found on shaded north facing slopes. The Aiguille and Cret du Merle are still open, although the bottom runs are all on snow-cannon snow which have been running solidly for nearly two weeks now. There is also limited skiing up on Beauregard, but mainly for beginners.

There are a few rocks starting to poke through the snow come the afternoon so the earlier you can get out the better. The piste-bashers are working hard with what snow there is every night but they are fighting a losing battle if no more snow falls in the next week! :cry:

Unfortunately, there is no skiing available at Grand Bornand at the moment as some unfortunate guy forgot to order a part for the snow-making system which meant that they couldn't form any links up to what snow there was - I believe he is looking for a new job for 2007! :oops:

The good news is that the J2Ski forecast is for a top up on the snow levels after the weekend so all is not lost! :D

Just a quick note to all those snow-watchers out there that the snow arrived here in La Clusaz (and probably most of the rest of the Alps) last night, so I strapped on my winter gear for the first time this season and jumped out at first light to take some pics for you all to enjoy! :)

Take a look here for the pics :shock:

Actually I just wanted an excuse to go and run around in the snow and play snowballs for the first time in 6 months! :wink:

You can count me in - I've got about 4 old pairs kicking around at the back of the garage that could seriously do with some TLC but probably a bit past paying for a full service down at the local ski shop. There aren't that many places where you can learn this kind of stuff without going on a full-blown course by one of the equipment manufacturers.

Very interesting thread, makes fascinating reading to us lesser mortals. Especially interested to hear your comments about de-tuning. There were a couple of days last season where the conditions were very forgiving so I took out an older pair of skis with "blunt" edges that allowed me to swing the tails around on my turns (much like drifting the back end of a car) which was great fun!

Looking forward to Monday with skis at the ready. :)

Valid points about the danger on the lifts and the slopes guys. I've never worn an mp3 player on the mountain up until now, but am considering it this year now I've got an mp3 compatible helmet, so at least I'll be a bit safer when I hit something! :lol:

I figure that the long, boring chairlifts will be a good place to turn the volume up and get "in the zone". So has anybody got any good suggestions for tracks that can get me pumped up for some hard, extreme off-piste action?

Also, do skiers listen to the same music as boarders? I do both, but would some tracks work better for skiing than boarding? Tighter turns = quicker tempo?

Hmm, 21st century mountain awareness issues - bring em on!