Ski Europe Now

Planning Ahead Part 3.

Sounds like Morzine isn't a good a spot as Avoriaz Philthy.  Some of the reports say Avoriaz is more ideally suited for families and more family friendly anyway.

Planning Ahead...

is kinda hard when certain crucial information isn't available.  I know that in February there are a lot of school holidays so the ski slopes would be absolutely packed, but there is no way to figure out the French school holidays for 2014.  Maybe in six months I can figure this out but this information is key; I sure as hell don't want to be anywhere near the ski resorts during the school holidays.

Flims-Laax Ski Video: Lower Part of Piste #10.

Told you there were more to come.  Here is a fairly lengthy video of the bottom portion of Piste #10, the only piste available to ski all the way down to the base area of Flims.  Pretty darn flat with a lot of sloppy snow.  In deeper snow or really sticky conditions I could easily see beginners and/or intermediates floudering; being able to skate effectively would be key.  Snowboarders would have to give up all hope and paddle out with one foot out of their board or walk.  Ooorrr, you plan accordingly and keep your speed up so you don't have to do this.  However, at busier times of the season you may be dodging a lot of other skiers.  This piste on the lower sections is pretty tame with a couple pitches approaching 20 degrees but only for about 50 or so meters; fairly wide overall at around 30-40 meters wide; and pretty long, probably two kilometers from the bottom station of the Grauberg tram.  Enjoy.

 

Already Planning Ahead...

for both 2013 and 2014.  Going back to Austria in 2013 and obviously someplace with a snow sure record late in the season so I will probably start researching now.  For 2014 my friend Philthy and his fam dambly want to go over in February which opens up a whole lot of possibilities because this is right in the middle of the season and one would hope that all the resorts are open.  It is nice to go in April for spring skiing but a lot of resorts are already shut down at that time and the weather can still be pretty poopy.  At least in February if the weather is poopy it probably isn't raining.  So, with February 2014 the tentative dates, I would consider Portes du Soleil, an area with twelve different resorts all connected by lift and/or bus service and under one lift pass.  After looking at the ski map the resort town of Morzine looks to be the largest and most central point.  This resort is on my bucket list of resorts I would love to ski but timing was always going to be an issue until 2014.  Sooo, this may be a very good option.  Of course, this really depends on Philthy and fambly too.  We'll see.

Flims-Laax Ski Video: Piste #24.

Okay, after beating the dead horse known as Piste #12, time for something new:  Piste #24!  Enjoy!!

 

More coming the following days so stay tuned.

In the video you can hear me say Piste # 24 turns into Piste #16; this is incorrect.  I stay on Piste #24 all the way down in the video.  The first portion is black, the middle a red, and the bottom a blue.  Sorry for any confusion.

Flims-Laax Skiing Video: Piste #12 Part 3.

Here is another fine cinematic gem from Flims-Laax, the third video of Piste #12, an easier blue run connecting the Plaun-Nagens gondola and the Scansinas six-pack chair.  Kinda boring but the idea is to give folks some inkling of what the piste is like so I hope it works.  Enjoy.

 

Uploading Videos.

I am busily uploading my ski videos from the latest trip to Youtube and then embedding them in the blog.  I also need to get going on writing some reviews of this most recent trip and prior ones.  It will take a while so bear with me.  One dislike about Youtube:  the original videos were recorded at 960 but Youtube downgrades the quality to 720.  Dammit.

Second Flims-Laax Ski Video: Piste #12 part 2 and Piste #17.

Another skiing video from Flims-Laax.  Enjoy.

 

I promise the videos from Saas Fee are much better; I was able to record in better light.

First Video: Flims-Laax Piste #12!

Here is the first video from Flims-Laax of me skiing.  Sorry about the crappy lighting; I completely forgot to get my GoPro system set up for the first day of skiing and wouldn't you know that was the only real bluebird day.  Go figure.  Anyway, I like the reconfigured mounting I worked out for the chest harness; the videos are no longer five minutes of looking at my feet.  Hope you like them better Greg.

 

More to come for sure.

Time for a Break.

Even now that the ski season is pretty much done and cooked here in the northern hemisphere, I STILL get some hits for skiing in Europe in October and November.  Really?  Already?  After a great season in Europe people are now starting to think about skiing in October?  Holy cow that's OCD.  Me, I want to give my footies a break from the boots, clean everything up, tune my skis and put on summer wax, and break out the bikes.  Besides which, you certainly can't ski the King anymore; Monday was probably the drop dead day for that (unless you want to walk over mud and rocks).  There are huge brown spots all over the Kaiser and it looks awful; nothing like last April and May.  I remember skiing the King on May 16 and it was almost all white until the very bottom.  Huge change compared to this season.