Skiing experts in here

Blinkz said:
I've always wanted to goto the US as everyone really raves about it, especially Whistler!!
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Just to check you are aware that Whistler is in Canada, in BC to be precise? You will not make friends in Canada if you mistake them for their Southern neighbours but if you have a bit of a death wish it is entertaining to call them Junior Americans. ;)

I'd agree on the snowboarding though, I found it a lot easier to learn than skiing and much faster for progression so you can get onto the more difficult slopes quicker.
 
Scam said:
Tosh. If he goes for a week he'll spend 6 days on his arse and 1 day scraping/leafing down the beginner slopes and annoying all the skiers.
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eh, no way! You'll be going down the slope properly within a day or two on a board, skiing you amble down for days on end before you learn how to do it properly. Just my experience from a lot of people I know who do both.

As to Whistler, really I didn't know that haha. Could have sworn my friend said it was in the US, and he's been! Well where ever it is I've heard good things.
 
The biggest problem is that boarding is for ******'s.

Skiing is elegant, skillful, graceful, masterful. Boarding is just for idiots that get in the way, and try to look "cool" :rolleyes: ;)
 
Blinkz said:
eh, no way! You'll be going down the slope properly within a day or two on a board, skiing you amble down for days on end before you learn how to do it properly. Just my experience from a lot of people I know who do both.
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Not always, a lot depends on the person and tuition.

There's always the option of trying each out (with instruction) at one of the Snowdome's in the UK.

There's one in Tamworth, and 2 that belong to X-scape in Milton Keynes and near Leeds. There's also a new one nearly finished in Manchester, next to the Trafford centre which is due to open in Nov IIRC.

I think all of the above will do block bookings of private lessons to see how you feel about each.
 
paradigm said:
The biggest problem is that boarding is for ******'s.

Skiing is elegant, skillful, graceful, masterful. Boarding is just for idiots that get in the way, and try to look "cool" :rolleyes: ;)
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No need to be rude! Both are great fun, lets not get biased! but I think snowboarding is easier to learn! be that a good OR bad thing!
 
Blinkz said:
eh, no way! You'll be going down the slope properly within a day or two on a board
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I wont disagree that skiing is harder to pick up initially, but it all depends on the person. I will pick you up on saying you'll be going 'down the slope properly' though, as for snowboarders - leafing their way down seems to count as 'properly'. In my experience you rarely see snowboarders carving their way down the slopes properly like you do skiers. Leafing your way down the slope whilst pretending you're <insert pro snowboarder name here> does not count!

Anyhoo, just wanted to get that off my chest. Thread derail over ;)
 
paradigm said:
The biggest problem is that boarding is for ******'s.

Skiing is elegant, skillful, graceful, masterful. Boarding is just for idiots that get in the way, and try to look "cool" :rolleyes: ;)
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Boarding does look much lazier, I'm going with 3 "boarders" in Jan. I was thinking of giving it a go, whilst I'm waiting for them to catch up :p
 
Ive got 3 things to say:

1. Get to Milton Keynes (Or other snow domes, ill look where they are in a sec)
2. Depending on how well you take to it in the snow dome/dry ski slope, book AT LEAST 2 weeks if yours going somewhere big.
3. Buy a couple (Depending on length of stay, i went for 10 days and ran out of clothers :() of jackets/sallopettes, as after sweating on the slopes for a few days, they STINK!

Youll never want to come home!

EDIT: Skiing is MUCH easier to learn, all the boarders i know even say it :p

EDIT 2: Theres a snowslope at Castleford as well, which when going by the shops adress, is about the same distance ans Milton Keynes :D
 
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Scam said:
I wont disagree that skiing is harder to pick up initially, but it all depends on the person. I will pick you up on saying you'll be going 'down the slope properly' though, as for snowboarders - leafing their way down seems to count as 'properly'. In my experience you rarely see snowboarders carving their way down the slopes properly like you do skiers. Leafing your way down the slope whilst pretending you're <insert pro snowboarder name here> does not count!

Anyhoo, just wanted to get that off my chest. Thread derail over ;)
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All skier/boarders that I know say skiing is initially easier but harder to master.
 
I've been to many a resort in France and Val Thorens has been the best for me (I do snowboard however, so preferences differ).

However for quality of snow and, as I assume money isn't an issue here ;) I'd suggest, no, insist on Whistler/Blackcomb.
 
I would say if you are thinking of courcheval area then you should also consider la tania.

Close by and cheaper.

They have the same instructors working that area and within a week you can be on blacks with 1:1 tuition depending on how well you get on with it.

this will not be cheap though, the lessons are significantly higher price and a mix of lessons will see you only getting bored in your group. They are limited by the worst person there.

if you are planning on boarding then do not learn in france, if you can go to canada or america, they are just better at getting it across.

You get a lot of this about skiing being easier, it is to get going quicker on skis as you have 2 edges to balance on not one. But it really gets much tougher after the first week skiing than boarding. So depends if you plan to make this a regular thing.

If you are learning to bored expect bruises and a lot of them for a week!
 
It depends if you want to be in europe or not. Whistler is great but if you want somewhere closer to home then Scandinavia is worth a look. I have been going to a small mountain town in Norway (Voss) since I was about 5 and I find this better than a lot of crowded popular resorts.

There is also a stunning hotel with excellent food/apres ski:- http://www.dehistoriske.com/hotel/fleischer-s-hotel/

The chamonix/mont-blanc area is also very nice.
 
3 Valleys is really good, I went to Meribel and had an absolute blast but that's more a small village type thing with little cosy chalets rather than fancy hotels!

I can't really speak for the other parts of it as we only actually went through about 6 different routes but I'm sure they'll be really nice.

Next time I want to go to an English speaking country, the tuition was excellent however there were occasions where it took a good 4/5 explanations for me to fully understand what the instructor was trying to say.
 
Only thing is dry slope might put you off (especially if its dentex) its a lot less forgiving than snow. (Snowflex is nicer thought) I hate going back to dryslope after coming off snow sessions.
 
I recommend this Ski forum - www.snowheads.com

I did a snoworks - www.snoworks.co.uk - course in Tignes last December. My instructor was Stuart Bernard who also has his own school - www.skifocus.co.uk. Another good instructor is Stewart Woodward, who frequents that forum as well. Snoworks has a DVD - Ultimate Control - which I found very helpful. I may be going to another of their courses in January in Courcheval.

Before you go get your boots fitted properly! I was lucky and managed to get an excellent fit at Snow and Rock, but if you want it done properly the Snowheads recommend CEM - www.solutions4feet.com
 
iraiguana said:
this will not be cheap though, the lessons are significantly higher price and a mix of lessons will see you only getting bored in your group. They are limited by the worst person there.
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I disagree with this. After the initial lesson the instructors were keen to move people between groups ignoring the "level" marketing stuff in the brochure. This was in Val Thorens. I paid €90 for 5 x 2.5hour lessons in a group of 4 all around my age of 20. I was the only english person but the other people spoke excellent english and we had a great time!
 
I've been all over Europe Skiing and then went to Banff, it is in a different league, the Banff Springs looks a lovely place to stay also.

The people are so friendly and the skiing is superb.
 
Una said:
Only thing is dry slope might put you off (especially if its dentex) its a lot less forgiving than snow. (Snowflex is nicer thought) I hate going back to dryslope after coming off snow sessions.
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I did try a dry slope once and hated it. Noisy and painful. Like skiing on a massive brush.
 
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