Today was probably the best day of the season, I have skied every day for the last 2 weeks, we had 30cm fresh powder & an avalanche risk of 3, a meter of snow is expected overnight so I expect off piste will be out of the question tomorrow.

Cool. I'll keep an eye on it and hope to meet up if we're not busy. And of course, if anyone in the group would like a lesson, we'd be glad to be of service. PM myself or Skichick or book at Prime skischool and ask for Bruce or Judith.

Wallis was absolutly GLORIOUS!!
Started off with waist deep powder and was able to ride from Belalp all the way down to Naters which is very rare but GREAT if you can do it. (tip, follow a local who knows the way down or it can be very dangerous) Then we had a few days of sunny warm weather which was great then BAMM! A whole shit ton of fresh snow! How much is a shit ton? Enough to close all access in and out of Niederwald (Goms) for a day due to avalanches running a muck. Snowed in we decided to hike and do a few BOTTOMLESS powder runs. The snow just kept puking and puking and we could hear avalanches in the distance which was as humbling as hearing giants break (big waves). We were in a safe zone so we had little worries but still cautious. All in all I was on my board every day for two weeks either at a resort, hiking the backcountry or building kickers to get our air time fix. It was a great two weeks and I cant wait to go back.


All that said the very best moments were sleding and building an igloo with my 14 month old son and 2 year old nephew.

Did someone order more snow?

Any off piste skiing in Europe is not a 'safe zone', unlike 'in bounds' in the US.

The moment you are outside piste markers you are taking a risk. Avalanche risk is rated from 1 to 5, the vast majority of deaths occur when the risk is 3 (conciderable). To have any chance of surviving an avalanche you need to be rescued within 15 minutes, I.E. by somebody your skiing with not piste patrol.

You should always wear a Tranciever and carry a shovel & probe when skiing off piste. All the members of the group need to carry thease items & carry out tranceiver searches.

Avalanches rarely occur on slopes of less than 28 degrees, however if more than 30cm of snow has fallen within 24 hours the risk is elivated. Over the last 3 weeks avalanche risks have been between 3 & 5.
High winds also increase risk.

Your entire post is right on but you don't have to worry about me. I actually went to school for this. (Colorado Mountain College aka Outdoors U.)
According to the pit I had dug and how the layers bonded I considered it to be a safe zone. Also we were mostly riding tree line and down which I consider to be THE best terrain in CH and its very rare to have it this good. Tree riding followed by really steep pastures is insanely fun. I was only above tree line 3 times and that was when we rode at the resorts. The rest of the time was all off piste baby, cause that's where its at. WOO HOO! *
Edit
* Sorry, I'm still stoked. It was some of the best riding I have ever had.

Looks like were getting some freshys for this weekend!

For those who know well Shilthorn.
I have been there only once and cannot remmember very well. What is the best order to do both Schilthorn (and have lunch on the top) and also ski the famous downhill? Where to park best?
Thanks folks!

Park at Lauterbrunnen. Take the cable car, then the train to Murren, walk a bit and take two more cable cars and you are at Piz Gloria at the top of the Schilthorn. Have lunch. Ski down the black run and you're basically following the run of the Inferno, the famous race I guess you are referring to, although it is rarely open as far as Lauterbrunnen.

If you want to do the run of the Lauberhorn, the more famous race in the Jungfrau, you need to take a different route out of Lauterbrunnen - on the train via Wengen to Kleine Scheidigg, then take the Lauberhorn chairlift which will take you somewhere near the start of the race. You can broadly follow the race route down to just outside Wengen.

Skied at Davos (Parsenn) for the first time today. Blue sky, sun shining, long, long, fast pistes, not too many people, unbelieveable views over the mountains.

All made even better because it was half-price thanks to a Raiffeissen voucher!

I shall definitely be going back.

Wish I'd gone to Davos! Went to Braunwald because the weather report looked as good as anywhere, but spent the day skiing in cloud. Nice snow though.

Everybody is saying sh*t these days.


Sh*t skiers say (I agree with the last one)




Vs.

Sh*t snowboarders say

Going to Sörenberg on Sunday 5th Feb if anyone wants to join me. There is a thread with details in Social Events.

I for one, as a snowboarder, am getting tired of the X-games and their so called "progression" which most of the time is nothing more than an extra half of a rotation. What killed it for me was last year and the so called "triple cork" which was not a cork but 180 triple back flip. Awesome? Yes Triple cork? No. The X-games has lost its soul and its courses too small to really push progression and is taylor made for Shaun White.

Enter Travis Rice, hands down the best snowboarder in the world, has created his own competition that makes the x-games look like a kiddie contest. This course looks SICK!

Best viewed enlarged in HD.

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a ski tech or shop in the Fribourg area to get my new pair of skis mounted up? Preferably, this is someone who might have prior experience or could handle mounting Dynafit bindings and another pair of alpine bindings with quiver killers (binding inserts).

I'd be willing to travel a little bit outside Fribourg if necessary for the peace of mind knowing that the mounting will be done well.

Thanks for the help. Hope everyone is stoked for the next storm cycle.

There are some good offers in Manor and places for skis at half price. i bust the brake on one ski, so finally might have to concede that my ancient skis need replacing. Has anyone any recommendations on good deals for new/new-to-me skis?

DOWN Skis

Give these skis a look. I got a couple of pairs this season and am pleased so far. Good deals to be found on this years remaining stock as I recall. New company with interesting design specs and good build quality.

I ended up getting a pair of Salomon x-wave cyclones from Athleticum - less than 300 SFR including bindings. I was going to rent for the rest of the season but decent skis would have cost at least as much as buying, and all the stores sem to have good deals on skis. The Salomon skis were originally listed at 800 SFR and it looks like they used to retail for even more.

Went out with them today. They were good, fast and unforgiving on first assessment.

Anyone know where this might be?
http://vimeo.com/37010338

Yes.


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