 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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As a kid growing up in 80's & 90's nobody from my town went on a Ski holiday. It was totally unheard of simply due to the cost.
For me the trend seems to be going back towards this and the sport is becoming more inaccessible, especially in France and the USA.
When I started there was a group of around 6 of us, who all used to go at least once a season on a lads trip. This season nobody is interested as they can't justify the spend on a lads holiday whilst leaving their families at home.
Apologies for the thread hijack Steve!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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countryman - good old Newton Abbot eh... I grew up in Devon..... anyway I hear ya what ya saying - which more people could reflect in similar ways!
welshflyer - well possibly old boots the plastic becomes brittle and dangerous - so thats a reason for not using very old boots that have been stored under the stairs!
gixxerniknik - im not commenting about anything!
russ_e - thats ok - nice to have some thoughts. Yes it might becoming more exclusive again - I dont think thats incorrect but I do think there is elements of the skiing population that totally spends their money / priorities unwisely and the circus of snowsports means apps and stats amongst other things prevails over other barometers. A classic example I often see is older skiers who possess really good all mountain skills but can't carve a ski very well.... versus younger skiers who (unknowingly to them they're not actually doing it but they think they are) who 'carve' but can't do things like kick turns / herringbone walking / stem turns in tricky snow / narrow their stance for moguls and a whole host of other skills.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Eureka
It was all a bit of a rush this morning as I took the kids down for the school bus and it was a few mins late and that meant I was rushed... however I did manage to get to the meeting point OK and record my snow report for the TDC weekly vid OK as well as answer an email and a couple of things before the work day started. Phew - always a rush in the morning.
Anyway I had the same guy this morning that I had had all day the other day and he had nicely cemented much of what we worked on the other day which was awesome to see / hear! He had realised that what you learn in a lesson needs to be practiced typically at a rate of 3 to 1 in order to cement it home. Moving through skill acquisition from 'awareness' of what you need to do, through 'practicing the correct thing' and this finally makes it second nature or 'acquired'..... for most of us most of the time we are trying to practice the correct thing... just look at professional golfers out on the range - trying to practice their technique before the round!
So we headed over towards Tignes for a change of scenery and todays session was the time to introduce pole planting. Its always introduced with a element of in-trepidation as the focus is moved AWAY from the feet and and skis for the first time... it often confuses people and stuffs up everything that has been learnt before hand and leads to some really bad habits immediately. Alas todays went really well and I could not be more chuffed. By the end he was coming down the Fontaine Froid pretty well and the pole plants were AIDING his skiing which is the biggest relief when planting is first introduced.
I treated myself to lunch at the Sun Bar and had been in there for about 30 mins when the Brazilian pm lesson father and daughter walked in for their lunch! I was happy for them to join me - someone for them to hang with. The girl loves chatting to me (even though she got tired in the lesson later on) and today we tried using Google translate as the speaking into the microphone with auto audio translate is pretty cool! We could have a broken conversation - partly as the background noise in the Sun Bar was an issue.
Anyway when it came to lesson time we set off up the Olympic and enjoyed doing a lap of the Green Triangle with an extra Borsat piste added in. She did well and it was quite fun as she got the hang of some of the games we had tried yesterday.
She did tire though bless her and we finished a few mins early in the end.
I managed to see (think its the first time I have seen this) the SAF SAMU chopper set down in 2 locations (one at the bottom of the pitch from the top of the Borsat lift - think someone had managed to hit one of the snow fences perhaps... the other near the bottom of the wall on the Face) to pick up injured people... in both cases the chopper turned its blades off so it must be reasonably serious.
After work I headed home and to be honest I have been chilling a fair bit this evening - pretty tired and my long to do list can wait.
TTFN
Its a lot quieter now the Army are packing their bags!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Loving the conditions. Have been on skis every day and if finishing before it ices up at 3pm, it’s all good.
The forecast looks epic and it will be one of my boards that finally gets used after today.
Cant wait.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks everyone for the infos- arriving when we can get ourselves in gear and onto the motorway! Hopefully Tues or Wednesday- just thinking we may try to avoid the snow on Tuesday driving up the hill.
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Beer sales plummeting now the army have left?
@Steve Angus, Hope you weren’t affected by the power outage yesterday
We’ve had an enjoyable few weeks skiing I think every type of conditions possible but now back in the UK for 10 days , bizarrely the crowds were busier after New Year than around the actual holidays.
We seemed to get a lot of messages from friends and family concerned we had no snow after what the UK media is reporting 
Our Daughter is staying until the end of the month as uni exams are online. Hopefully she’ll be clearing snow from our balcony over the next few days.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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B@Steve Angus, B
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| red 27 wrote: |
| B@Steve Angus, B |
Yup of course well done. You can JUST see the top of it there if you look carefully.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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The snow hath cometh
I was first up this morning and with Olivia and her friend chilling, Ben watched some tv whilst I had breakfast. Its not often that its such a chilled start to the day.
Anyway I headed to town as the snow was starting to fall. Initially it was quite light snow and also quite wet but later on got dryer and heavier before a break in the weather (a little) in the afternoon and now it has moved back in again!
My team were a tiny bit late but it was fine as the first lesson you take in your skiing life is knackering. So indeed with one girl (adult) who had skied a tiny bit before many years ago (remember folks it is a muscle memory sport so it doesnt really mater if you 'haven't skied for 20 years' etc - you have still skied a week before). Anyway the other 2 hadn't skied at all before. We started right at the beginning and by the end of the session we had 2 coming from the top of the Savonnettes and 1 from half way up.... the weather was not enticing to go and use the magic carpet at the top of the mountain so we stayed low intentionally!
It was a +ve morning and hopefully they might realise that having more lessons rather than hacking it out themselves and throwing themselves down green runs is a good thing! We shall see. There is only so much professional opinions you can give people before it just looks like you are trying to sell more sessions with yourself / colleagues... the fun thing is I am pretty much fully booked all week therefore the sessions would be with colleagues.
At lunchtime I was a little damp and tbh a nice hot bath and lie down was quite enticing at that moment in time!
It had brightened up by this afternoon which was lucky as I had a young couple - she had had a couple of lessons on the indoor slopes and he had done a week or two before but it was certainly her first day ever skiing on the real stuff... what a start for her. Anyway it sounded like they had been quite adventurous where they had been in the morning so we headed up and did the green triangle working on a fair few exercises and improving the understanding. Anyway the exercise that really helped her was chasing her down the slopes to put her out of her mental comfort zone (intentionally) and for to realise that she has a lot more control and expertise than she realises. It was a really good session (although idiot UK students straight lining lying on the back of their skis was rather unsettling for all the slope uses in the vicinity at the time).
By the end of the session the weather was moving back in again and the slopes were not only deserted but the soft snow made it just perfect to ski on - why dont more people get out there when there is a cloud in the sky as it was totally skiable up there this pm and the vis was fine!
Anyway I was happy to get home and start the evening chores as I am totally washed out this evening and think there is something coming on so I will take some meds and hit the sack early me thinks.
Ben was at a birthday party this pm and they all went skiing which he just LOVES. Olivia went to club and was GS training on the stade and Clare was the chauffeur although the kids had their moments behaviour wise so was totally over it by the time she got home as well.
So the weather should continue to puke down snow over night and the current temps are higher than forecast so I think all lower resorts are currently getting rain as its just snow here. HOWEVER the good news is that this will be snow for tomorrow and if it carries on like this there will be a LOT of it up there. There is currently 80% of the resort open so hopefully this will get it up towards 100% once PIDA work and grooming is done - so lets say end of this week at latest.
Talking of PIDA they have announced some from 0650 tomorrow. Hold onto your horses.
TTFN
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Sounds promising! I'm out with my friends group next week, 1st day skiing Saturday 14th. We were having a change from Val this year and booked up at a friends place in Grand Massif, Samoens - but we decided to revert back to Val over the weekend just to be snow sure, lucky to find an apartment for us near the lifts/Rond Point. Now buzzing for it.
We might be up for a lesson or two - it's for discussion on the drive down, so will pop into the office if so.
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You know it makes sense.
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It’s certainly snowing now and pretty cold. Weather became quite nast around 1530 with fairly high winds. Great day skiing down to La Daille in the morning. Skiing face in poor visibility was shall we say an error of judgment. Red down from Solaise was great. Once we got back up the olympique the wind had really picked up and we decided to finish at 1600. Lovely time skiing with my son. Great to see his skiing has improved in 2 or 3 days he’s skied with me. Apparently it’s because I ski slower than his mates and he has time to focus on what he is doing.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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It’s going to be a slow opening this morning. Winds of 171km/h recorded last night so lots of PIDA going on.
It should be an epic day when it opens.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Bergmeister, avalanche control
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Bergmeister,
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998,
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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PIDA (plan d'intervention de déclenchements des avalanches).
Basically the managing from an avalanche risk pov of the mountains for safety purposes so open lifts and runs are ‘safe’ and to make sure buildings and infrastructure are kept safe from the threat. This is done through Gasex (remote controlled here in val from the snow room under the Olympic lift) as well as catex where explosives are dropped from wires (e.g the little control huts eg there’s a hut above the folie on the ridge) and finally if needs by by hand charges. Often you’ll see the blast hole under the top of the Madeleine in that little bowl. Once control work completed final pisting as well as the lift ops can then dig out / ready the lifts for opening before Pisteurs give the final thumbs up. The Pisteurs will start ‘close to home’ and on the main areas and spread out. So for eg first thing in the am just the verte piste might be open whilst they blast top of borsat and that gets people skiing as they ‘clear’ more of the mountain. It’s an intricate and skilled process they do each day (whether they need to blast or not) to keep everything as safe as possible. A day like today the PIDA is a long and thorough process.
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| bar shaker wrote: |
It’s going to be a slow opening this morning. Winds of 171km/h recorded last night so lots of PIDA going on.
It should be an epic day when it opens. |
Olympic opened on time and solaise 30 mins late… they needed to get datcha open basically so took time.
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@Steve Angus,
Are the explosive charges in the Gasex system propelled by air pressure? A bit like the pneumatic system in very old department stores which moved paperwork and money around the store.
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| welshflyer wrote: |
@Steve Angus,
Are the explosive charges in the Gasex system propelled by air pressure? A bit like the pneumatic system in very old department stores which moved paperwork and money around the store. |
It’s certainly air pressure yes.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Steve Angus wrote: |
| welshflyer wrote: |
@Steve Angus,
Are the explosive charges in the Gasex system propelled by air pressure? A bit like the pneumatic system in very old department stores which moved paperwork and money around the store. |
It’s certainly air pressure yes. |
Are there actual explosives in a gasex system? I though they were a gas (propane?) air mix that was ignited to produce a pressure wave to release the slope.
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| rogg wrote: |
| Steve Angus wrote: |
| welshflyer wrote: |
@Steve Angus,
Are the explosive charges in the Gasex system propelled by air pressure? A bit like the pneumatic system in very old department stores which moved paperwork and money around the store. |
It’s certainly air pressure yes. |
Are there actual explosives in a gasex system? I though they were a gas (propane?) air mix that was ignited to produce a pressure wave to release the slope. |
That’s my understanding of the system yes. Pisteur Pete in Tignes (a Brit) will know. I’ll try and ask him next time see him.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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i thought snow tires are compulsory now in France. Why snowchains?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@bar shaker, sounds like conditions will be just perfect for the weekend...perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket 
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They used to offer free tours of the Gasex system control from time to time- booked through Val tourist info office. We went a few years back- after a 30 min talk at the Pisteurs station, they took us up on a snowmobile to the computer control hut above Solaise. Absolutely fascinating
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You know it makes sense.
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@rogg,
If you ignite propane in a particular way it is in effect an explosive.
@lynnecha,
The snow making factory would also be an interesting place to visit.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Steve Angus wrote: |
From The Times - very interesting. I have always said Britain can produce world class skiers given the numbers of us doing it - IF ONLY there was decent funding! |
If the proposed indoor slope in Wales happens, that could prove useful, particularly in the SL department
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Poster: A snowHead
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| turms2 wrote: |
| i thought snow tires are compulsory now in France. Why snowchains? |
No you either have to have chains or tyres in many departments in France now in Winter. However the police can also decide to force people to put chains on too if they think it’s needed. We have snow tires but also always have chains in the boot just in case
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| michaelbury17 wrote: |
| @bar shaker, sounds like conditions will be just perfect for the weekend...perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket |
Haha. Yes it’s good out there
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| lynnecha wrote: |
| They used to offer free tours of the Gasex system control from time to time- booked through Val tourist info office. We went a few years back- after a 30 min talk at the Pisteurs station, they took us up on a snowmobile to the computer control hut above Solaise. Absolutely fascinating |
Yes have done the tour / talk too. Amazingly fascinating. Think they still do it. Sign up in TO.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| welshflyer wrote: |
@rogg,
If you ignite propane in a particular way it is in effect an explosive.
@lynnecha,
The snow making factory would also be an interesting place to visit. |
It’s very cool yes
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| swskier wrote: |
| Steve Angus wrote: |
From The Times - very interesting. I have always said Britain can produce world class skiers given the numbers of us doing it - IF ONLY there was decent funding! |
If the proposed indoor slope in Wales happens, that could prove useful, particularly in the SL department |
It can only help eh
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Steve Angus wrote: |
That’s my understanding of the system yes. Pisteur Pete in Tignes (a Brit) will know. I’ll try and ask him next time see him. |
.........and as I am sure you know, you better pull up a chair as that wont be a short conversation with Mr Richmond 
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I can't stop looking at the webcams today, pure filth!! Roll on Friday (and Saturday skiing)!!
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| GreenDay wrote: |
| Steve Angus wrote: |
That’s my understanding of the system yes. Pisteur Pete in Tignes (a Brit) will know. I’ll try and ask him next time see him. |
.........and as I am sure you know, you better pull up a chair as that wont be a short conversation with Mr Richmond |
Ah Pete is a good lad
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
From The Times - very interesting. I have always said Britain can produce world class skiers given the numbers of us doing it - IF ONLY there was decent funding!
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I think with the latest funding cuts that the chap from Quinn Estates is basically underwriting the UK Ski Team.
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FAQ
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