Anyone planning a ski or snowboard trip this winter?
Comments
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To be fair my "light skis" are an ancient pair of near skimo race skis I got off an old Swiss mountain man several years ago.
Bit like trying DH on a roadie
I remember my first season in my gap year when the K2 Seth Pistols were a massive off piste powder boat - 90 underfoot! 😁We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
My favourite skis when I did my seasons were a pair of 207 K2 Extremes.ddraver said:To be fair my "light skis" are an ancient pair of near skimo race skis I got off an old Swiss mountain man several years ago.
Bit like trying DH on a roadie
I remember my first season in my gap year when the K2 Seth Pistols were a massive off piste powder boat - 90 underfoot! 😁
Glen Plake used to shred the bumps on a pair of 210s!
Wide skis, let alone fat skis hadn't been thought of. To put a grove in the snow on piste you genuinely had to carve, putting the ski into reverse camber, no just leaning over as now!
We all managed to ski the powder and the piste and the bumps and the gates on a single set of skis.
I think your analogy is more using an XC MTB to do DH MTB.
However the design improvements have certainly made it all a better experience. It does make me laugh though when your 1 or 2 week punter rocks up on a pair of fatties rather than an all round ski.
I totally get being a seasonnaire or a local and having different skis for different purposes though.0 -
https://www.foto-webcam.eu/
A good way to check the condition in Europe and see some nice shots.0 -
I think you've just committed the Rick Chasey crime of offensive abbreviations.Dorset_Boy said:
Today's youff, unable to ski the pow unless they are on massively wide skis eh?!!!!ddraver said:It's pretty nippy. But warmer today but I'm not up the hill.
Looks like another dry spell for a while yet tho. Time to swap the big skis for the light skis again...
Should be able to ski the pow well on anything!
Glad to see sense has finally prevailed and the resorts will get their much needed British visitors again.0 -
I ski with soft 180s on everything. I'm simple like that. The rental shops don't like me with their gold, silver, platinum, whatever skis.0
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Dorset_Boy said:
My favourite skis when I did my seasons were a pair of 207 K2 Extremes.ddraver said:To be fair my "light skis" are an ancient pair of near skimo race skis I got off an old Swiss mountain man several years ago.
Bit like trying DH on a roadie
I remember my first season in my gap year when the K2 Seth Pistols were a massive off piste powder boat - 90 underfoot! 😁
Glen Plake used to shred the bumps on a pair of 210s!
Wide skis, let alone fat skis hadn't been thought of. To put a grove in the snow on piste you genuinely had to carve, putting the ski into reverse camber, no just leaning over as now!
We all managed to ski the powder and the piste and the bumps and the gates on a single set of skis.
I think your analogy is more using an XC MTB to do DH MTB.
However the design improvements have certainly made it all a better experience. It does make me laugh though when your 1 or 2 week punter rocks up on a pair of fatties rather than an all round ski.
I totally get being a seasonnaire or a local and having different skis for different purposes though.
Yeah, I happened to be in an Ellis Brigham store a few weeks ago and a fella was adamant he wanted a pair of fatboys as his skis for his annual 2 weeks of skiing. To be fair to the guy serving him, he tried to steer the fella to all-rounders but he wasn’t listening, so fatboys he bought.0 -
https://lastfrontierheli.com/news/my-favourite-ski-of-all-time/
He's nailed it!
I'm sure I'd find them awful now and really, really hard work. However they were uber cool with the muti coloured base, and Glen Plake is a total legend of the sport, and he skied on them! Still have them in the shed though.0 -
Does anyone know if I’ll need to do all the documentation for both Switzerland and France when I fly to Geneva? The weekend is in La Plagne, so clearly need the French bit, just not 100% sure about the Swiss part.0
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Specifically no, but before the french ban you had to show (in reality, just say) which one you were going to
(seems like a few brits took the risk and said they were going to CH before crossing the border in a car)We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
ddraver said:
Specifically no, but before the french ban you had to show (in reality, just say) which one you were going to
(seems like a few brits took the risk and said they were going to CH before crossing the border in a car)
The only time I've flown into Geneva, I specifically went out on the French side, as the car hire that side was about half the price (and I was going to France anyway).0 -
Even if I don't ski, I'd not mind being at my local ski resort at the mo (if I were in France)...
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Ok, thanks guys. My brother isn’t 100% sure whether the car hire is on the French or Swiss side (he gets a great deal so don’t want to change it).0
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Chatting with old pal last night, we recalled a ski trip staying in Megève when we went back to pick up another guy joining us couple days in from Geneva airport and took the easy motorway route, crossing the frontier, without our passports which we had left back in the hotel... Easier times.kingstonian said:Ok, thanks guys. My brother isn’t 100% sure whether the car hire is on the French or Swiss side (he gets a great deal so don’t want to change it).
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Yeah, that’s the problem - things were so much simpler when I last went through GVA airport. Probably best to be safe and do the belt n braces approach, filling in forms etc for Switzerland and France. Bit of a ballache, but far better than being turned back.0
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(this is probably not the right approach to take!!)
It does seem like the checking of these details is really not as thorough and comprehensive as it could be so as long as you've made an effort I think you'll be fine unless you're extremely unlucky.
Just remember to get stamped in and out now 😥We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
As you are flying to Geneva you HAVE to comply with the Swiss entry requirements or you won't be bording the plane in the Uk. It is irrelevant whether you exit on the French side or not as the Swiss authorities have made it very clear as the airport is in Switzerland.kingstonian said:Ok, thanks guys. My brother isn’t 100% sure whether the car hire is on the French or Swiss side (he gets a great deal so don’t want to change it).
So you need either a PCR within 72 hours or an Anitgen within 24 hours, and a Swiss PLF. You also need your proof of vaccination certificates. I can't remember what documentation you need for the new French rules.
It is best to print all of these out in hard copy before you get to the airport as it will be much quicker to have them checked that way. Swiss passport control will want to see everything.
On your return, you are coming from a border area (Rhone Alpes) so don't need anything other the the UK PLF and your return lateral flow test booked. I'm assuming you will need a reference for the LFR in order to complete the UK PLF.
The UK PLF is a pain in the derriere in comparison to the Swiss one, so try to complete what you can before you leave the UK.
Another tip is to print off the latest QR code from your NHS certificate and laminate it. Often easier than getting out you phone or a soggy bit of paper to have it scanned in resort. Others have saved it as their homescreen on the phone.
You might also want to download the French Tous Anti Covid app.
You may also need to be able to prove your ID along with the vaccination pass to the local Gendarmes.
There are good, but long threads on the Snowheads forums about it all.0 -
ddraver said:
(this is probably not the right approach to take!!)
It does seem like the checking of these details is really not as thorough and comprehensive as it could be so as long as you've made an effort I think you'll be fine unless you're extremely unlucky.
Just remember to get stamped in and out now 😥
If it was just me and my brother travelling, I’d be a bit more carefree. But I’ll also have my 2 sons with me and they’d be devastated if we had problems. You know how it is, just one grumpy fella checking your passport and all hell is let loose.0 -
Dorset_Boy said:
You might also want to download the French Tous Anti Covid app.
Yeah, just saw a post from the British Embassy in Paris saying to use this for the Pass Sanitaire... when I was in France in August, the NHS app worked fine, so I questioned the advice. No reply yet.0 -
It might lax on the Swiss / Franco border, but it certainly not lax at the airport. Simply you won't be able to check in / drop bags if you don't have all the Swiss documentation on the way out.ddraver said:(this is probably not the right approach to take!!)
It does seem like the checking of these details is really not as thorough and comprehensive as it could be so as long as you've made an effort I think you'll be fine unless you're extremely unlucky.
Just remember to get stamped in and out now 😥0 -
So is it easier to fly to chambery than faff around at Geneva? Assuming you want to end up in France?0
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Dorset_Boy said:
As you are flying to Geneva you HAVE to comply with the Swiss entry requirements or you won't be bording the plane in the Uk. It is irrelevant whether you exit on the French side or not as the Swiss authorities have made it very clear as the airport is in Switzerland.kingstonian said:Ok, thanks guys. My brother isn’t 100% sure whether the car hire is on the French or Swiss side (he gets a great deal so don’t want to change it).
So you need either a PCR within 72 hours or an Anitgen within 24 hours, and a Swiss PLF. You also need your proof of vaccination certificates. I can't remember what documentation you need for the new French rules.
It is best to print all of these out in hard copy before you get to the airport as it will be much quicker to have them checked that way. Swiss passport control will want to see everything.
On your return, you are coming from a border area (Rhone Alpes) so don't need anything other the the UK PLF and your return lateral flow test booked. I'm assuming you will need a reference for the LFR in order to complete the UK PLF.
The UK PLF is a pain in the derriere in comparison to the Swiss one, so try to complete what you can before you leave the UK.
Another tip is to print off the latest QR code from your NHS certificate and laminate it. Often easier than getting out you phone or a soggy bit of paper to have it scanned in resort. Others have saved it as their homescreen on the phone.
You might also want to download the French Tous Anti Covid app.
You may also need to be able to prove your ID along with the vaccination pass to the local Gendarmes.
There are good, but long threads on the Snowheads forums about it all.
Appreciate you posting this. Very useful checklist to work through.
I already have the Tous Anti Covid app sorted. Agree on printing everything out - we did that in Oct when we had to go to Holland and it saved all manner of hassle.
My sons have their second jabs next Saturday - as soon as that’s done I’ll get all the forms completed (as you say, will hopefully make getting through the airport easier).
Good tip to save the QR code as the home screen.
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Something else to throw out there ....apologies in advance for asking you guys......
I have 13 and 15 year sons travelling with me. Both will be double jabbed. Two questions:
1) Do under 16’s need to use the Tous Anti Covid app in France? If not essential to use it, what else can they use for access to restaurants, cafes, ski lifts etc etc etc ?
2) After I had my jabs, I got the associated QR codes from the NHS Covid app and put them straight into the Tous Anti Covid Opp, which gave me my pass. But under 16’s can’t use the NHS Covid app, so how do they do the same?0 -
Sure this will have the answer:
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=156480
or this
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=1581010 -
Thanks !
The forum you pointed me had a link to this, which answered my question.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nhs-covid-pass-for-12-15-year-olds-for-international-travel
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Quite glad I'll not be in France yet for another five weeks though... the infection rates over there are nuts at the moment - Haute Savoie (for instance) is 4076/100k at the moment, but reckon they'll pass their peak very soon with rates that high. I'll be taking a proper mask for the train journey. Even if symptoms are mild, I still don't want to catch the thing on my hols.
https://covidtracker.fr/dashboard-departements/0 -
Quite stark when you open that link and see literally every part of France in black.0
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To be fair, their threshold is >1000 (in UK it's 1600), but even at 1600, I think only one département (Cantal) wouldn't be black.kingstonian said:Quite stark when you open that link and see literally every part of France in black.
EDIT - looks like they might nudge over a rolling 7-day average of 300k cases per day in the next day or two.0 -
Be interesting to see when cases in France begin to fall. Whitty said it would be a hairpin turn in the UK and that appears to be the case but don’t know what factors have driven that and whether they are the same in France.
Here’s hoping the next 3 weeks sees a big drop.1
