The Skiers & Snowboarders Thread

[ayebee]

I see one pic here so far ... nice.. so posting one of my favourites.
First ride up in morning at St Anton.


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[Seat0B]

Fixed a typo error
You're welcome.


Miss QS was there first week in Feb

My destinations
Cardrona NZ
Mt Shut NZ (not a typo)

Perisher AU
Thredbo AU
Hotham AU
Buller AU

Trois Valleè FR
Les Arcs FR
Val d'Isere FR

Whistler CA
Blackcomb CA (before amalgamation)
Norquay CA coldest day ever -45C
Banff CA
SilverStar CA
Big White CA

Alta US
Snowbird US
Canyons US
Park City US
Deer Valley US

Winter Park US
Steamboat Springs US
Copper Mountain US
Aspen US
Breckenridge US
Vail US
Beaver Creek US

Hakuba JP
Madarao JP

And then Covid hit....

Main domestic: Perisher
Usual routine:
0720 Skitube to Blue Cow
Cowpuccino
Summit Chair at rope drop
Rock Garden /kamikaze
Excelerator - ridge quad until 10am
Bail from Blue Cow via Terminal Quad to Pleasant Valley Quad
Ski to SunValley via Happy Valley
Sun Valley TBar
Eyre / Olympic until 1230
Down to lunch via Leichardt TBar (now a quad). Or via Olympic to Midstation down all the way to Telemark TBar
Lunch at Perisher Manor (prices are competitive with elsewhere given the almost always guaranteed free tables, no crowds, and table service
I tend not to ski after lunch as basically we don't stop after Cowpuccino until Perisher Manor

We do almost the same daily routine in Perisher as you guys - although we also love a few runs on Bloody Mary, Schnaxl and Blue Calf at Guthega to warm up. We also ski till late lunch at 2.30 or so and then just ski back from lunch venue to Perisher car park and call it a day. Plus I’ve stopped doing Kamikaze since both knees were replaced….

 

[Seat0B]

saddled with children.

Won’t be long until they whoop your sorry ar$e down the mountain!

 

[Cynicor]

Won’t be long until they whoop your sorry ar$e down the mountain!

Oh I do hope so. My dearest wish, apart from them generally being happy and healthy, is that they can and want to break trail for me in the backcountry when we snow camp to do some decent snow project

 

[tassie6]

Great thread to start, thankyou!

Advice I can give based on:

NZ
Season at TC (doesn’t get enough love!), but other visits to Remarks and Cardrona

North America
2 x Seasons at Fernie, visits to Panorama,
Revelstoke, Sunshine, Kicking Horse, Whitefish

Europe: have visited a couple times but snow gods did not smile on me, no useful advice here (the trips were not snow focused, so not all lost)

Japan, 4 visits, mix of:
Niseko, Furano, Asahidake, Hakuba (mainly Cortina), Myoko, Nozawa

Australia
Mt Field

 

[offshore171]

I see one pic here so far ... nice.. so posting one of my favourites.
First ride up in morning at St Anton.

View attachment 388674
View attachment 388672

Nice!

St Anton is probably the best all-round ski region in the world.

In terms of the thread topic in general, I think Austria provides the ultimate total ski experience, from both the terrain perspective, but also the intangibles, the atmosphere. It's the cradle of skiing.

My trips from memory have been:

Austria x8 (St Anton, Solden, Ischgl and many others)
Japan x7 (Shiga, Myoko, Hakuba and others. Myoko the pick)
Italy x1 (3 weeks in Dolomites)
Switzerland x2 (mostly Zermatt)
US x2 (Colorado and Alaska)
NZ x2 (Mt Hutt, Queenstown and Heli)
Canada x1 (3 weeks in Banff)
And other short visits a day skiing here and there in Germany, Italy.

I'm not a huge fan of the current trend for big conglomerates like Vail taking over resorts and jacking up prices and annexing all the small businesses. It just "disneyfies" the place and kills the atmosphere. I think the Austrian resorts have largely pushed back against this.

The other thing I try to avoid is some of the resorts in Europe that are targeted by huge groups of pommies on package tours. Basically Mallorca or Benidorm in the snow! They mostly head for the French resorts, but Austria is not immune (eg: Mayrhofen).

Pics - good idea.
Here's a pic from Alaska last year

 

[NoName]

Not nearly as extensive a resume as many/most on this thread. In fact, in the scheme of things virtually nothing. Do love it though but limited opportunity. That said:

1993 - Perisher
1994 - Thredbo
1995 - Perisher
1996 - Perisher
.
.
.
.
.
Etc etc
.
2023 - Whistler

26.5yrs away from the snow but confirming it’s like riding a bike.

Going for a week at Whistler again in January.

 

[Quickstatus]

First ride up in morning at St Anton.

Im a Volkl as well, but Mantras/kendo

Noosa Yoghurt - based in Colorado - of course




Attended the Deer Valley Moguls World Cup a few years ago. Miss QS competed
Its an iconic event for those in freesyle. Its a night event so dress appropriately
That's me waving the Aussie flag.
Miss QS selection to the WC team was unexpected. But we managed to get 2xJ Classic rewards released as part of the QF WP unwritten benefit at the last minute in February for SYD-SFO and return so we could go watch. Didn't bring skis but took this flag in the skibag.




3 storey Treehouse somewhere in Colorado. The spot is secret and can only be accessed via a mogul field



The mogul field to get to treehouse
No grooming here EVER. No Euro carving and therefore very few snowboarders as well...
On that day it was icy except at the treeline. Mstr QS1 showing how its done

 

[ayebee]

Im a Volkl as well, but Mantras/kendo

Impressive by Miss QS !

Very observant. Those were rentals, but my "daily ride" is also Volkl Deacon 80's (2019 orange/brownish version).

 

[offshore171]

A few random pics from trips
Zermatt


Dolomites


Lech am Arlberg, Austria


Myoko, Japan

 

[Doddler]

From Falls Creek barman and Hotham towie in the 80s to ski instructor in French Switzerland in the 90s to plain vanilla skier in the 2000s, happy to chip in.

Recent trips include Lech/Arlberg, Austria & Les Carroz/Grand Massif, France in 2023, and Hakkoda and Appi Kogen, Japan in 2024.

January 2025 will be Val Thorens/3 Valleys and Les Arcs/Paradiski, France. Maybe Japan again March or April 2025.

In addition to ski.com.au forums, Ski Club 2.0, real snow reports!, snowHeads ski forum is a UK-based forum with lots of useful info and a good community.

e2a photos
Lech


Les Carroz


Hakkoda


Appi

 

[Doddler]

Oh, and my faves:
For hardcore skiing, Espace Killy - Val d'Isere and Tignes is hard to beat.
For ambiance combined with great skiing, Lech and Selva
For all-day cruising, fooding & boozing, Portes du Soleil

 

[goosh]

You can buy (freehold/own/forever) an apartment there for about $8000 all in. Not a typo.

interested to find more information on this, whether it be in the chat, or sent as direct message.

 

[Mac502]

interested to find more information on this, whether it be in the chat, or sent as direct message.

+1 on this

 

[Doddler]

+1 on this

+2

 

[Seat0B]

m a Volkl as well, but Mantras/kendo

Wow we are channelling each other @Quickstatus! I’m on Volkl Kenjas and Mr Seat0A is in Kendos. We love them. A great reliable all mountain ski. They even hold up well enough in Japanese powder - so far only tried up to knee deep.

 

[Seat0B]

+2

@Cynicor +3

 

[Cynicor]

For those interested in the apartment- Buying a cheap ski home in Japan

 

[Doddler]

Wow we are channelling each other @Quickstatus! I’m on Volkl Kenjas and Mr Seat0A is in Kendos. We love them. A great reliable all mountain ski. They even hold up well enough in Japanese powder - so far only tried up to knee deep.

I've long had a single pair quiver - K2 AMP Aftershocks. Bought over 10 years ago and still going strong, most recently in knee-thigh deep powder in Japan. Also fantastic at speed on European groomers. Just a fantastic ski. I've just bought some Blizzard powder skis, but we'll see how much I use them...

Before the main dump at Hakkoda in March on my trusty K2s

 

[Stealthflyer]

Great to see some stories being shared.
I helped build a club lodge at Hotham in early 80's and still involved there, so these days we ski "epic".

More recent o/s trips have been
2018 - St Anton / Lech / Zurs and Dolomites Superski (based in Arabba)
2019 - another Dolomites Superski, based in Colfosco
2020 - Colorado (Keystone, Breck, Vail, Beaver Creek and A-Basin) based in Frisco, then Park City / Canyons / Snow Basin in Utah, and then over the Pacific to Japan for a week in Rusutsu and another in Hakuba (bad season)
2023 - Andermatt /Sedrun, followed by Solden in Austria

Feb/ Mar 25 we are planning a trip to Dolomites Skirama (Madonna di Campiglio) and Three Valleys in France, with possible add-ons for Val d'Isere and Courmayeur.
It would be these places I would appreciate advice on for good places to stay.

Going back further have also skied
Arosa in Switzerland,
Canada - Whistler, Revelstoke, Kicking Horse and Big White
Japan - Niseko (as well as more recent above)
NZ - Cardrona, Treble Cone, Mt Hutt, Coronet Peak and heliski near Wanaka
Other USA - Jackson Hole, Grand Targhee, Purgatory (Co), Sunrise Park (Az)

Happy to comment on experiences, with proviso "how long ago" is always a consideration.

I orienteered in Madonna Di Campiglio a few years back: the Italy 5 days. A few of the courses were up on the ski areas, requiring us to catch the cable cars up to the starts. I remember thinking I’d like to come back to ski the slopes. However, somehow I just keep returning to Corvara each year for skiing. I love the Sellaronda. The expansive Dolomiti superski area is just fantastic.

I have skiied Val D’isere and that was lovely, but I have a love affair with Italy so the food and culture keeps me going back to Italy.

I’ve given up on Australian skiing. I grew up going to a lodge in Perisher that my grandpa co-founded but I haven’t skiied downhill in Australia for about 20 years. I occasionally take my ancient XC up to Mt Field in Tassie, but that’s not particularly serious skiing. When it snows back home, I’m more likely to pull on my walking boots and do a white Overland track than ski. There’s also a culture of snow trail running in Hobart. People head to the mountains in their trail runners and spikes after a dump!