Skiing

Ha ha. I bet they’ve had to do that once or twice.

No eyelids were batted when they came to pick me up, so I suspect you're right.

Has anyone skied in Italy this year? What are they doing about checking vaccination status?

They were very hot on it two weeks ago.

• Italian passenger locator form and vaccination status, and -ve LFT giving a fit to fly certificate needed to get in to the country
  
• NHS Covid vaccination pass QR code (either app or printout) which counts as their Super Green Pass, to enter restaurants, and you needed to link that to your ski pass each day (through an app or in person at the ticket office)
  
• VERY strict about FFP2 masks - NOT surgical or fabric etc - on nearly all lifts, and everybody seemed to be wearing them indoors etc.
  
  

It was all fine though once those hoops are jumped through.

Thanks @si_mon628 this is what I heard. Are they doing the same for kids over 12 do you know?

Not sure what the age bands/requirements are I'm afraid, we were all adults. Weren't many kids around as it wasn't a school holiday time.

Its a real long shot I know, but has anybody got a couple of avalanche transceivers I could borrow/rent for a couple of weeks?

Off touring at the weekend, there has been a fresh dump, and just found out that our transceivers are in storage in another city!

I would if I wasn't going to morzine next week. Sorry!

Can you rent them from the UK shops like Ellis Brigham or snow and rock?

Can you rent them from the UK shops like Ellis Brigham or snow and rock?

Thanks to you prompting me, I looked at rental options again. Turns out that https://www.outdoorhire.co.uk/ do a reasonably good value deal.

Two full sets, 21 days, £130...with £150 security deposit. Far better than the £25+ per day per kit you have to pay in resort where we are going.

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Bit blowy out?

3 valleys heaven

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It's amazing how quickly you can go off people.

I'm fucking gutted at the snow tbh. Had some really awesome uphill plans but the avalanche risk in the area has gone from 1/5 to 5/5

Really not sure I can sustain two weeks of downhill skiing without getting bored so fingers crossed the snowpack consolidates quickly.

3 out of 5 avalanche danger rating here, if the scale on the piste boards is meaningful for your type of escapade.

Boots! Well, boots and position - I bought a pair of boots from Ski Patrol on Fulham Road, which was recommended to me. I told the fitter that I was an early-intermediate who wanted some boots to grow into, but that wouldn’t be a pain to learn in. I left the shop with some Technica Mach1 MV 110’s, which are (to my very ignorant eyes) nice boots.

I had a lesson today and the instructor was very disappointed in my “bending ze knees”, and I’m wondering if I’m just an idiot who can’t understand what they want me to do, or if the flex of the boots is possibly a factor - at 110 some Googling shows them to be stiff, and reading a review of the boot they’re for “advanced and lighter experts”, neither of which is me.

I can bend my ankle to the point that my knee obscures the end of the boot - by putting my entire body weight through my shin.

110 is a pretty stiff boot, too stiff for a beginner I’d say, unless you’re heavy which I think you’re not?

Try renting an 80-90 boot?

As with cars, the answer to most problems is spending more money

When I left to go on this holiday I was 80kg, a week and a half of French ski-resort food may have added a little to that.

That aside- being able to bend your ankle is, I’m taking from your comment, handy?

Concentrate on keeping your upper body in line with the fall line, and rotating at the hips. That'll help keep your knees bent, even with stiff boots. Have they got you doing the exercise where you balance your poles on the tops of your wrists, keeping the poles in line with the bottom of the piste? It's a good exercise for that.

For skiing yes. In general too.

Have you got stiff ankles?

Challenge is that if I bend my knees, I stick my bum out, which moves my weight backwards, so then I bend forward at the hips, and the instructor shouts at me.

That's why having your legs at a different angle to your upper body helps. Stops the Meester Froggy impressions.

Have you got stiff ankles?

I don’t think so, fairly flexible I’d say.

I think that what the instructor means is “bend your ankles, and then you’ll have to bend your knees”, and I’m struggling with the ankle part.

Bend knees, lean forward. You should have a fair bit of your body weight supported by the front of your boots, ie shins