Skis for France

[Jay Levitt]

While we're asking about skis for non-Eastern conditions:

I'm 33, male, 180 pounds, 5'9", second season, beginner but rapidly advancing (converted to parallel turns by fifth day out). I'm committed to making this a regular thing, so I bought boots (X-Waves 8.0) and now skis (Elan S8 168), which I love on crud/crust/whatever, but haven't had much experience on powder. This weekend I used them on what someone called "dust-and-crust", and they were decent, but I don't really know what to expect there.

I'm going on a 7-day ski trip to the three valleys in France, followed by a day at Geneva before we fly home. Does the snow there bear any resemblance to what we've got here, or is it all deep powder? Should I even bother bringing the Elans, or just rent there?

 

[TeleGrrrl]

When is your trip?

 

[Jay Levitt]

Doh! Yeah, that'd help. March 12-20.

 

[TeleGrrrl]

Corn snow
I usually head over to Europe the first week of March, and it's getting pretty warm by then. Last year was the first time I had some good powder shots, usually it's pretty well corn by the time I get there.
Bring whatever skis you'd use for corn here.

 

[ftrain]

Just bring your boots and rent you skis. they lost all my ski gear a few weeks back on the way to France and on my return trip. Manchester, Philly, Franfrut, & Geneva by plane.

I skiied on my B2. They were nice but I bet pocket rockets would be better.

 

[RossiSkier]

I just got back from Skiing Switzerland, France, and Italy and these skis are destroyed. I ended up hitting a lot of rocks off piste since the snow was so fluffy up to my waist/chest at times and you could not always see rocks. My skiing has increased 10 fold on these skis in the back country, chutes, and bumps.

All my ski gear and skis are actually lost somewhere with US Air. Hopefully I will hear back from them today since I race tonight at Pat's. It is sad if I do not get anything back because I have over 5k in gear in those two bags and they only will cover a 1/4 of that price if they do not turn up.


I still can not get over how fast they got damaged though but I must admit I ski hard and go where I want. I have chunks of ptex missing and the front tips are so banged up. France was a joke though with the lack of respect with people walking all over your skis in the lift lines and pushing each other out of the way. I was stopped on the side of the trail and I had a French person come down the trail and actually carve over the top of my skis. That total set me off the deep end and I chased after him and beat his ass with my poles!!! He was quite shocked! :angry:

Jay Levitt, you'll have to get some pointers from FTRAIN for some of the speciality skills you will need while in France:

1) Not smiling at people
2) Resisting the tempating to say, "HEY NO BUTTING IN LINE!"
3) Pole beating frenchies who run over your skis (alpine fencing)

Here are some friendly phrases that the French love to hear:

"Hello, I just love it here!" - pourquoi votre épouse est-elle si laide
"It was a please to meet you and your wife" -pourquoi votre épouse est-elle si laide
I'm so glad I came here - Je seulement suis venu ici parce qu'il était libre.

 

[TeleGrrrl]

[Jay Levitt, you'll have to get some pointers from FTRAIN for some of the speciality skills you will need while in France:

1) Not smiling at people
2) Resisting the tempating to say, "HEY NO BUTTING IN LINE!"
3) Pole beating frenchies who run over your skis (alpine fencing)


The lift ques in France are horrid. You will get pushed and shoved no matter where you go. I'm very low keyed and just mind my own business, but if you have a short fuse, France is no place to be.

I guess you could remind them if not for us they'd be speaking German :-? but I doubt they would be any more hospitable.

I core shot my She's Piste in Switzerland last year, skiing off piste over a snow covered bed of rocks