Happy Skiing Thread Part 3!!

[lovetoskimum]

Is it too early to start ??

Not through summer yet but cant stop thinking about March 17 !!!

Anyone else :)

[massistar]

Biking I'm frantically squatting and lunging at any opportunity!

[dontcallmethatyoucunt]

massi if I see some crazy woman doing the lunge walk on the school run, shall I assume it's you ... almost tempted!

[User543212345]

Highly recommend the squats and lunges. Three months out of the gym due to surgery and being a bit lazy meant that we spent far more time at apres than we did skiing. Though that's not a bad thing...

[carabos]

Just back from cheeky five days in Saas Fee without DH. Very very very cold, off piste crusty, on piste good at the top but sticky because of low temps, lower down wind blown and scratchy.

Off to St Anton with a crowd in 6 weeks and might try to sneak a long weekend touring with a mate in Cham in between.

[massistar]

yup that'll be me!!

[MrsGuyOfGisbo]

Hmm, tempted by some good deals for Feb half-term...

[PestoSnowissimos]

Just packing here, off a week today. Am really excited, it's dumping like crazy in the Pyrenees and really, really cannot wait!

[dontcallmethatyoucunt]

Don't forget to report back pesto, full review please ... got a girls trip in 2018 to organise and would like somewhere a bit non standard!

[PestoSnowissimos]

Ok will do, I haven't skied in the Pyrenees for 30 years, so it will be nice to go back, albeit to a different country. I used to take DH to Andorra to teach him to ski, pre getting married & having the dds, mainly because it was a cheap place for him to learn. But this time it's different coz it's only me & DD2, and I think the Spanish Pyrenees will be a bit less 'rowdy' shall we say .

[PestoSnowissimos]

I keep thinking about next year too. I have 2 places I fancy so far. Firstly I want to try skiing in Finland, a nice resort with hot tub & the chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Also, depending on the snow conditions, I want to ski in Sierra Nevada, in the South of Spain. My sister-in-law lives nearby so it would be nice to combine a visit to see her.

[dontcallmethatyoucunt]

We skied in Finland 2015 and it was excellent. So much snow, such friendly people, no queues. We went to Ruka. Small village, but easy location, transfer 20 mins. The only issue is that it's more of a hill than a mountain and so if you're used to the super resorts of France, the skiing will be limited - 34 runs in total. I would go back though. I loved the piste side fire pits, the relaxed chilled atmosphere. Prices were much more reasonable than I expected.

I fancy Are in Sweden, but I'm getting a bit of resistance!

[PestoSnowissimos]

Ooh! You've actually skiied in Finland. I'm very tempted, the transfer times are all nice & short and there's loads of other activities available aside from skiing. My only worry would be the lack of daylight, which could be a bit depressing. What month did you go Cunty? And how did you find that aspect?

[dontcallmethatyoucunt]

We went at Xmas. Sun up about 10.15am, sun down about 1.30! ... Levi has even less daylight.

But the whole place is floodlit. Sodium glow is the way to go . You can ski all 'day'. We loved it. Sun rise on the mountain was spectacular and skiing in the dark was really exciting, the kids loved it.

The other activities were great. Loved the husky rides, Father Christmas had me believing by the end. If our kids were older we would have done so of the northern light trips as well as the Iglu.

We went with Crystal ski and it was very easy. We stayed at the Ruka suites and the location was fab. The log cabins involve a bit of a yomp to the village, but looked very romantic. We had a sauna in our apartment and it was very modern, clean and well cared for.

The only downside is that it can be really cold. We weren't bothered by it, but you do have to go prepared to really wrap up. The fire pits and log cabins mean you can escape though.

[PestoSnowissimos]

Thanks for the extra info Cunty

The more I hear, the more I fancy going. Especially if there's nice places to warm up afterwards. We fancy doing a husky trip and Northern Lights would definitely be a bonus too!

[lovetoskimum]

I'm back guys!! Currently temp job a sussex uni, so at least money coming in!! Loving all the posts, I have been so stressed out recently lost weight!! Oh new jacket on order from husband!! Can't wait 5 weeks to go and bloody counting !! Xx

[dontcallmethatyoucunt]

Hi loveto

5 weeks

[PestoSnowissimos]

Congrats on the new job lovetoskimum , also well done on shedding some lbs. The new jacket will be well-deserved too, I'm sure

[massistar]

Great news on the job front lovetoskimum !
And the jacket!
11 sleeps for us.. so excited!!

[thatdearoctopus]

We're off on to Vars (in the Southern Alps) on Saturday, at some ungodly hour.

Can't wait!

[PestoSnowissimos]

We're doing the ungodly hour too Octopus, but on Sunday! Four more sleeps - eek!!

[TrickyD]

thatdear, have you been to Vars before? We stayed twice at Risoul, on the same lift pass but over the hill. Last time ended with DH in the hospital at Briancon, smashed shoulder. He was very impressed with the way French hospitals give you a little bottle of wine with your meals.

[thatdearoctopus]

Yes, we went last year, and Risoul twice before that, although I was on crutches with a broken leg for one of those trips and had to watch from the balcony. (injury sustained a few weeks before the trip).

[IsletsOfLangerhans]

Some fairly warm temperatures forecast for Austria and Dolomites next week and perhaps week after. Lots of sunscreen and T-shirts packed!

[bluetongue]

Have fun everyone heading off for half term ski trips.

I've just finished two weeks skiing in Austria. Great but exhausting. Currently in a Zurich hotel having a night in watching British telly.

It was my first trip taking my own skis. Was nice to have all my own gear but was quiete the hassle to travel by train with them. Especially for a shorty like me. I pride myself on being independent when I travel but as the only place to fit my skis on the train was the overhead racks I had to ask for help a few times.

Annoyingly I seem to have put on weight on despite all the fresh air and exercise

[LeftoverCrabsticks]

Hi all! Mind if I join in? We're off 11th March to Arc 1950 with Crystal - first time staying in the village (although I visited the area for a day a few years ago on a literal day trip on the Eurostar!)

We did Tignes last January (Crystal), and a long weekend in Val Thorens (Ski Weekends) with just my 10 year old DD last April. I'm probably a mid range intermediate - happy on most reds and just venturing onto blacks that don't look too insane! My 10 year old is the same, as is my DH - 8 year old not far behind.

We have four DC, oldest is 10, youngest will be 3 when we go, and we've put her in the Spirit1950 Cariboo Club to do a little bit of skiing and mostly childcare. Anyone else put a 3 year old in there before who can say what she'll most likely get up to?

I also have an almost 6 year old DS with ASD/PDA, which will be "interesting". He was not too bad last year with Crystal childcare, although his very French ski instructors just let him lie in the snow a lot but he was fine with the Crystal staff. He always is fine if people are aware of his condition. I've heard attitudes to ASD are not as good in France as in the UK, so I'm a little nervous. I emailed them ahead of time with a short document describing his triggers and how to deal with any meltdowns but also reinforced that he's normally very well behaved and popular if he's not stressed.

Anyway, super excited to go. I've been doing as much running as I can (and started the squats!) in preparation as I always get stupidly bad thigh burn. I've booked a private lesson to see if it's my technique but I always do this and they can never spot anything. I think my body is just crap ;-)