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Leaving in... 55 mins

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  • 24-01-2009 2:34pm
    #1
    tywy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,240 ✭✭✭


    I off to Les Arcs in 55 mins! w00t!

    Anyone else off this week?

    I'm bursting with excitement!


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    #2
    robinph
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 24,088 Mod ✭✭✭✭robinph


    Enjoy.

    Not heading away just yet myself, but I did just book two weeks in Fernie, Canada a couple of days ago.


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    #3
    Vorsprung
    Registered Users Posts: 2,815 ✭✭✭Vorsprung


    Off to St Anton in the morning.

    Cannot.

    ****ING.

    Wait!


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    #4
    RATM
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,591 ✭✭✭RATM


    tywy and bigjimthefirst-make sure to put up a report here when you get back and fill us in on how it was.

    robinph - what kinda bobs did you pay for two weeks in Fernie ? Sounds awesome, I was talking to a lad who did a 6 week extreme skiing course there- he recommended it highly- said there is heaps of pow in Fernie and it gets some of the biggest dumps of any ski resort in the world.


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    #5
    robinph
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 24,088 Mod ✭✭✭✭robinph


    Its a two week "improver" course that I'm doing in Fernie with NonStop. It's just over £2100'ish including flights (from LHR), accomodation, half board and the lessons plus I think we get a days CAT skiing as well. They knocked £500 off though as I'm sorting out my own flights and am going to stay in Canada/ the US for a few weeks afterwards as well for a bit more travelling.

    Probably a bit of an expensive "holiday" but my current intention is to spend the summer in New Zealand trying for their level 2 instructor qualification, so I figured two weeks of actual getting lessons type skiing rather than two weeks on the piss in Europe would better prepare me for that. According to their brouchures Fernie gets pretty much the most snow of any resort on the planet, so with any luck my current, virtually non-existant off-piste skills might be able to be improved somewhat as well.


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    #6
    tywy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,240 ✭✭✭tywy


    Arrived home last night. Had a brilliant week! The snow was amazing although it was getting very warm as we were leaving yesterday. Finished skiing about 230 and it was 15C in the sun. The snow definitely wasn't as good as it was at the start of the week.

    So, what did I think of Les Arcs?

    Well I skied the first day as I normally ski. Skied 2 runs the second day and my ankle/calf was killing me just like last year. So I decided go get a snowboard lesson and see if I could snowboard without being in pain. I'd snowboarded for a couple of weeks 5 or 6 years ago but wasn't any good. Got a private lesson with an ESF instructor, changed from goofy to regular and I was flying! Didn't get back on my skis for the rest of the week. Skied 9ish to 5ish everyday. Got a couple more lessons. Was able to snowboard pretty much the whole of Les Arcs. We didn't bother with the La Plagne pass... too far away.

    I was very impressed with the skiing in Les Arcs. Lots of long blues for beginners, some good reds, nice off piste between the slopes - natural half pipes etc. I did a couple of blacks which were fun but I don't do a whole lot of them so I wouldn't know. The lift system is good, well laid out, really easy to get to the different sections of the Les Arcs ski area. I really liked Vallandry. Nice wide runs through the trees. So yeah I thought the skiing was fantastic!

    Didn't like the food at all. Not big into cheese so Savoyard food doesn't have much appeal. French steak is crap... all stringy and crappy. The food was very expensive I thought and not really worth it. The accommodation wasn't great either. All the apartments seemed to be duplexes which claimed, like ours, to be 2 bedroomed but not really cuz one bedroom is a balcony onto the living room and the other you've to walk through to get to the second bedroom. I thought the apartments in Val Thorens were way nicer if equally as small. I think Vallandry might be a nicer place to stay as it's a bit more traditional than Arc 1800.

    I don't really know what else to say as I've rambled on for a good bit now. I had an absolutely fantastic holiday. Ranks up there as one of the best ski holidays I've had!


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    #7
    Mrs. Doyle
    Registered Users Posts: 66 ✭✭Mrs. Doyle


    robinph wrote: »
    Its a two week "improver" course that I'm doing in Fernie with NonStop. It's just over £2100'ish including flights (from LHR), accomodation, half board and the lessons plus I think we get a days CAT skiing as well. They knocked £500 off though as I'm sorting out my own flights and am going to stay in Canada/ the US for a few weeks afterwards as well for a bit more travelling.

    Probably a bit of an expensive "holiday" but my current intention is to spend the summer in New Zealand trying for their level 2 instructor qualification, so I figured two weeks of actual getting lessons type skiing rather than two weeks on the piss in Europe would better prepare me for that. According to their brouchures Fernie gets pretty much the most snow of any resort on the planet, so with any luck my current, virtually non-existant off-piste skills might be able to be improved somewhat as well.

    Hi,

    Just wondering how you got on with your course? A close relative of mine is heading there in the near future to do one of their courses. They are hoping to stay on after the course and get some work. Do you have any advice/tips for them as we're worried because they are going on their own.

    Thanks in advance.


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    #8
    conno16
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,335 ✭✭✭conno16


    is there snow out there in the mountains this time of year?


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    #9
    dylbert
    Registered Users Posts: 1,551 ✭✭✭dylbert


    Damn you, I have to wait 72 days 12 hours and 21 minutes till I head off :p


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    #10
    robinph
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 24,088 Mod ✭✭✭✭robinph


    Mrs. Doyle wrote: »
    Hi,

    Just wondering how you got on with your course? A close relative of mine is heading there in the near future to do one of their courses. They are hoping to stay on after the course and get some work. Do you have any advice/tips for them as we're worried because they are going on their own.

    Thanks in advance.

    Got on great with the course. Three months in NZ, great fun, loads of skiing, and a qualification at the end of it. I only got my level 1 and just missed out on the level 2 but I got what I wanted out of it.

    As for getting work out of it, definitely possible. But I think out of the 40+ in the group of boarders/ skiers I was with only 5 went and actually got a job. That was mostly down to them generally being between A-levels and uni though. There were a couple that got work in Canada, another couple of lads I know were working in Japan. Not certain but I think all of those guys have since gone back to doing something else. One other guy was working in Austria last winter, back in NZ working in the same area we did the training last year and is back to Austria again this winter.

    Being a ski instructor does get you a couple of extra points on the New Zealand residency visa requirements as well.


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