Snowboarder free zones

Poster King

Does anyone know of any decent ski resorts in Europe that either have no snowboarders or at least have areas of the mountain that are snowboarder free? I know that many resorts have areas where you are asked to ski slowly "ski tranquille" in France. I know Alta in Utah is a snowboarder free mountain, but it is a bit far away.

I should explain my reason for asking before any snowboarders get insulted. My father, who just turned 82 yesterday, still skis. But he is very worried about getting hit again by snowboarders. He has been hit twice in the last few years. Two years ago in Meribel, on a green slope in the Altiport area, he was stationery on the side of a piste and a young boarder hit him at speed and my dad had to get 19 stitches in his leg. He was back skiing 3 days later, but only with 3 of his children forming a barrier above him to fend off anyone coming close. ( I actually had to tackle another out of control boarder who was out of control and on collision course)
The previous year he was hit by another snowboarder in La Plagne and he had a nasty fall and cut his face.
I should point out that he was previously hit by an out of control 'skier' while he was again stationery, but my dad was only 65 at the time and managed to come off the better of the two, the other skier had to be taken off the moutain on a sledge.

My dad seems determined to keep skiing as long as he is still able to stand/walk, which could be for many more years yet, and my mother too (though she is a bit younger)

am i bovvered

I would just like to say fair play to your Dad, a great attitude to have.

I think one of the best elements of skiing is the diversity in age groups. A few years ago I was sh1tting myself "getting" down a run about 4km, it gave me great comfort to realise there was a skier who had noticed I was a little out of my depth and was waiting for me to make sure I was ok.
At the bottom of the run I skied up to him to thank him and ask if he would like a drink in the bar at the bottom of the run, turned out he was 82 !! a really interesting man, and a great inspiration.
Another time a met a woman who was learning to ski, she was in her early 70's doing snow plough turns !!:)

I have posted your Q here.... http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1460568#1460568 you might get extra info.

sarsfield06

Not very PC to have snowboarder free zones, maybe he should stick to the beginner lifts on the mountain or ski off piste more, little chance of being hit on the powder fields.

Over in the less progressive parts of the states I think there are still some snowboarder free resorts, Burton had a very funny campaign last season for snowboarders to ambush these regressive hell holes and get as much footage as they could before ski patrol kicked them out!

see link here http://www.onthesnow.com/news/a/896/burton-offers-reward-for-poaching

By the way I'm a skier but as any decent skier can carve these days, the speeds and movement down the slope are very similar to boarders so are probably just as dangerous, although impaired field of view probably is the biggest problem for boarders.

am i bovvered

Poster King ..... I can't seem to PM you so I'll post the info here.....
I just recieved this PM on Snowheads its sounds interesting, however I have never dealt with them so check it out yourself...


From: miranda
To: saintstephen
Posted: Thu Feb 11, 10 14:26
Subject: info for your dad's friend
We're in a tiny village in France called La Giettaz - it's part of the 445km Evasion Mont Blanc domain (so includes Megeve etc) but it is like a secret gateway to the bigger domain - even during this week's French school holidays, I have not had to wait longer than 4 minutes to get on the main chairlift and have not had to queue at all for the drag lifts.
Outside of school holidays, it is often possible to ski a piste without seeing anyone until you get to the bottom! "Millionaire's skiing!" Any snowboarders here always take the offpiste routes as the pistes are served by draglifts - which are not snowboarders' friends!
I really do think it might be a great place for someone who wants to ski without any crowds or boarders bombing along the pistes...

Hope that's helpful!

M

P.S. Am also assuming he wouldn't want to hit the snowpark... that's the only on-piste place you find the snowboarders!


_________________
www.chalet-la-giettaz.com

robinph

It's probably just a less crowded resort that you need to find really. I't be just as cautious of one that had lots of beginner slopes though as that is probably the main issue really, and that he then notices encounters with the boarders more than those with skiers.

Boarders and skiers do make their way down the mountain in different ways though. Boarders will stop just below a change to steeper terrain, skiers will stop just above it. Boarders will side slip straight down a tricky section that is a touch beyond them, skiers will traverse all the way across it and then back again after a very cautious turn. Boarders will stop in a group across the slope (as they cannot move sideways to restart so need the slope clear below them to get moving again), skiers can stop in a line going down the slope (but you should always join at the bottom of that line, not the top). Your more likely to encounter a stray board flying down the slope on its own after a boarder hasn't used the leash or paid attention when taking it off, there will be more stray items strewn across the piste after a skier falls and them, two skis and two poles, then need to be found and retrieved from various places.

All of the above is very general and doesn't always happen of course. According to tradition it is boarders that are more likely to sit in the middle of the piste, it's just idiots that will do that though and is not specific to any method of sliding down the hill.

Static M.e.

No real advice im afraid, if it was me I would just try and find a place with a lot of ski police..

Best of luck with it.

Overflow

I have to say your just as likely to get hit by an out of control skier, i think your Dad was just unlucky, but fair play to him for still skiing at his age. I hope i can at his age!

robinph

The point about drag lifts is good actually, and will just reduce the number of users of the slope overall, but especially boarders. Unless it's a really good run in which case you'll just have a big queue all the time and a long ride on the lift.

FruitLover

A perfect plan, there's no way your dad can get hit by an out-of-control skier :rolleyes:

robinph wrote: »

The point about drag lifts is good actually, and will just reduce the number of users of the slope overall, but especially unskilled boarders

FYP.

am i bovvered

:rolleyes:
The point was the OP Father has been hit twice by snowboarders in the last few years and therefore was nervous of being in a resort with snowboarders.
No one here is knocking snowboarders and realises you can be hit by both skiers and snowboarders of ALL abilities.

Serbian

am i bovvered wrote: »

We're in a tiny village in France called La Giettaz - it's part of the 445km Evasion Mont Blanc domain (so includes Megeve etc) but it is like a secret gateway to the bigger domain - even during this week's French school holidays, I have not had to wait longer than 4 minutes to get on the main chairlift and have not had to queue at all for the drag lifts.
Outside of school holidays, it is often possible to ski a piste without seeing anyone until you get to the bottom! "Millionaire's skiing!" Any snowboarders here always take the offpiste routes as the pistes are served by draglifts - which are not snowboarders' friends!
I really do think it might be a great place for someone who wants to ski without any crowds or boarders bombing along the pistes...

Hope that's helpful!

M[/url]

Just in relation to this PM, I actually have gone skiing in that area this year and last year. The slopes are decent, the reds are pretty easy, and if you get the full Evasion pass, it opens up a lot of places to you. I snowboard there, but I've seen very few people boarding there, maybe 3 or 4 in the whole week.

Mostly, the place is completely empty whenever I've been there, the town included, so I don't know how that would suit you.

RATM

Get your dad to learn snowboarding

Only kidding- Im not sure if there are any snowboard free resorts in Europe,- there are certainly in the US but as you said its too far. Even if there are I'd expect these places to be full of skiing 'snobs'- probably not the kind of people you'd like to meet on holiday or otherwise.

OP my advise would be to find somewhere regarded as less busy than the main resorts that all the British and Irish operators go to. ie avoid the 3 Valleys, Tignes (a snowboarders mecca), Les Duex Alps, etc. What you want is a quiet resort where only French people tend to go- these places only really get bust at the weekends- otherwise its not unusual to have an entire piste to yourselves.

Invariably it means doing a DIY holiday instead of a package one but it would mean your dadis requirements would be met. Last year we went to Luchon-Superbagneres in the Pyrennes (accessed from Carcasonne via Ryanair, then rented a car. We went in late March and the place was empty Mon-Fri, your dad would have no problems whatsoever with traffic- be it a skier or snowboarder.

Hope this helps:)

DeVore

As a long time snowboarder I find the idea of snowboarder free areas to be ugly, unless there is a corresponding skiier free area.

I can appreciate that this is a mental/nerves issue with your father and I hope you find somewhere quiet for him!

As a responsible snowboarder, I have at times shot after idiot kids and buttonholed them at the bottom of the slope or when they next stopped and bollocked them out of it. Idiots are idiots regardless of what they have on their feet, its not because they are boarders its because they are kids whose parents have turned them loose on the mountain.

You might be better looking for either a quiet-skiing area or a no-teens area.


Oh and I have been cut up, crashed into and on several occasions had my board skied over while I was on it!! One guy poked my board with his stick in the queue and when he looked down and saw my board, he slide the stick all the way back to my foot (scratching my personal board!) and pushed himself ahead of me! For about 2 seconds.

A*holes are A*holes regardless of footwear.

DeV.

oxysept

I'm just back from a full week of skiing in Alta - no boarders allowed - I'm not a ski snob - one of these days I will learn snow boarding - but there were a lot of older people there - Boarders & skiers do move down the hill in a different way & stop at different points - when its all one its easier to read the movements.

We had 5 feet of powder fall in 4 days it was heavenly.

OP - I think a quite mountain is what your looking for - and I hope I can keep skiing or boarding as long as your dad.

Static M.e.

Thanks for the update oxysept.

Its very good information for anyone who is looking for this type of resort.

Hope you had a good trip

omega man

Take up cross-country skiing. In Norway you will always see so called 'elderly' men and women out on their skis. In fact i got overtaken by one such man (80+) on traditional wooden skis last month :eek:

JayEnnis

I'd advise staying away from the beginner slopes, I know from experience that an out of control newbie is more dangerous than a snowboarder (Me being the newbie that took out a whole lift queue ) I recognise that its a mental block as regards to snowboarders but I really think he would be worse off on a green slope.