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Hey. Today I finished up the second skiing trip that I've had in my life.
And I fucking love it
I dont know why. Maybe its the way you effortlessly move down the slope, using only minor adjustments of my feet, giving you this feeling of perfect control. Maybe its the people you meet when going up the ski-lifts, today I met someone who had visted this place every year for the last 15 years, and told me that this year was one of the best he'd ever seen. Maybe its the fact that the lessons are so boring compared to being out on the slope. Maybe its the state of mind you get in, effortless moving throughout people, where you barely have to focus so you can think about anything you like.
Maybe its because after falling over in the snow several times, you just gotta keep going because you know you gotta reach the bottom to start over again.
+ Show Spoiler +Nice way to end it? Oh well, I have some questions
1. Can I listen to music while skiing, or is that considered dangerous? If I can, how loud can I have the music? Really wanted Pendulum playing while skiing
2. Is there a good site for budget ski holidays/trips? I will probably end up going on a gap year in afew years time, and I will probably end up going skiing (hopfuly in Europe, same time as Dreamhack!) so that would be nice to know
Peace TL, skiing is baller and if you haven't done it yet - try it
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Zurich15325 Posts
Because it's fucking awesome is why.
1. Yes you can. At higher speeds you don't hear anything behind you anyway, so you will have to use your eyes for safety mainly. Main concern would be that you can't hear the snow cats. If you ski carefully and responsibly (and turn off the music when there is bad visibility) it shouldn't be a problem.
2. When it comes to prices, the biggest differences are in the regions you choose to ski in. Unfortunaly the more attractive the more expensive usually. For the Alps it's Switzerland > Austria > France > Germany > Italy > Slovenia, with slight differences within each country. If you are set for a specific region you might save something on accomodation if you search a while, but ski pass and rental will just be what it is.
Also I am sure it helps to ski in Starcraft progaming attire. Try that.
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Awesome! I just got into skiing in the last year. I've played hockey all my life so I'm a natural. There is no greater feeling than flying down that hill. To address your questions...
1. I would not listen to music while skiing. You should generally be aware of your surroundings and having music in your ear will prevent you from getting in that extra sensory information that may prevent collisions. The biggest danger and challenge while skiing is other people.
2. Packages are highly dependent on where you live and where you are going. I live in the Niagara area so my skiing options are somewhat limited. The semi-close ski resorts do offer many types of packages though so I'll bet that other places do too.
EDIT: About the budget skiing. Skiing is not cheap overall. I describe it as a 'rich white-people's sport.' There's a lot of spoiled Brown kids on the slopes too, and in Canada you get a few Asians... But just understand that unless you have some kind of money, or parental money, it's hard to go skiing more than a couple times in a year. My equipment costs about $700 CAD and a day-pass is at least $50 CAD, and our ski resorts are CRAP compared to anything in the Rockies, Europe, the Appalachians - pretty much anywhere.
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Skiing is the best!
Hintertux so pretty
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With regards to your questions
1) Sometimes I'm in the mood for music, sometimes I'm not. Any time I do I keep it low enough that I can hear someone speaking to me because it really hits on your spacial awareness.
+ Show Spoiler +If it's quiet on the slopes the dubstep might get blasted. Gotta be done.
2) Budget ski holiday? Nah, not likely ;-) The season in the Alps kicks off in the high areas start of December and runs through to April. An organisation called the UCPA (link) runs youth hostel style operations that are full board, and inclusive of lessons, gear hire and lift pass in a number of French resorts. This sounds pretty ideal for you - 3rd week skiier, travelling, doesn't own their own gear.
Any questions ask away, I'm keen as fuck =)
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1. I'm sure you can listen to music while skiing, but I wouldn't have it blasting into your ears. If you do then it may be hard to hear stuff moving around you that you may want to watch out for; but as far as I know the rule of most slopes is that it's the responsibility of the person above the other to watch out for people down slope so you should be fine if you decide to listen to music.
I've never listened to music while skiing just because I like the sounds you hear naturally, the shredding of powder, the quiteness you will sometimes find, and just in general talking to other skiers.
2. I can't really answer that one lol, sry.
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I always listen to music when i ski. I have skullcandy Icons and they are legit for the mountain. Mainly music is nice for the lift if you're not talking to people. While skiing I have music on if im raging groomers but will turn it off if im gonna do something more technical.
its a great sport! learn to ski powder ASAP! such a cool experience.
one way to save money is to buy a seasons pass during the off season, since they are usually about half price. if you'd rather just go on short trips to different mountains that's gonna get expensive, but will def be worth it!
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I've been to Bamf, Breckenridge, Niseko, and of course multiple places in Switzerland and Austria, but I still can't even make in down the easiest fucking hills. I'm so envious of your gift of skiing.
So while I don't ski, everyone else in my family does, so I can still offer some advice.
1. It depends on if you let it distract you or not, my brother boards black diamonds and is fine with it while listening to his iPod but my mom doesn't listen to music even if she's on a bunny hill. All depends on the person.
2. Depends on what you're doing. Obviously if you're staying in a foreign country the bill is going to get exponentially higher because you'll have to stay/eat in places that support English, which they'll bump the price up for. And the equipment itself is super expensive if you actually want good gear too, so I don't know how "budget" skiing can really be.
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1. Yeah you can, I've been skiing about 2 weeks each year for 7 and I'm usually listening to music and I've never been in an accident due to listening to music. You should use your eyes to scout for people in the slope, and don't be overly eager because that is usually when most people hurt themselves, atleast I do ^__^
2. If you are in the Scandinavian areas I suggest either Norway or Åre (pronounced oh-rey), a good site for those places is www.skistar.com. If your budget allows for the big alps then I would suggest using UCLA because they have a lot of good options for everybody which is important since it's only your second skiing trip and you don't want to end up in a icy 45 degree slope when you're still a newbie!
Anyway skiiing truly rocks and I wish you the best of luck! :D
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Zurich15325 Posts
On July 12 2011 02:09 Endymion wrote:
2. Depends on what you're doing. Obviously if you're staying in a foreign country the bill is going to get exponentially higher because you'll have to stay/eat in places that support English, which they'll bump the price up for. And the equipment itself is super expensive if you actually want good gear too, so I don't know how "budget" skiing can really be.
I don't know what foreign country you went to but I have never seen someone charge extra beause they speak English. People in all the Euro skiing places should speak enough English for you to get by, even in France.
Renting gear starts at about 25 Euro a day, quality ski 35-45. That'll ship you brand new skis which would cost 1k+ though, and as beginner you won't appreciate the difference fully to make it worth it.
But yeah, it'll never be cheap. A budget trip with rental will still be about 150 Euro a day all included.
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Ah thanks for all the reply's
Guess I'll actually have to get a semi-serious job and start saving if I wanna do this seriously.
Okay, another question. Is it worth it to buy actual equipment? What is the average lifespan of the equipment and is matainance an issue? Will I have to change equipment as I get more experienced? I don't think that I will be growing too much anymore.
PS: TL blogging section is the most awesome part of this site. Love it and the people who visit.
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Its definitely worth it to buy your own equipment...especially if you go something like a dozen times per year you might also want to buy a seasonal pass. Usually there's going to be some deals/memberships you can get that gives you rebates on passes and things like ski sharpening.
Poles don't cost that much. You can get a good pair of skis either new or used and they will serve you well for many years. Skis do get badly damaged if you tend to ski in open wooded / no maintenance areas but otherwise you can keep your skis in good condition for a long time. (Use an old pair of skis for that)
As you get better, you will want to tighten your fixations on the skis due to going at faster speeds. Maintenance? Maybe get your skis sharpened every year or so which costs like nothing and little tips like keeping your boots in a warm spot after skiing is great since you wont be dying the next time you try to put on your boots (they need to be a really tight fit).
Otherwise...hf! Get some buddies into the mix and have them all buy passes so you guys can go skiing.
Best parts of skiing for me :
1) Feels amazing to ski down a slope that isn't used much. So quiet and peaceful and all you hear are the skis carving into the snow.
2) Speed...unfortunately sometimes u lose control and literally pass out when u crash lol.
3) Sunlight...bbq...music...atmosphere during the hotter days
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It's only worth buying skis if you live close enough to an area to make a season ticket worthwhile. Even if you're holiday skiing twice a year; the additional cost and hassle of transporting them (assuming you are flying) will come close to the cost of renting anyway. This is totally turned on it's head if you are a 2-2.5 hour drive from a hill and want to ski 20 days a season.
Boots you'll benefit from much sooner however they're not to be rushed in to as a novice. A pair of good fitting boots make skiing a lot kinder, however your perspective and skill will change so much in the next 7-21 days skiing that you need to wait. I dove in, got bad advice and needed to change my boots quite quickly. At £200 to £300 a pair, they need to last to pay back as an investment. You need to find someone prepared to take some time measuring your feet and checking your shape in various shells. They should be tight at first due to liners compressing. Don't buy anything from a guy who stocks 'only one boot' for your size and for the same reasons beware a legit shop in sales who might to second best to shift stock at the end of the season.
Stuff you should buy now
Polyester or wool ski socks. Not 'ski tubes' - ski socks are thin and you should only ever one pair to prevent blisters or hotspots. If you need to wear two pairs, your boots are too big. Simples.
Goggles. Even on a nice day I don't like skiing in sunnies for the lack of draught protection. If you wear contacts or glasses, you need them to catch contacts and hold glasses in place. There's a friend of mine with specialist contacts been saved a number of times as them coming out seems an inevitability.
Waterproofs. But they don't need to be fashion if you don't need them to be. The main difference in specialist snowsports gear is the pocket in the left arm for a hands free ski pass. Stick to the usual rules of buy second cheapest if on a budget or buy cheap buy twice if you have a bit more money.
Anything but cotton for base layers. Cotton sucks. Compare how much water cotton retains when you take a tee out of the wash compared to woolen socks or a polyester vest and then think about how much you'll be sweating during the day.
Gloves. You'll lose them, eventually, so don't go wild but they do need to be waterproof. Some super cheap ski gloves aren't waterproof by virtue of being bad, and specialist park gloves aren't waterproof by design to save on weight. Avoid both types.
Anything else, guys? !!!
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In summary
Spend: Goggles, gloves. I didn't mention it above but the better a goggle the less it should steam up and ruin your day. I own Adidas Yodais and love them. Big field of view. Lots swear rightly by Oakley.
Save: Jacket and Salopettes don't need to be anything special. I rocked pretty anon gear for 3 years.
Just whatever you do dont be a total dullard and buy all black gear. Ohmygod it is just so boring.
I went for 'be safe be seen' when I got this jacket. Accusations of it being purely for attention whoring are totally unfounded
+ Show Spoiler +Hintertux still so pretty ![[image loading]](http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/206258_10150550861805608_602975607_18096175_5551318_n.jpg)
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EPT![[image loading]](http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/215154_10150550860760608_602975607_18096163_1972000_n.jpg)
