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 #1 Bored with Package holidays Posted 16/02/2009 @ 17:01 |
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Me and the other half are getting to the stage where we are fed up with package holidays to the same old resorts. Last trip was to Les Deux Alps where we manged to board off piste for the whole week and only used the piste to link up runs. The snow was great and it's made us realise that we couldn't bear a whole week of riding nothing but piste again. The link to La Grave was closed when we were there which was a shame as it's meant to be a great area.
Anyone been on a good "off piste" holiday that they could recommend? We're decent boarders and have gone cat boarding in Canada before, but not done any avalanche awareness courses yet, so it would need to be something organised with guiding etc rather than setting out on our own.
I appreciate it will be more expensive that your average holiday, but are we talking silly money?
Thanks |
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| Posts: 186 |
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France |
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| #2 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 16/02/2009 @ 17:24 |
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Hey Lesley,
have a freeride course running with a couple of spots left on it. Covers off piste technique, avalanche awareness, transceiver search techniques, terrain assessment and then at the end of the week there is a heli drop thrown in the cost too.
Some more info on the course here and if you have any other questions feel free to get in touch. |
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| Posts: 1103 |
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UK - Scotland |
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| #3 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 16/02/2009 @ 17:40 |
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| #4 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 16/02/2009 @ 19:29 |
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Have you had a look at the courses that Neil McNab runs in Chamonix? |
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*** Snowsports T-Shirts & Hoodies ***
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| #5 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 16/02/2009 @ 20:14 |
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I came to a similar conclusion with my Snowboarding about 15years ago. Package holidays by in large will only take you to the more main stream resorts. If your wanting powder in Europe just booking a random week and hoping for the best. I think you'll be doing extremely well to manage 1 in 3 trips being blessed with that powder we crave. Forget about picking a resort, ANYWHERE rocks with two foot of fresh, if anything go to the lesser known resort's the ones that greet you with a blank stare when you mention them are often a good call as the powder won't get pillaged so quickly. What matters way more is WHEN you go and to what region you go rather than X resort. So to bag those epic weeks you either have to go to very snow/powder sure destinations e.g. Alaska/Japan or go last minute. Trouble with last minute is Flight prices leap up at short notice so unless your'e minted or have a mate that works for an airline forget that option. Driving is really the answer from the south of England it's roughly just as quick to the French Alps door to door as flying (feels way longer though) the only problem with driving is that you need a minimum of three to make it economical enough preferably four. And the hardest part of putting together a last minute trip is getting together a crew at short notice. Belive me it can be gut wrenching knowing you have everything in place and the conditions and weather forecast are perfect and you only need one more person in your car to pull it off and you have been on your knee's asking everyone. But there are two of you already so you only need to find one more person. As to knowing what to do and where to go in riding term's if it's powder everywhere it's obvious. Courses and guides etc are expensive but a bit of common sense say's that slope's of 25 deg or less rarely slide. You can see the avalanche risk posted daily in each resort so you can make your own judgement calls acordingly and if you feel inclined to do that extreme face or big itenary then get the guide. Im always looking for recruit's for last minute (long weekend's preferably) trips so if your wanting to help make up a crew pm or if your interested pm me and I'll tell you more. |
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Snowboarding ruined my life |
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| #6 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 17/02/2009 @ 09:23 |
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Thanks for the response guys. Much appreciated. We did think about Japan, but prices were pretty steep. Kashmir looks amazing so might do a bit more research into that too.
We normlly try and get away twice a year, but I'm thinking maybe we should just spend the whole budget on one powderful week /10 days of fun instead of potentially two weeks of hard packed icy pistes (we get enough of that in Scotland  ) |
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| Posts: 663 |
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Oxfordshire |
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| #7 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 17/02/2009 @ 11:52 |
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Revision #1 (Last edited: 17/02/2009 @ 11:53) |
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QUOTE (lushley - 17/02/2009 @ 09:23) Thanks for the response guys. Much appreciated. We did think about Japan, but prices were pretty steep. Kashmir looks amazing so might do a bit more research into that too.
Keep an eye on the Japanese prices as apparently their economy is starting to struggle, so the Yen may weaken against sterling. No guarantee, but worth watching just in case. (am sure the guys over there can give you a better idea though)
Kashmir you can do pretty cheaply once there, it's the flights that make up the bulk of the cost. But in India you really need to weigh up time/convenience against cost. |
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| #8 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 19/02/2009 @ 13:31 |
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Lushley, you could always do an avalanch awarenes course here before you go forth into the backcountry on your tod. Glenmore lodge do weekend courses (although you have missed this years) but I am sure you can do a course with any of the Gudes based in Fort Bill / Avoemore area.
Alternatively there are guides available in most resorts should you not be confident enough to be out on your own yet.
Road tripping is a great way to get to a few different places if you are bored of Package tours - fly to somewhere like Denver, SLC or Calgary, hire a reliable winter vehivle and just follow weather and whim. |
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| #9 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 20/02/2009 @ 11:24 |
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Check out NONSTOP 2-wk trips; they do a Snow Safari in Canada that i've just booked on for next season (cant make the dates this season). Apparently you have to be a descent rider to go. Covers 4 diff resorts, most things included - driver, pro-guide to show you the good bits, flights, breakfast, accomm etc...
http://www.nonstopsnowboard.com/snowboard-camps/rockies-tour/
If you end up booking for next year, give me a hola! |
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| #11 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 20/02/2009 @ 11:37 |
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Thanks for all the info, it's really giving me something to think about. I made some enquiries about the Kashmir trip and a fortnight would work out at roughly £1,400 - £1,700 each depending on whether you take the personal guiding service or not. It's a lot of travelling and plane hopping, but still seams a cheaper option than Japan. |
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| Posts: 663 |
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| #12 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 21/02/2009 @ 18:17 |
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Revision #1 (Last edited: 21/02/2009 @ 18:20) |
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Mind me asking where you got the prices from Lushley ? There's not that many companies that do Kashmir.
Actually have been thinking about this and if there was decent interest I could arrange an organised group trip to Gulmarg. Would be good if there were people on here wanting to board in Kashmir but needed a prompting to do it and with the numbers it should hopefully bring some of the costs down a bit. It would cover flights, transfers, accommodation, lift passes, guides, etc. I reckon it could be a great two week trip. Thoughts anyone ? |
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| #13 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 21/02/2009 @ 22:43 |
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Went on one of Neil McNab's Chamonix weeks last season, it was superb. Had Neil as our guide most days and can honestly say you couldn't ask for a better guide, just the right balance of pushing you, support and tuition. Changed my style a fair bit after 18 yrs, didn't even realise that was possible.
Each day was different, different routes, terrain, weather, skills, difficulty. Some good hikes, some short ones and a heli drop at the end. Loads of fresh, some good laughs and a completely different holiday. If the prices hadn't (understandably) gone up so steeply I'd be there again this year, I still might but I'm waiting to see how much my kidneys go for on ebay. |
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| #14 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 22/02/2009 @ 10:27 |
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I contacted www.skihimalaya.com. They don't put the prices on the website so you need to email them. It's all in rupees, but I roughly calculated it would be about £577 for accommodation (half board), £230 for a 10 day lift pass or £423 for 10 days full guiding plus lift pass (£493 if you don't have your own beacon). You need to get yourself to Srinagar airport and they pick you up from there to Gulmar. It's hard to put an exact costs on flights to Delhi then Srinigar but I estimated about £700 from Glasgow (might be a bit cheaper for those of you in the south). You then need to decide if you are having an overnight in Delhi or not before setting out to Srinigar - probably depends on your flight times, but you can stay on a houseboat for only £15 a night.
They only take bookings up to mid March and you pay in Australian dollars apparently so not sure how it all converts to Sterling after that. Too many numbers and my head started to hurt! |
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| #15 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 22/02/2009 @ 10:37 |
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The exchange rate on the AUD ($2.23 / £1) is awesome at the moment, so if you're paying in Aussie not Rupees you might get a good price. |
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| Posts: 663 |
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| #16 Re: Bored with Package holidays Posted 22/02/2009 @ 12:09 |
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Revision #1 (Last edited: 22/02/2009 @ 12:09) |
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QUOTE (lushley - 22/02/2009 @ 10:27) I contacted www.skihimalaya.com. They don't put the prices on the website so you need to email them. It's all in rupees, but I roughly calculated it would be about £577 for accommodation (half board), £230 for a 10 day lift pass or £423 for 10 days full guiding plus lift pass (£493 if you don't have your own beacon). You need to get yourself to Srinagar airport and they pick you up from there to Gulmar. It's hard to put an exact costs on flights to Delhi then Srinigar but I estimated about £700 from Glasgow (might be a bit cheaper for those of you in the south). You then need to decide if you are having an overnight in Delhi or not before setting out to Srinigar - probably depends on your flight times, but you can stay on a houseboat for only £15 a night. They only take bookings up to mid March and you pay in Australian dollars apparently so not sure how it all converts to Sterling after that. Too many numbers and my head started to hurt!
Thanks, had a feeling it might be him as it seems he's the only other one that offers it.
Just to get a bit of marketing feedback, mind me asking why you went for the Aussie company ?
Btw, I'm pretty sure you'll also need to overnight in Srinagar on the way back. That's where the houseboats are. Then you can catch the morning flight back to Delhi and connect with the international flights. |
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