Back from 1st time skiing the Alps
 

Thought I would share some of my observations skiing in the Alps ,I usually
ski in the Northeast , mainly Vermont . I went skiing for 6 days and went to
Courmeier , La Tuile , Cervinia & Chamonix . Courmeier was 1st and the 1st
obvious thing that hits you is the size of these freakin mountains . The big
Gondola is HUGE . They use a magnetic lift ticket which I wasn't too crazy
about . The lift lines are terribly unorganized and how I made it back to
the U.S without getting into a fistfight was amazing . The snow was fluffier
and lighter than the mostly man-made I'm used to . The trials are very wide
.. It was hard at 1st to concentrate on the trail in front of me as my eyes
kept wandering to take in the amazing view .
La Tuile ( sp?) was 2nd and I found it to be the easiest . Again the views
were intense . They were blowing off dynamite in a few places for avalanches
which scared the **** out of me .
Cervenia and Zermatt (sp?) were 3rd and you come real close to heaven when
you go the platform at the top and take in the 360 degree view . Oxygen
deprivation made it even more of a trip . My girlfriend who grew up in Italy
had fun taking pictures of me with a blue face . At almost 13,000 feet I
hate to admit I felt sick like I was going to pass out .Didn't have that
problem at any of the other places . It took over an hour to ski down from
the top , very strange feeling when your used to going up & down in 10
minutes in Vermont .Weird having to bring your passport skiing to get to the
Swiss side at Zermatt . The swiss were also well behaved on the lift lines
and there seemed to be some tension between them and the Italians .
Chamonix was last and I might as well mention the views . I didn't get to
take the train so I can;t comment on that . We were able to to ski all 3
sections without taking it , I think you only take that for a particular
area which was closed .
The weather was great all 6 days and we got about a foot of fresh before the
1st day out , great timing , thanx mother nature . A family friend commented
that it was a shame that it was so cold , I thought he was nuts as it felt
like spring skiing to me compared to the Northeast . None of the places
really had skiing on/off like we have here so I guess we Americans are
spoiled and or lazy in that respect . The food was very different . They
seem more concerned with the way they look than just about anything else
..The women looked like they were going to a ball the way they were dressed
in full make-up and jewelry etc . In the N.E you can barely tell a man from
a women. They should consider organizing there lift lines better , I found
that extremely stressful. Overall it was an experience of a lifetime that I
will never forget and hope to go back again next year . But I also don't
feel like I'm being deprived skiing in the N.E . I sort of missed the jumps
in the terrain parks and we have much better mogul fields . My snobby
girlfriend claims that they don't consider that 'real' skiing , I just call
it plain old fun .

Ron - N.Y wrote:
In the N.E you can barely tell a man from a
women.

Really? Try Stratton (which I avoid like the plague). It's a fashionista's
paradise. Loaded with posers & wannabes.

Skiing Europe, you need to dispense with your Amercian lift line manners and
act like a NY taxi cab. It's all about attitude and aggression, that is, if
you want to get on the lift.

Ron - N.Y wrote:
The lift lines are terribly unorganized
It is true of all of Europe. The lift queues are a pain in the but.
Kids puching in, young girls, who just have to sit with their friends,
and let an empty chair go by etc.

Singles lines dont really work either.

It really pises me off when there is a big queue and you see empty
seats/chairs heading up the hill.

Schmoe wrote:
Ron - N.Y wrote:
In the N.E you can barely tell a man from a

women.


Really? Try Stratton (which I avoid like the plague). It's a fashionista's
paradise. Loaded with posers & wannabes.

Skiing Europe, you need to dispense with your Amercian lift line manners and
act like a NY taxi cab. It's all about attitude and aggression, that is, if
you want to get on the lift.



France is this worst and it's not just in lift lines. There's a selfish
egocentric attitude that pervades every aspect of French society.

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 11:31:43 -0500, "Schmoe"
wrote:

Ron - N.Y wrote:
In the N.E you can barely tell a man from a
women.

Really? Try Stratton (which I avoid like the plague). It's a fashionista's
paradise. Loaded with posers & wannabes.

Skiing Europe, you need to dispense with your Amercian lift line manners and
act like a NY taxi cab. It's all about attitude and aggression, that is, if
you want to get on the lift.


I don't know if its about aggression, more like a calm push forward.
I just kept pushing forward and ignored everybody else, just as they
were doing to me. Topsheets be damned. Also, wearing a pack w/shovel
really helped on the lifts that were crowded with gapers, they'd
generally give you a little more space.

nate

Ron - N.Y wrote:
Thought I would share some of my observations skiing in the Alps

that was a pretty entertaining read, thank you!


--
ant

In message , Schmoe
writes

Skiing Europe, you need to dispense with your Amercian lift line manners and
act like a NY taxi cab. It's all about attitude and aggression, that is, if
you want to get on the lift.


I'm afraid you were getting all stressed up over nothing - you'd do
better in the lift queue game if you hire a sense of humour along with
your skis, and wriggle your way forward.
Or simply wait your turn - it makes very little difference anyway.

Also, you'd enjoy your holiday more if you could leave off whining while
you're here. If you want everything to be exactly as it is at home,
wouldn't it be simpler to stay at home?

--
Sue ]|(:)

Let's have a moment of silence for all those Americans who are stuck in traffic on their way to the
gym to ride the stationary bicycle

"Ron - N.Y" wrote in message
...
Thought I would share some of my observations skiing in the Alps ,I
usually ski in the Northeast , mainly Vermont .

That was very informative and funny! I wish to ski over there one day.
I was told that I should rent skiis there instead of bringing my own,
because they tend to step all over your skiis.

"Sue" wrote in message
...
In message , Schmoe
writes

Skiing Europe, you need to dispense with your Amercian lift line manners
and
act like a NY taxi cab. It's all about attitude and aggression, that is,
if
you want to get on the lift.


I'm afraid you were getting all stressed up over nothing - you'd do better
in the lift queue game if you hire a sense of humour along with your skis,
and wriggle your way forward.
Or simply wait your turn - it makes very little difference anyway.

Also, you'd enjoy your holiday more if you could leave off whining while
you're here. If you want everything to be exactly as it is at home,
wouldn't it be simpler to stay at home?

--
Sue ]|(:)

Let's have a moment of silence for all those Americans who are stuck in
traffic on their way to the
gym to ride the stationary bicycle

I think this post is a bit unfair. He wasn't complaining very much or
wanted everything to be the same as in the US. He did complain about the
lift lines, and I think this is completely justified. Once you get used to
it, its not so bad, but compared with the polite and courteous US it does
come as a bit of a shock.

Lift lines are way worse in Europe than in the US/Canada, and France and
Italy are particularly bad.

Next time, try heading to Austria. Things are much more organised there
(although still not as much as in the US), and it really is a different vibe
with people that aren't so rude and crazy.

"Ron - N.Y" wrote in message
...
Thought I would share some of my observations skiing in the Alps ,I
usually ski in the Northeast , mainly Vermont . I went skiing for 6 days
and went to Courmeier , La Tuile , Cervinia & Chamonix . Courmeier was 1st
and the 1st obvious thing that hits you is the size of these freakin
mountains . The big Gondola is HUGE . They use a magnetic lift ticket
which I wasn't too crazy about . The lift lines are terribly unorganized
and how I made it back to the U.S without getting into a fistfight was
amazing . The snow was fluffier and lighter than the mostly man-made I'm
used to . The trials are very wide . It was hard at 1st to concentrate on
the trail in front of me as my eyes kept wandering to take in the amazing
view .
La Tuile ( sp?) was 2nd and I found it to be the easiest . Again the views
were intense . They were blowing off dynamite in a few places for
avalanches which scared the **** out of me .
Cervenia and Zermatt (sp?) were 3rd and you come real close to heaven when
you go the platform at the top and take in the 360 degree view . Oxygen
deprivation made it even more of a trip . My girlfriend who grew up in
Italy had fun taking pictures of me with a blue face . At almost 13,000
feet I hate to admit I felt sick like I was going to pass out .Didn't have
that problem at any of the other places . It took over an hour to ski
down from the top , very strange feeling when your used to going up & down
in 10 minutes in Vermont .Weird having to bring your passport skiing to
get to the Swiss side at Zermatt . The swiss were also well behaved on the
lift lines and there seemed to be some tension between them and the
Italians .
Chamonix was last and I might as well mention the views . I didn't get to
take the train so I can;t comment on that . We were able to to ski all 3
sections without taking it , I think you only take that for a particular
area which was closed .
The weather was great all 6 days and we got about a foot of fresh before
the 1st day out , great timing , thanx mother nature . A family friend
commented that it was a shame that it was so cold , I thought he was nuts
as it felt like spring skiing to me compared to the Northeast . None of
the places really had skiing on/off like we have here so I guess we
Americans are spoiled and or lazy in that respect . The food was very
different . They seem more concerned with the way they look than just
about anything else .The women looked like they were going to a ball the
way they were dressed in full make-up and jewelry etc . In the N.E you can
barely tell a man from a women. They should consider organizing there lift
lines better , I found that extremely stressful. Overall it was an
experience of a lifetime that I will never forget and hope to go back
again next year . But I also don't feel like I'm being deprived skiing in
the N.E . I sort of missed the jumps in the terrain parks and we have much
better mogul fields . My snobby girlfriend claims that they don't consider
that 'real' skiing , I just call it plain old fun .