Summer skiing - wife/kids dips in the pool, I go skiing

In addition to Via Ferrata down in valley off Venosc (accessed by
gondola) the is also very good white water rafting-again down in cute
village of Venosc. Best thing in my view is downhill mountain bking.
You can start just below the glacier at 3200m (or actually on the
glacier during event like "Mountain of Hell") and finish down at 900m
in Venosc again.
You can even bungee jump from cable car with a 140m jump.
For 2 year old there is summer luge with daddy, trampolins, a few play
areas, animal spotting down in villages like Venosc. Then there is the
creches which organise various outdoor activities for the kiddies.

More on activities on http://www.peakretreats.co.uk/french.../loadindex.119

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
XS
Peak Retreats http://www.peakretreats.co.uk
Ski Collection http://www.skicollection.co.uk

Mads Bondo Dydensborg wrote:
john elgy wrote:


The glaciers at Les Deux Alpes or Tignes in France. Despite the addition
of the new indoor pool complex, combined with the various sports and
activities available on the lake at Tignes, I still think 2 Alpes is a
considerably more attractive summer destination. Loads to do for the
kids there. Two hair-raising (plastic) summer luge runs, quad biking,
mountain biking, grass skiing, tennis, hiking, an adventure park, bungee
jumping, horse riding, white water canoeing or rafting (more sedate
variations available)... you name it the resort offers pretty much the
whole spectrum of summer activities and sports.

There is also a couple interesting via ferrata in the Veneon valley, one
finishing in Les Deux Alpes itself.


Hi.

What is a "via ferrata" ? (Or am I misreading your comment here?)

Regards,

Mads

Originally via ferrata were iron steps (ladders) and cables put on
footpaths in the dolomites to enable normal plane dwellers (ie not
mountaineers) to get across some of the very steep terrain in the area.
They proved very popular in their own right and have been adopted in
France as “sport routes”. These are usually up spectacular rock faces
and give great views with a lot of air between your legs. They are well
protected and accessible to most people fit enough to ski, but you do
need some specialist equipment. My normal ski party go on 2 Via Ferrata
trips (long weekends) a year we find them so much fun and they are
definately worth a trip in their own right.

The tourist office in many ski resorts has installed these to promote
summer tourism, with particularly good ones in Val D’Isere. You will
find guide books in the book shops in ski resorts if you look carefully
and the mountain adventure companies such as Arc Adventures organise
guided trips.

For a typical picture have a look at my son doing one in Serre Chevalier
when he was 9 or 10
http://www.zen20587.zen.co.uk/Mounta...s/image41.html

John

In message
" " wrote:

Originally via ferrata were iron steps (ladders) and cables put on
footpaths in the dolomites to enable normal plane dwellers (ie not
mountaineers) to get across some of the very steep terrain in the
area. They proved very popular in their own right and have been
adopted in France as “sport routes”. These are usually up spectacular
rock faces and give great views with a lot of air between your legs.
They are well protected and accessible to most people fit enough to
ski, but you do need some specialist equipment. My normal ski party
go on 2 Via Ferrata trips (long weekends) a year we find them so much
fun and they are definately worth a trip in their own right.

The major proliferation of via-ferrata (or klettersteig as they
are called in German) occurred during the wars between Italy and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire around the time of the First World War in 1914.
They were used to move troops and supplies around the mountains. The
remnants of the fortifications and trenches can still be seen on some of
the routes in the Dolomites. In more recent years they have also been
recognised as tourist attractions and there are now very many new routes
being put up in Austria, Switzerland, France and also in Italy. They
differ very much in character, in that many of the traditional routes
provide a means of getting to the tops of peaks and crossing over
ridges, whereas many sport routes simply create a series of technical
problems to be enjoyed and then bring you back to near the starting
point by an easy route.

Mike
--
o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark
\__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing,
" || _`\,_ |__\ \ | immunology lecturer, antibody engineer and
` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user"

"Mads Bondo Dydensborg" wrote in message
k...

Ah, I used to windsurf - was actually quite good - from about 83 to 93.

There have been radical improvements in the equipment since then. Both boards
and sails are much better.


Unfortunately, I got an injury in my back around 93, and has been a little
worried about windsurfing from that point. These days, when I mount a board
(and years go between that event), I tend to get depressed by my current
abilities with it... :-/. (Seriously, I can not believe how much strength I
appear to have lots in the upper body. One is getting old.).

I think that you would get the strength back quite quickly. Windsurfing, like
skiing does require practice to attain and retain an adequate skill level.

--

Michael Chare

Michael Chare wrote:

"Mads Bondo Dydensborg" wrote in message
k...

Ah, I used to windsurf - was actually quite good - from about 83 to 93.

There have been radical improvements in the equipment since then. Both
boards and sails are much better.

Yes. I used to change my gear every second year during that period though,
so its not like I have any stuff from before 1992, I think.

Unfortunately, I got an injury in my back around 93, and has been a
little worried about windsurfing from that point. These days, when I
mount a board (and years go between that event), I tend to get depressed
by my current abilities with it... :-/. (Seriously, I can not believe how
much strength I appear to have lots in the upper body. One is getting
old.).

I think that you would get the strength back quite quickly. Windsurfing,
like skiing does require practice to attain and retain an adequate skill
level.

You are probably right.

Regards,

Mads

--
Mads Bondo Dydensborg http://www.madsdydensborg.dk/

Philosopher's syndrome: mistaking a failure of imagination for an insight
into necessity.
- Daniel Dennett (could also be said of others than philosphers)

Felly sgrifennodd Mads Bondo Dydensborg :
Hi all

Its no secret, that I am more interessted in skiing than my wife. So, in
order to go skiing more, I just got this weird idea: Is it possible to go
somewhere in Europe during the summer (July), where I can go skiing while
the kids and the wife spend the time at the beach? Possible just beach like
(outside) climate, combined with a pool? I was thinking perhaps Austria
(skiing on a gletcher).

Does it have to be a beach? Norway (Stryn or Hardanger) has pretty good
summer skiing, and isn't far from you. It's also beautiful, and swimming
in the fjords, though not as warm as the Med, is very nice if you can
find a good spot.

Adrian


--
Adrian Shaw ais@
Adran Cyfrifiadureg, Prifysgol Cymru, aber.
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru ac.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/ais/weather/ uk

In article ,
Mike Clark wrote:
In message
" " wrote:
Originally via ferrata were iron steps (ladders) and cables put on
footpaths in the dolomites to enable normal plane dwellers (ie not
mountaineers) to get across some of the very steep terrain in the
....
The major proliferation of via-ferrata (or klettersteig as they
are called in German) occurred during the wars between Italy and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire around the time of the First World War in 1914.
They were used to move troops and supplies around the mountains. The
remnants of the fortifications and trenches can still be seen on some of
the routes in the Dolomites.

All over.

A nice coffee table book exists on them. I picked up a copy at the
store in Cortina. I can't remember the full title but the author's
first name was Sepp. I think I got it for about 60 Euros, and I showed
it to a number of friends who lusted after it so I pointed them to
amazon.it where they told me it was 75 Euros. And this is in Italian
(no English or non-Italian versions).

I think down hill from the top of Pordoi (Passo) you can enter one.
Hell of a way and place to fight a war.


In more recent years they have also been
recognised as tourist attractions and there are now very many new routes
being put up in Austria, Switzerland, France and also in Italy. They
--

Adrian D. Shaw wrote:

Felly sgrifennodd Mads Bondo Dydensborg :
Hi all

Its no secret, that I am more interessted in skiing than my wife. So, in
order to go skiing more, I just got this weird idea: Is it possible to go
somewhere in Europe during the summer (July), where I can go skiing while
the kids and the wife spend the time at the beach? Possible just beach
like (outside) climate, combined with a pool? I was thinking perhaps
Austria (skiing on a gletcher).

Does it have to be a beach?

No, but it better be warm. I do not think I can get the wife to take summer
vacation in norway. We are talking sun and swimsuits here, and we want to
get something warmer than Denmark. (We == wife :-)

Thanks for the summer skiing suggestion in any case, may be relevant at some
other point.

Regards,

Mads

--
Mads Bondo Dydensborg http://www.madsdydensborg.dk/

There was a time when religion ruled the world. It is known as The Dark
Ages.
- Ruth Hurmence Green (The Born Again Skeptic's Guide to the Bible)

Well last year at this time I got a couple of nice tickets in Leukerbad
which were combined lift and hot springs (so you can get maybe 3 hours
of soaking). Wonderful...... No glacier.

You can ski the Stubai in Austria just S of Innsbruck, and there was a
thermal resort 1 drainage West of the Stubai's drainage in, I forget the
town, but I want to visit it some day. The tourist office can easily
help. Google maps are your friend... Langenfeld.

There's pools all over the place near most of these skiable glaciers.

--