UKC

The first Fall Line magazine is out, temperatures are dropping, hopefully snow is on the way ⛄️
Anyone got any shiny new kit for this season or going anywhere exciting ?

I have a pair of Nordica Enforcer 88’s on the way to use in Westendorf Austria in Feb.  Can’t wait 🏔⛷🍺🍔👌

In reply to restless native: No new kit for me this year but I’m getting more and more excited about the winter. This year I’ve decided to treat my wife and I to a season in Verbier.

In reply to restless native:

Yes, already been getting the customised emails from ski related companies for a while now. Not sure what the long term fofecast is for this winter in the alps but October has been fairly warm so far (t-shirt and shorts last week when visited Chamonix) hopefully the temperature will drop!

In reply to restless native:

I live in the Vercors at 1200m just 30 minutes from Grenoble so yes. 

Mostly I'm looking forward to getting more serious at XC skiing (4 decent domains within 15 minute drive) as got nice shiny kit last year replacing my Decathlon rubbish. Might get some touring gear because rentals are hard to get in local shops if you don't move quickly when the conditions are good.

We had 100km Foehn wind (the snow eater) last night which kept me up half the night rattling the shutters and blowing garden furniture around and its staying really mild rainy so no sign of decent snow yet.

In reply to yorkshireman:

Warm & very wet today in the Champsaur, the snow that fell above 2000m a couple of weeks ago has long gone & I was cycling in shorts & a short sleeved top yesterday.

No new gear so far but I do need some new XC ski boots - have started looking but none of the local shops have their winter stocks yet.

In reply to restless native:

Hopefully off to Arctic Norway Next spring. New kit is tempting but suspect I ought to remind myself how to use the existing stuff having managed 1 ski tour in 3 years thanks to covid. 

We live close to the hills now so just need some ❄️

In reply to David Bennett:

Nice, i will see you there at Christmas

In reply to restless native:

Bollocks to shiny new kit! I'm just hoping that my repairs to the old core-shots in my touring skis hold out – mostly.

In lieu of weighing down my pack with shiny new kit, I've started taking pleasure in seeing what sort of inefficiencies I can achieve with stuff that I already own: carrying a full gas-stove-and-coffee-percolator, for example, just to make people jealous when they realise that theirs, from their Thermosses, just isn't the same on the summit.

(Bonus points if anyone has a shiny new Thermos.)

In reply to yorkshireman:

20cm in Alberta and people are out on the XC trails and scratchy stuff being done by mixed climbing perverts.  Shame I'm in Manchester for another week!

In reply to restless native:

Probably an early week or two in Les Arcs to see how the knees/skiing mojo/fickle snow conditions are after bailing on a trip last season due to crap snow.  Then maybe a trip to Cham or similar later in the season

In reply to restless native: no new kit but excited none the less . 

In reply to mike123: just realised that I have a wildly expensive jacket that my brother in law gave me as it’s so last year . I intend to wear it ironically . 

In reply to restless native:

I'm picking up some new (2nd hand) touring skis, bindings & skins tomorrow.

I've only ever snowboarded for 20 years and have a splitboard(that I can ski sort of when I concentrate). I fear a painful learning curve once I score some boots. I live on a hill, what could go wrong?

Pretty much all the snow that fell last week has disappeared from here unfortunately (Innsbruck area)

Conditions on the Stubai Glacier are alright, but not the greatest for this time of year.

Really need some colder temps right now then a loooooot of new snow

In reply to restless native: tempted to get some Blizzard Brahma 82s for more vertical on pistish days rather than just using my Whitedot R98s and Dynafits for everything

Oh dear! Just been reviewing costs for holidays and lift passes for the coming season - massive increases all round compared to previous years. May have to rethink