rigor mortis 0 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 I went to switzerland for a couple of weeks over the break. Some differences i noticed were: swiss is much bigger, more people, more ques, more extensive infrastructure, more people going off piste, more rocks!! (i dont think ive ever really struck rock in japan!) luckily i got 1 good dump before i came back. but the snow seemed a lot heavier than ive had in japan. what do you think? Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Europe and the States had ski infrastructure well established before skiing caught on in Japan. Having a more mature industry in Europe should come as no surprise. The difference in snow you mentioned is probably due to the dryness of the Siberian winds picking up just enough moisture from the Japan seas to dump on Japan. However, some of my friends think Whistler has even better light snow. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Quote: Originally posted by thursday: The difference in snow you mentioned is probably due to the dryness of the Siberian winds picking up just enough moisture from the Japan seas to dump on Japan. However, some of my friends think Whistler has even better light snow. No way thursday. I was in Hokkaido in Feb and then Whistler back country in April after a big dump. Our guide (of 7 years experience) was raving about the snow 'lightness'. I thought you've got to be kidding. It was great powder, but it wasn't Hokkaido powder! Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 There's a few rocks around here at the moment Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Mantas is right. Whistler gets a lot but it's not that light and it's raining half the time in the village (this year is an exception). You have to go inland (the Rockies) for lighter snow. Western Hokkaido is bloody amazing for the combination of quantity and quality. As for Europe... It doesn't snow there. I know rocks from skiing in EASTERN North America for years and I HATE them! Phuck rocks! Give me snow!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Rocks...pfht...You guys don't know about ROCKS until you've done some 'spring skiing' in Oz. Although there's probably more grass than rocks. Same price all year for a lift ticket though. Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 I heard that Australia kicks ass for skiing. At Falls Creek, a 'dump' is 80cm. Anything less is just snowing Should I cancel my trip??? Link to post Share on other sites
snobee 0 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Cheese? No contest. Swiss - holes and all - shames the rubbery wax of Japan. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Quote: Originally posted by ger: I heard that Australia kicks ass for skiing. At Falls Creek, a 'dump' is 80cm. Anything less is just snowing Should I cancel my trip??? Mate. Dont cancel. Where else can you pay ONLY $100/day to ski with wombats? It's not Europe, North America or Japan, but it doesn't suck either. It Just depends on your luck. The 'dumps' are few and far between and the seasons are short. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Snobee- Are gunning for Cheesemans job? Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 I AM hoping to go to Australia sometime soon but I don't imagine I'll be packing my pack my skis. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 No- it would be like me taking a holiday to the South of France to work on my tan. What part of CA are you from Ger and where are you going in Oz? Sorry getting off topic. Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 "Sorry getting off topic." That's OK, I think we've decided that Switzerland sucks, except for the cheese. I'm from Toronto (not known for snow or mountains). I don't have specific travel plans yet but I travel a fair bit and I've never been to Oz so it's near the top of my list. I might be able to get my school to send me in the next year or so but I might have to push that one a bit. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Trono ay. I lived at Finch and Young once. Man did I love that place. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 I had a bad experience in Switzerland. My wallet, with hundreds of euros in it was picked from my wallet while I was having dinner. That compares with my seeing a daffy friend who often comes with me to Japan, drop her wallet on several occasions and her passport once, only to get it returned to her after a few inquiries at the nearest uketsuke each time. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 OK, the cheese wins in Switzerland, and the schnapps, and the fondue, and the watches. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Apart from that, what have the Swiss done for us... Link to post Share on other sites
daver 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 you really can't compare japan and switzerland. yes japan has good snow, (this year would seem to suggest otherwise) but skiing in switzerland is more than just a fun, trendy recreation, it is a way of life. switzerland is a place where at the top of the mountain you can look out into the valley and see tiny snow clad farming villages that have likely not changed in nearly a millenia. it is a place in which gondola stations balance on a razor's edge atop precipices that give even the most sure footed mountaineer vertigo, while all the locals sit outside enjoying wine and melted pots of cheese. this is a place where resorts are over 3800m high, vertical rises are nearly 1800m, and areas stretch entire mountain ranges; straddling international borders. switzerland is where this sport was created. it is where it was refined, and it is where it is continually advanced. it is skiing done with style. everyone on the hill rocks harder than you, and at the end of the day, everyone in the plethora of bars rocks harder than you as well. this year the alps have been with out snow, and with the current climate change trend this might be a more common scenario, but i assure you the area does get snow and when it does, it goes off. i have seen it snow a meter in a night. and i have been to small resorts in which you can have it all to yourself. japan is a nice place to ski. and i will not deny there are plenty of great skiing opportunities here. but i am not here to ski. i ski here because i ski and here is where i am. if given the choose i would not have any difficulty making up my mind as to where to go. Link to post Share on other sites
davide 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 I live in Switzerland, and this season I went skiing only twice: very few spring snow (wet and heavy). For the next few days, it will rain. Then it will get warmer. Flowers are in blossom in my place. I wonder how I will look like in spring... Just forget the Alps for skiing. About big snowfall, that was 20 years ago. In places where they were doing summer skiing in the 80's (1 m of snow still in July) now is totally dry already in june. Now if they get 2 or 3 big dump in a season they are really lucky. When it snows 30 cm they say it is a lot. Some resorts run the whole season with 20 or 30 cm. Artificial snow is compulsory. And I do not ski on man-made snow. It is true they have great infrastructures, but they are useless if it is dry. Some stupid people are still investing in skiing infrastructure in the Alps. Probably they have money to throw away. I would not be surprised if there will be no skiing at all in Alps in 10 or 20 years. Check out conditions here: http://wispo.myswitzerland.com/requests/...EN;DM551104OGSS Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 for some strange reason, I like daver's rendition much much more. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Great post daver. It makes me want to go there, now. Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Well... Thanks for putting things in perspective Daver. I've never been skiing in Europe but I grew up being a skier and I always wanted to go to Europe when I was younger --Chamonix... St. Moritz... Zermatt... I used to read the magazines, look at the pictures and hear the stories about the terrain... the glaciers... crossing international borders on skis... But there's a lot of snobbery also. I think a lot of people still think that skiing begins and ends in Europe and that nothing else can compare. It's kind of like how people think that Europe is the home of culture and sophistication. Last time I was there, we were constantly hassled and ripped off --it was just barbaric! (Mind you, that was Amsterdam). I don't like the snobbery and I consistently hear that Europe just doesn't get much snow so I tend to trash the alps, mainly to offset the old conservative view. One of my old ski buddies who currently lives in Jasper, lived in Switzerland for several years. He was really into climbing and so on, but about the skiing, he was like --"No No... It's like Jasper (the dry side of the Rockies)... they don't get much snow... it's nothing like Whistler...". Whistler, (despite its Disneyesque village and excessive hype) has also got fantastic terrain and I can't imagine ANY resort in Europe having a better lift infrastructure. I'd still like to ski the Alps but the bottom line is... With limited funds and even more limited vacation time, I wouldn't go to Europe for skiing when the chances are pretty good that the conditions are going to suck, there will be more hassles, and it will probably cost more. There are better options elsewhere. As far as everyone in Switzerland rocking harder than everyone on SJ both in the bars and on the slopes, I highly doubt that. As for myself, I really don't 'rock' at all in the evenings if there's a lot of snow on the ground. In Europe I might give that one a go however. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 I've never skied Europe either ( except for a few runs at the top of the Jungfrau in summer). Whenever I've made plans, somebody talks my out of it with tales of what Ger descibes above. Snobery, crowds and expense. Switzerland is a beautiful place and a ski culture second to none, but I just want cheap uncrowded POW. Link to post Share on other sites
daver 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 i will agree that switzerland is not the best place to do a week's ski vacation. i had the privilege of living there for a season with a swiss family. my perspective is a little different. but i will hold strong to my point that they rock harder than you, (ok i am exaggerating a little for effect. let's say then harder than the average punter and weekend warrior) for the simple reason that this is nothing new to them. people grow up on skis on big mountains, and there are no limits. i went there wide eyed thinking i was hot sh$t as a both a skier and a partier. i was quickly humbled. Link to post Share on other sites
Aussie ski mum 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 We seem to bring bad snow conditions with us when we travel - when in whistler a few years ago, it was raining so much that there was a deep lake of water on top of the frozen lake! We didn't even bother to ski (we can ski in the rain in Australia). Two years ago we were in Switzerland and they were having a bad start to the season - similar sad conditions to Australia's 2006 season. Now we are off to ShigaKogen, and the snow reports don't sound too promising so far! Is it us? Is it something we said??? (By the way - that year in Canada, we gave Whistler the flick and went to Lake Louise - fantastic!) Link to post Share on other sites
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