The Snow Thread

[Madhouse]

Thought I'd see if any other AFUKers are heading to the slopes this season? Skiing / snowboarding / toboggans / whatever, let's hear about it.

Me? I'm a snowboarder and am planning to get back on a mountain after 15 years of only having snow domes to scratch the itch (kids!!), just me & a mate for a long weekend in Jan. All we need to do now is sort out the where - 90% sure it'll be French Alps as his missus wants to do Italy sometime and as we want to make our trip an annual event we're trying not to piss the wives off too much ?

Just got a new board too (Capita DOA) and not even swapped my bindings over yet!

 

[ak2m4]

Love me some boarding but not been for 5 years and would need a solid 6 months to get into shape, knees ache just thinking about bending down to do my bindings up.  I heard a new company might be running ski trains at a decent price.  You planning on flying or driving?

 

[Madhouse]

Pretty sure I’ll be ruined after 3 or 4 days on the slopes, probably not helped by being a first & last lift kind of guy. But that’s what the apres ski for right? Recovery beers are definitely a thing.

Think we’ll fly as there’s not much in it cost wise, four of us would be cheaper to drive but two works out even and flying would be less hassle and I also wouldn’t need to buy snow chains.

Did the ski train down to Bourg St Maurice last time I went and while it was easy and cost effective, it was just a regular train that went to snowy places, so half the passengers had board/ski bags as well as a suitcase and nowhere to put them. It was carnage. Hope they’ve got more storage space nowadays.

That said it was great to get on a train after work and be in Bourg for breakfast before getting the first lift of the day, maximised piste time that’s for sure.

 

[gavinkempsell]

After a day on the slopes at Glenshee with the ATC in 1983 I swiftly learnt I have 0% balance and have avoided snow & ice for most of my adult life (barring a couple of seasons curling(I only fell on the rink once & was told I looked like a battleship being launched)).

To be fair, all the signs were there in 1977... I could never go a skateboard either.

 

[Madhouse]

You know that shiny new board I'd got that I'd not put my bindings on yet? well it turns out snowboard QC is right up there with airsoft QC. Not one of the threads on the inserts was clean enough to take a bolt!

As it was now 6 months old it was a warranty issue and boy are Capita's warranty department slow, three weeks to respond with a slightly odd request for a picture of my binding bolts and then nothing for a week. Got fed up and sent their customer services department a strop-a-gram full of 'I'm sure this isn't what you want for customer service' and 'I feel ....' comments. Next thing I know I get an email from Absolute Snow saying they're issuing a full refund and I can keep the board! - would've been nice to get it sorted without a month long wait but nice to get a resolution all the same.

At which point I'm back to square one, no board, a holiday six weeks away and no DOA's in my size in stock at AS. Frankly I've been a bit soured on the Capita brand after all this so was quite glad of that. So after the application of some man-maths and a healthy dose of 'F**k it' I've ordered a Bataleon Evil Twin+ because it got recommended by a mate and I can't be arsed re-looking for a new board.

Phew, now that the board's sorted I can start looking forward to a trip to Les Menuires in Jan!

Mind you, I'm also tempted to get an M6 die and give cleaning up the threads on the DOA a go, it's currently a wall hanger so can't make it any worse!

 

[ak2m4]

Easy to get them them rethreaded?  Tools should cost about £20.  Do you know the size?

 

[Madhouse]

It's an M6 thread, picked up the tools today so will give it a go at the weekend if I get a spare 5 minutes. Definitely worth giving it a try though.