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Thread: Crans Montana, Switzerland
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11-06-2008, 06:43 PM #1Will work for snow
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Crans Montana, Switzerland
A few photos of my new neighborhood.
Last edited by jwolter7; 11-06-2008 at 06:46 PM.
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11-06-2008, 06:54 PM #2
Yes, excellent shots, but where's the larger ones?
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11-06-2008, 06:58 PM #3_
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i see snow.. wheres the skiing? :]
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11-06-2008, 07:41 PM #4Hugh Conway Guest
No enough fur coats and moon boots to be Crans
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11-07-2008, 12:32 PM #5Will work for snow
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11-07-2008, 12:44 PM #6Will work for snow
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The cougars haven't arrived yet, it's the off season here.
Moon boots are in all the sport shops here.
I had reps from Tecnica tell me in the states they were popular over here, but I just could not believe them...Moon boots...Are you kidding.
Now having said that, I'm originally from Minnesota were it is very cold all the winter, and when I was young I had a paid of moon boots and they were the warmest, lightest, most comfortable winter boots I ever had. They beat Sorels hands down.
If only, they had the Dynafit attachments at the toe. Dam.
So as the saying goes... When in Rome, do as the Romans do? No, its not that cold here in sunny Crans.
But, I will be checking out the clubs to see which cougars have them on...
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11-07-2008, 04:39 PM #7
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11-07-2008, 09:10 PM #8
ya buddy, looks nice. good pics as well. why are you not shreading?
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11-08-2008, 10:08 AM #9Will work for snow
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I don't know how to ski on rocks yet.
We had snow as you see in the picture, but it went away after sun, and rain this week. I did get up in the mountains yesterday, I took a day off and hiked up to recon some BC runs.
There are many runs around here, but this would have been a very long one down to the valley, 5200 foot vertical. The route "did not go", at least not easily.
The very bottom has a narrow steep gorge, and a bridge that crosses it above. The route would work in stable snow, but the area has huge cliffs everywhere. To get to the bridge you would have to carry a rope and belay some tricky tree openings with huge drops twenty feet off the trail. Also if you got lost in the trees, and were off route you would be funked, big time.
Then the route killer, was the way out. It is easy on a road, on the other side of the valley, away from the huge wall of avalanche paths I hiked across on the trail to get there, but near the end, right as you drop down to the small reservoir, where you cross the river and come back to the Crans side, the trees get really tight, and again steep. This is the bottom and when you combine poor snow down low, and more tricky tree skiing, The route looks like more work then fun.
Then I had to walk up a road that was narrow with cars driving as fast as they could up the road. At one point I took out my headlamp because it was getting dark, and pointed it backwards, so they would not run me over. the walk back up the road to Icogne was too far for winter with your ski equipment. I caught the bus at the Icogne post, and was back in Crans in minutes. A nice 9 hour hike, the legs liked it... The mind went into endorphin mode after a while.
Hiking here is cool, I went through/around small dairy farms on my way out, on the road. The cows all have large bells on them and you can hear them walking all around you, even though you can only see a few of them. A little creepy, I though I was going to get attacked by ambushing large bovines.
The trail out to my recon spot reminded me of hiking in Yosemite valley. You turn a corner and all you can see is the edge of the trail, and the trees 1500 feet below down in the valley bottom.
There are signs telling people "If you suffer from vertigo do not go on this trail"...
It was a cool hike up to a huge dam above the city's of Crans and Anzere. The dam sends water down through tunnels inside the mountain where the Swiss have built big spinning wheels to generate power for the whole area, according to a sign at the small dam where you cross the river to come back up to Icogne, and Crans.
There are too many other runs around here to bother with that one, even though it could go...I should have taken my own advice and just stayed up high. I have photos, but I am working today, and will add them later.
My Goggle Earth recon missed some of the biggest cliffs, they were in shadows on the view you have from there.
Ski Heil...Last edited by jwolter7; 11-08-2008 at 10:37 AM.
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11-08-2008, 10:44 AM #10
That's a pretty sweet real estate brochure you have there. Almost as sweet as SKI magazine.
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"We don't need predator control, we need whiner control. Anyone who complains that "the gummint oughta do sumpin" about the wolves and coyotes should be darted, caged, and released in a more suitable habitat for them, like the middle of Manhattan." - Spats
"I'm constantly doing things I can't do. Thats how I get to do them." - Pablo Picasso
Cisco and his wife are fragile idiots who breed morons.
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11-08-2008, 03:48 PM #11Will work for snow
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More photos of Crans. The big cliffs I mentioned are not all in view from this perspective from the dam.
Again I did not get the larger size photos to download. It tells me "failed to write to tempory files" maybe the file is too big?? 10 megapixels photos?Last edited by jwolter7; 11-08-2008 at 03:53 PM.
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11-10-2008, 03:57 AM #12
My mom brought me to crans in february 1972 for a week. I remember I saw Gustav Thoni and Berhard Russi on TV winning their gold medals in sapporo, and that crans was not so fun for skiing. Never visited crans again.
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11-10-2008, 05:35 AM #13sucks on the internet
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Sunny side Crans is where the posh is and the snow gone by late February, no?
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11-10-2008, 07:08 AM #14Will work for snow
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Maybe,
I have already figured out that you will have to stay up high here in Crans. This is more of a tourist area than hard core skiing, but I'm getting older and this is still better than the skiing where I was in the states. The location is perfect for traveling, from my apartment I can see the whole Pennie Alps (Haute Route), from the Plateau du Trient to the Dent Blanche hiding the Matterhorn.
The top of the Plain Morte has a big ridge line going out in both directions with medium size moderate bowls everywhere. Perfect for getting in good shape Earlie in the season, before attempting bigger routes across the Valley.
The weather is very good here in Sunny Crans, and after spending two years in the rain, and huge snowfall in the Pacific Northwest (WA state & BC Canada) It will be nice to get up high in the sun often.
There is a nice little warm up tour here that goes from the Wildstrubel to the Wildhorn ("The Wild One"),and finishes with a run of over 2000M to Iffigen/Farrichen near the Lenk area. There are two huts, the Wildstrubel Hutte, and the Wildhorn Hutte.
There are some other big runs here around Crans-Montana, that I will keep all to myself, and tell everyone else they are no good!! But, that's not a problem because everyone here stays on the piste, and those will be all mine anyways...
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11-10-2008, 07:33 AM #15
i saw a few moon boots over at G3000 last weekend. a load of russians unloaded at the top with several fat old men with nice young blonde wives hanging on their arms, complete with fur, moon boots, and d&g sunglasses. their neuvo-riche steeze always cracks me up. i should've sneaked a few pics.
you might try an image-hosting site such as flickr, photobucket, or imageshack where you can store your photos externally and then link back to tgr. tgr's imagehosting is pretty weak. i expect to see lots of cougar shots from CM this season.
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11-10-2008, 08:17 AM #16
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11-10-2008, 09:29 AM #17
+1. Wife and I had dinner at Impossible in Chamonix a couple of years ago and were treated to an amazing display of Russian comsumption. Probably 30 people seated at a long table, mostly older guys with hot blonde wives in furs knocking down enough champagne and Stoli to float a battleship. Their uniquely conspicuous "nuevo-rich steeze" is truly amazing, as you say, like rednecks that hit the Powerball. Their tab was probably equal to the GDP of some South American countries.
I'd like to be an oligarch. Even a minor oligarch!"Buy the Fucking Plane Tickets!"
-- Jack Tackle
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11-10-2008, 11:36 AM #18
I actually heard that Verbier is now the most expensive place in CH for property.
Historically it used to be Crans Montana.
Well at leasts thats what i read in Verbier life magazine, which is about as close to the high life as I get.
Crans & also Anzere is probably ok skiing (for a few days).
But I really hope you got a way to access the other side of the valley...
Otherwise its gonna be upto the cougars & MILFs to keep you happy & amused.
EDIT : Keep the photos coming dude !Last edited by Scottish_Skier; 11-10-2008 at 01:01 PM.
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11-10-2008, 11:54 AM #19
Was in Crans Montana a couple years ago for New Years Eve. Decent skiing, however learn no elbow your way into lines. Unless you push and shove you will never get on the lift. The lifties didnt give a shit when we jumped in the ski school line. Whatever it takes.
Sexual climax lasts mere moments; but Deep Powder is extended Nirvana.
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