Snow shoes - Hiking

[Marshall]

Were off to Canada in the new year.

While I can get around on the snowboard, the misses doesn't ski or board. She's going to give it another go (but I'm not holding my breath)

If she doesn't want to board I was thinking of buying her a pair of snow shoes. She's got a good pair of snow shoes for general walking. But I was thinking to maybe get her a pair snow shoes that she can strap onto her boots. So if she want to she can walk between lifts. It's more for when the surface becomes a little to slippery for normal boots. As it looks like you cant get to the peak with out the chair lift up, then skiing down and catching another lift to the top.

What do you guys think ?? what are my options ??

[Taxman]

If you love her, buy her private skiing/boarding lessons so that she will learn. Snow shoes will not be appreciated.

Would probably suggest skiing lessons (no bias) as it is easier to get immediate results.

[Marshall]

Yeah I was thinking... I might need to hand over my Amex to a instructor with the single goal of making her into a boarder so she can at least get around (she has doddgy knees - so sking in out).

[Crystal]

I would hand over the Amex, we do a heap of snow shoeing also, but doing it alone....naaaahhhhh boring !!

[Vet]

Don't boarders fall onto dodgy knees?

Snowshoes on ebay can be cheap.

Thomas Cook sell a shoe with 'flick out' crampons. ($25 at the Royal Melbourne Show)

Chains for the normal shoes perhaps?

[Teckel]

Don't touch those TC boots with crampons. I had them in my shop for 2 years and sold 2 pairs in that time. All that while, I had been trying to return them to TC - they eventually took them back just before the Royal Melbourne Show - haha - they're trying to offload them. While the crampon is a great idea, those boots are made for something of another species. They are so narrow, they don't fit anyone - most uncomfortable things I've ever put on my feet.

[wedelandfrau]

I love mine TC for walking around Mt Buller, and I have a very wide foot.

Incidentally, the narrow margin in Fran Bailey's seat surely mean Lake Mountain could jemmy some grants, eg for snow guns or decent radio advertising, from Kevin. The day trippers I met in recent years have never heard off LM, and that is deplorable. Kick but

[Teckel]

But wedelandfrau, are they the black with white trim apres boots with crampons you're talking about? All the other TC boots I have, are great.

LM has consistently extracted money from the govt only (in my opinion) to waste it. Most recent grant was $1million for snow-making equipment, which is unused. Prior to that it was for their palatial "visitor centre" - which consists of (ground floor) - a small and very ugly concrete bunker for the plebs (designed to be a multi-media centre but money ran out), on the middle level is a ski hire and an up-market bistro with bar seating about 40 at max, and the top floor is offices, board room etc. To build this, they destroyed the old day centre which catered for the needs of the mums and dads with big open fires, lots of tables and benches etc. The first winter of this new visitor centre, thousands of visitors were almost stranded on the mountain during a blizzard - they were forced to open the old log cabin (which had been the old ski hire) to let a couple of hundred people in out of the weather. Since then, they have converted that old log cabin to a take away place where you can buy pies, chips, coffee etc (if you want to wait for up to 30 mins for a cup of coffee)
Now they're after a grant to build a "snow-dome" in the car-park. This snow-dome is a tent (which can hold only 10 ton of weight) and will collapse on the first heavy snow fall. And of course, will take away about half the top car park
http://www.lakemountainresort.com.au/image/visitor_centre.jpg
But they won't advertise the resort. They don't phone TV stations each Thursday with snow reports, but they do phone me to tell me off for promoting LM through forums like this one. They produce a glossy brochure once a year which goes to places like Federation Square - and that's about it, as far as I can see.

Sorry for the rant, but you got me on a sore point there :D

[ 21.12.2007, 03:29 PM: Message edited by: Teckel ]

[Vet]

LM were at the RM Show this year, with free passes to the fish farm and hotel etc brochures, but LM really need to advertise. A few struggling working familes near me were surprised when told about its proximity for day trips and its relative low cost. Their snow cams need to come on prior to Queens Birthday so people know there's snow. Or don't some lycra clad Snowfield Socialists want to share 'their' mountain or encourage small business??

[Teckel]

That was actually the Marysville tourism group (Mystic Mountians Tourism) that was at the show. LM jumped on the bandwagon.
The fish farm (lovely people, good friends of mine) are between me & Marysville & nothing to do with LM. Pub also nothing to do with LM.
The management at LM are certainly not socialists. LOL They think they are at the top of the tree and have little regard for the underlings - the small buinesses. The small businesses around her would love for more advertising to happen. LM are mainly interested in achieving their budget - because then they get their bonuses. Stuff anyone else who is dependent on them. Last winter, they did no snow-farming, and once there was snow on the ground, no snow-making. So when it all melted in the first week of August, they were totally unprepared, and closed down for the winter - budgets met. :(