InTheSnow Issue 21 - November 2011

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Christmas flights THREE VALLEYS, CHAMONIX, MORZINE

New Year flight New Year coach

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CONFIDENT WHEN IT MATTERS Helly Hansen: The choice of Aspen / Snowmass ski patrollers for staying dry, warm and protected in extreme conditions.

Dan Goddard / Aspen Highlands ski patroller

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Publisher

Dominic Killinger

very few in Europe that will still carry ski gear for free, saving up to £100 per person return, and Swiss Rail not only take you seamlessly from airport to resort but do so at no cost for children aged under 16 when a parent buys the Swiss Family Card value transfer ticket. Children also pay less for lift tickets than anywhere else in Europe and don’t pay at all until age nine in many resorts, age ten in Zermatt.

British tour operators are also offering numerous special deals, and are advising that the best way to manage your trip costs is to ensure

Editor

PATRICK THORNE

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Production Director

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Reporters / Contributors

ellie koyander DEBBIE GABRIEL SALLY BROOKES DAVID BLACK

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Boot room supplied by

News Correspondent

elliS BRIGHAM

BEN CLATWORTHY

www.ellis-brigham.com

Tuition Correspondent

JON WEST

jon.west@altitude-verbier.com Photography See individual images for specific credits. Any uncredited images supplied by third party suppliers, agencies and/or advertisers

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Swiss ski resorts are also keen to stress that travelling to them from the UK is not only among the most efficient, comfortable and pleasant ways to reach your destination, it’s also surprisingly affordable

dom@InTheSnow.com

MATT NICHOLSON

that as much as possible is included in the price you pay in the UK before you leave.

“Chalet hotels offer exceptional value for money, offering high quality cuisine including a full skiers’ buffet breakfast, afternoon tea, and four- or five-course dinners with an unrestricted choice of complimentary wines, and tea/coffee,” says Inghams CEO (www. inghams.co.uk), Andy Perrin.

The company offers chalet packages from £409 in Verbier, including flights, transfers, and seven nights fully-serviced and catered accommodation.

Two-for-one on lift passes also helps and Crystal (crystalski. co.uk) has extended their deal on Swiss passes for bookings made up to 16 November, a saving of £254 in Verbier, for example, although they also warn numbers are limited and could run out before that date.

Several big operators opt to include lift passes and ski rentals in packages, although not meals.

Crystal Ski have seven nights in apartments in Nendaz in Les 4 Vallées for £569, including Gatwick flights, transfers, lift passes and rentals or ski carriage.

So thanks to the combined effort of resorts and operators, if you plan carefully you can still enjoy the most beautiful scenery in the ski world and a holiday of the quality we all feel we deserve this winter, whatever the world economy throws at us!

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British tour operators, Swiss ski resorts and Switzerland’s Central Bank have all got together to ensure skiing in Switzerland remains affordable this winter. The Swiss franc has soared to unprecedented highs in recent months as investors sought a safe currency in the world’s latest economic crisis. The result for skiers and boarders was skyrocketing in-resort prices as the pound’s buying power plummeted. As the situation looked increasingly bleak for Swiss tourism, the country’s national bank stepped in to ensure the franc did not gain too much in value (probably causing the exposure of UBS rogue trader Kweku Adoboli in the process) and now resorts and tour operators have launched a raft of deals to keep Swiss skiing affordable too.

At a press briefing to journalists in London to launch the season, Swiss tourism officials promoted Swiss skiing under the tagline, “Higher, Sunnier, Snowier” – three of the key attractions that have kept Brits returning to the country every year since 1864, when winter sports holidays began in St Moritz.

They also told InTheSnow of special deals linedup to help make holidays cheaper. These include free lift passes for guests in Davos (davos. ch) up til Christmas, 30% savings on low season lift passes in St Moritz (stmoritz.ch), free lift passes for women during Engelberg’s (engelberg. ch) Ladies Week in January and free passes at Leukerbad (Leukerbad.ch) when booking certain hotels. Most of the offers have restrictions that must be checked online before you book.

Verbier (verbier.ch) has also announced a range of measures. “In order to counter the effect of the strong franc, our visitors will enjoy a ski-lodging

package with an up to 20% better exchange rate than the official daily rate. Details and offers will be available on our site through the reservation section under the name Change Busters,” announced a spokesperson for the famed resort, which will also offer a 50% reduction on lift tickets up to 23 December.

Swiss ski resorts are also keen to stress that travelling to them from the UK is not only among the most efficient, comfortable and pleasant ways to reach your destination, it’s also surprisingly affordable, particularly for families.

National airline Swiss (swiss.com) is among

ISSUE 21 | NOV 2011

Patrick Thorne

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The 21 September not only marked the first day of autumn, it also marked the first day of the 2011–12 ski season in some areas.

It was hard not to get excited when glacier resorts in the Alps reported up to 50cm of fresh snow falling in the last 48 hours of summer 2011. Indeed, lower altitude ski areas like Obergurgl – one of the first traditional village resorts to open in Europe by mid-November each year – had 30cm of snow, and there was even a dusting at some low-lying resorts like Mayrhofen, located well below 1000m.

With more than 30cm of fresh powder on the Stubai glacier, the big snowfall allowed the season to start on the first day of autumn, followed a few days later by another glacier, Pitztal, where a new gondola will open for the 2012/13 season, Austria’s highest up to 3440m.

As we go to press other ski areas like Solden in Austria and Tignes in France are due to join those already in action. Indeed, six ski areas have been continually operating since last spring and summer – including Hintertux, Saas-Fee and Zermatt; but those new autumn openings FEEL like the very start of a new season!

The signs are promising across the Atlantic too. Copper Mountain and Breckenridge in Colorado reported fresh snow in midSeptember, and several Colorado areas planned to start snowmaking as we went to press. La Niña, which brought record snowfalls to Californian ski areas last winter, is set to return this year.

Of course, as worldwide economic turmoil and the associated gloom remains, the main news story for the UK ski industry is the battle to turn around a 3-year decline in the number of Brits heading to the slopes. A seriously good, snowy start to the season would certainly help, so let’s hope the weather forecasters are right and the snow keeps falling.

In the Snow Sept 277x85_HiRes.pdf

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07/09/2011

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Pre-Christmas – ski 5 days

THREE VALLEYS, CHAMONIX, C

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What are you doing for Christmas?

MORZINE

fr

£299 fr

Christmas – ski 8 days

£469

Christmas flights

£404

THREE VALLEYS H/B

THREE VALLEYS, CHAMONIX, MORZINE

New Year flight New Year coach

08444 060600

fr

fr fr

£488 £399

ABTA No. V4138

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Kandahar Racing Announce New FIS Race Event In Méribel BEN CLATWORTHY

SAALBACHHINTERGLEMM Access to the slopes of Hinterglemm from Saalbach has been dramatically improved with the installation of a new eight-seat gondola. The new lift replaces a very slow and unreliable chairlift.

This is the second phase of three for the area, last season a new gondola replaced the terrain park T-bar, and next season the two drags above the new gondola will be replaced by a new six-seat chairlift.

LES ARCS The old Mont Blanc chair from Les Arc 1600 and the drag lift above have been replaced by a new six-seat chairlift, allowing much faster access to Les Deux Têtes.

The terrain park also has a new lift for the forthcoming season. For the 2010–11 season, a fixed-grip four-seat chairlift was installed to improve access from Plan-Peisey.

COURCHEVEL 1850 The inaugural four-seat high-speed chairlift in the world, Plantrey, installed in Courchevel 1850 in 1983, has been replaced by a new six-seat chairlift for the 2011–12 season. Carrying capacity will increase from 2400 to 3000 skiers per hour, and the boarding area will also be improved.The lift often has long queues in the morning as many use it as their first lift of the day to avoid using the gondolas out of 1850.

BEN CLATWORTHY

Kandahar Racing (www. kandaharracing.com), who offers ski race training to children aged 8–18-years-old, has teamed up with British Alpine Racing Ski Clubs (BARSC) to host a new Super Combined ski race in Méribel this season. The competition will take place on the 2015 World Championships race slope, the same piste which the British Championships is held on each year. The race will take place on 28 January 2012, and is timed

to coincide with the Inter-Services Combined Championships.

A BARSC spokeswoman told InTheSnow “this new race is yet another extension to the British ski race calendar and means we continue, despite a lack of mountains, to be organising races for both home nation racers and the wider international community.”

The Kandahar Ski Club is the world’s oldest ski club, and counts GB skiers and Olympians David Ryding and Edward Drake among its members. The junior training arm of the club is the perfect

breeding ground for children who have outgrown ski school and are looking to break into competitive racing. Georgina Morris, Kandahar Racing Manger spoke to InTheSnow and told me “The Kandahar isn’t all about national team racers, we spend as much time, if not more, coaching those who have a passion for skiing and racing, to make them the best possible skier, even if they won’t be our next Graham Bell. This is key to our success as a club and actually makes us more competitive as a team during the major championships.”

Get Down & Do The Snow Dance...

SÖLDEN Two new ultra-modern gondolas have replaced the old bottomto-top gondola on Gaislachkogl.

The first, an eight-seat, and the second, a 24-person gondola will be complete for the beginning of the forthcoming season.

BUTTERMILK, COLORADO A new high speed quad is set to replace the current slow lifts at Tiehack on Buttermilk, which will cut journey time by up to 60%.

Kandahar Racing trains all over the Alps each season, competing in a range of races, including the BARSC Championships (Champoluc, Italy), the English Championships (Bormio, Italy), and British Alpine Championships (Méribel, France).

The race training season starts early for competitive skiers with a pre-season camp in Saas-Fee during the October half-term.

The BARSC Championships then take place just before Christmas.

Kandahar Ski Club is very keen to introduce new children and teenagers into ski racing. This season the Club is running a ”race taster” week in Champoluc, Italy, 10–17 December, which will be repeated 26 December–2 January in Aosta, Italy.

“These taster weeks are ideal for anyone who may be thinking about how to progress their skiing, be it competitively or otherwise” said Morris, “nurturing the next generation of ski racers has always been important to Kandahar and is key to the success of British ski racing.

Without competitors in the start gate, there wouldn’t be British run races in the Alps.”

Parents who are interested in finding out more about the Club can find full details on their website; whilst FIS-registered racers interested in entering the new Super Combined race can find full details on www.britski.org.

New Quad For Mammoth Visitors to Mammoth (www.mammothmountain.com) in California this winter will enjoy $20m of enhancements to both the mountain and village. The resort benefitted from vast snowfalls last winter, again, and remained open until Independence Day on 4 July.

On-mountain improvements include the installation of a new Doppelmayr high-speed quad chairlift, providing more air time and less chair time. A total of 68 chairs will improve access to one of the mountain’s highest points, and will whisk 2400 people per hour up 325 vertical metres, halving the original ride time.

Mammoth’s Unbound Terrain Parks, ranked number one in North America in some polls, are to have some newly-constructed features and terrain created by resort partners, Oakley and Monster Energy. Currently, riders can also enjoy enhancements to the half pipes at Main and Canyon Lodges, and there’ll be a new snow tube park too.

Mammoth is expanding their relationship with award-winning company Levy restaurants this year, after a successful start to a partnership last season that saw the first ever ”Roving Mammoth” burrito snowcat.

Many ski and snowboard fanatics visit Skiinfo.co.uk to check the weather forecast, slope conditions, or have a look at their favourite ski resort by webcam, but now the multinational independent snow reporting agency, together with Black Hole Recordings, has launched a brand new music CD Snow Dance.

The compilation, available to download on iTunes, brings the best dubstep and drum ‘n’ bass music for every skier and snowboarder’s ultimate winter holiday experience, and is tailormade to keep everyone moving.

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Big 5-0 For Breckenridge DAVID BLACK

Breckenridge in Colorado, USA, is set to open on 11 November 2011 (11/11/11), and will be celebrating 50 years in business this season.

Hopefully it will receive another bumper snowfall year, after Mother Nature’s abundant gift last winter set a new record of 13.2m accumulation.

Breck’s actual 50th birthday will fall on 16 December. The resort will celebrate 50 years of being one of the world’s most popular ski destinations thanks to its trademark attitude and laid-back welcoming character.

The conception of building a ski resort in Breckenridge began during the late 1950s, when Bill Rounds of the Porter and Rounds

Lumber Company became interested in bringing skiing to the valley. The Peak 8 Ski Area (as it was first known) opened on 16 December 1961 with one Heron double chair, one short learners T-bar, and a midway unloading station.

Over its 50 years, the Breck has received approximately 432m of snow, welcomed approximately 39 million skiers and snowboarders from over 60 different countries, installed North America’s first high-speed quad chairlift in 1981 (and it now operates the world’s highest quad chair), and became the first Colorado ski resort to allow snowboarding in 1984. Happy Birthday Breckenridge! www.Breckenridge.com

Azerbaijan Plans Super Resort More details of a planned new ski resort in Azerbaijan has been unveiled, at the recently staged 2011 Azerbaijan International Travel and Tourism Fair.

The country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, personally overseen by President Ilham Aliyev, has taken on the task of building a world-class alpine ski resort called Shahdag. Located in the Caucasus Mountains below Shahdag peak (4243m), the resort will operate 10 lifts serving 17 slopes.

Azerbaijan is one of the world’s fastest growing and most prosperous countries, currently at the centre of a huge transportation infrastructure building programme with rail, road, air traffic, even a new port on the Caspian

Sea, all underway thanks to its oil revenue.

While Azerbaijan’s tourism lags behind the country’s booming industrial might, it is gaining ground, with the twin assets of the Caspian with its moderate climate for beach developments, and the high Caucasus above.

Keystone To Install Chocolate Gondola Chocoholics will be in drool heaven over the Christmas and New Year period at Keystone resort in Colorado, USA, when the Chocolate Village opens at the Keystone Lodge and Spa. The delicious homemade creation from pastry chef Ned Archibald features 1134kg of chocolate crafted into a miniature alpine village, complete with a working chocolate gondola, a cascading chocolate waterfall, and a 1.8m white chocolate Christmas tree with chocolate presents.

This mouth-watering creation gets a special new addition every year. This time Santa and his flying reindeer will be soaring over the alpine village, which will be open from 17 December–2 January.

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Smugglers Build A Treehouse For Kids SALLY BROOKES

New Piste & Lift For Alpe d’Huez

This winter at Alpe d’Huez (www. alpedhuez.com), those who were once deprived of the magnificent scenery at the top of the Signal de l’Homme need wait no longer as now, thanks to the new Pré Rond run at Auris-en Oisans, average level skiers can now also enjoy the slopes of this majestic mountain on its new 1.35km long blue run. Access to the Signal de l’Homme run is quicker too, as the journey time has been reduced from 15 to 7 minutes thanks to a new six-seater, high-speed, slow boarding chairlift.

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Smugglers Notch in Vermont has the twin attributes of being one of the world’s best ski holiday destinations for families with children, and being located in the same state as Jake Burton, popularly regarded as the inventor of snowboarding and his company the worldwide driving force for the sport.

For winter 2011–12 the resort has brought these two assets together, and created a very special terrain park to help the littlest snowboarders get into boarding in their own learning and play park.

Smugglers has been working with Burton to develop the next generation of the Burton Riglet Park, an on-snow play area with fun terrain features, designed to introduce young children to snowboarding.

The park's focal point is a "treehouse", an elevated platform with ramps that children can ride down, a balance area inside the treehouse, and a lift chair that swings to help kids practice getting on and off the lift.

“Playing in the park on small rolling hills, miniature box-style rails, pyramids and a mini-half pipe allows children to gain the necessary balance and muscle memory to begin sliding and

making turns on sloped terrain” said a statement from the resort.

The park is located at the resort's Sir Henry's Learning Area with conveyor lift access. www.smuggs.com

Henry’s Avalanche Talk Back For The Autumn 90% of avalanches that cause accidents are triggered by the victim, Henry’s Avalanche Talks show how to manage the risk and yet still have fun. Entitled ”Ride Hard Ride Safe” the aim is to help skiers answer the question ”is it safe out there?“ by discussing facts such as where and when you ascend and descend, and being well-prepared with the necessary equipment.

Kicking off on Tuesday 25 October at Ellis Brigham, Xscape, Leeds, the tour then visits Ellis Brigham in Glasgow, Tamworth, Castlefield in Manchester, and Covent Garden in London. Tickets cost £6–7 from www.skiclub.co.uk/tickets.

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Doppelmayr Announce €105m Mont Blanc Lift PATRICK THORNE

Doppelmayr Italy have begun work on the biggest order of their corporate history, to replace the 60–70-year-old cable cars located on the Italian side of Mont Blanc.

The new installation, valued at €105m, will replace the connection between Courmayeur with the Pointe Helbronner, at approximately 3500m above sea level. Two new sections will replace the current three.

The lift will feature two sets of revolving round cabins with floor to ceiling glass, each capable of holding 80 passengers and travelling at a fast

9m/s. Doppelmayr has already implemented this advanced technology in other famous resorts, including Engelberg in Switzerland’s Titlis mountain, but never before has a rotating cabin been used at such height.

Thanks to the panorama glazing, passengers will enjoy the 360° view without interruptions.

The interior fittings are of state-of-the-art design: heating elements integrated into the cabin floor and walls, sound system, and video screens. On these screens, pictures from the camera that is attached to the outside of the cabin floor are shown through a wireless connection, as well as weather data and event information.

Whistler Terrain Parks Upgrades A number of new features will be added to all five of the terrain parks at Whistler Blackcomb this winter (www.whistlerblackcomb.com/ parks). The Canadian resort plans a major overhaul of all the jib features, and will build new entrances to help give the terrain parks a new look and ease of entrance.

With ski half pipe announced as a new event at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, as well as skier and snowboard cross introduced at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Whistler Blackcomb will be focusing on a renewed snow cross track,

the 6.7m Olympic-size half pipe and a new 4.3m half pipe on Blackcomb Mountain, allowing guests to progress up to the Olympic-size feature.

Aspen Works On Elk Camp

Leading US resorts appear to currently be in competition to open the most spectacular huge new mountain restaurants – generally in the $5–10m budget range. One of the most remarkable, Elk Camp, is being built by the Aspen Skiing Company (ASC) as part of their ongoing redevelopment of Snowmass, one of

the company’s four Colorado ski areas.

The new $15m (£9.4m) restaurant, which will replace Café Suzanne and be located adjacent to the top of the Elk Camp Gondola at Snowmass, will seat 300 and is scheduled to open in 2012–13.

The project is scheduled to be LEED certified – a certification for green building – and will implement advanced environmentfriendly heating systems, with other green materials, to beat local energy codes by an estimated 30%. Elk Camp will be ASC’s fifth LEED-certified building, following closely on the heels of Sam’s Restaurant (awarded Gold status) and Holiday House (awarded Platinum status.)

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Oxford Ski Company PATRICK THORNE

InTheSnow’s editor Patrick Thorne talks to Rupert Longsdon, Director and Founder of the Oxford Ski Company, specialists in luxury chalet holidays and compilers of an annual list of the World’s 20 Best Chalets.

What was your first trip?

RL> I first skied in Verbier at the age of 11 with my brothers, and we loved it from the start. It was actually a complete whiteout all week but I just assumed this was normal in the mountains. Jean-Pierre, our ski instructor, gave up teaching us and just let us go as fast as possible at all times.

“Perfect!” we thought. On the third day we took our first chair lift ride and when later my mother asked us about our day we told her excitingly all about riding the chair lifts. “Did you remember to put the safety bar down?” she asked, “what bar?” we replied. I will never forget the sharp words poor Jean-Pierre received from my mother.

Why did you set up The Oxford Ski Company?

RL> A love of being in the mountains more than the skiing really. Prompted by a friend to find them a “5 chalet” with a chef (not a chalet girl who had done a basic two week cooking course) made me realise that this type of catered chalet did not exist. So I said to him I will find one and run it! That was in 1998.

How do chalets make it on your list of the 20 Best Chalets?

RL> We act purely as an agent for the very best in skiing holidays so we are in the privileged position of having access to many great chalets. The Luxury Chalet Collection's “Top 20" is based on four criteria. The standard of the property, the level of service in the chalet, the price to match these (not always the most expensive, they must still represent relative value) and above all, feedback from clients. The chalets must have a good allround track record and only paying clients

can give this impartial information.

One false move and they are out of The Collection!

Don’t travel agents cost a lot and favour particular properties?

RL> Quite the contrary, we do not mark up so if you book either directly, or through The Oxford Ski Company, it will always be the same price. We do not have any allocations from any of our suppliers and receive a level commission across the board so it is always in our interests to sell you the right holiday, with impartial advice to match your exact holiday requirements. That way you will come back next year.

How is the luxury chalet market performing?

RL> At the very top end the market is actually on the up, and with more incredible chalets being built each year. Ten years ago an outdoor hot tub was a luxury - now an indoor pool is a must for some. The demand is fuelled by a global market coming to enjoy the Alps.

Where next?

RL> We are very excitingly moving into the luxury villa and yacht market and launching a new side to the business called OS Private Travel in November. We will now be able to look after our clients for their summer holidays as well. We cannot wait!

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VIP SKI Refurbish Flagship Chalet BEN CLATWORTHY

VIP SKI (www.vip-chalets.com) has announced that their ever-popular Aspen Lodge flagship property in Val d’Isère will be undergoing a full facelift, opening in time for this winter season.

The Aspen Lodge Suites in the centre of Val d’Isère have been a firm favourite for many VIP SKI guests over the years, and were the recipient of the Which?

Chalet of the Year back in 2002. VIP SKI has commissioned interior design team Andrew Laughland and Russell Jones of Design Forum Interiors to redesign the look and feel of the property to bring it bang up-to-date, following their excellent work on the interiors of VIP SKI’s Summit View Suites in La Plagne and Altitude Lodge in Les Gets.

CREDIT: Andy Parant

Polo Back In The Mountains

Ski specialist Take Me To (Ski) (www.takemetoski.co.uk) has come up with an introductory package at their slopeside hotel in Alpe d’Huez, aimed at reducing the time visitors spend getting to grips with the basics of high-altitude skiing, by providing free ski or board hire and lessons for the first 2 weeks of December.

“People have told us they find the whole business of tracking down the best deals on ski hire and booking lessons a real drag on their holiday experience. Rather than waste precious hours of their holiday sorting this out, we have come up with an introductory package aimed at getting them on the pistes as quickly as possible” said Brand Manager Chris Wadley.

Main image photographer: Ben Burnett© Athlete: Ally Watson.

CREDIT: Bruno Longo/OT 2 ALPES

Maximise Your Time On Piste

It has been confirmed that the BMW Polo Masters competition will once again take place in 2012 at altitude, in the French Alps.

Snow polo is played on a smaller field than the lawn equivalent, and consists of six 7-minute chukkas.

The programme will see the tour take in some of Europe’s première ski resorts. The first stage of the competition takes place in Val d’Isère (11–14 January), the second in Megève (19–22 January), and the final in exclusive Courchevel (26–29 January).

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British Ski and Board Show – UK’s Most Interactive BEN CLATWORTHY

CREDIT: Albin Niederstrasser

Kitzbühel Gets A New Six-Seater

Kitzbühel (www.kitzalps.com) has announced it’s installing a new sixseater chairlift for the coming winter.

The new Resterhöhe lift will have a pull-down weather protection hood and seat heating, and will replace the former Resterhöhe chairlift, as well as the Moseralm T-bar.

Other improvements include the famed Streif downhill piste, venue for the annual Hahnenkamm race, Austria’s biggest sporting event, being extended, and the pistes at Maierlbahn improved.

The Hahnenkammbahn is also getting heated seats, and new trail groomers have been purchased.

Patrick Thorne

This year’s The Daily Telegraph British Ski and Board Show is shaping up to be the UK’s most interactive winter sports show, when it returns to Birmingham’s NEC from 28–30 October.

The organisers promise they’ll

be something for everyone, from complete beginners to seasoned pro. If taking to the snow for the first time, or just looking to finely tune that parallel turn, then for the first time the indoor Skills Slope will give an ideal opportunity to gain expert tuition from skilled instructors.

You can also check out the

latest fashions at the biggest ski shopping area, enabling the visitor to gain expert advice before purchasing the latest clothing, equipment and gadgets.

It also provides a one-stop shop for those looking to book a winter break, by offering hotel, self-catering, chalet and resort

information. There’s plenty of expert advice on offer in the form of the Talk Theatre, and food is in abundance with cuisine from around the world on offer.

If you want to see a great show then the Big Air Freestyle Show will have spectators transfixed, as the team perform some amazing tricks and jumps, during what will be their only UK performance during 2011.

The adrenalin-fuelled Adventure Winter Film Festival will also keep visitors entertained. If you want to know how to enjoy the slopes in the summer, once the snow has gone, look no further than the Animal Bike Tour, new for 2011, where the UK’s top mountain bike stars will be showcasing their awesome skills.

The British Ski and Board Show is open from midday until 8pm on Friday, and 10am until 6pm on Saturday and Sunday, with the best admission price available on Slope Off Friday at an advance purchase adult ticket price of £6.50 (£7.00 on the door) and £2.50 per child. Saturday and Sunday prices are £10 in advance, £12 on the door, all via www. britishskiandboardshow.co.uk, or by telephoning the booking line on 0844 581 0734.

$10K Lift Pass On Sale In US

A $10,000 season pass has been launched by stars of the US Ski and Snowboarding team at Tiffany & Co, on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

The Gold Pass provides unlimited season-long access to 250 ski resorts across the United States, and only 400 are produced.

A similar version valid at 21 participating Colorado ski areas (pretty well all of them except those owned by Vail) is available for $3000 (www.coloradoski.com).

Sugarloaf Adds A Quad Following on from the 1km2 Brackett Basin expansion on Burnt Mountain, Sugarloaf in Maine, USA, has a new state-ofthe-art quad chairlift in place for next winter, replacing the existing Spillway chairlifts. Built by Doppelmayr, this will be the fastest fixed-grip lift on the market.

One New Chair, One Moved Chair Marmot Basin in Alberta, Canada, one of the world’s most northerly major ski areas, has announced it is installing a new quad chairlift, and is moving the triple it replaces to another part of the mountain for this winter.

The resort’s new Paradise high-speed quad will service the upper area of the mountain. Stretching 1403m over the Paradise face, this chairlift climbs 406 vertical metres in only 4.6 minutes. The base of the new lift is located in the lower area, at the intersection of “Old Road” and “Roll Out”, and the top terminal is located at the existing location of the Paradise triple chair.

For 2011–12, the former Paradise triple chairlift will be refurbished, and relocated in the lower area of the mountain to replace the School House T-bar. This lift will be a tremendous improvement to the learning area. It services Marmot's best novice terrain, and is ideal for those learning how to ski or snowboard for the first time.

New High-Speed Quad At Beaver Creek A new Doppelmayr high-speed detachable quad chairlift at Rose Bowl in Beaver Creek will open this winter. The new lift will transport 2400 people per hour, and the new ride time will be reduced by almost half to 5½ minutes.

The lift upgrade will improve the guest experience by distributing skiers and snowboarders across the main mountain more rapidly, and reducing density impacts on the Cinch Express (Chair 8) and Centennial Express (Chair 6).

Thomson Launch Ski 11–12 Thomson Ski and Snowboarding (www.thomsonski.co.uk) has launched its main 2011–12 brochure, offering ski and snowboarding holidays to 77 resorts in ten countries across Europe, USA and Canada.

This winter’s brochure sees the return of Finnish Lapland with holidays to Ruka and Iso-Syöte.

Madonna di Campiglio in Italy is another new option, as well as to Kirchberg and Silvretta Montafon in Austria, where guests can try piste basher driving, and shadow ski with the avalanche safety teams to see what these experts do on their working day.

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Roxette To Launch Ischgl Season With Open-Air Gig PATRICK THORNE

Ischgl's (www.ischgl.com) 5-month long winter ski season will be launched on Saturday 26 November with an open-air evening concert by pop duo Roxette.

The Austrian village has a

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reputation for marking the ski season opening and closing weekends, with a high-energy rock concert featuring international stars. Roxette joins a gallery of big names to perform the prestigious Top of the Mountain Opening Concert, which include Katy Perry, Rihanna, Gossip, Leona Lewis, Pussycat Dolls, Lionel Richie and Ronan Keating.

Roxette is the biggest music export from Sweden since Abba, with well-known hits including Joyride, Sleeping In My Car, Listen To Your Heart and The Look. The duo’s performance will be free to attend for

all who hold a valid 2-day ski pass.

Skiers and boarders will also be able to take to the slopes the day before the concert as the ski season begins on Friday 25 November. The snowsure resort will then operate right up to 1 May 2012.

Packages for the opening weekend are available on the resort’s site, with deals from €199pp for a three-night stay from 24–27 November, including accommodation with breakfast and 3-day VIP ski pass. The nearest airports to Ischgl are Innsbruck (BA; EasyJet), Munich (BA; Lufthansa) and Zurich (BA; Swiss).

New Double Chairlift For Jackson Hole

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Jackson Hole has announced it’s adding a new double chairlift this winter. The new Marmot chairlift will carry skiers and snowboarders 1200 vertical feet from South Pass Traverse, below the existing Thunder Lift, to the top of the gondola. The resort says that the new lift will significantly improve the skier flow across the mountain, making it easier than ever

before to travel not just up and down the mountain, but also across.

“With better options and improved skier flow, guests will be able to fine tune the terrain, elevation and aspect in order to maximize their onmountain experience. In the early and late season, the Marmot lift will allow guests to stay on the mid and upper reaches and enjoy the best conditions

the mountain has to offer” said a resort statement.

Paradiski Launches Luxury Skis Paradiski – the large ski area including La Plagne and Les Arcs in the French Alps – and luxury, handmade ski brand Boheme (www.boheme.fr), have joined forces to create a limitededition range of his and her skis.

The sleek Atisha model for women is an all-mountain ski, offering comfort and performance whatever

the snow conditions. The ski is made from Bubinga wood creating a rich, red-brown hue, with chocolatecoloured veins running through the grain. The Guide model for men has been created using walnut, aimed at freeriders it has the width to allow for greater stability and performance off-piste.

Boheme, based in the French Alps, was founded in 1998 and combines tradition with technology. Fashioned from over 15 types of wood and hitech materials, each pair of skis takes around 34 hours to craft. The skis are skilfully handmade by craftsmen who sign their finished product upon completion.

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Build A Freeride Adventure BEN CLATWORTHY

Specialist freeride tour operator Wasabi (wasabitravel.com) has launched a new app to help users discover the best core freeride spots across the globe, allowing users to drag-and-drop individual adventure elements, and slide and pinpoint to determine group size and location.

“We’re looking to open the eyes of skiers and boarders to the many great freeride spots

and experiences that exist across the globe” said Wasabi Director Ed Tucker. “Our app is designed to encourage people to explore the opportunities out there and advance their riding, but to do so in a safe and secure manner.”

The winter sports industry has enjoyed a growth in the freeride sector over the past few years, with increased market share in holidays, and the sale of freeride-specific equipment contributing to 27% of all retail sales for winter sports in the UK.

The First Integrated Ski Helmet British extreme sports brand, Ruroc (www.ruroc.com) has designed the first helmets that integrate helmet, mask and goggles, for complete protection and style in the most extreme environments.

The RG-1 models are available in a combination of colours, including Lunar Blue and Very Green – fans can even create a custom order, working with the Ruroc design team for a look of their own.

Designed for life on the edge by boarders and freestyle skiers, the fully integrated helmet, with full field visibility, HG-1 goggles, and snap-in mask option, gives complete protection all day long even in the most extreme

environments. On sunny days, the mask can be left back at the ranch or be slipped into a backpack.

The RG-1 incorporates Ruroc's unique AeroFlow System to stop the build-up of moisture, which causes other goggles to fog. Ruroc has also cleverly incorporated polypropylene beads into the material of the RG-1, for durability and a unique rugged finish. ”We get loads of feedback from the Ruroc tribe, and we’ve taken it all on board in the studio

designing the new range. We always push the boundaries of how a helmet could perform and through listening to our customers and focusing on ‘extreme protection’ our new range continues to do this” said David Pearson, Ruroc's Managing Director.

CREDIT: Natives

Ski Rossendale Reopening

Ski Rossendale (www.skirossendale.co.uk) in Lancashire has re-opened less than 6 months after the local council closed the

facility for financial reasons.

A new social enterprise team is running the facility, originally established in 1973, led by Dave Fuller who has been a fan of the centre over four decades.

Volunteer workers have spent an estimated £100,000 re-opening the centre, doing everything from weeding out the old ski matting surface, and setting up the new enterprises’ accounts. The new team hope to build on the 30,000 visitor numbers recorded in the 12 months prior to its closure last winter.

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You’ve always got to keep up with where your sport is headed, and I can’t help taking a look at other nations on the World Cup circuit – that’s the place where the benchmark gets raised each year.

It’s great to see Japan back on the map as a World Cup stop this coming season.

Mogul skiing is huge over there, with spectators turning up in their thousands at each competition. Despite all the problems after the tsunami, the Japanese are stronger than ever, pulling corked 1080s and skiing

AV AIL AB TH LE N E A OW LL !

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Back in the UK, before I head out to Colorado in a few weeks, it’s time for a harsh reality check.

Although I have world-class Olympic coaches and a supreme-team behind me, the recession has hit hard, and I found out last week that my main sponsor who has been in place for the past three seasons, has just gone bust. The news hit me hard on several levels. It’s so sad as they have all become such close friends, and I wouldn’t have got to the Vancouver Olympics without their amazing support. But then on a personal level, my journey to Sochi has to go on. It seems to be a similar story for so many of my fellow winter sports athletes, as we rely on getting the backing and support of private investors to deliver our programmes. So, inbetween training sessions, I have been out there meeting new people and trying to making it happen – that seems to be as important for the coming season as staying fit right now!

I was asked by a reporter last week whether it felt a bit like David taking on Goliath. “It does,” I replied, ”but you have to remember how that particular story ended!”

Mogul skiing is huge in Japan, with spectators turning up in their 1000s kamikaze! The team were looking good when I was out training in Australia over the summer, but it was really obvious that with two seasons before the Olympic qualification opens, the Russians are going for gold. They had a team of over 30 athletes all trying to impress upon their Olympic team coaches, that they should be the ones to wear their country’s vest in the Sochi Games in 2014. The Canadians learned a lot from the 2010 Vancouver Games, and with their track record of two Olympic gold medals in the past two Games, they are aiming for a third. The French, spurred on by their 2011 World Championship success, are investing heavily in their team, as are the Americans and Australians, both of whom have dominated the sport for the past decade. Everything hangs in the balance to develop the best programme over the Olympic cycle and bring about medal prospects.

Athlete Biography At the age of 18 Ellie made her Olympic debut at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in the women’s freestyle moguls event. She is a member of the British Freestyle Ski Team and GBR’s number one female moguls skier. Ellie is on the FIS World Cup circuit currently working towards the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

Ellie rides for Team SnoKart.

Twitter @EllieKoyander Web: elliekoyander.com

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Tecnica’s Cochise 120 is stacked full of innovative Hike and Ride features, with the easiest switch between Hike mode and Ride mode available. Interchangeable sole units, lightweight Triax shell and mobility cuff are just a few of the many features that combine to make the Cochise 120 the ultimate Freeride weapon.

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Award-Winning Jacket Has Polartec Neoshell

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London Freeze Festival Back

The Freeze Festival 2011 (www. relentlessfreeze.com), which will include the International Freestyle Ski Big Air Competition and the Snowboarding FIS World Cup, will take place at Battersea Power Station, London, on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 October.

The UK's only snow, ski and music festival, this year's headline acts The Streets and Groove Armada present Red Light, performing across the 2 days of competition and music.

The new Zion Jacket from Marmot uses Polartec’s new Neoshell fabric. Polartec (www.polartec.com) invented fleece in the 80s, but had never made a waterproof breathable until now. Neoshell combines the superior breathability, ventilation and stretch of a soft shell, with the waterproof performance of a hard shell – delivering the best of both worlds. Combining protection from wet weather with unprecedented breathability through dynamic air exchange, Polartec Neoshell gives the Zion Jacket the ability to breathe, be completely waterproof and windproof; it is warmer, more stretchy and quieter than a hard shell, and for convenience it is also machine-washable.

Key features include: textured hip and shoulder zones to help keep your pack in place; 100% seam taped; attached storm hood with laminated brim; water-resistant CF zip; chest pocket with water-resistant zip and handy headphone port; asymmetric cuffs with Velcro adjustment. Marmot’s M1 soft shell provides the highest level of warmth and thermal protection.

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Austria's New Highest Lift A new gondola with cabins each holding eight passengers is already operational for the 2011–12 ski season, which began last month at Pitztal in Austria.

The new Wildspitzbahn has heated seats and takes under 6 minutes to reach Brunnenkogel.

At the top station there are great views of the 3774m high peak, either from the free-floating sun terrace or from the broad picture windows of the Café 3440 – Austria and Tyrol's highest café.

Triple Black Diamond Trails

Mont Sutton (montsutton.com) in Quebec, Canada, famed for its original “tree skiing” trails is adding four more trails to its long list: Crocodile, Entonnoir, Extase and Seduction. These trails will offer a high level of difficulty, hence, their “triple diamond” status.

Also new this year is a 3D interactive trail map, which, among other functions, will give visitors the chance to share photos and videos directly on it.

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GET YOUR CREDIT: B.Longo/OT Val Thorens

SKI LEGS BACK! LIFT PA SS D ISCO U NTS AVAILA BLE *

Europe's Highest Hits 40!

BEN CLATWORTHY

Europe’s highest, and one of its youngest resorts, Val Thorens, is 40-years-old this winter.

Back in 1971, an enthusiastic, pioneering team began the project of creating an all new resort at a staggering altitude of 2300m, at the top of what was shortly to become the world’s largest ski area, Les 3 Vallées. Critics at the time argued “too high and too much snow!” but keen developers countered “that gives us carte blanche to do as we please and overcome challenges!”

Since then Val Thorens has gone from strength to strength, with a ski area open from November to May, guaranteed snow cover, and

an evermore varied choice of accommodation, restaurants and activities.

This winter, along with new 4 and 5 accommodation, the resort unveils its fourth funitel, which will climb from the summit of the Portette chairlift (2795m) to the Col du Bouchet at an altitude of 3000m in less than 2 minutes.

From here, skiers and boarders can take either the new “Asters” red run or the new “Chocard” blue run.

With these two new slopes accessible from the Funitel Thorens, another new slope in the Plein Sud area, and further improvements to existing runs, the Val Thorens/Orelle ski area will be significantly increased, and 150km of runs will be available from the resort.

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UK Autumn Ski Camps & Demo Days

Following on from the huge success of its Salomon Freeski Grom Camps (salomongromcamps. co.uk), which have coached hundreds of children in the art of freestyle skiing, Salomon has teamed up with the Ski Club to offer camps for all! Now anyone can learn to pull tricks on the slopes, get some big air or jib in the park, or simply have a go on the

new big mountain freeride skis and change the way you tackle the backcountry.

The camps will be led by Pat Sharples, Founder of the UK Freeski movement, British Freeski Team Head Coach and Salomon UK Ski Team Manager, and take place from 7–10.30pm at The Snowdome in Tamworth (Tuesday 22 November) or the Snowtrax dry slope in Christchurch, Dorset on

(Thursday 1 December). Price ranges from £25 (club members) to £55 (which includes membership) for non-members aged 24 years and over.

Finally, the Ski Club is also organising a demo evening with Snow+Rock, enabling people to test the latest skis and snowboards. There are two sessions planned, first at Chill Factore in Manchester on Tuesday 29 November, and then at The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead on Thursday 1 December, both from 6–9pm.

Everyone will receive a free lift pass (worth £34) for the session, and save 10% on all Snow+Rock purchases during the evening. It’s free for Ski Club members to attend, £34 for non-members.

Zenith Offers Original Destinations Zenith Holidays (www.zenithholidays.co.uk; 01737 852 242), which offers some less well-known destinations among its choice of 37 resorts in France, Austria, Slovakia and Spain, has announced some new locations for winter 2011–12.

Already the only UK ski tour operator to include the Austrian resorts of Pitztal and Matrei in Austria, and St Jean Montclar in France, a new choice this winter is La Mongie.

“As we all appreciate the pressures on the UK economy, we have sought out a range of excellent value options for those struggling with the economy, we have included great value options for the more experienced skier in La Mongie a convenient slope side resort with the largest ski area in the French Pyrenees and some of the region’s best advanced skiing” Zenith Holidays’ Founder Stuart McLeod told InTheSnow.

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Scottish All Area Season Pass On Sale Patrick Thorne

Alpine Coaster For Chamonix

Les Planards in the Chamonix valley is well known in winter for its nursery slopes and kindergarten services, as well as its intermediate pistes and floodlit night-time slalom competitions. This winter, visitors will also be able to enjoy the added attraction of a latest generation Alpine Coaster at Chamonix Adventure Park (www. chamonixparc.com). At 1300m long, this piste on rails will give riders the thrilling sensations of being on a roller coaster, with waves, flip flaps, jumps and twists. And what's more, there are no age limits!

A “Ski-Scotland All Area Season Pass”, giving access to all five of the country’s mountain ski areas all winter long, as well as a day at the SNO!zone indoor slope in Glasgow, is now on sale until 30 November, valid from 1 December 2011 until 31 October 2012. Only a limited number of passes are available on a firstcome, first-served basis, priced at £460 for adults and £260 for children aged 18 years and under. Following good snow conditions over recent winters, they are expected to sell quickly. Passes can be purchased through the website www. ski-scotland.com.

“The income from the sale of these passes comes directly to Ski-Scotland, to fund joint promotion of the great

snow sports opportunities Scotland offers” said Chair of Ski-Scotland Heather Negus. “This is important not only for the ski areas, but also for countless local businesses which

benefit from good skier numbers.

Over the last two seasons, the mountain ski areas have had well over 660,000 skiers who spent an estimated £66.5m. More than £53m of this was

spent off the hill, in accommodation, places to eat and drink, shops, filling stations etc., so this is an industry which is important not only locally, but also to Scotland as a whole.”

Skiing Holidays for Single-Parent Families Specialist operator, Single Parent Holidays (www.holidaysforsingleparents.com) has launched its 2011–12 ski season programme with packages to Les Deux Alpes, Méribel or St Anton for the whole season, including peak school holiday periods.

Hotels include the 3 Hotel La Bérangère in Les Deux Alpes, which has swimming pool, sauna and Jacuzzi, as well as its own creche staffed by fully-qualified British nannies and filled to the brim with toys and games. There’s also an evening drop-in creche allowing Mum or Dad to relax with other guests over dinner.

Holidays start from £795 per adult and £315 per child (maximum of two) for 7 nights, inclusive of return Gatwick flights, transfers and half-board accommodation. Children’s clubs cost from £155 per week for 6–12-year-olds. Departures are also available from Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester or Glasgow, and include the service of a local host who will organise everything.

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DAVID BLACK

Chamonix, Verbier, Zermatt – great names in world skiing. Spectacular scenery, extensive ski areas - but also sometimes accompanying high prices thanks to the curse of the strong Swiss franc in two of the cases, plus crowded slopes and resorts due to their popularity, and in Chamonix’s case - a shaded valley that’s not particularly user-friendly for less experienced skiers.

So what if there were a way to ski in the same area but pay less to enjoy quieter slopes and the same spectacular scenery? Fortunately, there is! Just hop over the border into the Italian Aosta Valley, which lies between these three big name resorts, and stay in one of the Valley’s 30 or so ski centres instead!

The Aosta Valley is an area enjoying a rich culture – which translates into atmospheric resorts full of local

character, and features great regional cuisine to enhance your holiday. It also has world-class resorts of its own in the shape of Cervinia, Courmayeur, Monterosa, La Thuile, and Pila, as well as dozens of smaller, unspoilt centres if you prefer an intimate village atmosphere, but still with the larger areas either on your doorstep or just a short hop away.

Among its claims to fame the Aosta Valley or ‘Valle d’Aosta’ is the smallest autonomous region in Italy. The region is spread out along the ridge of the Alps, and includes numerous four-thousanders - the spectacular Mont Blanc (4810m), the Matterhorn (4478m), Monte Rosa (4634m) and the Gran Paradiso (4061m).

Here are some destination ideas: Cervinia shares a 350km ski area with Zermatt in Switzerland - but guests staying on the Italian side reach the

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Ao Va s ta ll ey

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glacier ski area quickly and pay much less to ski the same runs. Lunch on the Italian side of the ski area is far more affordable and is usually a traditional, regional dish cooked by locals using seasonal ingredients.

Courmayeur on the Italian side of Mont Blanc is currently installing a new 100 million euro lift system including a cable car with revolving cabins to reveal the the stunning scenery.

Unlike Chamonix, Courmayeur is a very atmospheric resort where ancient buildings huddle along cobbled streets so that the whole place oozes traditional charm. While there’s plenty of skiing above the village, with about 1000km of runs, you can in any case ski over into Chamonix if you wish, on a shared lift pass.

The giant Monterosa ski area, known as Italy’s 3 Valleys, is one of the world’s largest, and thanks to

recent investment in new lifts you can now ski or board without needing to stop for 180km between the resorts of Champoluc and Gressoney, and Gressoney on to Alagna, basing yourself at any of the villages here - Champoluc, Antagnod, Brusson, Gressoney-La-Trinité and GressoneySaint-Jean. The skiing extends up to almost 3000m and there are spectacular views across the Aosta Valley and Piemonte.

The increasingly popular resort of La Thuile is able to offer its visitors a choice of old or new. There’s the traditional ski village with a dozen small family hotels that has grown out of four old mining villages now merged into one.

Then there’s the modern slope-side hotel and apartment block complex in the shape of the giant Planibel, which includes a nursery, swimming pool and discothèque. Visitors choosing to stay in

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£495

Courmayeur Enjoy return Swiss quality flights from Heathrow to Geneva, return transfers and four nights bed and breakfast accommodation at the 3 Hotel Centrale in Courmayeur from £495.

any part of La Thuile can enjoy spectacular views which take in the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa and Mont Blanc.

Like Cervinia, this ski area is one of less than a dozen in the world where you can ski across a national border, and one of only two where you can ski from Italy into France, in this case into La Rosière. The terrain stretches to 150km (93 miles) and is served by 35 lifts, almost half of them chairs.

Pila, located on a natural balcony from which there are great views of Mont

Blanc to Gran Paradiso and as far as Monte Rosa, is also one of the most snow sure destinations in the Alps, with the ski area running from 1765m – one of the highest resort bases on the continent, right up to more than 2700m. Pila has a reputation for lively après ski and there is no need for cars once you arrive because you will find ski slopes and services right on your doorstep.

An unusual attraction is that the region’s historic capital, Aosta, 18km away by road, is actually lift-linked directly by an 18 minute gondola

ride, giving an expanded choice of dining, shopping and sightseeing opportunities for anyone based in the ski resort.

If you’re looking for a smaller, highly affordable choice how about the Champorcher Valley which has 21km of piste, including a special children’s area, lies well away from the busy tourist trail, and is the closest ski resort in Valle d’Aosta for visitors coming from Turin or Milan. Or Torgnon, with a new quad chairlift last winter, a great terrain park and spectacular views of the Matterhorn.

Wherever you choose in the Aosta Valley – be it an international resort or an intimate village – you’ll benefit from spectacular scenery, great food, and less crowded slopes – all at below average prices and with a warm welcome from the friendly locals. Why wouldn’t you?

FROM

XMAS WEEK

£525

La Thuile Seven nights at the Planibel Apartments in La Thuile, Italy, including local lift pass and ski/ board hire or carriage. Depart for Christmas week on 19 December 2011 from London Gatwick.

www.crystalski.com

NEW YEAR

FROM

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£679

Cervinia Catered accommodation at the centrally- located 3 Chalet Hotel Dragon, for 8 nights, departing Gatwick on 30 Dec 2011. Includes skiers’ breakfast, afternoon tea and cakes, plus a 4- course dinner & wine.

www.inghams.co.uk

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Sun Peaks Celebrates Tod Mountain at 50 SkiBound Offers A Helping Hand

Ski school holiday tour operator SkiBound (www.skibound.co.uk) has announced that last winter its staff and clients raised a total of £5871 for Katie's Ski Tracks, a registered UK charity that changes young lives by taking children from disadvantaged backgrounds on ski holidays, without their parents or carers.

"Although small, Katie’s Ski Tracks has a proud history of making a profound impact on the lives of the children we have taken on our holidays” said Katie’s Ski Tracks Chairman, Martin Newman. “The support of staff at Skibound has been truly heartening. We are extremely grateful for their donation and excited at their continued association with us.”

It was on 18 November 1961 when the Burfield chairlift first began turning at the Tod Mountain Ski Area in British Columbia, Canada.

At the time the longest chairlift in North America, 50 years later, the original ski area is now known as Sun Peaks Resort, but many of the locals still hold on to memories of the resort’s origins, and so winter 2011– 12 will be all about celebrating the golden anniversary of Tod Mountain at Sun Peaks Resort.

Since its transition to a destination resort in the mid‐90s, Sun Peaks continues to stand up with the top resorts in North America, being ranked as the second best resort

CREDIT: Dom Koric

Patrick Thorne

in Canada, and 13th best in North America by Condé Nast Traveller.

The second largest ski area in the province, and third largest in Canada,

Sun Peaks boasts close to 15km2 of varied terrain normally blanketed by light, dry powder, across three unique mountain faces. Nordic skiers

will find over 50km of groomed/ track set, and backcountry trails.

All this is set above and around the pedestrianised village.

Ski World Launch New Website For New Season Ski World, the largest independent ski operator in the UK, has just launched a new website to showcase their chalets and holidays on sale for the 2011–12 season. The new website comes with enhanced searching facilities, an easier step-by-step online booking system, and also ”best for” icons highlighting the top reasons to head to a particular resort. The company was founded in 1982 by a very keen skier who felt he could offer better holidays in top resorts, at more reasonable prices than those on the market, and their ethos remains the same today. The company has announced some other changes for the coming season including, Flexible Catered Chalets, a bespoke chalet option where guests can choose from the independence of selfcatering to a full service, fully-catered stay, or anything in-between. They have also fitted WiFi into all of their chalets.

Ski accommodation from £30 *

Hotels, Apartments and Condos in over 90 of the World’s Top Ski Resorts in France, Switzerland, USA and Canada.

*Price is per apartment per night, based on a 7 night stay in a Studio for 4 people at Les Portes De L’Oisans, Vaujany on 14/01/12. Price is subject to availability. To see our huge range of accommodation, from basic 2 star apartments up to 5 star luxury hotels, go to www.powderbeds.com

www.facebook.com/powderbeds www.twitter.com/powderbeds

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The BRITS Back In Laax BEN CLATWORTHY

The BRITS snow and music festival (www.the-brits.com) will return to Laax, Switzerland from 18–25 March 2012.

Combining seven nights of live music and DJ acts, with 7 days of top snowboard and ski action.

Whilst the headline acts have yet to be confirmed, you can be guaranteed an eclectic mix of daily live après-ski music, a banging big name act, a hedonistic fancy dress party, and a different DJ or live band

every night. That’s all after the cream of UK freestyle skiers and snowboarders battle it out for coveted British Championship medals, including the Trespass Ski/ Snowboardcross and the Protest Slopestyle title each day.

Packages from £295– little more than the cost of a lift pass – include seven nights accommodation, 7-day lift pass, and a BRITS event wristband, which includes free access to all the club nights, a horde of discounts and an official BRITS beanie.

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Stores at Exeter, Carlisle Tamworth & Castleford

A British couple, Alison Dickie and Duncan Newbury, have launched a new holiday company, Chez Serre Chevalier (www. chezserrechevalier.co.uk) offering snow sports holidays to the large ski area in the southern French Alps.

“Chez Serre Chevalier will offer holiday makers an alternative to the ’standard‘ ski holiday by offering customers the opportunity to build their own tailor-made holiday while keeping within an affordable budget” says Newbury.

Chez Serre Chevalier holidays include accommodation with full self-catering facilities, and transfers from any one of the four airports within 2½h of the Serre Chevalier valley.

Customers will then be able to mix-and-match food options including full service catering, hot food deliveries, breakfast deliveries and shopping services. Other options include

equipment hire, lessons, lift passes, away days, activity planning, and baby concierge services.

“We will be based in Serre Chevalier along with our staff ensuring that our guests receive a consistently excellent level of service” said Dickie. “We thereby aim to take guests out of the ’resort lottery‘ which can see customers of some large tour operators receiving very varied levels of service depending on the luck of the draw in terms of resort staff.”

Leisuredome Gets Full Planning Consent Construction of the first indoor snow centre in Southwest England should begin imminently, now that the Leisuredome (www.leisuredome.co.uk) proposal for Weston-Super-Mare has received full planning consent. Sir Robert McAlpine could start on-site as early as December, on the £50m centre that will include a 210m indoor slope.

Nicki Reed, Sales and Marketing Director for Severn Valley Region told local media “The prospect of a snow dome is a positive step for Weston as a destination.”

“We have a lot of land in Weston and a lot of encouraging things are coming through".

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Tahoe Resorts To Merge BEN CLATWORTHY

Two of North America’s biggest ski areas in California have announced an operational merger, although their ski areas, located 10 minutes apart, will not be physically linked.

Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are both based by North Lake Tahoe, a region which recently saw two other ski areas in the region – Heavenly and Northstar – come under the sole ownership of Vail Resorts, which now offers a joint lift ticket for the two.

Squaw Valley, known for its expansive,

legendary terrain – over 14.6km2 – and the host site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, opened for skiing over 60 years ago. Alpine Meadows opened in December 1961, and quickly gained and maintained a reputation for its varied terrain, authentic friendliness, and family atmosphere.

The combination of the two resorts will create over 24.3 skiable square kilometres of varied terrain on one lift ticket, spread across eight Sierra Nevada mountain peaks, which boast some of North America’s highest average annual snowfall, last winter exceeding 20m.

www.snokart.com

Davos Moves Closer The opening of a new tunnel bypass should reduce journey times to Davos and Klosters, the twin resorts believe.

The 3.7km Saas bypass opens on 21 October, and will make the bottleneck on the A28 main road a thing of the past, cutting driving time from Landquart to Davos-Klosters by 30 minutes.

Just after Küblis, the Saas bypass runs through the almost 2.6km-long Saas tunnel, and then over two bridges before reaching Klosters.

Thanks to nanotechnology, the tunnel walls are covered in high-tech paint that is

self-cleaning. This section of road, built at a cost of almost CHF270m, also means that the municipality of Saas will be freed from heavy motor traffic.

Teko’s Green Socks Teko (www.tekosocks.com), the official licensed sock of the Freeride World Tour (FWT), uses the most eco-friendly materials, such as the company’s newlydeveloped SIN3RGI fibre and processes when manufacturing their socks, in an effort to reduce their environmental impact.

The sock’s constituents also combine merino wool and ultra-fine-spun polyester, which is 100% recycled from drinks bottles, to produce a highly technical ski sock that will manage temperature and, therefore, improve comfort.

Teko uses wind energy for all of the electricity used in manufacturing and operations, and believes itself to be unique in that their eco-friendly commitment extends to its entire product line, supply chain, and daily business practices. The company’s new FWT logo socks are available from good stockists for £20 per pair.

Correction: It has come to our attention that in Issue 20, October 2011, the article entitled “Make Your Ski Gap Count” on page 23 was in fact Advertorial and not written by Ben Clatworthy.

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Total Heli-Ski Show Back For Second Year In London CREDIT: Sean Hanna

PATRICK THORNE

Following the successful launch last year of the world’s first consumer heli-ski show, the team at Total Heliski (www.heliskishow.com) will host the 2011 event at the 5Andaz Hyatt Hotel near Liverpool Street station in London from 6pm on Thursday 3 November.

The Total Heliski Show is designed to showcase what fans believe is the world’s most exhilarating ski and board experience, at specialist locations around the world. Apart from networking over cocktails and canapés, powder skiing and boarding enthusiasts can expect a wealth of information via animated talks, spectacular film footage, and advanced heli-ski equipment advice from industry leaders such as Salomon, Arc’teryx and Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports. There will also be a chance to meet experts and prominent winter sports athletes from Total Heliski’s ”Heliski with Legends” programme, and the show will also highlight some of the premier heli-ski locations around the world.

“The 2011 Show will be bigger than last year and will promote a better understanding of what this incredible experience is all about.

Most importantly, it’s that heli-skiing is for every competent off-piste skier

INTERGRATING THE BEST ON AND OFF-PISTE PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES

and snowboarder who craves the space and freedom only attainable above and beyond the frontiers of regular ski resorts where fresh tracks are guaranteed” said Total Heliski

ENDURO XT800 AWARD WINNING EXPERT SKI. THE INSTRUCTORS’ CHOICE FOR THE WHOLE MOUNTAIN. POWER, PRECISION AND VERSATILIY.

Founder and CEO, Hayley Melidonis.

Tickets for the show, which sold out in advance last year, are priced at £25 and available online at www. amiando.com/heliskishow.

Zumba On The Snow in Manchester

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It’s, apparently, the globe’s latest favourite new fitness regime, and now, for what’s believed to be the first time ever, Zumba is taking to the piste … in Manchester!

Manchester’s Chill Factore indoor snow centre (www.chillfactore.com) believes Zumba on snow is threetimes as effective as regular Zumba for personal fitness, fusing the heat of Latin music with the ice-cold resistance of fresh snow.

Classes work against the resistance of the snow giving participants a workout quite unlike anything else, as it forces a much higher range of movement in the lower body, making

“Zumba is the world’s most popular new fitness craze and we are delighted to be the first to launch this on snow” said Morwenna Angove, Chief Executive at Chill Factore.

“It’s a first not just for the city, the region or even the UK – but for the world. A true global first. We know it is going to become hugely popular SALOMONRUNNING.COM and we expect it to be copied around SALOMONTRAILS.COM the world once it takes off here.”

Amos De Roover, an experienced fitness and Latin dance coach is heading the classes, and says “The body has to work much harder in colder it perfect for toning lower and upper environments so the Zumba on snow legs, and bottom. Classes cost £5 per work-outs will prove to be a hugely session or £40 for a course of 10. beneficial cardio-vascular routine for Due to the cold temperatures, the people looking to improve their fitness. class will be tailored for higher intensity Working on snow means it takes longer exercises, focusing on intense warmfor the muscles to get warm and has the ups to ready the body for exercise, and added benefit of reducing the impact maintaining this status throughout the on the knee joints, so perfect for a wide routine. Zumba works in a similar way range of fitness levels, ages and abilities to interval training, where the body is in our safe, effective and very fun class.” constantly moving at different speeds in Zumba Fitness was founded in order to increase the experience. the mid-1990s by Alberto “Beto” Immediately after the main session, the Perez, a celebrity fitness trainer and muscles will be properlySALOMONRUNNING.COM stretched and SALOMONTRAILS.COM choreographer, and has become one allowed to cool down so that the body of the fastest growing, dance-based can return to normal, and heart rates can SALOMON.COM fitness crazes ever. slow down to a resting rhythm safely.

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★★★★

French Alps Le Grand Bornand Le Village de Lessy Under and hour from Geneva airport

Car-Free Resort Avoriaz is the only car-free resort in France, and what’s more every chalet and residence is accessible on skis. Parents can spend their holidays with complete peace of mind, in the knowledge that their little ones are safe from traffic around the town. The ice skating rink, the sledge slope, and the children’s village are located in the centre of Avoriaz.

• One of the closest resorts to Calais • Family friendly, away from the crowds • Perfect intermediate snow sure skiing *selected dates, conditions apply

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REASONS TO VISIT Avoriaz, Portes du Soleil

Great value MGM built 4-star self-catering accommodation including private pool, Sauna, Jacuzzi & spa. Right by the slopes.

Book before the 31/10/11 and save 10%*

Backdoor access to main resorts Quality Self-catering sleeping 2-18 Self-drive / accommodation only Charming traditional resorts Ski Packs at great prices

A Top European Riding Resort The resort has adopted their snowpark design from the Californian resort of North Star. An area in the middle of the forest caters for a mixture of freeride and freestyle abilities. Three natural non-groomed slopes of varying steepness wind in and out of the trees in the Lindarets forest. To make it more exciting, the runs also have hidden wooden obstacles to discover when hurtling down a ”secret passage”.

Get Your Tan On The village is located on a south-facing plateau, making it a delightful place to enjoy the après-ski on an outside terrace after a day on the sunny slopes.

Sing Along!

Avoriaz is the only ski resort in Europe planning a full programme of ski and music events for the 2011–12 season. The resort will become the biggest snow dance floor. On the agenda for this season: Snowsports Celebration (10–11 December), Avo Night Parties (28 January–4 February), Go Wild Outdoor Music Festival (24–28 March), and Jazz’Up Festival (31 March–7 April).

Ski Touring Pack Has It All

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Avoriaz is ideally placed right in the middle of the Portes du Soleil, with 650km of high altitude slopes in France and Switzerland, offering panoramic skiing between Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva.

The resort is the perfect starting point for those seeking to explore the the Portes du Soleil area, with the option of skiing to a different resort everyday of the week for lunch.

You can ski Avoriaz this season with Ski Collection (www. skicollection.co.uk; 0844 576 0178), and experience all the above for yourself!

Resorts include: Samöens for Flaine, Les Gets for Avoriaz, Vaujany for Alpe d’Huez, Peisey for Les Arcs, St Martin de Belleville for Méribel & La Tania for Courchevel

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Giant Ski Area

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Osprey’s Kode 38 snowsports pack (www.ospreypacks.com) has been designed for backcountry and ski touring. Believed to be the lightest existing snow sports pack, at 38g/l, it’s equipped with plenty of technical features including a thermo-compression-moulded back panel with contoured shaping, and back entry access so the compartment stays dry. The wet compartment is at the front, so when the pack is placed face down in snow the dry compartment faces upwards for easy access. With a light wire frame for support and easy loading, there’s an expandable helmet pocket and soft goggle pocket (RRP £100).

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Ski Holiday Boss Succeeds In ‘Azores & Back’ Challenge

INTERGRATING THE BEST ON AND OFF-PISTE PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES

ENDURO RX800 HIGH PERFORMANCE ALL-MOUNTAIN SKI. POWER PRECISION AND VERSATILIY

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A London- based activity holiday's Company Director, with virtually no experience of ocean sailing, has finished in 13th position in a transatlantic race. James Hardiman, who runs Alpine Elements (www. alpineelements.co.uk), a ski holiday company, raced in the ‘Azores and Back’ yacht race this summer. The race

covers over 1000 miles of the Atlantic Ocean and 60 boats took part in this epic challenge, which is the UK’s largest yacht race of the year. The 2011 race was the 10th since this event was first held in 1960, with races every four years. The majority of yachts take between seven and ten days to reach the Azores, allowing a week to make repairs and restock for the return passage. James completed the

race in seven days, eight hours and 55 minutes. In carrying out this challenge James expects to raise in the region of £4,000 for the Sail 4 Cancer charity. The Azores and Back is regarded as one of the most challenging yacht races for competitors, not least those with only a small amount of offshore ocean sailing. Although James has been sailing for 23 years, he only has very limited experience of ocean sailing.

CREDIT: Ski St Martin PR

Ski St Martin Targets Short Break Skiers

France based Ski St Martin (www. skistmartin.com) is moving away from the traditional week-long chalet holiday and targeting those looking for a flexible short break in the Alps.

Instead of only offering Saturday-toSaturday stays, the company is now allowing guests to arrive and leave on whatever day of the week, and

Chalet offers a fantastic stay in luxury accommodation, with access to the vast 3 Vallées ski area just 50 metres walk up the road. The company’s Managing Director told InTheSnow, “we are looking to provide our guests with fantastic service that suits their every need. We only offer bed and breakfast, but a choice of 15 restaurants within five minutes walk, allows guests to really sample the local cuisine. The chalet has a hot tub, sauna and a host of luxury stay for as short or as long a time, amenities making for a fantastic SALOMONRUNNING.COM as they wish. This new concept is break for singles, couples or even the SALOMONTRAILS.COM aimed at those who would prefer whole family.” a weekend break, or who want to The chalet has just been refurbished take advantage of cheap weekday with a new kitchen, and new bathrooms flights to nearby Geneva, Lyon or for all guest rooms. Key periods such as Chambéry airports. Based in the very Christmas and New Year are still being centre of the beautiful alpine resort booked out as full weeks, although of St Martin de Belleville, Le Vieux availability is now limited.

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Dutch Announce 2000m High Mountain Plan

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for reclaiming land from the North Sea, should scrape up an estimated 77 billion cubic metres of material to build the mountain, which he believes would give the country SALOMONRUNNING.COM SALOMONTRAILS.COM its own terrain for training for the mountain stages in aces like the Tour boarding. Estimates put construction SALOMON.COM de France, as well as for skiing and cost at more than €200 billion.

CREDIT: Hoffers & Krüger

What began and will probably end as a practical joke in the Netherlands, has been taken seriously by some who read the proposal – to build a 2000m high mountain in this notoriously flat country.

Thijs Zonneveld, a former pro cyclist, joked that the Dutch, famed

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Bulgarian Activists Opposed To New Ski Resort Developments Ellis Brigham Altitude Centre

Ellis Brigham at Deansgate in Manchester has the answers for skiers concerned about heading to resorts and slopes high above sea level, for example, in Colorado and upper lifts in the Alps. The shop’s new Altitude Centre incorporates the Altitude POD (Pre-acclimatise On Demand), which assesses your body’s response to altitude up to a height of 6000m and then, through a series of sessions, can preacclimatise and train you to cope with high altitude conditions. Prices start from £29.99 for a hypoxic (reduced oxygen) assessment.

Indoor Snow Centre Back On Long-standing plans to build an indoor snow centre in Cardiff appear to be ”on” again, after developers were invited to bid for the right to build a facility with an ice rink by Cardiff council.

Prospective developers have been told the proposed facility should include a 150m main slope and a 30m training slope, with “real snow preferred,” an ice centre and two hotels, as well as shops, restaurants and parking for 750 cars.

An indoor snow centre has been planned for Cardiff Bay’s International Sports Village for at least 10 years. The last developer was dropped in the summer after they failed to prove they had funding, the new one will be announced in early 2012.

Snowsports Celebration For the eighth year the annual Snowsports Celebration returns to the resort of Avoriaz, bringing holidaymakers a mix of music and slope action to well and truly kick off the 2011–12 ski season. The resort has scheduled a season full of music events and hopes to make the resort ”Europe’s biggest dance floor” throughout the winter months.

BEN CLATWORTHY

Environmental activists have launched new protests against what they consider ‘over-construction’ in

Bulgarian mountains.

As many as 80% of Bulgarians oppose the construction of new hotels, ski runs and related facilities in the protected areas in high

mountains of Rila, Pirin, Stara Planina, Vitosha, as well as the Rhodope Mountains, according to a poll conducted by Alpha Research at the request of leading

environmental organization WWF. Over 50% of the respondents cite the poor quality of air and water as a primary environmental concern for the country, and according to the polling agency, the pollution of rivers and poor air quality in Bulgaria’s cities have made people more aware of environmental issues.

In 2008, three out of four respondents singled out tree felling as their most pressing concern, with more than 50% of respondents voicing fears over illegal building activities and over-construction in the Bulgarian mountains.

"In 2008, forests were a hot topic because of the land swaps. The crisis reined in the construction boom and now this is not seen as such a serious problem," Konstantin Ivanov from WWF told journalists.

However, a newly revived project for the construction of hundreds of kilometres of piste in the Bansko ski area in Pirin have revived public concerns, say the WWF.

21st Century Sledge Unveiled A new way to slide – Bobskis (www.bobskis.com) are being presented as a reinvention of sledging for the 21st century. Influenced by bobsleighs, snowboards and skis, Bobskis are a new high performance take on the sledge. They’re fast, flexible, easy to steer and great for stunts, and are even light enough to take in a ski bag on your next skiing or boarding trip.

The unique unibody design is made of Polarpol, a special lightweight plastic with extreme performance in freezing

conditions.

This durable sledge is a high-spec product, built to last, with attention paid to those details that make all the difference: soft leading-edge and rounded corners, thick soft rope, stickers tested on North Sea oil drums.

Designed and produced in Britain, the Bobskis idea came about when designer Keith Handy and

co-founder Elly Reeve wanted a sledge that worked in even the most challenging conditions. “Living in Central England we don’t ordinarily see much snow and our boys were always keen to get out and

play at the slightest sprinkling. Inspired by bobsleighs, snowboards and skis, we wanted a practical design that would work on minimal snow coverage and gentle slopes” says Reeve.

Thrill-seekers will be impressed with the speed and agility of Bobskis, which also work well on gentle slopes and don’t require a lot of snow – making them ideal to have ready for a typical UK winter.

Available in two sizes, small (RRP £45) measuring 1050mm x 240mm and weighing just 1.5kg for one person, or the larger model at 1200mm x 240mm and 1.7kg is big enough for two (RRP £55).

Extra Friday Coach To The Alps Coach specialist Snow Express (www. snowexpress.co.uk) has launched a new Friday daytime service, in addition to their popular 7pm departure.

“The new service leaving London Victoria at 14:00 will enable skiers to arrive at their destination in time for breakfast. With the return coach not leaving the resort until Saturday evening, our clients can fit 8 days skiing into a week long holiday” said Operations Director, Dave Manley.

The service now serves 40 resorts, with Morzine and Avoriaz newly added this winter, along with on-board WiFi, and fares from £65 with no extra charge for luggage.

Freeski Half Pipe Joins Euro And World Cup In Saas-Fee The world’s best snowboarders will converge on Saas-Fee (www.saas-fee. ch) later this month, for the opening events of the outdoor competitive season in the northern hemisphere.

The FIS Freestyle Ski European Cup and the FIS Snowboard European CREDIT: PHOTOPRESS/Jean-Christophe Bott

Cup will each take place from 24–27 October. The FIS Snowboard World Cup follows a week later, from 31 October–3 November.

This year the competitors will be joined by big names from the world of freeskiing. Once again,

the Saas-Fee “Allalin 360” will stage the opening events for the half pipe discipline this season: the FIS Snowboard European Cup, the FIS Snowboard World Cup, and – new this year – the FIS Freestyle Ski European Cup.

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in their excellent purpose-built crèche this January.

Self-catered clients in larger properties can claim buy one get one free on their lift passes, and even smaller parties can take advantage of a discount of 10% off 2 or 3 bedroom self-catered accommodation.

With a selection ranging from their flagship 8-bedroom boutique Catered chalet “The Peak”, all the

way down to comfortable, and well-located 2 bedroom family apartments, Premiere Neige have something to suit all budgets and group sizes this winter!

Hat Trick For Peak Retreats Peak Retreats (www.peakretreats.co.uk), the tour operator which looks beyond the mainstream resorts and takes guests to unspoilt, traditional villages in the French Alps, has won Best Ski Company for the third consecutive year in the prestigious annual Guardian/ Observer Travel Awards.

Readers voted the Portsmouthbased company their favourite in the 2011 Awards ahead of several higher profile and larger UK tour operators.

“It’s a huge honour to win this accolade for three successive years and perhaps even more rewarding to know that our efforts have been recognised, especially considering how competitive the ski market has become. We are incredibly proud,” said the company’s Managing Director and founder, Xavier Schouller. “With a

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La Niña Returns To California Ahead Of Ski Resorts Opening In November Patrick Thorne

Le Massif Rail Excursions

One of the largest resort redevelopments in North America is continuing at Le Massif (www. lemassif.com) in Québec where £140 million is being invested and a new scenic rail excursion will run on selected dates between February and April 2012 from Québec City, with Saturday services during this period stopping at Le Massif to include a day’s skiing at the resort.

The spectacular Le Massif mountain resort in Charlevoix rises from the banks of the St. Lawrence River and is being re-created by one of the original co-founders of the Cirque du Soleil, Daniel Gauthier.

Photo credit: P. Royer - EIDER©

Squaw Valley and Heavenly, in Tahoe and Mammoth respectively, received the first snowfall of the 2011-12 winter season earlier this month, the first indicator of what is being forecast to be another epic season.

In Mammoth Mountain – The Top of California – the snow started falling on 5 October and by the weekend at total of 19.5 inches (45cm) of snow had fallen. Squaw Valley in North Lake Tahoe received 6-8 inches (15-20cm) of snow overnight on 5 October, and an additional 9 inches (23cm) fell in the following 24 hours.

On Tahoe’s South Shore, 12-20 inches (30-50cm) of snow fell over Heavenly’s slopes.

The early season snow was the result of a storm system moving down from the Gulf of Alaska. The US National Weather Service (NOAA) has noted that current weather forecasts have begun to indicate the reemergence of La Niña for winter 201112, the same weather pattern that brought a record breaking 811 inches (23m) of snow to Squaw Valley and 768 inches (20m) to Mammoth last

winter. Early predictions are that this year La Niña may deliver even more.

Opening dates for California’s key ski resorts are Mammoth on Thursday 10 November with Heavenly, Northstar-at-Tahoe and Squaw Valley all opening eight days later on Friday 18 November – only a little over four months after most of them closed on July 4!

During Heavenly’s opening week,

multiplatinum-award-winning rock band Bush will play live in concert, celebrating the release of The Sea of Memories, their first new album in ten years.

The Big Winter Kick-Off (BWKO), the opening weekend at Mammoth Mountain, is an action-packed extravaganza with snowboarding and skiing, live music, film premières, après specials, parties

and more. Also during Mammoth’s opening week, the Black Lips and Ra Ra Riot will play in concert on Saturday 12 November. This marks the first of eight scheduled music events for the Mammoth Concert Series taking place throughout the coming winter and spring. If you’re in town for the party, tickets (open to ages 21+) are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

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Tahoe’s Epic Snow Holiday Mix

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Patrick Thorne

I’ve been to the Arctic, I’ve been to Japan where I’d seen pictures of snow banks towering high over doubledecker buses, but I’ve never seen as much snow as I did when I went to Lake Tahoe last year.

Americans are famed for devaluing words like ”awesome” by using them too often to describe what is, in fact, fairly mundane, but in this case ”epic” was a totally accurate description of the massive snowfalls, which buried buildings and, for brief periods, blocked roads to the sunshine state’s ski centres last season. Many of California’s ski areas posted greatest ever seasonal snowfall figures, typically in the 15–17m range for 2010–11, and six reopened for skiing on 4 July.

The good news is that the La Niña weather system, which brought all the precipitation off the Pacific last winter, is forecast to return for 2011–12.

Perhaps not quite so abundantly – which may actually be good news for resorts that sometimes struggled to open against the snowy deluge of last winter – but likely to bring well aboveaverage snowfall again. Of course, a lot of last winter’s snow is still there – helping to ensure the start of the

season is set to be a good one. (frequent) tumbles in the off-piste international resort on the Californian I flew into California on Virgin’s powder the resulting imprint revealed side, with towering glistening casinos very comfortable service from how far I’d sunk as I tried to stand up. on the Nevada side – albeit rather sad Heathrow, and headed up to Lake It was a superb day with the powder places when you take a look inside.

Tahoe in late March. Arriving in San conditions generally agreed to be But I wasn’t there to gamble, but Francisco it already felt like an English ”unbelievable” by our group, who’d instead was whisked up the mountain summer, but as we drove inland we explored the full range of Northstar’s from the gondola base in the resort went through the full British annual 90+ trails. There is 12km2 of very centre, to find the same massive varied terrain, ranging from great weather system and beyond, and snow accumulations, this time with beginner slopes at mid-mountain by met snowfall that would send our an information hut, and the trail map the Ritz Carlton, through plenty of weathermen into catatonic shock. First billboard above it buried 6–9m deep in excellent intermediate cruisers to more there was torrential rain as we passed a snow bank. challenging on- and off-piste steeps.

Sacramento, followed by falling heavy The normally sapphire-blue waters It will all be expanded this winter by a snow as we approached Lake Tahoe, of Lake Tahoe, which usually give swish new lift serving the challenging which had fallen uninterrupted for Heavenly some of the best views from the previous 4 months. It the ski slopes you’ll find was chains on for those anywhere in the world, not in 4×4s as we rolled were sadly steel grey when into Northstar (www. they appeared in brief northstarattahoe.com), breaks in the snowfall, but I one of the up-and-coming made up for it by enjoying resorts of the North some of the best powder American ski scene. of my life; opting more for Indeed over the last 6 the 55km of wide-open, years, Northstar-at-Tahoe groomed cruisers, and Resort has evolved to bottling out of the doubleoffer the only ”boutique black-diamond canyons, mountain resort and the 18m jumps in the Heavenly - 13.25m experience” in the region, Jackpot Terrain Park.

Including 30 powder days of 15cm or more centred on a $55m carI did, however, give free base village choc-full Vail Resorts’ new Epic Northstar - 16.65m of enticing shops and Mix (www.epicmix.com) restaurants, upmarket technology a shot. This condominiums to kip in, uses radio frequency Virgin Holidays (www.virginholidays.co.uk, 0844 557 3859) and the new Ritz Carlton technology, linked to a chip offer packages to Heavenly and Northstar where they Lake Tahoe hotel complex, in your lift pass, to keep a provide a ”Rockstar” concierge service, which ensures all the finer holiday details are covered – from snow reports both completed a few record of your ski day that to lift passes, tuition and equipment rental. years ago but little known you can download to the outside the region. web. It’s infinitely more That’s all set to change sophisticated than that, of as Vail Resorts purchased course, and for 2011–12 ”Backside” terrain of the mountain, it a year ago, and is now bringing it gets better still, with free professional and lunchtime dining choices further up to full Vail standards with another photos available to guests using Epic improved with a new 500-seat $30m spend for this coming winter, and Mix, for sharing on Facebook and restaurant. introducing it to the wider international Twitter. Guests can combine these with It was a flying visit, and soon we market – which means us. their own photos, vertical feet skied, were heading south on the short trip The morning after touching down digital pins earned and cumulative to Heavenly (www.skiheavenly.com), in San Francisco I was on the slopes of snowfall figures, to capture and share the original Californian purchase by Northstar, and gawping at the massive their mountain experience this winter.

Vail resorts, and now firmly part of the snow accumulations all around me. Of It was a lot of fun playing with the family and, for this winter, available on course, being on top of the snow it was results online but, alas, I did not win a low cost joint-ticket with Northstar. sometimes difficult to know how deep the $100,000 cash prize the company A very different proposition, it was below me, but clues included awarded at random to an Epic Pass Heavenly’s vast ski area stretches across being told that a mountain hut I passed holder. the state border into Nevada, and at was actually the upper storey of a I may have to go back and try again its base you have the choice of an two-storey building, and after taking this season.

Record Snowfall Stats 2010–11

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CREDIT: JP Noisilier

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Les Deux Alpes Offers Free Avalanche Training BEN CLATWORTHY

Les Deux Alpes is once again going to be offering holidaymakers the chance to learn how to survive an avalanche, dig fellow skiers out, and general mountain safety this season. The scheme, which has proven a very successful way of reducing the numbers caught in an avalanche each season, takes a whole day, and is run each week of the

season. The morning session consists of training and a demonstration with the resort’s security men, followed by off-piste skiing with a fully-qualified mountain guide in the afternoon, and what’s more, the whole thing is free with a lift pass. Skiers and snowboarders who are interested in taking part should register at the Tourist Office on arrival at the resort, where you will be given details for that particular week.

Portaski Trialled By NSP National Ski Patrol (NSP), the US leading authority for on-mountain safety, is testing Portaski on the slopes of Colorado. Portaski, a revolutionary ski-carrying device, features a patented wheel-sled, allowing skis to be effortlessly transported on any terrain. Tim White, Executive Director of NSP said “With the emergence of new snow sports requiring new safety and rescue techniques, Portaski is an interesting proposition.” He continued “The durability of Portaski has the potential to enable our patrollers to become more agile on foot which could ultimately save more lives.”

With a revolutionary design, the lightweight pocket-sized device carries up to 70% of the weight of your skis, and takes just seconds

to attach. Portaski works perfectly on skis of all sizes. Dedicated to serving the public and outdoor recreation industry, by providing education and accreditation to emergency care and safety service providers, NSP serves over 600 patrols, including alpine, Nordic, and auxiliary patrollers.

Early Snow In Chamonix

Chamonix (www.chamonix.com) reported 20cm of snow, right down to 1200m (just above resort level) on the weekend of 8–9 October. This was part of a widespread snowfall across the Alps bringing up to 80cm of new snow to some already-open glacier ski areas.

“The autumn frenzy to purchase snow tyres begins!” said a resort spokesperson. “There's always an element of excitement when the first snow falls, but sometimes it arrives a little early and neither Mother Nature (nor the locals) are quite prepared! Besides the inevitable snowball fights and flourishing snowmen, there was a great deal of shaking, tying and pruning as the leafy trees bowed under the weight of the snow!”

As usual, the slopes of the Grands Montets will be the first to open in the Chamonix valley (www.compagniedumontblanc.fr).

The official opening date is the first weekend in December, but the area will open for the last two weekends of November if there is sufficient snow.

Make tracks in Tirol. Win a ski holiday at www.visittirol.co.uk/offers

路 Skiing in Tirol

Tirol / heart of the alps

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EasyJet Launch Value For Money Ski Holidays The EasyJet Holidays website has launched its first ever ski programme, offering excellent value for money skiing holidays. Prices start at just £199pp* for seven nights in La Plagne, including flights, transfers and accommodation at the Residence Maeva Les Chalets des Arolles on a self-catering basis. EasyJet has long been offering flights to traditional skiing destinations, but this is the first time that ski holidays have been available through the EasyJet Holidays website. Whether a complete beginner or in search of the perfect mogul field, there are resorts to suit everyone’s needs, including Tignes, La Plagne, Les Menuires, Val Thorens, Val d’Isère, Avoriaz, La Tania, Méribel valley, Chamonix valley and Les Arcs. *Terms and Conditions apply. Correct at time of going to press.

BEN CLATWORTHY

Snow-vember Down Under

Summer skiing isn’t usually offered in the southern hemisphere when it’s winter in the north. However, Mt Ruapehu in New Zealand has offered southern hemisphere skiing on Christmas Day in past years (early summer south of the equator) because it builds up such a huge snow base each winter.

This year the snow was still lying three metres deep as InTheSnow went to press in October and so far the resort has announced its Turoa ski area will be open at least til November 6. “Wahoo” said a company statement.

Or you could simply travel with the Swiss Transfer Ticket.

MySwitzerland.com A flat-rate return ticket allowing one-day transfers from point of entry to any destination in Switzerland and back. Only available in the UK. And children under 16 travel for free. Contact the Switzerland Travel Centre on MySwitzerland.com/rail or call us on: 020 7420 4937.

Toilets Are The Best In The West Telluride continues to dominatewith some of Colorado’s most elegant and convenient restrooms at High Camp, Giuseppe’s and Alpino Vino, the newest instalment this year being just off the top of the Polar Queen Express (Chair 5).

Skiers will be greeted with beautiful stone and mahogany finishes enhanced by old European architecture. The Polar Queen restrooms are the first phase of a future complex of buildings that will include an additional restaurant, bar and sundeck as the ski resort works towards expanding facilities on the mountain.

Buy before you fly!

Adult 2nd class £99, 1st class £152.

Children under 16 travel for free.

Prices are subject to change.

Resort Home To African Refuges The Italian ski resort of Montecampione is being used to house refugees from the Libyan civil war according to a report in The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk).

More than a hundred Africans from countries across the continent are reported to be residing in a hotel at the resort, which is being paid €40 a head by the Italian government to cover bed and board.

Many of the refugees are said to be traumatised by their experiences and local people have donated clothing to help them keep warm in the cold nights at 1800m.

FLYING, SWISS MADE – SWISS.COM

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Crystal Finest Adds 7 New Ski Resorts BEN CLATWORTHY

This season, Crystal Finest (www. crystalski.co.uk) has once more expanded its programme by adding seven new resorts, 17 new luxury hotels and apartments, as well as three premier chalets. In Austria, there are new resorts at Alpendorf in the extensive Salzburger Sportwelt, with over 280km of piste, at Obertauern, Austria’s only purposebuilt resort in the Salzburgland province, and at Sölden, which offers snow-sure skiing and a lively nightlife. In the USA, there are Jackson Hole in Wyoming and Park City in Utah – home to the ”greatest snow on Earth”. In Italy, the company has added La Thuile in the Aosta

Golf, Ski And Board In Spain

Valley, and finally in Finnish Lapland Ruka has been added to their list.

Ian Davis, Product Director at Crystal Finest, said “High-end

holidays were clearly in demand last season. The winter mountain holiday is an important event for our customers who appreciate the

finer things in life and great value for money. They welcome high standards of accommodation in the very best ski resorts.”

Direct Megève Transfer Service Launched Family-run tour operator Stanford Skiing (www.stanfordskiing.co.uk) plans to make the flexible transfer service between Geneva airport and the Megève area it has offered for years to its own guests, open to anyone visiting the famous French resort this winter.

“Virtually all of the public services are Chamonix or Morzine based. Their drivers don’t know Megève and when we have had to buy-in transfers in the past there have been frequent problems in finding the chalets and hotels. Our drivers know the resort so customers can be sure of a quick and efficient service” Kathryn Kinnear, Stanford’s Transport Director told InTheSnow.

Another problem the new service will avoid is that many of the Chamonix-based companies bring guests to the bottom of the valley, and then put them in a taxi rather than transferring them directly to Megève, which can involve additional waiting times.

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Sierra Nevada Ski Resort, Europe’s most southerly, will open a brand new half-pipe, and freestyle and snowboard area aimed at younger visitors and students this winter.

Sierra Nevada’s Mediterranean location makes it a popular destination for skiers and snowboarders, as well as visitors simply wishing to sample the local cuisine in Granada, visit the world renowned Alhambra and Generalife, explore nearby Malaga and Almería, or combine skiing with a round of golf or a visit to the nearby beaches, a rarity in Europe!

13.09.11 15:48

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Revelstoke Introduces New StateOf-The-Art Beginners Area LONDON DIRECT TO MERIBEL

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Revelstoke, North America’s and one of the world’s newest resorts, has a slightly confused image through no fault of its own. Opening the spectacular Revelation gondola a few seasons back, which stole fellow British Columbian resort, Whistler’s, long-standing crown as holder of the biggest lift-served

vertical on the continent, Revelstoke has been rather inaccurately typecast as an ”experts-only”destination. Inaccurate as there are plenty of wonderful long cruisers for good intermediates.

This season, beginners will be better served too, with a state-of-the-art beginner slope developed near the mountain base, less than 50 steps away from the snow school at the Revelstoke

Outdoors Centre. Here a first-timer will be able to gradually build their confidence by developing their skills on the progressive 5%, 10%, and 15% pitch variances. Characters and other fun play features for children to ski and play around will be added to the area. The facility is served by a brand new 175m Magic Carpet lift providing easy access to the area.

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Patrick Thorne

It’s Scandinavia’s largest resort and Sweden’s most popular, it’s a former Alpine World Championships host (as recently as 2007 and they’re bidding again for 2017) and it’s snow-sure from November to May, but despite having nearly 50 lifts and more than a 1000m of vertical, 100km of downhill slopes, Åre is keen to let us Brits know that it’s much more than just a ski resort.

“Åre means both an escape from everyday life and a close and realistic encounter with nature; in the crisp crunch of cold, virgin snow underneath your boots, and yes in the nice, clean carve of newly sharpened skis on the plush corduroy of a well-groomed piste. In the gentle heat from the crackling log fire in the chalet with a hot, fragrant wine toddy in hand, your flushing cheeks, tired but happy legs, the smiles, the kinship,” says a statement from the resort.

Destination Åre spreads along the mountainside with different base villages in which to stay.

Along with the main Åre village you can opt for the villages of Duved and Tegefjäll in the west or Björnen in the east.

The resort is currently in the throes of its greatest expansion in more than a century, since the late 1800s in fact. Although its inhabitants still think of Åre as a village, maybe it’s more accurate to describe the buzzing little ski metropolis as a town.

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So Much More…

Copperhill Mountain Lodge Perhaps this is most obvious in its nightlife, which equals that of major cities – not necessarily in the number of clubs – but certainly in quality and intensity.

The local shops of Åre are tempting too, with world-class shopping for well known quality brands as well as locally-produced luxury articles.

You can enjoy delicious chocolate truffles from Åre Chokladfabrik, glass from the local glassworks and buy beautiful silver rings made by the local silversmith.

The construction boom of the last few years has meant that Åre today boasts the best and newest hotels and apartments in all of Sweden’s mountains. Choose between ultra-modern, conceptual hotels, complete self-contained resorts, romantic 19th century hotels, hostels, and cosy chalets complete with fireplaces and perhaps bearskins on the walls.

OK we should still mention the skiing and

boarding. Mount Åreskutan has seen many new pistes and lifts added over the past few years and the tree-less area below the mountain’s peak, a rarity in Scandinavia, equates to riding freedom.

Nowhere else in the mountains of Scandinavia can you find such a wide variety, scope and quality of activities like cross-country skiing, ski touring, paragliding, zipline, snowmobiling, dog sledding, swimming pools and spas. So if you’re looking for diversity, Åre should be your obvious choice.

It’s not as far away as you think, either, although it may feel you’re within touching distance of the Arctic Circle. There are two international airports (Åre/Östersund Airport and Trondheim/Vaernes Airport in Norway) with about an hour transfer time, and with twohour direct flights from both Heathrow and Stansted, as well as packages from Neilson, it’s as easy as flying to the Alps.

Copperhill Mountain Lodge (+46 647 14300; www. copperhill.se) is Åre’s top-tier design hotel. The hotel features ski-in/ski-out facilities and even has its own lift, the Copperhill Express, so that guests can hit the worldclass Åre slopes with ease. The lodge boasts a warm helping of mountain charm, while at the same time featuring all the comfort and services of a top-tier resort.

This is the perfect spot to cosy up with a cup of hot cocoa after a jam-packed day exploring Åre.

Starting price for a double room is €175 per night, including breakfast and entrance to the hotel’s prizewinning spa.

Saving tip! Book a suite and get a lower price per person.

Starting price for a six-bed suite is € 55 per person.

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Is it the next “must-have of Mayrhofen”?

Or the “new chic of Chamonix”? – Rosetta Trading, the British importers of (as they tell us) the American craze item, ‘Beard Beanie’, are certainly hoping so.

The Beard Beanie is a hat, beard and moustache rolled into one, with all elements hand-knitted and produced to a high- quality finish, ensuring warmth and comfort, as well as plenty of fun.

“Men of the UK are being urged to get their order in for THE warm woolly of the season and the wit-knit of the decade quickly, or face the icy blast of the slopes alone,” said a company statement.

The hats come in stocking, lumberjack and beanie styles, with a choice of stripes, or a plain hat with a muted or vibrant tone. From there, you’ll know whether you, or the person you’re buying for, will be sporting a black, dark brown or mid-brown beard and moustache ‘on piste’ this year.

It really is that simple to instantly grow a beard and moustache to keep the face protected from chill Alpine weather and ‘snow burn.’

The Beard Beanie is priced at £39.99 including delivery, but the guys at Rosetta Trading (www.rosettatrading.co.uk) have a light grey, bearded stocking hat Beard Beanie (with black beard and moustache) for just £24.99, for a limited period.

Skee-Tex // The Old Mill // Battlesbridge // Essex // SS11 8TR

British Ski and Snowboard has appointed Paddy Mortimer as Performance Director, as the company continues to shape the future of competitive British winter sport. Mortimer brings with him over 20 years of experience in the high-performance sports industry, and has been with several top sport organisations and technology companies, such as Chelsea FC, West Bromwich Albion FC, Leicester Tigers, UK Athletics, England Rugby League, and a host of institute sports. He will be responsible for mapping out the continuation of International and National performance

development, and assisting, where appropriate, the acquisition of high-performance support across all British FIS and Olympic disciplines.

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BA Offer Free Ski Carriage

BEN CLATWORTHY

British Airways is offering winter sports enthusiasts the chance to fly their skis for free to the top three ski destinations from London City airport. Customers who book flights to Chambery, Geneva or Zurich before 31 October will be invited to take an extra piece of hold luggage on flights between December and

Looking For Great Ski Accomodation

March. This is in addition to the existing free one bag allowance, and can be used for skis or other winter sports equipment. British Airways currently operates seven flights a week from London City to Geneva, and 22 flights a week to Zurich. From 17 December the four times a week winter only services to Chambery will begin. Ski carriage can be expensive, with rival airlines charging £25 for the service this season.

We offer a unique collection of first class properties in France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, USA and Canada

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The Les 3 Vallées Cook-Off returns for a second year to the Ski & Snowboard Show (www. metrosnow.co.uk), 19–23 October, this year returning to its original home at Earls Court exhibition centre in London. Once again, several celebrity Michelin-starred chefs from the resorts will be at the Show to demonstrate their skills, and tantalise your taste buds with their unique culinary creations. Members of the public will be invited to battle it out with the

CREDIT: Les 3 Vallées

3 Vallées Cook-Off Back In London

chefs to create the best dish, with the chance to win a week-long holiday in Les 3 Vallées.

English Alpine Champs Return To Bormio

Q 15 uote % "I Dis nTh cou eS nt now On " Yo To R ur ec Ho eiv lid e ay

The English Alpine Championships will, once again, be hosted in the Italian resort of Bormio during February half-term in 2012.

The Championships moved to the resort in 2008, after several unreliable years in the French resort of Puy-St-Vincent. FIS Senior and Junior races, as well as the children’s championships, all take place during the week, with a new English ski champion being crowned at the end. Bormio hosted the FIS World Ski Championships in 2005 on the same piste.

Morealps Catered Chalets in Val d’Isère and La Rosière, France

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Alps Accommodation

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Ski chalets in La Plagne, Tignes & Dolomiti Superski

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Slow Snow At Cortina BEN CLATWORTHY

2011-12 is the winter when Utah’s 14 resorts are rolling out the white carpet to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games. The event officially put Utah on the map as a premier vacation destination worldwide and spilled the secret of its trademarked ‘Greatest Snow on Earth’ around the globe. Since 2002, Utah resorts (www.skiutah.com) have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on upgrades and improvements to amenities, resulting in a 41% increase in skier day visits.

CREDIT: Stefano Zardini

10 Years Since Salt Lake Games

Patrick Thorne

First it was slow-food... and now the latest trend on the slopes is slowsnow. Well, slow skiing anyway.

Cortina d’Ampezzo (www.cortina. dolomiti.org) is one of the first resorts in Europe to designate an area for relaxed, chilled-out skiing as part of the slow-life movement.

In a move against the current trend towards dashing about the

Two New Lifts At Valmorel Family-friendly Valmorel in the French Alps is making a major investment in new lifts ahead of the ski season.

The new eight-seat cabin Pierrafort gondola starts from the hamlet of Crève-Coeur and arrives at the base of the Mottet chairlift.

In addition, the new Combe du Morel chairlift is a six-seater, easyaccess chairlift starting just below the current Morel drag lift and arriving at the top of the Arnouillaz.

in the Cortina Cube area (FaloriaMietres-Cristallo) will this winter be an official Slow-Ski zone. There will be areas designed to make it easy to stop and gaze at the fabulous views of Monte Cristallo, as well as benches strategically sited for skiers to take a break.

The slow-life, slow-ski philosophy doesn’t end there.

The Ski Tour La Dolce Vita is designed to persuade skiers to

Low-Cost Family New Year In Samoens La Source will be running Green Adventure Retreats in Samoëns and Scotland this year (www. greenadventureretreats.com).

“Our philosophy is freedom and adventure! We want our guests to have the space and inspiration to tap into their Source through being in beautiful places, through adventure and being outdoors, by being inspired by each other, dance, yoga, walks, healthy organic food and so on” says company founder Saskia Anley.

Over the New Year, the company is offering a very unique “Grass Roots” budget ski and winter sports trip aimed at people tied into the school holidays, who also love the ”Source-y vibe” of adventure, ski, community, local organic food, yoga and good energy, but struggle to afford it!

Costing £590 for adults and £490 for children, the trip will run from 28 December 2011–4 January 2012, it’s a full-board package including picnics on the hill, yoga, dance, film nights, moonlit snowshoeing, fondue in a yurt, and transfers from/to Geneva airport.

Breakwoman Joins GB Team

Tremblant Spends A Million Dollars CREDIT: Station Mont Tremblant

Serita Shone, from Weymouth, has joined the GB Bobsleigh Team for the forthcoming season.

Miss Shone is the latest edition to the women’s team and will be competing on the Europa Cup and World Cup circuits during the 2011-12 season. Serita said it was ‘fantastic’ to be selected for the team and can’t wait to get onto the ice. Serita will be blogging her entire season for our sister website SkiNews.co.uk.

slopes at breakneck speed trying to rack up the vertical and posting your achievements on Facebook, it’s all about taking things a bit easier and actually appreciating the mountains, stopping to look at the views – totally ignoring Facebook and for that matter the rest of the internet – and just enjoying your holiday.

The famous resort’s long, wide Vitelli run, the most scenic slope

spend a whole day in slow-life mode. The idea is for a day out in the Dolomites purely indulging your senses. You ski the most beautiful slopes, and stop at traditional mountain refuges to enjoy breathtaking vistas and gastronomic treats.

The Dolce Vita tour takes in the areas of Cinque Torri, Lagazuoi and Armentarola – with stops along the way for coffee, aperitifs and gourmet snacks. The tour finishes in style with a table reservation at the renowned Averau mountain refuge – and a gourmet meal. And as an extra treat there’s an opportunity to soak in an outdoor hot tub at 2137m on the terrace of the Scoiattoli mountain refuge, sipping champagne under the stars.

"We have such fabulous scenery around Cortina, along with some of the best mountain refuges for food in the Alps, that it seemed natural to combine the two – and encourage people to slow down and savour both the views and the wonderful food," said Marianne Moretti-Adimari from the Cortina tourist office. "We really do offer the dolce vita of downhill skiing and we want our guests to think a bit more about life in the slow lane."

Mont Tremblant Ski Resort in Quebec, Canada, is investing $1m (approximately £600,000) in improving its snowmaking, to better access the Versant Soleil ski area where its casino is situated, and to extend its season.

The resort is also investing in new skis to include what it says will be the highest performance rental equipment in North America’s Northeast. There will be free ice skate hire too, this season offered through the resort accommodation, and free tubing from 6–9pm daily. Tremblant will also have direct flights to the resort’s own airport from New York and Toronto this year, making it more accessible than ever.

Salomon Builds Better Goggles Salomon’s new XTEND goggles, priced between £70 and £140, offer three significant technological improvements over goggles that have gone before the company say.

First, a better field of vision comes from Salomon’s X-TEND frame technology. A larger lens, surrounded by a narrow frame, enables less obstruction and 20% greater peripheral vision than other goggle designs.

Second, improved fog control as a result of the Thermo Control System.

Large, scoop-shaped air vents create low pressure zones, which pull moisture away from the lens and face to eliminate fogging.

Third, perfect fit due to their Custom Frame technology. A very flexible membrane between the frame and the face foam softly adapts to any face shape, for improved comfort all day.

“Salomon only launches new product lines when we believe we can offer significant innovation” says Elina Vorger, Salomon Goggles Product Manager, “this was true with skis, with boots, even with bindings 50 years ago.”

“Applying lessons learned from other glide sports, the BBR is a completely new ski concept in terms of shape, feel, and versatility. It is simply more fun in more conditions.”

- Bertrand Krafft (aka BBR) Salomon alpine ski developer and Shaper of the BBR

SEE WHAT THE NEW SHAPE IS ALL ABOUT.

COPYRIGHT© SALOMON SAS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PHOTOGRAPHER: JOE FELZMAN.

SALOMON.COM/BBR

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ALL IMAGES: Nick Thomas

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Jon (AKA WESTY) AT ALTITUDE

Jon is one of a handful of instructors in the world who hold top qualifications from France, Switzerland & Britain. An inspirational coach, he can teach on & offpiste skiing throughout the Alps. In his role as Ski School Director, Jon is on hand to manage the different parts of the Altitude company portfolio, including the ski & snowboard school, the instructor-training Gap programs, the Verbier freeride camps & the winter and summer kids’ camps. +41 27 771 6006 / altitude-verbier.com

VARIABLES

Strong Core

Fast Feet

This month Jon looks at some of the skills needed to ski in variable conditions. As the mountain and the snow conditions continually change as we ski, being able to handle variable conditions is vital in improving your skiing.

As in all areas of skiing where your balance gets tested; i.e. bumps, off-piste etc, having a strong core so you don’t get thrown off balance is vital, and nowhere is this more important than in variable conditions.

An important skill when skiing variable conditions is to be able to balance fore and aft. This means moving your feet or body forwards or backwards to stay balanced. For example, if you hit a heavy patch of snow you will need to position your feet slightly ahead of you to stop yourself being thrown over the “handle bars”. Conversely, if you feel your feet slide away from you on ice try pulling them back to stay balanced.

Tip: If the conditions look variable try keeping a bit of tension in your core before you set off and maintain that as you ski down.

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Over the following 4 issues we will tackle: Powder Skiing / Carving / Bumps / Instructor Training.

PIC

What to look for in a Ski School

Look Ahead

Recovery

Being able to predict ahead of time what the snow is going to feel like, and how to react to it, will help your skiing improve tremendously and result in much better “flow”.

Skiing can be thought of as a series of linked recoveries! When skiing in the variables this can feel especially true. The ability to recover is an important one.

Sometimes you need to fight to stay on your feet, don’t just give into it, even if it feels like a battle inside, and sometimes it will. Variable conditions are challenging to the best of skiers and I can assure you that even though it may not look like they are working hard they definitely are!

Tip: Make sure you are always looking ahead, and not at the front of your skis, so you can see that patch of ice, powder or crud and be ready for it, or avoid it if necessary.

Putting children into ski school is generally beneficial to both children and parents. Kids meet others of a similar age and ability, develop their ski abilities in a safe and progressive manner and parents are able to have some time to themselves to ski. This is all of course providing the school knows what they are doing.

Ski School Checklist: Are the teachers qualified?

All countries have a national body that trains and licenses instructors. They will have learnt various teaching

progressions, how children develop plus games and exercises suitable for different ages and ability groups. Some schools however employ unqualified instructors.

Does the instructor speak your child's native language?

Generally instructors who are the same nationality as the children will understand not only the language but also the culture and body language better than nonnative instructors.

Does the instructor have experience teaching kids?

Techniques for teaching children can differ from adults.

Watch part of the lesson and see if the instructors interact well with the children.

Is there a dedicated area?

A separate area for children helps them to get the most out of the lesson and is safer.

A selection of equipment such as hoops, cones, balls, mats and poles help the instructor keep the kids interested and make it easier to set targets and measure achievements.

Make sure the ratio of kids to instructors/helpers is good. 8:1 is ok for older kids but it should be lower for younger ones.

Does the school have resources available if there is a problem or accident?

A good school should have a supervisor available who can come and sort out any problems that may occur.

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Colorado Chic In Resort This Winter

BEN CLATWORTHY

Big Air Cancelled In Barcelona

Footwear brand Teva, which was ”born” on the Colorado River in 1984, has launched the women’s Vero Boot WP, described as “… the coolest, most stylish yet highly practical footwear for this winter.”

The sleek and chic boot is packed with tech features to keep your toes toasty and you safe from slips, including Teva Innovative Design Elements (T.I.D.E), such as their White Spider Rubber sole and Seal waterproof membrane, and 3M provide the Thinsulate insulation.

In addition, heel-to-toe EVA Strobel lasting provides cosy, all-day cushioning for the soles of your feet, a Shoc Pad positioned in the heel impact area boosts your stride, and a Mush infused insole makes these absurdly comfortable lightweight boots feel like you are wearing flip flops. A handy side zipper means you have easy in and out access without the hassle of laces. Earlier this year Teva launched “A Pair for a Foot” along with US non-profit groups, the Waterkeeper Alliance and the Ocean Conservancy, committed to cleaning a linear foot of global waterways for every pair of shoes sold.

©2011 Francis BOMPARD, Christophe PALLOT/AGENCE ZOOM

The Snowboard World Cup Big Air Competition, in Barcelona, Spain, has been cancelled for ‘economic reasons’. The event had become a highlight on the World Cup calendar alongside London Freeze. The organisers hope to find a replacement host nation. The event was due to take place on 12 November in the Spanish city.

London hosts Freeze on 28 and 29 October at Battersea Power Station.

Telemark Team Cocktail Party The British Telemark team, fresh back from training in Austria, are hosting a cocktail party to raise much needed funds ahead of the new season. The event is taking place at The Ski Club of Great Britain in Wimbledon on Saturday 22 October at 8pm. Tickets for the event cost £30 and all profits raised go towards the competition team.

For more details search the event on Facebook.

MAX4 At Whistler Snow School The new MAX4 program at Whistler Blackcomb Snow School this winter means there will never be more than four people in any daily adult Snow School group lesson, the famous Canadian resort promises “The change will ensure all guests, whether skiing or snowboarding for the first time or a seasoned expert, will receive quality one on one time with their instructors.”

Guests will be divided into groups that better tailor to their abilities, which will increase their confidence and help them learn faster. Whistler Blackcomb has also reduced the class size for all Whistler Kids Snow School programs for all of the same reasons; beginning this winter, there will never be more than six children to one instructor.

B-Style Helmet & Nova Goggle

T H E L I F E, S I N C E 1 8 8 8 Pierre Vaultier - 2010 Snowboard Cross World Champion

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CREDIT: Michael Rathmayer

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Innsbruck To Host Its Third Olympics In 2012 BEN CLATWORTHY

The first ever Winter Youth Olympic Games will take place from 13–22 January 2012 in Innsbruck and Seefeld (www.innsbruck2012. com) in Austria. Innsbruck will become the first city worldwide to host the Olympic Games for a third time, following the 1964 and 1976 Games. The goal for the Youth Olympics is to introduce young athletes to

the Olympic spirit, and to provide them with a public arena to showcase their talents. Over 1000 athletes, from over 70 nations, aged between 14 and 18 years, will compete across a range of disciplines, including biathlon, bobsleigh, downhill skiing and ice hockey. The construction of the Olympic village is almost complete, and many of the Olympic venues used in 1964 and 1976 have been renovated and upgraded.

Totally Ski. Exclusively Family.

Quality chalets with inclusive childcare.

This is the first holiday we’ve had where everyone has relaxed. It has opened our eyes to the benefits of childcare. Thank you!

McAnallen family, Les Menuires, Feb 2011

Visit

skifamille.co.uk or call us on

0845 64 437 64

to discuss your family’s requirements.

Tots With Altitude In Val d’Isère

Working together with Oxygène Ski in Val d’Isère, Scott Dunn’s Tots with Altitude special offer has been created exclusively for families with pre-school children and is available for chalet reservations with travel booked between 4-25 March 2012 and includes complimentary Scott Dunn Children’s Club places, ski lessons, lift passes and rentals

for three, four and five year olds – worth over £600 per child.

“Getting young children on skis early on gives them a huge head start and allows parents to make the most of lower prices outside of peak school holiday dates. Children as young as three can begin to learn to ski and the sooner they start, the more naturally it will come,” says Andrew

Dunn, Scott Dunn’s founder (www.scottdunn.com/ski).

Little ones will be picked up for their first ever skischool lessons by Scott Dunn’s nannies in their ‘nanny bus’ – saving energy for the slopes – before taking their first steps on skis in Oxygène Ski’s safe, enclosed teaching area. In addition, parents can find their chalet stocked on arrival with all the family essentials, for example, toys and buggies.

The special Tots with Altitude offer is valid for departures on 4, 11 and 18 March 2012 in selected chalets in Val d'Isère and prices start from £2,275 per person.

SKI & SNOWBOARD SCHOOL MOUNTAIN GUIDE OFFICE

Esprit Ski Offer Family Deals

Esprit Ski (www.EspritSki.com), the family ski specialist, is offering a range of early booking incentives, including £200 off per couple and free children’s places, plus half-price lift passes,

free children’s equipment hire, free childlistening service or evening clubs every night, and 3 days free ski hosting.

Prices start from £549 per adult for 1 week at Chalet Hotel Ducs de Savoie in Val d’Isère, France, with one child aged 2–4 years travelling free, departing on 15 January 2012. This price includes return Southampton–Geneva flights, transfers and seven nights chalet hotel accommodation. The complete range of Esprit’s Classic Child Care is available, with prices from £285 for 6 days of full care.

+41 27 771 74 59 info@adrenialine-verbier.ch www.adrenaline-verbier.co.uk

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Two New Six-Seater Chairlifts In The Portes du Soleil

BEN CLATWORTHY

New Avalanche Transceiver

Resorts on the French and Swiss sides of the giant Portes du Soleil region, which straddles the two country’s borders with 650km of largely lift-linked pistes, are installing new lifts to improve the on-mountain experience for skiers and boarders this winter.

At Champéry-Les Crosets on the Swiss side, the old Grand-Conche chairlift and draglifts are being replaced by a single highspeed six-seater lift at a cost of CHF13m increasing capacity on the route from 1900 to 3000 skiers per hour.

At Châtel on the French side, a new high-speed six-person chairlift in the Plaine Dranse sector replaces an old double chairlift, and more than doubles capacity on the route from 1200 to 3000 skiers per hour. The new lift is also twice as fast as the old one, travelling at 5m/s compared with the former’s 2.3m/s.

Mammut has launched the new Element Barryvox avalanche transceiver, a three-antenna device, which has been pared down to offer an easy-to-use package of essentials at the push of a button. In an emergency every second counts, and that’s why Mammut’s Element Barryvox (RRP £290) is a life-saving companion, with clear instructions, one button operation, 200-hour battery life, and clearly laid-out display, this piece of kit guarantees fast and precise location information.

It’s ideal for group-use as the screen can show multiple victims, including their distance and direction, helping the user to prioritise who to rescue first.

FIS World Cup Underway The annual World Cup championship gets underway for the 2011/12 season on 23 October when both the Men’s and the Women’s Giant Slalom race takes place in Sölden, Austria. The competition then moves onto Levi in Sweden on 13 November when the first slalom races of the season take place.

The first downhill takes place in Lake Louise in the USA in just under a month’s time.

New Gondola For Monterosa The latest spectacular lift at Italy’s Monterosa ski area is due to go into service this winter. Work is reported to be nearing completion on the new Stafal-Gabiet gondola from Gressoney-La-Trinité.

“The structure will be a technological triumph complete with 67 cable cars heading up to the Monte Rosa peaks, offering a fast, efficient and frequent service,” said a statement from the region’s tourist office.

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It’s all about

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The world’s largesT skI area

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mountain compared with the village.

With over 13 years experience , Adrenaline Ski School in Verbier has some handy hints for your family’s first adventure onto the snow.

All children are different and they adapt to skiing in their own time, but it is important as a parent that you do not rush them. The snow, the clothes, the ski boots and ski lifts all add to the excitement, but they do need some time to get used to.

Children as young as 2 ½-years-old can take to the snow with ease, but you should ensure that they are warmly dressed with correctly fitting equipment.

Don’t underestimate that it will be several degrees colder at the top of the

1 > Boots should be snug, fastened, and worn with one pair of socks to avoid rubbing.

2 > Ski bindings should be adjusted by a specialist shop.

3 > A helmet is essential, but it needs to fit well and be done up. For really cold days, a thin balaclava should be worn under the helmet to ensure the face is kept warm.

4 > Goggles are great in poor visibility, and also prevent eyes becoming damaged by the strong UV rays.

5 > Footless tights or thermal underwear should be worn.

6 > Lots of layers is the best way to

regulate the body temperature, avoid thick woollen jumpers, it’s better to wear a fleece which will not restrict the child’s movement.

7 > Ski trousers fitted over ski boots stop snow getting into the boots.

8 > Make sure waterproof mittens are worn, which also cover part of the forearm so that no snow gets inside the gloves. A spare pair is also a good idea!

9 > Avoid scarfs, instead have a ski jacket with a wide, high collar.

10 > Don’t forget a little money for the hot chocolate stop!

Fully kitted-out, your child will now be ready to join Adrenaline ski lessons.

Safety, fun and learning are fundamental

for successful lessons. Grouped together according to age and ability, limiting the group number to six, every child will receive some individual attention.

After all, if your child is happy and looking forward to their skiing, you can relax on the slope knowing that they are taken care of.

Adrenaline Ski School Verbier Private lessons, children’s group lessons, teens clinics, snowboarding.

A member of Swiss Snowsports, the official Swiss Ski and Snowboard School association. www.adrenaline-verbier.co.uk +41 27 771 74 59.

Awesome slopes. Woodland runs.

Open bowls.

France. Oui!

A charming resort, (1200 – 2830m), linking four fabulous villages between Briançon and the Col du Lautaret, southern Alps.

Over 250km of snow-sure, tree-lined slopes for skiers and boarders.

Great snow and sunshine record. Family incentives: free passes for under 6’s.

Easy access: Turin, Grenoble, Lyon and direct rail to Briançon.

Visit Les Grands Bains du Monêtier – the perfect experience of pools, relaxation, health and beauty, with spa and wellness facilities

Accreditations: Agence Zoom

7 nights 6-day s/c inc. lift pass , 09 pp from £2 tes. d da selecte

Serre Chevalier Vallée Tourist Office 0033 (0)4 92 24 98 80 www.serre-chevalier.com

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SkiWeekends.com 08444 060600 www.skiweekends.com

FlexiSki 020 8939 0862 www.flexiski.com

iGOSKi 0844 770 4074 www.igoski.co.uk

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Take A Ski Break

Short Break Ski Holiday Popularity On The Up

DAVID BLACK

Despite the economic downturn and the overall decline in skier numbers heading to the Alps from the UK, the proportion of people taking short ski breaks continues to grow in popularity, as many value taking a couple of short breaks where they can ski three or four days at a time, using less holiday but also increasing their chances of finding great snow conditions.

Three of the companies that are particular experts in short ski breaks are skiweekends. com, Flexiski and iGOSKi and InTheSnow spoke to the men running each of them about trends in the short ski break market.

“People are favouring the bigger ski areas with high altitude slopes and good snowmaking, but are happy to stay a little out of the way to save money, which is why Brides les Bains wins for Les 3 Vallées ,” says Daniel Fox, Managing Director of skiweekends.com.

“Short transfer times are often discussed as a major factor for resort choice and again a lack of having to use transport to get around the resort is also high on the list," adds Peter Hillyard, New Business and Operations Manager At Flexiski.

Another trend is a return to packages after the hassles and unexpected addon costs people have experienced when organising their trips independently, including falling prey to" no- frills" airlines and transfer companies.

“People are definitely pro-hotels and half board. I think with the exchange rate they have realised that apartments may look cheap but when you’ve added on the cost of the food it’s not such great value,” says Daniel.

Coach weekends are a phenomenon of their own that has become a particularly successful niche market sector with one day off work giving three days on the slopes.

“We can’t stop them growing, and even though we added 40% to our capacity last year we are already full on some dates and considering adding extra coaches. I think in part people have tried coach for financial reasons – it's typically £150 cheaper – then they are so surprised it’s not a nightmare they stick with it! Of course you can get an extra day by coach on a week too,” says Daniel.

Flexiski has seen growth in mid-week holidays away from the weekend, for still lower prices.

“The weekend demand is still strong with the classic Thursday-Sunday being the most requested, but we have seen a growth in the start of the week arrivals market, i.e. Sunday-Wednesday which offers great flexibility in resorts, and some fantastic price savings,.” says Peter.

Another sign of the success of the short break ski market is that specialist iGOSKi has made its first ever block-booking on a weekend ski flight. Company boss James Hardiman explains, “Weekends are traditionally booked late and skiers rightly expect a 3-4 day break to be cheaper -

weeks, are notoriously hard to find, with the majority of hotels reverting back to seven nights, so any properties that offer shorter durations for these peak weeks are usually the first to sell out. We have also seen a movement in the corporate market, where traditionally March was the favoured month. Recently the demand from these clients has moved to travelling mid-to late-January to take advantage of quieter slopes, good conditions and favourable pricing,” says Peter.

And Daniel warns that although it’s tempting to book a cheap flight and then look for a short break, it’s best to do things the other way round. “Top tip, don’t book flights because they are cheap, then expect

People are favouring the bigger ski areas with high altitude slopes and good snow- making, but are happy to stay a little out of the way to save money...

however the rising cost of airfuel and the rising popularity of weekends is making them more expensive than weekly holidays.

We have tried to combat this by allocating seats with BA on a fixed cost basis. We also offer skiers a cheaper alternative Sunday to Wednesday break.. It's a huge risk for us, but this will mean fixed flight prices instead of skiers being at the mercy of the 'no- frills' airline's "variable" pricing and thus ensure late-bookers aren't paying £200 plus for their flight alone.”

The new package prices start at £495 for 3-4 days skiing, BA flights, three-course catering, chalet or hotel, and transfers.

Furthermore, at the moment all the City flight weekend packages are offered with a 10% discount as an "introductory offer".

So are there any limits on the short break market?

“Short breaks, particularly over peak

to find accommodation to match, we see this all the time and regularly have people abandoning their “bargain flights” to book a package.”

All in all, ski weekends have the image of being suitable for either the rich taking a quick jolly on top of their regular week in St Moritz, or students on a budget. In reality there’s as mixed a client base as with any other type of ski package.

“Our clients are literally students to surgeons and we have all ages – with singles, friends, stag and hen do’s, plus families and older skiers into their 80’s. One thing that’s for sure is that most of my friends now prefer a few days hard skiing and actually find a week too much,” says Daniel.

Prices correct at time of going to press, subject to availability, terms and conditions apply.

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WIN Chalet Girl On Blu-Ray OR DVD Hit UK blockbuster Chalet Girl has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray, and to celebrate the release of the film InTheSnow has teamed up with the film distributors to give away some fantastic prizes. A typical romantic comedy, the film is packed with action, as Kim Matthews (Felicity Jones), who plays the Chalet Girl, and Jonny (Ed Westwick), the son of the chalet’s owner, fall in love. It’s a tale of trials and tribulations as Kim finds her feet working in the luxury chalet.

InTheSnow has 20 copies of the DVD to give away, as well as one Grand Prize. We also have the salopettes worn by Nicholas Braun who plays Nigel, the brother of Jonny in the film to give away to one lucky winner as the Grand Prize.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is answer the following question;

In which US television series does actor Ed Westwick play Chuck Bass? a) Glee b) Gossip Girl c) Scrubs To be in with a chance of winning, email your name, address, and your answer to competition@inthesnow.com by Thursday 1 December 2011, & specify DVD or Blu-Ray* *Terms and conditions apply. Votes cast after the closing date will not be counted. One entry with the correct answer will be picked at random to win the salopettes. Incomplete entries will not be counted. Film is rating 12.

Comedy Festival For Mayrhofen The Altitude Comedy Festival (www. altitudefestival.com) is coming to Mayrhofen, Austria, from 26–31 March 2012, and bringing with it some of the top names in comedy such as Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle and Al Murray.

Previously an annual fixture in Méribel, it moved last year to Mayrhofen as part of the Snowbombing festival and this year it will stand-alone. The event is sold as an accommodation and entertainment package, with the event wristband included in the price of your accommodation. Mayrhofen is home to budget-friendly pensions and 4 luxury hotels,

so there is a package to suit all. Opt between coach travel from £128pp or flights direct to Innsbruck with EasyJet from £59 one-way.

50 Years Of Skiing In Scotland Research carried out by James Cove, from Planet Ski (www.planetski.eu), for a new book out next year on the history of the British Association of Ski Instructors (BASI) has shed light on the history of skiing in Scotland, after the opening of the country’s first chairlift at Cairngorm above Aviemore on 23 December 1961, which some locals, used to walking up, apparently regarded with some scepticism. They felt the £42,000 spent on the first chairlift was something of a waste of money.

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh had paid a visit to the area the previous winter to see for himself this new sport of skiing, with volunteers shovelling huge amounts of snow onto The White Lady ski run and demonstrations being put on by the local skiers. The Duke seemed interested, and media coverage at the time resulted in publicity that helped generate the funds needed to build the lift.

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Fill your boots.

Enjoy more with Ski Inclusive.

1179

V6896

With Neilson’s Ski Inclusive, your boots are included too.

• One easy to book package – all you need to get on the slopes & a saving of up to £199pp • Flights, transfers, accommodation, hire of equipment or ski/snowboard carriage included • We’ve over 30 years’ experience getting snow-lovers on the slopes

And all this from just £399pp

Call 0844 879 8169 search neilson.co.uk/ski or see your local travel agent. /neilsonholidays

/neilson_snow

Neilson holds the right to withdraw offers at any time. Offers cannot be combined with any other discounts and are for new bookings only. All offers are based on maximum occupancy of a room or apartment and include fuel and ATOL charges.

Accommodation and regional flight supplements may apply. Ski Inclusive price includes return charter flights, resort transfer, accommodation, 6-day local lift pass, 6 days’ ski or board hire or carriage and 6 days’ boot hire. If boots are not required, the Ski Inclusive price will be reduced by £20.

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Free Skiing At Crested Butte Mountain Resort

BEN CLATWORTHY

It’s the big 5-0 For Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) in Colorado, USA, this winter, and the resort kicks off a year-long celebration with free skiing for all on its 50th birthday and season opening day – 23 November. As an added bonus, they are also offering a free lift ticket for your birthday, whenever it may fall during the winter season. To get your free day you must be aged over 18 years and bring proof, such as a passport.

Marketed as “Colorado's Last Great Ski Town," the opening-day birthday festivities will include live music with Drew Emmitt, fun events, a big birthday cake, and party favours.

"We couldn't think of a more appropriate way to celebrate our 50th birthday than with free skiing for all resort guests on opening day" said Daren Cole, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CBMR (www.skicb.com).

"The ‘Ski Free on Your Birthday' offer is the icing on the cake."

Powder And Poppadoms Indus Tours (www.industours.co.uk) is offering packages to the resort of Gulmarg in Kashmir in the Himalayas this winter, widely regarded as offering some of the best powder and off-piste skiing in Asia when conditions are right, as well as the northern hemisphere’s third highest lift-served vertical at 1330m.

Considered to be India’s premier ski resort, Indus Tours’ nine-night package costs from £1345pp (based on two sharing) and offers a choice of ski in/ski out hotels on full board.

The price also includes 5 days of professional guiding with locally-trained mountain hosts,

plus one night on a Srinagar houseboat, one night in Delhi, international/domestic flights, and all transfers.

CREDIT: JP Noisilier

Glacier Open For Half Term

Les Deux Alpes is set to open their glacier for the October half-term break once again this season, from 22 October – 1 November. The half-term opening is becoming a tradition in the resort and this year the celebration of the beginning of the season is larger still, with a series of events being

held on the glacier during the weekend of 22-23 October. A group of shops in the resort are joining together for the weekend to offer a unique chance for recreational skiers and snowboarders to try out the latest and newest skis and snowboards on the market - ahead of the full European

ski season starting in midNovember. As well as ski tests there will be a host of other entertainment and activities both on the glacier, at over 3000m, and also in the resort.

There will be a skateboard competition in the bike park as well as a film preview, concert and a barbeque. Many local ski and snowboard pros will be in town during the weekend to meet their fans, and of course wow-ing people on the slopes with their skills. The resort is also offering discount lift passes for the pre-season opening. Passes will cost just €20 a day for the 22/23 October and then €26.50 a day for the rest of the week.

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The All Mountain Skier: The biggest and possibly most influential area in skiing, the All Mountain category targets the keen, experienced skier moving with ease over the whole mountain, from front side marked terrain to lift accessed off-piste and ‘side country’ powder stashes.

Lange RX100 Boots £265

Giro Nine.10 Helmet £100

Salomon Propeller CS Gloves £55

Smartwool PhD Medium £19.99

Simple effective design is what makes

Nine helmet was introduced, its soul lives

This great glove features a ClimaSnow

A good pair of socks can make

the RX100 standout. A single density

on in the all new Nine.10. It combines

membrane between the insulation and

such a difference to your mountain

PU shell drives skis cleanly and firmly,

their excellent In Form adjustable fit

the outer fabric for a weather resistant

experience. SmartWool socks are

responding instantly without being

system (an ergo-friendly dial at the base

construction against cold, wind and

made from wool, funnily enough.

over precise. Comfort is a result of the

which provides up to 6cm of adjustment)

humidity. Low bulk Thermolite insulation

They manage moisture which in

Control Fit Technology that creates a

with a super-light construction and

keeps hands toasty and the Softshell

turn thwarts blisters and keeps toes

close-fitting boot without tight-spots

plenty of venting to make one of the

outer with 3D engineered shape

warm and dry. Cushioning panels

or pain; bolts at the back allow an im-

most impressive helmets we’ve ever

results results in a a slim glove with a

give superb all day comfort while still

pressive range of flex adjustment. Fuss-

worn. Easy to personalise the fit and

comfortable stretch fit. The leather palm

offering a close, precise fit between

free and gadget-less, just pure skiing,

comfortable all-day.

protects against pole wear. There’s also a

foot and ski boot. Great patterns and

nose wipe and velcro wrist closure.

colours for men and women.

the way that works best.

More than a decade after the original Giro

Blizzard Bushwacker Skis £540 (inc. Tyrolia Peak 12 bindings)

Using Blizzard’s patented Flip Core Natural Rocker, to create a reverse camber profile. The result is sublime handling in tricky conditions, effortless turns in soft snow, and energy and response when skiing hard pack. Perfect for advanced skiers looking for the ultimate all mountain ski.

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i

n

iation with c o s as

For more information visit www.ellis-brigham.com All Mountain clothing and equipment makes up a big slice of the great new winter offer at the nine Ellis Brigham stores across London and 24 stores nationwide. Grab your free bumper catalogue online.

Movement Gloss Skis £485

Dragon APX Goggles £155

Scott Preston GTX Jkt £319.99

The Gloss is a smooth-as-silk, all-moun-

We’ve never seen a response quite like

A hardworking mountain jacket solidly

tain ski with a mellow feel, impressive

the one Dragon’s new APX’s goggle has

engineered in 2-layer GORE-TEX Per-

performance and great graphics. The

been receiving, skiers and snowboard-

formance Shell fabric delivering full-on

large nose bashes through all condi-

ers were fighting for the early samples.

waterproof & breathable protection

tions and confidently eases into turns;

The oversized lens improves vision, and

with Thermal Regulation lining featur-

the 80mm waist is stable and secure in

the 2 supplied lenses ensure you’ll never

ing low bulk Thermolite Active insula-

soft snow, as well as powerful and pre-

get caught out by light conditions with

tion in cool zones and vapour transmit-

cise on piste. The 14m radius suits turns

1 perfect for bright days and the other

ting mesh in hot zones. Colours: Grass

of all sizes on any terrain. A brilliant

ideal for snow or overcast conditions.

Green (930) or Fiery Red (960)

go anywhere ski for intermediate and

And if you haven’t realised yet, it looks

advanced female skiers.

pretty special too.

(with Head SX10 bindings)

Sorel JOAN of Arctic £144.99 After a day skiing all over the mountain, feet will be delighted to slip into these well crafted, long lasting boots. Sorel does a great job of combining function with fashion for the woman who wants it all. Inside the leather and suede upper with its seam sealed waterproof construction is a removable 9mm recycled felt inner boot for extra warmth and comfort.

Scott Unltd Pants £255 No nonsense all mountain ski pants. Solidly engineered in 2-layer GORE-TEX Performance Shell fabric delivering full-on waterproof & breathable protection with low bulk Thermolite Active insulation.

Salomon Fantasy Jacket £229.99 A stylish jacket in one of this year’s hottest colours – aubergine (but also available in black). The herringbone ‘denim’ look and feel to the fabric makes it equally cool on or off the hill but don’t be fooled – this is a high performance jacket which will perform in any weather.

Salomon Fantasy Pant £139.99 White is more durable than you might think and looks oh so stylish, picking out the white stitching and zips on the jacket. Also available in black.

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The team at InTheSnow has put together a selection of this season’s hottest products on the market to wet your appetite for snow. Bright colours are in fashion once again so expect some garish sights on the slopes this season and make sure you look the part too!

Surfanic Beat iPod® Jacket £129

Kask Class Shine FROM £250

Fischer SOMA Vacuum 130 £499

Forcefield Sport Lite 1 £94.99

Aimed at skiers, but also at freeriders

This new boot is a global innovation

Fully CE approved the Sport Lite 1

Operate your iPod from the sleeve of

and snowboarders, Kask helmets

in the ski boot industry. A book that

back protector is designed to be soft,

your jacket! The Surfanic Beat iPod jacket

are at the forefront of the helmet

really has a 100% fit! Fischer Vacuum Fit

flexible, breathable and comfortable

features an internal pocket that connects

industry. A product that the Italian

technology makes it possible for the first

whilst still providing maximum impact

your iPod to the external arm controls on

company likes to repurpose year after

time to have a completely anatomical fit

protection. Constructed using Nitrex

your jacket. Change Track, Adjust volume,

year with the appropriate stylistic

of the entire boot in a quality that was

Evo® a unique high-tech triangular

Play and Stop your music with the touch

and graphic revisions, because it’s

previously unattainable. The basis for

shock absorbing material combined

of your jacket sleeve. Whether you ski or

a helmet that a lot of people love,

this is the new, patented Fischer VACU-

with dense and lightweight layers of

snowboard this jacket is ideal for listening

suitable for any occasion, appreciated

PLAST. The easy adjustment procedure

foam which disperse energy upon

to you iPod when going off piste.

by professionals for lightness,

takes only 20 mins and offers an

impact. Available in sizes XS – XL.

Features include Insulated iPod® Pocket,

ventilation, comfort and its style.

extremely reliable and stable result.

Fully Taped Seams, Magnetic Closures, Detachable Hood, 3 Way Volume Control, Supersoft Neck Lining, Goggle

Zip Out Powder Skirt, Glove Hook, Map

Nova RED GRAFFITI goggle £52

Pocket, Storm Flap, Ski Pass Holder,

Flow Tech™ Venting on the Nova is designed to reduce fogging and optimize the flow of air

Wipe, Pit Zip Venting, Wrist Adjustment, Inner Snow Cuff, Headphone Retainer,

Goggle Pocket, Two Way Zipper, Dry

over the inside of the lens. The lens highlights the contours of the snow and the silver coating

Butt Patch, Super Soft Chin Guard, and

absorbs dazzling reflections from bright sunlight. The lens also features Bollé’s anti fog/

One Handed Draw Cord.

anti scratch treatment and provides 100% UV protection. The double layer face foam

www.Surfanic.co.uk

offers a firm yet comfortable fit. Helmet compatible. (www.bolle.com; 0208 391 4700)

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ATOMIC Live Fit 80 £499 The LF 80 is a unique all-mountain boot featuring innovative technology, which immediately, and automatically adapts its fit to the skier's foot – in any situation.

This is thanks to the unique Live Fit zones. These elastic zones snugly enclose the forefoot and, with a variable last width from 102 to 106 mm, ensure a perfect fit.

Teko’s Freeride Sock £19.95

OLANG Centauro OC £149.95

ODLO Evolution £55 £55

accessory for anyone heading out in

Cochise Ski & Boot £549.95 £379.95

Sustainable sock brand Teko is the

These men’s snow boots are the perfect

official licensed sock of the Freeride

Evolution comes in four different

Winner of the Ispo ski of the year 2011,

World Tour this season: in celebration

the snow and ice this season. With

qualities (Cool, Light, Warm and

Blizzard have really gone to town on

they’ve produced this performance

rugged hydro repellent York leather

X-Warm) to provide the right

their Free Mountain series and the

sock. Made from Merino wool and

on the exterior combined with a virgin

underwear for all seasons, all weather

Cochise skis. With the revolutionary

ultra-fine tekoPOLY (using recycled

wool and aluminium removable fleece

and all activity levels. Evolution Warm

‘Flip Core Rocker’ this ski delivers

post-consumer waste) they deliver

liner they are ideal for any outdoor

is particularly suited for the coldest

unreal performance in all types of

the benefits of Merino with enhanced

adventure. What’s more they’ve been

time of the year due to the ODLO

snow. But, it’s not only about the skis;

durability and faster wicking capabilities

temperature rated to -20°C and also

zoning principle; it provides extra heat

the Cochise boot is stacked full of Free

of polyester. Available in outdoor shops

have an anti-slip system. Available in

retention and body climate control

Ride innovations. The Cochise 120

nationwide. (0800 032 3505)

men’s sizes 39 – 47. Colour: Tan.

where adults need it.

has the easiest switch between Hike

(long sleeve crew neck) (long pants)

(ski only) (boot)

and Ride available and linked with Interchangeable sole units, lightweight Triax shell, Mobility Cuff the Cochise

Manbi Boing £19.95

120 really is the ultimate Free Ride

This fun and practical toddlers snow boot is ideal for anyone taking their little ones

inner boot .

to the snow this winter. There is nothing worse than having cold, wet feet, especially when you’re not used to it. With its extended welly sole unit and sherpa fleece lining, the boot is designed to keep feet warm, but also firmly on the ground. A Gusset with velcro allows feet to slip in and out quickly.

weapon. Also available in the Light version which features a heat moulding

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Book Your Lift To The Slopes Now And Save 5% BEN CLATWORTHY

Ski Lifts (www.ski-lifts.com), operators of the biggest range of ski resort transfers, has teamed up with InTheSnow to offer you a 5% discount on all your transfers. Ski Lifts shuttle skiers to over 260 ski resorts, from 26 different airports in 11 different countries, throughout the winter season. What’s more they offer a range of transfers to suit every budget. They provide the option of shared transfers for the budgetconscious, through to limos for the less so, and coaches for large groups. The company have

moulded themselves into a one-stop shop for any ski enthusiast looking to book any kind of transfer; whether it's for groups of friends or families, large corporate groups or university trips and also for companies in the industry such as tour operators and travel agents.

Holidaymakers can also use the site to get big discounts on ski hire, travel insurance and other essentials through Ski Lifts and their partners.

All readers of InTheSnow are entitled to a 5% discount on all transfers by visiting www.ski-lifts. com/wp/inthesnow, guaranteeing you both a great price and great service on your ski transfer.

CREDIT: OT Les Menuires

Festive Deals From Inghams

In 2011 Christmas falls, once again, over a weekend, this year on a Sunday, with New Years Day following seven days later. Inghams (www. inghams.co.uk), is taking the stress out of festive travel this season by flying skiers to resorts on a Friday, allowing them a whole day to settle in before the fun begins. Guests with Inghams can enjoy an extra night’s stay, arriving on Friday 30

December, and returning home on 7 January with eight nights for the price of seven. Inghams are the only UK tour operator to offer such an arrangement this season. Louise Newton, Marketing Manager for Inghams told InTheSnow, “it’s a great benefit for families who don’t want to arrive in resort late on Christmas or New Year’s Eve.” Inghams are also offering 2-for-1 lift passes for all passengers booking a seven-night ski holiday to Switzerland this winter. Guests pre-booking a six-day local lift pass will receive a second pass absolutely free for departures throughout the season*. Inghams have a range of offers currently available to skiers looking to catch a bargain before the season begins, all of which are listed on their website. *Excludes 11-17 Feb & 31 Mar – 6 Apr 2012.

Save At St Anton’s Season Start St Anton am Arlberg (www. stantonamarlberg.com) will be celebrating the season’s opening weekend in style, with a Ski Festival from 2–4 December. More than 15 manufacturers will be offering their latest models to test, and in the St Anton Rally a holiday, including ski pass, is up for grabs, as well as day ski passes and other prizes.

There’ll also be an open-air concert with cover band, SWR3, but for those who prefer a quieter prelude to the festive season they can wander through St Anton’s traditional Christmas market instead.

During the Snow Crystal Week from 3–10 December the price of a 6-day ski pass is available for 25% off at €154.

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SNOW PLANNER IN ASSOCIATION WITH

OCTOBER

19 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 22|

London Ski Show Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre The UK’s biggest ski show moves to its original home of Earl’s Court as exhibitors show off their new season stock.

Three Day Race Camp Chill Factore, Manchester Coaching event during the half term holiday to encourage young skiers into competitive ski racing.

British Telemark Cocktail Party The Ski Club of Great Britain

The British Telemark Ski Team invites you to join them for an exciting evening of splendour at the Ski Club of Great Britain.

Fundraising event. Tickets £30.

28 | 29 | 28 | 30 |

London Freeze Festival Battersea Power Station, London

Watch some of the best freestyle skiers and boarders compete in the FIS World Cup whilst enjoying the party atmosphere of the event.

Birmingham Ski Show NEC Birmingham

Make sure you visit the InTheSnow stand at this fantastic ski show.

NOVEMBER

04| 04| 05| 05| 10 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 25|

Core Night Chill Factore, Manchester

Freestyle ski evening.

Burton Hi 5 SNO!zone Castleford

Freestyle competition open to all.

The Big Ski SNO!zone Castleford Ellis Brigham ski test event.

Parkstrife SNO!zone Milton Keynes Freestyle event.

TSA Board Test SNO!zone Scotland Snowboard Asylum test event.

Burton Hi 5 SNO!zone Milton Keynes Freestyle competition open to all.

Grom Camp Chill Factore, Manchester Freestyle coaching from top Salomon instructors.

Burton Hi 5 Chill Factore, Manchester Freestyle competition open to all.

Also includes ‘Battle of the Domes’.

Parkstrife SNO!zone Castleford Freestyle event.

Not Too Late To Take A Ski Gap

© Surfanic International Ltd. 2011

With lower numbers of UK teenagers taking a gap year this year, because of the university fees hike next year, there are still plenty of jobs available for those who may be looking to earn some money, whilst enjoying the white stuff. Natives (natives.co.uk) advertise hundreds of mountain jobs every season. Recruitment and Operations Manager Jim Duncombe is keen to point out that it really isn’t too late, and told InTheSnow “There are still plenty of ski jobs in November. Some companies don’t even start recruiting until now. As long as you have the right skills there are enough jobs for anyone who wants one.” There are also benefits of working in a chalet, as most offer their staff a free season pass, which in some ski areas would cost in the region of €1000.

LADIES WEEK 14 - 21 January 2012

In January, we invite all female skiers to join us for ladies week on the mountain.

Free lift tickets, events during the week and other extras. PS. Men are allowed too!

For further information visit www.engelberg.ch/ladiesweek

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MONTHLY GUIDE TO ACCOMMODATION

HOTEL ALEX

Zermatt

4

The Hotel Alex is perfectly situated in the centre of Zermatt just off on a hidden back street but with the bustle of beautiful Zermatt right on your doorstep. The warm and friendly welcome here is simply hard to beat. Described as having an “extravagant mountain style”, each room has been designed in its own eclectic way, with surprises at every turn. The Alex is famous for a wonderful lounge-cocktail-bar with intimate corners forming an alpine world of art displays and designer fabrics.

www.clubchalets.co.uk Search ski chalet accommodation

+41 (0)27 9667070

info@hotelalexzermatt.com

www.hotelalexzermatt.com

CHALET 1066

CHALET MAX

SNOW CHATEAUX

Les Gets

Verbier

Les Arcs / Le Plagne / Tignes

Catered and Self Catered Chalets and Apartments in Les Gets. Economical to Luxurious, all Excellent Value. Outstanding Service.

A spacious and cosy chalet in an enviable location close to the piste and centre of Verbier. Guests can enjoy breathtaking views from the chalets outdoor hot tub with a glass of fine champagne. The talented chef and host will serve gourmet cuisine. With 20 years of experience Ski Verbier provides only the finest service.

'Voted one of the top 5 places to stay'

+44 (0)121 288 0586 sue@chalets1066.com www.chalets1066.com

+44 (0) 20 7401 1101 info@skiverbier.com www.skiverbier.com

0800 066 4996 info@snowchateax.co.uk www.snowchateaux.co.uk

lES CHALETS DE PHILIPPE

CHAM CHALET

MH APARTMENTS

Chamonix

Chamonix Mont-Blanc

La Plagne

A cluster of eight chalets with spectacular views of Mont Blanc, located in a quiet corner of Lavancher.

Alpine Antique furniture mixed with contemporary features such as flat screen TVs and WIFI access throughout and spa services include hammam, hot tubs, sauna and massage. A chauffeur is also available as well as Michelin-starred food!

Catered chalet for upto 8 guests. Truly on the piste, opposite Brevent lift station. A panoramic setting, hot tub with view, but still close enough to walk to the centre of town (5 minutes). Excellent food & wine.

Wood burning stove. Owner managed.

Located in the snow-sure resort of Plagne Montalbert, all apartments are either Ski In Ski Out or within only a minute’s walk of the piste. As with all of Mountain Heaven’s accommodation the luxury ski chalets in Montalbert meet the highest standards, and all have breathtaking views across the Tarentaise Valley and/or the piste.

+ 33 (0)607 231 726 contact@chaletsphilippe.com www.chaletsphilippe.com

020 7193 0648 info@chamchalet.co.uk www.chamonixskiout.com

+44 (0)151 625 1921 info@mountainheaven.co.uk www.mountainheaven.co.uk

5

The Daily Telegraph Charming ski in / ski out chalets with hot tubs, saunas & games rooms in 3 of the Worlds largest linked ski areas.

Special offers - free passes, massage and more

4

UNOFFICIAL

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MATTERHORN FOCUS

THE CAMBRIAN

5

Zermatt

5

SKI-BASe: chalet de la Cloche

4

Adelboden

Val d’Isère

Here you can enjoy privacy, outstanding design and a unique stay in 30 individual rooms. Situated in the most fantastic position with unrivalled views of the Matterhorn, the modern, elegant architecture blends in beautifully, elegantly and somewhat obtrusively but perfectly into the mountain around.

Stunning mountain views in every direction, The Cambrian offers the kind of location that desk huggers the world over spend their days dreaming about. Located in the leading resort of Adelboden in the Bernese Oberland, the hotel provides authentic local colour, cosmopolitan comfort and inspiring cuisine backed up by superb service.

Chalet de la Cloche is in the heart of Les Brevieres, Espace Killy, considered to be one of the greatest ski areas in the world.The Ski-Base team have created a wonderful chalet described by ‘Harpers Bazaar’ as a “haven of sensual indulgence”. It is one of Conde Naste Travellers top 10 chalets in the Alps.

+41 (0)27 966 24 24 info@matterhorn-focus.ch www.matterhorn-focus.ch

+41 (0)33 673 83 83 info@thecambrianadelboden.com www.thecambrianadelboden.com

+44 (0)20 3432 8446 info@ski-base.com www.ski-base.com

Vitalhotel & Mountain Residence

ALPINE ACTION

MOUNTAIN HEAVEN

Meribel & La Tania

Morzine

The four star Vitalhotel and adjacent mountain residence provide a choice of comfortable hotel or spacious self catering. Either way you have full hotel facilities and a door step shuttle to Obergurgl’s slopes, two minutes away.

Specialist in chalet holidays for 18 years, Alpine Action offers superior service, cuisine and wine, at their well-appointed chalets in central and piste locations in Meribel and La Tania. Several chalets have hot-tubs, spa baths or saunas; all have free Wifi, SKY/Freeview TV, and DVD. For a superior holiday in this wonderful location, choose Alpine Action.

Chamois D'Or is in a prime location just seconds away from the Nyon cable car & ski slopes. The chalet has an outside hot tub perfect for easing those aching muscles after a long hard days skiing. The chalet sleeps 12 in 6 ensuite bedrooms, there is an additional bunk bedroom with an en-suite shower sleeping a further 2. Each bedroom also has a south facing balcony & stunning views.

+43 (0)52 566 767 info@hotel-muehle.at www.hotel-muehle.at

01273 466535 sales@alpineaction.co.uk www.alpineaction.co.uk

+44 (0)151 625 1921 info@mountainheaven.co.uk www.mountainheaven.co.uk

Obergurgl

Chalet Cole Ridge

4

UNOFFICIAL

Grimentz

THE PENTHOUSE

4

UNOFFICIAL

4

UNOFFICIAL

THE CLUBHOUSE

La Rosière

Chamonix – Mont Blanc

Chalet Cole Ridge is a magnificent premium chalet located in a stunning position directly on the piste and overlooking the historic village of Grimentz in the Val D’Anniviers. Sleeping up to 10 people and with a south-facing sunken Jacuzzi with stunning views overlooking the mountains, this chalet is exceptional.

A stunning chalet in the Les Eucherts area of La Rosière at 1850m. The Penthouse is a large chalet set over two floors with stunning views down the valley from the beautiful lounge / dining room with six ensuite bedrooms, three are doubles and three twins.

The Clubhouse is a boutique chalet-hotel, bar and restaurant which sits inside a magnificent 1920s Art Deco mansion. The building has undergone major refurbishment to create seven ultra modern rooms with accommodation for up to 20 guests. The range of rooms (from the sumptuous Myla Suite to the comfortable bunk rooms) boast his-and-hers, teakdecked, power showers, Frette linen and fat duvets.

+44 (0)151 625 1921 info@mountainheaven.co.uk www.mountainheaven.co.uk

+44 (0)151 625 1921 info@mountainheaven.co.uk www.mountainheaven.co.uk

+33 (0)450 984 220 reception@clubhouse.fr www.clubhouse.fr

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Fischer Sports BEN CLATWORTHY

InTheSnow’s Ben Clatworthy spent 10 minutes with UK Sales and Marketing Manager, Robert Reid, to talk Vacuum Fit boots, the industry- leading innovation from the company.

Vacuum Fit ski boots are the talk of the ski industry at present, what is it that makes these new boots so unique?

RR> They are completely unique. Never before have everyday recreational skiers been able to buy a boot that is so wellfitted to their individual feet, making them more comfortable and giving the user more ski control. What’s more, this kind of plastic is so new that even competitive skiers are fighting to get a pair because

dramatically. The boot harnesses all the power in exactly the correct direction allowing for maximum power transfer, and greater acceleration through the turn, whilst the improved stand position allows for faster and easier edge transfers.

What ability of skier are these boots aimed at?

RR> The ‘flex’ of the boot is the key when it comes to ability. This is basically the stiffness of the boot. They are suited to anyone of intermediate, and above standard and the flex on the boots differs from model to model. A 110 model is far better for an intermediate whilst a very advanced piste skier, or a racer, might look at anything up to a 150. It also depends what you do when you’re

Never before have everyday recreational skiers been able to buy a boot that is so well- fitted to their individual feet, making them more comfortable and giving the user more ski control... at 0 degrees or -20 the plastic remains completely stable.

What are the benefits to the skier of using such a boot?

RR> The better fitting a ski boot, the easier it is to ski. Racers strap their feet in tight, giving them total control over the boot. I’m not suggesting you do that, but using such a well-fitted boot helps

skiing, if you spend all the time on piste or tend to head off into the powder.

What is the process of moulding a boot to the foot, and is it a lengthy process?

RR> The whole process is very quick. The

customer only needs to stand in the boot for 7 minutes and then wait for the inner and the boot to cool overnight. The boot shell is heated and then once the foot is in, compression is used to mould the boot to the foot.

Are the boots available in retail?

RR> Yes the boots will be in selected retail specialists in the UK for the coming season. Retailers who support the fitting of the boot will also have a Vacuum Fit Station, which is where the magic happens! There is a dealer locator on our website where you can find your nearest retailer as well as being able to find out more information on the technology behind the boot.

The boots were used last season on the World Cup Circuit. Who used them, and did they stand the test?

RR> Yes, the boots were first introduced onto the World Cup Circuit last season and those who used them gave us really good feedback on the boot and loved using it. The boot wasn’t actually branded ‘Vacuum’ last season so as not to give away our big plans, but the majority of athletes on Fischer equipment used the boots for the duration of the race season.

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