9 minute read
Slopeside Update
ON THE UP Mount Werner in the Colorado ski resort of Steamboat, which has undergone a $200 million transformation
From the Rocky Mountains to the Alps, a round-up of the latest
winter-wonderland developments. By Felice Hardy
PHOTO: ZERMATT BERGBAHNEN MIND THE GAP The Matterhorn Alpine Crossing will be complete in 2023
PAR FOR THE COURSE? La Rosière will host a snowgolf tournament next year
Each winter ushers in another exciting season on the slopes, where destinations not only unveil new enhancements, developments and infrastructure but also new adrenaline-inducing schemes – think snow golf, ice-swimming, speed-beating zip-wire or dangling on a giant swing. At the same time, ski resorts are working to up their eco-friendly credentials with an emphasis on train travel, wood-pellet boilers, rainwater harvesting, solar, wind and hydroelectric renewable sources – even nonplastic ski passes. Herewith a cheat sheet of everything that’s new, novel and noteworthy for this winter’s thrill seekers.
BUILDING BLOCKS
An 80-year-old dream will be realised in 2023 when the £88 million Matterhorn Alpine Crossing (matterhornparadise. ch) connecting Zermatt in Switzerland with Cervinia in Italy reaches completion. The final cable-car ride takes just four minutes to link the 3,883m (12,740ft) Matterhorn Glacier Paradise lift station on the Klein Matterhorn with Plateau Rosa, above Cervinia. In Chamonix (chamonix.com) a new gondola with 10-seater cabins in Le Tour ski area at the northern end of town opens this season, and the new Mer de Glace cable-car opens in December 2023. Over in the States, Vail (vail.com) is marking its 60th anniversary by opening two new lifts to increase access to the Back Bowls freeride area. The resort is also creating two new ice bars as a tribute to the original one built for the opening of the 1963 season. And Vail has purchased a controlling interest in the iconic Swiss resort of Andermatt (andermatt.ch), which makes the Andermatt-Sedrun ski area the first resort in Europe to be part of the Epic Pass, giving holders unlimited access (epicpass.com). With a US$200 million investment, the multiyear transformation of Steamboat (steamboat.com) includes a new beginner area called Greenhorn Ranch served by the Wild Blue Gondola, a beginner lift and two magic carpets. The resort is focusing on a 10 per cent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and plastic waste reduction. And it’s got to be time to do away with plastic credit-card-style lift tickets – one environmentally friendly option is the eco-friendly wooden ski pass by Alto.Ski (alto.ski).
ON THE MOUNTAIN
Glacier 3000 (glacier3000.ch) in the Villars-Gstaad area adds a black run from Cabane to Pillon. Skiers set off down a 41° slope – one of the steepest in the Alps – through a tunnel 265 metres long and 2.5m wide (870ft x 8ft). From steepness to solitude, follow the introductory ski-touring trail in Méribel (meribel.net) – it’s the best way to discover the sport in safety next to the ski area, while not using a lift. At the top of the Chalets gondola, you don your ‘skins’ and set off on a 2km walk (1.25 miles) with a 370m (1,214ft) climb towards the Chalet du Lac. Steep rather than wild, Winter Park (winterparkresort. com) in Colorado is opening previously unused terrain in The Cirque Territory – to be known as Jelly Roll because of its rolling steep pitch and its ability to hold fluffy snow for days after a storm. Also in Colorado, Purgatory (skipurg. com) has made a $1.25 million investment in snowmaking to boost snow production by 25 per cent, providing better earlyseason conditions and a more consistent base through the
year. Serre Chevalier (serre-chevalier.com) in France is in the spotlight with two new hydroelectric turbines aiming to generate 30 per cent of the resort’s energy from solar, wind and hydroelectric renewable sources. But the dream of many a skier is to be the first down a pristine piste, and this winter the Aletsch Arena (aletscharena.ch) is offering a First Track service from the Bettmerhorn mountain to Bettmeralp in Switzerland. At 08.15, before the ski area opens to the public, the gondola takes you up to enjoy the view, followed by a run down the freshly groomed pistes with an instructor. The experience is rounded off with a high-altitude breakfast.
PISTE PLEASURES
Adventure and environment are two of the non-skiing themes this winter. The four-storey Silvretta Spa (silvrettatherme.at/ en) in Ischgl is in keeping with the resort’s move from latenight après to another, healthier, one. The building curves like a cloud and is spectacular inside with its 300sq m (3,230sq ft) rooftop pool and an ice rink that spans the entire circumference of the upper floor. Add-ons include a medical spa, fitness centre, bistro and pizzeria. The whole set-up runs on green electricity and is heated mainly by geothermal energy and ground-water pumps. From relaxation to exhilaration, a giant XXL swing for three is at the top of the Jaillet gondola overlooking Megève (megeve-toursime.fr) on one side and Mont Blanc on the other. The high-flying experience is for thrill-seekers aged eight and up who must climb 16 metres (52ft) before setting off and reaching speeds of 20km/h (12mph). An ultra-adrenaline experience is the zip-wire in Verbier (verbier.ch) – it’s the longest and fastest in the Alps, starting from the top of the Mont-Fort cable-car at 3,300m (10,827ft) and descending 1,400m (4,593ft) at an astounding 130km/h (81mph). A growing activity for experienced swimmers takes place during the forthcoming World Ice Swimming Championships (internationaliceswimming.com) in the Lac aux Dames at Samoëns. The competitors – 600 swimmers from 33 countries – will race in the icy lake, with neoprene wetsuits banned in the tradition of ice swimming. Warmer and drier is La Rosière’s first snow-golf tournament (larosiere.net) in March 2023. Open to pros, semi-pros and amateurs, the tournament will see teams of two face off on a three-hole course.
PERIPATETIC GASTRONOME
L’Accordéon (+33 4 50 89 94 20) bistro canteen in the centre of Samoëns provides an alternative to ordinary apéritifs with fine wines, local beers, fruit juices and allday snacks in a space where events and concerts are held. In the same resort, Fabio Épicerie et Café (+33 4 50 21 28 36) is a friendly place for tapas, good wines and local beer. Restaurant L’Atelier (lateliermegeve.fr) in Megève is enthused by the ocean and introduces an exotic ambience to the typical mountain restaurant; platters of oysters can be accompanied by a suggestion from the Parisian brasserie menu. Partâjo gourmet eatery inside the P&V L’Hévana residence (pierreetvacances.com) in Méribel has dishes inspired by Corsica, Burgundy and Savoy, with a wine cellar of 350 fine wines; the delicatessen and restaurant are run by chef Charles Erik Hostier. Paradis(larosiere.net/restaurant/ paradis) mountain restaurant on La Rosière’s nine-hole golf course is the only high-altitude edifice that uses a woodpellet boiler to heat the water and the building, and there is also a rainwater harvesting system which will keep the golf
HIGH TEA A cheese fondue in a gondola at Saas-Fee
course green in summer. On the menu are dishes that marry traditional recipes with creative flair. Over in Austria, Zuma restaurant (zumarestaurant.com/locations/kitzbuhel) opens in the delectable 700-year-old town of Kitzbühel. Signature dishes include miso marinated black cod and spicy beef tenderloin; and there are award-winning cocktails and wellknown DJs.
ALL FONDUE, ALL THE TIME
No skiing pilgrimage can be complete without the cheesy mainstay, which is now being served in all sorts of unusual places. Take Saas-Fee (saas-fee.ch), for example, where one offbeat dining option includes a fondue in a gondola, enjoyed with superb Valais wines (toys are provided for children’s
GOOD TASTE In Méribel, Pierre & Vacances L’Hévana is home to Partâjo restaurant
amusement). Over in Bettmeralp, a weekly fondue evening is held in the Bettmerhorn gondola (aletscharena.ch), where fondues for four can be eaten during ascent and descent. And at Fondueland Gstaad (gstaad.ch) you feast on melted cheese in oversized fondue pots at two specially equipped huts; all ingredients are packed into a rucksack to take uphill.
GEAR GUIDE
A new smartphone for skiing trips – OPPO Reno8 Pro (oppo.com) features a camera tailor-made for the lowlight photography of winter. It features super-speedy charging and all-day battery life. For those with shorter battery life, Méribel (meribel.net) has invested in free smartphone charging points across the ski area: at the foot of Mont Vallon, at the top of the Plan des Mains and Plattières lifts, at the start of the Bouquetin lift and in the Open Area snowpark. Just leave your phone in a closed locker with your chosen PIN and off you go. Bollé (bolle.com) has a new eco collection of helmets and goggles, and you can avoid scratched lenses with CoolMasc (coolcasc.co.uk) goggle covers made from recycled plastic bottles. Keep your spine from harm with Komperdell’s (uk.komperdell.com) spine protector for adults and children; it gives 360-degree protection – the highest impact protection on the market. Olympic gold medallist Ted Ligety has joined with Carv (getcarv.com) to offer a digital coaching system called ‘Train with an Olympian.’ It works via sensors in your ski boots.
Paradis restaurant in La Rosière uses a wood-pellet boiler to heat the water and building; a rainwater harvesting system keeps the golf course green in summer
CARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE The GoldenPass Express Line connects Montreux and Interlaken ON THE RAILS
A green ski ticket in the Montafon-Brandnertal area of Austria boosts environmentally friendly travel; it includes trains, buses and a oneday ski pass, and is valid for journeys from all over the Vorarlberg (vorarlberg-alpenregion. at). A 15 per cent ski-pass discount is offered to visitors travelling by rail to La Rosière, France (larosiere.ski). In Switzerland, the 115km (71.5 mile) GoldenPass Express Line (gpx.swiss) links French-speaking Montreux with Germanspeaking Interlaken, a project first mooted back in 1873. Now you can travel by train from the shore of Lake Geneva to the Bernese Oberland in three hours and 15 minutes, with 23 panoramic carriages that include Prestige-class carriages with heated forward-facing seats and a 40cm (15.75in) raised viewing platform.
KEEP IT GREEN Above left: Alto.Ski’s eco-friendly wooden ski pass. Above: Paradis restaurant in La Rosière
PHOTO: JULIETTE REBOUR
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