The Ski Blog

Karine Ruby

One of France's great snowboard champions, Karine Ruby, will be laid to rest tomorrow (Monday) at 3pm in an open air ceremony which will take place in the centre of Chamonix by the Maison de la Montagne.

Karine died on Friday in a fall down a crevasse on the Glacier du Geant. Since retiring from international competition Karine was training as a high mountain guide at ENSA, the prestigious Ecole National de Ski et d'Alpinisme in Chamonix. She had been guiding two clients, one of whom died with her. The second has since died from his injuries.

Karine Ruby was the first female champion in snowboarding when the sport made it's Olympic debut at Nagano in 1998. She became world champion six times before moving into the discipline of boarder cross. In 2005 she retired from competition and began her training with ENSA.

She grew up in the shadow of Mont Blanc, and learnt to snowboard on the steeps and deeps of this famous range. She had bought and renovated one of the oldest farms in Argentiere, not far from where her parents live today. She was well known and highly regarded in Chamonix, but was always friendly and down-to-earth. Xavier Chappaz, the former president of the Chamonix Compagnie des Guides, said: "For us Karine was just Karine - not an Olympic champion. She was a star of Chamonix, a true mountain girl...always smiling and respectful." (Le Dauphine 30.05.09)

She was just 31 years old.

Winner of the Snow Snaps Competition

Our Snow Snaps competition, launched last winter, has now closed and we are delighted to announce the winner - Marie Ransom of St Gervais, with her early morning pic of walking up the St Gervais slopes early on in the winter.

 

A Coolboard will be making it's way across the Channel to Marie. If you've not heard of Coolboard take a look at our 5 part fitness series which we ran in Dec-Jan, a comprehensive set of exercises to help you build strength, stamina and so much more.

Take a look at the Coolboard website for more details - it's a great way to maintain fitness over the summer too!

French restaurants getting cheaper?

If you skied in France over the winter you might still be reeling at the memory of a £6 pint, or steak-hache-frites on the mountain for four with a coke and little change from £100.

The strong Euro of course had a lot to do with making the experience more painful, but the 19.6% VAT rate, one of the highest in Europe, also played a part.

From July 1st however eating out in France should get cheaper. The government has cut the rate of restaurant VAT to 5.5% and is putting pressure on restauranteers to pass on the reduction to the consumer. The catering trade will have to produce a list of up to a dozen everyday items that will benefit from the full rate cut - which should include items such as the plat du jour, mineral water, basic starters and desserts, and coffee. “A customer should be able to order a meal which is entirely subject to the full VAT reduction,” said Hervé Novelli, the Trade Minister.

That's great news for skiers and snowboarders, especially families. Alcohol however will not be subject to the same rate cut.

The move is seen as an attempt to get people back into restaurants and eating out. As in the UK the catering trade has suffered from the economic downturn with a drop of between 20 - 50% in income between January and March this year, (source Times Online). The VAT cut doesn't mean that everything will be cheaper but it could mean that a standard plat du jour will be around 10% less than last year - so that's got to be step in the right direction.

Read more at the Times Online or on the Ski Club of GB website.

Chalets Direct now on Twitter

Sorry we've been a bit less than prolific on the Ski Blog recently!

With the ski season over in Europe we are now in the process of doing what a lot of our members are doing - hanging up the boots, waxing the skis and boards to store for the summer, and getting the mountain bikes, tennis raquets, golf clubs etc out.

It won't be long before the summer is fully up and running - some resorts reopen their lifts in June. Whilst there is loads to do in the mountains in summer, the pace is less hectic than the winter race to get to the cable car, so there's a more laid back feel to your favourite winter resorts.

We'll be making regular blogs over the summer months to let you know what's going on - and of course if there is anything you particularly want to find out about, or anything you want to tell us about please let us know - send us message here or we are now on Twitter - username ChaletsDirect and we're at http://twitter.com/ChaletsDirect. Let us know if you're there and we can follow you. You can also follow one of our founder members, carolynb3, as she is known - in tribute to her favourite skis from a couple of years back!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Chamonix does summer too!

We can honestly say that winter 2008-9 is now over. There are a few high glacial resorts where some lifts are still open, but apart from that most lift companies are hanging out the chairlifts to dry, switching off the cable cars and looking at what maintenance has to be done over the quiet inter-season weeks.

It won't be long before many alpine resorts are opening up again for the summer. Summer in the mountains is more relaxed than in the winter months but there is still loads to do and enjoy.

Enjoy the Views:

Take Chamonix - already a mecca for mountain lovers in the winter - the town takes on a different feel for summer, and a holiday there can be as relaxed or as active as you want it to be. Climbers, hikers and mountain bikers come to enjoy different ways of getting up and down the mountains, with something to suit all levels from the novice to the expert.

The major cable cars along the Chamonix Valley open up so you can get to the higher mountain trails more easily, and enjoy the breathtaking views before heading off to explore further afield. The view from the top of the Brevent cable car is possibly the best view of Mont Blanc you will ever get - take binoculars and you might even see a group of people heading for the summit of the highest mountain in western Europe.

The Flegere lift at Les Praz is a good starting point for a hike up to the Lac Blanc - again be prepared for spectacular views and some physical effort to get there. It's worth it - it is a very popular route and can get busy in the high season months of July and August.

Festivals and Events:

However summertime in Chamonix isn't all about hard-core mountain sports. Throughout the summer the town puts on some great events to entertain its visitors.

Midsummer night on June 21st is usually the date for the Fete de la Musique, when the central square, Place Balmat, is the main venue for local bands and most of the bars will also have live music and djs.

July is the time for the climbing festival, when a giant climbing wall is erected and climbers from all over the world come to compete. Even if you've never climbed, and have no intention of doing it, it's an amazing show. It usually takes place over a few days leading up to July 13th and culminates in the grand final in the evening followed by fireworks, music and dancing.

In August, the busiest summer month, there are two big events. The Fete des Guides a traditional festival which celebrates and honours the high mountain guides. During the festival there is a huge sound and light show which takes place at the outdoor climbing wall at Les Gaillands, followed by a massive firework display. Then on the morning of the 15th August at the main church there is a ceremony attended by Chamonix mountain guides where the new guides are welcomed, the old are remembered and the ice axes are blessed.

The Ultra Trail, sponsored by the North Face:

Late August is Ultra Trail time! The North Face Ultra Trail is a mammoth cross country race around Mont Blanc, starting and finishing in Chamonix, and going into Italy and Switzerland. It's a gruelling round the clock trek for competitors covering 160km and around 9000 vertical metres. The time limit for completing the course is 45 hours and the record is 21 hours 6 minutes.

The send off on a Friday evening from the centre of Chamonix is quite amazing, with around two thousand people taking part. Throughout the weekend you can see runners coming along the finishing stretch down the Rue Joseph Vallot - stop and cheer them on.

Chamonix's got it all!

So there's plenty of choice of things to do on a summer trip to Chamonix. Sports facilties are good, swim and play tennis or golf with great views of Mont Blanc. Enjoy the shops, from upmarket designers to the latest and greatest in technical outdoors gear. Browse the weekly local market, with so much local colour and flavour you could be forgiven for thinking you're in a BBC learn French series!

For more details of the events and what there is to do in Chamonix take a look at chamonix.com. It's a great place for a short break or a longer stay - for accommodation see our Chamonix summer selection!