The Ski Blog

Girls getting in on the act - extreme girls ski movie teaser trailer on Facebook.

Every autumn a handful of extreme ski movies are released - the Matchstick Productions movies or La Nuit de La Glisse series are two of the bigger names. They all have several things in common; spectacular scenery, awesome camera work, great soundtracks and superb skiers making their way through untracked expanses of virgin snow or popping off enormous cliff jumps with grace and style.

Another thing they have in common is that they very rarely feature female skiers. Ingrid Backstrom is one of a very few girl skiers to make it into the big league and is a regular member of the Matchstick stable of big mountain skiers. Since her first movie in 2004 Ingrid has earned her stripes in the freeski mens club with her fearlessness. To see what we mean, see her in the movie below on the making of Steep (with the legendary Shane McConkey) .

Now a group of enterprising European freeskiing females are doing it for themselves with the release this autumn of As We Are - a girls' film project shot in some of the best backcountry in the Alps.

The driving force behind the film is Sandra Lahnsteiner, an Austrian freeskier and national ski cross champion. The idea came to her after spending a whole winter skiing and making films with just guys. Whilst there are fewer girls in the business there are excellent skiers amongst them and this is what she wanted to show. She got in touch with good friend and freeskier Melissa Presslaber, who loved the idea. Between them they found another four girls from Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland to complete the team. They spent last winter skiing each others' home mountains, getting to know each other and making the film.

The film goes from Austria's Gasteinertal, to Lech/Zurs, Hochfugen and Verbier in Switzerland. Due for release this autumn As We Are will be going on tour throughout Europe - you can see a short teaser trailer on the girls' Facebook page and a longer trailer should be released imminently.

If you get the chance to see the film - grab it - it's a rare opportunity to see some of Europe's best female pro-riders in action.

Eurostar tickets for the Alps now on sale!

Let the train take the strain this winter! Tickets for the popular Eurostar service from London to the French Alps have gone on sale today.

The service starts on 19th December through to 16th April and will take you direct from St Pancras or London Ashford to Moutiers, Aime or Bourg St Maurice - meaning that the Three Valleys, Paradiski and Espace Killy resorts are just a short transfer from your arrival station. 

Mary Walsh, Eurostar’s Director of Communications, commented: "As well as our popular French ski destinations, tickets for resorts in Switzerland will be available later in the year thanks to onward connections in Paris. More and more of our passengers are discovering the ease and convenience of onward travel thanks to Europe’s high speed rail network.”

If you've not tried the train before it is certainly an interesting option. Leaving London at 10am on a Saturday you'll be in the heart of the Alps by 7pm. Along the way you can enjoy fantastic scenery and relax. There is also a night train, which means you can leave work on Friday evening and be on the slopes on Saturday morning. Prices start at £149 for a return ticket - for full details and booking take a look at eurostar.com

And don't forget that Easyjet and other low cost airlines are already selling seats for this winter - with very low prices for early bookers. Whilst we may have been basking in a heatwave recently, it's not too early to start planning your next ski trip!