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!

Get the taste of your last ski holiday!

Enterprising Meribel ski chalet company, Fish and Pips, have come up with the definitive answer to all those guests who want the recipes for the delicious dishes they had on holiday. They have put all their favourite recipes in a cookbook. The cookbook, A Portion of Fish and Pips, came out late 2009, and inspired them to then enter The Times chalet chef competition, which saw them walk away as winners.

Holly Fisher, one half of the Fish and Pips partnership, has been kind enough to answer a few questions:

What made you decide to publish a cookbook – and when did you first have the idea?

We have been thinking about doing it for a while now, probably 2 years ago or so.
It’s something that I have always wanted to do. The final decision was prompted mainly at the request of so many of our guests and also by one of our staff members who said we’d be mad not to. The more we thought about it, the more we thought that it wasn’t such a bad idea not only would it be a new challenge, but also a great piece of marketing and no one else in the chalet industry had done it before.

We’re really proud of the final product, but never in a million years could we have predicted how much work would be involved and I take my hat off to anyone would publishes a book! I think taking on a new resort will actually be less work than producing a cookbook, but that hasn’t put us off and we’re looking to bring out ‘A Second Helping of Fish&Pips’ next year. It has been worth it though in so many ways and really enjoyed working with our fab little team on it.

Did winning The Times chalet chef competition inspire you this season – and did many guests comment on it?

Actually it was the other way round, the cookbook inspired us to enter The Times chalet chef competition! If it wasn’t for the cookbook then the journalist from The Times would never have prompted us to enter the competition. It’s amazing what a little 120 page book can do.

I hope people have really enjoyed the book, we’ve had good feedback on it so far. They made really good Christmas presents especially for people who have stayed with us or worked with us, we had some guests buying up 10 at a time!

Who is actually responsible for the recipes in the book?

It was an almighty team effort. The recipes are representative of the food we produce in the chalets and are a combination of mine and Philippa’s, the chefs and even some of hosts who often make better cakes than the male chefs! We couldn’t have done without the help of the team.

A Portion of Fish and Pips is available to buy from their website at just £20. So why not get hold of a copy and try out some of those fabulous recipes!

Where to get your snow fix over the summer months

In Europe the ski season is pretty much over and done with. Most of the remaining open resorts will be shutting down this weekend, and the last few stragglers next weekend. So that's it for snow skiing, and boarding, in the northern hemisphere. Or is it?

All over the UK there are places where putting on your boots over the summer months is not that weird. The indoor fridges which have grown up in the last few years are the ideal places to get your snow fix and keep your skills sharp over the warm summer months.

These snow zones, centres, and domes offer slope time, coaching, lessons for beginners and beyond, and have lots of fun events going on to entice you through their doors. See below for a quick round up.

The Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead:

Opened last May, the Snow Centre is celebrating its first birthday next weekend, 8-9th May. To celebrate they are offering some great special offers - lift passes for just £10, or a 45 minute lesson for £15.

Every Friday evening the centre plays host to their Freestyle Academy and stages "Park & Ride" events with a dedicated freestyle park and a rookie park for those wanting to try it out. Freestyle coaches will also be on hand to give tips and advice. You can see the park layouts on their Facebook page.  

The Hemel centre is also taking part in the DSUK 666 Skiathon on 18th May - an event which is running across all the indoor snow centres - where 6 teams of 6 will be aiming to ski 666 runs in just 6 hours to raise money for Disability Snowsport UK .

Hemel offers lots of opportunities to improve your skills whatever your level and discipline and is also a centre for adaptive skiing. Of course you can just go along to enjoy the slope too! For more details take a look at the Snow Centre website. 

SnowDome, Tamworth:

Tamworth's SnowDome was the first indoor ski slope in the UK. Billed as "the ulitmate snow, ice and leisure experience", Tamworth's dome also offers a gym, swimming pool and ice rink.

Snowside events include some cool stuff; such as the Salomon Freeski Grom Camps for junior recreational skiers taking place over the summer. These camps are sponsored by Salomon and Oakley and are run by Pat Sharples, the Freestyle Ski Team Manager for those two companies. The camps cover all aspects of freestyle with coaching, video feedback and prize giveaways.

Other events include snowboard performance courses, park nights,and airbag sessions to practice your aerials. You can also book a full day course in skiing or snowboarding, aimed at the absolute beginner to get you on your feet and sliding down on your chosen equipment by the end of the day.

For all prices, dates and activities see snowdome.co.uk.

Chill Factore, Manchester:

Manchester's "all-year round Alpine village" is where you can ski, board, climb, shop and dine! As well as the slope the centre has a 12m indoor climbing wall to learn or practice climbing skills.

This summer's events include the Fun Summer Race League. Over 4 Saturdays in May, June, July and August, skiers of all ages and levels can try their hand at ski racing in a slalom course - and either do a one off event or enter into the league and try all four races. There are prizes on offer for the winners but it's a chance as well for the recreational skier to experience the thrills of ski racing.

As well as freestyle, airbag and other cool events, the Chill Factore also has the Monday Moguls sessions taking place twice a month from May onwards. Learn how to master moguls and have fun in the bumps with some useful tips and tricks from the experts.

Get more information on Chill Factore!

Sno!Zone, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Castleford:

There are three Sno!Zones up and down the country offering summer courses, freestyle sessions, bumps sessions and much more.

Events that stand out include Trickology at Castleford - designed for freestyle novice boarders and early intermediates. Snowboarders who would like to take their first steps towards learning a few tricks, or those that already know a few, but would like to improve and fine tune techniques, can get coaching on landing that jump or riding that rail.

At Milton Keynes, the Maverix Snow Camp is a snowboard clinic devoted to progression in various park skills. Whilst in Scotland upcoming events include regular airbag events, and the Beginner Blowout, a weekend loaded with introductory lessons to skiing and snowboarding to get you hooked. 

Find out what's on at all the Sno!Zones.

The message is that you don't have to wait till next winter to get on the snow. The indoor centres give you a chance to learn and practice on real snow, and can provide some great coaching and instruction too, whether you want to start from scratch, perfect some moves or try something completely new! 

Chalets Direct become first sponsors of top young GB ski racers Sam and Honor Clissold

Chalets Direct are pleased to announce the sponsorship of British junior ski racers Sam and Honor Clissold, the brother and sister duo who triumphed in the 2010 British Championships in Meribel last week.

Sam and Honor were both overall champions and individual winners of their respective age groups in the British Children’s Championship, an annual event which is also used as a selection tool for the GB ski team.

They are a unique brother and sister combination who whilst having the good fortune to begin skiing at young ages, have worked and trained hard to achieve the level required for a national team.

They were both selected for the children’s GB squad after the 2009 British Championships and joined the training programme provided by Snowsports GB.

Sam, who will soon be turning 15, has not only been competing internationally, but has acquired lots of race experience by racing with the top French boys in his age group. He was also selected by the French to race in La Scara, considered in the ski world as a real “Children’s World Championships” and used as qualification for the selection process for the French team.

Despite breaking her hand a little more than a month ago whilst training for Topolino, a major event in the children’s international race calendar, 12 year old Honor has finished the season on a high with two golds and a silver at the British Championships. Sam achieved a ‘Bode Miller style’ gold, silver and bronze. For both of them their points totals put them way ahead of their UK competitors.

Chalets Direct is proud to be associated with these two young racers and we wish them all the best in their future racing careers.

Sam and Honor in action, and on the podium at the British Children's Championships in Meribel last week.

Four Seasons in One Week

There comes a time in every ski season where you start to feel the beginning of the end. Sometimes it happens in February, but usually in March.

It's when the temperature rises and the sun shines. Rows of deckchairs appear outside the piste-side restaurants, faces develop that tell-tale souvenir of panda eyes, the snow is slushy by lunchtime, and scores of ski bums begin to feel a little knot of anxiety deep inside as they realise that the "real world" is calling them back to the 9 to 5.

Fortunately, just as the posters have gone up for the end of season barbecues, winter returns. Snow starts falling and the general whoop of joy and excitement is drowned out in the rush to dig out the powder skis and get to the first lift.

It looks like we've reached that point of the season. After a week of warmth, with double digit temperatures and brown patches of earth appearing on the lower slopes, snow, and lots of it, is forecast in the Alps for today, tomorrow, and possibly much of next week.

As I write it's already snowing heavily in the Haute Savoie where temperatures have dropped rapidly since this morning. Webcams in both Chamonix and Flaine are showing that the weather has closed in.

Netweather, one of the most reliable weather websites, is forecasting snow across French, Swiss and Austrian resorts for most of the weekend with more during the course of next week. Bring it on!

Meribel kicks off the ski party season

If you're heading out to Meribel in the Three Valleys over the next couple of weeks, don't forget to pack your party shoes.

Tomorrow, 13th March, sees the start of the Little World Festival, a new event masterminded by The Feeling, which runs until the 19th March.

The 20th-26th sees the return of Meribel's Altitude Festival, combining comedy and music, and with a great line up for 2010, including Al Murray, Rufus Hound and music from Newton Faulkner.

It's the first time for Little World and third time for the Altitude and both events promise to be fun, frenetic and fairly unique. Set in the magnificent Three Valleys with excellent skiing, both festivals are packed with  afternoon piste performances, apres ski parties and evening entertainments.

It's a Little World

The Little World Festival has been organised by The Feeling who played their earliest gigs in Meribel, performing three sets a day in the resort's bars. In 2008 the band made a triumphant return to the resort, giving a free concert to around 6000 fans. That  trip formed the basis of a live DVD, 'Come Home', featuring narration by friend-of-the-band Kiefer Sutherland.

'We organised that trip ourselves and it really opened our eyes to the possibilities,' says bass player Richard Jones. 'More bands should try doing things for themselves. This whole event is exactly the way we want it. We've really enjoyed pulling it together alongside recording the new album.'

Over the six days there are some 30 events taking place including concerts from Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Glenn Tillbrook and Graham Gouldman. The week culminates in a free concert on the slopes headlined by The Feeling and with numerous special guests. For more information, prices and full programme take a look at the Little World website.

Say it with Altitude

Now in it's 3rd year the Altitude Festival, in its own words, is "a festival packed with hilarious comedy talent performing in a fantastic skiers paradise. They will be joined by the best DJ’s and musicians both home grown and internationally renowned. Altitude is the only bilingual comedy event in Europe."

The event takes places at various venues throughout the resort, from small intimate bars to the Meribel Auditorium. Artists include Four Poofs and a Piano, Rich Hall, Al Murray, Rufus Hound and of course Altitude regular and co-founder Marcus Brigstocke.

The Altitude Festival has also partnered with mountain riders with the aim of making the festival carbon neutral and raising awareness of global warming. For full details of events, venues and prices can be found at www.altitudefestival.com.

If you're looking for somewhere to stay to enjoy the festivities take a look at our Meribel section on Chalets Direct. Some of the current deals on offer include; Chalet Madeleine - free tickets for the Altitude Festival when you book your holiday there; 5 nights catered in La Grange a Charlotte from 22nd - 27th March, with free airport transfers; luxury catered chalet discounts for 21st - 28th March. For more Meribel offers look at our Promotions page.

The Nissan Freeride World Tour

Billed as the ”The Best Riders on the Best Mountains in the Ultimate Freeride Competition” the Nissan Freeride World Tour is an iconic competition consisting this year of 4 events.

We are already halfway through - Sochi in Russia, venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics, and Chamonix, had their stages in January, leaving just Squaw Valley on the Feb 27th and the grand finale at Verbier on March 20th.

The Verbier Xtreme competition has actually been going since 1996, with different sponsors throughout it's history. It is considered the most prestigious event in the freeride calendar and attracts riders and spectators from all over the world. The competitors have to tackle the north face of the Bec des Rosses, a steep and jagged 500m rock face, which in some places has a 55 degree slope.

Running alongside the main tour is the Freeride World Qualifier, which allows lesser known riders to earn valuable points and maybe get a chance to qualify for the Verbier competition.

One of the most recent qualifiers took place in Flaine in the Grand Massif, organised by Serge Cornillat, a former extreme snowboarder and veteran of Verbier Xtreme, who has featured in the top five on more than one occasion. Serge explained some of the technical details for a qualifier course:

"The qualifier courses have to pose a number of challenges to the riders - couloirs, cliffs, certainly off the beaten track with ideally virgin powder and variable conditions, and a minimum of 300 vertical metres.

There is no right or wrong way down the mountain - but points are awarded for control, technique, confidence and the line taken by the competitor."

The photo is from the Flaine event which took place on 7th Feb - a fantastic day, with sunshine and fresh powder!

There are around 18 qualifier events taking place this winter in resorts all over the northern hemisphere - so if you're in a resort that's staging one make sure you take some time out to watch. (See the Programme for the Freeride World Qualifier events).

See a video of the Freeride World Qualifier

Well Seasoned....by Melissa Love

One of the big benefits of running The Ski Blog is that we can ask some very cool and illustrious people to contribute. In the last few months we have been able to wangle posts from mountain bike guru Clive Andrews, regular ski tips from Chamonix's All Mountain Performance, and a review of K2's wildest off piste ski, the Pontoon, by Christian Shepherd and GB junior racer Sam Clissold.

Now we are pleased to announce the collaboration of writer and broadcaster Melissa Love. Melissa is a ski season veteran and rose from the ranks of chalet girl to managing the whole chalet operation for a large UK tour operator. Maybe you are still pondering whether to escape to the mountains, but weighing up the pros against the cons. In which case Melissa's advice for all aspiring chalet hosts will be sure to help you make your decision.

Melissa's post follows below:

Well Seasoned

There are three questions every chalet host gets asked.

Where did you learn to cook? Answer: Practising on the hapless guests who arrived in the first weeks of the season before Christmas, with Delia Smith in one hand and a large gin and tonic in the other.

Would you like to go out for a drink on your night off? Answer: No, Bob-the-accountant-from-Kent, there are too many hot French ski instructors to work my way through and I only have one night a week to do it.

When are you going to get a proper job? Aaah, my favourite and oft-repeated question, asked by friends and relatives, guests and simply the plain jealous, who find it hard to accept that working a season is anything more than a glorified holiday. I’d be lying if I denied there was an element of that, but as a five-winter veteran, I will happily assert that working a winter season is one of those experiences that equips you for much of what life will throw at you later on.
For the unconvinced, I hereby offer up my five reasons why being a chalet host is a job for life, not just for winter.

1. You can keep a cool head in the face of any culinary disaster.

My very first week of my very first season was Christmas – a time of high expectations at the best of times. Forgetting all about my Christmas pudding steaming merrily away on the hob, it soon boiled dry and burst into flames. A rugby-style pass of pan and pudding through the open window into a snowdrift soon extinguished it. A discreet retrieval, a liberal dousing with cheap brandy and the pudding was declared a triumph.

No subsequent kitchen mishap has, or will ever, top the horror induced by the sight of that flaming pudding.

2. You can produce a veritable banquet for a mere pittance.

Living within your means is an important life skill, and in the context of working a season, absolutely vital if you are going to be able to spend a disproportionate amount of your allotted funds on cheap wine. This is a calculation you will find invaluable at many stages of your life.

3. You can politely but firmly repel amorous advances from all-comers.

There must be something about fresh air and exercise, or maybe it’s the high altitude which makes blokes on ski holidays think they are irresistible to you. Fuelled by cheap chalet wine and the misguided belief that they have become sun-bronzed ski gods after just three days in resort, there is always a week in the season which resembles a carry-on film, with the obligatory Benny Hill-style chase around the kitchen and lots of ‘accidental meetings’ in your favourite bar or mountain pit-stop.

At home, it would probably be called stalking, but on holiday, you’re fair game and actually, you’d still really like to earn that tip at the end of the week. You quickly learn the benefit of remaining sober, flirting nicely and firmly locking your bedroom door.

4. You can turn in a creditable day’s work after only 2 hours of sleep and with the mother of all hangovers.

Now, I’m not saying this is necessarily an important or particularly attractive talent, but it’s a good one to have up your sleeve. Later in life, you can simulate the experience of sleep deprivation and bleary drunkenness by having children, when the ability to drink a lot of wine (essential) and function on very little sleep (obligatory) is once more required of you.

5. You know the meaning of real job satisfaction.

It’s true that not everyone thrives on late nights, vigorous exercise, excessive drinking and being at the beck and call of strangers, but for those who do and who are able to master the demands of a winter season, it is the beginning of a love affair. It’s not so much the Alpine atmosphere and the opportunity to date hot snowboarders that gets you, though that’s a bonus. It’s the knowledge that you have discovered what it means to truly love what you do and to do it well.

In my book, that’s worth more money than any ‘proper’ job could pay you.

Melissa Love is now married, mum of two and living in Sussex. Among other projects she is editor of the glossy Village Living - so there is life after ski seasons! If you would like to get more of Melissa's take on life take a look at her blog. Thanks Melissa!

British Ski Racer, Sam Clissold, Takes on the K2 Pontoons

There are certain times in skiing history when there have been great leaps forward in ski technology. There was the move to clip in bindings, the introduction of the carving ski and now there is a new direction of innovation, towards fat skis.

At the summit of this new direction in technology is K2, the American company, who are carving inroads into the new age of the powder ski. Sam Clissold, the 14 year old British team ski racer, recently purchased a pair of Brand new K2 Pontoons from the Blackside Store in Flaine and has had the perfect opportunity over the last two weeks to try them out in the deep powder fields of Flaine, France.

At 160mm at their tip, 130mm under foot and 110mm at the tail, these are BIG skis. They have an inverse camber meaning that, when on piste, they only have about half of the ski that actually connects with the snow. They also have no turning radius, being the wrong shape, making it quite clear that these skis were made for one purpose, and one purpose only: to enjoy the off piste.

“I can’t sink the tips,” says an exuberant Sam after our second run, “they just won’t go under”. From where I’m skiing behind him I can see what he means. Whereas I am fighting to stay afloat on a pair of “bit of everything” skis, Sam has no problem whatsoever. Throughout the day, Sam gets more and more relaxed as he becomes accustomed to how the ski works, by the end he is carving like the expert racer that he is, but the amazing thing is that he is doing so in snow that would reach up to his knees on other skis.

Sam doesn't just ski straight down through the powder; he takes the odd detour to drop off a cliff. "You can tell he's 14" says one of our wistful older companions, as we watch from below while Sam takes an interesting path down, including a 6 foot drop, two jump shaped mounds and a natural slalom of trees. “I can barely feel the landings,” exclaims Sam. I guess that must be the work of the huge surface area, but for Sam it isn’t about why it works, it’s about how it works, and I can tell from his boyish grin, that they are working well.

A couple of days later, he’s back out again shredding into a new dump of snow. We are the first to make it up to an untouched bowl and when we arrive at the bottom we take a moment to look back at what we skied. “Who ripped that up?” says one of us incredulously, pointing up to a set of striking tracks slightly to the right of where we all went. “That was Sam,” was the reply. No surprise there.

Over the next few weeks the pontoons began to make more and more frequent appearances. Anytime Sam caught even the slightest whiff of fresh snow, he would take them out, and even if the snow was wind-swept, cut up, crusty, heavy or a combination of the above, he was still skiing it with ease. In fact, he skied it with more than ease; he was skiing it with enthusiasm, still pulling tricks and just having one hell of a good time.

Today, after another morning of powder, I decided that Sam would have made up his mind about exactly what he thought of the skis, so I asked him. “What’s the verdict then?” He takes a moment to think while examining his skis and taking in the signature K2 graphics. “Overall,” he finally replies, “they are one sick pair of skis!