The Ski Blog

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!

Glacier skiing in safety

Glacier Skiing Safety (full audio version) from Simon Christy on Vimeo.

The legendary Vallee Blanche in Chamonix attracts thousands of skiers every year. Starting high up in the Mont Blanc massif, with it's famous entry point at the top of Aiguille du Midi lift station, this famous off piste run is a mecca for strong intermediate and expert skiers. It is a 20km run which takes you through the largest glaciated domain in the Alps with a vertical descent of 2700m. It is a real opportunity to experience a high mountain environment away from the crowds, and one of those truly once in a lifetime experiences.

Glacier skiing is not without risk however. Chamonix-based mountain guide, Andy Perkins, and ski instructor, Simon Christy, have put together a 6 minute video aiming to inform skiers and snowboarders of the basic principles and what to remember when skiing on glaciers.

The video was filmed last winter on the Vallee Blanche and produced with the co-operation of the Chamonix lift pass company, the Compagnie du Mont Blanc. The video is being screened all winter at the Aiguille du Midi and the Grands Montets.

We think it's a great film, and we would like to urge anyone who is considering venturing into high mountain glacial terrain to book a local mountain guide - taking an expert with you is never a bad idea.

Excellent ski conditions now available!

Following wild, wet and windy weather across the Alps and Pyrenees over Christmas and New Year - with temperature swings from -10 to +10 in some areas - winter has well and truly returned.

Lots of snowfall arrived for the turn of the year, with many resorts reporting 20cm plus of new snow over the first January weekend. Temperatures are now set to plummet, which will preserve the new snowfall and help maintain the good conditions for skiers and snowboarders.

Weather forecasts are looking good too, with most areas due to receive some snow towards the end of the week and the rain-snow limit dropping to very low altitudes. The Netweather forecasts show snow coming in varying quantities across the board - from Andorra to Austria.

If you're in a resort right now - and the snow is good - why not post up your own resort review on Chalets Direct, so that everyone at home can see how good it is.

You can also post a photo and let everyone know how great the conditions are. Post your report on our Reviews section right now!

A White Christmas forecast for the Alps and Pyrenees!

With a fresh dusting of snow over the last few days and a week of arctic temperatures, allowing maximum use of snow cannons, major ski areas across Europe are now well and truly open for the winter season and have welcomed their first influx of Christmas guests over the weekend.

It may not be quite the bumper start that we enjoyed last year - but there is snow down to low altitudes. Snow depths are not great right now - but they rarely are this early, and new snow is predicted during the course of this week.

Last week's temperatures plummeted to well below zero in most resorts. This week they are set to rise and fall again, bringing much more precipitation along the way. According to Netweather the week will start off cold, with snow on Monday evening. Temperatures will then rise on Tuesday, and snow will fall at higher altitudes. Wednesday and Thursday look snowy/rainy - with the freeze level varying from around 1200m to over 2000m. Christmas day looks set to be colder and with a good possibility of snow in the morning. So from the Pyrenees to the Alps it looks as though this week will be a mixed bag - but the chances of snow falling on Christmas Day look good.

Whether you're enjoying snow in the mountains or in your back garden (or not at all) we'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We hope to keep you updated well into 2010 of snow happenings, and bring you good tips and advice on enjoying the mountains. Merry Christmas everyone!

Introducing All Mountain Performance

You may have noticed in the last week or so that we have been joined by some illustrious company.

All Mountain Performance, based in Chamonix, offers courses and training aimed at improving your confidence and technique both on and off piste, whether you are a hesitant intermediate or a top level powder hound.

The school was founded in 2004 and has been garnering a great reputation for excellent coaching ever since. Its two directors, Mark Gear and Simon Halliwell, both English, successfully completed the arduous process required by French law to become fully qualified ski instructors. They are now part of a very small handful of English coaches operating in the Chamonix Valley.

So we're very proud that they have agreed to be regular contributors to The Ski Blog throughout the winter. The first AMP post covers the painful process of dusting off those ski legs and getting used to the sensation of having two planks on your feet again - timely advice for the large number of British skiers who will be heading for the hills and doing just that this coming weekend.

As Mark advises, start off gradually - "Its always best to start on an easy piste, greens or blues are sufficient –even pros don’t hit the blacks until dialled back in!".

Throughout the winter All Mountain performance offer courses for intermediates upwards - from taster weekends to 5 day courses for intermediates to experts. So if you're keen to take your first turns in powder, or to perfect your powder skiing and discover some of the legendary terrain that Chamonix has to offer, with expert guidance and feedback, then take a look at what All Mountain Performance has to offer.

All Mountain Performance Chamonix / Performance ski coaching

Get ready for hot ski tips this season from gurus of the sport!

Every month this Winter, top level British ski instructors from All Mountain Performance in Chamonix will be giving you 4 tips for better skiing. Simon Halliwell and Mark Gear will help you to kick your skiing off to good start with the first hot tips coming for around the 15th of December.

www.allmountainperformance.com

Lots of snowfall in the French Alps!

After what seems like an eternity of waiting - big snowfall has arrived accross the French Alps overnight! On twitter, reports are flooding in from La Tania, Meribel, Chamonix, Tignes, Morzine and more - all saying the same thing. Snow is dumping and right down to low altitudes too.

After a dry and mild couple of weeks, which saw the previous snowfall rapidly retreat, this precious white stuff hasn't arrived a moment too soon.
The forecast is looking good too - cold temperatures and more snow on the way this week, with the freeze level dropping to as low as 400m.
With many resorts hoping to open in less than 2 weeks it looks like all those snow dances have worked!