The Ski Blog

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! 

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!

Vancouver 2010 and how the Olympic flame may shine a light for British skiing

 

Countdown to Vancouver

The crowds are gathering for the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games which takes place at 6pm Vancouver-time on Friday 12th Feb.

Over the next two weeks athletes from all over the world will be tested in various sports and disciplines on snow and ice. For all of these individuals it is the culmination of years of training and dedication - and Olympic medal glory could be decided in a matter of minutes, even seconds.

The Team GB skiers and snowboarders may be breathing a sigh of relief that they are even there. Snowsport GB, the governing body for the two sports, went into administration just last week, amid tales of mismanagement and loss of funding. Coaches had not been paid, athletes have had to pay for their own travel and training for several months, some have only been able to get a fraction of on-snow training they would hope for when preparing for an Olympic year.  

Luckily for our athletes in Vancouver the British Olympic Association has stepped in to ensure they can compete, and have made sure that adminstrative and financial requirements will be met. The skiers and snowboarders of Team GB, and their support teams, can now concentrate on the Games and their performance.

A Future for British Skiing & Snowboarding

Now, following a statement issued yesterday by the BOA, the future for British skiing and snowboarding may be looking a little brighter. A new national governing body, British Skiing and Snowboarding, has been formed, chaired by Colin Moynihan of the BOA. Post-Vancouver this new body is planning a "comprehensive consultation process", where athletes and all other bodies involved will be able to voice their opinions.

"The skiers, clubs, academies, volunteers, stakeholders and Home Nations will all continue to have an important role to play in the future," Moynihan said. "Their voices will be heard to ensure that British Ski & Snowboarding takes its place alongside the leading National Governing Bodies for sport and never again goes into bankruptcy."

It's a hopeful move not just for the athletes in Vancouver, but for the scores of British children who are trying their utmost now to reach international level and to get selected for the national team in years to come. The new body's first job is to find more funding for wintersports - as the chairman has said "We have spent £6.5 million over a four-year period for winter and £400 million for summer sports. That's unacceptable to the BOA. We have to sit down with the Government and all the stakeholders and ask the athletes what they want. I don't think funding for winter sports has been adequate in recent years. There has been a lack of focus on the requirements of the athletes. This really is a new dawn as far as I am concerned."

Why it matters

You might say that sports funding in the UK is finite. With the gold medal glow of Beijing behind us, and London 2012 coming up, why should a non-alpine nation spend time and money on sports that only a small minority will do, and that a much smaller minority will ever be any good at? The same could be said for a lot of Olympic sports - rowing, sailing, equestrianism - not exactly mainstream sports, requiring as they do specific conditions and equipment.

Becoming world class in any sport requires an extraordinary level of commitment and strength of character, and in sports such as skiing and snowboarding, that commitment has to start at a young age. Chemmy Alcott started skiing aged 18 months, she's now 27 and Vancouver will be her third Olympic Games. Ed Drake took part in his first international race at the age of ten - since then his family has borne most of the cost of his training, travelling and competing. To compete with the French, Swiss, Austrians, Italians, Canadians et al these guys need tremendous determination - to get to the standard where they can compete is already a massive achievement.

So if somebody has taken the time to get so good, how can we not acknowledge that level of commitment? And how can we pull the rug on their ambitions by cutting off access to coaching and expertise which could make all the difference?

If we are to produce champions in any sport we need to provide the pathway for young talent. We need to be able to find that talent, then train, encourage and nurture it. This is precisely what happened in British cycling from 1997, when a large influx of lottery funding provided the impetus for a massive improvement in facilities and training. Until then the sport was in almost the same state as GB skiing is today. Look what's happened since.

Having sporting champions is good for a country. It provides good role models and gives us all something to aspire to and admire. In a quick-fix TV nation, where the X Factor dominates, we should be applauding anyone who achieves greatness through years of hard work and dedication rather than a telephone vote.

On a more practical level sporting success brings a higher level of expertise and professionalism into the sport. Success breeds sucess as they say - or if your coach has been on the World Cup circuit then he/she will have a better understanding of it to pass on to you.

So let's hope that this pathway remains open for Britain's young skiers and snowboarders, who, contrary to popular belief, are not all over-privileged kids with rich parents. They may have been lucky enough to start learning to ski or board young, but the drive, dedication and passion they have for their sport is something that money can't buy.

Good luck to all Team GB's Olympic hopefuls. Coverage starts on the BBC from Saturday 13th Feb with the men's downhill one of the first events. See profiles of all the athletes on the Team GB website .

How and why to do a course inspection with Chemmy Alcott:

Great snow for half term ski holidays

This weekend sees the biggest exodus for the ski slopes since the Christmas/New Year holidays. February half term is upon us already, and resorts across the Alps and Pyrenees will be gearing up.

Fortunately a cold and snowy January means that conditions are now excellent, with many resorts receiving a hefty snow top up as recently as last weekend, and smaller showers during this week. So if you're heading to the mountains for a family half term you can expect good snow, cold temperatures at the start of the week, and  the possibility of more snowfall towards the end of it. Take a look at Netweather for a detailed weather forecast for your resort.

As next week coincides with Mardi Gras you may also find a carnival atmosphere in town with some fun events taking place during your stay.

If you haven't booked anything but have made a last minute decision to find a ski holiday take a look at our Promotions page and do a search by date - there are some last minute cancellations so there are a few beds available.

The February holiday weeks are the turning point in the season - and by the end of the month the days are getting longer, temperatures are rising, and spring is in the air. Keep an eye out for some excellent March offers we'll be posting - why not subscribe to our Latest and Greatest newsletter to get the greatest offers direct to your inbox.

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

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!

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!

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

2009 London Ski Show now on!

Billed as "the world's biggest consumer winter sports show" the Metro Ski and Board Show opened yesterday and is on at Olympia until this Sunday (25th). The event promises lots of fun events including competitions, live music, talks, demos and even a 150m2 ice rink - free to try when you buy a ticket to the show.

The London Ski Show traditionally has kicked off the ski buzz for the approaching season. It's only a few weeks now until some resorts open. Austria has already been blessed with the its first big snowfalls last week - just in time for the opening World Cup races in Solden this weekend. Whilst October snow can be shortlived, it's still great to see and makes us all feel that skiing is just round the corner.

So if you'd like a taste of things to come and happen to be in London in the next few days, why not pop down to Olympia and pick up the buzz for yourself. The Show is open from 11.00am until 9.30pm today, 11am till 10pm on Friday,10am to 8pm Saturday, and 10am to 6pm on Sunday. Adult tickets from £9. For all prices and times please see the website.

Ski holidays in short supply for next winter?

There have been a few reports in the UK press over the summer months about a supposed decrease in the number of ski holidays available. It's true that some large tour operators, such as Crystal, have cut back on the number of catered chalets they are offering for 2009-10. Last winter's weak pound against the euro meant that many ski holiday companies, whose revenue is in sterling and expenses in euros, were caught with too many beds to sell and rising costs. Naturally they have adopted a more cautious approach for this winter.

However this has given smaller operators a chance - with more chalets on the rental market, the opportunity to negotiate better rates has not passed them by. The economic crisis has of course caused ripples in the independent sector, but for the good smaller companies, who can be nimble and react quickly to a changing climate, it has also provided opportunites.

There may be fewer holidays on offer - but cast your net wider and you will almost certainly find what you're looking for.

Whilst the big guys are cutting back, it's a good time to try independent travel and discover the benefits that the growing number of savvy independent skiers and boarders have known all along.

So what are the benefits?

Flexibility: this is the big one. The indie ski holiday can give you all kinds of flexibility - so you don't have to travel on a Saturday, you don't have to stay for a week and you don't have to fly from Gatwick when Liverpool airport is just down your road.

If flexibility appeals to you, you can also extend the idea to resort. With some operators you can choose catered, self-catered, and part-catered options. You can have complete privacy in your chalet if you like, or you can have a full-on gourmet service every night of the week. If you want a 4 course chalet dinner with wine one night and to head out for pizza and a beer the next, this can be arranged. Powder White offer part-catered options in the Three Valleys, Val d'Isere, Verbier and St Anton for example. CGH offer self-catered apartments in France, but can recommend and book local chef services.

If you're really flexible in your holiday needs why not put in a search on the Solutions Room and see what comes back?

Personal and personalised service: With the independent chalet operator you could well be enquiring, booking and then staying with the same person, or someone who knows that person and the accommodation very well. Your relationship with them will start when you send your first email, several weeks or months beforehand. You'll have plenty of time to tell them about the gluten allergy and you'll be able to ring up the day before to find out what the snow conditions are like.

Choice: The independent ski operator can range from a husband and wife team, who have lovingly restored a 17th century alpine farmhouse and turned it into a dream holiday home, to package companies who can include flights, transfers, deals on ski hire etc. And there is a massive range of accommodation out there - from budget to luxury, from studios to big chalet style hotels. If you want hot tubs, Sky TV, wifi, ski-in ski-out - it's all out there and the choice is impressive. Alpine Elements for example, offer catered chalets to suit all kinds of budgets. Mountain Heaven have self catered apartments and catered chalets in popular resorts, but also offer holiday accommodation in less well know gems such as Grimentz and Les Sept Laux.

Specialist knowledge: Many independent companies specialise in one resort and make sure that their knowledge is passed on to their customers. Companies such as Jolly Good Alpine Adventures and Chilly Powder in Morzine, Bigfoot Travel and Fresh Traxxx in Chamonix, Ski Magic and Ski Cuisine in the Three Valleys,  Ski Verbier and Peak Ski in Verbier, for example, have all been operating in the same resorts for several years, with the same characters at the helm. Their knowledge, acquired over the years of being there, and the network of contacts they have built up, means that they can iron out problems, advise on the best route to take for your one week skiers and hook you up with the best guides to explore the steeps and deeps. This kind of local knowledge can make all the difference to your holiday, perhaps showing you something which you would never have found on the beaten track.

So whether you choose to fly, drive, take the train, go budget or luxury, cater or self-cater - there is still the choice out there. It is true that your options may get more restricted the later you leave it to book but nonetheless the ski holiday is alive and well.