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30 Seconds of Powder Heaven
Steep enough and deep enough – some previously unseen footage from last season! -
Honor Clissold rocking it in the gates!
As the ski season in the northern hemisphere comes to a close and we start thinking of t-shirts, shorts, sandals and bbq's, we just thought we'd post this little video of Honi from winter 2013. Ted Ligety, US Olympic champion, once called her a "pocket rocket" – and here you can see why.
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Great forecasts for Easter Skiing!
As the holiday rush begins it's looking like most places in Europe will be having a chilly, wet Easter. Not so great if you're going to the Lake District but excellent if you're heading to the mountains.
Snow is forecast for most resorts across Europe for the weekend, providing a good top up to the already generous snow depths we have. Late season snow can be quite different to the early season variety – a bit wetter and heavier generally, and doesn't hang around for as long on roads and warmer slopes.
Next week's forecasts look as though the weathermen could be hedging their bets a bit – a mix of snowy showers, sunshine and cloud. It does appear that temperatures will gradually be creeping up towards the end of the week – so there is a chance that you'll return with those fashionable tell-tale ski and snowboard holiday tans. Check out the forecasts on Netweather or Meteoblue.
We've said it before but this season has been a record – it feels like the snow hasn't let up that much since early December and as we head towards April, conditions are exceptional. There are still very few rocks to be seen, and snow depths are extremely healthy. On a ski trip to the Portes du Soleil this week, CD staffers were amazed that even in late March the run down to the bottom of the cable car at Les Prodains in Morzine was still perfectly fine and skiable, albeit a bit slushy in the late afternoon sun.
So next week could be a bit of a mixed bag – a bit of this…
and a bit of this…
Either way it looks like this year's spring skiing will be truly exceptional. There are some amazing deals to be had for now to the end of the season – take a look the Last Minute offers.
Happy Easter!
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Epic Powder Days!
If you've been watching you'll know that so far winter 2013 has just kept on giving. The first 2 weeks of February in particular saw exceptional snowfall, cold temperatures and even some sunshine. It was a perfect storm in more ways than one.
Lucky CD staffers were there to catch it - see our short edit below!
With all that snow, on top of already record snow depths, it means that now, even after a couple of weeks without snow, conditions are still good. Piste skiing in many resorts will stay good up to Easter and beyond – so if you'd like to see what's available for the upcoming holidays have a look at our Easter promotions!
Music is The Fun Lovin' Criminal by Fun Lovin' Criminals – get it here if you have a UK iTunes account!
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Hard Work and Good Results for Honor Clissold
Our favourite young ski racer, Honor Clissold, has had a mixed season so far as she is training hard to consolidate new technical elements into her skiing. This is the last season she will be under the Childrens classification – and in preparation for moving up to Junior level next year Honor has been training with both the Juniors and Children with Team Evolution, the expert coaching team which Honor first joined around 18 months ago. During the summer, with Team Evolution in Chile, Honor had the opportunity to fore-run some FIS races – which went well for her and gave her the chance to experience FIS level racing. So far this season the varying weather and conditions have meant that some of the fixtures she hoped to take part in have been cancelled, and her first races were in Czech Republic at the Nationals in January, quickly followed by the British Schoolgirl Races in Flaine. She performed well in both events – despite falling in the first run of the Flaine GS, she won the second run overall by 3 seconds. In slalom, which she has considered her weaker discipline, she won her age group and was third overall.
Honor is also one of the GB Children’s Ski Team and her next races will be at the English Alpine Races over half-term in Bormio. She continues to work and train hard – and in her time out of skiing she still continues to do a lot of other sports, having represented the North of England in Tetrathlon (running, swimming, shooting and cross country riding), and was part of her school showjumping team which went to Windsor.
In his article Ski Racing is One Brutal Sport, Dr Jim Taylor explains why ski racing is possibly one of the hardest things to do – aside from the physical demands, the psychological toughness required is extreme;
“Alpine ski racing also takes you for a ride on an emotional roller coaster. You can feel inspiration, excitement, joy, and pride one run and then frustration, anger, despair, and disappointment on the next run. Because you care about ski racing so much, you feel these emotions powerfully and frequently.”
Although it may appear pretty glamorous on the outside, ski racing, even as a teenager, requires strong commitment and focus, a rigorous physical programme both on and off snow, and nerves of steel in the gates, as well of course as getting homework done and keeping up with schoolwork.
Here’s a clip of Honi training GS – best of luck for the rest of the season!
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January Snow Update
So how's the ski season been so far?
We're now a few weeks into season 2012-13 and it's proving to be a corker! Abundant snow in early December meant that most resorts could open up with a good solid base – and despite warmer weather over Christmas, January has so far provided welcome top ups – along with bracing sub-zero temperatures.
In most European resorts snow depths are pretty respectable for the time of year – both in resort and at the top, with some resorts (eg. Chamonix and Flaine) even registering over 3 metres at the top – quite exceptional for mid-late January. Snow quality is good, even down to low altitudes thanks to an extreme sub-zero snap and heavy snowfall around 10 days ago and more last week.
Resorts in the Pyrenees are also enjoying great conditions, despite pendulum changing temperatures – and it looks llike there's more snow coming to the region imminently.
The forecast is looking pretty good – European resorts may be getting another nice top up at the weekend.
Piste conditions are pretty good and there's been some excellent off-piste opportunities.
So if you're tempted to escape the snow at home, get to the mountains to enjoy it – that's where the snow is a blessing not a curse and is welcomed with smiles and open arms!
At the top of the Grand Massif yesterday, Jan 20th, looking over towards Megeve/Les Contamines. Mont Blanc and the Chamonix Valley is just out of shot to the left.So as you can see, beautiful snow, blue skies, empty pistes – even on a Sunday.
Need any more reasons to get out there? For some cool holiday ideas take a look at our Last Minute promotions area, or try our Solutions Room if you need a helping hand!
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Forecasts looking good for the start of the season!
It's generally been a wet autumn in the Alps with variable temperatures and some early snow. So far there are a handful of resorts open – mainly the high glacial resorts such as Tignes. There are a few more due to open this weekend December 1st, including Les Deux Alpes and Val d'Isere, and according to the forecasts it looks like there is more snow on the way during the coming week.
This time of year can often be a bit nerve-wracking for ski resorts and people who work in them as they scan the skies and the weather reports, but it looks like this week will bring cold temperatures and a good dose of the white stuff to many areas. Chamonix temperatures for example, are set to tumble this week, with precipitation all week and the rain-snow limit falling from above 2000m tomorrow to below 1000m by Thursday ( see the Netweather forecast here !). It's a similar situation in St Anton, Verbier, Zermatt and Val d'Isere.
There'll be a few more resorts openingon 8th December, including partial opening of Chamonix's Grand Montets, and the majority of resorts will be opening 15th December.
That's now a little over 2 weeks. Bring it on – we can't wait!
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Selling the Stoke in Verbier – Powder Extreme video to get you pumped!
Awesome new movie from Verbier ski school Powder Extreme – which we thought you’d like!
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Snowfall!
The social networks are buzzing with the news today. After a snowy weekend, with the opening of the ski World Cup circuit taking place in blizzard conditions, ski resorts across Europe have received their first big snowfalls for the winter.
35cms in Verbier, 30cms in Flaine, all over the 3 Valleys, Morzine, Solden, Alpe d'Huez – it looks like everywhere has received a healthy helping of the white stuff.
Of course it's only late October, so we know that with the vagaries of the weather, this snow could disappear. Temperatures, at least for the next few days however, are staying low. It's good news for resorts, and means that the ground will start to freeze – so any new snow that falls has a much better chance of sticking around. Any precipitation now is a good thing!
With the London Ski Show opening tomorrow, we've all got that feeling that we're on the brink of winter and the ski season wil be starting proper in a matter of weeks!
So we thought we'd just share some of the photos posted on Facebook and twitter today – hopefully they will make your Monday!
Posted by Powder n Shine on their Facebook page this morning. Reberty, Les Menuires, Three Valleys, France
Posted by Warren Smith Academy on Facebook – 35cms in Verbier.
Alpe d'Huez – not to waste the opportunity of cold, cold temperatures, the snow cannons are working overtime. See the full album on their Facebook page. -
September Snow in Colorado
Thanks to Helen of Chalets USA for this update on Colorado resorts – winter will be here before we know it!“It’s snowing in Colorado USA – September 2012!
There aren’t many months of the year that it doesn’t snow in Colorado – locals will tell you they’ve seen white flakes every month of the year and in a typical year it’s really only July & August that miss out.
This year is no different and bodes well for the upcoming ski season. Several Colorado resorts including high altitude resort Breckenridge & Winter Park saw dustings of snow on the peaks early September. This was followed by another storm 19 Sept and yet more 25 Sept which covered the bowl areas & many ski runs in the Winter Park / Mary Jane area.
While the Aspens in the valley are still turning their gorgeous yellow colour and tourists are visiting the turning trees, the slopes are starting to get a good covering ready for ski season.
As usual Arapahoe Basin & Loveland ski areas are competing to be the first to start their lifts running in October. This will be followed by several of the major resorts mid November. Breckenridge plans to open on November 2, “Colorado’s favourite” Winter Park on November 14 and Vail on November 16. The following week Beaver Creek “not exactly roughing it” is scheduled to open as well as Steamboat, official home of “Champagne powder”. Thanksgiving day will see skiers whizzing down the slopes of Aspen & Snowmass.By the time the crowds arrive for Christmas and New Year the resorts will have been up and running for over a month, ready and raring to please skiers and boarders alike.”
Latest pics below:
Aspen
Winter ParkThanks Helen for the good news – take a look at Colorado ski holiday options!
Anyone out there with European updates please get in touch as we’d love to hear from you!
