The Ski Blog

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 Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks 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!

It ain't over.....a quick round up of lift closing dates

View from the top of the Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix, this morning.

Winter 2011-12 is almost over - although someone should tell the weather gods. Whilst the majority of resorts will be closing their lifts this coming weekend, 22nd April, the snow has been falling for the last week and more is due to come during this week - possibly up to another 30cms in some areas! 

Conditions above 1600m are exceptional for mid-April (actually they're pretty good for anytime in the winter) and at high altitude the quality of the snow both on and off piste is fantastic. If you're tempted to have a last blast weekend or short break here's a quick round up of what's open beyond 22nd April.

Chamonix: Flegere opening has been extended until April 29th. The Grands Montets remains open until May 8th.

Three Valleys: It looks like most of the Three Valleys areas will be closing this weekend but the individual valleys will have limited opening after that. Courchevel 1850 for example is going on until 27th, Les Menuires until 28th, Meribel-Mottaret 27th. Val Thorens remains open until 8th May. 

Espace Killy - Tignes - Val d'Isere: The Espace Killy is officially open until 1st May and Tignes continues until 8th May.

Paradiski: Both Les Arcs and La Plagne continue until 28/29th April.

Alpe d'Huez & Les 2 Alpes: Closing 27th and 28th April respectively.

Verbier: closing day is 1st May

Zermatt: 6th May. 

Ischgl in Austria has their final blast on 29th April with Mariah Carey performing at the annual top of the mountain closing shindig.

We've looked at the major areas but if anyone has more information or news about extended opening in other resorts please let us know - send an email or post on our Facebook page. 

So there's still a bit of time to enjoy the epic snow we've had this winter! And if you've already put away your boots and boards, then it's not too early to look forward to next season!

 

Honor Clissold retains GB Children's Ski Title with Storming GS Win!

With a gold medal in Giant Slalom, where she was nearly three seconds ahead of the rest of the field, fourteen year old Honor Clissold from Richmond, North Yorkshire, defended her British Children’s Overall Ski Champion title in the face of tough opposition in Meribel last week.

The three part competition was a challenging week for Honor, who is a member of the British Children’s Ski Team and trains with Team Evolution in St Johann, Austria. In her strongest discipline, the SuperG, she missed the gold medal by 0.2 of a second in what was supposed to be the training race. The Championship race, where she had planned a more attacking approach, was cancelled because of poor snow cover. Slalom is Honor’s weakest discipline, however she skied really well and in to third place in the tight technical course of the first run. The second, more open, course was less suited to her abilities so she finished the race in a disappointing sixth position.

On the final day of the championship, the Giant Slalom, which is the most important and technical of the three disciplines, the snow was hard-packed and icy. Several of the stronger skiers in the competition fell or made line errors and others chose a more cautious approach. Determined to retain her title, and putting everything she had learnt in training into practice,  Honor skied a strong and fast line, not fazed by bumps and ruts, and finished the first run two seconds ahead of the field.  With encouragement and guidance from Team Evolution coach Sega Fairweather, she held her nerve and repeated the performance in run two resulting in a clear win in both the Giant Slalom race and Overall Championship points.

Honor has now won three British Children’s titles as she was Children’s Champion in 2011 and was Children One Overall Champion in 2010; this season she also won three titles: the British, the English and the British Schoolgirl’s.  And Honor had a third ‘hat trick’ on the international stage with three silver medals in Andorra in January.

Due to a change in FIS regulations, Honor has one more year in Children’s ski racing. This will be spent mainly working on technique, especially in slalom, and of course, defending her titles one last time. She comments: ‘I have really enjoyed ski-ing this year. My coaches have really helped make it happen and I am fired up to work hard and get results again hext season.’

 

Honor Clissold - International podium place and off to a great start this season!

We thought we'd just post this update about the diminutive but talented, and extremely fast, Honor Clissold.

Now aged 14, Honor went to Andorra as part of the GB children's squad to compete in the international Trofeu Borrufa children's competition. There were twenty nations competing; she won silver medals in Giant Slalom, Super G and Super combined. To get podium places at international level is a tremendous achievement!

She then went on to the British Schoolgirls Races in Flaine, France, with her school team, Richmond school in North Yorkshire. She won the giant slalom and was Overall Champion in her age group and the school team was fourth out of 39 schools and 52 teams competing.
 
She has now gone to St Johann with Team Evolution to train slalom prior to the English Championships in Bormio at half term.

It's a fantastic start for this talented racer and we'll be keeping a keen eye on how she does for the next couple of months - well done Honi and good luck for the English Champs!

Snow, Snow, Snow

Meribel - La Chaudanne at 1400m - http://livecam.meribel-alpina.com/

Yes it's been a warm, dry autumn in the Alps - but it's not the first time and it more than likely won't be the last. But now snow and cold, wet weather has descended across the Alps and, with maybe a brief respite here and there, it looks set to stay for a while.

Whilst the European ski industry was holding its breath and it's certainly come late this year, the late snowfall means that many resorts will be able to stick to the plan of opening this weekend 10th December.

Forecasts are also looking great - lots of snow across the whole alpine region today and tomorrow, a slight lull for the later part of the week and then a possible return after the weekend.

The reports in some of the UK press yesterday were certainly ironic - as they were spreading the gloomy message of sunshine and barren pistes, snow was dumping. Across twitter and facebook snowy photos and weather reports were being posted almost hourly. So to celebrate we've rounded up a few webcam pics from this morning that are sure to brighten up everyone's day!

Tignes - see the latest webcam at: http://www.tignes.net/en/skiing-in-tignes/webcams-290.html

Verbier http://panorama.simwatch.ch/index.php?id_webcam=3

 

 Argentiere at 1200m - http://www.chamonix.com/webcam,12,en.html

Pic sent to us by Heather at Ice and Fire - from Plagne Village, La Plagne

As Heather from Ice and Fire told us today:

"It’s often a bit of a gamble booking early season but get it right and you will have empty pistes and freshly groomed snow that stays nice and firm.....Over the last few days we have seen heavy snow falls down to the resorts and the temperatures have been dropping steadily. Over the next few days we are expecting a huge 40-50cm of fresh snow and it is currently snowing all the way down to Bourg Saint Maurice which is at the bottom of the valley. The piste bashers are hard at work preparing the pistes and the final preparations are being made by the lift company to get ready for the opening on the 10th December."

Thanks for the great news! It's looking like it could be a very white Christmas!

It's Ski Show Season!

As we get into the second half of October everything starts to hot up in the ski and snowboard world as the UK ski shows get underway. As every seasoned ski bum will tell you, that's when it starts to get really exciting.

The ski shows give you the chance to enjoy the buzz, you can hear all the gossip, see and touch the latest gear, find a job, discover holiday destinations you might never have considered, even try out the apres ski. There's also loads of entertainment such as live demos, bands, competitions, and the chance to see pro-riders and skiers go through their paces. There's lots of action and loads of fun. So here's a quick round up of the main shows.

Scotland's Ski & Snowboard Show - 15-16th Oct 2011, SECC Glasgow:

The Scots traditionally are the first to get their show on the road - maybe it's because they have their own mountains. This year's Show also gives you free entry to the Scottish Outdoors show which is taking place at the same time. Pre-booked tickets cost only £10 and will also get you a free day pass at one of Scotland's ski resorts. This year's attractions include a live freestyle show featuring some of the UK’s best free-style skiers and snowboarders. More info...

Ski & Snowboard Show, London - 19th-23rd Oct 2011, Earl's Court:

A new venue for the London show this year where you will find 160 ski resorts, 22 different retailers, a 50ft hip kicker, fashion show & brand arena, live music, 4 bars, 230 shops and stands plus loads more. Events over the 5 days include the 3 Valleys Cook Off - a competition to show off your culinary skills and maybe win a week's holiday in a gourmet chalet this winter. Judges include Michelin starred chefs from the 3 Valleys and Heston Blumenthal! Plus there's all the usual thrill and spills - freestylers, fashion shows, apres ski sessions and even petanque. Tickets start at £10 for adult weekday pre-booked entrance, discounts for students, kids and family entrance available.  More info...

The British Ski & Board Show, Birmingham - 28th-30th Oct 2011, NEC Birmingham:

Highlights of the Brum show include; Big Air freestyle and aerialist shows with international World-Cup and Olympic stars, tops tips from experts on ski fitness, ice climbing, cross country skiing courses, plus talks, films, offers, and lots of information and advice for beginners to experts. Adult entrance is just £6.50 on Friday and £10 on the weekend. Kids get in for £2.50! More info...

See what it's all about - highlights frm last year'sLondon show at Olympia!

Verbier - winter 2010-2011 round up

Despite all the negative reports in the press about lack of snow in Europe, many visitors had great ski holidays during winter 2010-11. Joyce Read of Verbier tour operator Chalets Unlimited has summed up the Verbier season for us.

What an extraordinary season for all the chalet companies in Verbier who have survived.

At least we have had all the negatives out of the way in one go. Wrong snow, wrong dates, wrong exchange rate, wrong economic climate, wrong world situation. All offset by having the greatest amount of winter sunshine most people have ever seen and the most amazing efforts put in by Televerbier in keeping the pistes in excellent condition and the resort and runs open 95% of the time.

All tour operators were pleased to compliment Televerbier on the extremely good work they did on keeping the pistes in such good condition and open throughout the whole season, especially taking into account they had only 30% of the normal snowfall, conditions never experienced by any locals under 60 years of age.  Everyone was very impressed by their use of all the latest technology on making snow early on, and building up a solid base which made it possible to keep the runs open, even down to Medran until the 20th April, a bit damp at times but just skiable at the bottom.

When the clients arrived in resort after receiving such negative reports from the press they could not believe just how much skiing was available and in such lovely sunny conditions, we had no complaints whatsoever from anyone, they all really enjoyed their stay in Verbier. They were just delighted to be away on their winter/summer holidays and to be going back with a genuine tan.

Due to the height of the resort and the fact that most skiing is above 2,300m it has the great advantage of a long season, starting the last week in November and going on until the last weekend in April. This year many of the low resorts took advantage of this, when they were closed down due to lack of snow, they were able to bring their clients to Verbier, for lessons and skiing, so they were not disappointed. With the lifts starting at Le Chable it does not take long to transport people up to the snow. The relatively new lift The Le Chaux Express, with a mixture of chairs and telecabins, means that beginners have the opportunity to start their lessons way up in the mountains. This also makes it easy for the non-skier to travel all over and meet up with friends in the mountain restaurants for lunch, even for early après.

Verbier Village is very lively and enjoyed by everyone of all ages. From the very many smart restaurants to après from 5.00pm onwards at the Farinet in Place Centrale. It's here that you have to be ready to dance on the tables and bar with Yellow Mike being one of the most popular of the groups, he has a following from 8 years to 80 and they all have a great time. Then back to the chalets for an excellent evening meal and to get ready for the Pub Mont Fort until 2am, then you have a choice of Casbah, Farm Club, Coco’s, or Coup d’Etat until 4.00am.

With great and extensive skiing during the day for all levels of ability and a very varied night life for all ages, Verbier is a must-visit ski resort. Very easy to get to by flight and transfer from Geneva or about 14 hours by car from London. There are loads of catered and self-catered chalets to choose from at all price levels. We all look forward to seeing you there next winter with only the positives, loads of snow, skiing, sun and plenty of fun. Be there.

Chalets Unlimited offer great apartments and chalets for groups and families in excellent locations throughout Verbier. They are an established operator in the resort so if you need advice on where to ski, and where to apres-ski, they'll be happy to help.

La Plagne releases lift pass prices, offers and innovations for next winter.

Heather from Ice and Fire has sent us the latest news from La Plagne's lift company - some interesting news, so please read on:

"SAP, the La Plagne lift pass company have been working hard behind the scenes to prepare for next season and, this week they have launched their 2011-12 lift pass prices.

Most passes have seen an increase of roughly 2%, in line with the French increase in the cost of living. In real terms that means that a 6 day adult Paradiski pass will increase from €249 to €254 for the forthcoming season.

The resort is working hard to attract, and keep, more families this year with no change to the family pass price which will stay at €799 for a 6 day Paradiski pass for 2 adults and 2 children. They are also planning on introducing a free kids liftpass offer over Christmas, giving one free child Decouvert or Paradiski pass when the parents purchase the same pass.

The 2011-12 winter season will also see a major organisational change, with the deposits for the physical cards themselves being scrapped. Starting from the beginning of next season, the lift pass office will provide the physical cards free of charge to anyone purchasing a lift pass. The aim behind this change is to streamline the system, and to reduce the workload of the lift pass company and the tour operators who sell the passes. The change has been welcomed across the region, although some have concerns for the environmental impact if an increasing number of passes are being used. The lift pass offices will still re-use all passes that are returned, and the office at Les Coches has already commissioned a lift pass recycling stand for use outside the liftpass office.

At Ice and Fire we will be returning used passes to the liftpass office for recycling too – so please don’t forget to hand them back at the end of your stay!"

It's interesting that they will be scrapping the lift pass deposit - will other resorts follow suit we wonder?

Ice and Fire have Earlybird prices available for next winter so take a look at Chalet Campanules if you're planning to ski in Paradiski next winter!

Honor Clissold triumphs at the British Ski Champs in Meribel

Chalets Direct sponsored skier, Honor Clissold, was awarded Overall Children’s Champion(female) at the British Ski Championships in Meribel, which took place during the first week in April. Honor’s achievement was all the more amazing as, born in December 1997, she was the youngest competitor in the Children 2 age group which comprises skiers born in 1996 and 1997.

Honor’s championships points were acquired over three events. On the first day of the Championship, she won the SuperG (speed) competition by more than a second, beating off competition from Jessica Mailklem from the Les Arcs Ski Club (second) and GB team’s Darcie Mead (third). Honor, was the only female skier to break through the one minute barrier on the tough icy course; her win was attributed to her good line and feel for the snow – and nerve may have had a lot to do with it!

Slalom has been a challenge for Honor this year as she has made the transition from ski-ing classic (where smaller skiers do not hit the gates) to cross blocking where her size (4’ 10 “) and weight (35 kilos) puts her at a disadvantage; but she skied well with good rhythm to take fifth position in her age group. The slalom was won by Darcie with Jessica in second place.

Competition in girls championships was unusually tough this year with dual passport holders from both the US and France arriving to attract the attention of the British Team selectors. In the Giant Honor skied a gutsy second run to finish a close second to Jordan Richardson from the USA who had the advantage of an earlier bib number at the time when the snow was beginning to soften.

In probably the most contended female British Children’s Championship of recent years a handful of talented and determined skiers fought for the overall title to the last. The final line up was Jessica Maiklem, third, Darcie Mead, second with thirteen year old Honor Clissold taking the championship podium.

In the course of the 2010/11 season Honor also won the Giant Slalom at the British Schoolgirls Races in Flaine in January, the Interschools in Les Houches and the Aiglon Cup in Villars in March and she was second overall at the English Championships in Bormio in February. Based in Flaine for most of the season, Honor now receives coaching from Olympian Sean Langmuir who was with her in Meribel and played no small part in her success. She also trains with Flaine Superski who first noticed her ability when she was eight years old and have been mentoring her ever since.

Honor’s next challenge is to be seriously competitive on international stage and to this end she will be training with Sean Langmuir in the summer. ‘I really want to thank all my coaches and my sponsors for supporting me in what has been a tough but rewarding season’ says Honor.

Honor on the top of the podium, with congratulatory applause from Prince Edward, in Meribel at the end of the British Championships last week.

European Winter X Games kick off in Tignes

The first event of 2011's European Winter X Games is due to start anytime now in the high altitude resort of Tignes, France.

The Winter X Games is the biggest event in freestyle skiing and snowboarding, and was originally just a US-based competition which attracted athletes worldwide. Tignes hosted the first European event last year. The resort has been buzzing with the build up and practice runs for a few days now, and the first main event kicks off at 1pm local time with the Women's Ski Slopestyle Final.

The Games finish on Friday and promise to be every bit as exciting as last year. The Slopestyle events see athletes completing a course of jumps and rails and trying to get creative in the air. The Superpipe is an enormous half pipe where again competitors' accuracy and imagination score points. The stunts are certainly breathtaking and spectacular. If you're in the area head over to Tignes - it's a chance to see some truly amazing world-class athletes in action, including Britain's Jenny Jones, who has won Gold twice before in the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle and got silver in the US X Games in Aspen in January.

For a taste of the action take a look at Shaun White's Gold medal winning run from this year's Superpipe event in Aspen.

For the full programme see the Tignes website