Ski Blog | France

The Ski Season That Doesn’t Want To End!

Wow what a season that was!  Well when I say was perhaps I should be saying is, as it isn’t really over if you look at the snow that is still around!

Ok it is over in terms of the majority of the resorts now being closed but there is still a load of snow and if you are into your hiking and touring this will be a great touring season – take care of avalanches etc though as when things warm up it can be dangerous out there!

A was very luck to get a lot of skiing in this year and had trips to the Alps in December / January a couple of weeks in February and then again in March/April and each time I was there it snowed!

If you haven’t seen our YouTube channel then head over here and have a look at some of the videos that we put together. You can see snow reports and some skiing videos that we put together.

Everywhere we went there was great snow and tales of great skiing! 

We were lucky to visit Le Grand Massif (Flaine, Les Carroz, Samoens & Morillon), Avoriaz and Morzine, Verbier, Megeve, Chamonix, Courchevel and La Rosiere through the season.

The best skiing we had was probably in February – watch it here and see me nearly ski into a tree!

So now the resorts are all winding up and we have a summer to endure before the winter comes back!  Don’t worry we’ll make the most of it and enjoy the sunshine and maybe get a bit jealous of the powder days in New Zealand and other southern hemisphere resorts!

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW - Amazing powder days!

It has been an epic season and it is only the beginning of February! 

Some are saying it's the best for 10 years, others the best for 14 and there are reports of record snow falls! 

If you are a good skier and enjoy skiing off piste and in the powder then the last couple of weeks you will have loved it!

If you are an intermediate it is a great time to learn as the powder is so light and fluffy and of course it is deep so when and that is when and not if you fall it won't hurt!  I really do subscribe to the 'if you don't fall you aren't trying' school! 

Your best bet is to have a lesson to learn the basics and not to develop bad habits - unless your friend who is offering to teach you is qualified then chances are they don't know what they are doing!!  For example - you do NOT lean back in powder so if anyone tells you that then tell them where to go and get some qualified advice!! 

Once you have mastered the basics then there really is nothing like floating through the powder! It is hard to put into words what it is like if you haven't experienced it! 

Go on get off piste and try it!  Of course if you do venture off piste you should make sure you have all the necessary safety equipment - transceiver, shovel and probe, and know how to use it!  Be safe and don't take risks!

We had some amazing days playing in the powder and have put this little video together....

Snow Parks, tricks and not enough….....

It would be showing my age too much to say I learnt to do heli's on 207cm skis so I won't admit to that - oh....er......

Anyway... if you don't know what the hell a heli is all about then you are a lot younger than me!!  I am not sure when, but at some point they became 360's!! 

Along with 180's and twin tips and riding switch there are a load of other jumps and tricks that I haven't a clue what they mean when I hear the term - riding goofie, ollie's, backside, grabs, cork's, mute's, inverted 540's the list goes on and I get more confused - which is, admittedly, easily done!

Nowadays most resorts have snow parks and half pipes and even large air bags where you can practise without, or at least lowering, the risk of injuring yourself!  

It's not just snowboarders who have all the fun - skiers are just as skilled and pull off all sorts of tricks and Britain has one of the top Freestyle skiers in James Woody Woods he made the BBC front page recently with a superb photo of him and has won a World Cup gold this season! Great work! 

I watch the guys and girls in the park and am amazed at the skill and bravery of them as they pull all sorts of amazing jumps and tricks and tell myself that if it wasn't for my dodgy knee and sore back I'd be in there doing all sorts of things with them when if the truth be told it's because I don't have large enough erm..........

So I caught up with Kai in the Avoriaz snow park last week to find out a little as to what is going on up there!

Christmas Eve Video snow report - HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Happy Christmas! 

There was a load of snow early on in December and some people even talked of the best conditons in 50 years!!  That has set up the season very nicely and the snow conditions are still great in spite of some very warm weather and even rain to about 3000m over the last couple of days. 

Conditions off piste aren't great but on piste they are superb - almost spring like, hard in the morning and then softening up and very grippy!

Santa is bringing some snow tomorrow which is great news!  

Watch our snow report to find out a bit more.....

Driving Home for Christmas

'So I sing for you
Though you can't hear me
When I get through
And feel you near me
I am driving home for Christmas
Driving home for Christmas
With a thousand memories'

Chris Rea once sang!!

I wasn’t singing as we boarded the Eurotunnel and set out on our journey to the Alps but I was very excited!  The early snow reports had been good and although the Alps aren’t strictly home I have spent 12 of the last 14 Christmases in the snow and they certainly have a thousand (and more) memories!

So trying not to jump up and down in the driver’s seat, we were soon cruising down the empty French motorway to our stop over for the night.

Booked only a couple of days before through one of the large hotel booking sites, we had struck lucky with La Maison Rouge in Noeux les Mines.  A perfect stopping point if you are driving to or from the Alps, just an hour from Calais and minutes from the A26.  And it’s not just a great location - the hotel is welcoming, has a lovely restaurant, fabulous food and a bar to sit in and relax after dinner.

With probably the largest Christmas baubles I have ever seen and a lingerie cupboard (sadly locked – and yes we did try the door! ), a comfortable bed and a great choice for breakfast what more could you want? However we were soon on the way again and had just an easy seven hour drive to The Alps to go.

Er……except it wasn’t that easy as it rained the whole way and made the journey an hour or two longer than expected – lots of spray and an extra couple of rest stops didn’t dampen the excitement and we were soon driving up the hill into Les Carroz with snow on the ground and more forecast. Excited and some more memories to make!

I have driven this route lots of times and although this wasn’t the easiest of journeys I would really recommend driving as an option. It is much easier to drive on French motorways than in the UK, the volume of traffic is far less, lots of service areas and several places to break up the journey – treat it as part of the holiday and enjoy it!

However you’re planning to get to the slopes this season, I wish you a safe, easy journey and plenty of the white stuff when you arrive. 

It’s looking good so far!

Winter is Nearly Here! Ski Shows, Early Snow & Winnie The Pooh - WE’RE EXCITED!

The clocks have gone back, the Ski Shows (Birmingham, London and Freeze) have all been and gone, the weather is getting colder, the ski mags are dropping on the doormats and we are excited!  That must mean that summer is over and winter is nearly here!

So what will this season bring?  What will the season be like for snow?  What has changed in the resorts?  Where will the best places to ski be?  What are the best ski and snowboard deals available?

As ever there is a load of new skis, snowboards and kit available and technology makes leaps and bounds – we particularly liked these new hi tech googles that wouldn't be out of place in a James Bond film!

We have loved the pictures and reports of early snow across most of the Alps which bodes well for the season though this can change very quickly as we wrote about in a blog last season.

What are your plans for this winter? Hopefully you will be able to make it out there for a ski holiday at some time this season – do check out our special deals and offers page on our website to find some ski accommodation that suits you and your budget!

The more it snows
(Tiddly Pom)
The more it goes
(Tiddly Pom)
The more it goes
(Tiddly Pom)
On snowing.

And nobody knows
(Tiddly Pom)
How cold my toes
(Tiddly Pom)
How cold my toes
(Tiddly Pom)
Are growing.

We may just be a little excited! How about you?

END OF SEASON REVIEW - 30 April 2012

So most resorts are now closed for the winter and nearly all still have snow - what a season it has been!! Arguably the best in living memory!

How was this possible when the press who always love a negative story were writing doom and gloom stories about no snow at the beginning of December?

Fortunately the weather doesn’t read the press and nor do we!  We ignored them and got on with skiing and organising holidays across the Alps and were lucky enough to get in plenty of skiing ourselves.

We here at Altitude skied Courchevel, Le Grand Massif (Flaine, Les Carroz, Samoens, Morillon),  Morzine & Avoriaz in France and in Italy the Monterosa (Champuloc, Alagna & Gressoney) and all in amazing snow conditions from the powder of Courchevel at Christmas through to the spring snow in April!

The snow was amazing we had some great adventures including a very scary 50m abseil, watching friends jump off snow covered roofs and of course skiing some great runs both on and off piste!

Whilst we should remember the good times we can’t forget the sad news through the season the coach accident carrying children back from a ski holiday, the tragic loss of life in the Belgian coach accident, Sheffield Ski village burning down, the sad loss of life in accidents through the season all reminders that we should make the most of every minute we have on the slopes!

Hope you had some magical moments on the slopes this last winter – have a great summer!

And if you have snow withdrawl symptoms you can always check out our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts!

SPRING SKIING -19th – 20th MARCH 2012

I love spring skiing - the days are longer and tend to be warmer, the base of snow is down, you usually get great snow that can sometimes be a bit hard in the morning so you can take a little longer over your morning coffee and then a bit soft in the late afternoon so you have the ideal excuse to stop a little earlier for a beer!

And then there are days like these!

The snow just dumps, you have to head for the trees to get any sort of visibility, the snow flies around your head with any sort of turn, wipeouts are just fun, no danger of hurting yourself as you get buried in a pile of light fluffy powder snow!

See the photos on Facebook here!

And then there are days like these!

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better than yesterday it does! The sun comes out, the snow is deeper than yesterday and it is simply amazing!

See the photos on Facebook here

And when you think this really is it and it can’t get any better your mate skis into a tree!! Even better – the video is running!!   Oh… yes he was ok!  Watch it on YouTube here

What a couple of days!

January Ski Trip

So the snow has been falling nearly all season and I haven’t been out since Christmas which was, admittedly, fantastic – is it going to last?  What will it be like when I get out there?

I was a bit concerned that maybe I had missed the best of the snow for the winter but I love skiing whatever so was sure I was going to have a good time.

I was off to Les Carroz for a couple of weeks! What was the snow going to be like?  Had I missed the best of the snow? Not at all! There was such a good base down already that it felt as if it would last for the rest of the year let alone the season!

Middle of January and the snow was great, the sky was blue - what a great couple of days!

But where was the snow?  I have been accused by some of being demanding, can’t think why?  I want to ski some powder!

My fears were soon to be put to rest as overnight on the 20th January it just dumped! What a day! There was so much snow that they were clearing snow off restaurant roofs!

The rest of the stay was just fantastic with a mixture of snow and sunshine – when the weather closes in Les Carroz has some fabulous trees to ski and board so that’s where we headed!  When the weather clears there is some amazing off-piste skiing in Samoens and Flaine. 

One particularly memorable day we had was the off piste skiing down through the Gers bowl, rewarded with a coffee at the bottom at the wonderful Gites du Gers and then down the bottom of the 14km Cascades Blue Piste which runs from the top of Flaine all the way down through the trees to Sixt.  Lunch at the top of Sixt, always quiet, is so picturesque and worth a trip!  You then take a bus back to Samoens to ski back into wherever in Le Grand Massif you are staying.  Well worth doing whatever your level of skiing!

You can see some photos from this trip on our Facebook page.

GITES DE GERS - JUMPING OFF A ROOF!  19th JANUARY 2012

I love the Gites du Gers – it’s a great little restaurant that is on the edge of a lake that I have only ever seen frozen.

Set at the bottom of the Gers bowls which is one of my favourite places to ski when there is fresh snow – just amazing off piste skiing! Or if off piste skiing is not your thing then take the blue Cascades run from the top of Flaine – a 14km run all the way down to Sixt, a stunning run through trees, past frozen waterfalls! Beautiful.

Half way down you can pick up a phone and call the restaurant who send someone to come and tow you up to the restaurant behind a ski do! 

I have been taken up to the Gers lift (a very long and in places steep drag lift!) in the back of a converted piste basher, I have seen a helicopter pick people up, I have even stayed the night there and often you can see Chamois’ grazing on the slopes above it.

It’s a tranquil beautiful place unless you have friends like me who will disturb the peace by jumping off a nearby chalet roof – see the video here!