Ski Blog | Ski Resorts
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!
SKIING IN THE MONTEROSA, ITALY - 26 – 28 MARCH 2012
Destination Italy – we packed up the car and left France for a three day break in Champoluc part of the Monterosa ski area in Italy.
I had skied there several years before for just a weekend and have been keen to get back ever since. Now was an opportunity to return with a couple of mates who were as keen as me to ski the area made up of Champoluc, Gressoney and Alagna which is a self proclaimed ‘Freeride Paradise’
So with180km of piste and 37 lifts and skiing at a maximum height of 3275 metres we were excited to be skiing somewhere we didn’t really know with so much potential.
Through the Mont Blanc tunnel and into Italy we were soon winding our way up alongside a river but as we got nearer there was still no sign of snow even in this one of the best seasons in living memory! We arrived in Champoluc which is at 1570 metres and there was no snow anywhere to be seen – we had just come from Les Carroz which is at 1150 metres where you can ski back to the resort!
A little concerned we checked into the small B&B ‘Le Vieux Rascard’ we had booked online to a very warm friendly Italian welcome, sorted out our kit and headed towards the lifts.
Once up and on the way it was apparent that there was plenty of snow higher up! We headed towards Alagna and found some great spring snow,the pisteswere empty, no queues for the lifts and the snow typically spring like – this was great! We managed to find our way back across the valleys to Champoluc for an après ski beer, shower and out for something to eat.
The resort is mainly centered around one main street with all the shops, bars and restaurants off this. It was empty! No one around! I know it’s getting to the end of the season but it’s still only March –there’s the best part of a month to go yet! Where is everyone?
On our second day we headed to Gressoney and explored the slopes here in the middle valley of the Monterosa. We found some amazing off piste with perfect spring snow conditions, a lovely little restaurant with the most amazing collection of old ski and mountaineering paraphernalia I have ever seen. That evening we found a pizzeria and a local bar for a couple of beers that had a little more life than we had found the night before.
And all too soon it was our last day and we headed to the highest point of the ski area today the Punta Indren at 3275m - there is a telecabine that takes you to a the highest point and some off piste skiing. Lacking in local knowledge we had to be careful where went and following tracks is a recipe for disaster so we skirted round areas, watched other skiers and made our own way down finding some more fresh tracks in some spring snow! Half way down has to be the most up market refuge in the Alps!! Great Italian pasta and service once more! By the time we got to the bottom the temperature was rising and the pistemap was showing 16 degrees at the end of the day! Very warm!
Thick viscous hot chocolates, strong Italian coffees at mountain restaurants, cold apres ski beers in the setting Italian sun, warm friendly Italian service this short trip was leaving us wanting more and more!
We loved the skiing here and want to come back when there is a load of fresh snow to get even more from the off piste, there are some great flattering runs across the area and would be suitable for all levels of skiers and boarders.
Off the slopes we loved the service and friendliness at the B&B, in the restaurants and the bars. We are intrigued as to why it was so quiet in the evenings and whilst we aren’t looking for a different nightclub each night a bit more atmosphere in the bars would have been good – oh well we’ll have to come back at a busier time to compare! That’s a shame! 
You can see photos of our trip on our Facebook page here.
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!
DRIVING HOME FROM CHRISTMAS
I’m dreaming of a White Christmas someone once sang and we all do, I should be used to them, having spent ten of the last twelve in the Alps but I still get excited about the idea of a white snowy Christmas!
And this year it was time to get very very excited! With unnecessary alarmist media reports at the beginning of December, that I wrote about in a previous blog, the snow was now falling across the Alps. Unfortunately I wasn’t out there to enjoy the opening days of the season as lifts opened but some fantastic reports of skiing and snowboarding filtered back to the UK – fantastic pictures of deep snow on Facebook, early reports of great ski holidays on Twitter – I couldn’t wait!
My parents, sisters and their families had booked their ski holiday in a hotel in Courchevel and for a variety of reasons I couldn’t commit to the same holiday at the time so when I could book something I booked my girlfriend and my ski accommodation in a catered chalet on the other side of Courchevel. It proved an inspired choice with our own space, able to eat with the family and a shortish walk home at the end of the night with an excuse to stop for a drink on the way home but still able to ski with the family!
We drove out and broke the journey at Troyes, a comfortable 5 hour drive from Calais where we had booked into a chain hotel and grabbed something to eat and got an early night before rising early and taking a morning stroll round the beautiful medieval town centre having a coffee and a croissant before jumping back in the car and heading onwards to the Alps with my excitement about skiing that fresh deep powder snow and my girlfriend’s excitement about the snow (she doesn't ski but loves the snow as much as I do) growing!
The miles ticked by and we arrived in Les Carroz where we were to spend a couple of days, enjoy a great day of powder skiing, a few beers, an open fire and then we were on the way to Courchevel.
The chalet was great, very comfortable with an open fire to relax in front of, the staff were great and they couldn’t do enough for us and Rich the chef provided superb food even for my special dietary requirements!
The snow just kept falling – some fabulous powder skiing and you couldn’t ask for a whiter Christmas! Whether it was skiing the off piste around 1850 or the quieter slopes over in 1650 (a personal favourite area of mine), for some reason doesn’t get as busy and the snow is great – check it out when you next ski The Three Valleys. We loved the snow, the roads had to be constantly cleared, our car had to be dug out and then it snowed some more! And that was all before Christmas!
Christmas Day itself was fantastic with the weather clearing, some great skiing with the family, entertainment on the slopes in the resort centre for the children (big and small!) and a traditional Christmas meal!
It was soon time to be going home and another drive back across France. This time we went via Dijon and a lovely stop over there.
Driving home from Christmas! Dreaming of a white Christmas.
YACHTS AND CARS ON THE SLOPES – ONLY IN COURCHEVEL!
One of the last things I’d expect to see on the ski slopes are yachts and cars but then again I was in Courchevel! In the resort centre the Moscow Roral Yacht club have a yacht and a membership tent! Yes really!! A real sign of the times!
I have done several seasons in Courchevel over the years having first holidayed here back in 1990 and it really has changed even in the last 5 years with bars and restaurants moving upmarket, printing the menus in Russian and increasing their prices!
There are still places you can eat and drink in Courchevel at reasonable prices but the presence of Moscow yacht club and BMW’s in glass tanks on the slopes reminds you that the Russians have taken over!
I wonder how many yachts or membership to Moscow Yacht club they actually sell? And where do members sail their yachts in Moscow?
Our First Blog….Is it Going to Snow?
What’s the seaweed you having hanging on your back gate telling you?
The berries are plentiful, the onion skins are thicker, the marmottes are doing something or other and so that means that another winter is on the way!
We were wearing shorts & t-shirts just a couple of weeks ago in record temperatures for October and now there is snow down to 1300m this weekend!
Who knows what is going to happen this coming winter – last winter started with record snow falls at the end of November. Altitude’s first day skiing was on Saturday 4th December – it was an amazing powder day! I was heard to shout more than once that day something on the lines of “WOOO HOOO! If this is what Verbier has to offer bring it on!!” It was going to be a fantastic ski season!
Hmmm.....Except it wasn’t!!
After Christmas there was a serious lack of snow across most of the Alps through the rest of the season and that powder day turned into one of only two truly great days for me – the other for the record was on March 12th.
Oh well, we had three good seasons before this one, so a ratio of one not so good season to three good isn’t so bad!
Altitude was based in Verbier last winter and was fortunate to ski the legendary resorts of St Anton, Zermatt and Chamonix as well as La Plagne, Le Grand Massif and Les Portes du Soleil.
This year we hope to ski more resorts visit more chalets, speak to more owners and holiday makers and hopefully over the next five months or so we can give you some idea of what it is like working in a ski resort, some helpful tips on how to book the best ski holidays, information about ski & snowboard equipment, updates on ski resorts, reports on great day trips, amazing powder days and more.
So with the first ski magazines arriving on my door mat, the nights drawing in and the ski show in just a couple of weeks I’m off to look at the berries, the onion skins and the Marmottes of West Sussex to see if we are going to have a great season. I can't wait!