France
by Skier & Snowboarder editor Frank ‘Scoop’ Baldwin
RESORTS have many different names for it – fresh tracks, first tracks, first lift, early birds – the list is fairly extensive. But what they all have in common is that getting up with the lark to hit the slopes while they are empty and untracked is really rather special.
PROMOTION
If you are looking for an airport transfer this season, Whiterides can help. The company offers a very competitive, friendly and professional transfer service.
With over 10 years’ experience in the industry and a huge return client base, Whiterides says you can rest assured you will be in safe hands on route to your ski holiday.
Morzine has something for everyone, from miles of tree-lined slopes for beginner and intermediate skiers to more technical for the advanced.
Alpine Elements has a wide selection of accommodation: From the Hotel Les Dents Blanches, a charming little hotel in a great location, to the Premium Plus Chalet Austin, a new luxury chalet with elegant interior, hot tub and incredible views. All their Christmas holidays include festive meals with all the trimmings!
No matter what you’re looking for from your next ski holiday Morzine ticks all the boxes, be sure to book early for the best price. For more info click here
The French resort of Les Gets provides excellent skiing in a traditional, friendly and welcoming environment.
Chalet 1066 manages 33 chalets and apartments, from economy to luxury, in the village which forms part of the massive Franco/Swiss Portes du Soleil ski area.
Ski Collection (023 9289 0960) is offering clients a buy one get one free deal on Tignes Val d’Isere lift passes when skiers book to stay in Tignes for the week commencing 8 Dec or 15 Dec 2018. It’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy some early season skiing in this vast ski area.
LES GETS, which forms part of the huge Franco Swiss Portes du Soleil ski area is a wonderful and traditional French ski resort and the village itself dates back to the 11th century.
It has won four awards for the world’s best family ski resort, is high enough for good snow, yet not too high for high winds and regular lift closures.
ARE you thinking about what to do for your Ski 2018/2019 holiday? Look no further! Lagrange Holidays provides self-catering accommodation in the Alps and Pyrenees.
As a French Ski specialist, we also arrange everything you need for your ski holiday including ski hire, lift passes, and lessons at your selected resorts.
by Iain Martin
IF YOU are thinking about taking a late season ski break, then maybe it’s time to try somewhere different and head to the French Pyrenees.
With the resort open until April 22, Cauterets is the perfect solution if you are looking to get away from it all and enjoy some great spring skiing. There are many great reasons to choose this captivating resort, but let’s start with these five:
by Rob Rees
If you still haven’t decided where to go to enjoy this bumper ski season, and you’ve just about recovered from ‘The Beast from the East’, Les Arcs is a perfect venue. The gorgeous boutique Chalet des Cascades above Les Arcs 2000 still has some spaces left, at cracking prices through Flexiski (www.flexiski.com).
FOUR Pyrenean ski resorts have combined to create a new ski area – the Pyrenees 2 Vallées.
PHOTO: Peyragudes
Saint-Lary, Peyragudes, Piau-Engaly and Val Louron will be linked by shuttle bus and between them offer 247 km of skiable terrain with 166 pistes and 66 lifts.
AFTER a period of uncertainty for La Grave, the future of the legendary off piste area in Les Hautes Alpes has been secured by SATA, the lift company associated with Alpe d’Huez.
SATA has taken on the lease to operate the lift system in La Grave and has pledged to maintain the unique off-piste atmosphere of the area.
Val d’Isère is embarking on an ambitious €200m (£170m) building project to redevelop the centre of the world-famous resort.
The project is being called Le Coin de Val d’Isère and involves the demolition and reconstruction of a giant triangle in the heart of the resort.
It might be one of the hottest months of the year, but most of the talk was about skiing and snowboarding last week when representatives from the Savoie Mont Blanc area of France visited London to spread the word about new attractions in the their resorts for the coming season. Here are some of the highlights (for more info on the resorts, click on the names):
Why is there no Sunday Ski Train? The direct daytime Eurostar Ski Train, which runs every Saturday from London to the Tarentaise region of the French Alps, is now so popular that at February half term it sells out within hours of going on sale.
The expression ‘hidden gem’ can often be overused when it comes to ski areas. It seems to cover every resort that does not appear in the mainstream holiday brochures.
But the reason not many people from the UK go to these places is because these ‘hidden gems’ are usually quite small with a limited lift system.
After months of tasting, French Alps specialist Ski Amis has announced that their brand new and vastly improved menu has been finalised for the coming season. The team have been working extremely hard to create a more focused collection of new dishes whilst keeping a few of their old favourites.
Peak Retreats is offering its clients a brand new luxury 4* apartment for this season. Chalets de Layssia is situated in the heart of the very attractive, traditional resort of Samoëns.
Plus, another addition this season in the recently built Kalinda Village in Tignes is the Kalinda Flocon apartment extension located within two new buildings.
In the two seconds or so it took to rotate 360 degrees in mid-air – my care-free world of powder-filled hedonistic pleasure transformed into a stressed-out world of nauseating pain!
My anticipation of this late March day could not have been higher. The previous evening thick snowflakes began to fall from the chilly night skies over the affluent French resort of Courchevel 1850 and when I peeked through my bedroom curtains at the luxurious Chalet Montana the next morning there was a fluffy blanket of boot high powder.
The off-piste ski area of La Grave in the French Hautes-Alpes has a unique atmosphere that attracts skiers from all over the world. But, as British ski instructor CHARLOTTE SWIFT explains, a question mark hangs over the future of this French mecca. March 2014
DURING a British university championships in Tignes a few years back a couple of students embarrassed themselves when, after a night time snow storm, they spent all morning digging out their car – only to find it was the wrong car.