With covid travel restrictions now easing, more couples, friends, and families will be looking to go away together. But what do you do when there is a split between those who do ski and snowboard and those who don’t? Courmayeur Mont Blanc, in the Italian Alps has come up with some exciting suggestions.
Adventurous guests are being invited to discover fresh and bottomless powder snow during mountain orientation programmes at the Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, in Japan.
An expert team of Higashiyama Reservists with guide skiers and snowboarders to exclusive locations from the ski-in ski-out sanctuary located in the vast wilderness of alpine peaks and open expanses of Niseko Village.
Couples, husbands and wives, or even families which are divided by those who ski and snowboard and those who don’t could find the solution to a satisfactory holiday together surrounded by the snow covered mountains in the French resort of Méribel, part of the world famous Three Valleys.
The Warren Smith Ski Academy has launched its new GAP ski program for the 2021-22 winter season, based in Verbier, Switzerland, with two start dates in early December and February.
Students will aim to qualify as IASI (Irish Association of Snowsports Instructors) Level 1 & 2 ski instructors, providing them with a qualification that is recognised in a number of countries around the world.
The Chalet Company has added more properties to its portfolio in Meribel and to give you a taste of what you can expect they have put together some virtual tours on their website – you can even hook them up to a VR headset, to really feel like you’re right in the chalet.
The Chalet Izia luxury apartments in Val d’Isere.
Help kick of 2022 with two fabulous short break packages from Esprit Ski to get you and your family back on the slopes again. Available from the 4th to 8th January, Esprit Ski are even offering FREE and half price child places.
The village of Megève in the French Alps is a ski (and snowboarder) lovers paradise. With over 400km of immaculately prepared runs, catering for all abilities, it is easy to see why visitors return to the medieval cobbled streets of Megève year after year.
Ischgl’s new €60m wellness complex currently being constructed is right on schedule to open at the end of next year (2022).
The impressive multi-level Silvretta Therme will have spectacular panoramic mountain views and is right in the heart of the Austrian ski resort, which has a focus on health, wellbeing, luxury and lifestyle.
Is it possible to take his family skiing during February half-term without breaking the bank? IAIN MARTIN from The Ski Podcast set off for the French Pyrénées to find out
Queues, heavy traffic, an almighty dent in your bank balance? Why on earth does anyone go skiing at half-term? Probably because for many families with schoolchildren, this is one of the few times during the season it is possible to ski together because of term times etc. And this often also means prices are at a premium. I wanted to see if it was possible to have a family February half term ski trip on a budget, so I set myself a target of £2,000 for my family of four.
The Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum in the Austrian ski resort of Hochgurgl, which contained hundreds of historic and rare motorbikes, plus other vehicles, has been destroyed by fire.
The museum, located at The Crosspoint on the Timmelsjoch High Alpine Road that links Austria to Italy, was a popular attraction for skiers and snowboarders in the winter season and the 100,000-plus motorcyclists who ride the route from Tirol’s Ötztal Valley to Italy’s South Tyrol in the summer, with many stopping to visit the museum.
At the last count an estimated 27 European nations will be open for skiing of some kind during the festive period – but the situation is very complicated and with restrictions already in place, and the latest news that many countries are banning visitors from the UK because of the new strain of covid, it is unlikely that British skiers and snowboarders will be able to go to the mountains for Christmas or New Year.
Swiss ski resorts found themselves in the media spotlight recently when photographs appeared on social media platforms showing what appeared to be skiers and snowboarders in lift queues failing to socially distance.
The popular Inferno Downhill and Cross Country ski races in Switzerland, which are open to all comers and attracts entrants from all over the world, have been cancelled this season because of Covid.
The 78th International Inferno Races in Murren were to take place from 20 – 23 January 2021 but the restrictions on major events put in place by the authorities due to the pandemic means the races cannot be held.
Jungfrau Railways, Switzerland’s largest mountain railway company, performed the official opening of the V-Cableway on Friday 4 December which will now provide a quicker and more comfortable journey to the winter sports area around Eigergletscher and Kleine Scheidegg, as well as to the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe.
Ski Amis, the French chalet specialist, has announced it has ceased trading on its website. The statement said: “It is with great regret that we have taken the decision to cease trading effective from Monday the 30th November 2020.
A demonstration was organised yesterday (Monday 30 November) in Les 2 Alpes in an effort to get the French government to change its decision to close ski resorts in France during the festive period because of the covid pandemic.
by Skier & Snowboarder publisher Frank ‘Scoop’ Baldwin
Let’s be honest, however much we try and remain positive about the start of the 20/21 ski and snowboard season it is very difficult as each day seems to bring another hurdle to overcome.
Hotelplan, the umbrella company for Inghams, Ski Total, Esprit and Flexiski, has cut more ski and snowboard holidays this season by reducing the number of ski chalets and chalet hotels on offer. The group has also suspended trips to Finland until next winter due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19.
GONE FISHING: Mark Nicholls waits for a bite… to eat
Mark Nicholls took a break from skiing in the Swiss resort of Melchsee-Frutt to try his hand at ice fishing
As a teenager, Gusti Berchtold was quick – quick enough to make his regional Swiss ski team.
by Ed Mannix
Anyone who’s skied in Switzerland will have noticed a unique item in the Swiss soft drinks market – Rivella. Each to their own taste, but I find this Swiss speciality infinitely preferable to Coke and almost anything else fizzy and non-alcoholic.