Ski Independence Blog
Posts Tagged ‘skiing holidays’
The BA Sale
January 5th, 2012If the festive period has left you exhausted and in need of a winter holiday, now has never been a better time to book your 2012 ski holiday. The British Airways Sale is now on and we have some fantastic savings to our most popular USA and Canadian destinations. These amazing deals are available on Economy, World Traveller Plus and Club World flights where you can save up to £1,000 on the regular flight price!
The BA Sale ends 24 January 2012
For a taste of these fantastic offers read on below. You can also call a member of the team at Ski Independence for a tailor made quote or request an online quotation here.
Vancouver (Whistler)
- Save £192pp on World Traveller flights (Economy)
- Save £386pp on World Traveller Plus flights (Premium Economy)
- Save £1081pp on Club World flights (Business Class)
Montreal (Mont Tremblant)
- Save £175pp on World Traveller flights (Economy)
- Save £447pp on World Traveller Plus flights (Premium Economy)
- Save £893pp on Club World flights (Business Class)
Denver (Vail and Breckenridge)
- Save £196pp on World Traveller flights (Economy)
- Save £251pp on World Traveller Plus flights (Premium Economy)
- Save £1081pp on Club World flights (Business Class)
Boston (Killington)
- Save £473pp on World Traveller Plus flights (Premium Economy)
- Save £886pp on Club World flights (Business Class)
Calgary (Banff and Lake Louise)
- Save £165pp on World Traveller flights (Economy)
- Save £333pp on World Traveller Plus flights (Premium Economy)
San Francisco (Lake Tahoe Resorts)
- Save £204pp on World Traveller flights (Economy)
- Save £349pp on World Traveller Plus flights (Premium Economy)
These savings are only available for a limited time and flights must be booked by the 24th of January for travel during January, February, March and April 2012. Savings are subject to availability and some peak dates may not be available. For more information call Ski Independence on 0131 243 8097.
Ptarmigan Chalet, Vail
November 9th, 201130 feet of light dry fluffy powder and an annual average of 300 blue sky days a year means Vail Colorado is always near the top of any list of the world’s best ski destinations. Vail Mountain offers a heavy mix of alpine bowls, glades and wide open trails linked by a super quick and efficient modern lift system. The town of Vail serves up some exceptional après ski, dining and shopping – everywhere you go, superb service is the order of the day.
There’s a huge choice of Vail accommodation mostly located in either the Vail Village or Lionshead base areas. It’s fair to say a good proportion of Vail lodging caters to the upper end of the market – Vail is extremely popular with well off Americans and although there’s some lodging options in Vail at the value end of the scale, a holiday here will tend to cost more than a similar one in Vail’s sister resort of Breckenridge.
Ptarmigan Chalet, Vail
For many years now, Ski Independence have offered skiers a great-value catered chalet, Ptarmigan, meaning you can experience the very best of this world class resort without having to break the bank. Our Ptarmigan prices include breakfast, afternoon tea and a three course dinner with wine plus champagne and canapés before dinner on Sunday nights.
Ptarmigan Bedroom
The chalet sits nestled amongst Aspen trees a five minute drive from the centre of Vail and is also conveniently located near the free shuttle bus route. There are six bedrooms over three floors and the house sleeps up to 12 guests. At the centre of Ptarmigan there’s a large open plan sitting and dining area with a wood burning fireplace and this leads to a raised deck with a hot tub. Ptarmigan has complementary Wi-Fi and all bedrooms have a TV, bathrobes, slippers and hairdryers.
Outside Hot Tub at the Ptarmigan
Book Ptarmigan by 30th November and make the most of these fantastic prices!
- 7 nights from £899 per person
- 10 nights from £999 per person
- 14 nights from £1,099 per person
Prices include chalet board, return flights from LHR and transfers. Flexible durations, arrival and departure dates are available.
For a quote or to check availability, call our reservations team on 0131 243 8097 or fill in an online quotation form.
Traditional doesn’t mean old fashioned in the Austrian Ski Circus
March 29th, 2011I’m just back from a week in Austria after a long time away and wondering why I left it so long! Nowhere else in the world offers quite the same experience – on or off the slopes. Maybe it’s because skiing is Austria’s national sport, maybe it’s because après ski is their unofficial national sport (!) or it could be the luxury of heated chairlifts, modern gondolas and nifty gadgets…
A good few years back I spent some time working in a small Austrian resort in the Ski Circus – where the linking lifts to Saalbach were mainly slow T-Bars operated by the farmers who owned the land. Many a time I had to make a call to the local taxi driver to get me home after finding that farmer Joe had packed up early!! But even then there were signs of innovation – it was one of the first areas to introduce the hands free keycard system for lift tickets, and most mountain restaurants provided hairdryers and glove and boot warmers. Something that’s yet to catch on in the rest of the world – why?!!
Head to the "Ski Circus" for a bit of fun!
Where are you going skiing in 2011/12?
March 24th, 2011This season is still in full swing, and with record levels of snow in Whistler, Mammoth and Colorado my feet are still itching to get some more turns in before packing away my boots.
However, I’ve also been tempted by some of next season’s early booking offers available in both North America and Europe. The Fairmont Chateau Whistler and the Westin Resort and Spa in Whistler have a superb 50% off early booking deal, resulting in some of the best prices around. These are proving very popular with many clients having taken advantage already for next winter. I have to say that I’m pretty tempted to get my ski holiday booked early too!
Superb March conditions in Whistler
Some of the French properties are getting involved as well and have released their rates for 2011/12 – the earliest we’ve ever seen. We’re delighted to offer 10% off a range of luxury self catered properties including four in Tignes, a brand new property in Alpe d’Huez and a new property in the resort of Val Cenis, which is on the French/ Italian border and is a very exciting addition to our European menu.
Choices, Choices… If you’re looking to next season and want to get the best price, just drop us a line and we’ll let you know the latest offers. There’re certainly some crackers out there, and it seems that the topic of conversation at the moment is “Where will we go next year?”…
New Ski Club GB Website Launched
December 20th, 2010The Ski Club of Great Britain, the UK’s most established snowsports organisation, has re-launched its website.
The Ski Club website (skiclub.co.uk) has always been the first port of call for many skiers and snowboarders looking for up-to-date and accurate advice, news, resort guides and snow conditions and the new website provides all of this and much more.
The new community based website will allow skiers and snowboarders to comment on news stories as well as add opinion into the information and advice sections. The chat forum provides the opportunity for members to share feedback, advice and views and to raise their own discussion topics. As we all know there is nothing better than seeing photos and videos to get you inspired for your next trip and the Ski Club website now places a strong emphasis on this. Members can post their own photos and in the future will be able to post videos too.
One stop shop for snow reports, advice & news.
“The redesign and re-launch of the Ski Club website really has revealed its wealth of content with users being able to find what they are looking for so much more easily. We believe the changes made to the site will help people to access the wealth of information which the Club has brought together into one place to help plan the perfect ski holiday. The site provides useful tools when out in resort, and opportunities to share and enjoy memories afterwards” said Abi Lee, New Media Manager at the Ski Club of Great Britain.
The Ski Club of Great Britain’s new website can be viewed at skiclub.co.uk
Short break to Villars?
December 15th, 2010Last week Claire, our European Assistant Product Manager, took a quick trip to Villars in Switzerland to see what’s new for the season ahead and to see why it is such a popular choice for Ski Independence clients.
Upon arrival at Geneva Airport, we headed to the train station, which is just a short walk from arrivals, to catch our Swiss rail transfer to Villars. This is becoming an increasingly popular method of transfer to resort and it’s easy to see why. It must have been one of the most enjoyable and easiest ski transfers I have experienced. Displayed throughout the station, all the timetables give you the correct platform you need to be on and when the next departure is. As it is to be expected, all of the trains run with Swiss efficiently and depart on time.
When catching the train to Villars, there are two options. You can either take the train to Aigle and then catch the bus to resort, or take the train a little further to the town of Bex and then change onto another train which runs directly up to Villars. Either way you will arrive into the centre of the resort and will be minutes away from your accommodation.
The Villars train station is located in the centre of the resort
As with many Swiss resorts, Villars is a ‘real’ town with residents living there year round and as a result there is a good selection of bars, restaurants and shops. A recent addition to the après ski scene is the Moonboot bar, which had a great atmosphere and is perfect for a few Mojitos. Le Sporting and Murphy’s bar also looked like good options, especially as the latter being right beside the popular Hotel Le Bristol.
In terms of eating out, I would highly recommend the Rotisserie des Alpes, which is right beside the train station in the centre of the resort, where we had excellent Lake Geneva perch fillets. We also spent an evening at the Restaurant du Col du Bretaye, located at the top of the cog railway, in an area called Bretaye. This is an ideal restaurant for non-skiers who want to go up the mountain and meet skiers for lunch. Just remember to ask them for their Alphorn, Kirsch and goat skull to experience a true Swiss tradition (!)
Swiss experience at the Restaurant du Col du Bretaye
When it was time to hit the slopes, we were accompanied by the Villars Ecole de Ski et Snowboard (ESS). Villars ESS is one of the largest in Switzerland and is made up of over 300 instructors. Their office is located in the same building as the tourist office, opposite the station. If you have lessons booked, you can exchange your vouchers either at the office in resort or at the office in Bretaye – the ski area accessed by the cog railway. There’s an excellent kindergarten in Villars which is located behind the train station. Thanks to the magic carpet in the Jardin des Neiges, the little ones will be tearing up and down the slopes in no time.
Most Ski Independence clients visiting Villars stay in the Hotel Le Bristol, which is one of our most popular hotels in Europe. It is a fantastic hotel, located only 300m from the resort centre. The rooms are spacious and have the choice of either a village of valley view.
The popular Hotel Le Bristol
Villars is an excellent choice for a either a short break ski holiday, thanks to the easy transfer and flexibility of the Hotel Le Bristol or as a family destination, with a wide choice of self catered apartments available and a superb ski school on hand to take care of the children.
If you’re interested in a ski break to Villars and have any questions about the resort, please do not hesitate to call the reservations team on 0131 243 8097.
Record Opening Weekend in Jackson Hole
November 30th, 2010What an epic opening day Jackson Hole Mountain Resort had on Saturday 27th November, simply incredible!
Justin Bird, from the Terra Resort Resort - Hotel Terra, was out on the mountain “Wow, it was deep and my aching legs are testament to all the fun I had! We have an incredible season ahead of us, please share the news with your friends & family. Let it continue to snow!”
Words can’t do conditions like this justice – watch for yourself:
Want to head out to Jackson Hole and experience this record start to the season? Take advantage of fantastic early season rates at the Hotel Terra – 7 nights at the beginning of December from £959pp.
North America Snow Update
November 19th, 2010North America’s 2010-11 ski season is off to a great start with many areas opening early and reporting healthy snow falls.
Among the resorts already open are Breckenridge, Keystone and Copper Mountain Colorado; Snowbird in Utah, Killington on the East Coast in Vermont and north of the border Banff and Lake Louise in Alberta. Whistler has announced it will open nearly a week early, later today, thanks to the great pre-season conditions there.
In California, Mammoth is the latest to open (On Thursday 11th November) with more than 2,000 people arriving to enjoy skiing and boarding down from the 11,053 foot summit via Cornice Bowl. Six lifts were operational and 2,000 vertical feet (about 650 metres) of vertical terrain were open on a base of 18 to 36 inches (45 to 90cm).
First Chair 2010 - Mammoth Mountain
Steamboat Snow Update
November 16th, 2010Very warm greetings from my cold, white world in Steamboat, Colorado! We’ve had 23cm of new snow in the last 24 hours, and we already have a 61cm settled snow base at mid-mountain at the top of the Gondola. I also see snowy days and/or cold days in the 10-day forecast, and although I would not dare second guess Mother Nature, all signs indicate an amazing Steamboat opening day on November 24.
I spent both weekend afternoons up on Emerald Mountain in downtown Steamboat Springs. On Saturday we hiked the 3-mile Lupine Trail up to the quarry in snow clogs, but after constant snow all day and night Saturday and through Sunday, too, we were very happy to have snowshoes and poles on the same trail yesterday.
23cm of new snow in the last 24 hours!
The uphill was challenging but fun, and we took Blackmeer Drive back down, where we ran into three snowboarders, several happy dogs and one mountain biker with the biggest fattest studded tires I’ve ever seen. The snow kept dumping throughout the night, too as evidenced by the 15cm or so that I cleared from my driveway before my slow and cautious drive into work this morning. There are a bunch of smiling faces around here for a Monday!
Only 8 days until Steamboat opening day
Make your plans and get here! If you want to keep an eye on Steamboat and see their latest videos – click here
Possibly the luckiest guy this season?
November 11th, 2010Last month we announced that Neill Hadden was the lucky winner of our Ultimate Ski Holiday to Whistler, BC. After being somewhat overwhelmed, he has kindly put together this blog post. Warning it has the tendency to make your rather jealous…
I took up snowboarding quite late at age 26, young enough to be enthusuastic, brave and possibly a little reckless but old enough to find the first week a brutal and bruising experience! Since then I have been at every opportunity including trips to Switzerland, Canada and NZ. This year I had been travelling in August including a couple of days boarding in Cardrona, New Zealand and so on my return got cracking with organising the Hadden ski trip for Feb 11. Was looking at various North American options but was beginning to feel the pressure of making all the arrangements for a party of 6 so asked one of the others to help with some research. In the course of this he stumbled on the Ski Independence prize draw and sent me (and probably half his address book!) the link to enter.
You never actually think anyone wins these competitions...
Sounds like a cliche but I never enter these things – firstly, everybody knows that no-one really wins them and secondly, if you actually read the terms and conditions there are usually loads of exclusions, blackout dates etc which make it virtually impossible to claim the prize. Cynical? Yeah of course, definitely skeptical of internet prize draws. However, it seemed to imply that if I entered, then Rick would get an extra entry (not that it did him any good – haha – cheers Rick!) so I took all of a minute to put in my details and clicked send. Almost immediately forgot about it although I did end up booking the ski trip with ski independence for the first time – so maybe as a marketing strategy it worked on me!
Next thing I know, I get a phone call on a Friday night apparently ‘live from the Ski and Snowboard Show’ saying that I had won! No idea what she was going on about at first and then convinced that it was a wind up until I checked the facebook page and saw my name.
So, people do actually win these things and we’re off on the most remarkable ski holiday to Whistler in April – hopefully catch the best of the spring snow and see Vancouver in the sun. Just to add a bit of Scottish cynicism – although it does look like the most amazing holiday, I’m a bit worried that any future skiing is going to be disappointing in comparison – hey ho, I suppose that’s a risk that I will just have to take!
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