Archive for ‘Group ski trips’
Making the Most of Whistler
Whistler is one of the most impressive ski resorts on the planet. It has an incredible snow record: Last season saw over 9.5m of fresh powder and 80 snow days. Combine this with amazing skiing in Whistler Blackcomb’s huge ski area, world class accommodation, and fantastic restaurants throughout the village – and you’re already halfway to the ski holiday of a lifetime.
View of the Peak to Peak from Blackcomb – Image: Mike Crane
To help you get the most out of your Whistler ski holiday, The team at Ski Independence have put together a few of our top tips to getting you on your way, both on and off the slopes. Read the rest of this entry »
Gordon’s EPIC Trip Part 1 – Lake Tahoe, California
I was lucky enough to take part in two trips back to back at the end of February, taking in both California and Utah and I loved every minute of it. Our aim was to visit and ski some of the resorts covered by the EPIC pass – a multi-resort season pass covering many of our most popular ski areas.
Blue Skies in Canyons
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Top 5 Mountain Restaurants – Europe
Most snowsports enthusiasts will agree that there is rarely a sight as beautiful as blue skies over the Alps. Dramatic snowy peaks drenched in bright, warm sunshine – these are the days when you ski hard in the morning and take a late lunch on a panoramic terrace and relax well into the afternoon. Here are Ski Independence top 5 mountain restaurants for a self-indulgent late lunch this spring.
Chez Vrony, Zermatt
Few mountain restaurants can boast the reputation or rich history of Chez Vrony. From its humble beginnings as a spartan farmhouse, to its current position as #1 restaurant in Zermatt on Tripadvisor – one trip to Chez Vrony will have you reminiscing for quite some time, especially if you visit under clear blue skies.
Chez Vrony, Zermatt
Season Of The Seven Territories
Nestled 90 minutes from Denver, among breathtaking Colorado scenery is the beautifully unique and surprisingly vast Winter Park.
The second largest ski area in Colorado celebrates its 75th birthday this year, and although there are plenty of bars and restaurants to celebrate in, the only place to be found in Winter Park, is on the mountain. Aside from a short transfer time and superb value for money, Winter Park’s huge ski area has a unique twist, making mountain the ultimate choice for families and mixed ability groups.
Season of the Seven Territories
Our Top Reasons to Visit Jackson Hole and Big Sky
There are endless reasons to visit Jackson Hole and Big Sky and experience the best of skiing in Wyoming and Montana. While we can’t list them all here, we’ve come up with a very short list of the best of what’s on offer and show you why booking a place on the 2014 Ski & Snowboard Magazine Reader Holiday (an amazing 10-day itinerary) is a must-do!
MS Trust Monster Ski 2012
Well it’s been a few days since I’ve returned from the Monster Ski and I have to say the legs are just about recovered although the face is still a little sunburnt from the amazing weather conditions we had in Tignes! What a weekend we had and first of all I have to say a massive well done to all those who took part and completed the epic challenge of skiing the vertical of Everest (30,000ft) everyday for 3 days, a total of 90,000 vertical feet.
Also a very worthy mention was the effort put in by Donna who hadn’t snowboarded for some years. Despite struggling Donna was not to be defeated and with a lot of courage decided to take a couple of skiing lessons. Two days later we were all delighted to see Donna happily turning down a relatively steep blue run – a fantastic achievement for 2 days of skiing.
Day one just before first lifts
Each day was a case of first lifts to last lifts. The group, which was split into 2, managed to rack up over 100,000 vertical feet over 3 days – a superb effort. It wasn’t without challenges and although the snow was excellent it did get a little soft in the afternoon which isn’t too good when you have sore legs and you have to do as many runs as possible!
90,000 vertical feet around the Espace Killy
It’s only a couple of weeks until I head out for the Monster Ski MS Trust charity event. For any of you that don’t know it, the Monster Ski MS Trust event involves skiing the vertical of Mount Everest (90,000 feet) every day for 3 days! This year it will be taking place in Tignes in the Espace Killy area of France. This is an ideal place to clock up the vertical and if you are leading a group it’s always good to have a route or plan before you head off. The Espace Killy area which includes Val d’Isere is vast – stretching from Tignes Les Breviere all the way to Le Fornet.
Monster Ski Group in Whistler Blackcomb
Six Resorts in Eight days
For the past 10 years Ski Independence has worked in conjunction with the Daily Mail Ski and Snowboard Magazine to help organise their annual readers’ ski trip. Over the years, hundreds of satisfied customers have enjoyed these organised and great value trips to resorts including Banff, Fernie, Steamboat, Aspen, Telluride and Whistler just to name a few. On the 1st February this year 45 readers, along with Annika and Eve from Ski Independence, packed their bags and headed for the western state of Utah to ski 6 of the State’s 14 ski resorts.
Enjoying the sunshine in Solitude
Monster Ski
I have a few ski trips planned for next season but I have to say the one I’m most looking forward to is leading the Monster Ski group in Tignes in March.
This will be the 6th season of Monster ski which is a challenge to raise money for the MS Trust. The challenge is to ski 29,029 ft of vertical descent a day. Now this may sound just like a large number but it’s the height of Everest and you have to do this for 3 days. It is a mammoth task and a big challenge but it was so rewarding at the end last time when everyone in the group of which some had been diagnosed with MS achieved the challenge. Read the rest of this entry »
Five resorts in nine days
A week has already passed since I got back from Canada where I was helping to host a holiday for readers of Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard magazine with Annika Leis from Ski Independence.
Over the course of nine days our 32 strong group visited five of Canada’s lesser known resorts, in British Columbia. We got to enjoy steep, challenging chutes in Fernie, lots of fresh powder in Kimberley, North America’s longest vertical descent at Revelstoke, powered down perfectly prepared groomers in Panorama and rounded the trip off with challenging off piste skiing in Kicking Horse. It was a great success but don’t just take my word for it. Here’s a collection of quotes I gathered from the crew.
Powering through powder in Fernie
“Fernie, Kicking Horse and Revelstoke are awesome resorts with extremely exciting terrain. The use of local guides meant we quickly learnt the layout of the ski areas. And the accommodation and hospitality we experienced was fantastic.” Graham McNally.
