Posts Tagged ‘Alpe D’Huez’
Top Tips for a Successful New Year Ski Holiday
Celebrations in Morzine
Along with the partying, eating copious amounts of food and celebrating in the streets, one of the most integral elements of a New Year ski holiday is snow. The start of the year is generally a great time to ski in Europe, however snow cover in late December and early January can vary from resort to resort, so why not pick our brains for information on the most snow-sure destinations?
Our knowledgeable reservations team will be more than happy to talk through your requirements and point you in the right direction. So whether you’re looking for wild après, the ultimate in-resort dining or high altitude slopes, we’ll do our best to make sure you bring in 2019 in style.
La Folie Douce on the slopes of Val Thorens
Here are just a few of our picks for high-altitude early-season skiing in Europe:
Verbier, Switzerland
The highest slopes sit at 3,300m, ensuring snowy mountains throughout the season.
Tignes, France
Great piste-grooming and high altitude make Tignes a dependable New Year resort!
Val Thorens, France
The village sits at 2,300m, making it the highest resort in the Alps and a snow-sure destination.
Our Top Tips
1. Once you’ve decided where to go, make the most of the mountain by letting us organise your instructor. Whether its group or private lessons, we can help!
2. Book your lift pass before you travel. With the majority of our French resorts, we can send your hands-free cards out with your travel documentation to ensure you’re not waiting to get on the slopes. Read the rest of this entry »
New for 2018/19 – Ski Independence Update
Find out all about what’s new for 2018/19!
We’re excited to announce that the brand new Ski Independence brochure has arrived, bookings are rolling in and early booking offers are high in demand.
Now is the best time to book and to give you some inspiration here’s an overview of what’s new for our European & North American programmes.
>> Order your copy of our Winter 2018/19 brochure now
Europe
Les Gets is a hotspot for families with its French charm and easy access to the huge Portes du Soleil ski area. Read the rest of this entry »
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
Powder Alert! Recent Snowfall Across the Alps
Everybody is talking about this weekend’s snowfall, and not without good reason. Buckets of snow over the weekend has given snowsports enthusiasts all over Alps plenty to shout about. Here are some of our favourite winter wonderland scenes from the weekend…
Alpe d’Heuz 17 January | Copyright: Chalet Liotard/Alpe d’Huez Officiel
Winter 2014/15 #WinterIsHere
Great news! If you haven’t already heard, the snow has well and truly arrived in the Alps and North America. #WinterIsHere is trending on Twitter and we wanted to share a few recent images and videos to inspire you for Winter 2014/15.
- Vail, Breckenridge and Beaver Creek in Colorado are now all open and there’s been enough snow that Vail’s back bowls should be open for the Thanksgiving weekend celebrations.
There’s still time to buy your Epic Season Pass, giving you access to all these resorts and more, if you’re quick! >> Book online here
Great shot from Vail – so much powder!
- 12 inches of new snow in Breckenridge, here’s a clip of the skiing on offer on Peak 9:
Food Glorious Food: France
I’m aware that some of you strange creatures are first to last lift skiers, to whom lunch is a squashed sandwich on a chairlift, and a mouthful of snow – but particularly at this time of year, in the spring sunshine, the mountain lunch is something to savour and linger over. So who does it best, and what’s on the menu? Read the rest of this entry »
Did someone say it’s snowing!?
Following one of the warmest and driest Novembers on record, in both the UK and Europe, it now seems as if winter is truly upon us. As temperatures dropped over the weekend all eyes became focused on the snow reports, hoping and praying that it could only mean one thing…snow is on the way!
After weeks of waiting and speculation on when the snow was going to arrive, Saturday evening witnessed the first substantial fall of the winter across the Alps. As curtains twitched on Sunday morning it came to the delights of many that winter had arrived, and as reports started circulating the UK media and social networking sites on Sunday I’m sure I wasn’t the only person to breathe a sigh of relief!
Not only did it snow on Saturday night, it continued into Sunday, Monday and it’s still snowing today in many European resorts. In Val d’Isere up to 80cm of fresh snow has fallen over the Fornet Glacier, 50cm over Solaise and 30cm over Bellevarde. Meribel, Courchevel, Les Deux Alpes and Val Thorens have also been blanketed by snow, however the clear winner with close to a metre of snow is Serre Chevalier which now has an upper base of 190cm, the best in Europe! Read the rest of this entry »
Where are you going skiing in 2011/12?
This 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?”…
Top 10 Mountain Restaurants
As the days become longer, the temperatures slightly warmer & the terraces of mountain restaurants busier with skiers enjoying their well earned “steak frites” and beer, we thought we’d share with you our top 10 mountain restaurants across Europe & North America.1. Cloud Nine – Aspen
1. Cloud Nine – Aspen
Dine at 10,740 feet at Cloud Nine, the former Highlands Ski Patrol hut on Highlands Mountain. Chef Andreas Fischbacher and his staff prepare gourmet meals with a European flair including fantastic raclette & fondue and more unusual osso bucco of elk among other daily specials, all to be finished off with a healthy shot of schnapps or two! This is undoubtedly one of the best mountain restaurants we’ve ever experienced!
