Posts Tagged ‘chamonix’
Top Picks for Skiers and Non-Skiers Alike
It goes without saying that here at Ski Independence we are incredibly passionate about winter sports. However, we understand that a trip to the mountains is about so much more than just skiing or snowboarding. A number of our regular clients don’t clip into skis at all and instead prefer to relax, breathe in the clean air and simply experience being in one of our featured resorts for the pure joy of the mountains. With this in mind we’ve selected our favourite properties that will work well for skiers and non-skiers alike – ideal if your other half doesn’t quite share your love for skiing!
Hotel Mont Blanc, Chamonix
Chamonix offers so much more than just skiing. It’s a fantastic town to visit with an excellent choice of restaurants, bars and visitor attractions as well as spectacular mountain views. The town itself is charming and historic and it’s perfectly pleasant simply strolling through the streets.
Read the rest of this entry »Our Tips for Driving to the Alps in Winter
Flaine, France. Credit: Kasya Shahovskaya on Unsplash
Not only is driving to the Alps cost effective, it gives you the freedom to travel at your own pace, stopping off en route at some lovely places. Read the rest of this entry »
New Snow in European Resorts – February 2017
Many ski resorts in Europe enjoyed huge amounts of new snow over the past weekend, which is fantastic timing for the February holidays which are coming soon! We’ve collated some images and a few short videos below to highlight the best of the new snowfall.
First up, a Val d’Isère chairlift ride: “This photo taken from the La Daille chairlift reveals the intensity of the snowfall we had today in Val d’Isère. As of 2250 tonight it is still snowing and expected to continue into the early morning. These intrepid skiers got this snowy in the 6 minutes it takes to get up the chair”, said Henry’s Avalanche Talk.
Image: Val d’Isère, by Paul Mongan/Ski Club of Great Britain
Inside Track – Ski Bucket List; Andy
Andy is one of the longest serving members of our reservations team and he really knows his stuff, has visited resorts all over the world and is a pretty good skier to boot. A fully qualified BASI instructor, Andy still manages to get a couple of weeks teaching in each season in some of his favourite resorts and has often accompanied our group trips like the Monster Ski challenge.
Read on to discover Andy’s ski bucket list top 5, his favourite places to stay and his recommendations for couples and families. He also shares some memorable ski experiences from trips to Chamonix and Whistler. Read the rest of this entry »
New Year, New Snow
Having witnessed one of the snowiest Decembers on record across the Alps; picture perfect conditions over the Christmas week, and a short lived spell of mild weather for New Year, the Alps are now getting ready for the first dump of 2012…and it’s another big one! With some European resorts already reporting more snow to date this winter than the whole of last season, the Alps are now enjoying some of the best snow conditions in the world. Below is a quick round up on where to find the best snow conditions. 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 »
It’s Snowing!
As resorts across the southern hemisphere close their doors to skiers and boarders it’s now the turn of Europe, the USA and Canada to get in on the action. After a week of newsletters bombarding my inbox with “It’s Snowing” in the subject line I’m in no doubt we’ve now seen the first significant snowfall of the 2011/12 season on both sides of the Atlantic.
In Europe, the Swiss Alps were the winners with up to 80cm of fresh snow falling. In France, Les Menuires in the Three Valleys also fared well with up to 40cm and Chamonix, Courchevel and Meribel awoke to a moderate covering of snow on Sunday morning. After a month of no resorts being open in France, Tignes re-opened the Grande Motte Glacier which will now remain open all the way through until May 2012.
Monday morning in Chamonix under the Autannes chairlift. Photo: Compagnie du Mont-Blanc
The best of Chamonix, without the crowds
The latest addition to our range of French resorts, we’re pleased to be featuring Vallorcine for Winter 2011/2012.
Considered by many people to be a true hidden gem, Vallorcine is an authentic and unspoilt mountain village located at the end of the Chamonix Valley, just before the Swiss border.
It’s the perfect choice if you’re looking for a peaceful retreat, great value, and all the benefits of a large ski area without the drawbacks of big crowds.
Stay in Residence L’Ours Bleu for great quality self-catered apartments – ideally located in the very heart of the village and close to the Vallorcine gondola.
Picturesque Vallorcine in the Chamonix Valley
Call the reservations team on 0131 243 8097 to find out more and to check availability.
Annecy 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Games
This morning Annecy & the other 2018 Winter Olympics candidate cities are making their presentations to the IOC.
The purpose of the meeting in Lausanne is to allow the three 2018 candidate cities, Munich, Annecy and PyeongChang in South Korea, and the IOC members to discuss the finer elements of their bids and to give IOC members an opportunity to put questions to the cities prior to the final decision on the 6th July 2011 in Durban, South Africa. Read the rest of this entry »
Highlights from the 2010/11 Season
As the majority of ski resorts start to close for the season and our minds turn to the 2011/12 season, we thought it would be nice to share a few of the Ski Independence team’s highlights from the past season; on and off the slopes, from the world of social media to memorable runs. Read the rest of this entry »
