Posts Tagged ‘st anton’
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 »
Inside Track – Ski Bucket List; David
Having started his love affair with winter sports on the slopes of Scotland (both real snow and dry slopes!), David spent several seasons living and working in Austria and he is a big fan of this small and charming country. A qualified snowboarding instructor, David knows all about the great slopes, pretty resorts and plentiful après-ski on offer in the Austrian Alps but he’s also ventured further afar in recent years and counts Whistler and Banff as two of the top ski destinations in the world. Read on for David’s Ski Bucket List. Read the rest of this entry »
Best winter for over 40 years!
Powder please? In spades? No problem…
You can’t help but notice the unbelievable levels of snow in Europe so far this season. All around us are reports of incredible conditions, some inspirational photos, and social media full of pre-holiday excitement – with yet more snow on the way, who wouldn’t want to go to the Alps and be a part of it all this winter?
Our friends from Paradiski, one of the largest ski areas in Europe linking Les Arcs–Peisey Vallandry and La Plagne, have been in touch with some spectacular photos and some truly amazing statistics!
The total accumulation of snow has already reached a whopping 4.78 metres in Les Arcs, with depths of 1.75 metres being reported at 1600m and 3.4 metres up at 3000 metres altitude. Corinne Chevance, of the Les Arcs lift pass company, confirmed this is the greatest volume of snow seen in Les Arcs since 1966! Yep, that’s more than 40 years ago! Neighbouring ski area La Plagne isn’t far behind with 3 metres of snow on upper slopes.
Check out the images below if you don’t quite believe us! 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 »
Looking for a change next season?
It can often be a habit for us winter sports fanatics to veer towards going on holiday to a well known and well advertised resort.
These big resorts, with the examples of Val d’Isère, Courchevel, St.Anton, Zermatt and Vail, are top places with excellent ski areas but some of their smaller neighboring resorts can also reveal very much hidden gems in both terrain and atmosphere. Small resorts doesn’t necessarily mean small ski area; take Les Coches or Peisey Vallandry in the Paradiski area, or St Martin de Belleville within Les 3 Vallées. Smaller resorts which do have a smaller ski area, such as Les Saisies or Chinaillon, tend to be less busy over peak times, which means less time in queues, more time on the slopes! It is also worth saying these lesser known destinations can be much friendlier on your wallet in terms of buying an après ski drink or going out for a meal and if it is quieter slopes during the peak periods you want, these may fit the bill.
Here’re a few examples of this type of resort and their main benefits along with some ideas for accommodation:
Top tips for late season skiing
Wondering whether skiing in April is worthwhile? It most certainly is! It is one of the best times of the season and there are some good deals out there to be had. Here are my top 5 tips, which I hope will make your spring skiing holiday one of your most memorable.
1. Start Early
Even though you are on holiday and like to sleep in, it is best to get up early and enjoy the slopes before the sun hits them too hard and makes them into slushy mega bumps. So set your alarm clock a bit earlier than usual, so you can get on the first lift. You will appreciate this when you’re hitting the slopes and suddenly find yourself alone, with just a few other early birds around you and the piste is like a well ironed shirt.
Spring Skiing in St Anton
2. Stop Early
Okay, to get the best out of the day, I’m also telling you to stop early and this is why… The snow typically gets very heavy and bumpy around 12pm, so this is what I suggest. Take a short break in the middle of the morning for something to drink, then stop at a nice restaurant for a late lunch, around 1:30 – 2pm, then sit and enjoy a nice meal (hopefully in the sun) and ski down afterwards for a relaxing afternoon. It still gives you about 5 hours’ worth of quality skiing.
3. Start Low
Chances are the lower runs back down to the village will be the first ones to get hit by the sun’s rays, that means they will also be the first ones to get slushy, but if you get one or two runs in before that happens, then you can move up high, later on, where it’s been colder and the snow is holds up for longer. You will not meet many people doing the same thing (unless they also read these tips), because people typically go straight for the high runs. So down low is where the quality snow will be in the morning and you will get your best runs of the day.
