Posts Tagged ‘vail’
Ski Resorts Go Green to Protect Our Winters
The growing impact of climate change has potential consequences for winter snowsports. But rather than dwell too long on the unthinkable prospect of a snow-free future, we think it’s important to act today.
The Ski Independence team are proud supporters of Protect Our Winters UK, partnering with them to help mobilise the snowsports world in the fight against climate change. After all, it takes a whole community of passionate climate heroes to meet a global challenge of this scale.
We can all take positive action to protect our winters. And supporting ski hotels and resorts that show a commitment to sustainable tourism and eco-friendly practices is a great place to start.
Take a look at some of the eco-friendly resorts and hotels leading the way when it comes to positive climate action:
Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts’ portfolio of world-class resorts include Vail, Breckenridge & Beaver Creek in Colorado, as well as Canadian big hitter Whistler, have publicly committed to an ambitious set of sustainability goals, otherwise known as their EpicPromise.
Beaver Creek, Colorado (image: Jack Affleck)
The EpicPromise sets its sights on achieving a zero footprint. That means zero net emissions, zero waste to landfill and zero net operating impact to forests and habitat – all by 2030. They’re working towards their goal through a wide range of actions from sponsored employee volunteering to investment in carbon offset programmes, 100% renewable energy and environmental stewardships. Read the rest of this entry »
Inside Track – Ski Bucket List; Michael
Managing Director of Ski Independence, Michael, is the third generation to run his family business, Osprey Holidays. Originally named Bennett’s Travel, and started in in the 1950’s by Michael’s grandfather, the family travel agency grew and evolved into Osprey Holidays. In 1994 Ski Independence became an integral part of the business.
Michael has skied all over Europe and North America, starting when he was just 4 years old. In the late 80’s Michael completed a season in the Alps and he’s been hooked ever since. Read on for Michael’s Ski Bucket List. Read the rest of this entry »
Multi-Resort Ski Passes – Winter 2013/14
If you’re looking for the best value for money pass or planning more than one ski holiday this year, a multi-resort ski pass is your ticket to huge savings and fantastic resort choices. There’s a wide range of tickets to choose from for Winter 2013/2014, including the Epic Season Pass which not only covers some of the most popular resorts of North America and Switzerland, but continues to impress with new additions topping the already extensive list.
Canyons Resort in Utah is the latest addition to become Epic, very exciting news for skiers who want to try out one of the four largest ski areas in the US. The good news is the Epic Season Pass is just one example of the many multi-resort ski passes out there offering great value. Read the rest of this entry »
The Epic Season Pass, Now Even More Epic
3 Countries, One Lift Pass – Austria Is Now Officially Epic!
Bringing together some of the best resorts of North America and Europe, the Epic Season Pass is a solid value for money solution for those seeking unlimited access to some of the top ski destinations in Colorado (Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone) and California (Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood), in addition to a 5 day pass to Verbier in Switzerland. With such a fantastic collection to choose from, I can’t help but wonder if the Epic Pass could be … well, any more epic? The answer to that question is: yes – Arlberg, Austria. Read the rest of this entry »
Life in the Singles Lane
There is a lot you can learn being single, skiing single that is. In one day you can meet a lovely couple from Chicago, a teenager from Venezuela, a father from the UK, a guy on a long weekend “business conference” for Oil & Gas who works in Paris but is originally from Scotland! However, it is the locals who are the best value in the Vail area singles lane – they know the mountain. I’m talking about the guys who’ve been skiing Vail for over 25 years. Now, I’m not going to say that the only way to have fun at Vail is to meet and follow around local skiers BUT they have showed me this year where the great snow is to be found!
The mantra on the slopes early this season was how great last season was – the excitement was intense and contagious. The new season didn’t get off to quite the same start, but more recently to my delight I have not been hearing how “great last season was” five times a day. The new mantra at Vail is that the snow pack is working its magic, the back bowls are fully open and even the bumps are fun and knee-friendly so be happy. How lucky we are! Even better, the normal weather patterns are returning. Even as I write we’ve had 5” overnight! Read the rest of this entry »
The BA Sale
If 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! Read the rest of this entry »
An Epic adventure…
Superlatives can be overused in the ski industry. We are sometimes guilty of bigging-up things as ‘awesome!’ or ‘fantastic!’ and that means that when you need a really big impact word – well… where do you go?! So with this in mind I headed out to Colorado to check out some of the Vail Resorts family and see if their ‘Epic’ tag rang true…I wasn’t disappointed.
The Vail resorts portfolio includes Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Keystone and the Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, as well as Heavenly and Northstar in California. Each resort has its own character so there’s no ‘production line’ feel to things but the Vail Resorts brand does assure the guest of consistently high levels of customer service and excellent on-mountain facilities. Their Rock Resorts hotel brand maintains these standards off the slopes too. Read the rest of this entry »
Snow, snow and even more snow!
I woke up on Sunday morning and it was snowing!! How can someone in their late 20’s (come on allow me some poetic license) get so excited every time it snows? If you know the answer please let me know! So I thought to myself, if it’s snowing here in Edinburgh then it MUST be snowing in our favourite ski resorts across the world – right? RIGHT!
It started to snow across France on Friday, across Switzerland on Saturday and it’s not stopped since. In fact my email inbox is full of like minded people getting really excited about the snowfall. Have a look at this picture that has just been sent to my colleague Eve (one of her friends is in Val d’Isere and like a kid at Christmas, that’s his car!)
Dude, Where’s my car?
Ptarmigan Chalet, Vail
30 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. Read the rest of this entry »
Fact Files: Gareth
Over the years we receive superb feedback on the knowledge, passion and experience of team here at Ski Independence. So we thought it would be an idea to give you a bit of an insight into who’s who..
To start things off, here’s Gareth, our Sales Manager:
For the benefit of our readers could you explain your role at Ski Independence and what you’re responsible for?
I do a bit of everything which keeps my days varied. The bit I enjoy the most though is booking the most amazing holidays for our clients (and myself). Another enjoyable aspect of my job is working with a great bunch of hotel, transfer and on mountain suppliers from all over the world. You get to meet some fantastic people and I think they like working with us too – hence the reason we get some of the best ski deals in the market! We have a fantastic team here in the office and the job wouldn’t be the same without them – I love every minute of my working week with them. Don’t quote me on that over the busiest parts of the season please…! Read the rest of this entry »
