France Ski Bargains - Skiing Holidays in France

France is most popular with expert boarders

Alan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:25:59 +0000

Skiing holidays have been known for quite some time as a luxury sport popular among the famous and rich. As such, it is no surprise that the British royal family also enjoys skiing with Prince Charles regularly heading to the French and Swiss Alps for two weeks with William and Harry.

In fact, the Prince has made the trip so frequently that the main cable car on top of Gotschnagrat is referred to as the Prince of Wales.

However, the market has loosened up in recently with the spread of budget air and lower costs in general for holiday packages helping increase the popularity of ski holidays in France every year.

Travel agent, First Choice Holidays, have determined that the top skiing destinations for holiday are France and Austria as both countries continue to experience an increase in the amount of UK travellers heading to the slopes.

A spokesperson for the travel company stated that France is most popular with guests that are expert boarders and skiers while those who book Austrian holidays are in search of great skiing and traditional accommodation. They continued to state that they have seen an increase in families searching out French holidays.

Investors looking at France get an added bonus from the leaseback scheme because French law dictates that an overseas investor can purchase a property and then lease it back to a management company who handles the property.

This allows for a steady stream of income and that there is still income during the off-ski season.

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French snowsports in decline

Alan — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:54:09 +0000

Along with the Ski Club’s Snowsports Analysis that is produced every autumn, the Crystal Ski Industry Report that also is produced every year is an indicator of snowsports within the UK.

Published on July 13^th, the 2010 report showed an 11% decrease in the snowsports market in the UK during the 2009/10 season with the number of skiers diving to less than a million compared to the reported 1.06m that hit the slopes the winter before.

The factors that are blamed for the decrease in numbers are the weak pound and the harsh financial climate. The ash cloud crisis and the airline strikes as well as UK weather conditions also contributed.

However, alongside this fact, there were also capacity reductions within the tour operator sector which dropped by ten percent compared to the 13% decrease in the independent sector.

France was hurt the most by the 2009/2010 capacity cuts which saw the amount of UK holiday goers drop by 3.8% even though it is still the most popular ski location for Brits followed closely behind by Austria which saw its share of visitors increase by about 25.6%.

The Crystal report also showed that capacity cuts have caused supply to become more in line with demand which in turn should help to strengthen tours in the future. The report predicts that the tour operator packages will start to offer better value to customers that are very sensitive about prices during the coming winter.

The Sterling gaining strength should also help make ski holidays more affordable this winter with the economy turning up slightly and a new budget to help boost the ski industry.

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Summer skiing in the French Alps

Alan — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:10:00 +0000

The French ski resort Les Deux Alpes opened its summer ski season June 16^th along with Val d’Isere and Tignes, which opened later on June 19^th.

Conditions are great on the slopes with high altitudes causing heavy snow fall throughout the week. In fact, June to September skiing is rapidly becoming popular on Europe’s glaciers and even more so with snowboarders that aim to hit the pistes fresh but when they are groomed.

Generally, the ski day starts around 8am and ends at lunchtime with skiers hitting the pool or bars for some rest and relaxation in the sunshine of the mountains. Outside of the slopes, there is plenty to do on the alps during the summer for those who are not skiers with many resorts offering up to forty different activities that range from hiking to summer bob sleighing to kids’ clubs to white water rafting to mountain biking.

This makes the French Alps one of the best places for those that wish to enjoy the alpine self catering while taking the chance to experience the outdoors at a slower pace.

In particular, the Les Deux Alpes has some of the largest glaciers in Europe with a summer ski season that opened to a great start with everything but two lifts and two slopes open and all of the snow park features open for access.

The resort will remain open until August 28^th with lifts that run from 7:15am until 12:30 on a regular basis so that skiers can get the most out of the slopes each day of their visit.

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French and Austrian summer ski resorts disappearing

Alan — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:51:19 +0000

Ski resorts in Austria that used to be one of the prime locations for summer skiing are starting to slowly decay, with one of the largest resorts in Austria, the Zolden, announcing that this will be the last summer that it is open for summer glacier skiing.

Throughout the greater part of the nineties there were around 40 ski stations in Zolden, all of which served tourists in the summer. However, today there are less than half of these ski stations still open for summer skiing due to the decrease in viable glacial runs for alpine skiing during the summer, due to global warming.

French ski resorts are facing the same problem as the country, which was once predominantly known for offering alpine skiing year round, is announcing that many summer ski resorts will close their doors.

Among the top resorts that will no longer offer summer skiers refuge are La-Plagne, Val Thorens, and Alp d’Juez. Those planning to travel to another resort in France for summer skiing should be aware that many have changed their summer schedules.

Thus, the Tignes resort which normally stayed open from spring into summer will not only offer summer skiing in 2010 from the middle part of June through late August. Skiing will also be open for half the month during the months of May and September in Tignes.

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France still in the running for winter Olympics

Alan — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:08:01 +0000

The IOC (International Olympic Committee) decided this past Tuesday to give Germany’s Munich and South Korea’s Pyeongchang the edge over France’s Annecy in the 2018 Winter Olympics race to host the Olympics.

All three were confirmed as candidates by the IOC executive board as contenders for the Olympics, but Annecy was asked to present a review of reports for sports venues in order to start the next stage of bids.

The IOC told reporters that the expert group decided there were no further questions for Munich or Pyeongchang, but Annecy was retained because a clearer picture of its sports sites needs to be looked at.

An IOC report stated that there are many challenges and a high degree of risk in the Annecy project which is why they will need to show their potential as a host of the 2008 Olympic Games.

January 11^th, 2011 is the last date to submit their final bids for their projects in front of an on-site visit and evaluation by the IOC commission which will meet back to report on June 6^th. A month after that the host will be chosen by all 115 IOC members.

The small French Alpine town has the smallest budget out of all cities making an attempt at the Olympic destination for the winter Olympics with a budget of only 21m dollars. In order to do so Annecy has linked together a range of winter sports facilities that is found across the region.

Pyeongchang is making its third bid for the Olympics even after losing its third attempt to host the Winter Olympics after losing to Sochi in Russia in 2014 and Vancouver in 2010.

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Fine tuning your skiing skills in France

Alan — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:10:31 +0000

Regardless of whether you are an expert skier or a novice skier, France is the best place to head if you want to try out the skills you have.

One of the best places in France to fine tune your skills is in Chamrousse, which is found about 30km from Grenoble at the end of the Belledonne mountain range. One of the best parts about this resort, is that not only is it a great place to hone your skills, but there are often great cheap travel deals available for the resort as well.

For those who have an extensive amount of France skiing time under their belt, heading to the demanding runs are well worth your time, since some of the runs at Chamrousse have even been used for Winter Olympic events.

Those without a strong background can instead head to Chamrousse ski school where you can book a onetime lesson to brush up on your skiing or a few sessions in order to learn some new skills.

On the other hand, if you are a moderate skier, you may want to try out Nordic skiing lessons in order to learn how to get down some of the most difficult slopes of France in a new fashion without your boot attached to the ski.

Even more, if you want to learn how to do the tricks and flips that professional skiers perform, you can head to the Aero Style School where instructors can help you with freestyle skiing manoeuvres.

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Skiing in Les 3 Vallees

Alan — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:09:48 +0000

When it comes to skiing in France, it is hard to find a resort area better than the slopes and amenities found within the Savoie region. Already one of the most popular resorts found in Europe, the French Alps of the Savoie offer peaks that can present a challenge even to the most experienced skiers.

However, the Savoie Alps also offer a great place for those without extensive ski skills since there are so many slopes that there are suitable challenges for all ski levels.

For those who are planning a Savoie skiing adventure, the best place to start is Les 3 Vallees also known as the three valleys to English speakers. From this point you can get ski passes to eight of the best French ski resorts each of which has something new to offer you.

One of the resorts you should make a special effort to visit is Courchevel located in the Tarentaise Valley which offers a landscape covered with many bars, restaurants, and bars as well as five separate altitudes filled with entertainment for you to enjoy.

From the top of the region, you can see 600km of perfectly maintained pistes that are set against the stunning backdrop of the Mont Blanc and Les Ecrins massif.

While exploring in the Savoie region, you will also want to take a moment to try out the popular run of Combe Saulire which faces North and has some of the best snow cover in the area. The best time to hit this particular run however is in the morning because during the prime daytime skiing time it becomes quite busy.

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Apres ski mountain cleaning begins

Alan — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:16:00 +0000

A project took place May 29^th and May 30^th that aims to show that although a large portion of snow has disappeared from the Alps, there is still enough of the white fluff laying around for a proper ski holiday.

An increasing number of resorts do not make their sole earnings from regular summer tourism, but instead also rely on the money that summer ski holidays bring in as well. In order to do so, they must make sure that the winter tourists do not leave their mess behind when the summer holiday goers start to show up, which is why the resorts soon will be tasked with the job of picking up everything skiers have tossed away.

Mountain Riders of France is working the Summit Foundation in order to clean up the Alps with Thomas Allement the project leader of the Summit Foundation stating that the primary objective is to pick up as much trash as they can find to clean up the mountains.

The second aim of the project is to make people more aware of the effects that their casual littering can have on the environment from cigarette butts to plastic, cans, and glasses.

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Brit already able to walk again after horrific January ski accident

Alan — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:32:11 +0000

Adam Bailey, a 41 year old former ski instructor, was in the middle of a lads’ holiday at the Alpe d-Huez, France ski resort when he slipped on a patch of ice at top speed on a red run, causing him to fly 50 ft into the air landing on a tarmac road, instantly breaking his neck.

Generally, this type of injury along with his other injuries, which included snapping his spine, two fingers, his knees, blood clothing in his throat, and breaking his wrist would have meant certain death.

Instead, an air ambulance rushed him to Grenoble where he received as much treatment as possible, and spent a month in a coma until he finally woke up in February following open heart surgery on the day of his ski accident, January 25^th.

In March he arrived back in the UK, and spent three more weeks in the hospital until he was able to go home on April 13^th.

Today, Bailey cannot remember much from the accident, stating that all he remembers is being in pieces after landing and that it took an extremely long time for them to get him into the helicopter.

He stated that he is aware that is lucky to be alive and that most of his physicians are surprised at his recovery and he hopes to continue to keep making strides forward.

His wife added that they did not think he would ever be able to speak again, let alone walk and after believing he would die they are very hopeful and amazed.

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Who says the ski season is over?

Alan — Thu, 20 May 2010 01:20:46 +0000

It is hard to figure out exactly when the ski season ends and another begins due to the fact that somewhere around the world there are at least thirty ski areas that are still open. Although mid-May may seem to the be the quietest seasons in the Southern hemisphere, many of the leading resorts of Europe open in the summer for boarding and skiing on the glaciers.

Adding to the debate about where the season actually starts and ends, is the fact that now there are five countries in Europe with glaciers that avid skiers can enjoy- France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and Norway and even more glaciers in the US and Canada.

Austria rules as the place to head for summer skiing with eight different summer glacier ski areas that are still open although Tux is the only resort that is open every day of the year. Luckily, it also boost one of the largest ski areas in Europe for summer skiing.

In France, all of the ski areas close during late spring, but reopen again from mid-June to August. Among those that you can enjoy for a late spring run are Val d’Isere, Les2 Alpes, and Tignes.

Italy on the other hand offers the Passo Tonale ski area open until the end of June with Passo Stelvio opening at the end of May until September. Also opening in June is the Val Senales.

Switzerland is the place to go for those who want to tackle the highest slopes, since the country offers the highest ski lifts that stay open in Europe during the summer up to 3,899m. They also boost one of the only year round open ski resort and offer summer verticals of up to 880m.

Finally, Norway offers smaller ski areas for those looking for a quainter break including the Galdhoppigen, Folgefonn, and Stryn resort areas that sport base depths of 4m.

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