Simply Piste Blog » Ski Locations

First woman to ski solo across Antarctica

Fiona — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:36:20 +0000

Skiing across great and remote areas seems to be a trend in recent months. In December came the news of Amelia Hempleman-Adams, who at the age of just 16 became the youngest person to ski to the South Pole. Now we hear of British adventurer Felicity Aston, who last month became the first woman to ski across Antarctica alone.

Felicity also set another record: Becoming the first human to ski solo across Antarctica using only her own muscle power.

Her amazing skiing feat took 59 days, covering 1,084 miles pulling two weighty sledges. Felicity started from the Leverett Glacier in November and on making it to Hercules Inlet on the Ronne Ice Shelf, she tweeted: “Congratulations to the 1st female to traverse Antarctica SOLO.V proud”

However, bad weather hampered her immediate return to civilisation and she was forced to wait it out in her tent for a plane ot pick her up. She said she was looking forward to a glass of red wine!

We wonder who will be next for the skiing record books.

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Don’t lose out on skiing time

Fiona — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:18:58 +0000

Skiing in a family or friends group is great fun… but it can sometimes become a little frustrating. How many times have you waited for seemingly hours at a mountainside café or the top or bottom of a chairlift while others a) try to work out where you are b) head to the wrong chairlift c) end up skiing the wrong piste d) get caught up in a long queue e) become swallowed by a queue for the café? Or whatever.

Of course, thanks to mobile phones it has become easier over the years to stay in touch with fellow holidaymakers while in a ski resort, but even then it can be difficult to explain which chairlift you’re at, or the exact café. Don’t they always look so similar?

Now a new app could make life a lot easier for skiers and snowboarders. The MotionX-GPS App for iPhone and iPod touch has been enhanced with a new ski/snowboard mode. The new features allow you to see exactly where your friends and family are on the mountain via live position updates. This is sure to make it a great deal easier for meeting up on the slopes and tracking each other.

Most importantly, however, the app will mean you do not waste valuable time waiting around for each other, and instead get in more hours of skiing and snowboarding!

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Six of the best ski resort festivals

Fiona — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:58:00 +0000

If you could improve on your skiing trip what would you add? How about a festival of music, comedy or food? In 2012 there are a host of skiing festivals and here we pick six of the best to launch the New Year.

Chef’s Cup, Alta Badia, Italy

Kicking off on January 22, the five-day Chef’s Cup adds up to a celebration of haute cuisine in the heart of the Dolomites. Some 400 of the world’s best chefs come together in Alta Badia to discuss culinary trends, showcase local produce and compete on the snow. Visitors can enjoy the culinary results and also ski! See www.chefscup.it

Winter TEVA Mountain Games, America

From February 10 to 12, Vail’s inaugural Winter TEVA Mountain Games comes to America. A host of professional and amateur snowspotrs athletes will come to the resort in pursuit of adventure, music – and competitions. You’ll discover contests in ice climbing, Telemark skiing, snowshoe racing and mountain cyclocross. Plus there will be free music concerts, films and parties. See www.tevamountaingames.com/winter

Momentum Ski Festival, Switzerland

From March 16 to 18, skiing fans can ogle at the amazing ski racers and enjoy some après-ski fun at the City Ski Championships. See www.momentumski.com

Meribel Live, France

A five-day celebration of French and British music take place on the slopes of Meribel from March 19 to 23. See www.meribel.net for news on the 2012 line-up.

Altitude, Mayrhofen, Austria

The hills of Mayrhofen will be alive with the sounds of laughter as a popular comedy festival arrives in the Austrian resort from March 26 to 31. The line-up includes Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle, Ed Byrne and Al Murray. See www.altitudefestival.com

Jazz Up, Avoriaz, France

March 31 to April 6 will see the annual Jazz Up festival in the Portes du Soleil ski area. There will be seven headline concerts and 40 “dinner” concerts held in local restaurants and bars.

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New flight route to ski hotspot

Fiona — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:34:40 +0000

Grenoble is a favourite place to fly to for ski resorts in France. Now Scottish skiers and snowboarders have greater access to this ski destination airport thanks to the announcement of a new flight route.

EasyJet has launched their new winter route from Edinburgh Airport to a French ski destination. The cheap flights company already has routes to two other ski destinations, Lyon and Geneva.

The new Grenoble service will operate on Saturdays and Sundays until April 15.

Hugh Aitken, EasyJet’s commercial manager for Scotland, said the route was “a great addition to our winter portfolio and strengthens our position as Scotland’s major ski airline”. He added: “Current sales figures demonstrate that there is a real appetite amongst Scots to head off for a winter ski break.”
Thanks to Field’s of View on Flickr for the header image.

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Top tips for alternative skiing ideas

Fiona — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:38:50 +0000

Skiers and snowboarders across Europe are celebrating news of snow, wonderful snow, falling in many resorts. The usual doom and gloom merchants had been suggesting that the snow might never arrive in the Alps but now it’s falling in bucket loads. We’re as delighted as anyone.

But what if you fancy something a little different? How about booking a second trip this season? Your first trip to your favourite European resort and then another skiing holiday to somewhere that you haven’t tried before.

Alternative Ski Holiday Ideas

Go indoors: We’re not just talking about your local ski dome. We mean, head to an indoor ski “resort”. Ski Dubai is the Middle East’s first indoor ski resort with five ski runs across some 240,000 square feet, and covered with snow all year round. The slopes are as high as a 25-story building and there are pistes to suit all skiing abilities.

Go high and cold: If all else is failing across the skiing world, you can bet there’ll be snow a Hemsedal Ski Resort, which is home to Norway’s highest groomed ski slope at 4,760ft. The downside might be the freezing temperatures and very short days of light but there is also the chance to try night skiing.

Go European in the US: America’s southern Rocky Mountains offers the cosy, European-style village of Taos Ski Valley. The resort founded by a Swiss-German immigrant in the mid 1950s and the mountain still boasts an authentic Bavarian lodge and an acclaimed ski school. The high-altitude slopes are renowned for their challenging runs and light, dry powder.

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Major revamp for UK’s longest ski slope

Fiona — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:17:26 +0000

Of course we’d all love there to be snow on tap whenever we wanted to go skiing or snowboarding. But the fact is we need to wait for winter. And sometimes we need to wait until the deepest mid-winter. That’s why dry ski slopes and indoor snow slopes are so popular, especially in Britain. Now the UK’s longest dry ski slopes is set for a £500,000 revamp.

The Midlothian Snowsports Centre at Hillend, near Edinburgh, will be upgraded to include new, safer ski matting at its existing nursery slope, snowtubing runs and two new lifts.

Sportscotland, the national agency for sport, has provided the funding.

It was only recently that the popular Scottish dry ski slope, which is also known as Hillend ski slope, was threatened with closure after Midlothian Council said it could no longer afford to fund it. But then Sportscotland and the Scottish government stepped in with £1m of funding to secure the centre’s future.

The fight to save the centre was the focus of an internet campaign supported by a 27,000 people. It just goes to show how many people like their skiing!

Derek Milligan, Midlothian Council’s leader, is reported as saying: “We know there is huge enthusiasm out there for the centre and these improvements will offer something for everyone, whether it’s snowtubing, learning to ski on the new, safer nursery slopes or choosing a different slope from the top of the chair lift.

“We hope these exciting plans for this national facility will have a positive impact on snowsports for people across the country by helping to maximise the full potential of the site.”

With thanks to .Martin on Flickr for the header image.

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New helmet law for Nova Scotia

Fiona — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 09:33:46 +0000

If you’re planning a skiing holiday to Nova Scotia you’d be advised to take a helmet. From next November, any skier or snowboarder caught on a Nova Scotia ski hill without a helmet will face a $250 fine.

This comes form the Canadian jurisdiction that was the first to bring in fines for helmetless cyclists, so you can be sure that the Nova Scotia Ministry of Health and Wellness is serious about their new skiing law.

It’s thought that around three-quarters of Nova Scotians already wear helmets to ski and snowboard. The Canadian Ski Council states that helmet us eis up from 67% in 2006 to 75% in 2011. The new legislation is aimed at the “vulnerable” remainder. Since 2000, 11 people have suffered traumatic brain injuries on Nova Scotia ski hills.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Wellness is reported as saying: “Wearing a helmet greatly reduces the risk of suffering a traumatic brain injury and could be the one thing on the hill that saves a life.”

In 1997, Nova Scotia became the second Canadian province after British Columbia to pass a mandatory all-ages bike helmet law. In 2007, the province extended the ruling to skateboarders and rollerbladers.

A statement said: “The ski hill helmet law solidifies Nova Scotia’s position as a leader in helmet safety.”

Do you wear a helmet for skiing or snowboarding? If not, tell us why not? If you do, tell us your reasons.

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The painter behind 300 ski maps

Fiona — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:04:48 +0000

If you thought that all ski maps were now completely computer generated you will have overlooked the beautiful artwork of American James Niehues. For a quarter of a decade, 65-year-old James has been hand-painting panoramas of mountains and ski resorts, which in turn are reproduced into millions of pocket-sized maps. These are the maps that every skier and snowboarder uses to navigate their way around resorts in North America, Japan, Korea, China, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Serbia.

The recognisable look of a ski map

His style is distinctive, as any skier who has been to these countries on holiday will recognise. To create a map, James, of Colorado, first researches the area, checking satellite images on Google Earth, looking at existing maps, blueprints and photographs. Then, whenever possible, he visits the resort, taking photographs from the air while being flown over at various altitudes.

He then paints from an aerial perspective, working to bring a wide network of mountain faces and runs into a single plane. After this, James starts to paint, first in gouache, which is an opaque watercolor, on a 30-by-40 inch illustration board. This method allows him to lift the color and update sections if resorts change over the years.

The painstaking art of ski maps

This art takes time. Small ski areas can take three days of painting, while large resorts might need 10 days, and regional areas may take three weeks.

As you might expect, James, who has created some 300 maps during his career, is not the greatest fan of computers. He says: “I’ll use a computer to adjust the colour or perspective on a nearly finished map. But I think that computer-generated maps lack character. Computers can’t do what I can do. For example, computerised maps have cloned trees, all of them identical, while my tress are all different.”

James still has some mountains that he’d like to paint. He dreams of travelling to the Oregon coast and the desert surrounding Moab, Utah, to paint the landscapes he’s photographed over the years.

Check out his interview with American news show CNN below:

Big thanks to James for allowing us to use his illustrations in this blog – to see more of his works, check out http://www.jamesniehues.com

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“Ski Lodges” – The Chotel by Skiworld

Seb — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:00:53 +0000

The latest company to hit our recommendation list is Skiworld. We’ve been aware of them for a while now, but we’ve only recently discovered the exceptional value that they can offer ski holiday makers.

Tess Schuberth recently spoke to me about their latest offer called “Ski Lodges”, an offer that combines both a high quality hotel styled service with all the best bits from a traditional chalet holiday, whilst attending heavily to needs and wants of skiers and snowboarders.

Coined as “a new concept in ski holidays”, the Ski Lodges experience includes an exemplary service to all who book. Your typical stay at a Ski lodge will include:

1.   A dedicated snow concierge that helps with all things snow related. Need to book a snow school, or find the freshest powder on the slopes just ask…
2.   Convenient locations for the skiing and the après.
3.   Designated wellness areas, allowing you to recharge your tired legs in a swimming pool, hot tub or sauna.
4.   Heated boot racks and large storage areas.
5.   Free WIFI in communal areas.
6.   Social hangout bar with reasonably priced drinks.
7.   Morning and Afternoon reception services.
8.   Games room available on the Val D’lsere.
9.   Embrace the local culture by taking part in speciality evenings. You can meet a mountain guide or discover the local Cheese and Wines.
10.   En suite in most rooms.
11.   Fresh towels daily.
12.   Ipod docking stations available on some resorts.
13.   Private nannies on the Val D’lsere and Tignes resorts.

All of the above sounds great, but as you may have read in a previous post on Skiology, I’m completely obsessed with food whilst on holiday. The “Ski Lodge” resorts are said to offer exceptional menus, preparing the freshest foods for all guests. Pre-dinner canapés, after dinner cheeseboard, extensive wine range and a final night celebration banquet seals the deal for me.

In a nutshell we’ve recommended Skiworld’s “Ski Lodges” deal because we think it represent great value for money and because they offer some fantastic deals throughout the season. It’s open to holiday makers of all sorts, whether you’re in a group, with the family or by yourself. There are some great deals to be had. At the moment many of their resorts have half price places for children. As well as offering a 1 in 5 group skiers goes free. Skiworld has been in the industry for around 30 years now, and totally understands the needs and wants of all skiers and snowboarders whilst on holiday.

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Simply Alpine – The one stop shop for ski holiday makers

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:07:41 +0000

For many skiers the credit crunch has meant that winter holiday makers have had to re-prioritise their breaks and as a result are only able take one vacation a year (poor them). This meant that masses of people chose summer holidays as their preferred choice last year. But what does this mean for the British ski industry?

It’s true, the industry has seen a huge decline in recent years, with a market collapse in 2008/2009, bookings dipped by around 15% (planetski.eu). However with an increase in VAT and the biggest decrease in exposable income since 1981, it no surprise we’re seeing a dip. For every political factor there also seems to be numerous economical and social factors that pose different threats all together.

Luckily, the savvier of us out there refer to independent travel companies to help them save whenever possible. Simply Piste decided to take a look into a few online companies to see if we could find a suitable operator that can offer a no fuss experience with great packages and exceptional value for money.

Voila … Simply Alpine (no affiliation with us, just two separate companies who “Simply” operate in the same industry).

Simply Alpine are an online one stop shop. They offer a complete service for sourcing and packaging your next ski holiday. Whether you need a chalet or resort in North America or Eastern Europe, their database can cater for your needs. Countries included in their database are: Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.

Simply Alpine operated for a number of years as an independent travel agent specialising in ski holidays to Europe and North America. During this time they noticed an increasing trend towards independent traveller’s sourcing and packaging their own alpine holidays, often taking advantage of the influx of low cost airlines operating to these regions, and bucking the traditional package holiday firms in the process.

This insight has now allowed them to offer a great all round service including arrangements that sort, travel insurance, foreign exchange, resort transfers, car hire, airport hotels, airport lounges and airport parking. They also offer a range of activity options such as, walking holidays, cycling holidays, lakes and mountains and of course ski and snowboarding.

Simply Alpine are a specialist independent travel company who offer accommodation owners the opportunity to advertise their services and products directly through their website to the general public. They specialise in privately owned and operated ski chalets and summer holiday rental accommodation within the alpine resorts of the Alps, Pyrenees and North America, their intention is to provide you, the independent traveller, with the resort, accommodation and up to date travel information you need to effortlessly plan and organise your next alpine holiday, all from the convenience of one user friendly site.

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