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Spot on Cervino Ski Paradise for the 2018-19 ski season

A skier with the Monte Cervino in its background. Spot on Cervino Ski Paradise for the 2018-19 ski season. Photo: Enrico Romanzi. Cervinia Ski Paradise.

What is new in the Cervino Ski Paradise for the 2018-19 ski season. Cervino Ski Paradise is comprised of 5 resorts, 3 districts and 2 nations (counting Cervinia, Zermatt and Valtournenche)

The ski lifts open early in Cervinia- by mid-October for the weekends and then they started on 27th October opening daily and they will remain opened until 5th May. This network of trails from both sides of the Monte Cervino -(or Matterhorn) allows you to never take your skis to admire the Cervino from both the Italian and Swiss sides, while being ‘captured’ to stop at any of the many rifugios for a quick warm up and to admire the views – people on both sides like to stop in Cervinia due to the rates being much cheaper in EUR than in CHF.

Fireworks with the Monte Cervino in the background. Photo Cervino Ski Paradise. Spot on Cervino Ski Paradise for the 2018-19 ski season.
Fireworks with the Monte Cervino in the background. Photo Cervino Ski Paradise. Spot on Cervino Ski Paradise for the 2018-19 ski season.

On top of Cervinia, Valtournenche and Zermatt, there are two other locations – Chamois, a magnificent village reached only by cable-car, and Torngon- a village that dominates the valley and is affectionately known as “pays du soleil” – or sun village. Both hamlets are more quiet, great places for families to stay and experience nature at first hand.

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Skiers over New Year prepare for a £450 wipeout at the car-hire rental desk

Skiers Over New Year Prepare for a £450 Wipeout at the Car Hire Rental Desk. Photo by Adrian - Unsplash - taken in Mont Saint Helens, USA.

Skiers over New Year prepare for a £450 wipeout at the car-hire rental desk. The findings of car hire excess insurance leading provider- iCarhireinsurance.com 

  • Sofia the cheapest place for ski car rental, and Geneva the most expensive
  • Excess insurance alone costs on average £170 across the destinations
  • Sat nav hire costs £90, extra driver costs £50, a child’s car seat costs £50 and roof rack £40

Before you’ve even made it to the slopes, prepare to be floored by up to £450 of extra costs when you pick up your hire car this New Year.

iCarhireinsurance.com, the leading provider of car hire excess insurance, researched the costs of five rental companies in six European ski gateways (i.e., Geneva, Grenoble, Innsbruck, Barcelona, Turin and Sofia) for a week’s hire from 27 December 2018 to 3 January 2019.

Photo: ICarhireinsurance.com - Skiers Over New Year Prepare for a £450 Wipeout at the Car Hire Rental Desk.
Photo: ICarhireinsurance.com – Skiers Over New Year Prepare for a £450 Wipeout at the Car Hire Rental Desk.

Extras from Europcar in Grenoble, France, were found to be the most expensive this winter. A medium compact car costs £358 for a week’s New Year hire (27 Dec to 3 Jan), and then at pick-up drivers are faced with an avalanche of extra costs totalling £454 i.e., £212 for excess car hire insurance to protect a customer against the first part of any insurance claim (i.e., £161 for super damage waiver and £51 for tyre and windscreen excess waiver), £71 for an extra driver, £55 for a child’s car seat and £116 for a sat nav.

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Aspen Snowmass Receives up to Eight Inches of New Snow Overnight

Photo: Aspen Snowmass. Aspen Snowmass Receives up to Eight Inches of New Snow Overnight.

Aspen Snowmass Receives up to Eight Inches of New Snow Overnight

Overnight Powder Pancake Day at Aspen Highlands

Aspen Snowmass Snowpack at 120% of Median

Aspen Snowmass welcomed eight inches of new snow overnight Wednesday at Aspen Highlands followed by Snowmass with seven inches, Aspen Mountain with five inches and Buttermilk with three inches.

Photo: Aspen Snowmass. Aspen Snowmass Receives up to Eight Inches of New Snow Overnight.
Photo: Aspen Snowmass. Aspen Snowmass Receives up to Eight Inches of New Snow Overnight.

Since Aspen Highlands received eight inches of new snow, it was announced as a Powder Pancakes day at the mountain. Free pancakes will be handed at Merry-Go-Round restaurant, located mid-mountain on Aspen Highlands, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. this morning. This takes place every time an Aspen Snowmass mountain receives eight inches or more of new snow overnight.

As of today, the Aspen Snowmass snowpack is at 120% of median with 3,960 acres of terrain open across all four resorts.

For the detailed snow report, visit www.aspensnowmass.com/our-mountains/snow-report.

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Mt Hood Meadows forced to evacuate skiers from chairlift due to a power problem.

Mt Hood Meadows in Oregon. Mt Hood Meadows forced to evacuate skiers from chairlift due to a power problem.

Mt Hood Meadows was forced to evacuate skiers from chairlift due to a power problem on Wednesday

As per the Oregonian, Mt Hood Meadows had to evacuate lots of skiers off a chairlift Wednesday after a power problem made the resort shut the lift.

Dave Tragethon, spokesman for Meadows said that ‘power fluctuations’ on the resort’s Blue chairlift made them switch to auxiliary power which was not enough to move the occupied lift. They then went to decide that the safest option was to evacuate the lift.

Mt Hood Meadows piste map. Mt Hood Meadows forced to evacuate skiers from chairlift due to a power problem.
Mt Hood Meadows piste map. Mt Hood Meadows forced to evacuate skiers from chairlift due to a power problem.

The lift was pretty full, with more than 150 people on board, as per what Tragethon said. It took 2 hours and 20 minutes from the closing of the lift until the last passenger was safely evacuated. No one was hurt, Tragethon said.

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Courmayeur Mont Blanc Funivie is opening two new slopes with amazing panoramic views.

Arp - Courmayeur Mont blanc Funivie - Photo: Lorenzo Belfrond. Courmayeur Mont Blanc Opening Days of Italian Ski Resorts.

Courmayeur Mont Blanc Funivie (Courmayeur’s lift company), will be opening this winter season two new slopes with priceless panoramic views.

Guests will be able to ski down the new Arp slope, which overlooks the wonderful southern side of the Mont Blanc. After the dismantling of the Arpetta ski lift, for decades, the only people able to enjoy the magnificent panorama of the 2,750 Arp ridge were free-riders, who did the off-piste routes reachable via the Arp cable car.

Courmayeur Mont Blanc Funivie is opening two new slopes with amazing panoramic views.
Courmayeur is renown for its territory for free-stylers, usually accompanied by Alpine Guides. Now, there will be two new pistes for expert skiers. Photo: Courmayeur Alpine Guides.
Courmayeur Mont Blanc Funivie is opening two new slopes with amazing panoramic views.

The new slopes consist of a section of a path that can be skied of about 700 m., which gives access to a north facing slope where a very challenging 600 m. long black piste, with a gradient of 70%m, has been created in addition to the numerous off-piste trails already in place.

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Ski this Easter with your family in ‘snow sure’ Obergurgl-Hochgurgl and Sölden.

Innerötztal - Sölden with Obergurgl / Hochgurgl / Vent and Sölden. Ski this Easter with your family in ‘snow sure’ Obergurl-Hochgurgl and Sölden with The-Ski-Guru TRAVEL

Ski this Easter with your family in ‘snow sure’ Obergurl-Hochgurgl and Sölden with The-Ski-Guru TRAVEL

Planning your ski holiday later in the season? The best you can do is to think in high-altitude resorts to be sure of having snow. This year Easter is falling late, so this is even more important to think where to go.

Top of the Mountain Obergurgl-Hochgurgl. Ski this Easter with your family in ‘snow sure’ Obergurl-Hochgurgl and Sölden with The-Ski-Guru TRAVEL
Top of the Mountain Obergurgl-Hochgurgl. Ski this Easter with your family in ‘snow sure’ Obergurl-Hochgurgl and Sölden with The-Ski-Guru TRAVEL

Here I want to focus on two resorts in the Ötztal Valley: Obergurgl-Hochgurgl and Sölden:

Obergurgl-Hochgurgl. The “Diamond of the Alps” –

Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, high up in the Ötztal Valley in the Tirol, is a snow-sure resort. With a vertical drop from 1800 to 3080 metres above sea level, Obergurgl-Hochgurgl is one of the first resorts in Austria to open the season in mid-November, offering 25 mountain lifts and 112 immaculate km of slopes for skiing, snowboarding and free-riding. The resort closes by the end of April.

For a family of four (2 adults and 2 kids of up to 10 years old), for the week of April 7-14 you can ski for EUR 5,422.00 and you get:

7 nights including half board

6 days Ötztal Superskipass

6 days ski rental (ski, boots, poles)

free shuttle bus within the ski areas e.g. Sölden & Obergurgl-Hochgurgl

6 days group ski lessons incl. lunch and child care over the lunch hour (for the two kids)

Obergurgl-Hochgurgl. The Diamond of the Alps

Hotel Alpennausicht in Obergurgl ****. Ski this Easter with your family in ‘snow sure’ Obergurl-Hochgurgl and Sölden with The-Ski-Guru TRAVEL
Hotel Alpennausicht in Obergurgl ****. Ski this Easter with your family in ‘snow sure’ Obergurl-Hochgurgl and Sölden with The-Ski-Guru TRAVEL

Hotel Alpenaussicht****

1x double, Zirmkogel“ Typ F 50 m²

total costs Euro 5,422.00

Continue reading “Ski this Easter with your family in ‘snow sure’ Obergurgl-Hochgurgl and Sölden.”

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A Gondola Accident happened in Hochzillertal today.

Hochzillertal ski map. A Gondola Accident happened in Hochzillertal today.

A Gondola Accident happened in Hochzillertal today.

From Unofficial Networks and Euro News.

A frightening incident unfolded this morning in Kaltenbach, Austria. Several 10-passenger gondolas on the”Wimbachexpress” at Hochzillertal got hung up on a tower and collided into one another. According to reports, the gondola cars were empty at the time and no one was injured. It is believed that high winds from a strong storm ranging across the Alps played a roll in the accident.

You can see the video here:

More: Unofficial NetworksA

The-Ski-Guru TRAVEL can organise your bespoke ski trip to the Americas, Alps or Japan, including for those going from Britain to Europe, booking your Eurotunnel trip, and for all trips: lodging, lift tickets, rentals, ski school, and all you need for an excellent vacation. Go to https://www.the-ski-guru.com/travel and upload your information – this page will be updated soon with more travel ideas.

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What does Climate Change will mean to a Mountain Nation such as Switzerland by 2060.

ADELBODEN - Three friends taking their sledges up the slope. Copyright by Adelboden Tourismus By-line: swiss-image.ch/Anja Zurbruegg Adelboden Lenk Kandersteg: What does Climate Change will mean to a Mountain Nation such as Switzerland by 2060.

What does Climate Change will mean to a Mountain Nation such as Switzerland by 2060. From Swissinfo.ch – Climate Change in forty years in Switzerland will mean over 40C in the cities, long droughts and not too much snow in winter, Switzerland will be looking as a Mediterranean country. This will have consequences in this land-lock country.

Verbier - Valais - What does Climate Change will mean to a Mountain Nation such as Switzerland by 2060.
Verbier – Valais – What does Climate Change will mean to a Mountain Nation such as Switzerland by 2060.

By 2060 the typical weather forecast on a summer day can describe 45C in the cities and twenty days of sustained heat. MeteoSwiss (the federal department of meteorology and climatology) has devised different climate scenarios for Switzerland, in conjunction with the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) and publish edit in a report in mid-November. Peter Binder, the head of MeteoSwiss summarised that “Switzerland will be a hotter and drier place”.

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Listex’s State of the UK Snowsports Market Report 2018

James Gambrill, Founder of Listex talks at the Forum. Listex’s State of the UK Snowsports Market Report 2018.

Listex’s State of the UK Snowsports Market Report 2018. Listex is London International Snowsports Trade Exchange that gathers the UK andEuropean ski industry each year in May and September.

Its Forum covers lots of interesting topics, such as their annual State of the Snowsports Market. As a marketeer, I’ve found this report interesting as it focused in how buyers got inspired and went on to book their ski holidays, who they trust and what is important for them when booking a ski holiday.

Here is the executive summary of the report and if you go to the end, you’ll have a link to be able to read the entire report.

The Forum at Listex 2018. Listex’s State of the UK Snowsports Market Report 2018
The Forum at Listex 2018. Listex’s State of the UK Snowsports Market Report 2018

Inspiration, Information and trust:

Friends and families continue to be the most cited, and most trusted sources of information and inspiration for skiers when choosing a holiday. Social media continues to score very poorly, even amongst the under 35 demographics.

Important factors:

Price, snow and ski area size continue to be the most important factors when choosing a ski holiday destination, but below these headliners, there has been some shifts with accommodation and food quality making gains. Amongst the under 35’s, resort altitude scores as less important and après-ski climbs the table, suggesting some shifts in priorities.

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Deer Valley who was awarded Best US Ski Resort by the World Ski Awards for the sixth year, opens this Saturday December 8th

Skiing through the glades at Deer Valley Resort. Deer Valley who was awarded Best US Ski Resort by the World Ski Awards for the sixth year, opens this Saturday December 8th.

Deer Valley Resort was awarded Best US Ski Resort by the World Ski Awards for the sixth year and opens this Saturday December 8th.

Deer Valley Resort will open for the 2018-2019 ski season on Saturday, December 8, 2018. With over 40” of pre-season snow and optimal snowmaking conditions, Deer Valley® is able to open with at least 45 ski runs serviced by 16 chairlifts, including the new Homestake Express chairlift, upgraded this summer to a high-speed detachable quad. For updated mountain information, be sure to visit the On the Mountain page for the latest conditions and to sign up for Daily Conditions and Powder Alert emails.

Winter Ski Beach at Deer Valley Resort. Photo: Deer Valley Resort. Deer Valley who was awarded Best US Ski Resort by the World Ski Awards for the sixth year, opens this Saturday December 8th.
Winter Ski Beach at Deer Valley Resort. Photo: Deer Valley Resort. Deer Valley who was awarded Best US Ski Resort by the World Ski Awards for the sixth year, opens this Saturday December 8th.

New this year, lift tickets purchased three or more days in advance during non-holiday periods will receive “Advance Purchase” pricing. A full list of lift ticket pricing can be viewed here on deervalley.com. In keeping with the resort’s commitment to service and to ensure an exceptional on-mountain experience, Deer Valley limits the number of skiers on the hill each day. Deer Valley does reach capacity during the holiday periods such as December 26, 2018 through January 3, 2019 and February 16 through 20, 2019. Guests are encouraged to purchase their lift tickets in advance at deervalley.com. New this year, Ikon Pass holders are invited to reserve their daily lift tickets in advance at ikonres.deervalley.com to guarantee access during these peak holiday periods.

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