The family love ski resorts where we can combine winter sports with a spa. We also find the hostels in Switerland truly awesome, and inexpensive despite Switzerland’s reputation for high prices. So we are excited to hear that new from 5th September is the wellnessHostel4000 with 168 beds, right next to the Postauto bus stop in Saas-Fee. It claims to have a unique architectural design and has direct access to the new spa and gym facilities in the Aqua Allain leisure centre. As well as the usual wellness features, the centre also boasts a 25-metre indoor pool, a children’s pool, waterslide and fitness centre. Typical room rates in a six-bed dorm start from around 40 francs (35 euros, less than thirty pounds) per person per night.
After what the resorts call “a period full of uncertainties and intense negotiations” collaboration between Nendaz, Veysonnaz, Verbier and Thyon that comprise the 4 Vallées ski domain has been renewed for the winter season 2014-2015, and for the following 18 years.
The Portes du Soleil is very large, and features a pleasant circuit that takes you round the resorts in the circuit and across the French/Swiss border. You can generally do it all on skis, but at Châtel you needed to catch a bus if you are coming from the slopes near Avoriaz. However two new chairlifts make getting around much easier (Vonnes-Super Châtel and Linga-Vonnes) and for the 2015-16 season there will be a new piste at Super Châtel.
New lifts are also planned to open this season in Parpan (Lenzerheide) and Val Müstair in the Minschuns area, and numerous lifts have been replaced or upgraded throughout Switzerland.
The flak continues to fallout over the Swiss decision to extend the minimum wage to chalet workers, with most chalet operators working out of the UK pulling out. Andy Perrin, CEO of the Hotelplan group, which incudes Inghams, Ski Total and Esprit Ski, opined: “There are no winners here. We tour operators lose, our guests who love Switzerland lose, and all the myriad Swiss suppliers in resorts who have relied on this business for decades also lose.”
Those choosing to buy in the Swiss Alps may also experience difficulties, with a curb on construction of second homes since 2012 and a 50% rule that ensures Swiss citizens get half of any new builds leading to ongoing uncertainty. The result has been rising prices for real estate in a country which has largely enjoyed stable, albeit significant, prices for second homes.
Crystal, who alongside Thomson, Inghams and Neilson provide most of the winter sports holidays sold in Britain, has added Arosa to the resorts it services. An excellent choice,in my opinion. Now linked to Lenzerheide, Arosa is one of the best resorts in the Alps. The train journey to the resort is a delight, and there is plenty for people who don’t ski to do – as well as a fabulous range of piste and off-piste.
Finally, news on an attractive deal for early-season escapes in one of my very favourite ski areas, Val d’Anniviers. The newly renamed combined resort of Grimentz–Zinal for the weekends of 15-16 November, 22-23 November, 29-30 November and 6-8 December offers
1 night in a double room in a hotel, with breakfast + 2 days’ skiing from CHF 175 per person. See here for details.
In the wake of the sad news about Michael Schumacher, inevitably a debate is being sparked off (again) about the pros and cons of wearing ski helmets whilst skiing or snowboarding.
Or, as one famous boxer put it, “There are pros and cons for, and pros and cons against”.
Let’s recap on what happened. Michael Schumacher was skiing in Meribel on the area between two pistes, somwhere between the red La Biche, the red Chamois and the blue Mauduit runs, below Saulire. Piste Map of Meribel – click to enlarge Apparently he slipped and hit his head on some rocks hidden in the snow.
I am going to conjecture that he was skiing relatively fast – he has a reputation as an adrenalin junkie, and a smack as hard as he got suggests some speed of impact. It broke his helmet in two after all. Although he was off-piste, the area is probably more accurately referred to as “between pistes”, those areas that are unprepared but within the bounds of the ski area, and are usually well tracked out by a multitude of skiers and snowboarders wanting unprepared, lift-served snow. If you hit these areas after fresh snow you can make fresh tracks, and it sounds like that is what Michael had in mind. These areas are normally within sight of the pistes, so if anything untoward happens there is usually help on hand very soon, as was the case for Michael. Only yesterday I saw a helicopter airlift someone off the slopes at Engelberg – technically it was off-piste, but within easy sight of the surrounding pistes.
Now we are not having a great ski season so far in terms of snowfall. The lower runs of most resorts are short of good snow and the pistes are thin and icy. Further up the runs are generally fairly good, but only because they have been prepared. Off-piste, however, the conditions are poor. Even where fresh snow falls, it has not yet established a decent base for you to be confident that there aren’t hidden rocks that can make you throw a ski or worse. And of course, fresh snow on a hard base is a recipe for avalanches. Early season off-piste is inherently risky and, unless you wish to court disaster, requires some caution.
In Engelberg yesterday many of the off-piste areas around the main slopes were extremely patchy, with exposed rock at various places. You could see people gingerly navigating around the exposed rock, which is of course what you should do, and some going faster than I thought safe given the risk of hidden rocks. Me and my companion decided not to venture far off-piste, the only ungroomed run we tried was the yellow trail off Titlis down to Stand, and there were plenty of exposed rocks round the edge. I saw a number of competent skiers and snowboarders slip and fall, but in all cases their speed was controlled and the falls were light, with no one needing to take advantage of the protection of a ski helmet – although most people had them.
So the question is, was Michael Schumacher unlucky or was he skiing recklessly? I don’t know, but I do know that a lot of skiers and snowboarders at Engelberg yesterday were going too fast for the conditions. I even found myself narrowing my line of descent because I knew people overtaking me would not be able to adjust their line if I skied in their way – remember the uphill skier must always give way to the downhill skier. From time to time I would also stop on the side of the piste to allow a knot of skiers or snowboarders pass before me, so I could feel comfortable about the area uphill of where I was turning.
The valley run was mayhem at the end of the day. Tired skiers and snowboarders, large areas of ice, lots of people and far too many going too fast. Inevitably there were falls and crashes.
So what has this to do with helmets? Michael Schumacher was wearing one, and reports are that he would have probably been killed if he had not been wearing one. It sounds like wearing one didn’t help him as much as one might expect, but perhaps if his behaviour on the slopes was different he would not have needed to put his helmet to the test.
On the whole, I am a cautious skier. Falling over can happen, but if you are following the FIS rules and are skiing or snowboarding within your limits – adjusting for the conditions – it is unlikely. And certainly unlikely to result in serious injury. The likelihood of a head injury is remote, but personally I don’t want to break a leg or sustain any sort of injury.
And there is the rub. I believe wearing helmets can give you a false sense of security. It does not protect you from other serious injuries and may not even adequately protect you from a head injury. If people went on the slopes dressed like hockey players, I am sure there would be far more collisions – you need only compare the manner in which people play ice hockey in a scrimmage if they are fully kitted up compared to just having skates and gloves. In a perverse sort of way, helmets may even contribute to more accidents on the slopes. Now they are cool, boy racers on the slopes act like their helmets make them piste warriors.
No, for me the best way to be safe on the slopes is to be prepared for the conditions, navigate the slopes in a manner appropriate for your skill level and constantly be aware of your surroundings.
I am not arguing against helmets. For freeriders, beginners and children they should be considered essential, and I would have few issues with them being made compulsory for children. I don’t like compulsion though, for me it is an ugly concept and seems to be too easily abused. I find education is a far more attractive option – perhaps also there could be incentives. For example, if wearing a helmet had an appreciable impact on how much insurance companies fork out, then they should offer premiums to people who wear helmets (although I have to say, I doubt that is the case). Indeed, in my experience more people get injured slipping on the ice on the streets in the resorts than get injured on the slopes – the main difference to outcomes is that they are not going fast. Interestingly the Dutch almost never wear helmets on bicycles at any age – I wonder if they werar ski helmets less too?
I do think education has the most significant part to play, though. I saw most of the FIS rules flouted yesterday at various times of the day. Perhaps lift companies could offer discounts to people who passed a “ski and snowboard riding test”, and their piste patrols could be a little more pro-active in advising people who flout them of what the rules are.
And in the meantime I wish Michael the very best chances of recovery, and my thoughts are with his family.
There has been precious little new snow in the Alps in December. Some resorts have not seen fresh snow since last month, although some precipitation is expected Thursday and Friday. For most resorts that should mean fresh snow, but temperature are unseasonably warm after a chilly start to the season. Indeed Meteo Swiss expect temperatures to remain above average well into the New Year. Learn more about exipurebenefits.
The good news, however, is that the Christmas skiing and snowboarding prospects look reasonably good, at least on-piste. Resorts took advantage of the early season snowfalls and their snow cannons to create a good base, and nearly everywhere has resort runs open. Generally upper slopes have around half a metre of snow but steeper, lower slopes are patchy and, with the temperatures above freezing, get very heavy in the afternoon. If you are considering your first foray of the season, do not join the many skiers and snowboarders I have already seen becoming tired victims of an afternoon run too far. If winter is too cold for you make sure to visit https://phandroid.com/ and learn more about portable Air Conditioners.
Looking around the Swiss resorts, Zermatt is in the rudest health with 240km piste open. Samnaun/Ischgl, with 190km, is virtually fully open now. The Engadine also has over 100km of piste open, and has a reasonable extent of cross-country skiing open also – at last report 30km of classic and 65 km of skating.
Verbier (and the rest of the Four Valleys), the Jungfrau resorts, Davos/Klosters, Adelboden, Saas-Fee, Engelberg and Andermatt all look promising for the holiday period and have good snow on the higher runs with even a little (but mostly tracked-out) off-piste around.
Although many of the smaller resorts have not opened yet, I would be surprised to see the warm weather prevent them having most of their lifts in operation by next weekend. However some of my favourite, more low-lying resorts look distinctly thin, especially the resorts around Gstaad and in Vaud. Flims/Laax has been later than I expected to open up its runs, but should be in full swing come this weekend.
For non-skiers there are a handful of toboggan runs already open, but the best prospect for you is probably the extensive circuit of winter walks found in most resorts, especially in the glorious sunshine we currently seem to be experiencing. The entertainment program in winter resorts is also ramping up, with the Spengler Cup in Davos probably my highlight, where CSKA Moscow and Team Canada amongst the teams vying for this most prestigious of ice hockey tournaments.
May is the quietest month in the ski and snowboard calendar. The Southern hemisphere hasn’t kicked off, and there are only a handful of high altitude glaciers around in the Northern Hemisphere to ski on before the next winter season. In Switzerland all but Zermatt have now closed their lifts, but in truth the ski conditions have not been good this month.
Verbier (which closed its lifts on 28th April) had planned to open up the lifts again on 1st June, but cancelled – despite plentiful snow – because of the otherwise poor weather conditions. The season thus ends with a whimper.
So what of season 2012-13? It wasn’t a vintage season but it was pretty good. It started off promisingly, then it got unseasonably warm around the New Year and was generally unsettled thereafter, with some glorious interludes of beautiful snow conditions and sunny skies. At the higher resorts there were good snow conditions extending right throughout April, but the weather was unsettled with rain on lower slopes and flat lighting on the upper slopes when it wasn’t snowing.
I got to visit some of the usual suspects in Switzerland, and had a couple of forays into Germany and Austria, but spent some time exploring some of the less well known but relatively large ski areas like Toggenburg and the Upper Rhine Valley. I can see why some of these resorts are not well-known outside the German-speaking world – the facilities for après ski are limited, a lot of them have too many surface lifts, the resorts are not so high as to provide season-wide snow guarantees and some of the pisted areas are relatively small for anything other than a weekend break or a day out. On the plus side, the absence of packs of Brits gives the villages a more authentic Alpine feel, the people are invariably friendly, there is often plenty of off-piste to augment the main slopes and the resorts are so close together that you can get to visit several on a ski holiday if you wanted.
Perhaps the gem amongst the more obscure resorts I visited was, for me, Obersaxen. I would definitely recommend it for a ski holiday in terms of variety and extent of runs available and quality of lift systems.
There are still some significant ski resorts I have not been to and ones I need to revisit when I can get some decent photographs. The list includes Les Mosses, Anzère, Grächen, Disentis, Grüsch-Danusa and Savognin. There are some other small resorts in Graubünden, Fribourg Region and Valais I would quite like to catch up with at some time. However I think I have pretty much nailed all the resorts with over 20km of piste which are not dominated by surface lifts. Check more about Testoprime benefits.
Tech-wise, I have previously praised my ski carrier. I also have been busy with the cam in my goggles and have loaded a few up at Youtube with a suitable soundtrack (e.g. Rush Hour by Jane Wiedlin – ski run at Obersaxen).
I’ve not been so impressed with the apps available out there, with the exception of the excellent Ski Tracks. The trouble with most of them is that they need an Internet connection, and if it is information on a ski resort you need the web does as good a job as I need. My own Swiss Winter Sports site works perfectly well on a smartphone or tablet. Ski Tracks is smart though, and from the moment you turn it on until you turn it off calculates distances covered, speeds, verticals etc and maps the trails out for you. From a personal point of view it was interesting to see that, in a typical day, I seem to cover about 50km of piste, drop around 5000m of vertical and reach a top speed of around 80kph. Typically, with significant variation. Try out semen enhancers.
So what does the summer hold? For me it is time to review the web site and look for improvements. Also the maddening search for somebody to provide me with a feed for ski reports rather than have me hack around for them. I would also like to consider the issue of traffic. I had a peak of around 4000 visitors in January and something in excess of 13,000 over the season – respectable but I think I am not reaching enough of my target audience, which increasingly looks like being expats living in Schweizerdeutsch-speaking Switzerland. The spot I had on The English Show was fun but generated little traffic. The Basel Families web site generated some interest and the unrelated Basel Families magazine looks promising. The visit to the Internationla School ski breakfast was also good for traffic. I failed to get interest in a book from publishers, who say the web is reducing the market for printed ski guides – which is fair, I guess, although I was hoping a book would generate traffic for the web site, somewhat ironically. Ideas for improving the site or increasing traffic all gratefully received…
The family love ski resorts where we can combine winter sports with a spa. We also find the hostels in Switerland truly awesome, and inexpensive despite Switzerland’s reputation for high prices. So we are excited to hear that new from 5th September is the wellnessHostel4000 with 168 beds, right next to the Postauto bus stop in Saas-Fee. It claims to have a unique architectural design and has direct access to the new spa and gym facilities in the Aqua Allain leisure centre. As well as the usual wellness features, the centre also boasts a 25-metre indoor pool, a children’s pool, waterslide and fitness centre. Typical room rates in a six-bed dorm start from around 40 francs (35 euros, less than thirty pounds) per person per night.
