admin – Page 38 – Alpine Winter Sports

21/10/201121/10/2011

5 Reasons to Visit Verbier

The “On the Snow” website lists five compelling reasons to visit Verbier.

The cite the 400km of accessible and challenging off-piste, the restaurants, the “Verbier Ride” freeride competition on 21st January, and the 10km toboggan run.

I would add that it is a French-speaking resort, handy for folk like me who have better French than Schweizerdeutsch. And the 400 km of on-piste skiing do make it one of the largest groomed ski areas in the world, even if the connections between the component parts leave something to be desired. Verbier is also actually quite cute, although with all the ostentatious wealth and the raucousness on display, many people may choose to stay in family-friendly Nandez or one of the other less expensive satellite communities. The lower slopes can get patchy if the weather is warm or there has not been much snow, yet this is one of the resorts where you can pretty much guarantee good skiing and snowboarding throughout the season, and it is particularly good for early or late season breaks.

The new season was expected to have a number of upgrades take place, but apart from an increased number of snow cannons, the main improvement is the addition of the Mayentzet six-seat chair up to Les Ruinettes.

19/09/2011

Ski Davos and Klosters for free!

A fabulous deal is on offer for early-season skiers at Davos and Klosters between 18th November and 23rd December, 2011 – a free Jakobshorn and Parsenn Skipass. The catch? You have to stay overnight in a hotel in the resort, that’s all. For each overnight stay you get a free skipass.

You find all hotels which take part in the “skipass gift” campaign at the Davos-Klosters web site and you can book online, via the hotels themselves or at the guest service office (Davos +41 81 415 21 21, Klosters +41 81 410 20 20).

The Jakoshorn ski area at Davos Platz comprises 96km of piste for all abilities between 1540 and 2590m, whilst the Parsenn ski area, which links Davos Dorf with Klosters, has a massive 216km of hugely varied piste between 810 and 2844m. Both areas offer good off-piste opportunity, but over the years there have been a number of fatalities off-piste (including one of Prince Charles’s ski party on the Wang in 1988), so do take a guide. I can’t see the resort runs being open much before Christmas unless we are heading for a cold, snowy late Autumn, but there is still going ot be plenty of good skiing available since much of the skiing in both areas is over 2000m.

Davos and Klosters have a reputation for exclusivity, but both offer a range of budget accommodation, including hostels which are participating in the “skipass gift” campaign. Both are well served by public transport and a new tunnel now makes Davos easier to reach by car. Davos is a bustling, relatively large town, whilst Klosters, although quite extensive, has a cosier, more family-oriented feel.

On 3rd and 4th December 2011 the Parsenn hosts the 2nd Blick Ski Testing event, combining ski activities, music and a party. The test centre is at the Parsenn hut in the Parsenn ski area. Ski instructors from the Klosters Ski School will be available to pass on tips and tricks free of charge.
All leading ski brands will be featured and prices for a 1 or 2-day ski test is CHF 45.

14/07/201114/07/2011

Andermatt Resort Expansion Approved

Swissinfo.com reports that Cantons Uri and Graubünden have approved the expansion at Andermatt proposed by an Egyptian tycoon.

Andermatt proposed development — The new Andermatt development site

Samih Sawiris is investing some $1 billion in the resort, with over 1000 hotel rooms, apartments and villas due to be available by the 2013/14 winter sports season.

The expanded ski area will extend to 100 kilometres of runs and connect Andermatt with Sedrun. Eighteen new ski lifts and cable cars are mooted with key new lifts including connections between:

Andermatt’s new Hotel Chedi to Nätschen
Hospental to Gemsstock
Göschenen to Nätschen-Gütsch

Environmetal concerns have put many other Alpine expansion plans on hold, and there has been some environmental opposition to aspects of Sawiris’s plans, but the economic benefits to the communities either side of the Oberalp Pass swayed the authorities in favour of the plans. The strong franc does not appear to have dented his enthusiasm either with reports from Andermatt Swiss Alps AG that the development is progressing ahead of schedule.

21/06/201121/06/2011

Ernergalen – the resort that won’t be

Those of you, like me, who eagerly awaited the re-opening of Ernergalen in Valais will be disappointed to read Swissinfo report that the plans have been put on hold indefinitely.

Following an advert in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung in 2007, which received widespread international publicity, Bruno Prior, a keen British skier and businessman, had brought the ailing resort for just one franc. His company, Summerleaze, committed to extend the 20km of pistes and four lifts between 1,200m to 2,300m near the village of Erlen to create a viable alternative to the larger resorts in Valais. The plans for Ernergalen included a new 800-bed hotel, additional lifts and links to nearby resorts in the area such as Bellwald, Aletsch and Belalp.

Sadly, these plans have been shelved, with the strong franc cited as the main reason behind the decision. It is a blow to Erlen, although the resort had always hovered on the edge of viability as a Winter sports destination, and Prior probably did as much as was possible to make it work. The investment pounds, however were worth less than two thirds of what they were worth when the project was first conceived.

It has also been a tough year for the Swiss tourist industry. The strong franc is a double edged sword, not only making Switzerland far more expensive than the Eurozone resorts for international visitors but also enticing the normally loyal Swiss to go abroad for their winter sports holidays. According to the Federal Statistics Office, the number of hotel stays in the 2010/11 winter season fell by about 1%, or 114,000 visitors, compared to the previous season, and the number of European winter visitors to Switzerland declined by 5.1%, some 373,000 people.

However, considering the strength of the franc and the indifferent late season, it is still a pretty good performance. Expensive as it has become, the skiing and snowboarding in Switzerland remains the best in the world. Canny skiers and snowboarders, however, may consider Avoriaz, Ischgl and Cervinia as more affordable destinations from which to enjoy the Swiss Alps.