Our 3 Favourite Ski Resorts

Well being in an office with male and female skiers, this created some real debate! Many names were thrown into the hat for the favourites category, with Aspen, Chamonix, Meribel, St Anton, Val d’Isere, Val Thorens, Verbier, and Whistler the main culprits.

Whistler was one of the first to be added, with generally good snow conditions , awesome back bowls, and a great lift system, especially now Whistler and Blackcomb have been linked, so it was soon pencilled in.

The second consensus was St Anton, if you haven’t been you are missing out, big time, as this resort has it all. Great snow record, awesome skiing (the mogul fields off the Valluga mean that even the macho skiers won’t leave disappointed), but all this is only half the story. St Anton is a skiers place, not pretentious (ignoring of course Lech and Zurs) and like Chamonix attracts great skiers by the day, but leaves Chamonix miles behind with its social side (Compagnie du Mont Blanc take note). Somehow Visitors to St Anton can not only drink a ‘yard’ for breakfast (generally on the way home from the night before actually), they can do so at lunch, on the way down the slopes, pre-dinner (assuming they even bother with dinner) and after It is this that sticks out in St Anton, it is all well natured, but from the moment you hit the mountain bar on the way down, you just know its going to be painful in the morning! But this is probably why it is so mesmerising, like a drug, the following day you say no, but there you are again, enjoying its captivating atmosphere.

So the third, Chamonix, well no actually, a huge bias in the office of course towards this resort, with probably the best off-piste in the world and a great ski town, but this is a ski in ski out site and we all acknowledged, that despite huge investment recently, the lift system still isn’t quite there yet. Also the spread out nature of the resort means that mixed abilities can end up skiing in very different areas. Verbier was also discarded, surprisingly easily in fact, another great resort but doesn’t quite offer enough ‘skiing’, and the cost of the nightlife makes one’s mortgage payments seem a ‘walk in the snow park’! So Val d’Isere then? Afraid not, too pretentious was the verdict, great skiing but more a place to be seen than to ski! Meribel did however come close, and so did its brother Val Thorens, with some of the most extensive skiing in the world, but none of which we felt was that memorable (old age possibly creeping in and becoming forgetful) . So Aspen it is, well nearly, if the town had more character it would have probably been there, but there was a distinct unease that we were forcing a third and we weren’t really quite convinced. That was until someone through Chatel into the mix and there we are. It is worth noting here that this might be a wind up as I can occasionally be a little disparaging towards this region, so not my choice as never skied Chatel to be honest, but what I am told is that this is a beautiful resort with great treee line skiing and on powder days offers some of the best untracked powder trails through the trees you can experience. Still not convinced, well nor I am quite yet so I’m now off to ski it in December so as not to be the only one in the office that thought anything in the Portes du Soliel should be confined to the ‘resorts for others’ file!!

Getting Ahead With Some Early December Skiing

Reminiscing back to last year we recalled that on 10th November 2008 we were lucky enough to be skiing some great snow in Cervinia. Will we be so lucky this year? Probably not, but in 4 or 5 weeks time it is still a likely possibility with the snow line at just above 2,000m and the weather getting noticeably colder by the day.

So where should you ski if you fancy getting away for an early December ski, a time you are sure to probably get a great deal. The obvious pointer is somewhere high, but this shouldn’t be the only driver, as high depends on many things, is the high mountain prone to high wind this time of year (exposed and not sheltered) , is it rocky mountain that will need a metre and half of snow before the rocks are covered, is it predominantly north facing and therefore likely to be unbearably cold in December (November and December can be some of the coldest months in the mountains), etc.and if you aren’t sure, ask the operator is our advise before you book.

Once you have crossed off the resorts that aren’t ideal, the final pointer should be the weather and where the snow has fallen most. December won’t be too busy so booking too early isn’t essential for the early weeks before the festive surge. Assuming an equal spread of snow some obvious candidates are going to shine such as Aspen, Banff, Cervina, Courchevel, Meribel, and Val d’Isere, Mammoth, Tignes and Verbier, and Zermatt are just some of the big name resorts that stand out year after year.

What Ski Operators Really Mean!

We thought we would take a lighter look at what owners are really saying in our Top 5 quotes:

1. We’re just overlooking the main village – which means: get the oxygen tent out if you are walking back after a night of apres ski as you’ll have a 2mile walk and a 1,000ft ascent!
2. We should have the new photo’s on the site next week – which is code for: basically the chalet is an absolute mess, being totally gutted, debris everywhere, and if we're finished by March we'll be lucky!!
3. More snow is forecast next week and the slopes are holding up well – which translates: it hasn’t snowed once this season, the pistes looks like a mud wrestlers paradise with a sprinkling of artificial snow, so bring your wellies!!
4. Can I call you back I’m just in a meeting – which politely means bog off primarily, but also: don’t want to rub it in, but whilst your in a stuffy office in a polluted city, I’m getting first tracks in bright sunshine and fresh alpine air, so leave me alone (pleeeaaassse)!
5. Yes you can ski in ski out conditions permitting – we couldn’t refuse to get on our soap box with this one at number five (we are afterall a ski in ski out blog), and it of course really means: if the chalet up the road hadn’t put that damned hedge in their garden, the snow plough decides not to clear the main road, and someone can get a piste basher between the chalets we have a good chance of keeping 5cm of snow and mud and you skiing back at least!

What Makes A Holiday Ski In Ski Out

For those of us that deem a great ski holiday to include the convenience of being able to ski from the door, and then back again, without having to jump over fencing, ski across gardens, roads, and mud patches (sounds familiar) may therefore want to add their thoughts to the mix on our first blogger blog?

Research certainly suggests that there is a large ski in ski out market, and you will therefore not be surprised to know that many operators claimed that they can offer a ski in ski out property. Well, sort of, when we started delving a little further, things however looked quite different in our view.
Much of the information reading the small print seemed to add ‘snow conditions permitting’ or that the chalet is ‘500m from the slopes’. I guess this is open to debate, but shouldn’t a ski in ski out property be by the slopes and if it is, shouldn’t the piste be maintained and permit skiing back (unless it isn’t via a piste - excepting the end of the ski season such can’t always be guaranteed)?

Strangely not, the term ski in ski out seems to some to mean, just another catch all phrase along with the word ‘luxury’ when you can just tell from the pictures it is 2 star accommodation at best! 

Our view, and I guess it is open for debate, is that ski in ski out should really be a slopeside property. On the http://www.skiinskiout-chalets.com/ site there is a 20m tolerance, but ideally slope side, with the slope that the accommodation is actually next to being part of the regions main network. It is questionable I guess whether 20m still counts, but at least it goes a long way to sieving at least some of the more spurious (in our opinion) claims that many come across.

Of course if you disagree, or have some interesting experiences on this, why not drop us a line and we’ll post the interesting ones here at the Ski In Ski Out blog.