European Snowsport

Outstanding, independent ski schools in Verbier, Zermatt, Nendaz, St Moritz and Chamonix

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    Archives for 2007

    Taking it easy on our day off…

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    After our busy Christmas and New Year, I spent a boring afternoon crusing round the off piste with ES instructors Sandy and Louis (the slightly hippyish one who plays the upsettingly good giggs in the T-bar).

    It really was rather dull…


    …Louis investigating the Rock Garden at Lac des Vaux.


    …guess which one of these two accomplished skiers has just fallen over (Hint: for a change it wasn’t Sandy…)

    …Louis drops off again.


    …the lads pretending to be catalogue models…


    …Louis look for something soft to land on. His choice of rocks was controversial…


    …evidence that snow is definately better than rocks…


    …and the perfect end to a perfect day (well, apart from the Villa result in the FA Cup…)

    Quieter slopes in Verbier

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    The slopes of Verbier are now much quieter with many of the New Year crowd having departed. The snow on the main mountain is great with some small patches of powder still to be found.

    The famous Tortin itinerary run is now open although reported to be somewhat rocky at the entrance – helmets are advised.

    The blue airport run over at Savoleyres is now open and gives great skiing for those coming up from the beginners slopes at Les Esserts. All the lifts are now working at Savoleyres including the T bar at the front of the mountain. Most runs are also open although the red from the top down to La Tzoumaz is rough in places.

    All the lifts at Bruson are now open including the luge track. This area often has hidden powder due to the north facing aspect and much lower traffic.

    Sunny weather over the last couple of days has caused a number of mini avalanches off-piste and the signs for closed areas such as Col des Mines and Vallon D’Arby should be respected

    The winds that were strong earlier in the week have died down and temperatures have risen slightly giving some rain at resort level although new snow up higher. Today is cloudy with a small amount of snow expected tomorrow.

    Great skiing and great snow…

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    Well, we’ve all survived the Christmas rush and the carnage of New Year, and now the resort’s finally calming down again, leaving us to ponder the whirlwind of events over the last few weeks.

    Not least of all this has included fantastic new snow as well as no less fantastic partying in the resort (although since young Charlie left Apress Ski hasn’t quite felt the same…see you in February mate).

    On a positive note we’ve all been teaching all sorts of different clients – from the Saunders family over Christmas who took great delight in traveling around resort at gas mark nine, to the young snowploughers like Lucas and Gregor (who will probably be reaching gas mark seven or eight some time next year…).

    And then there have been the ones who are just a bit good and leave you feeling insanely jealous – step up Karsten and Igor, seven and eight respectively, they took me down the Itinerary Route from Chassoure to Tortin today (which had just opened and was amazing) in a very deliberate attempt to beat me to the bottom.

    It was a close run thing but I came out of it with a little pride in tact…

    Anyway, more on the slopes soon, meanwhile here are the two chief monkeys on a mission…


    …the boys look smug after nailing Chassoure – Tortin.


    …and to make things worse Igor stops to gloat half way down Mont Fort. In a white out. It’s just not fair, is it?

    Some Fresh Snow. Tips for teaching your children to ski

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    Clear skies this morning, a little fresh snow overnight – not what we had hoped for but not too bad. Teen Academy were skiing on blades today, always fun and a good way to try some new tricks. Laura Donaldson took charge today as freestyle is her thing (Ex British Olympic Freestyle Team)

    Les Esserts was a busy ES spot this morning, four snowboard instructors working under Steve Grey’s watchful eye. Steve Grey directs ES’s snowboarding operations and holds the unusual distinction of being the first Brit to complete the SSBS Swiss Snowboarding top level exams. Father of three and floor fitter in the summer, Essex born Steve is slowly building a top quality team of pros.

    Sanna, our first Finnish instructor, was also at les Esserts with a bunch of lucky British lads, helping them to get to grips with the snowplough. Also at Les Esserts were two 3 year old clients skiing with Louis and having a great time.

    If you have young children and you are wondering at what point they will be ready to ski, a good guide is when they can walk down easy steps foot over foot not one step at a time. Also if your child is under five years old, more that two hours skiing is probably too tiring. Group lessons are available for this age group but we would recommend private lessons, if you can.
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    A good piece of kit to have is a tryski. The try ski is a simple device that keeps the tips of children’s skis together. This can speed their progression during the first couple of lessons. Usually opening the skis into a snowplough is difficult for children; the tryski just aids this and before you know it snowploughs are mastered.

    13:23 Its snowing Again . Plus ES Features on BBC Story

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    It^s snowing again, a brief rain shower turned to snow as the freezing level dropped over lunch time. Heavy snow is now falling across the Alps giving a much needed boost to the winter tourism industry. Here in Verbier we’ve had 30 cm and more is forecast to come we hope. It’s a welcome change from the poor conditions over the Christmas period. The BBC’s James Cove, who is also an instructor for European Snowsport, has written a story for the BBC News web site about how the ski industry is dealing with the poor snow levels often found in the early season. People are heading to the higher ski areas and resorts are now offering holiday makers a host of other things to do.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6228545.stm

    Snow Dump in Verbier

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    We have had over 24hrs of snow in covering all the slopes and changing the world from green to white. Yesterday saw a slow start with avalanche control and high winds keeping the upper slopes of the main mountain and Savoleyres no-go areas.

    Today early clouds cleared to stunning blue sky and just about every piste was open. There was powder available all over the place and the skiing was awesome. Although there was a chill in the air this didn’t stop the masses.

    Over at Savoleyres it was possible to get first tracks down the front side and the runs down to La Tzoumaz were opened up for the first time. Not surprisingly the queues at Medran and Savoleyres gondola were long – but the wait was worth it

    Good news for beginners at Les Esserts the button lift is at last open to the top of the slope. Route Carrefour linking Savoleyres to the main mountain is again closed due to avalanche. However, the red track from the bottom of the Savoleyres T- Bar to the top of Les Esserts has been pisted and is skiable for confident intermediates.

    Snow is forecast again for tomorrow and Friday and with the New Year rush settling down in the resort we look forward to some amazing skiing into next week. This may be just the time to think about improving your off-piste technique……..