Jetsettersblog

Popular Landing Spots For British Skiers & Snowboarders

Leading flight search engine, Skyscanner (www.Skyscanner.net), dips into its data to see where British winter sports enthusiasts are flying to this winter. Despite economic woes, European ski searches appear healthy with a small rise in flight search traffic for ski airports compared to last year. With a strong US dollar, it seems many Brits are avoiding transatlantic mountains and favouring the more local European peaks.

1. Geneva (Switzerland) – at number one by quite a long way it’s Geneva. Close to the French border (the airport even has a French sector), Geneva is an ideal landing zone for skiers and snowboarders, offering the choice of over 100 ski resorts within two hours’ drive. One of the closest is Lelex, a small resort served by 13 ski lifts, ideal for families and beginners, and at the other end of the scale – Morzine, part of Les Portes Du Soleil ski area, a huge interlinked domaine offering some 650 different pistes, served by over 200 ski lifts.

2. Nice (France) – located for good access to the ski resorts of the Southern French Alps and the Italian Alps, Nice offers access to 12 ski resorts within 3 hours’ drive. Isola 2000 is one of the best in range, rising to 2610m, offering about 50 pistes and around 120km of downhill skiing and snowboarding. Alba, about 2.5 hours from Nice is an ideal choice for beginners, a compact area which is also good for cross country skiing, boasting 52km of Nordic trails.

3. Salzburg (Austria) – located in the north of the country, Salzburg is surrounded by over 100 resorts to the south, east and west, all of which are less than 2 hours drive from the airport. Mayrhofen is one of the most famous in the area and one of the highest resorts in Austria; part of the Zillertal ski area, it offers access to 130 pistes. If you’re looking for a family ski area and need something with shorter drive times, try St Wolfgang – one of the closest ski areas to Salzburg, this small resort has 9 ski lifts as well as 30km of cross country trials.

4. Munich (Germany) – another good access point with almost 100 ski resorts within 2 hours of the airport. Choose from a great selection of Northern Austrian resorts, or for something a little different, why not visit a German ski resort? Though little known as a skiing destination, Germany has some great options; Sankt Englmar is a small ski area best suited to beginners and young families in the east of Germany – or try Grainau – one of the bigger resorts in Germany offering an impressive vertical drop of over 2000m and 44 pistes.

5. Grenoble (France) – there are over 50 ski resorts within 1.5 hours of the airport, including some of the biggest and best such as Alp d’Huez, Courchevel, La Grave, Meribel and Valmorel. For somewhere a little more secret, try Autrans - a quieter area with 16 lifts and about 18km of downhill slopes as well as 160km of cross country ski trails.

Best of the Rest:

Toulouse (France) – offers access to Pyrenean ski resorts in France, Spain and Andorra. Pas de la Casa is a firm favourite with the Brits, renowned for its excellent value and lively après ski action.

Innsbruck (Austria) – great for getting to resorts in the Tyrol region and the city of Innsbruck itself is home to Nordkette, a small ski area with slopes overlooking the city, which boasts one of the steepest runs in Europe.

Milan Bergamo (Italy) – good for Northern Italian resorts. Try Livigno, a duty free ski resort with an excellent terrain park and good off piste options, a quaint alpine town untouched by overdevelopment.

To find more cheap flights, fast – visit www.Skyscanner.net

PARK CITY, UT - Following up one of its most successful seasons in 25 years isn’t the easiest of milestones to beat. But the 2009 U.S. Cross Country Ski team is four competitions into its World Cup season and ready to hit its stride to compete for another page in the annals of history.

“We had our best winter in 25 years of U.S. cross country skiing, and this past summer was even better than the summer before for training. We had great camps, great head-to-head training sessions, and all of our athletes were obviously at a higher level than before,” said Cross Country Head Coach Pete Vordenberg. “So, we have higher expectations this season to have some podium results on the World Cup and a podium at World Championships.”

The Team, which experienced a good amount of World Cup podium success in the 2008 season, has focused on training throughout the summer months to prepare for what it feels can be another monumental season.

“Our World Cup skiers have had tremendous off season training, they are fit, healthy and fired up to test themselves against the rest of the World Cup athletes,” Nordic Program Director John Farra said. “While training can be perfect and testing results point to improved results, the only true measure is the weekly battles with the rest of the world’s best.”

According to Vordenberg, on the whole, the focus for the Team is to pace itself for success.

“This year we are looking at being in Europe, adjusting, training well, and hitting the World Cups with performance at the forefront of our minds. It’s the same for World Championships,” Vordenberg said. “Our preparation has been focused on achieving great results at specific events mostly because looking toward the Olympics, it’s one race on one day and we have to learn to peak for specific events.”

Among the athletes to watch are World Cup performers Kris Freeman (Andover, NH), Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT), Torin Koos (Leavenworth, WA), Chris Cook (Rhinelander, WI) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK).

Geared up and ready to put on a show for the women is Randall who, last season, became the first woman to win a modern day FIS World Cup in a sprint at Rybinsk, Russia December 2007. It also was the first U.S. victory in cross country since Bill Koch in 1983. American Allison Owen-Spencer last won in 1978, before the FIS established the permanent World Cup series.

“I’m looking forward to making sure I am prepared for all the sprints on the schedule this year. Last year there were three skate sprints and this year there are six and one at World Championships,” Randall said. “The fact that I did well in the skate sprints and won makes me feel strongly that I can win. I’m looking forward to winning some more World Cups this year.”

Randall began her World Cup season in Kuusamo, Finland, finishing 33rd in her first sprint and 23rd in a 10K. Her competition travels then took her to Davos, Switzerland, where, after an unlucky tangle with another athlete, she was 26th. She will be one of the favorites in this weekend’s Dusseldorf sprints.

Another athlete who has been preparing heavily after landing on the World Cup podium in Finland last March is Newell who aims for the top of the podium each weekend.

“Last year’s second place finish has motivated me a lot because I know I have what it takes, but this year I’m going for a win,” Newell said. “It’s hard to say how I will stack up in the overall, but I’m going to try to take it one World Cup at a time and see what I can do. If it’s classic or skate, I’m going to try to win each weekend.”

Newell kicked off the season with some good momentum, finishing 11th in a sprint in Kuusamo, but an unexpected slip as he was in the lead at the top of the race hill in Davos, Switzerland, pushed him back to 26th.

With World Championships coming over the horizon, Newell also says that part of his plan is to hit a stride that has him at his best for the title event - a competition he has spent his whole training period focusing on.

“My preparation for this season has been more focused than ever before. My coaches and I have tried to simplify our training a little bit to try and figure out what kind of intervals work best for me and how to peak best for World Champs,” Newell said. “That’s the main focus for the year - the sprint at World Champs.”

Backing up the World Cup Team in its pursuit of success is the Continental Cup Team, which features athletes Liz Stephen (East Montpelier, VT), who took the bronze medal at the U23 World Championships, marking her first international medal, and Garrott Kuzzy (Hayward, WI), who had back-to-back wins during the Madison, WI, SuperTour.

For now, however, the athletes plan to take it one day at a time as a Team.

“This is going to be an exciting year. I think our team has come a long way as a whole.” Randall said. “As well as my individual World Cup, I’m just excited for a year as a team because I think we’re going to have a lot of success on all levels. I’m just excited to be a part of it.”

With one of the fastest transfers from passport control to piste to be found anywhere in the world, Slovakia can claim another superlative, the fastest descent from pistes to pools, from frozen water to geothermal water.

Award winning AquaCity resort is welcoming skiers with a daily free bus transfer service to the High Tatras, allowing skiers to enjoy the slopes and return to bask in bubbling warm water in a choice of 14 geothermal pools and a spa center that includes saunas, inhalation rooms, massages and for those who can’t get enough of it, a real snow room.

A three night stay at AquaCity in January 2008 costs from £331 per person, including return Sky Europe flights from Luton, transfers, free entry to AquaCity’s geothermal waterpark and spa, free ski bus to the slopes and half board accommodation in the 3*

AquaCity Seasons Hotel. Europe Travel Services tel 0845 2703800 and www.aquacityresort.com

www.slovakia.travel

Naturidyll Hotels – Take a country break.pdfAustria was recently hailed as one of the world’s best destinations for sustainable tourism in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report. And the Austrian Institute for Sustainability hails the Naturidyll hotels as the pioneers of Europe with an “aristocratic” green sensibility.

Your holiday at a Naturidyll hotel starts in the morning with a culinary excursion: delicious cheese, milk or yoghurt - all regional products of very high quality. All breakfast buffets at Naturidyll hotels uniquely reflect their region and it is of utmost concern to all hoteliers to show the excellent culinary specialities of the region. Amidst spectacular lake or mountain scenery, Naturidyll hoteliers want you to feel at home, which is why the service is not only personal, it’s also lovingly attentive. Austria’s Naturidyll hotels are family- run and limited to a certain size.

Eco-conciousness, sustainability, the keeping of regional traditions and values, and the careful use of nature’s gifts are the virtues of all Naturidyll Hotels in Austria. Aside from the work of farmers, hunters and forest men, 70% of power comes from alternative energy and 60% of all waste is recycled.

Winter break at the Naturidyll Hotels
Winter in Austria is not only long and intense but also exciting, refreshing and offering more than its share of possible adventures as well as romantic and relaxing moments. When the Austrian countryside is covered by a white blanket of snow, time has come to get up, gear up and go out. There are abundant possibilities for every gender and age. Go fast or go slow, go up or down – you will enjoy whatever you do tremendously.

Naturidyll Feriengut Buasen*** Schneewalzer Package:

• 7 days/6 nights including half-board
• ski pass for the ski arena Wildkogel (www.wildkogelbahnen.at)
• 3 days (4 hours daily) skiing lessons for advanced skiers OR 5 days (2 hours daily) skiing lessons for beginners
• free use of wellness area
• 20 % reduction on equipment for hire
Available from: 10 - 31 January 2009, or 7 - 28 March 2009

Price: from EUR 549.50 (GBP 379.16) per person in a double

In a survey by the Post Office® comparing value for money in ski resorts throughout Europe and in the USA and Canada Slovakia’s ski resorts have been named as being among the best value in the world. The report found pricing in the High Tatras to be second only in value to the Romanian resort of Poiana Brasov, while the cost of ski lift passes and equipment hire was cited as exceptional value. The `cost of living’ in a ski resort, based on the price of a cup of coffee, glass of wine, bottle of beer and a 3 course meal for two again put Slovakia top of the table for value, second only to Borovets in Bulgaria.

The report says “Ski resorts in Eastern Europe – led by Romania and Slovakia – emerge as best value for UK skiers, according to new research into prices for winter 2008/09 by Post Office® Travel Services.

The Ski Resort Report investigated the costs of lift passes, equipment and private lessons together with meal and drinks prices in 14 ski destinations across Europe and North America – both for individuals and families.

Total costs of ski prices and basic commodities with 2007 position in brackets. Annual percentage cost movements given in brackets after prices:

1 (2) Romania (Poiana Brasov) £200.04 (+18%)
2 (new) Slovakia (High Tatras) £236.28 (n/a)
3 (1) Bulgaria (Borovets) £241.10 (+47%)
4 (5) Italy (La Thuile) £272.29 (+10%)
5 (new) Finland (Ylläs) £280.75 (n/a)
6 (3) Slovenia (Kranjska Gora) £281.06 (+26%)
7 (4) Germany (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) £289.97 (+19%)
8 (8) Norway (Geilo) £307.51 (-2%)
9 (7) Andorra (Soldeu) £318.80 (+16%)
10 (9) Austria (Obergurgl) £354.93 (+11%)
11 (6) France (Courchevel) £380.58 (+41%)
12 (10) Switzerland (Verbier) £395.81 (+21%)
13 (12) Canada (Banff) £431.83 (-6%)
14 (11) USA (Vail) £514.86 (+55%)

UK tour operator Mountain Paradise, in conjunction with renowned wildlife & landscape photographers Chris Weston & Chris Coe is introducing new photography workshop holidays to Slovakia’s High Tatras.

The 7 day landscape photography master class takes guests to the best, carefully chosen locations in the Tatry Mountain Park to find unspoilt landscapes, breathtaking mountain views, majestic waterfalls and hidden, emerald coloured lakes. 7 days of photographic indulgence with full board accommodation in Chalet 21, return flights from London Luton & Manchester to Kosice and 5 days of photography workshop, with prices from £945.00 per person. www.mountainparadise.co.uk

With fresh snow having fallen over Slovakia’s High and Low Tatras, coupled with investment in snow making and skiing infrastructure that now tops 33 million euros in just two years, Slovakia’s ski slopes in the High and Low Tatras are open for guests, with conditions reported to be good and all lifts now operating.

This season sees the resort of Tatranska Lomnica in the High Tatras re-open with 11 million euro face-lift in time for the 2008/9 ski season. The expansion includes the addition of a further 4.9kms of pistes, the creation of Slovakia’s longest piste at 6.5km, a new 4 seat chairlift, new snowmaking equipment, a new kids school and ski area, new ski rental facilities, night skiing and a new apres ski bar.

The close proximity of the slopes at both Jasna in the Low Tatras (Slovakia’s largest ski area) and the resorts in the High Tatras to Poprad international airport, just 2 hours flying time from the UK, gives skiers minimal transfer times of around 20 minutes to the High Tatras and just over an hour to the Low Tatras, making Slovakia one of the most viable ski weekend destinations in Europe, for British skiers.

www.jasna.sk www.aquacityresort.com www.vt.sk

Following its great success in 2008, “Kyoto Winter Special” is coming back this winter, with more special deals and events for you to enjoy. From 1st December 2008 until 31st March 2009 you’ll be able to experience traditional culture hands-on, and savour exceptional Kyoto cuisine.

In addition, special admission will be granted to normally restricted heritage sites, and there will be unique winter events and chances to receive special offers from world-famous hotels. With Kyoto Winter Special, the breathtaking beauty of winter in Kyoto awaits you!
Special Events Kyoto’s cherry blossoms and fall leaves are a sight to see, but Kyoto’s magical winter is something special. There will be various events showcasing winter.

Information on events from December to March are listed by month on the Kyoto Winter Special website. The main event during the Kyoto Winter Special is called “Hanatoro”. This event beautifies Kyoto’s nights, with elegant lanterns lighting up Kyoto’s famous spots. Adding a winter event into a visit to Kyoto is a great way to make your trip that extra bit memorable.

Special Openings
Only during Kyoto Winter Special 2009 - Hidden cultural heritage sites, normally not open to the public, will be open for viewing. Twelve spots will open their cultural heritages to the public for 9 weeks, from 10th January until 18th March 2009. All viewings are for culturally valuable items. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Kyoto’s culture.

Special Experiences
During Kyoto Winter Special 2009, not only can visitors experience various aspects of Japanese culture, they can also enjoy meeting Japanese people.
These include actual experiences of Japanese cooking, calligraphy, Zen meditation, and more. Though it is only for a portion of the activities, we have obtained the cooperation of certain private households in Kyoto City, which will provide unique services so that visitors can intimately experience Japanese culture.

For more information please visit www.kyotowinterspecial.com

New features provide online services and put ski holidaymakers directly in touch with holiday providers.

The Chalets Direct Solutions Room has recently had an upgrade to provide a better service for both holidaymakers and those providing the holidays. First launched in 1999, the Solutions Room is a bulletin board where people can state their requirements and Chalets Direct advertisers can come back to them with proposals and “solutions”. This feature is unique to Chalets Direct and has become popular amongst both skiers and snowboarders, trying to organise their holidays, and with ski holiday companies with available beds to sell.

The Solutions Room allows people to post up their requirements and to let the solutions come back to them. Their ski holiday can be tailor-made to suit their needs.

The visitor has to fill in a simple form to post his or her request, which asks for key details such as dates required and number of beds. Once the request has been posted it is then sent to the owners/operators of matching properties in the extensive Chalets Direct database. The owners can then respond to the request in the Solutions Room. With the improved matching process skiers can get better, more targeted responses to their requests.

Launched earlier this month the new Solutions Room has shown that there is a still a lot of demand for ski holidays, with the number of requests growing each day.

Replies will usually be posted within the hour, and someone searching for a holiday will have several propositions to look through.

The Solutions Room is part of the Chalets Direct Interactive area which also features a reviews area, and the Ski Blog.

There are also other ways to find ski holiday accommodation, including chalets, apartments and hotels using the Chalets Direct search or the Promotions area.

The whoosh of skis on crisp white snow, bright blue skies and the promise of après ski lured almost 1.25 million Britons to the slopes last year. With many planning to do the same this winter, the USA and Canada will be among the most popular destinations for the avid skier. For more time on the piste and less spent sorting out and queuing for car rental, skiers should go to Alamo.co.uk for the best rates at the widest range of top ski resorts.

Whether it’s a week in Whistler or moonlight in Vermont, Alamo has a car to suit every need with rates from just £21 per day.

 And there’s no need to worry about space for luggage or ski racks: travellers can simply book it all in advance and prepay for a full tank of fuel to ensure they’re on the road without delay.

With over 274 locations in the USA and Canada, Alamo is the perfect travelling companion for holidaymakers heading to the slopes this winter.

Alamo’s fully inclusive prices mean travellers can budget easily and know exactly how much they have left for ski passes and those holiday extras.

Amy Dorrington, Alamo Marketing Director comments, “Anyone heading to the snowy peaks of the US and Canada this winter can save themselves a lot of hassle by booking with Alamo at www.alamo.co.uk/winter.

 And by taking advantage of Alamo Gold, skiers get additional drivers and a full tank of petrol included.

This is a real time saver when it comes to getting to the airport and offers peace of mind when driving in wintry conditions. Alamo caters to the needs of every traveller, helping them enjoy their holiday on and off-piste.”

-ENDS-