Skiing

<h1>SKIING  </h1>

Skiing is one of my great passions, coming third on my list only behind family and football. Over recent years I have been lucky enough to have two ski trips a year, one with my family, and the other with my friend Jules - both trips are very different, but equal in pleasure providing endless memories. With skiing its not just the feeling of deep powder snow, or the joy on my children's faces as they cruise down the slopes, it is also about the beauty and enormity of the mountain landscape along with moments of solitude.  In terms of where to ski the biggest piece of advice that I have is altitude - while holiday magazines always show villages covered in a blanket of snow, this is not always the case. Lower alpine resorts are much more susceptible to rain and lower runs being closed, whereas if it is raining down low it is probably snowing in the higher resorts. Should you go to Europe or North America? In general Europe has more variety and better scenery, whereas North America generally gets more snow. So if you like your powder snow and off-piste then North America is often a good bet, but if you are generally a piste skier then there is perhaps not a lot to gain by leaving Europe, especially considering the price of many lift tickets on the other side of the pond. Of course there are other options such as Japan where they have some of the snowiest resorts in the world, but vertical heights tend to be much less and the expense greater - however, Japan is on my ski bucket list. One other piece of advice - please wear a helmet, if not for yourself then for the sake of your children. Many head injuries come as a result of something out of your control eg from a collision with another skier/snowboarder - how would your children feel if you sustained a serious head injury simply because you were not wearing a helmet? One of the most essential pieces of ski equipment is of course the GoPro - over the last few years Jules and I have started to film our ski trips, and as you will see from our videos below such technology enables you to capture your memorable moments like never before. Please see the bottom of this page for disclaimers on the music used in these ski videos and also with regards to off-piste skiing.

<h4>Into the Storm - Austria 2019 </h4>In early 2019 record snowfall hit southern Germany and Austria with as much as ten feet falling in just 15 days in some areas, and snowdrifts as deep as 19 feet reported in places. Some of the higher ski resorts were shut, but it was not only at altitude where the conditions were extraordinary, the deep snow also fell in the valleys, more than 41,000 people were cut off from the outside world in the Austrian region of Salzburg alone. The conditions resulted from the Jet Stream remaining in a relatively fixed position pushing weather fronts up over the UK and down, along with polar air, across Scandinavia and in to the north and eastern Alps. Being aware of the conditions we made the unusual choice of booking in to a low resort that we knew we could access. By the time we arrived the region had already received an incredible amount of snow and over the next 7 days a further 6 feet of snow was to fall. By the Tuesday, when the sun came out, the locals informed us that they had received snow for 17 consecutive days.

<h4>Somewhere in Switzerland</h4>

The Alpine winter of 2017-18 was big with some seriously large snowfalls, so our trip to Switzerland did not disappoint. I don't keep many secrets but it is not often that one comes across a European resort that is both great for tree skiing (by which I mean skiing through the trees) and also away from the crowds .... so this trip was to a secret location. Music credits: Muse - Nights of Cydonia, Foo Fighters - Long Way to Ruin, Imagine Dragons - Radioactive.

Switerland960 from Tim Cunliffe on Vimeo.

<h4>Val d'Isere (and Tignes) - the French Alps</h4>

Val d'Isere is one of the world's best resorts for experts who are attracted by the extent of lift-served off-piste, and also for confident mileage-hungry intermediates - linked with the resort of Tignes there are over 300km of pistes. Found at the end of the Tarentaise valley, Val d'Isère is two and a quarter hours from Geneva airport and one and a half from Chambéry. The area has a very good snow record - the village stands at a respectable 1,850m, with top slopes at an altitude of nearly 3,400m, beneath the summit of the Pointe du Montet. The top lift in Tignes is on the Grande Motte and reaches 3,456m. Music credits: Blur - Song 2, Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes, Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Venice Queen, DJ Rap - Good To Be Alive, U2 - Out Of Control (refer to bottom of page for disclaimers).

<h4>Chamonix and the surrounding villages - the French Alps</h4>

Chamonix is famous worldwide for its off-piste skiing including the Vallée Blanche - an off-piste ski route 20km long with a vertical descent of 2700m. It is the sort of place that is on many skiers bucket list, but it is certainly not for everyone. Chamonix could not be more different from the archetypal high-altitude, purpose-built French resort, however, what this means is that there are several separate mountains, widely separated; which are often bad for mixed abilities, and the transport in between these areas is not great.  During our trip to the Chamonix area it snowed heavily, we purposefully booked here only a few days before having seen the forecast, we are after all powder hounds :-) ... of course with heavy snow many of the higher lifts were shut but this gave us the opportunity to explore some of the lower lying resorts in the region, which were much quieter, and with cold temperatures meant that the great snow conditions lasted longer.    Music credits: Biffy Clyro - I Am The Mountain, Stone Roses - I Am The Resurrection,  Major Lazer - Light It Up, Kygo - ID (refer to bottom of page for disclaimers).

<h4>The Dolomites - Italy</h4>

The Dolomites are probably the most beautiful place in the world to ski. On top of that are lower prices, great food and a fabulous ambience. And if that is not enough the Dolomiti Superski lift pass covers 12 ski areas and a mighty 1,220km of pistes linked by 450 lifts, plus the occasional bus ride. Included on this pass is the famous Sella Ronda – a circular network of lifts and pistes around the Gruppo del Sella, a majestic limestone massif, taking in a host of resorts. In terms of the negatives - the lift system is very drawn out with few focal points for a group to meet up. Many of the pistes are shorter and there is not a lot of difficult piste skiing for the more advanced skiers. In addition the Dolomites tend to get less snow then other Alpine areas, however, they do have extensive snow-making equipment. During our visit we stayed in Arabba, a lovely village that provides good access to the pistes, and at 1602m is one of the higher resorts in the area. Although the Dolomites are not known for their extensive off-piste skiing, as you will see from the end of the video we found a truly magical area, which probably beats any off-piste we have done before.  Music credits: The Black Keys - Lonely Boy, Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man, unknown artist (refer to bottom of page for disclaimers).

<h4>Whistler-Blackcomb - Canada</h4>

Year after year Whistler-Blackcomb gets voted North America's number one ski resort. What it is famous for is its size (big in terms of North American resorts), the amount of powder snow it gets and its many gladed (woodland) runs. However, you need to pick your time to go to Whistler, and it is not for everyone. The resort is not far from the coast and is relatively low lying (670-2284m) - so expect a lot of cloudy days (we once heard a couple putting in an actual complaint to there ski representative that they only had one day of sun!), it can rain a lot in the village, and if you are unlucky sometimes a lot higher. So in short - if you like lots of powder snow and tree-skiing then if you hit the right weather it is arguably the best place on earth to ski, but if the weather is mild or you are more of a piste skier then it is probably advisable to stay away, and save some money - yes Whistler is not cheap.  The video shown was filmed in the days before we had a GoPro so as you will see the quality is not as good when compared to our other videos. Music credits: Kasabian - Fire, Oasis - Headshrinker (refer to bottom of page for disclaimers).

Disclaimer <ul><li>The purpose of the music used in these videos is not for profit. Instead the music is used to enhance the website that in turn will help educate more people about the environment</li></ul> <ul><li>The videos show a lot of off-piste skiing. If you decide to ski off-piste please make sure that you have the following: - Received proper instruction on off-piste skiing - An understanding of the local terrain, snow pack and weather conditions - Appropriate equipment - At least one other person to ski with, and ideally a guide. Never ski alone or loose sight of other members of your group - Appropriate insurance</li></ul>