The Olympics Win Gold In My Book

With the Vancouver Olympics now over, Cody sums up his views from his first hand experience…

There have been a couple of times over the last couple of weeks where I’ve been a little ashamed of my British routes. I remember overhearing (read: eaves-dropping on) some guys in a bar talking about how another article had been written that just ripped the Olympics apart, and they finished that conversation with: “…. and guess who wrote the article? The British (of course).”

night lights

The Olympics received a lot of bad press from the British, and it’s a bit confusing because, to me, criticising these Olympics is like criticising Elmo. Who could do that?! In reality they’ve been absolutely in…..sane.  I’m gonna go and throw modesty to the wind and tell all the doubters that I should know because I’m here! The Olympic buzz in Whistler never came to rest. Every night different artists played a gig at the bottom of the mountain and the medal ceremonies, to massive crowds that were living off the pure excitement of the games. The Swiss practically took over the village, and every time they won gold they marched down the street ringing those frickin cowbells. The different events all told their own stories, from Shaun White achieving legendary status in the half pipe to Canada taking down the USA in the ice hockey final, completing their revenge. I was even fortunate enough to attend the ski jumping and one of the ice hockey games (Canada vs Switzerland baby) as well as skiing to the side of the Dave Murray downhill and watching all the speed skiing. Being here in the flesh at such a historic moment is one of the greatest things I’ve ever done and I’ve loved every moment. Canada were excellent hosts, and I would advise anyone who’s read otherwise to listen to me instead. It’s just a media angle. GO CANADA GO!

me and my academy colleagues ready to win gold!

Well this was more of a cranky rant than a blog on this occasion but I think Vancouver should get the credit they deserve for pulling out all the stops and hosting an amazing Winter games. In addition I once again have no higher praise for Alltracks Academy, in this instance for providing me with the time to enjoy both the Olympics and my skiing equally.

crowds enjoying the atmosphere

The best off piste skiing in France?

 Tim shares the secrets on the best off piste skiing in France…

Mention the words off piste, backcountry or freeride and the French resorts that spring to mind are probably the likes of Chamonix, Val d’Isère, St. Foy, la Grave to name a few. It’s unlikely that high on the average list would be the family friendly resort of La Plagne. More well known for its extensive beginner and intermediate terrain, few are aware of the joys that lie outside the marked runs.

La Plagne - a resort for beginners and intermediates?

Perhaps what makes la Plagne so great after a fresh dump is the very fact that most people are slow to leave the designated pistes, even for just a little play in the powder that beckons only a few metres away.

Fresh tracks on the Friolin Bowl

The terrain that awaits them if they do is extensive and rivals many of the aforementioned big guns. I have to mention at this point that those wishing to discover it should do so with the correct equipment and a professional guide. Other contributing factors include the management’s reluctance to open the higher lifts straight after fresh snow. This might seem like a disadvantage, but it means the powder hungry can make the most of the lower sections and have a second powder day awaiting (if their legs can take it) once the full area opens.

Powpow...

I remember a few years back, on a day trip to Chamonix, being shocked by what I saw in the lift line. Over half the waiting crowd had helmets on and a significant portion were equipped with harnesses, ice screws, ropes etc. All very sensible for an area with so much glacial terrain, but also an indicator of just how quickly any easy fresh tracks will be obliterated and how quickly the ante will be raised if you want to go in search of more.

A freeride Mecca is always full of other eager freeriders and there was much excitement in the valley that day about what turned out to be only 5-10cms of very light snow over an unforgivingly rocky base. I was cautious about damaging my equipment and was surprised to see a small crowd of people huddled round a guy who appeared to be about to drop into a tight couloir with dubious snow cover. As he leaned forward from his perch I was about to shout “’ere mate, you’re still roped to the barrier”, when I realised that there was a photographer climbing up his back trying to get a good shot with the logo on his hat and his ski tips pointing into the void. I left the tourists to find out for themselves that he had no intention of skiing it.

On my first day skiing la Plagne many years ago, I took the gondola up to the glacier only to be greeted by a mogul-filled black run, or a rickety old chair lift to a narrow, snaking red cat track. Not very inspired on first impressions until you realise that these lifts give access to some wonderful off piste itineraries including the Friolin bowl, the Rochu sector, the Cul du Nante and not least the north face of Bellecote. A mythical descent off the back of our highest peak, descending all the way to the nordic ski area of Peisey Nancroix. Not a piste marker in sight for the whole route and entrance points varying from a simple traverse to 45 degree couloirs that you have to rope into.

WHEN THE WEATHER SETS IN THERE IS STILL PLENTY TO DO, WITH SOME EXCELLENT TREE SKIING, WHERE YOU CAN SPEND A WHOLE DAY (OR EVEN A WHOLE WEEK) AND NEVER DO THE SAME ROUTE TWICE.

Powder in the trees

I COULD GO ON, BUT THERE ARE NEW ITINERARIES CALLING, THAT EVEN I HAVEN’T SKIIED AFTER 2 SEASONS, SO ALL THAT REMAINS TO SAY IS GET OUT HERE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF. ACTUALLY, COME TO THINK OF IT, I HEARD CHAMONIX IS PRETTY GOOD… YOU SHOULD PROBABLY GO THERE INSTEAD.

Discovering the snow parks of Espace Killy…

Hannah is continuing to conquer the slopes of Val d’Isere and Tignes on her ski season and discovers the snow parks…

After weeks of bad weather and white outs, Val d’Isere is finally getting its share of sunny days including blazing temperatures of -4 degrees! So with less bad weather comes the scary prospect of checking out the snow parks. Yes, very daunting to ski towards a massive ramp and not know what’s behind it, especially when there always seems to be someone watching – oh well, got to start somewhere. And then there’s actually landing the jump and not leaning back too far so you don’t fall flat on your backside (can you tell that I’m well practised at  falling over yet?!). But that’s no problem now when visiting the snow park at the top of Val Claret in Tignes due to the most amazing invention ever! Yes, I’m slightly obsessed by the air bag at the bottom of one of the red jumps – amazing!

Shame I'm just about to stack it!

Difficult to hurt yourself (not impossible!) and a nice comfy landing means you can pretty much try anything you want; I’m very much tempted to try some back flips next time I go out! Although there is one downside which is the queues that build up, so I would defiantly recommend having a go in the morning rather than afternoon. The Tignes park feels like more of a run so I prefer it but the Val park also has some great jumps and is worth a visit. So in short if you feel like trying your hand at some amateur hot dogging then I would definitely suggest trying some jumps and tricks here on a Espace Killy ski holiday…

Half way there… a season in Val Thorens!

I’m sat in The Frog and Roastbeef Val Thorens in the 3 Valleys during apres ski and enjoying a fabulous hot chocolate with brandy and whippy cream. Mmm mm mmm! Nothing like a strong tasty wee number to warm the cockles after a chilly day on the mountain!
It’s been a rather unusual season so far. Cold, cold, cold weather with regular snow falls. Whoever believed all the hype about global warming? – I’m into my 21st season and I don’t think I’ve ever felt it colder on the hill! That’s been the fantastic news this season for all us snow lovers. You don’t have to go to Canada to find yourself some of the most fantastic snow conditions on the planet. On piste there’s groomed runs with soft perfect snow, whilst off piste there’s lots of the light white fluffy stuff to roll around in!
Normally by this time of the year we’ve had some seriously hot days and that makes the snow melt. When it becomes cold again, we’re left with solid hard icy pistes. Not so much fun unless you have Bode Miller tuned race skis on and you know how to handle them!
The added bonus this year is the fact that with the recession came a dip in the holiday market, and it means great deals to be had in some of the best resorts in the world and really quiet pistes for us to charge around. Even this week as the February holidays kick in, there’s hardly a lift queue in sight.

Simon at the Frog's Karaoke fundraiser!

It’s my first season in Val Thorens so I’m not sure how things normally are here, but this season just keeps getting better and better! Regular snow falls, followed by amazing blue sky days, followed by ripping the turn down to the new apres ski hotspot to hit the mountains – Le Follie Douce! It’s the same recipe as the one in Val d’Isere that’s been pumping out loud tunes with brilliant musicians and entertainers for years. Our new party place has all the same ingredients but with a bit extra thrown in at every turn. The terrace is brand spanking new and the inside has been extended and totally refurbished. Add to that a high quality state ot the art stereo system and you have yourself a noise that’s almost capable of starting an avalanche – Whoop whoop whoop!

The night life here is as good as it gets in France with bars and clubs everywhere. Once you come off the mountain from a hard day on the slopes and a couple of drinks at the Follie Douce,  you ski straight into the Frog and Roastbeef to a warm welcome from the English staff who work there. You can chat about your days entertainment up the hill whilst watching any of the top sporting events on the big screens they have on every wall. If you decide not to return back to your apartment you can stay and taste some of the best burgers ever made. I truly believe that if the boys at the Frog ever wanted to open a world wide global burger establishment, they’d absolutely wipe the floor with the competition! I find myself eating there almost every evening!
If you fancy a more rocking atmosphere après ski then there are several bars including The Tango, Sneskos or The Saloon that have live music on most days of the week. I tend to avoid these places however as the years haven’t been kind to me and as I’m now knocking on the door of the big four zero, I’m becoming more of a Victor Meldrew than a hard core party animal!

I’m actually considering buying a ski property in the mountains at the moment because with the dip in the English market for purchasing apartments has come a massive drop in prices. This more than compensates for the poor strength of the pound to the euro with a good property now available from between 70-100,000 euros (or even less if you want a shoe box!). I’m actually considering building a property empire out here just now and retiring to a life of fresh mountain air within a stress free environment which is a million miles away form life back home! What makes this prospect even more appealing are companies like CMS Maintenance who are based in the Belleville Valley. It’s taken a long time to happen, but these guys are all English tradesmen who can carry out every aspect of any renovation works or re-decorations to an extremely high standard and will be totally reliable and cost effective too. Add to that no language barrier and therefore no communication issues and you can see why the CMS boys are doing really really well for themselves. I’ll be booking them for my first project!

The skiing in this area is absolutely awesome as anyone who’s been out to the 3 Valleys will testify to, but when that’s combined with perfect snow conditions and a good number of blue sky days, you’re guaranteed to return home from your holiday with a smile on your face that’ll be difficult to remove for some time to come!

Top tips to get the most out your ski holiday to Les Arcs

With half term now in full swing and lots of our clients already out for their ski holiday to Les Arcs, Louise shares some valuable tips and seasonnaire secrets for the best way to enjoy the slopes!

• The morning sun shines on the runs of Villaroger and the Col de la Chal area of Arc 2000, so, on a sunny day, head to these areas first to enjoy the warmth of the sun and first tracks bathed in sunlight.
• If the clouds close in and the visibility is poor, head for the trees.   The fantastic tree lined runs of Vallandry are well protected from the elements and the trees provide a great contrast in flat light.
• To avoid the queues in the busy weeks, ski through lunchtime (12-2pm).   You will almost have the runs to yourselves, even on the busiest of weeks and you avoid overcrowded restaurants.
• Avoid the ski school start times (9am and 2.30pm in February) on the lifts out of the villages.  Villards in Arc 1800 rarely has queues and is right next to the very popular Transarc.
• Try and include a Saturday in your ski holiday to enjoy empty runs.
• There are free lifts in all of the resorts on a Saturday and Sunday.   They are:  Pierre Blanche in Arc 1600,  Chantel  in Arc 1800 and St Jacques in Arc 2000.  These are great for beginners or to get a few runs in on your first day without spending out on a full day pass.  Beginners can continue to use these lifts after the weekend with a points card.  Each trip will cost 1 point at 3.50€ a point.  Cards can be bought with 1, 5, 10 points for use on any day in your holiday.
• If any lifts have to close in poor weather (usually those giving access to the other side of the mountain), use the buses.  There is a free bus service running every 20 minutes between the resorts giving you easy access to the whole mountain wherever you are staying.  Often it will be completely different weather on the other side of the mountain and you can still access sheltered tree runs even if the linking lifts are closed.

First hand account of the Olympics – is the negative hype to be believed?

Joanna, our CEO at Erna Low, is at the Vancouver Olympics and full of praise despite the negative publicity…

Waking up today to 10 cm of snow and perfect sunshine looking out over Whistler Creek from my cosy condo as The First Tracks Lodge, what better start to a day can you have?  Excitement was building at the sheer thought that we were going to be watchng the ladies’ downhill in just an hour and a half – and the whole resort was buzzing!   Sitting on a chairlift on the way up  Whistler mountain the snow was positively glistening and we were regailed with stories of bears hibernating – Ben  Ayling, our very own ErnaLowian turned Whistler-owian – spending his winters out in Whistler and summers in New Zealand – was taking us to a secret spot where only a handful of skiers could take advantage of a perfect view of the starting podium to the Women’s Downhill – where we would catch a glimpse of Britain’s own Chemmy Alcott competing against the best athletes in the world.   Leaping out of her hut – second out of 38 skiers down the treacherous slope, she managed a very admirable 13th spot – and just 2.5 seconds behind the American winner!  

Starting gate for the Women's downhill - C'MON CHEMMY!

As I watched the incredible prowess of the female athletes, it struck me again how brilliantly the Canadians have organized the whole event – and I could not stop myself feel more than slightly cross at the negative publicity coming out of the UK about the Olympics – as if some of the journalists had set their story before they had even written it.  Although the death last Friday on the luge was tragic and terrible, one feels that this has fuelled ALL the news to be negative – but if you are actually here on the spot, you experience a Canadian efficiency and hospitality second to none!

Me and my sons enjoying the privileged view

After having watched the downhill, we then spent the whole day floating through powder – silk under your feet, and views to die for!  We were so privileged:  there could have been no more than 500 skiers on Whistler mountain – normally 23,000!   And having explored the nooks and crannies of Whistler, we ended up on Blackcomb – connected by the incredible Peak to Peak gondola – and staring over mountain ranges that stretch up to Alaska ….

Finishing the day on the champagne powder

I’m finally a ski instructor!!!

Cody qualifies on his ski instructor course in Canada!!

So I’m in a bar, I’m talking to a girl, she asks about what I do, and I reply “welllll I just happen to be a qualified ski instructor and I do a lot of private lessons (hinty hinty hint)”. Now I feel less guilty when I say that since it’s actually true! I think that was the motivation that drove me through the draining exam process over the last week.
Over four days we were assessed on both our skiing and teaching ability. For the first two we were assessed purely on our skiing and for the second two our teaching.  The night before the first day I could barely sleep through the nerves, and the long trip up the Whistler gondola was a tense one. For me that is. Most people were pretty chilled, but I naturally get nervous about these things, but after my first run I was absolutely fine. Skiing does that for me; it calms me and gives me a “what the heck?” attitude. From then on I just let my skiing do the talking, or at least until Wednesday when it became a matter of teaching. Then my nerves came back…. teaching is a whole new ballgame. You could be the best skier in the world and still fail on your teaching. I even remember listening to “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley the night before to calm me down. I’d done a lot of practise teaching before this, but when you have to do it for real the pressure starts to come down on you.

Me as a fully fledged ski instructor

In the end I taught a good lesson though, without being interrupted by the examiner, a huge relief, since he would only do so if you slipped up. On Thursday, we finished at midday, and I retired to my flat (an excellent piece of ski property) before heading back into town to get my results at 3.30pm. Waiting for the envelope that held my fate seemed even more important than waiting for my A-level results, and I wasn’t disappointed by what I saw inside. A strong pass, and that night everyone within Alltracks Academy went out to celebrate and got absolutely car-parked (drunk).  Sadly I can’t really describe that (I think there was a club………I know there was alcohol).
Now I’m living the dream, I remember sitting at home planning this almost three years ago, and for it to have finally happened is the most rewarding feeling I’ve ever had (forget school). Now I have a new qualification, a new achievement and a new chat-up line.

The inside scoop on the runs in the Espace Killy

Hannah, our resident seasonnaire in Val d’Isere working in a Ski World chalet gives us the low down on the best slopes…

After working and living in Val d’Isere for about 3 months, these are my favourite runs as well as some of the worst that I would suggest avoiding simply because they’re pretty nasty. But bear in mind conditions will change over the next few months. Fistly, AVOID ‘epaule du charvet’ which is a black run which goes down into central Val d’Isere from the bottom of the ‘Datcha’ lift – it is essentially a short steep run covered in moguls. Only a few days ago I managed to get some spectacular scratches on my back after sliding down half the run and not being able to stop myself until I hit the powder at the bottom! There is also a lovely blue run that runs down the side called the ‘Santons’ so I can’t understand why you’d want to do this run anyway. Another run with nasty moguls is at the bottom of the ‘Trifolet’ which runs into La Daille – Last time I went past the entrance, it was closed but the bottom is accessible from a bit of off-piste. On a brighter note, some of favourite runs include the ‘Germain Mattis’ which is icy at the top but a great tree run which runs into ‘Le Laisinant’.

Stunning view from the top of Toviers at 2704m

 If you fancy pisted runs with little ice then I’d suggest the runs in Tignes Le Lac, especially up the Palafour lift. And also you have the added benefit of the sun which tends to prefer Tignes rather than Val D’isere. Another good lengthy run is the ‘Double M’ run which comes in Val Claret from the top of the Lanches lift. It can get a bit icy and is in the shade but it’s pretty wide and I wouldn’t consider it a red run but more of a hard blue run since it has a bit of steep bit at the beginning. If you want some nice easy skiing, or are a beginner, then I would suggest up the Solaise lift in Val d’Isere which is where I learnt to ski on the ‘Madeline’ slope. The lift also goes down as well as up so you don’t even have to do the red or black runs down afterwards. Yes, it’s pretty bad that after being here so long that I haven’t completed the Espace Killy map yet; so I still have to explore la Grande Motte, the glacier and Tignes les Brevieres. So I shall have to update when I get round to completing those runs. I’ve also heard that a really good day of skiing consists of going from one side of the map to the other by starting in La Fornet ending in Tignes les Brevieres. This is all very subjective and there are still loads of great runs which I haven’t described, but you’ll have a great ski holiday in Val d’Isere just by trying to cover as much ground as possible and not sticking to the same runs since there is so much to explore.

Don’t let the language barrier ruin your trip!

Vanessa, one of our friends at learning holiday company GoLearnTo, shares some valuable basics on coping with the language barrier on a ski holiday.

I was a latecomer to ski holidays and I was 25 before I hit the slopes. My first trip to Soll in Austria saw me on skis but all that snow ploughing didn’t really do it for me so the next year, I switched to snowboarding. Despite the bruises and hours spent sitting in wet snow, I was hooked. 

My first boarding experience was in Whistler, Canada where they speak the same language so it was easy to make myself understood shouting, “sorry, I’m still learning” as I careered down the slopes not having mastered the ability to turn or slow down without catching my edge.

A year passed and I headed to France where on my first day finding my boarding legs, I found myself needing to shout ‘sorry I’m still learning’ as I careered across the slope at high speed picking up a small child on the way, I’m not quite sure how it happened, I was trying to avoid a nasty accident and the only way to get him out of the way was to pick him up at high speed.  Picture this, a small French child in tears, two angry parents and an out of control beginner snowboarder crying ‘sorry I’m still learning’. If that’s not enough to encourage you to learn French to explain why I took off with their child and to beg forgiveness I don’t know what is.  

So with a weekend in the Sierra Nevada mountains planned and a week in Zell Am See, I thought it best to learn Spanish and learn German so I could make myself understood lest another ‘French accident’ occurred.

So here’s my guide to saying that all important phrase ‘Sorry I’m still learning’ in French, Spanish and German (I’ve added Italian as although now, after a lot of lessons I‘m much more in control I’m off there next month and you never know!)

French: Pardon, j’apprends/je suis debutant(e)

Italian: Mi scusi, sto ancora imparando!

German: Entschuldigung, ich lerne noch!

Spanish: Lo siento, aun estoy aprendiendo!

And in case you were worried, the small French child was unharmed and forgave me, the parents on the other hand…

Own a home in the snow! New properties for sale in Arc 1800

We are all very excited that sister company, Erna Low Property, has launched brand new apartments for sale at EdenArc 1800, one of our favourite resorts. Located just above the MGM residence, the 4 * development will consist of 252 apartments ranging from one to four bedrooms each. The prices start at 189,000euros for the one bedroom and the apartments can be brought on the French leaseback scheme thus allowing purchasers to waiver the VAT – a significant sum at 19.6% in France. The larger apartments (the 3 or 4 beds) can also be bought on the classical purchase which means it can be used as much as you like but you will pay the VAT for that privilege!
Les Arcs is a hugely popular destination, and since a link to neighbouring La Plagne was made in 2004, the resort and combined area of Paradiski, has gone from strength to strength.  With Arc 1800 property for sale in short supply, it’s fantastic news for those wanting to take their passion for the Alps to the next stage…

Interested in hearing more? The ski property for sale specialists can be reached on +44 (0) 207 590 1624 or property@ernalow.co.uk

EdenArc - the new development in Arc1800