Family life in Les Arcs…

Louise, the Erna Low rep in Les Arcs, updates us on the conditions in resort…We’ve had a mixed week of weather but the sun was shining today so this morning we put on our snow boots and headed out for a mountain walk.  There are some lovely trails running from Arc 1800 to Peisey Vallandry, gently undulating through the woods, opening up at a clearing called Barmont, where there is a little hamlet and then on down to the bottom of the piste and the bars, restaurants and shops of Vallandry.  

Louise making her ways through the woodland runs of Les Arcs

 There is no need for snow shoes as the trails are well packed however, for a bit more adventure and to really get out into the wilderness, you can rent them at one of the Skiset shops in les Arcs for just a few Euros and get off the beaten track.  The ski schools also offer guided snow shoe walks which is a great idea as the guide can point out and name the various wildlife tracks and also mountains in the views around you.   The variety of walking trails and also amount of lifts available to pedestrians makes Les Arcs is a fantastic destination not only for people looking for a great ski holiday but those who don’t ski (like my Dad!)

Skating pro Luka!

I’m getting a pair of custom made ski boots!

Jane, managing director of Erna Low ski holidays, goes through the process of having ski boots custom made…

I was so excited when I was offered the opportunity to have some custom fitted ski boots that I jumped at the chance. It never occurred to me that the Daleboot fitting process would take two trips to the shop, that the boot shell would be sent to Kitzbuhel to be stretched and the moulding process would be “very uncomfortable”. Happily this discomfort was only the same as after about half an hour in my current boots.  I also found out that some of my bad skiing habits that I had put down to laziness were in fact all the fault of badly fitting ten year old boots!

Two hours worth of fitting is hard with a wee one in tow!

So now I am the owner of a brand new pair of Daleboots, I have no excuse for sloppy skiing and I am looking forward to my next ski holiday to Morzine in March even more than I usually would. A word of warning though. I would not necessarily recommend going through this process with a 15 month baby in tow. Many thanks to James at Outdoor Traders of Abingdon for allowing Emily to completely rearrange/destroy his entire shop.

Emily meets the Daleboots

You want to know my favourite thing about Whistler?

Cody is safely installed in his season in Whistler, here’s how he is getting on…

A ski season in Whistler with Alltracks Academy is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. With most of my 15 years of ski experience having been spent on ski holidays in Les Arcs , my goal has always been to do a season at Whistler.  A key ingredient to the success of such a commitment is often the people you live with. I mean, it would really be unbearable if you were rooming with a terrorist or living next to the Hitlers. As it turns out though, I got lucky and I’m now living with a really cool bunch of people, 5 guys and one girl (God be with her).

The crew chilling in Whistler (that's me! second from left)

 Coincidentally, our condo happens to be a first class piece of ski property, into which our self-described family has settled rather happily. Everyone we talk to soon understands that the members in our condo actually resemble a real family. There’s Mike, Sam and myself who are all the youngest at 19, who kind of get treated as the children. Then there’s Neil, a laidback and wise father figure whom we all call Dad. There’s also a blonde Australian (the only one of us not from the UK) called Liv whom we dubbed Mum, mainly because none of us fulfil the gender requirements to be called it ourselves. Then there are two guys called Ted and Adam who resemble fun uncles, in the way that they are so tight and always bring the entertainment. Our family’s even reached the stage of nicknames; Sam has unwittingly become Samwise from the Lord of the Rings, which of course abbreviates to “The Hobbit”. I have been renamed Chip Hazard, Chip for short, because I look like some guy from a franchise called “Small Soldiers”, have you heard of it? I hadn’t, so I looked him up, and I have to say that I see no resemblance. There are countless inside jokes, and it just goes to show the bonds we’ve created within the house. Knowing that they have my back and that I have theirs is a blessing. If I get into some trouble at a club, I know that one of them will step in and help me out. This is pretty handy because I’ve never really been able to inspire fear in other people’s hearts. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t change a thing about my house or the people inside it. The annual French ski holidays seem a pleasant family memory for now. I love them, but they don’t offer the same life-changing chance of meeting new exciting people. The resort itself is another whole new experience. Whilst my times in France have been great, Whistler ski holidays offer something different, in both terrain and people, and this is why these moments are becoming the happiest of my life.

Get the most out of your ski pass and discover other Alpine resorts

Taking advantage of the quiet January weeks, Tim Wilson, our rep in La Plagne heads over the 3 Valleys with a friend for the day…

With our Paradiski season passes we get 2 free days in the Three Valleys (Courchevel, Meribel, Val Thorens) and two in the Espace Killy (Val d’Isère/Tignes). There is a reciprocal arrangement between these three domains allowing people with a six day full area pass to use one of those days in another domain. Just ask the lift pass office for a special card which will then be stamped when you get your day pass in the other area.

We set off at 8am from la Plagne and got to Brides les Bains within 45 minutes, only a short drive up the Bozel Valley from Moutiers.

Me at top of Orelle overlooking Maurienne valley

The Olympe gondola from Brides les Bains gets you to to Meribel in about 30 minutes, from where we headed for Val Thorens. Having worked seasons in VT a while back, we both had our favourite spots to aim for. The “Boismint” red piste off the top of the chair with the same name had perfectly groomed snow, leaving our legs burning by the bottom.

Another old friend was the “Tete Ronde” from the top of the Funitel Peclet which used to be a red run but is now designated a blue.

As one of the highest ski areas in the Alps, Val Thorens is blessed with very good snow quality, but we had to keep one eye on the clock and start making our way back to the Meribel Valley in good time.

Stunning panoramic views from the top of Val Thorens

On our way up the Plein Sud chair we saw the new Folie Douce mountain restaurant just getting into gear with a house DJ and live musicians accompanying. The legendary Val D concept has found a welcoming crowd in Val T!

It seemed a shame to leave behind such a great party vibe, but the last gondola down is at 5pm so we made the most of the final descent with a beautiful late afternoon light over the mountains.

Quiet slopes on the way back down to Mottaret

Going, going, gone… Olympic ski fever comes to Christies!

What a great night it was! Celebrities, ski athletes, high bidders and of course the lovely ladies from Erna Low all came together last night at Christies Auction House to support and raise precious funds for the British Olympic Alpine Ski and Snowboard Teams heading to Vancouver next month full of Olympic dreams of gold medals for Great Britain.

Pommery champagne with a straw - still debating if it is a good idea!

As sponsors of a ski holiday to France, Erna Low joined the 200 strong group of attendees to support the teams at the thrilling auction which raised a whopping £18,000 for the team and included driving days, spa treatment, numerous ski holidays, ski equipment, magazine subscriptions and even an amazing luxury chalet holiday with Consensio Holidays to Meribel worth up to £15,000 !… Francois from the Erna Low Property office even took home the Fischer skis which should make him happier (and save some time) on his next trip to the Scottish slopes!! Read about his fateful weekend break here.

Ski holidays, spa days, ski equipment were all up for grabs at the fundraising auction

The evening took place at Christies in South Kensington, London so just over the road from the Erna Low office. The gallery was beautifully decorated with the vintage ski posters on view ahead of the vintage ski poster sale tomorrow (21st January) at 1pm. Those of you who know our ski holiday brochures will know that we are all huge fans of vintage ski memorabilia and I shall be there tomorrow to watch the bidding… and to keep CEO Joanna’s hands from flying up relentlessly!

George, Iolanda, Sappho with Alain Baxter, first Briton to win an Olympic medal for alpine skiing

Combined with the sale of entry tickets as well as the raffle organised by the Ski Club of Great Britain, over £30,000 was raised (exact amount to be confirmed) for the British Olympic Alpine Ski and Snowboard Teams which will no doubt be of great support to them. No excuses now guys…..go for gold!

...and with another national treasure... It's Craig, winner from Big Brother 1!

Very ’short’ break to the Scottish slopes…

Francois is back from Scotland where he made a brave attempt to hit the slopes…

It snowed so much in Scotland that Aviemore had no access roads open on Saturday, so we were up at 6am and decided to try Glenshee! Having arrived in close to the resort at 8.15am, we found ourselves stuck in terrible traffic. As we crawled our way along we eventually found out the road had been blocked by the police… No access! We were told that we had to wait until 10am when they will re-access the situation!! 10 am came and went, as did 11am and when it got to 11.30am, we decided to go head home as it had been snowing quite a lot in the last hours, and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck up the mountain or on the road (and we had also exhausted the car’s collection of CDs too!) The weather was supposed to pick up for Sunday, so we thought we would try again in the morning.

Finding out the hard way that the road was closed!

We didn’t leave as early this time, and managed to get to the resort around 10.45am – as did the whole of Scotland! After getting ready, we had to queue for ski rental. Started queuing at 11.30, and got out at 12.30! At that stage, I was hungry, but after looking at the next queue for food, I thought I could hold on for a little longer as I wanted to hit the slopes! Take it this way: one chair lift was working and the rest were button lifts – not the best for the begginner boarders of the group! Even the best ones seemed to struggle with the inconsistency of the buttons! So we were off to join the queue for the chair…

The queue for the chair lift

Overall, it was good to be back on fresh snow, and I managed get down  about 5 times a very hard blue! Haha. The queues to get up the hill were just spoiling everyone’s fun, and it’s understandable that a small ski resort cannot invest in the infrastructures that we got accustomed to when taking  ski holidays in France. A few pieces of advice for whoever decides to go skiing in Scotland: If you are looking for a workout, don’t go there as you won’t have enough time on the slopes to warm up after the 30mins queuing. Also, bring your own equipment as even if the ski rental is cheap enough, there is a reason for it to be (I’m size 8 ½ boot-size, but none available… and I remembered having the same skis when I first started skiing, back in 1982!).

I can say now that I’ve done it, but won’t do it again unless I’m staying up there for a week at least, where I might have a chance to go skiing for more than 5 hours over the week. I’m sorry to say I don’t feel too bad for writing this as even my Scottish friends agree with me! These resorts are good for locals, not for a short break when everyone has the same idea I’m afraid.

Us finally hitting the slopes!

We’re off skiing….in Scotland!

Francois, from our Erna Low Property office, is heading up north this weekend in hunt of more snow… Och aye!

With all the recent snow fall in UK, it just urged me and my girlfriend  to head to the slopes, so we have decided to go for a weekend skiing in… Scotland!
We have family in Edinburgh so we thought we will pay them a visit and hit the slopes of Aviemore on Saturday and Sunday and back to London on Sunday evening! Apparently there is a lot of snow over there, and hopefully the extra caterpillars needed to unblock the roads to the station will do wonders overnight!!! This BBC article has made me nervous. Yikes! 15 ft snow drifts! Alps eat your heart out!
Check back on Monday for the news and pictures on my trip… hopefully showing off the wind burn on my face and not me stranded at the airport!

This was my last trip to the slopes... am hoping the scots will be more welcoming!

Snow place like home… Selling ski apartments in Arc 1950

Bethan Stacey, our newest recruit, is lucky enough to be running the Erna Low Property office in one of our favourite resorts: Arc 1950.

Time for a word from the Erna Low property office in Arc 1950…  Alice (the boss!) and I had a beautiful afternoon’s skiing yesterday with her parents, who have just arrived for a short stay in the Village, very much in time for the beautiful weather – the last few days have been gorgeous with cold temperatures keeping the snow in a good condition and blue skies all day (how skiing should be really!).   The other good thing to note is how few people there are on the slopes right now!  If anyone has the choice to come when it’s lower season, not being restricted by school timetables, then I think that there is no better time than now for a ski holiday to Arc 1950 - the snow is guaranteed to be great and queues for ski-lifts non-existent.

Alice and Charles on the slopes of Les Arcs

So yesterday was just a quick jaunt as we needed to be back in the office for the end of the afternoon.  To keep the sun with us we popped over to Arc 1800 side of the resort to do a quick run down to the brand new Arpette chairlift.  Anyone having skied around Les Arcs in previous years will appreciate how this much speeded-up, larger chairlift can make a huge difference to your skiing day; it having been one of the ‘lifts to avoid’ despite being quite an important liaison lifts between Arc 1800 and Arc 2000.  But, hurrah! – one lift further away from a bum-numbing, wind whipped 20 mins being an obligatory part of the day! 
We then decided to head to the Peisey Vallandry ski area : a favourite part of the Paradiski domain thanks to its fantastically large, beautiful, tree-lined slopes .  Amazingly, to get all the way to the village of Vallandry from Arc 1950, it takes only one lift and then you’re skiing non-stop for several pistes, taking in blues, reds or forest runs, as you fancy.  Quick ‘shot’ of coffee at the bottom of the slopes and then it was back over to Arc 1950 to do some work, this time taking one chairlift and then the Transarc from Arc 1800 all the way to the top of the Arc 2000 slopes.
Bit less skiing involved in the office today (!) but tomorrow should be interesting as Alice and I are heading off to the Southern Alps to see property for sale in Serre Chevalier, where we have a property project, and Les Deux Alpes, another ski property spot.
So far so good then in my new role as Property Sales Assistant with Erna Low Property– getting to see plenty of the Alps, finding out more about ski property for sale,  and getting plenty of skiing in (of course!).
Until next time,
Bethan

Arc 1950 before Mont Blanc

Christie’s and Erna Low fundraiser for the British Olympic Teams

a date for the diary…

Christie’s Auction House, (our South Kensington neighbours…and fellow vintage poster fans!) have teamed up with Snowsports GB to throw a fantastic event next week to raise money for the British Olympic Alpine Ski and Snowboard Teams dreaming of gold medals at Vancouver 2010.
Erna Low has got together with numerous other top ski companies to provide some fantastic prizes for THE FUNDRAISING AUCTION on Tuesday 19th January where lucky bidders can win vintage posters, spa treatments, skis and bindings, driving days as well as ski holidays to Vars, St Moritz, Couchevel, Meribel and Whistler. Tickets for this fabulous event are £20 each and ALL proceeds from the tickets sales and auction will be donated to the British Olympic Alpine Ski and Snowboard Teams.
Christie’s will also be exhibiting their upcoming vintage ski poster sale which will be on private view for all attendees. Tickets are extremely limited so please simply email sappho.barkla@ernalow.co.uk with your postal address, stating how many you would like and she will send you a pack with details on how to make payment.

Event details: Christie’s, 85 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London SW7 3LD
Tuesday 19th January – Champagne and après ski from 6.30pm to 9.30pm (auction at 7.45pm)

Getting the family started in Les Arcs!

Louise Povah, our longest running seasonnaire and resident yummy mummy of Les Arcs, reports on life in the bustling resort…

We are back for our seventh season in Les Arcs and so far it looks like it’s going to be a great one.   Cold weather and lots of snow mean that the mountains are looking beautiful blanketed in snow and the skiing is fantastic. 
The recent snowy weather meant that tree skiing was the best option and best visibility with some great runs winding down like a roller coaster through the tightly wooded areas of Vallandry.   My Mum, who prefers the gentler slopes, loved the Foret run which is a relaxing blue cruise from the top of the Grizzly chair all the way down into Vallandry.
This year, we are here with our 2 small sons, Luka and Oliver.  Luka is two and a half and had his first go at skiing the other day.  It was a great success and he keeps asking to put on his ski boots.  There is an excellent children’s area in Arc 1800 (free of charge) with a magic carpet to get the children up the small slope – I think that is the main attraction for the little ones. 

Little Luka makes his way around Arc 1800

I spent yesterday afternoon in the picturesque mountain village of Arc 1950, organising discounts for our Erna Low clients in the village shops, bars and restaurants.   It is one of our most popular destinations for ski holidays and also a great place to buy a ski property.  The village is always alive with street entertainment, people skiing through and no cars to get in the way.  Yesterday there was a torchlit descent and food stall for the Orthodox Christmas. 
There is more snow forecast for tomorrow so it should be another great week in the mountains! 

Daddy struggles to keep up as little Luka hits the slopes of Arc 1800