Powder + Skiing with Graham Bell = A very happy Jane!

Jane was pleased as punch to get some powder skiing in at the end of the season and with a famous skiier to boot!  

Skiing powder at the end of April?  Skiing with Graham Bell the day after he ran the London marathon too.  Surely I am making things up?  Not so, the  20^th Anniversary ABTOF Conference was held in Arc 1950 on 22^nd -25^th April this year and we had 2 mornings of the most fantastic conditions I had ever seen.  Take a look at the picture of us with Graham Bell if you don’t believe me…

Yep that is Jane (on the right) skiing with Graham Bell!

Powder at the end of the season in Les Arcs

It’s snowing again!

Just as April showers are hitting the UK, the snow has returned to the Alps making this season’s snowfall records even more epic!  So if you thought the ski season was over – you were very wrong – it’s the perfect time to head out and the Erna Low team are going to be doing just that this weekend!

Each winter we work our little ski socks off to earn ourselves a staff weekend away in the Alps to do what we all love best.  This year we have the pleasure of heading to Montgenevre where many of our suppliers are making this trip possible for us for which we are all very grateful.

We are all very much looking forward to sampling the spa area and making the most of the ski in ski out location at the luxury CGH residence Les Chalets de Dolines during our stay there…

Le Chalets des Dolines

… and the Montgenevre tourist office have kindly organised our ski passes and guiding with A-Peak to help us make the most of our time exploring the ski area; while Skiset our equipment hire partner are providing our skis, boards and boots for us.

We were ready to pack our sunscreen and expect a weekend of sunbathing but have been pleasantly surprised to see the weather reporting snow for the rest of the week.  Montgenevre have posted a picture on their facebook page this morning of a car covered in 80cm of snow and with more to come, we are sure to have amazing time on the slopes this year!  We’ve also been checking out their webcams for a real time view of the slopes.

Amazing April snowfall in Montgenevre this morning

When compared to the ‘snow’ we found during last winter’s staff trip to Avoriaz (below), you can imagine our joy at seeing the picture above!

Avoriaz staff ski weekend April 2011

If you fancy a quick trip to the Alps to make the most of this amazing snow give us a call on 0845 860 0525 now or visit our website www.ernalow.co.uk.

 We are open 9-5:30 today (Wednesday) and tomorrow (Thursday) – however please note our our office will be closed Friday 13th April.

Landslide blocks Tignes and Val d’Isere

The road to Tignes and Val d’Isere was closed last night, due to a landslide on the road to Bourg-St-Maurice, just before the entrance to the Brevieres tunnel.

Photo courtesy of Radio Val d'Isere (http://www.radiovaldisere.com)

It is estimated that 80 cubic metres of rock fell on the road, with another 45 cubic metres above the road still loose.

Work is ongoing to clear the road and currently it is open with one way traffic lights in place.   The road will close between 0200 and 0700 on the morning of Saturday 09 March, so anyone travelling to or from resorts is advised to allow extra time for their journeys.

Snow reason to stay high

This season, the best for a minimum of 25 years according to many sources, it really is a case of ‘no resort is too low’.

In the ski holiday industry we hear the words ‘I’ve got to go high’ more than any other from clients but this year absolutely everywhere is fair game!

Our opinion in the office is that a lot of the higher, purpose built resorts lack the charm, character and alpine feel of a lot of the lower resorts so if this picture, taken above Morzine recently doesn’t tempt you then nothing will!

The snow is in fantastic shape and the base will probably see us well into April, even if it doesn’t snow again…saying that the 9 day forecast suggests there could be up to half a metre on the way…you don’t want to miss out do you?

We have some fabulous late season offers, such as savings of up to 35% at the superb Residence L’Aiglon de Morzine – See all our current offers here.

Erna Low HQ are wishing they were on the slopes…

While we at Erna Low HQ slave away at our desks, working hard to ensure our clients are booking up their ski trips to the Alps with ease, we can only dream of hitting the slopes later in the season when things have quietened down a little.  So you can imagine our envy as our colleague Polly has been able to ski this past weekend and enjoy the superb conditions currently on offer!

She is we should point out working at the Grand Ski, meeting all current and prospective suppliers planning for winter 2012/13 in the French Alps.  But it isn’t all work work work – as this picture proves she has been able to enjoy a ski in La Rosiere and also St Foy the lucky thing!

Polly pretty in pink in La Rosiere

We are sure she will update us all on her return and post a blog to let everyone know how she got on and most importantly what the skiing was like, so watch this space for more information…

All hands to the deck in Les Arcs

Snow clearing in Les Arcs

Cars disappear in the snow in Les Arcs

Definitely a winter for parking indoors, as these two pics by our Les Arcs rep, Tim Wilson prove:

There's a car under there apparently

German cars are affected too...

The latest from our man in the Alps…

Our man in France, Tim Wilson, reports on the latest superb conditions:

The snow in the Northern French Alps this season really is unprecedented. I think we had another 20-30cms last night in Les Arcs, but it’s quite hard to tell as there is so much of it already! We are due up to 80cms tomorrow which is quite insane, particularly in contrast with last season!

Christmas day in Paradiski consisted of clear blue skies and fresh fluffy snow. Temperatures have remained generally quite mild but have been cold enough at times to allow snow right down to the valley floor.

These are the makings of an epic season and one that I recommend people experience for themselves.  I have attached a couple of fairly recent photos.

Snow, snow, snow…in Les Arcs

Some great photos of Arc 1950 from Tim, our Les Arcs rep, show off exactly how much snow has fallen in the last couple of weeks: