23rd January 2021
The UK’s largest ski tour operator pulls the plug as questions grow whether there will be a ski season at all. Covid-19 and international travel restrictions to EU and Schengen countries means travel is not likely any time soon. NEW
23rd January 2021
The group is in isolation in Vallorcine near Chamonix after 16 out of the group of 26 tested positive. Locals in Vallorcine are reported to be anxious and there are concerns in Verbier. The course organiser says all the rules have been strictly followed. NEW
22nd January 2021
The outbreak happened in a group of 172 people on a course in Flachau in the Ski Amade region in Salzburg. Two Britons are among dozens on the course who have tested positive for coronavirus. All instructor courses in Salzburg have now been suspended.
18th January 2021
The team at PlanetSKI is reporting all the news & developments as it affects the snowsports world in our ever-popular rolling blog. If you want to see its impact and the response of skiers & snowboarders then read on… UPDATED
23rd January 2021
Not on the slopes? This is the next best thing. Get your fix of ski and snowboard action with these recommendations. NEW
20th January 2021
It is a bitter blow for the resorts and means the half term holiday period is likely gone with a huge impact. The government says it is a necessary measure and it puts the health of the nation above economic issues. UPDATED
21st January 2021
It is an economic body blow to the French resorts – the lift companies, the restaurants, the ski schools and all businesses in resorts. Let alone us that want to ski. The French government says it is necessary to save lives and beat Covid-19 and that health issues take priority. UPDATED
20th January 2021
As ski lifts in France remain closed into February and perhaps for the rest of the season we ask what’s it like to be in a ski resort in the French Alps in mid-winter when all the lifts are closed. We hear from Alexandra Beuchert and Simon Perry, who have French residency and travelled from the UK to their home in Tignes in late December.
20th January 2021
A study involving more than 50 winter sports experts has concluded that digital technology is set for a bigger role in the ski industry, thanks to Covid-19. But many don’t expect a return to pre-pandemic levels of skiing until 2023.
14th January 2021
More and more skiers are clipping into long, skinny skis to get their snow fix. PlanetSKI has been talking to a Nordic skiing instructor in the French Alps about the surge in demand for cross country lessons as the lifts remain closed.
20th January 2021
Xavier de Le Rue is an Olympian and a Freeride World Tour winner, but this week he was another rider searching desperately for a friend under the snow. His friend was one of 8 people that died in Switzerland in a tragic 4-day period. The authorities continue to urge extreme caution.
19th January 2021
It was the highest museum in Europe and perhaps the best motorcycle collection in the world. It housed 100s of historic vintage bikes in Hochgurgl in the Tirol. UPDATED
30th December 2020
With this season looking like it could be a write-off, UK ski tour operators and travel agents say key dates for next winter are selling fast.
20th January 2021
He is Britain’s most successful speed skier in recent history and a world record holder. Jan Farrell has announced he’s hanging up his skis after 10 years at the top.
11th January 2021
British-owned ski companies in the Alps are re-inventing themselves to provide a lifeline in these difficult times. Two business owners in France tell PlanetSKI how they’ve been forced to adapt to survive.
16th January 2021
Why? Because the resort tells it like it is with accurate and informative news. Er, not something we always receive from some PR people in ski resorts and certainly not in these dreadfull pandemic times.
20th December 2020
Thinking about heading to the Tirol in Austria once conditions allow? Well, how about avoiding the well-known resorts and going for somewhere less-crowded. Somewhere you have probably never heard of. Until now…
Two Mountain Guides Die in Separate Accidents in Switzerland
One was in a huge avalanche in Verbier and the other was a fatal fall in Torgon in the Portes du Soleil.
There have been 11 deaths on the Swiss slopes in the past 11 days.
The conditions off piste are described as some of the most dangerous in recent years.
planetski.eu/2021/01/24/two-mountain-guides-die-in-separate-avalanches-in-switzerland/
#avalanche #verbieravalanche
Two Mountain Guides Die in Separate Accidents in Switzerland - PlanetSKI
planetski.eu
One accident was in Verbier and the other in Torgon in the Ported du Soleil. It brings the death toll on the slopes to 4 in the Verbier area alone in the past 6 days and 11 in Switzerland in the past ...What has to happen for the risk to be bumped up to level 4 or 5?
Think it has to do with spontaneous avalanches. 4 and 5 represent when avalanches are more and more spontaneous. It’s a really mistake to think level 3 is less risky than level 4 or 5. Majority of deaths sadly occur in level 3 conditions. There’s a good article on it somewhere on Fb
Check out the latest news on the #coronavirus impact on snowsports:
- Oslo Tightens Restrictions as UK variant identified
- UK trainee ski instructors isolate in France
- Crystal Ski Holidays Cancels Holidays Until March 5th
- Covid-19 PCR test results awaited on 172 trainee ski instructors in Austria.
planetski.eu/2021/01/18/coronavirus-impact-on-skiing-snowboarding-24/
Haha! Love this ... a helpful tow by bike ❄️ 🚴 🤣
This content isn't available at the moment
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people or changed who can see it, or it's been deleted.Oh to have such confidence at that young age. But I guess born to it!
Further reaction from resorts & businesses in French Alps as they focus on activities to do in ski resorts without the lifts running:
planetski.eu/2021/01/21/first-reaction-as-ski-lifts-remain-closed-in-france/
We're still waiting for a difinitive list of what will be available from the tourist office. They say 'tres bientot' -but we need it now! 3 weeks lost yesterday.
I have a booking for Easter and if we can travel, we will go regardless of the lifts working or not. As they say, there is so much else to do and it will actually make a nice change. Not the holiday we would want in an ideal world, but a very good substitute. We'll drive, stay in self catering isolated accommodation, use a supermarket once, perhaps have a takeaway or 2 and generally be very low risk for transmission, and would of course be happy to provide a negative test result before travel and have as many tests throughout the week as the authorities would like. But I suspect that all of that sensible stuff will still not be enough and we will not be able to travel still by then. Let's see how long our "lockdown" lasts and how ineffective it proves to be and see where we are in March.
UK students in isolation in France after Covid-19 cases are trainee instructors heading to Switzerland
The group is in isolation in Vallorcine near Chamonix after 16 out of the group of 26 tested positive.
Locals in Vallorcine are reported to be anxious and there are concerns in Verbier.
The course organiser says all the rules have been strictly followed.
planetski.eu/2021/01/23/uk-students-in-isolation-in-france-after-covid-19-cases-are-trainee-ski-i...
planetski.eu
The group is in isolation in Vallorcine near Chamonix after 14 out of the group of 26 tested positive. Locals in Vallorcine are reported to be anxious and there are concerns in Verbier.The course orga...It is interesting that Peak Leaders do not mention in their statements that the trainees holed up in Vallorcine France were due to attend Peak Leader's BASI course actually run in Verbier Switzerland. They give the impression that the course is based in France. This is not true. You have to ask why were the trainees accommodated in Vallorcine.... was it to get around the fact that visitors travelling from the UK are not allowed into Switzerland? This raises questions about the integrity and honesty of Peak Leaders.
It makes me think that they were trying to sneak them into Switzerland as UK is in lockdown with international travel not allowed apart from a very limited number of cases. It seems a sad case of making money over ethics.
Wow! Why were they even there?? They shouldn't have been travelling?
6th January 2021
The French Alps resort that’s a favourite with the British is reporting a busy holiday period despite the closure of ski lifts and a lack of visitors from the UK.
17th October 2020
Located in the heart of the beautiful French Alps, Isère is France’s third biggest mountain destination. So, what’s on offer?
20th October 2020
It will include overseas COVID-19 testing costs, repatriation if medically required, self-isolation costs and new return flights home.
22nd November 2020
Waste of time? Certainly not. If you want to be fit, strong and raring to go when the mountains open up again, now is the time to put the work in. So say our friends at Maison Sport.
19th October 2020
Three resorts in Les3Vallees in the French Alps will this winter have access to a high-powered drone that has already proved its worth in mountain rescues.
28th December 2020
An Italian company has unveiled a fully electric piste basher + a hydrogen powered groomer. A glimpse into a more environmentally friendly future?
27th December 2019
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