29th November 2020
Crucial Week for Ski Season Start in the Alps
Some ski nations want the slopes to remain closed until January in a co-ordinated effort to fight Covid-19. Others say ‘No Way’. Talks this week will likely decide the outcome.
29th November 2020
Some ski nations want the slopes to remain closed until January in a co-ordinated effort to fight Covid-19. Others say ‘No Way’. Talks this week will likely decide the outcome.
27th November 2020
All five indoor slopes in the England are set to open as the country comes out of lockdown and goes into the Tier System. The outdoor ones can open too.
27th November 2020
The lifts are set to be closed across Xmas and New Year but the authorities are allowing resorts to offer other forms of skiing and travelling in the snow. You just can’t use a lift.
27th November 2020
Austria has indicated it will not support the move led by Germany to stop resorts opening in December and postpone any openings to January. Switzerland will likely keep its resorts open. Pressure is mounting and it is getting highly political. UPDATED
26th November 2020
The Prime Minister, Jean Castex, has made an announcement that slightly waters down what President Macron said on Tuesday. Resorts say it is not enough. UPDATED
25th November 2020
Italy has got the ball rolling and France says it is in discussions. Germay is fully supportive. Austria and Switzerland appear rather less enthusiastic. PlanetSKI examines the chance of success. UPDATED
25th November 2020
It follows the likelihood that French resorts will not open until late January. There is also the matter of isolation required when arriving back in the UK.
25th November 2020
President Macron has indicated they will close but a final decision will be taken next week. It will come at a huge economic price, but some resorts say they will be open, and though the lifts may be closed there is much else to do.
24th November 2020
France has passed the peak of its second wave of Covid-19, but tough restrictions remain in place until at least January and ski resorts will likely remain closed. It is a bombshell for the French ski industry. UPDATED
24th November 2020
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said Italy “can’t afford” the risk of further infections from people taking ski holidays. He is urging Europe-wide rules. Ski resorts are seen as super-spreaders of the virus back in March.
24th November 2020
That is the claim from the rental company Intersport in a survey. It is released as UK quarantine is reduced from 14-days to 5-days.
23rd November 2020
The announcement has been made by the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps. With a vaccine on the horizon, hopes rise in the world of snowsports. The self-isolation changes mean skiing is more attractive but there are still significant obstacles.
23rd November 2020
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…
22nd November 2020
The new rules have come into force this weekend and include travel restrictions. The resorts are not due to open until December, but an impact is already being felt.
20th November 2020
It is the question on many of our lips as winter approaches. Some operators have gone bust, and others have called off the whole season. There are grounds for some optimism, but the realistic ones know it will not be for a while.
18th November 2020
Hotelplan UK runs Inghams, Ski Total, Esprit and Flexiski. Holidays to Finland go too. It is another body blow for UK skiers and snowboarders in these Covid-19 times.
17th November 2020
The company had been going for 30 years and has been unable to survive the Covid-19 crisis. UPDATED
16th November 2020
The International Olympic Committee has said the planned international test events that were scheduled to place in the 2021 season will not now take place.
16th November 2020
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…
14th November 2020
The alpine nation is seeing a sharp rise and measures taken so far do not appear to have worked. Ski resorts are already closed to the general public and it is grim news as winter approaches. UPDATED
14th November 2020
UK Shortbreak Specialist is closing its main base in France, but it will act as an agent selling hotel rooms in its resorts. Other operators are under pressure and are considering their plans for next winter as the pandemic spreads and restrictions are tightened.
13th November 2020
The Nevis Range is to stop the sale of season passes and will not be opening the resort at the start of the season. It blames Covid-19 with growing uncertainty over restrictions. Others are reviewing their positions with Glencoe saying it will open as planned in December.
12th November 2020
Selecting one’s snowsports outfit used to be one of the pre-season occupations for every fashionable skier or snowboarder. A mask is now part of the decision making process.
10th November 2020
Shops in Austria now need to shut at 7pm. Last week it introduced tighter rules and further measures are expected to be announced on Saturday. Elsewhere in the Alps Covid-19 is spreading as the ski season approaches, but news of a successful vaccine trial has brought much optimism.
10th November 2020
The operator has been working in the Aosta Valley in Italy for almost 40years, but has decided to suspend all operations next winter due to Covid-19.
10th November 2020
Inghams, Ski Total, Esprit and Flexiski have announced they will not be running any ski trips this year, including over the Christmas period. The UK’s largest operator, Crystal Ski, says it still plans to operate in December.
9th November 2020
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
8th November 2020
Lockdown Two is very different to Lockdown One. Winter weather with its cold temperatures and short hours of daylight. Here are some tips from Norway.
5th November 2020
It comes as no great surprise given international travel restrictions. The organisers say they will re-schedule the events to Europe, but question marks remain over whether the FWT will take place at all.
5th November 2020
The Aosta Valley, Piedmont and Lombardy have been declared “Red Zones”. People can only leave their homes for essential reasons and skiing is not one of them. Covid-19 is surging in many parts of Italy as winter approaches.
5th November 2020
The restrictions aim to “avoid saturation of the hospital system” as the virus runs rampage. Switzerland is one the the major coronavirus hotspots in Europe.
2nd November 2020
With the Alps looking increasingly difficult and North America near impossible some skiers and snowboarders are looking at following their passion in the UK this winter. Resorts are preparing but Covid-19 restrictions remain unclear.
2nd November 2020
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… NEW & UPDATED
31st October 2020
Snow centres in England are closing as the government orders another lockdown. Skiers & snowboarders express their disappointment & sympathy with many pragmatic to get Covid-19 beaten. UPDATED
31st October 2020
Austria has imposed new new lockdown measures with resorts closed on Tuesday. It is a severe below for the snowsports industry. Nine resorts were open offering some skiing with excellent early season conditions.
30th October 2020
Almost the whole of the alpine country has turned red on its four-level traffic light system. New measures are expected to be announced tomorrow.
29th October 2020
The current numbers make grim reading with forecasts even worse. Resorts have coronavirus policies in place, and hopefully skiing can happen, just in a different way to normal. But perhaps not till 2021.
29th October 2020
The resort is following all the regulations and has obtained the “Clean and safe” label in collaboration with Switzerland Tourism. Some question the wisdom of opening as Switzerland, and the Valais Canton, is one of the Covid-19 hotspots in Europe.
28th October 2020
The glacier ski resorts of Tignes and Les2Alpes are closing at the end of today. Val Thorens and Val d’Isere have cancelled their openings in late November. We have all the news and latest reaction.
28th October 2020
Normally four resorts are able to offer skiing and snowboarding at this time of year. After crowded scenes in Cervinia the national government ordered them to close except to racers and professional skiers. Some though claim autonomous powers.
27th October 2020
The Australian city is out of its lock down as no new cases have been reported. Some say it has set an example to the rest of the world, but its economy and those of its surrounding ski areas have been badly hit.
26th October 2020
There are only a handful of glacier resorts open but the apparent breaches of Covid-19 rules in Cervinia as the pandemic spreads in Italy are being taken very seriously. It’s an indication of what things may be like next winter across the Alps. UPDATED
26th October 2020
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
25th October 2020
The Italian resort opened for autumn skiing on Saturday 24th October. Then on Sunday it announced it was closing temporarily after an Emergency Decree from the Italian government. Some claim crowded scenes at the resort are to blame. UPDATED
22nd October 2020
It is currently seeing one of the highest numbers of cases per head of population of any nation in the Alps. The Jura mountain area has introduced a raft of new restrictions. UPDATED
21st October 2020
Austria’s main ski area has answered the 10 most asked questions about what next winter my look like.
20th October 2020
It is a confusing picture, but testing & reduction in quarantine times are essential if there is to be a ski season this winter for us Brits.
18th October 2020
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
15th October 2020
With quarantine requirements it is a bit of a nightmare trying to find out what the rules currently are. PlanetSKI has been doing its homework looking at Europe, North America and Asia.
15th October 2020
It is no great surprise as its case rate is now 64 per 100,000 over a 7-day period. It was the last major alpine ski nation that did not require self-isolation.
14th October 2020
The largest lift-connected ski area in the world is bracing itself for a significant drop in the number of skiers and snowboarders.
13th October 2020
That’s the finding of an independent report in the spread of the virus in Ischgl and St Anton.
The resorts could have closed earlier, the mass exodus when they were shut was badly handled & lessons should be learnt. UPDATED
10th October 2020
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
9th October 2020
The huge Austrian ski region, which has some of the most famous resorts in Europe, has announced its plans to try to ensure skiers and snowboarders stay safe this coming season.
8th October 2020
It has announced compulsory testing for anyone travelling from the UK and a number of other countries. Those that test positive will need to go into quarantine. UPDATED
7th October 2020
It is the single biggest restriction on the ski industry for next winter after Covid-19 itself. If current quarantine measures are in place it will decimate the winter for many UK skiers and snowboarders. It seems changes are coming but not soon enough for many.
6th October 2020
They are the last major ski countries that do not have travel restrictions for people returning to the UK, but their Covid-19 cases are rising. Travel remains possible with all the skiing nations in Europe, but arrival/departure quarantine rules are growing.
5th October 2020
The government is expected to start a trial project at Heathrow and it could then be rolled out to other airports. Testing is seen as key to getting people flying again and booking ski holidays.
4th October 2020
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
2nd October 2020
Quarantine is now needed from Poland and Turkey. All the countries in the Pyrenees, North America and many in the Alps are currently under the restrictions. There are though some options. Fancy skiing in Cyprus?