Features

It is the end of a long and strange season under the pandemic. We have recently reported from the area on how the 4 Vallees and other resorts have coped in this, the strangest of winters. Earlier we heard from some of the people lucky enough to make it to the slopes.

The are claims that Junior Bounous from Utah is the oldest person in the world to have gone heliskiing. He took to the skies and slopes of Snowbird this week.

Every now and again on PlanetSKI we post videos from our readers and our friends out in the mountains. This one caught out eye and brought back many memories too – from last year and longer ago.

It’s taken off this winter, according to numerous reports from the Alps.  If you’ve yet to be converted, have a look at the latest guide from our friends at Maison Sport.

Ski touring, cross country skiing, snow shoeing. They can all be done when the lifts are shut.  And then there’s telemarking.  Our friends at Maison Sport have produced the definitive guide. Why not give it a go if you’re in the mountains and wanting a new challenge?

It is a year since coronavirus started to spread widely in Europe. In our occasional series we hear from PlanetSKI readers who have lived through it out in the mountains. Here’s Kevin Young from near Chamonix…

Fancy some top tips on your ski technique?  Let’s face it, most of us are not going to see a slope this season but we can still benefit from free coaching by expert instructors.  How?

Not on the slopes?  This is the next best thing.  Get your fix of ski and snowboard action with these recommendations.

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.

Joyeux Noel, Frohe Weihnachten, Eguberri on, Feliz Navidad, Fijne kerst, Hyvää joulua, Buon Natale, ハッピークリスマス, Счастливого Рождества, Wesołych Świąt, Veselé Vianoce, Vesel božič and God Jul.

Our roving reporter Chris Moran lives year-round in Les3Vallees in France.  As the latest national lockdown lifted he went uphill, but there was danger around and he urges caution.

Rob Greatbach has spent 10 years working towards his goal of qualifying as a top level ski instructor to teach in France.  Covid-19 and Brexit could well have just conspired to put an end to his dream.

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.

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.

The Polish ski mountaineer, Andrzej Bargiel,  became the first person to ski down the mountains two years ago this week.

– PlanetSKI wins silver & holiday to Andorra
– An awful lot of cheese
– Good point, well made
– Radio SW18, The Aperitivo Sessions

Here we have a page for you to share your stories, tips, experiences … in fact anything you want.  Many of our readers are currently under restrictions in ski resorts across the mountains.

– Giving up drinking?
– Exotic’ travel plans
– Is a new word about to enter the dictionary?
– PlanetSKI ‘apologises’

– What have turtles got to do with skiing?
– Terrifying video of snowboarder clinging to a cliff face
– Girl dangling off chairlift rescued at Elk Mountain
– Moose stampedes through queue of skiers