General News

The virus is having a huge impact on skiing and snowboarding this winter, with the season perhaps over for UK-based skiers before it has even started. The World Health Organisation makes a stark assessment of the situation in Europe though there is some cause for hope.

The public is not allowed to gather to watch the races but that doesn’t mean there can’t be a crowd. A crowd of snowmen and snowwomen. By the course, in the grandstand area and around town.

It is a further blow to travel whether from ski nations or anywhere else. It comes as the South African variant is circulating.  It is seen as a necessary measure to beat coronavirus with much international travel at a halt.

They were supposed to open on Thursday 7th January but the authorities in Paris have said they must stay closed.  It is a bitter blow for the resorts, many of whom had prepared their slopes. The government said it is necessary to defeat Covid-19.

Ski Total and Flexiski holidays are also cancelled. All brands are run by the Swiss company, Hotelplan.  It follows the UK lockdown and there are serious doubts about much of the rest of the season for all UK ski companies.

Restaurants, gyms and cultural venues will likely remain closed.  There is no word on the fate of ski resorts that remain open in some cantons. Talks are ongoing with final decisions made in a week’s time. NEW

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

Italy has postponed the reopening of its ski resorts until later this month at the earliest. January 18th is the date pencilled in. In the Pyrenees Andorra has open some slopes for local residents only. UPDATED

Regular readers will have noticed the web site was down over the weekend. Why? We are pleased to say things are getting back to normal service.

The government has introduced new restrictions as cases continue to rise.  It is a scene that will likely be played out across ski resorts in Europe this winter as cases fall and rise, with resorts opening and closing. The main resort of Jasna has seen growing numbers from the UK in recent years.

The Scandinavian country lifts its ban at the weekend, but most other ski nations are keeping their bans in place. We look at the situation in the alpine nations, though lockdown restrictions mean overseas travel is not allowed for most people in the UK.

Skiers and snowboarders will notice some changes on how people from the UK can cross borders. There are alterations to many rules as Brexit begins.

420 people were contacted by the authorities and told to isolate in their location but only ten are left. Most people’s quarantine has now expired and the reported exodus took place over a week ago. The restrictions were put in place after the UK reported the new variant of the virus.

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

Which ski resorts are open, what are the restrictions and when might we see the others opening? Check out our weekly review of where we now stand as the situation changes across the Alps, the Pyrenees & beyond. UPDATED

Some cantons have ski areas open, others have shut them. The Federal government has closed restaurants, but some were allowed to open. Now they are closed. It is, to say the least, a confusing picture.

It comes ahead of a third national lockdown on December 26th.  Details of the new restrictions and the path forward have been released, but the lucky locals are on the slopes. UPDATED

The authorities had ordered UK skiers into isolation if they arrived after December 14th. Now flights resume between to the two countries but only for nationals returning home for Xmas.

All flights are banned for the foreseeable future and all people who have arrived from the UK since the 14 of December are required to go into a 10-day quarantine.

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

Which ski resorts are open, what are the restrictions and when might we see the others opening? Check out our weekly review of where we now stand as the situation changes across the Alps, the Pyrenees & beyond. UPDATED

There are new lockdowns announced in Italy and Austria, travel bans on UK tourists into Switzerland and Sweden announces more rules on facemasks. Resorts in France are opening even though the ski lifts cannot run.

Coronavirus restrictions co-incide with Brexit meaning UK citizens will not be able to cross the border except for essential reasons. Norway already has a similar policy and as things stand the ban could be extended to all EU and Schengen countries.

The lifts may not be running but hotels can open and ski touring, cross-country and snowshoeing are allowed. It’s all looking very different in these Covid-19 times.

The WHO has issued wide ranging guidance as Covid-19 spreads again. It has specific advice for ski resorts and skiers in Europe as the season gets underway.

When travel restrictions are lifted everyone should get cracking and book a holiday to the mountains. Have a look at offers from Crystal Ski and Ski Solutions, along with yoga and snow shoe trips.
3★ Grand Chalet Brides-les-Bains from £354pp – Crystal Ski
3★ Pension Furstenhof from £395pp – Crystal Ski
★ Snowshoe and yoga in the Chartreuse Mountains
★ Shinrin-yoku in Morzine
★ Ski Solutions Self-Drive/Self-Catered packages

Quarantine for people arriving in England is to be reduced to five days. Then people will need to take a test and, if negative, they can end their self-isolation. There are reports of problems though.

Plenty of restrictions remain in place from Tuesday with lifts not turning in ski resorts, but now people can travel to the mountains. Locals have been skinning up, though some districts have banned touring as so many are heading uphill and threatening extra pressure on hospitals.

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

Which ski resorts are open, what are the restrictions and when might we see the others opening? Check out our weekly review of where we now stand as the situation changes across the Alps, the Pyrenees & beyond.

Whether there is a deal between the UK and the EU, or whether there isn’t, travel and working will look very different in three weeks. The free movement of labour is ending and for many UK nationals working in the mountains will be a thing of the past.

On January 1st the border will be closed as Covid-19 restrictions coincide with Brexit changes. Skiing will be off limits for people from the UK. There are growing concerns that UK citizens might be barred from all EU countries in three weeks. UPDATED

The organisation Domaines Skiables de France has taken its case to the courts this week. Observers believe it will have little chance of success. NEW

There’s alpine skiing, ski cross and cross-country. Check out who’s in action, and where, in snowsport competitions in Europe over the coming days.

Current Covid-19 rules only allow people from the EU, European Economic Area and Schengen countries to cross the borders. There are a handful of exceptions, but newspaper reports claim the EU has indicated the UK will not be exempt. The Foreign Secretary has played down the reports.

The ski tour operator has been going for 23 years. It went into administration on Tuesday, blaming Covid-19 and a lack of government support. But the owner has bought the brand and hopes to continue trading. He’s been speaking to PlanetSKI.

It was carrying out a training rescue operation in poor weather in the Savoie area. A pilot survived the accident. UPDATED

Swiss Federal Railways has said that the connections would be halted at the border crossings in the Alps as its staff simply did not have the capacity to carry out the coronavirus checks required by Italian authorities.

Most have closed but some are open after a hectic week of decision making and high drama.  Which are open, what are the restrictions and when might we see the others opening?

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

It looks like some will and some won’t, with final decisions expected this week. Elsewhere in the Pyrenees Andorra and France are not opening until January. NEW

The announcement has been made by the Federal government. Many will welcome the move and many others will worry about it helping to spread coronavirus in a country that continues to have a high infection rate.

Andorra has announced the ski lifts will not run over Xmas. Resorts in the French Pyrenees will be closed until January at the earliest. There are restrictions in Spain.UPDATED

The company runs Inghams, Ski Total and Flexiski. It has already axed the entire season for its other brand, Esprit Ski.

Italy has just had its highest daily death toll, surpassing the number at the height of the pandemic in March. New restrictions are announced, with more to follow, to try to beat the current spread with ski resorts closed. Other alpine countries except Switzerland have closed ski areas as Covid-19 spreads across the Alps. NEW

Travel between regions has been banned over holiday period stopping many from going to second homes in the mountains or visiting family & friends. The government has singled out ski areas in particular. Further measures to battle Covid-19 to be announced later. UPDATED

Strict quarantine rules are set to be imposed making the slopes out-of-bounds to most foreign holiday skiers. Resorts can open on Xmas Eve for locals only as hotels remain shut.

The alpine regions see it as a way to preserve the winter and reduce the spread of Covid-19.  The authorities are yet to react.

President Macron said on Tuesday he will take measures to dissuade people from skiing in neighbouring Switzerland. Details have now been revealed. UPDATED

It is the latest UK ski operator to cease trading amid the impact of Covid-19 and tough conditions ahead with Brexit.

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Several more demonstrations have been held today in the French Alps. Resorts are urging the government to change its mind. The authorities say the closure is about stopping hospitals becoming overwhelmed and saving lives. UPDATED

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

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.

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.