Summer in the Mountains

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country needed to be “cautious”.  The nationwide lockdown has been extended by three days until midnight on 27 August.

Large numbers of French people are opting against travelling abroad and taking a holiday in their own country. The Alps and the Pyrenees are proving to be particularly popular.

The rules change means some late summer travel is now easier if people have been double vaccinated or meet other health requirements. It bodes well for the start of the ski season with some glacier resorts opening in October.

Local DJ Arthur Monné (AKA FastArthur) is performing an hour long set this Friday (August 13th), performed from a spectacular viewing platform at the summit of Pointe de Nyon. NEW

Travelling from the ski nations of Europe is now a little easier for those of us in the UK. However there are still some tough restrictions on entry as the UK has one of the highest current number of cases of Covid-19 in Europe.  UPDATED

70m long strips of reflective material are being placed over the ice on the Pressena glacier to try to preserve it. Other glaciers in the Alps have also been covered with some limited success.

The authorities are urging caution after a person was caught in a summer slide earlier this month near Verbier. The 36-year-old local remains missing and the risk continues to be high in places.

The lifts opened for summer skiing on the Pisaillas glacier above Val d’Isere in France at the weekend. Les2Alpes is already open and Avoriaz also opened some slopes at the weekend.

There are plenty of options in the Alps – if you can get there. Our friends at Maison Sport have produced a guide to five main European glacier resorts for summer skiing.

A landing ban comes into force in Austria and the UK is put on the list of variant virus areas. France has introduced strict new measures. Germany has done the same and we look at the rules in the other main mountains countries of Europe with the potential impact on summer tourism to the mountains.

Anyone heading to the Alps or the Pyrenees mountain ranges will need to quarantine for 7-days and prove their visit is essential.  The new measure comes into force on Monday due to the spread of the so-called Indian variant in the UK.

More walking routes and terrain for mountain bikers, a wider selection of hotels, villas and campsites.  There’s a lot that’s new for summer 2021 in the Austrian Tirol.

If you like your summer holidays as active as your winter ski trips, here are some mountain ideas for when travel opens up.

Hotels, accommodation providers and businesses can reopen on May 19th.  Some glacier skiing is hoped to be on offer too with other summer activities available. We also look at the situation in some of the other ski nations of Europe. UPDATED

The Austrian resort of Ischgl and the Paznaun Valley provide the backdrop for these summer adventure hikes.

Winter was cancelled.  Summer is a hope.  If you are able to head across the Channel in 2021, Morzine in the French Alps is a great choice.  It’s easily accessible by car and a short hop from Geneva.  And there’s a whole lot to do there in summer.

The Transport Select Committee says a report by the Government’s Global Travel Taskforce gives “insufficient” detail to allow for travel on 17th May.

Scotland is open, with a further easing of Covid-19 restrictions coming into force on Monday 26th April. The nation is an option for spring and summer holidays, but it’s come too late for the Scottish ski industry.

People in England can start thinking about booking foreign holidays again this summer. The government has unveiled further details of its traffic light system, though there is criticism of the testing costs and most European countries still have high levels of Covid-19.

It bodes well for the approaching ski season Down Under and could be a model used in Europe as well to help people get to the mountains later in the summer if cases fall in Europe. No quarantine will be required.

The card will be for vaccinated people, those who have had the virus & people who have tested negative. It’s hoped it will help re-start tourism but much depends on whether countries will allow their citizens to visit Austria as it has rising levels of Covid-19, with only 9% of the country vaccinated.

British Airways is the latest and follows Ryan Air, plus others.  Will this mean summer travel from the UK is more likely to the mountains and other destinations?

Skiers will be looking at whether it might possible to make some end of season turns or visit the mountains this summer for glacier skiing. Plus, what will be happening to the indoor snowcentres & the outdoor artificial slopes? Might skiing in Scotland be possible in the Spring?

It is a surprisingly simple formula that gives an indication of which country may be going on and off the list. Much of the Alps and Pyrenees are out of bounds unless you are prepared to go into 14-day quarantine, but not everywhere.

PlanetSKI has recently been in Switzerland. It would have been rude not to pop over the border to one of our favourite places in the mountains and where we lived last winter – Aosta. And take a few pictures.

Despite the new quarantine regulations from France it is possible to drive across France from another country in a private vehicle as long as people do not get out, or allow anyone in. And use the Channel Tunnel.

The Foreign Office is warning against “all but essential travel” to France. It’s dealt a body blow to UK visits to the French Alps and the French Pyrenees this summer. It remains possible to drive across France to reach or return from another country.

An ice block of 500,000 cubic metres is threatening to fall. Some people have been evacuated from their homes and hotels on the Italian side of the mountain. Footpaths and areas of the mountain have been sealed off.

As cases rise in many parts of Europe Italy seems to be currently on top of the pandemic. PlanetSKI looks at the situation in Italy and considers a summer visit to the Italian Alps.

Falls Creek and Hotham Alpine Resort in the state of Victoria will not re-open for Spring skiing, the owners, Vail Resorts, have announced.  

Austria has had some snow and there’s been a dusting elsewhere. Summer snow is not unusual and has helped refresh the glaciers open for skiing.

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

If you’re one of the thousands who have taken to the saddle during lockdown, why not challenge the legs with a trip to one of the top cycling destinations in the Alps?