Dec 28
2009

The final of my Top Ten Winter Sports Tips will look at Safety. It may not be as sexy as saving money or the environment, but nevertheless it is important.  It is a controversial subject following the untimely death of the actress Natasha Richardson earlier in 2009. However, safety is little more than common sense. Don’t read these tips as a must do list. They are advice, you are free to disagree or ignore them, but if you do and get injured, then please don’t go claiming off your insurance and pushing up my Winter Sports Premiums!

  1. If you are a learner skier or snowboarder, then get lessons. Learn the FIS Code. You can get lessons at home on a dry ski slope or indoor ski slope. That way you will learn in your own language and be ready for action at the resort.

    Winter sports

  2. Get fit before you go. This will reduce your risk of accident by strengthening your muscles, You will also not tired so quickly on the pistes.

  3. Use correctly fitting skis and snowboards. Lots of accidents occur because people borrow equipment from friends. Skis and snowboards and boots need to be matched to the user.

  4. Wear the right clothing and and other safety gear depending upon your activity. The most obvious requirement is clothing suitable for the predicted weather conditions. Helmets, wrist protectors, impact shorts and back protectors can save some nasty injuries.

  5. Read up on the weather forecast and read the advice at the resort regarding avalanche risk.

  6. If you intend riding off piste, then get trained in avalanche awareness and the use of transceivers, probes and shovels to locate buried riders. Take a trained guide with you.

  7. Don’t forget sunscreen for your face. The thinner atmosphere and reflections off the snow mean that it is very easy to get sunburn to exposed skin.

  8. Take plenty of water / drinks and high energy food / snacks with you, when you go riding.

  9. Try to ride with friends so that you can look out for each other. Put the number of the Piste Rescue into your mobile phone along with the number of who they should contact In Case of Emergency (store as ICE).

  10. Make sure you have adequate insurance. If you are the wrong side of the marker poles you may not be covered. A helicopter rescue can cost 20,000 Euros so check beforehand and carry a copy of the cover with you.

There are a lot more points that I could add, but above all have fun!

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Dec 13
2009

Following on from my Ten Tips to save money on a Winter Sports break. Here are my Top Ten Tips for protecting the environment when taking to the slopes

Avoriaz Shuttle

Avoriaz Shuttle

on skis or snowboards. Winter Sports are one form of travel most under threat from Climate Change. Lets take responsibility for our travel:

  1. Choose a resort that makes the environment a priority. Mountain Riders publish a guide that rates each resort on a number of environmental criteria. You can consult it online when making your plans.

  2. Try to avoid flying to the resort. You can go by rail, or even bus to most resorts in Europe. If you go by car, then it is best to take a fuel efficient one with 3 or more passengers.

  3. Use public transport instead of your own car at the resort. Many resorts have free shuttle buses. Make use of them.

  4. Don’t leave the heating on full when you are not in your apartment, chalet or hotel. Rooms are fast to heat up, once you return.

  5. Short showers use less hot water and therefore energy than long baths.

  6. Buy local produce when shopping for food. The energy expended getting exotic food to a ski resort can be huge.

  7. Don’t litter use the bins provided. Get a portable ash can for cigarettes – one cigarettes stub can pollute a cubic metre of water.

  8. In many of the French Ski resorts the supermarket chain Sherpa offers to take back unused tinned and boxed food. Preventing waste and saving money.

    Recycling binswaste and saving you money.

  9. Try to purchase environmentally friendly, ski and snowboard equipment and clothes. Also use environmentally friendly waxes. Don’t throw away your gear at the end of the season. Sell it on ebay or give to others to help cut down the waste.

  10. Segregate your rubbish and use the recycling facilities provided at most resorts.

I could add some more, like; share a shower with someone sexy, but this list is a Top Ten!

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Dec 4
2009

Winter sports vacations can be expensive, so I thought I’d post ten of my favourite money saving tips.

  1. Book in advance, you can often get a good discount. If staying more than 3 weeks in a ski area it can sometimes work out cheaper to buy a season pass with a substantial pre season discount.

  2. If you don’t want to book in advance, then why not leave it until the last minute and get some late booking offers.
    Snowtrex     , Holiday homes Interhome and others sell off their unsold accommodation with up to 30% discount in the last 2 weeks. Be flexible and if you are wanting to travel at school holidays don’t even bother trying this method.

  3. Book your transport well in advance. You will get the cheapest rail, bus, ferry and air fares.

    Winter Sports

    Winter Sports

  4. Do a big shop away from the resort at a supermarket or better still a Farmers market. The price of food and goods at Winter Resorts has a massive mark up.

  5. Take sandwiches and a stainless steel flask for food / drink while out on the piste. You can even save time by eating on the long telecabin rides. That way you save by not eating in expensive restaurants in the resort and have more time to ride.

  6. Look at buying second hand skis or snowboards on ebay, SCUK or the SkiClub web sites. It will be cheaper than hiring at the resort.

  7. You can buy last seasons Ski Snowboard clothes cheaply at TK Maxx or sometimes ebay.

  8. Have a look at Annual Travel Insurance including Winter Sports, it can often work out cheaper. However whichever insurance you plan on buying, check the small print to ensure it covers the activities you intend carrying out.

  9. In many French resorts the Supermarket chain Sherpa has a number of schemes to help you save money. Firstly they will buy back unused, undamaged boxed, tinned food at the end of your week. Secondly they offer free hire of fondu and raclette equipment, all they need is a deposit.

  10. If you are travelling by car, you will find that snow chains are cheaper at the large supermarkets near the Alps than back home.

Coming next. 10 ways to spend a more sustainable Winter Sports break.

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Dec 2
2009

To travel to Chamonix, from Brussels, I booked a seat on a Eurolines coach, boarding by Gare du Nord. One of the main advantages of travelling by bus, is the low carbon footprint. Buses are generally light and do not use much fuel per person. They can also be quite cheap. I noted that the tickets from Brussels to Chamonix start at 9 Euros one way, shame mine wasn’t quite that cheap, I actually paid 90 Euros return, but had no extra fees for baggage etc.

Eurolines coach

Eurolines coach

I departed the Euro lines bus station at 18h00 on Sunday,after checking in a good sized bag and a snowboard in a bag. From what I read on the website for Eurolines Belgium, they don’t accept skis and snowboards, but the crew stowed mine in the baggage locker. Just don’t go turning up expecting them to accept your winter sports equipment in Belgium. If you are travelling from the UK then it is no problem. It all boils down to the fact that each country has a different coach operator badged as Eurolines operating their part of Europe. The journey was uneventful. We drove out of Brussels and on to Lille in France, a DVD was shown as we left Brussels, then another DVD on the leg from Lille to Paris.
Most of the passengers alighted at Paris and new passengers boarded, some with skis in carry bags. It was now about 11h00,so now more DVD’s were played. The coach then travelled down the Autoroutes headed for Geneva, but stopping for a break every 2 hours or so. Fortunately the coach was half empty so everyone had two seats each to try top get comfortable on for the night. I did manage to sleep in a number of unusual positions before waking after about half an hour each time.
As we went through the Jura, I noticed that the scenery looked very white, I was having difficulty making out why as I had removed my contact lenses for the night. It soon became apparent that it was snowing heavily. The bus stopped at the border at Switzerland and all passports were checked. There was a short stop at Geneva and then we headed back for France and Chamonix.

Chamonix, my destination

Chamonix, my destination

It was just getting light as we entered the Chamonix valley. It looked magnificent with its new covering of fresh snow. The coach had difficulty with the build up of snow on the streets of Chamonix, but managed to get to the bus stop outside the railway station.

I was tired most of Monday and slept really well on Monday night. Would I travel by coach again? Yes, in fact I have to on my return leg. It would be good to find some of those 9 euro seats and may well look out for them.

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