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An amazing Chalet in a little forest, close to the Flegere lift. We went in summertime when chamonix is buzzing and lively - full of french alpine character and tradition.
The Chalet sleeps 10, and is incredibly spacious, with a huge balcony to sit out on and enjoy the stunning alpine views. There's even a fully appointed 'Mazot' (enchanting mini- chalet) in the garden, which is unbelievably romantic! The enormous garden was covered in wildflowers, nestled in the woods, with a hammock to laze in, a hot-tub with views of the surrounding mountains, and woodburning barrel sauna to pamper yourself in - and we spent happy nights having BBQ's arond the firepit, under the stars.
The chalet itself has a really traditional feel, with wood beams and granite, with a proper wetroom, spacious kitchen and lounge - and a wonderful atmosphere.
It's truly a magical destination for all seasons!
Les Praz, Chamonix
www.chaletlaforet.com/
I went skiing in Jasna this year in March and had some of the best skiing I have ever had. I stayed with a British chalet holiday company called Ski and Snowboard Slovakia they organse everything for you and the chalet was beautiful and right on the slopes amazing!
A great bar in the centre of chamonix to relax in after a day's walking (or skiing) in Chamonix's stunning mountains.
Rue des Moulins
74400 Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France
+33 4 50 53 91 33
Self-catering apartment full of character in the mountains near some of the best paragliding sites in Europe. Run by wonderful hosts Ruth and Ulric Jessop, who do everything they possibly can to ensure you have a fantastic holiday, making sure you are well fed and watered (despite the "self catering" tag"), providing loads of suggestions of good things to do/eat/see in the area, and keeping you entertained with stories of all their amazing adventures skiing, paragliding, rickshaw racing, and living in France generally.
We just got back form our Snowboarding holiday in Chamonix which we booked with Arctic Beaver. We had a great time and just wanted to thank the guys for all the hard work they put in to make our holiday so special. They organised everything from the transfers, ski hire, catering and passes.
Will definitely come back.
If you fancy combining two of the most fun activities in the world, snowsports and clubbing, in a beautiful Austrian village with a few thousand like-minded fancy dressed loons, this is your bag baby!
For 10 years now at the end of the season the amazing Austrian resort of Mayrhofen gets transformed into party central. The crack Snowbombing team take over virtually every hotel and venue for miles around and pack them full of the hottest DJs and bands you can think of providing a frenzied atmosphere of piste by day and beats by night. To drop a few names from this year's line-up, we've got the legendary Fatboy Slim, Dizzee Rascal, Reverend and the Makers, Grandmaster Flash, Fabio & Grooverider, Zane Lowe, and the list goes on...
If you're serious about your riding you'll find 625km of pistes, a world renowned funpark, and the Tux glacier, offering piste and off-piste action all year round. Just don't be put off if Batman or a herd of boarders wearing only their pants pass you on the slopes!
And my hottest tip for Snowbombing? Get accommodation in the Hotel Strass! This is the epicentre of the whole festival. Three of the main apres and nightlife venues are in the same building, it's right next to the lifts, one night of the week there is a street party right outside, and it has a naked sauna in the basement - the perfect way to wind down and make new friends after a hard day on the slopes or a hard night on the tiles.
If you like the finest Powder (15 meters average snow fall), quiet slopes, stunning scenery, amazing food, politest lift attendants in the World and natural hot springs to soak your tired limbs in after a day on the slopes then Niseko on Japans far north Island Hokkaido, is definitely the place to go.
Prevailing Siberian winds dump hugh quantities of the worlds lightest powder creating a truly powder heaven. So if you’re a powder hound and want quality snow then this is the location.
Three interlinked ski areas (Hirafu, Annapuri and Higashiyama) combine to create Niseko, Japan’s largest and best known resort. Because it is so far from Tokyo it is relatively quiet compared to the ski areas in the Japan Alps.
The terrain includes wide cruising runs fringed with snow-laden trees (silver birch woodlands), steeper backcountry descents accessed from gates hidden throughout the ski area and a long well designed Snowboard Park. You can hike to the top of the mountain peak for some mind blowing views of Mt.Yotei (extinct volcano that is perfectly cone shaped) and excellent off-piste powder bowl runs. And did I mention the extensive night skiing? Wow and haven’t even stopped for a bowl of noodles.
If your there for a few weeks I would recommend checking out nearby resorts of Rusutsu and Furano (which allegedly has the driest finest powder in the world).
Getting there: Fly with BA or Virgin direct to Tokyo (11 hours) and Hokkaido is only a 11/2 hour flight and then 2 hour bus transfer. Or buy a JR rail pass which can only be bought by tourists to use bullet trains.
Where to stay:
Best secret, I stayed in Annapurna hostel which is more like a rustic hotel. 2 minutes to lifts it is a beautiful wooden chalet with great cosy communal area with open fire place. Amazingly tasty traditional Japanese dinner of several courses prepared fresh everyday by the loving friendly owner who will also drive you to local Onsons (natural hot springs) every night. Best value around at Y5,300 (£40) per night with breakfast and mind blowing dinner. You can even do your own board waxing in the ski room. www.snowjapan.com/e/hotel/viewhotel.php?hotid=79.
The only downside (or upside) is that there is no ‘western’ night life in Annapurna village but for a few days I highly recommend staying here. Those after nightlife (with an Australian flavour) should stay in Hirafu the largest of the villages, where there is plenty of bars to choose from.
Top tips for Boarding Japan
• Bring your own gear – hiring is expensive
• If you don’t have your own gear then book ski and board rental before you get there. It’s a lot cheaper.
• Bring cash. Only post offices and 7-11 cash points work with foreign visa cards. Also tell your card company that you are going away. I have two days stranded with no cash.
• Most hotels and lodges offer discount lift tickets. It is better to buy two discounted tickets (3 and 4 day) then to buy a 7 day ticket from the ticket office.
www.snowjapan.com/ - places to stay and snow reports
www.snowjapan.com/e/hotel/viewhotel.php?hotid=79. My favourite accommodation
www.skisafari.com/Ski-Japan.aspx - information about the area
www.skihirejapan.com/home.php - renting boarding gear
Well, how to sum up the event last year. . . AMAZING!!!!!
The animal-party night was such a laugh, props to everyone who made it out last year in the hot fancy dress outfits, my horse salutes you!
The faces of the locals were a picture. Oh, and the snow! The mountains are made of the stuff. It's quite a sight to behold. With all the slopes open, whenever I went over to them it was a winter wonderland combining my love of snowboarding and my passion for music!
Do's and Don'ts
DO bring a costume - you'll have much more fun if you do
DO get a six-day pass for the slopes - you'll appreciate the flexibility
DON'T over-do the slopes so that you're exhausted and miss out on the parties
DON'T over-do the parties so you miss out on the slopes
DO go four-star
DO remember to bring sunscreen and chapstick!
I guarantee that you'll look back at this festival for the rest of your life.
Get along - get involved and get into it!
I am genuinely hesitant to offer my tip because its beauty lies in its unpopularity but the prize is just too good to pass up.
On the sunny southside of Switzerland's Matterhorn and Italy's Monte Rosa lies the best kept secret in European snowsports. Cervinia is the highest resort in the Valle D'Aosta (and maybe the Alps or even the world?) at 2050m and is a mere 3 gondolas and 30mins from Platuea Rosa at 3480m. This offers incredible riding for much more of the season than anywhere else in the Alps and some very accessible and pretty decent glaciar action even mid-summer. At a time when gloabal warming is threatening wintersports this altitude has advantages. From the plateu you can ski down into picturesque Zermat (a dizzy drop of nearly 2000m) or down the 22km run to Valtourenche (over 2000m below). There's everything else in between including Europe's highest snowpark and some of the safest powder off piste i've ever seen. My favorite times there have been early December and mid April. Cheap passes and empty slopes coupled with total snow coverage.
The village itself has everything you need and is certainly more suited to the dedicated dawn to dusk rider than the dusk til dawn clubber; perfect. Hotel Fosson is a personal fav at the bottom of a sunfilled blue run into Cervinia and Paula, the owner, has more skiing medals than the Herminator.
As if this weren't good enough its merely two hours drive from Turin and it's dangerously cheap to fly there from UK. Wait, what am I saying? don't go, you'll like it too much. Alright do go, but don't tell anyone about it.
Cervina, Valle D'Aosta. Just of the A5, Italia
Everyone young and sloaney young person goes to Krazy Kangarau but Moosewirt is far more fun! Its bigger, has a slightly more mad pan Europe crowd and a lot more friendly. The DJ hangs out of the window over the terrace and the ski down to the base station is easier - oh yeah, its actually in the middle of the piste.
St Anton, route 1, just above the Gampen lift.
Andorra to snowboard or ski, it is very cheap and has fantastic resorts with good snow. The best thing after a day of full exercise snowboarding is a spa session in Caldea, it is another experience. Highly recommend to go there and have a go. You will go back.
Take a hike at the late season in Aviemore (Scotland rocks for snowboarding - don't listen to the fairweather types) and session a kicker. You never know, you may even see the sun and be able to session in a t-shirt!
Stay for the night in Aviemore and have a nice tip of whiskey at the end of the night.
Aviemore, Scotland. At the Cairngorm mountain resort
Want a free ski holiday? Try working as peak-week staff for a tour operator. Work hard play hard is the key, but there will usually be the pay off of a few days of free skiing with your new mates that the company has shipped in for you. There are jobs for non-skiers and beginners, usually helping out in the creche or with the younger children. For the more experienced skier, it is possible to work as a ski guide or even an instructor with some companies.
Powder Byrne (www.powderbyrne.com) is the creme de la creme of this arrangement, with increasing numbers of applicants every year, you will need to prove that you are intelligent, hard working and have a great attitude towards customer service.
Try looking at www.natives.co.uk for more great ski resort jobs
If you are skier or snowboarder, this is the most amazing off piste powder run for snowboarders and skiers. The run is completely untouched and easy to find. You can achieve that same exhilarating feeling as if you were heli skiing but without the hike across the mountain to get there. Although you have to be prepared for a 30-minute hike back up the road at the end but well worth it.
Information to follow
This is a brilliant bar decked out Aborigne style - think great log benches, animal furs on the walls (fake, I hope) and a really charismatic hosts. He plays digeridoo music and it's low lighting and cave-like atmosphere make it really cool place to hang out.
Really don't expect a bar like it in a modern resort like Tignes.
Val Claret
This is a great place to buy ski and snowboard gear if you're heading to places like Breck, Keystone, Vail etc. It's a huge store stocked with loads of brands but the some prices are amazingly discounted. If you were planning to buy ski gear in the states anyway because of the cheaper prices, then this place is a good bet to get even better deals.
Dillon Plaza, HWY 6, next to City Market
Definitely a dive bar but a brilliant one! Staff are friendly, there's pool and the evenings go off thanks to great bar deals.
On Main Street on the top floor of a small plaza
A little way away from Keystone but there's is a ridiculously attentive bus service which makes not having a car no problem. I booked a one bedroom condo with a loft room expecting it to be compact but it was massive. The condo was serviced every day which I hadn't expected in self-catering and it had access to an outdoor heated pool and hot tub. Because of its location it was much cheaper than any place in River Run village so if you can handle the bus these condos are a great deal.
When skiing while teaching kids, avoid lift queues at the beginning and end of day by taking the lifts from Meribel Village up to Altiport. There's also a nice deli to grab a baguette and avoid huge on-piste sandwich costs.
The best bar/nightclub in town! Yes, it is a little far from the centre, but it isn't called the Grail for nothing; top tunes, champagne, light-up dancefloor, unusually high amounts of decent seating, free clockroom and the all-important stripper poles make it the perfect place to party hard apres-ski style!
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