The Ski Holiday Blog

Tag Archives: Tignes

Brand New Super-Tarentaise Gondola Plans Released

By David Froom | Published: April 1, 2011
A new lift development costing almost 200 million Euros and linking the major ski areas of the Tarentaise was unveiled yesterday to widespread excitement among the ski industry. The new gondola, named the “Super-Tarentaise” will start in Le Praz (Courchevel 1300) and cross the Bozel Valley to La Plagne, before rising above the Bellecote Glacier, over to Les Arcs and finally liaising with Tignes via the spectacular Aiguille Rouge peak. The journey time between Courchevel and Tignes will be just under an hour, thanks to the revolutionary new technology being used in the construction, which will give the gondola a top speed of 50kph between stations.
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Fresh Snow Across the Alps

By David Froom | Published: February 16, 2011

It’s been a while. According to an old pal who still lives in Chamonix and posted on facebook this morning, it’s been 36 days. Some resorts might even claim a longer drought, but what we do know is that the worst is over and that there is fresh snowfall in most major resorts right now. The whole ski industry has been nervously checking weather forecasts, looking to the sky and I’ve seen a few videos of snow dances being performed in various resorts since the New Year. Happily, I’m glad to be able to say the Guardian’s article yesterday, predicting the possible end to the entire season in mid-February is nothing short of a scaremongering fabrication. Even if it didn’t snow again between now and Easter, all major resorts have excellent infrastructures in place to ensure that the vast majority of their pistes remain open all season long thanks to their numerous snow cannons and creative use of piste bashers. Read More »

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Skiing off the Beaten Track

By David Froom | Published: February 15, 2011
So you think you know everything there is to know about skiing in Europe? Done the Three Valleys? Of course you have. Val d’Isere and Tignes? Without a doubt. Les Arcs, La Plagne, La Rosiere? We cover all of these resorts time and time again in our blog posts and for the majority of the holidays we sell. Some of the more niche destinations are also becoming well travelled roads amongst the UK ski package holiday market. Chamonix, Morzine, Zermatt and Verbier have all become popular destinations in recent years and whilst a blog with this title would have featured them a few years back, these days we send so many people to such destinations that they simply no longer qualify as anything other than mainstream. Not that there’s anything wrong with the mainstream resorts, mind you. They all have superb modern lift systems, large ski areas, established ski schools and the altitude to ensure good conditions all through the season.

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A 5 Star Holiday in Val d’Isere

By David Froom | Published: December 22, 2010
Mention early season skiing and a few resorts always spring to mind. For the best early season snow record, some of the best chalets and service in the Alps and a generally superb time, Val d’Isere is close to unbeatable. Nick and I had the pleasure of staying a few nights last week in Chalet Chablis, one of the Bellevarde Lodges in Val d’Isere.

It wasn’t your typical ski break, as we only actually spent two nights in our sumptuous surroundings. Sadly, trips out to view chalets are fun but all too often short-lived. We won’t dwell on that though, instead I’d like to focus on the superb surroundings and brilliant organisation which meant that we came back feeling as though we’d been away for a whole week Read More »

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Eurostar to the Alps on sale this morning

By David Froom | Published: July 13, 2010
Although a majority of our clients tend to book a package with flights and transfers included, a growing number now make their own travel arrangements to the Alps and the direct Eurostar services to the Tarentaise are always very popular indeed. This year there will be the usual two direct services, one leaving London St Pancras on Friday evenings, arriving in the Alps early on Saturday morning, and one leaving on Saturday mornings which arrives on Saturday afternoon. Sadly the Snow Train via Paris, with its famous disco carriage, will not be running this year.

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Morzine – A Brief History

By Chris Callaghan | Published: July 12, 2010
The polar opposite of 1970s tower-block resorts like Tignes and La Plagne, the beautiful, charming ski resort of Morzine began life as far back as 1090. The area was one of only two crossing-points over the river Dranse and as such was of great geographical importance.
 

Around the start of the 12th century, Cistercian monks began arriving in the area of St Jean d’Aulps on pilgrimage from other areas in France, most notably Dijon. The term Cistercian comes from the Latin ‘Cistercium,’ which was the name given to the Dijon village of Cîteaux from whence the monks mostly came. By 1181 they had fully established themselves in St Jean d’Aulps and in the surrounding territories, and Morzine became a “monastic grange” from the abbey of the same name. Read More »

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Val Thorens 2010 – 4 days and counting

By David Froom | Published: April 13, 2010

Here we are, another season has come and almost gone and this Saturday the Interactive Resorts crew are heading back to the mountains for one last week of skiing, sunshine, fun and games before summer. The last three years of the official company trip have all been to Val d’Isere but this year promises to be a complete change as we’re heading to Europe’s highest resort of Val Thorens!

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Espace Killy: 3 days and counting!

By David Froom | Published: November 25, 2009

Here we are, another year has passed and another ski season is about to kick off. Forget all those excited blogs and tweets in October about new snow in Europe and a few resorts in the States opening early, we’re now getting ready for the real snow. The first guests for UK tour operators will be arriving in Tignes and Val d’Isere on Saturday, that’s the 28th November, which is the official opening date for the Espace Killy.

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Skiing in Val d’Isere, apres ski and a little taste of Tignes!

By Chris Callaghan | Published: May 8, 2009

Chalet Cherrier dining roomAfter another busy season in the London office, expectations were high for the end-of-season staff trip to Val d’Isere. The requirements were simple; amazing weather, fresh snowfall, beers a-plenty and laughs all the way, and we were not in the least disappointed on any count.

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Posted in Interactive Resorts, Resort Reviews | Also tagged , | 3 Comments