With Easter firmly planted in April this year, March is a long month with plenty of bargains to be had for booking ski chalets. Whether you are looking for self catered or catered there’s bound to be something to appeal to your tastes.
Lovingly restored 300 year old Savoyard chalet in the heart of Paradiski. En suite rooms. Sauna. Sleeps 10 to 12.
Sat 14 Mar 09 1 WEEK £ 269 per person (£90 off usual price £ 359)
Please quote ref: SECPER for discount to Internet Cottages customers.
Comfortable well equipped chalet set on the mountainside above St. Gervais, just 5 minutes drive from ski school and lifts. Sleeps 10.
Sat 07 Mar 09 1 WEEK £1,000 (£350 off usual price) - £100 per person per week. Please quote ref: SNOW for discount to Internet Cottages customers
The Alpine skiing holiday may be the last resort from the “elf and safety” culture that prevails in Britain: The very idea of hurtling yourself down a 45 degree slope with no visible means of support is in complete contrast to day-to-day office life where too much typing or a wet floor can be illegal.
No wonder then the average skier has resisted the call to wear a safety helmet. If there is one item of apparel that is guarantee to destroy any whiff of style or élan that you have managed to cultivate in your ski look, it is the space age head protection technology that says “invincible” – but tells the world, “I’m scared.” Of course the pros have been wearing them for 20 years, but the helmeted racer look must be finished with the spray-on body suit – and we are not quite ready for that, are we?
But the tide is finally turning on the question of head protection. There are a number of factors coming into play that could finally conspire to make us follow our own best advice and choose to protect ourselves from that most potentially debilitating and of course fatal of injuries – brain damage.
1. Awareness
Head injuries hit the headlines in Germany where a senior high profile politician collided on the mountainside with a mother of four on New Years Day 2009 . The woman was not wearing a helmet and died – the politician – a helmet wearer - survived. Expect more German skiers to be wearing helmets this year.
2. Style
Thanks to the demand for the more “extreme“ end of athletic achievement on the slopes driven by snowboarding, paraskiing and freestyling, we have seen the growth of the adolescent boarder for whom a helmet along with practical gear, is de rigeur. If youth style impacts the mainstream then helmets will surely become a cooler look for the older skier too.
3. Technology
Materials technology drives lighter weight solutions that can be formed into a wider variety of shapes. There is more scope for the manufacturers to experiment with styles to appeal to us and include other gadgetry from MP3 players to mobile phones. The improved performance characteristics of the helmets also makes for a better sell, as the manufacturers pick up on injury statistics to help push their product.
4. Medical research
Often-quoted research by the International Society of Skiing Safety shows the use of helmets reduces the number of head injuries by 30 percent to 50 percent and non-helmet users were greater are two times more likely to die of head injuries among accidents in which helmet use was known. Significant efforts are being made in the United States to promote helmet usage. One Professor Williams of Vermont Snow Sports Research Team, himself the survivor of a severe accident, has started a crusade to convert the majority of Americans to helmet usage, starting with his own local resort of Smugglers Notch, where signs display the message - “Ski like a local, wear a helmet!”. Younger kids are accustomed to wearing helmets as most ski schools demand them – by law in Italy and from 2009 by law in Austria.
5. Legislation
A recent poll conducted in Austria showed significant public support for a law enforcing safety helmet wearing on the slopes. The same poll also revealed a positive response to the idea of a “ski police“ patrolling the slops ticking off or removing those who ski too fast or out of control. If any European country were to go the legislative route – it would be Austria. Whether the majority of Europeans would be attracted to such as restrictive ski environment remains to be seen, but Austria could carve a niche for itself as the ski destination for those of us who are more safety conscious.
So are there any arguments against helmet wearing? There is evidence, both statistical and anecdotal that adult skiers taking to helmet wearing for the first time start to ski too fast – out of their competence zone, feeling themselves “invincible “ in their new armour. This has resulted in an increase rather than a decrease overall in fatal injuries. (Built-in boom boxes driving skiers to new levels of audacity to thumping hip hop must also be a factor, but there are no stats to back up this supposition!)
It is also significant that ski helmets are life preserving up to 12 mph (20kph). Beyond this speed other types of injury to the spine and internal organs are more likely to kill, so at speed it can be argued that the helmet is less effective.
Nevertheless, as the evidence gathers in support of the helmet, and the manufacturers and legislators join force, we must all finally accept that helmet wearing makes sense.
But isn’t it good to have the freedom to make the choice in the meantime?
Forget skiing – now there are 101 other magical reasons to holiday in the Alps
The typical British skier goes to the mountains s once or maybe twice a year and the prevailing view is there’s no point going Alps unless you are skiing. Certainly the majority of UK tour operators focus on the “ski” to promote their offer to the 200,000 or so Brits that head to the French mountain resorts annually.
But there’s a lot more to the Alps these days. Resorts are looking to “diversify“ with new activity offerings to appeal to an ever widening audience.
The top ones are doing very well in presenting these opportunities to independent holiday makers through attractive and comprehensive resort websites. Using these to plan your holiday – alongside our chalet bookings links - could lead you to a wholly different alpine holiday experience.
In keeping with its “environmentally –friendly” profile , Chamonix is promoting a greater variety of “getting close to nature” experiences.
The ancient and silent snow shoe is now popular for people who want to discover the winter environment of the remotest and most unspoilt areas of the mountain. Snowshoe and pedestrian trail guides can be sourced through the Chamonix Mont Blanc website.
The resorts of the Portes du Soleil region of the French Alps, comprising Morzine, Chatel and Les Gets offer a huge range of winter activities. Here are the ones easiest to locate and book
Sledging - Indianabob offers a thrilling evening cable car/sleigh ride down treelined slopes to the village below. 22Euro per person. www.indianaventures.com
Heritage discovery - A Savoie guide takes you round the old village traditions, dwellings and history. There’s the history of skiing, a tour of the stables in Nants, at slate workshop and a chance to see cheese being made and matured at Morxine dairy. Find out more at www.morzine.com
Chatel
This swiss style scenic village is full of traditional architecture. Worth visiting for that alone, but its also a hot bed of spectator ski competition hosting the world’s top dog sledding race, FIS Europa Cup and the Montee du Lingua mountaineering skiing circuit (12 April 2009). Take part for 20 Euros per person (14 +) www.chatel.com
Another village that prides itself on tradition, Les Gets offers a great range of experiences for the non skier. Try hot air ballooning Long flight (hour) : 244 /pers.euros, snowmobile driving : 1/2 hour 40 euros or passenger: 1/2 hour 10 euros , mountain Skydiving: 355 euros; paragliding from 75 euros and dog sledding for families from 35 euros 1/2 day. Mush Mush! Exhausted? Try the Spa Sereni Cimes at Hotel La Marmotte where there’s a wonderful array of uplifting and anti-aging therapies on offer from cell revitalisation to sensorial colour saunas. Wow. Lets get to Les Gets…
Being iced up there’s plenty of action on offer here with ice climbing – 75 euros, mountain adventuring (420 euro per day) ice quad biking (65 euros per hour) and skating (free on Wednesdays!).
If you feel ready to try a new sport then Samoens is the place to head. The website promotes the new sport of “Slinding and Gliding” defined as “extreme physical efforts carried out with out any formal framework and the absence of competition”. Rather aptly there are no contact points offered. So pitch up at Samoens with a open mind and see what Slinding and Gliding is all about – and let us know - we’re most curious.
Am I imagining it or is anything to do with winter sport becoming very cool these days?
Whether it’s a reaction to climate change or something to do with cute athletes like Shelley Rudman, skiing, mountaineering and polar adventures are everywhere.
Small screen thrills
Let’s start with TV – have you seen High Altitude at 10 pm on Sundays? The Beeb have finally hit on an alternative to Top Gear with laid back snowboarder Ed Leigh (pictured left) and ex British Ski champion Graham Bell (pictured right) pushing themselves and various popular celebrities to the limits of fear and endurance.
Ski Sunday is back to its regular tea time spot on BBC 2 with a fantastic opening sequence filmed in New Zealand– and there’s ski-hunk Bell again! Last year the classic show was panned by critics when it changed its format to widen its appeal. Purists were irritated by the lack of race action in favour of travelogues and celebrity skiing challenges.
The poor response by the 2008 audience made the producers do a U-turn and the 2009 programme is back to its traditional format, with High Altitude providing the celebrity action as a complement. However you look at it - the BBC has widened the audience for mountain adventure and all the fans are happy.
For the real Top Gear action in the snow – watch Ice Road Truckers on Channel Five. This astonishing show was imported from the History Channel after it attracted the highest ratings ever. Apparently the burly Canadian daredevils are extremely popular viewing in Africa.
Icing on the cake
Ice skating of course has had a big boost with the return of the seemingly ageless Christopher and Jayne and ITV’s Dancing on Ice. Seeing middle aged celebs hurtling though the air has inspired many of us put our skates on again as the craze for winter ice rinks takes hold up and down the country.
Polar regions
Polar exploration still fascinates. Nearly 100 years after Scott’s arctic expedition to the South Pole, amiable TV presenter Ben Fogle and Olympian James Cracknell have recently attempted to take revenge on the Norwegians by competing in the January 2009 international Amundsen Omega 3 race to the South Pole. The novice UK team attracted high profile sponsor and media attention but was sadly pipped to the post by the Norwegians – again! A heroic attempt nevertheless, and they came back alive – just. Their journey was filmed for a documentary, ‘On Thin Ice’ which will be broadcast in Spring/Summer 2009 on BBC 2.
Hollywood next
After the runaway success of Touching the Void – the incredible story of British climber Joe Simpson’s survival, all things mountaineering are said to be the “Next Big Thing” in movies. Tom Scott, a Kiwi documentarist and fan of Edmund Hillary is angling for top Aussie actor Hugh Jackman to play his hero in a biopic. Rumours are circulating of plans for a US picture on the dramatic story of ill-fated George Leigh-Mallory, whose attempt on Everest 30 years earlier remains a subject of debate, made more interesting by the discovery of his body below the peak in 1999.
U-tube meltdown
But if it’s sheer downhill adrenalin you want, just Google “ski movie” for incredible real life action which makes you feel like you are there.
The combination of base jumping, para-skiing and lightweight camera technology means that amateurs are now shooting heart-stopping footage from their helmet cameras as they fly through the air. Clips like Seth Morrison’s Steep on U-tube attract millions of hits:
So are we destined to become couch skiers?
This screen excitement will never replace the real thing…..
Viewing Schedules: Ski Sunday
BBC2 - Sundays 4.30pm - available on BBC iPlayer after transmission Further action available via the red button on digital High Altitude
BBC2 - Sundays 10.20pm - available on BBC iPlayer after transmission Ice Road Truckers
Channel 5 - Thursdays 9.00pm - repeated the following Sunday 7.00pm Dancing on Ice
ITV1 - Sundays 6.55pm , The Skate-Off - 9.30pm
Be the First to Comment 
