If ski hills can guarantee snow, those around Gstaad, Switzerland, will certainly be among them.

Gstaad hasn’t messed around with snow conditions this year.

The Swiss ski area has invested an impressive amount of resources into snow making over the course of the winter season.

Bergbahnen Destination Gstaad AG, the area’s lift operating compant, added snow making equipment to provide an extra 11.8km of additional snow-covered slopes.

Continue reading ‘It’s all about the snow at Gstaad’

Scotland's Glencoe ski area

Scotland’s five mountain ski areas have been blessed not only by lots of snow this winter, but also more customers than any winter since 2001.

They’ve already passed 250,000 skier days and this is around two months before the season is expected to end. This total is 100,000 more than last season, which wasn’t a bad one.

This is excellent news not only for the ski companies, but also for the surrounding areas, with the season so far estimated to have generated at least £25M for the Scottish economy, of which £20M will have been spent in nearby local businesses.

Continue reading ‘Scottish ski crowds are the biggest in nine years’

St. Anton in Austria at sunset.

St Anton in the Austrian Alps is preparing for a full range of events for the final weeks of the ski season.

The Intersport Spring Festival from the 9th to the 11th of April is now an integral part of St. Anton am Arlberg’s event calendar. During the event, some of Austria’s leading snowsport athletes will be displaying their expertise in a range of competitions.

The festival includes Austrian Ski Instructors, Demo-Team Championships, the Arlberg X-Ride Challenge and the Giant Slalom competition.

Continue reading ‘Austria’s St Anton gears up for spring festival’

Ski cross was one of the most exciting events in Vancouver.

After the introduction of Ski Cross to the Olympics last month, the sport may be taking off outside of it’s North American roots.

The next generation of ski cross racers will be taking to the slopes of Les Arcs in the giant French Paradiski region for The Gavaggio Master Cross race on the 28th of March.

The GMX race will be one of the first ever ski-cross event for youngsters aged 11 to 14. Enak Gavaggio, a multiple winner in the sport, will be spearheading the event and passing on his experience to the kids at this unprecedented contest.

Continue reading ‘Ski cross takes European leap forward with GMX’

St. Gervais ski resort

There has been a long and bitter rivalry between ski resorts in Europe for almost 200 years. In fact, I have no trouble imagining a couple of Gallic Neanderthals turning their noses up at the slopes outside their neighbours caves several thousand years ago. However, one can only really go on the recommendations of people who have already been.

Continue reading ‘St. Gervais ski resort’

This toboggan run has a long history.

The famous Cresta Run at St Moritz was first built as a toboggan run several decades before downhill skiing took off as a winter sport.

Built by visiting British tourists in the mid-1880s, the run celebrates its 125th anniversary this winter.

The Cresta Run remains privately-operated by the British St. Moritz Tobogganing Club, which is based in the original St Moritz luxury hotel, The Kulm. The Club still only allows men to descend the run, except on the last day of its operation each winter, and the high speed run on a small metal sled is not for the faint-hearted. The ‘Cresta kiss’ impact injury is a common occurrence.

Continue reading ‘The run that’s older than skiing itself’

Chamonix takes in number 1 spot with British skiers as per EasyJet's compilation.

European discount airline Easyjet recently released the top-10 winter ski resort destinations by  British skiers and have compiled them into a hot list. Ski Rebel Magazine has managed to get a copy and has them available for you if you read on…

Continue reading ‘Europe’s top 10 ski destinations as chosen by UK travelers’