Posts Tagged ‘european ski holidays’
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
To much fanfare and muted chears about the sno office, we are proud to announce that Inghams ski holidays are now live on sno !
 Inghams ski holidays - sno big deal We’re getting a daily feed of Inghams ski holidays from their server so the Inghams ski holidays on sno are now as up-to-date as those on Inghams ski holidays own website – its very exciting for us and the first step in adding all ski holidays from all the big ski travel companies.
Our next update should be adding Inghams ski holidays to sno mobi in the next few weeks… and from there we will add the TUI ski holidays which basically means we will have Crystal Ski holidays, Thomson Ski holidays and First Choice Ski holidays all live and part of the sno ski holidays search module along with Inghams skiing packages.
Why is that exciting? Well it means that we’re getting closer to our goal of being able to search “All ski holidays, from All ski travel companies, on One page” – sno problem!
We’ll try to create a proper Inghams ski holidays page on sno travel asap, to give some more info on this giant of the ski travel industry – Inghams ski holidays are essentially the first and original UK ski travel company and they’re still the nation’s favourite ski holidays and ski packages provider.
Check our the Inghams ski holidays on sno travel and give us a buzz to get the “mates discount” (we’re giving the “mates discount” on ski holidays for our sno mates who read the blog, our sno mates at UKfast and a few other “special” people, but talk to us nicely and we might just extent the “mates discount” to your ski holiday!)
Tags: european ski holidays, inghams, ski holidays, sno, sno mobi
Posted in ski holidays | 2 Comments »
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
As if the prove this was not a series of ski holidays, while the alpine ski resorts tour tour got busier this blog got further behind, but I still have all the pictures and stories from the next 2 months of our 3 month alpine tour of 30+ ski resorts, so please check back and I’ll write more soon…
… in the meantime, our mobile ski resort guide sno mobi has exploded (well over 10,000 page views per week at the height of the ski holidays season) and we are about to start providing ski holidays from the all top UK ski holidays and ski travel companies, so we can help you find the best cheap ski holidays and ski deals too!
 our gorgeous vintage airstream for sale Before the next airstream tour and ski holidays blog, I’m both sad and excited to announce that our wonderful 1966 vintage Airstream caravans for sale in the UK – SORRY – SOLD – we don’t have more to sell so you can read how to go get one from the US yourself in the blogs below or contact a reputable supplier like ARC Airstream.
Airstream pictures and “uk airstream for sale” info is in the “pages” link call “airstream caravans for sale” on the right of this page
Our ski holidays are now live! - check out our ski holidays on your mobile and ski resorts right here on sno.co.uk
All skiing holidays, from all ski travel companies, on one page – ski deals and cheap ski holidays? sno problem!
Tags: airstream, cheap ski holidays, european ski holidays, ski austria, ski chalets, ski deals, ski europe, ski france, ski holidays, ski hotel, ski hotels, ski resorts
Posted in Grand Alpine Ski Resorts Tour, ski holidays | Comments Off
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
 one of our wheels - its not supposed to look like that After a glorious first fortnight in the French alps – some truly memorable days in the ski holiday hotspots of Alpe d’Huez, Les Deux Alpes and La Grave - it was time to up-sticks from our first campsite in Bourg d’Oisans and head for our next sojourn in Brides les Bains, below the ski resorts of the legendary Les Troi Vallees.
Many things happened in between getting up that morning and our leg-stretch stop 2’30″ into the 3 hour drive… but this post is a pictorial account of how the last 30 minute leg turned into a rather more eventful few hours of highway high-jinks.
If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.
Murphy’s law had been pretty much in effect all day, but we remained cheary and confident that we would get to Brides les Bains with plenty of time to get settled before dark & enjoy a relatively easy day. For once, we had no work planned, only a little travel.
Stopping for a freshen up, Iddi returned to my driver’s window and said “you know the back doors gone”
“its gone?”
“yes”
“what do you mean?”
“its gone”
“gone?”
“yes”
“gone how?”
“its gone”
“broken?”
“gone”
“gone as in bent?”
“no, its gone”
“you mean its not working?”
“no, its gone”
… this went on for some time until Iddi eventually elaborated,
“its not there anymore”
 what do you mean the back door is gone? it's not there any more The rear door could have fallen off at any time during the last two and a half hours drive… it would take up to 5 hours to retrace our route and get back to where we were now.
This was one of those moments when you completely reframe your ambitions for the day – our hope for a casual day of travel and camping evaporated and was replaced by the goal of merely getting to the new location with all of our caravan.
We paid the toll to leave the highway, took a new ticket (to pay to retrace our steps) and headed back on the opposite carriageway… our biggest fear was not finding this rare piece of a vintage caravan at all… but only just ahead of our fear of finding it right back at the entrance to the campsite we had left!
… it was then that we caught our first piece of luck that day, or so we hoped… just 2 miles down the road, Iddi thought she saw an appropriately sized piece of shiny metal on the opposite shoulder.
“was it our door?”
“it was the right size”
“but was it our door – should I turn around?”
“it was the right shape”
“how confident are you? should we turn around?”
“I think that might have been it”
We turned off at the next exit and Murphy’s Law resumed… it was not a junction, but a slip road onto another highway with no way to turn around.
Long story cut short, we eventually turned around, got back onto the first highway and started to guestimate the distance to where “possibly our door” had been seen…
… and then…
brrrum-brrum, brrum, brrrum, brr… HUGE vibrations and the rear of the car started to move around without warning…
… can our luck really be that bad?
I tried to imagine what extra carnage our missing door might wreak, but could think of nothing. I slowed down and pulled onto the shoulder.
 one utterly shredded airstream tyre In a completely unrelated event, fate had dealt us a second caravanning-based hammer blow. A flat tyre might seem trivial but, in my head, it was the end of the world… here’s why:
- I bought the airstream in Arizona with no spare wheel
- a spare wheel is a legal requirement in the UK & Europe so I ordered one, with tyre from a Brit tyre dealer, in the American 6 stud configuration (unusual in Europe) … planning to try it on the Airstream before leaving the UK, but…
You get the picture… I had a missing door, where the whole bathroom might fall out… a tyre blow out… and a spare wheel that might not fit on the axle… on a French highway shoulder we didn’t quite fit on… and, I then discovered, our warning triangle was missing (also a legal requirement in France).
I didn’t expect the next hour to go well.
 Iddi directs juggernaughts away from snoman changing wheel
But, as Churchill once said, “if you’re going through hell, keep going!” - in the face of such adversity, we could but bravely press ahead.
While I’ve never caravanned before, I understood it would be far easier to change a tyre on a twin axle – no jack required – by simply driving the good tyre up one of our levelling-ramps. Hey-presto, the flat tyre is off the ground and ready to be removed!
 ramp is under the good tyre - ready to swap out the blow out
Audentis fortuna juvet
As if to reward such quick thinking, the hastily bought spare wheel fitted perfectly…
… within a few short minutes we were rolling again and pondering how, if we were not driving on the shoulder, had the “probably our door” managed to get onto the shoulder?
 I'm sure this door was a different shape the last time I saw it We arrived at the door half a mile later and discovered exactly how - at least one truck had helpfully bounced it onto the shoulder by driving over it. The door was bent but intact the damage looked salvagable.
I predict a lot of DIY in my near future
While picking up the door, a French policeman arrived and I explained the whole saga – I can’t tell you how relieved I was that he arrived after the fact – we might have been looking at a fine for not carrying a warning triangle too! Needless to say I bought one the very next day. Luck was still shining on us when, at the next service stop, we met the same chap – he shared a few laughs and took a family picture.
 one odd wheel and door in back of car, but alls well that ends well
The mere ‘good day’ we had hoped for was ultimately far surpassed by the jubilation of rescuing that day, and ourselves, from catastrophe – we arrived triumphal in Camping La Piat, masters of our own destiny, and resolved to not think about the repairs until manana. To the chirrup of some encouraging and also some mick-taking tweets, we enjoyed a glass or three… and went to sleep satisfied.
 Jimmy inspects airstream spare wheel - father elsewhere in vino euphoria NEXT: Val Thorens – the highest ski resort in Europe
(add your Val Thorens ski resort business now to SNO.mobi ski holidays guide and I’ll name-check you in the next blog post)
Tags: airstream, brides les bains, european ski holidays, meribel, ski resorts, sno, sno mobi, snoman, val thorens
Posted in Grand Alpine Ski Resorts Tour, ski holidays | 2 Comments »
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
 what no lifts & trails? la grave looks like alpine wilderness... because it is On the fringe of conventional ski holidays can be found the odd ski resort with a special reputation - here’s what La Grave.com has to say about skiing la grave:
“By exploring the domain of La Grave-La Meije, you are not in a typical ski resort.
This is a real mountain environment as you head down in an unmarked, and non-patrolled area at your own risk.
You must be aware of all mountain hazards including rocks, avalanches, crevasses, and be ready for the possibility of drastic weather changes.
In 30 minutes, the cable-car (téléphérique) takes you to 3200m, where you can create your own itinerary for the descent. You can choose from vast glacial escapes to steep chutes, a world away from the marked trails, the ropes, and the signs of a ski resort. Let your skill level and your inspirations guide you.
This freedom requires a certain technical level, but more importantly humility, responsibility, and respect for Mother Nature.
For yours and everyone’s well-being and piece of mind, you need to take certain precautions before heading out.”
This is the (no) piste map:
 thats right, there is no piste on the la grave piste map Unlike pretty much any other ski area in the world, on the la grave piste map the “restaurant” symbol is heavily outnumbered by the “severe danger” symbol.
 perhaps the most dangerous "beautiful place" in the alps There’s no doubt that La Grave is something special… and perhaps your skiing needs a little magic too, to fully appreciate what it has to offer.
But you don’t need to be Doug Coombs to ski la grave – you can enjoy spectacular off piste heaven in comparative safety if you (1) hire a ski guide and (2) are very honest about your skiing or snowboarding ability.
The ski village made for a bond film
 I planned to seduce the beautiful Swiss agent, but the Austrian dwarf got there first While I’ve yet to find a ski resort I have not enjoyed skiing and apres ski in, there are in truth very few places left in the mountains that maintain the style, charm and authenticity of the Cortina or Saint Moritz of old…
… staying and skiing in la grave is the closest you can get (in 2010) to being in a 60′s Bond movie.
 I dispatched the Austrian dwarf, but the French shepherd had me hemmed in... La grave is beautiful, unspoiled and, as is given away by the cars parked in its streets, that perfectly vintage-glam mix of old local familes and old-money ski-tourist.
No doubt there’s more than the odd parvenu here, but you can kid yourself that you’re rubbing shoulders with discreet European minor royalty and David Niven types.
 was that Stephanie de Monaco? don't stare, act casual... talk loudly about how many ponies you need to play polo full time It created for us the perfect foil for La Grave, to visit Alpe d’Huez and Les Deux Alpes before coming here.
The latter two ski resorts provide everything that the modern package ski holiday maker has come to expect from their ski holidays – massive and modern lift infrastructure, huge variety of accommodation, eateries and nightlife, well organised on piste safety.
La Grave is everything that the modern ski resort is not – un-pisted (if not entirely un-patrolled), beautifully aged mountain village, small apres ski scene, higher cost of guided skiing.
 beautiful mountain village is the antithesis of a ski resort La Grave might not fit most peoples idea of a perfect ski resort, but that’s precisely its charm – the authenticity of a proper, old fashioned mountain village, coupled with proper all-mountain skiing and snowboarding.
Un-pisted, un-tamed… un-safe? possibly.
Un-dimned, un-blunted, un-spoiled? Definitely.
And we love it!
 Jimmy says "get your piste-softened, lift-cossetted, choc-chaud-pampered arse out on a real mountain" NEXT: The Day the Wheels Fell Off – Murphy’s law takes charge of the Grand Alpine Tour next leg to Bourg Saint Maurice & Les 3 Vallees
Tags: european ski holidays, european ski resorts, la grave, ski holidays, ski resorts, skiing, sno, sno mobi, snoman, snowboard, snowboarding, www.sno.mobi
Posted in Grand Alpine Ski Resorts Tour, ski holidays | 8 Comments »
Saturday, October 17th, 2009
 sno mobile is above the ski lifts but no sno yet We all know how learning to ski or snowboard goes – you spend your first wobbly day or two of the ski holiday within arms length of the cafes, on a nursery slope as steep as… well its almost completely flat. Then you progress a little further from the ski resort up the hill and find a slightly steeper bit called a green run.. and then a blue piste to go a bit quicker… and so on until you’re taking ski lifts high up the mountain to the top ski lifts where the best snow and most extreme gradients (and rates of decent) are to be found.
Not so when skiing Les 2 Alpes
Often called “the upside down ski resort”, Les Deux Alpes is so named because, unlike pretty much every other major ski resort in the world, 2 Alpes keeps its easiest and nursery slopes at the top of the mountain… and its fiendishly challenging stuff down at the bottom near town.
This has two VERY important consequences:
1. it is one of the best places to learn to ski and snowboard in the world
2. it is one of the scariest places for a beginner to miss the last lift back down in the world
Set your alarm for 15:30 and find a lift down!
 beginner slopes up on the glacier With the biggest skied glacier in Europe you can get plenty of summer piste time in at Les 2 Alpes, but the highest area can be shut down in winter if blizzards make it unsafe. Les Deux Alpes is probably best known as the home of one of Europe’s if not the worlds top snow parks, which is moved up and rebuilt from its winter 2600m to 3200 for the summer season. Near the top, Les Deux Alpes is also linked to the legendary off piste of La Grave – only to be attempted with a mountain guide!
You wouldn’t believe it if you’d walked and driven around with us, but Les 2 Alpes is also the second oldest ski resort in France (after Chamonix Mont Blanc). A very dificult fact to take in, as you navigate this enormous and modern looking ski town.
Arriving for a quick day of work there in early October, we probably couldn’t have picked a quieter time to visit, but we were still amazed by how utterly deserted it felt.
Crossing from one empty street into a second, we were stopped by a huge shaven-headed biker with black paint brush in hand.
He turned out to be a a cracking chap from Paris, down to help his friend do up her bar, and a huge fan of vintage Americana - expressing his enthusiasm in much better English than my French, we couldn’t but stop and invite the whole family in for a closer inspection. (sorry for not taking a picture, we got carried away gassing about bikes & caravans in franglais)
As fickle as I know it sounds, this one encounter completely changed my opinion of the place and its now at the top of the “must go back to” list for this season. As I used to say when making telly, its always about the people.
 having met only 1 business owner, will Les Deux Alpe "get" www.SNO.mobi ? We put our little post card into pretty much every business and accommodation letterbox we could find but met just one business owner in this entire ski resort – how useful is that going to be for getting SNO known in 2 Alpes?
Would you believe that Les Deux Alpes has had one of the biggest responses and new business Listings created since we launched last season!
snowboard Les Deux Alpes skiing: Les 2 Alpes weather | les 2 alpes webcam | snowboard les 2 alpes
NEXT: La Grave – off piste mecca, but did you know the village was so beautiful, unspoiled and posh!
(add your La Grave business on the Get Listed page of our ski holidays guide, I’ll name-check you in the next blog post)
Tags: airstream, alps, european ski holidays, french alps, les 2 alpes, ski, ski holidays, sno, sno mobi, snoman, snowboard, snowboarding, www.sno.mobi
Posted in Grand Alpine Ski Resorts Tour, ski holidays | 6 Comments »
Monday, October 12th, 2009
Seeing Alpe d’Huez ski resort in the summer makes it clear that this is a very modern and purpose-built ski resort. Not the ski resort to choose if you’re looking for chocolate box alpine charm - you book Alpe d’Huez ski holidays for the amazingling modern ski facilitites and mountain infrastructure.
Alpe d’Huez has a massive 250km of piste, which makes it one of the world’s biggest non-linked ski resorts. The top Altitude is over 3,300m so you’re unlikely to get a no-sno holiday here and the modern ski lift system means you can really clock up the miles, if that’s your oeuvre.
 does this make you want to ski Alpe d’Huez ?
The inhabitants of Alpe d’Huez are among the most welcoming of any French ski resort. We met a charming young Frenchman who, although lightly toasted, managed to explain in English that he needed to take lots of pictures of our Airstream. I think he was in charge of a shop or cafe but it was hard to tell which one – his father, he told us, was owner of the “big” hotel. We were in the big car park/square at the very top of the resort so, if this chap rings any bells with you, do steer his gaze at this blog post and say hello for us.
While it’s undoubtedly very famous for ski holidays Alpe d’Huez is probably best known as one of the classic climbs on the legendary Tour de France bicycle race. This epic climb has been a TDF stage finish every year for several decades, since it was first made famous by (now legendary) rider Fausto Coppi. Coppi attacked around half way up and soon his only rival had nothing left to give. He and the Alpe became instantly famous because this was the first year that the Tour de France had motorcycle camera men, to cover this spectacular mountain battle.
Since this incredible race in 1952, only Coppi and Lance Armstrong have been able to win the maillot jeune (yellow jersey) on Alpe d’Huez and then keep it all the way to the finish in Paris!
 roadies and even mountain bikers make the pilgrimage to climb the mighty Alpe d'Huez
If you’re a weekend warrior like me and you’d like to have a go at something you’ve seen your heroes do, then pedalling up the Alpe is likely to be on your list of “want to do” things - its such a famous climb that the draw of Alpe dHuez is not restricted to cyclists…
 cross country skier gets some summer langlaufen practice climbing Alpe d'Huez on rolla-skis (roller skis?)
I doubt this super-fit X-country skier is the first to climb Alp d Huez on roller skis, but has anyone gone up in one of these before ?!?
 first 1966 Airstream to climb Alpe d'Huez ? - someone call Norris McWerter Despite the Airstream weighing over 2 tons, the climb up was actually very easy, if slow, and certainly worth the effort for the views… so I’m pleased with myself for completing the first ascent of Alpe d’Huez in a 1966 Airstream Overlander.
It was only on the way down that we had a reality check, re what we were asking some VERY OLD machinery to do, on this torturous piece of mountain road.
With our four wheel drive car in 2nd gear, I rarely had to touch the brakes all the way down – there’s an aweful lot of resistance in a 4×4 drive train plus a 3 litre 6 cyclinder diesel engine - but…
… what I hadn’t thought too much about, was the fact that the Airstream brakes were ON and holding back that 2.5 ton trailer ALL THE TIME !
 wheels on fire... rolling down the road... After approx 5km of the 12km descent, we saw huge clouds of smoke billowing from the Airstream wheels!
We pulled over and gave them a LONG time to cool – then completed the descent of Alpe d’Huez in 2km intervals – it was a pretty scary wake up and will ensure we’ll given these roads (and the poor old sno-mobile) a lot more respect hence forth.
Fevered brow… knees a tremble… sweaty palms… time for a lie down…. see you next time in Les Deux Alpes!
Snoman.
snowboard Alpe d’Huez skiing links: Alpe d’Huez weather | alpe d huez webcam | snowboard alpe d huez
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NEXT: Les Deux Alpes – it is big and it is clever… and everyone seems to know about SNO mobi … strange things are happening in an autumn ghost town ski resort…
(add your Les 2 Alpes business to our ski holidays guide now and I’ll name-check you in the next blog post)
Tags: alpe d'huez, alps, european ski holidays, ski holidays, tour de france
Posted in Grand Alpine Ski Resorts Tour, ski holidays | Comments Off
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