Category Archives: Alpine Action @25

25 ways skiing has changed in 25 years

A lot has changed in skiing over the 25 years we have been making skiing holidays in the 3 Valleys!

Alpine Action started providing catered ski holidays to the Three Valleys in 1993 and over those 25 years the world of skiing has changed a lot. We thought we would take a look at some of the things that have fallen by the wayside since Dennis welcomed our fisrts guests back in the 90’s.

1. Straight Skis

It is hard to believe but people were still predominantly using straight skis in the early 90’s and it wasn’t 1993 that carving skis were put on mass sale by Elan skis.

2. Chalet Maids

1000’s of people are employed each year across the Alps each year as chalet hosts to work in chalets and look after guests. It is hard to pin point exactly when it stopped but female staff were originally referred to as chalet maids. We are glad that it moved on.

3. Making Cow Noises in Cable Cars

Back in the late 90’s early 00’s it wasn’t uncommon for a busy ride up the Saulire cable car to be accompanied by a chorus of moo’s created by the passengers, this was sketch recreated in crowded téléfériques around the world. It seems that this comedy routine has faded and is no longer performed but like all comedy acts it could well make a comeback.

4.Rear Entry Boots

In the 90’s the design race of the ski boot was coming to an end. At one point the rear-entry boot seemed to be winning with its comfort and how easy they were to put on. In the end, performance won and we all switched to the more responsive front entry boot… well except that mate of your dad who you only ever meet on the annual family ski trip.

5.Goggle Marks

OK so we still see them now but they now are no longer a fashion statement and more of a sign that you are incompetent at applying sun cream.

6. Ski Brochures

We printed our last ski brochure in 1998 and like many companies took our holidays online.

7. Rubbish Ski Hire

Ski hire had a bad reputation for years. Do you remember how you feared turning up to the hire shop knowing that you would be presented with 3 year old boots and skis with zero edges? Today you can be confident that you will receive comfy fitting boots with a set of sticks that are new that season and have been serviced in-between customers.

8. All-in-ones

One of skiing’s greatest losses was the unironic wearing of the all-in-one. Not only were they warm and comfy they all so came in such an array of bad designs guaranteed to offend the eyes.

9. The division between skiers and snowboarders

It could be one of the worlds most pointless feuds that for us, reached a crescendo when each party tried to blame each other for the creation of moguls.  Fortunately we have moved on and share the mountain in relative harmony and leave pointless feuding to the likes of Kim Kardashian & Taylor Swift.

10. Spag Bol AKA Terrible Chalet Food

When you have been out in the mountain air all day you look forward to dinner. These days you will return to the chalet and be fed a 4-course meal designed by experienced chefs accompanied with a selection of wines. Long ago it was deemed acceptable to plonk down a pan of spaghetti bolognese and a bowl of angel delight!

11. The Lift Pass Holder

The fumble fumble of the old photo pass attached to a mini retractable washing line has been replaced by the efficient beep beep clunk of the modern electronic pass that can remain in your pocket. It has also helped reduce queuing time.

12. Novelty Hats

This may depend on your definition of novelty. We are mainly talking about the long and spikey hats made from synthetic fleece and came in a variety of horrendous colours.

13.  Long Drag Lifts

 

There is still a place for the humble button lift. However, the place isn’t over 1ooo vertical meters of tough, steep, icy terrain. Fortunately, they have stopped being installed and most are slowly being replaced. Goodbye thigh burn.

14. Knees together

As the years have gone by the skier’s stance has got wider. At one point a requirement to become a ski instructor was to prove yourself by skiing with a hanky held between the knees. A wider more balanced stance has now been adopted.

15. Head Bands

Since we started operating another type of headwear has disappeared from the slopes, the headband. Once they were the height of fashion driven by floppy hairstyles and non-breathable clothing. Now they have been resigned to the poubelle.

16. The Jump

For 4 years this has been one of our favourite programs on TV. The show featured celebrities learning a variety of snow sports,  ski jumping and generally getting injured. Recently Channel 4 announced it was resting the show and we all know what happens when we sit down.

17. UK Ski Shows

There was a time when it felt like there was a ski show in every city from Glasgow to Brighton with Birmingham in-between. This year there is just one survivor left, The London Ski Show.

18. Smoking in Bar

Of course, this isn’t just a ski thing but it always seemed that even more smoking was done in the bars of ski resorts as well as the lifts and shuttle buses.

19. The Courchevel Eggs

For a while it felt like the out dated but iconic egg looking lifts of Courchevel from Le Paraz would never be replaced. But then they were and no one has missed them since!

20. Monoskiing

Seriously when was the last time you saw someone on one except in a novelty competition?

21. Lack of UK Success on snow in the Winter Olympics

In 2014 Jenny Jones took bronze in the Snowboard Slopestyle comp, securing the UK’s first Winter Olympic Medal. Since then a large amount of funding has been pumped into the GB ski and board team and there are high hopes for the 2018 games.

22. Bunny Ears

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Putting skis poles to your head is over as people realise it is no longer an efficient way of attracting attention on the slopes or looking cool in holiday snaps!

23. Being Disconnected

Along with Cornwall, the mountains used to be one of the few places left in the world where a mobile phone signal was virtually impossible to get. Today people are on their phones even while skiing down the mountain.

24. Slope Side Photographers

The upside to everyone having a smart phone in their pocket is that we no longer get hassled by photographers when we get off the lift or while skiing down the easy green into the resort.

25. Slopes Without Snow

Snow wasn’t always guaranteed. With the development and investment of snow making facilities, mega resorts like The 3 Valleys can guarantee there will be snow cover on 80% of the slopes for the entire season!

 

To book a ski holiday with us or find more about our service got to our website.


Meribel – A History in Numbers

The History of Meribel in Numbers

We are pretty proud that Alpine Action is celebrating its 25th winter but it isn’t all about us Meribel is 80 this season! And Meribel has a lot of History.

In 1938 the first lift opened along with the first accommodation, Chalet Doran the following year and all this was the start of what would become the Three Valleys.

Peter Lindsay a British Colonel and the passionate skier is credited in realising the potential of the Allues valley and the development of Meribel.

Meribel in Numbers

31 Number of seats on the sledge that was the resorts original ski lift. It was named the Red Dragon.

1950 The year that the Saulire was opened as a link to Courchevel

30 the angle all roofs must be on buildings in the resort.

40,000 – Number of guest per week during the winter season

40 – Percentage of skiers that are British

1:52.55 Winning time at the 1992 Winter Olympics Women’s downhill set by Kerrin Lee-Gartner
for Canada held in Meribel.

57 Number of Chalets and hotels in Meribel in 1954

36,00 Current number of beds in resort

1:29.87 Winning time at the 2015 FIS Women’s downhill set by Lindsay Vonn held in Meribel.

4 Number of lifts in in 1955

30 The number it took to install a the first chairlift

15 Meribel is comprised of a cluster of villages along the Valley

25 Is the number of years Alpine Action has been operating in Meribel


Come and join us for a ski holiday in one of the best and oldest ski resorts in France. Check out all our catered ski chalets in Meribel. 


What’s new in the 3 Valleys for the 2017/18 season

Find out what is new in the 3 Valley this winter 17/18

2017/18 3 valleys map

The winter is not very far away now! Skiers will be on the slopes of  Val Thorens on the 18th of November followed by Meribel and Courchevel on the 9th of December.  As always the companies behind the 3 Valleys lifts and pistes have been working hard over the summer to introduce new or improved facilities for its customers!

New Lifts in the 3 Valleys

Loupit – Rond Pont – Covered magic carpet

The beginner’s area located by the Rond Point in Meribel will have new Covered Magic carpet similar to the one found in Mottaret. The learner zone alongside it will also be developed into a safer space for skiers to master the basics away from the busier slopes.

Ariondaz Gondola – Courchevel 1650  -Moriond

Over in Courchevel 1650 the old Ariondaz gondola that takes skiers and boarder out of the resort has been replaced by an 8 seater lift that can carry double the amount of passenger up the hill.

Moraine – 10 seater Gondola – Val Thorens

€14m has been spent on installing a new gondola in Val Thorens. The 10 seater lift is 2.5 km long and carries skiers up to the foot of the Glacier de Thorens.

Roc de Tougnete – 6 seater – Meribel

For many years there has been 2 drag lifts that served this area and for that reason it often goes unexplored by many. The arrival of this new lift will change all that and make the Lagopède and Bartavelle pistes a lot more accessible.

New Pistes in the 3 Valleys

Lac de la Chambre – Meribel

Previously a red run the Lac de la Chambre that started at the Col de la Chambre has been given a new course down the mountain to make it into a easier blue. The run is a great way to get back from Val Thorens into Mottaret and Meribel.

Croix d’Antide – Val Thorens

High up above the Orelle valley there is a new blue run called the Croix d’Antide it can be found under the Peyron chair and runs parallel to a piste of the same name.

Corniche – Val Thorens

Another new blue piste in Val Thorens. This one runs from the Folie Douce and joins up with the stade to make an easy run back to the resort.

New Luge run

A new 3 km luge run has opened up in 1650 and can be accessed by the new Arinodaz lift. This means that there are now loads of sledging opportunities in the 3 Valleys to complement the original and best one in Courchevel that runs from 1850 to 1550.

4 hours ski pass

This season sees the end of the half day pass as the 3 valleys will introduce a 4-hour pass that can be used at any point during the day and will cost €54.5 . It is worth noting that it is still better value to buy a 6 day pass at €300 if you are going to ski all week!

New Ski Schools in Meribel

This winter two of our favourite Anglo-French ski schools have come together to make one outstanding provider of ski and snowboard lessons. Magic in Motion is now part of Oxegen ski school. 


If you are looking for a catered ski chalet in Meribel or La Tania take a look at our website or call us for chat. 

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25 years of ski fashion

In the last 25 years, ski fashion has changed a lot!

Since we started up 25 years ago we have witnessed a wide range of ski fashion on the slopes from the death of the onesie to its rebirth there have been a lot of styles.

We thought that while we are reflecting on 25 years of making ski holidays we should look back at some of the clothes we probably wore but have since binned and erased all evidence of.

Ski fashion in the 1990’s

The 90’s witnessed the transition from the bright clothing of the 80’s to day-glow and pastel colours. But it didn’t mean goodbye to the onesie as that iconic piece of clothing manages to hang around almost until the turn of the century. It was also a when the ski bib arrived on the slopes. Essentially it was just the top part of an all in one suite and often came with a belt located around the midriff and kangaroo type pocket pouches.

It was also a when the ski bib arrived on the slopes. Essentially it was just the top part of an all in one suite and often came with a belt located around the midriff and kangaroo type pocket pouches.

Headbands were still part of the trend for our heads and for some reason wearing a baseball cap on the slopes was becoming a thing! Towards the end of the decade, synthetic fleece material was starting to be used and dictate a lot of the new styles as well as the development of gore-tex inspired materials. Wearing a one-piece was a thing of the past and the two piece with the dungaree style salopettes was starting to emerge.

Ski Fashion in the Noughties

Colour was starting to become a bit more muted on the pistes of the early 00’s with greys, greens and blues becoming popular and there was an assumption that if you wore something bright that you were a good rider. Padded jackets also became a must-have look despite the lack of movement it offered the skier, combine this with the microfleece layer and we all started to look like all we ate was fondue.

Snowboarding was at its peak of popularity in the double O’s and by the middle of the decade was starting to have an influence on winter ski fashion. Snowboarding trends were influenced by the baggy clothing of the skateboarding scene. The desire for baggy low cut trousers aided the demise of the traditional salopettes and the need for upper body movement encouraged the development of looser lightweight jackets. And as time went by the ski world started to adopt the styles and fashions of the “cooler” snowboarding scene.

Ski Fashion in from 2010

By the time we headed into the second decade of the century colour was back, the rivalry between skiing and snowboarding was just a murmur and rock star winter sports icons like Shaun White and Lindsay Vonn had emerged. Ski clothing was now practical, well designed, trendy and affordable. The main trend has been for technical clothing that performs well for its intended use,  with clothing designed for different disciplines. The baggy look has been overtaken in both sports in favour of a return to a more fitted look.

The main trend has been for technical clothing that performs well for its intended use,  with clothing designed for different disciplines. The baggy look has been overtaken in both sports in favour of a return to a more fitted look.

One of the most important fashion developments to happen was the styling of helmets. Originally these were cumbersome and unattractive, they were practical but not very cool with a one option fits all. Today the majority of piste users wear them and they have evolved to match your look. The protection of your head is well and truly in vogue.

We have also seen a growth in retro looks on the slopes. Originally there was a wave of ironic 80’s clothing being worn on the slopes which was aided by the arrival of online companies renting out retro ski outfits. Slowly this has become adopted into the wider mountain fashion but there are also companies making redesigned onesies that look pretty cool!

Alpine Action is celebrating 25 years of making ski holidays! 


Alpine Action 25 Years – Upload Your Winter Memories

We are are 25 this year!

To help us reminisce we would love to see some of your memories of skiing in The Three Valleys or on holiday with us over the past 25 years.  Maybe you have pic of your favourite chalet host, or you skiing in an all-in-one back in the 90’s, apres partying in the 00’s or a recent family, it would great to see them.

To share your memories with us just fill in the form below or use the hashtag #AlpineAction25 on your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

We will add your photo to our online gallery and our Facebook gallery celebrating our 25 years of skiing.

Online Gallery – Facebook Gallery

UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO MEMORIES 



 

 

Take a look around our new chalet

Chalet Du Virage is idealy located for easy access to the resort, shops and bars and there is a Meribus stop right outside. There are simply breathtaking views of the Meribel Valley from the lounge and most of the bedrooms.  Find out more…

Chalet Virage - Meribel Centre