Apres Ski Archives - Page 8 of 9

How to recreate a chalet holiday at home

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Jim Duncombe

How to recreate a chalet holiday at home

For most of us our next ski holiday is at least six months away. Which is a long time! To help you cope with this long gap we have created a guide on how to create that chalet feeling at home.

Morning

Waking up and checking the weather is one of the excitements of a ski holiday. We all love a blue bird day so plan ahead and make sure it is going to be a sunny day. Put some polystyrene balls or cotton wool on your windowsill to give it that fresh dusting feel. If you like a white out then you can just spray your whole window with snow from a can.

Breakfast

Fill your table with cereals, fresh fruit, croissant, pain au chocolate, boiled eggs, porridge, yogurt a selection of fruit juices, ham, cheese and tea or coffee. Eat as much as you like, you’re going to work hard today. Also cook your self some bacon and eggs. When sitting down to eat, make sure you are wearing your thermals. For a that authentic experience tune into a French radio station, or you could log on to a resort radio station such as R’ Meribel. Spend 10 minutes looking at a map.

Get Dressed

Get your ski outfit on. Don’t be shy, go for hats and goggles as well. Make sure you put sun cream on, you may burn. Putting on ski boots will help to make it feel realistic, but this may be going too far. Don’t forget to pack a ration pack in the form of some chocolate and a piece of fruit. Now leave the house and return five minutes later to pick up your imaginary lift pass that you forgot.

Go skiing

You have a few options here. You could actually go to a dry ski slope or indoor ski centre if there is one close by. If there isn’t then first go and get on a public bus with your ski equipment, then catch it back to your chalet, (this is actually your house). When back at home put on an episode of Ski Sunday. Once it is over, go and sit in your garden for 40 min, with your goggles on, so you can work on your tan line. You want your mates to know that you have been on a fake ski holiday. After 40 minutes go back inside a watch some clips of other peoples ski holidays on youtube, then go back out to the garden. Repeat this process until lunch time. Heat up some wine in the microwave and drink it from a glass mug. Cook some chips, then wait until they are cold and eat with mustard mayonnaise. Give £10 to your next door neighbour. Now watch an extreme ski or snowboard movie then go and sit in garden again. You can now either repeat the last step or make yourself a hot chocolate make sure you add a shot of that random spirit you bought on your last holiday.

Après Ski

It is now nearly 4pm, head to your local pub. Make sure you are still in your ski clothing. Order half’s of lager and have a shot of vodka or maybe a Jagerbomb. At about 5pm you should be ready to dance. Head to the juke box and put a selection of rock tunes on. If you are planning Austrian après, then you may need to take your own music. At 6.30pm you should decide to head home. Take ages finding your clothes that are now in various areas of the bar. Head out side and have a panic attack that your skis are not there. Remember that you left them round the corner.

Dinner

Get home and have a shower then put on your favorite jumper. Sit in your lounge, with the fire on, if you have one. Get a glass of wine and some nibbles. If you want to go all out you should make some canapés, if you don’t have the time some twiglets and hummus will suffice. Have a look at a map of where you have been today. Maybe start a game of Jenga. Now serve you and your mates a three course meal. Feel free to invite some strangers too. During dinner drink more wine than normal, this is a holiday. Make a pact with the other dinners to get up early to do it all again. Drink some more wine.

Bed

This is personal choice time. You can either go to bed early. Or sit up in your lounge drinking whatever wine you can find, then go to bed when you can find no more. Or you could go out to your local pub again, then possibly move on to a night club.

If you really want to make this a true ski holiday you can perform this every day for a week. You could bookend it with a coach journey!

Alternatively you could just wait until next winter.

Posted in Alpine Action, Comment, Funny, La Tania, Meribel, Ski | Tagged Apres Ski, holiday, La Tania, lunch, Meribel, Ski, Ski Sunday, skiing, snowboarding

Skiing – what does it mean?

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Jim Duncombe

Skiing – what does it mean? By Jim Duncombe

I have worked in the ski industry for many years and have given little thought to it. That is until, last month when I was talking to a non skiing friend about the number of ski seasons I had done, how many ski resorts I had been to, how amazing Après ski is and about my last amazing ski holiday. Towards the end of the conversation my friend had a question about something that was confusing them. “But Jim, you’re a snowboarder?”

This was then brought to my attention again a few weeks later at a meeting with the very company that I now write for. Dionne, who is the director of Alpine Action asked me, as a snow boarder how I felt about how the company interacted with snowboarders. She admitted that the Alpine Action website was tailored towards skiers and not snowboarders, but in a completely unintentional way. “We don’t exclude snowboarders”.

Both incidents raise the same question; what do the words ski, skiing and skied mean? Can they mean more than one thing? Are these words actually metonyms? I think that the answer is yes. On one hand the word ski still refers to the act of skiing, by using skis, which are two pieces of wood strapped on to ones feet for the purpose of gliding across snow. But it is also means a lot more. It represents a larger concept.

So when we say ski holiday we mean, winter sports holiday and could include, skiing, snowboarding, telemarking, blading and other forms of winter transport. A ski resort isn’t for the sole use of skiers, except in some resorts in America and one in France that I forget the name of. And après ski means getting drunk in a ski resort, between the hours of 2pm and 7pm. Some may argue with the last definition and say that you should have at least been on the slopes with some form of equipment before enjoying après ski, otherwise it is just called getting drunk in the afternoon.

Does this matter at all? Well to some people it does. There are many people who despise people who do the opposite discipline to them. Some people are less extreme, but will enter into a conversation about how the other is a nuisance on the slopes, or can be attributed to the construction of moguls. (Quick fact, moguls were around before the invention of the snowboard.) In some aspects the snowboarder can be seen as the more tribal of the winter sports. It is indeed some of these people that wish not to be associated with skiing. But you can’t help but feel that it may stem from the days when snowboarding was seen as yobbish and youthful, even a threat to skiing dominance and was forced into existing as a minority subculture. Fortunately these days, most skiers and snowboarders get on, if they don’t then maybe it is time for them to have a think and get over themselves.

So why do we use the term ski? I am no expert but I would say that it could be a combination of many things. Skiing was there first, is a simple answer. Building on that argument you could then say that it’s quite catchy, in the same way we abbreviate names. Ski has become our joint abbreviation. Lets face it ‘Ski Sunday’ will never change it’s name to Snow Sports Sunday, its just not that… catchy.

Maybe it’s time for skiing to get another name? The chances of that happening are pretty slim. But it is time for us to actively say that ski means more than ski. It encompasses a whole culture that is made up different activities, locations and people. Of course the underlying message is that it is all about the shared experience and enjoyment of sliding down a snow covered mountain.

I for one am not embarrassed, as a snowboarder to say I am off for a ski and I don’t known any snowboarder that would really be put off going on a snow sports holiday just because it was advertised as a ski holiday. As we now know ski is a generic term and I for one look forward to the next ski season starting and I can get out and go for a ski with all my skier and snowboarder mates.

So my response to my friend is that skiing is for everyone not just skiers, although they are different to snowboarders, however we do all go to après ski together. My response to Dionne is that most people accept the term ski to be inclusive and us snowboarders will be happy to book a holiday with Alpine Action. Unless it states skiers only, no snowboarders allowed then there is no need to worry. We all love a good ski holiday.

You can follow Jim on Twitter – @Jimmyduncombe

Posted in Alpine Action, Ski | Tagged Apres Ski, holiday, Ski, skiing, snowboarding

Tip of the week #2

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Jim Duncombe

When at the mountain restaurants, you will see locals and the instructors ordering and enjoying the “Plat du Jour” or the special dish of the day. It is often the best value and the freshest food on sale.We would recommend trying it yourself.

Warning: Andouillette or diots au vin blanc, (tripe sausages) this is not recommended as this is an acquired taste.

Posted in Alpine Action, La Tania, Meribel, Tips | Tagged Apres Ski, food, La Tania, lunch, Meribel, mountain restaurants, skiing, three valleys

10 things that make a great chalet holiday.

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Jim Duncombe

10 things that make a great chalet holiday.

Back in the year 1846 if someone suggested a ski chalet holiday you would visibly shudder. This is because way back then we associated ski holidays with cold bedrooms, no mobile signal, spaghetti bolognaise six nights a week and burnt porridge. This has changed dramatically and we now expect at least hot water. This is our guide to 10 things that make a great chalet.

En-suite – Walking down the hall in your towel and hoping that no one will see you is something that backpackers are happy to put up with. It is not something that should be endured on a ski holiday. That is why having an en-suite is a must have for most ski tourists.

Wi-Fi – We all like to think that we are highflyers and that the office just won’t be able to cope without us. This makes staying in touch essential. Well… the truth is that we want to add our photos to Facebook to prove how good our holiday is. Also, who can resist uploading a video of them skiing to Youtube, although this shouldn’t be encouraged.

Boot warmers – “Who needs heated boots, what a wussy thing to need”. These were my words before I had experienced the sensation of a heated boot. I remember how I felt the first time I slipped my feet into snug, dry and warm boots that were fresh from the heater. The experience was almost sensual and full of guilt. If you asked me to sum up boot warmers I would say they are the most essential unessential thing you will ever use.

UK TV – Ever since the advent of TV they have been put in all hotel rooms. Normally, when you are abroad this is a pointless, obsolete item in the corner, unless you happen to be fluent in the local language, or have a passion for the BBC World service. So having UK television channels when on holiday is a lot more useful. It may not have the weather for where you are, but at least you know what time the weather will be on.

DVD Player – If being able to watch Eastenders isn’t your idea of fun then maybe settling down to watch a film is. A DVD player is also for popping on a Skiing film and inspiring yourself to attempt a 720 Rodeo in the park or to hike into the back country. Maybe you haven’t seen your friends you are staying with for a while. If so this is the perfect opportunity to put on your wedding/baby/children’s play DVD.

Hot Tub – Nothing says luxury more than sharing a bubbling bath with your friends. That is why so many chalets have one. Sure it can be an awkward place to meet strangers, in your speedos, outside in the chilly night air. But once the other bubbles start fizzing into your mouth there is no better way to relax after a long day skiing.

Table Tennis – In 1994 the movie ‘Forest Gump’ hit our screens. This changed the profile of Table Tennis for ever. But what does having a Table Tennis table in your chalet say about you? It says I’m sporty and want to continue that into the evening of my holiday, but I’m not stupid, it’s cold out there. It also says, I’m staying in a chalet with space and every part of that space is filled with fun, this is going to be one fun holiday.

Selection of Games – If you are one of the lucky ones and have booked to stay in a chalet that has a DVD player and a selection of games, then after your wedding/baby/children’s play DVD, you can settle down to a harmonious game of Monopoly or Jenga. But what does booking into a chalet with a selection of board games say about you? It says, I’m staying in a chalet with not quite as much space needed for a Table Tennis table but every part of that space is filled with fun, this is going to be one fun holiday.

Sauna – A Sauna is a great place to conduct meetings, everyone knows that. In fact most of the Alpine Action resort staff meetings are held in a sauna. Which explains why the minutes always come back with water drip marks and wrinkled edges. When not being used for meetings, saunas are a great way to relax and ease the pain in your muscles from mogul training. See what we did there!

Catered – No catered ski holiday would be complete without catering. Without catering it becomes a self-catered holiday and who wants that? You could always eat out but what sort of person likes to dine out on a three course meal of potatoes and cheese for seven nights in a row? Of course catering not only means that’s you don’t have to cook during your holiday, it also means that you don’t have to wash up. Unless you foolishly volunteer, some people do.

Our chalets have many of these features. All of our chalets have en-suite rooms, Wi-Fi, UK-TV, DVD players and excellent catering. To find out which of our chalets feature other luxury’s such as the Table Tennis table then go to our La Tania or Meribel chalet pages.

Posted in Alpine Action, La Tania, Meribel, Ski, Tips | Tagged Apres Ski, dvd, hot tub, jacuzzi, La Tania, Meribel, sauna, table tennis, tv, wifi

Is Manchester the home of British skiing? (Probably not)

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Jim Duncombe

Is Manchester the home of British skiing? (Probably not)

Sometimes a blog can sound a bit corporate, after all, it is a mouthpiece of many companies. Some companies would use a blog to slyly promote their latest offer, like a ski holiday on the 6^th of April to Meribel for only £499 per person. Not us. What we want to use our blog for is to talk about the five most amazing things that Manchester shares with our first love, skiing. You are probably thinking that we are going to bang on about the Chill Factore or about Alpine Actions Manchester to Grenoble flights that are still available for the 6^th of April, well we are not. We have done a lot more research than that.

Max Beesley

Remember Max Beesley, he was in Hotel Babalon and got his manhood out in period drama ‘Tom Jones’. He is also the man to go to if you are looking for a job. Max also comes from Manchester and is a keen skier. He loves the snow so much he launched a range of ski clothing. Like many of us Max had a few après ski drinks and thought “I could design a logo that would go on a hoodie and sell it”. Unlike many of us Max went and did it. You can now buy another hoodie with a snow related logo on it, although this time designed by Mr Beesley, from bornforsnow.com. This is not a plug.

Judy Finnigan

A popular lady, who did much for the concept of working with your husband if only to keep an eye on him. But we wonder how she keeps an eye on her husband, Richard Madley when he goes skiing. It is reported that Judy is not a big fan of the winter sport. She may go along for the free wifi, a snuggle near the fire and a glass of chalet wine. If she was clever she could book the whole family into the Chalet Rosalie for just £499 on the 6^th of April. But as they live in Devon now it may be too late for them to take advantage of our Manchester flights.

Oasis

When you think of Oasis you either think, refreshing drink that is ideal for hangovers, something to do with the desert or Brit pop band Oasis. On this occasion we are talking the later. It is rumoured that Liam and Noel, who are from Manchester, once played a gig in a ski resort. It wasn’t the Meribel Little World festival, they were asked, but refused to support ‘The Feeling’. It was in fact the Jisan Valley Rock Festival in the mountains of South Korea. We have no idea if any of them went skiing or like skiing. What we do know is that they played their famous song ‘I am the Walrus.’

Mick Hucknell

Mick Hucknell is in some people’s eyes the person Manchester wants to forget the most. Over time his fame has waned. Recently he has seen a small resurgence in popularity, mainly down to his new role as Manchester’s only fat Shaun White look-a-like. Mick can often be found at the Chill Factore signing copies of Shaun White’s video game. In other Mick Hucknell ski relate news… Mick has not been killed in a Jet Ski accident, don’t know what I am talking about? Google it!

Some Girl from Corrie

If you watch Coronation Street then you will probably know who Michelle Keegan is. For fans of the Michelle you are probably thinking there is no way you can link her to skiing. Well we can. Promo hungry, ski loving, beanie hat makers Zaini have photographic evidence of her wearing one of their hats. Sadly this was not on the slopes but on a visit to Radio 1, but if she ever does go skiing we bet she will wear that hat.

And that concludes our look at how Manchester and skiing are linked forever. If at any point you felt that the message, about our holiday to the Chalet Rosalie in Meribel, leaving on the 6^th of April from Manchester for only £499, was a bit to obvious then please get in touch.

Posted in Alpine Action, Comment, Funny, Meribel, Ski | Tagged Apres Ski, april, flights, manchester, Meribel

Teaching a loved one to ski – Part two

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Jim Duncombe

Teaching a loved one to ski – Part two

To read part one click here.

It is half way through your ski holiday and you are your non-skiing partner’s unofficial instructor. Somehow instead of this feeling like a holiday it has become a chore. Yesterday you got some skiing in on your own but this was more due to the misfortune of your partner rather than by mutual consent. When you did finally get back from skiing you found them on their fourth large glass of chalet wine. You persuade them to hobble out for some après ski.

learning-to-ski

You are both a little worse for wear, but the lessons must go on. You struggle through the pain of your hangover and your student struggles through their injury’s and hangover. You have little sympathy considering the near perfect ski conditions. Just when you were considering a temporary separation, something clicks and you now have a parallel turning sweetheart, of sorts.

After lunch you decide that it is the right time to suggest trying something more challenging. But before you can suggest it they get in first. So you choose a route that you think is realistic and set off. You wait a lot. You get cold waiting. Your attempts to cheer yourself up by flicking snow at your exhausted companion is unsurprisingly met with irritation. The lifts stop in forty minutes time. You could catch the free bus back or you could do “one more run”.

The lifts shut the minutes ago. Somehow you are still on one. It has been stopped for over twenty. Which is fifteen minutes longer than your hung over, tired, sore and cold partner’s patience will last. You should have caught the bus. It is dark and you are both silent when you get off the mountain. You are walking slightly in front and carrying two sets of skis. What you both want is a drink. As you enter the bar you spot the annoying couple from the chalet and are delighted.

The next morning you are the first down for breakfast. The annoying couple somehow talked your lovely and wonderful partner into getting a ski lesson. It doesn’t start until 10 but they are having a lie in. Let the holiday begin. Your holiday is soon cancelled with bad news. Flat light. It’s not that bad, but you think of all the good days you have missed. You meet up for lunch. They are having a great day. The instructor announces that they are a natural. You cough.

Over dinner you would be forgiven for thinking that your companion had been skiing all their life. You also find it hard to believe the distance they covered and the slopes they have been on. You should be pleased. If true you will have two more days of incident and fair paced skiing left. You should also be happy that your loved one loves skiing. Instead you feel a little inadequate that your teaching wasn’t very good. You console yourself with the knowledge that you did the hard work.

They weren’t lying. They can now ski at a reasonable level. They are now fast enough that the wait is now an enjoyable rest. The penultimate day is great. You chat, laugh, and even kiss on the chairlifts. You have a long lunch. They are celebrating their new passion and achievement. You secretly toast to the ski holidays of the future. There is even the inevitable chat about buying a place out there and the new equipment you will buy.

The last day is a late start. The new skier’s ability is holding up. You are both having a great time. You have lunch on the move. There is a thought in the back of your mind that you should supress but you can’t. Eventually you come out with how you think they should have one last challenge, you know they can do it. Three hours later you are still on the same black run shouting encouragement. Bad idea.

Posted in Alpine Action, Comment, Funny, Ski | Tagged Apres Ski, food, free bus, La Tania, lessons, Meribel, Ski, skiing

The Day in the life of a La Tania Navette

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Jim Duncombe

The Day in the life of a La Tania Navette

My job is often the most overlooked in resort. I don’t hold the glamour of a télécabine or a téléphérique. I do like to think though, that we are more popular than the button lifts. I am a Navette or free bus to you British people. I work in the resort of Courchevel and this is my day.

I start early, my first pick up is in Le Praz at 7.05am. I don’t get many skiers this early, most of my passengers are ski instructors, lift workers or chalet staff. They tend to live in the lower villages as it is not as expensive as the main resort. The journey only takes me 25 minutes. If I am lucky when I get back to Le Praz my pal will be waiting with passengers from the village of Bozel. Bozel is way down in the valley, where my home is.

I leave Le Praz at about 8.05am for the second time. It is now that I get more skiers onboard, these ones are eager to get into the main resort early. This is so that they are ready for the lifts to open and they will get to ride the pistes that have been freshly groomed by my piste basher mates.

There are other buses on the same route as me. We always flash or toot to say hello when we pass in the middle. Sometimes if the snow is heavy we stop and pass on information about the conditions to keep our passengers safe. After 8.30 it gets busy and there are more of us buses to make sure we can move everyone to where they want to go.

I am lucky as I always get the La Tania run. I arrive there at about 9.10am there are always lots of people waiting for me there. I find this funny because I think La Tania is a wonderful place to stay. They are generally wanting a lift to Courchevel Moriond. This was called 1650, but they changed it. I wish they hadn’t as it confuses a lot of people and they end up getting off at the wrong place or sometimes not at all. I get the La Tania run all day. I leave La Tania at ten past the hour every hour until midnight.

After the morning rush it gets quieter and I only carry a few lazy people who got out of bed late. It gets busier at lunch time. I guess La Tania is great place to lunch, not for me as they have no petrol station. But it is always sunny and I am always dropping people off there to meet their friends for lunch.

The afternoon is full of people that have eaten to much at lunch and are sneaking back to their accommodation for a siesta. My busiest time is once the lifts shut. There are always queues of people trying to get back to the correct village. I would like to blame this on the name changes, but it has always been the case. Sometimes we don’t have a space for everyone, and they may have to wait for the next one.

After 6pm is the most interesting time. It is the end of après hour and we see some funny things, like people trying to ski down roads. We also get lots of singing especially from the English. Despite not releasing a decent song for 10 years, Oasis is the most popular band I hear on my seats. The busiest we get during the après time is the 7.10 from La Tania. Judging by how happy people are when I pick them up at this time I would say that the Ski Lodge is the best place to go for Apres. I once transported the band ‘Bring Your Sisters’, and all their kit, they always play in the Lodge. Maybe they play a lot of Oasis, I’ll ask next time I see them.

The worst thing about being a bus in a ski resort is the long hours. We work until midnight. Sometimes people are so tired that they fall asleep on the way down the hill. Sometimes it can be hard work and as we are free, people don’t respect us. Especially at rush hour when I get hit by all those skis and trampled on by ski boots. Still, it could be worse I could be in Marseille shuttling football fans around.

Click here for the La Tania bus times

Posted in Alpine Action, La Tania, Ski | Tagged Apres Ski, Courchevel, free bus, La Tania, lunch, navette

Teaching a loved one to ski – Part one

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Jim Duncombe

Teaching a loved one to ski – Part one

When you put “keen skier” on your dating profile, the chances you will get one of the UK’s estimated 1 million active skiers is slim. There is slightly more chance of finding someone who has been skiing, once. But I doubt it is a deciding factor when weighing up the options for a marriage proposal. The chances are that you will end up with a non skier.

Skiing is often something you learn when you are young. For most of us we had ski lessons when we went on a family holiday or school trip. Learning young makes it easier when we are older. It also makes us more determined to fit in a ski holiday no matter what.

So what happens when you fall in love with a non-skier and finally pop the question; “Will you go on a ski holiday with me”? Let’s hope the answered was a yes, and delirious with joy,you book your holiday.

As the dedicated and experienced skier what you are imagining is this… Hooning down the fresh powder, fast groomed pistes and steep challenging runs. All the while your non skiing partner is in ski school until they are good enough to keep up with you. What they are imagining is blue skys, snuggles on chairlift, skiing down empty runs hand in hand, with rainbows and romantic music playing in the background.

What will actually happen is that you will say, “You should go into ski school”.
“But I don’t want to. It’s our holiday and I want to spend it with you. Couldn’t you teach me?”
You think about the potential skiing that you will miss out on, but take your loved ones feelings into consideration. You look at the cost of ski lessons and think “bugger that, I’ll teach them myself”.

You arrive in resort, the snow has just stopped after 3 days of dumping, The forecast for the week is sun. It is now day one. You are stood on the baby slope with the person you love. They are stood there in ill-fitting, borrowed ski clothes, with their bronze ski hire. You look at the mountain and sigh, you turn to the most important person in your life and say “first we need to learn to snowplough”. By mid morning you have covered the nursery slope 3 times, you partner is happy with the progress, however, you look up to see the powder fields slowly getting tracked out. After lunch you move on to turning. It’s not going as well as you hoped.

On day two you wake up hopeful that your lover wakes up to say how much they ache and maybe they would like a day not skiing? No such luck, they have the skiing bug. This should please you and you should consider the long term implications of this, more ski holidays. But no, you are disappointed, especially as your attempt to palm them off onto someone else staying in your chalet failed last night. You carry both your sets of skis to the beginner area, today we are going to try and learn parallel turning. An edge is caught, there are tears and an extended lunch break. Little progress is made in the afternoon as it is just a confidence building exercise.

On day three you consider leaving your skis in the chalet. You say “don’t feel like you have to ski all day. You can have a rest in the afternoon if you like”. Somehow this backfires and you are rewarded with kisses for being thoughtful, but your offer is declined. You choose a gentle slope to “session” for the day. You know it would normally take you 5 minutes at the most to ski this slope. The First time today it takes nearly two hours. The second time it takes half an hour less. Your legs are cramping up, and you are cold from waiting around so much. “I’m just going to ski down and catch the lift back up, I will catch you up.” The thrill of skiing lasts less than a minute before you reach the lift. From the lift you see your pupil and spouse lying on the slope with two skis located uphill from her. They are moving, phew. You don’t wave. Maybe this will put them off for the day. When you ski back down you can’t find them. Your phone rings. They have had a tumble and gone back to the chalet. “You go and have a ski without me”. You know you shouldn’t, but you do. A frosty reception awaits you at the chalet, but you have had a great afternoon skiing. Chalet wine will sort this out.

Click here to find out how the rest of the Holiday goes.

Posted in Comment, Funny | Tagged Apres Ski, guides, lessons, lunch, Ski, skiing

La Tania A to Z

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Jim Duncombe

La Tania A to Z

A is for Alpine Action – La Tania is our spiritual home. We have a great selection of chalets here, all with piste side access.

B is For Bear – Up to the early 1900’s bears roamed the woods surrounding the resort. Sadly they were driven out by us humans.

C is for Courchevel – Courchevel is La Tania’s big sister. This doesn’t mean that she is better. As Courchevel attracts more international Billionaires, prices for everything goes up. But La Tania remains more affordable for those of us that aren’t billionaires.

D is for Deckchair – When the sun comes out La Tania is perfectly placed to catch it. So get yourself on one of the many deckchairs and work on those goggle marks.

E is for Euro – The standard British test of how expensive a place is the pint test. A pint in La Tania costs €5.50.

F is for Facebook – Keep up to date with the official La Tania Facebook page.

G is for Gatwick – All our holidays include flights from Gatwick. We can also get you to La Tania from Manchester too.

H is for Happy Hour -While we base our economic judgment on the cost of a pint. We also need to consider the Happy Hour price. In La Tania it is a very happy €3.

I is for Itinerary – Itinerary is a piste that isn’t groomed. Courchevel is home to one of the most popular, the Grand Couloir.

J is for Journalist – La Tania grew into the resorts it is today thanks to the Albertville Winter Olympics. The resort was expanded to accommodate reporters.

K is for KM – La Tania is part of the Three Valleys giving you over 600km of piste to choose from.

L is for Listen – When in resort tune into R’ Courchevel 93.2 fm they have weather forecasts and news in English during the morning.

M is for Magic in Motion – A growing independent ski school that comes highly recommended. The children’s lessons are particularly fun.

N is for Navette – Don’t feel that you need to miss out on the evening fun in nearby Courchevel. There is a free bus that runs between the two resorts until midnight.

O is for Olympic Legacy – The region won’t let you forget that it hosted the Winter Olympics, so why not check out the Olympic landmarks in nearby La Praz and Meribel.

P is for Poor Visibility – Flat light is not a problem for La Tania guest as many of the runs into resort are tree lined. Also if you do ski through the trees you don’t need to be worried about bears.

Q is for Quaint – This is a word that regularly pops up when you ask someone to describe La Tania.

R is for Real Ale – Skiing is intrinsically a geeky sport and all geeks love Real Ale. So if you head to the hotel Telemark you will be able to bore each other with your ski knowledge over a pint of Real Ale, bliss.

S is for Sisters – ‘Bring Your Sisters’ is a popular apres ski band that you will be able to catch in La Tania. Sing, dance and enjoy.

T is for Traffic – Or lack of it. La Tania is a traffic free haven.

U is for Unbelievable – It is unbelievable how much fun you will have in La Tania.

V is for Vin Chaud – Le Bouc Blanc in La Tania is a great place to get one.

W is for WiFi – It is free in all our chalets, so you can always read the Alpine Action Blog.

X is for X-ray – We hope you won’t need one.

Y is for Yummy – This is how we feel about the Gourmet Burgers at the Ski Lodge in La Tania.

Z is for Zoo – Back in 1967 La Tania was a zoo for alpine animals, it was bulldozed over when it started losing money as a result of its prized unicorn being murdered by a rouge Marmot.

Posted in Alpine Action, AtoZ, La Tania | Tagged A to Z, Apres Ski, Courchevel, ice skating, La Tania, Ski, skiing, three valleys

Spring Skiing Q&A

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Jim Duncombe

The Spring Skiing Q & A

Is the skiing a bit rubbish in the spring months?

Last Year it was fresh powder and blue sky for two weeks. It almost got to the point that we all wanted the perfect conditions to stop so we could have a rest from skiing and crack out the factor 50. If that doesn’t happen this year the resorts still work hard to keep snow on the slopes. It can be a bit wet, under ski, but if you get up early the runs are perfect and often empty.

3 offpiste

My friend says that skiing in the spring is like skiing on a slush puppy, what flavour can I have?

It has always been recommended that you should never eat yellow snow, maybe you should try it in the spring when it is a bit slushy. Take a straw, it may taste of lemons.

Doesn’t everything in resort shut for in the spring?

Nope. Well it does when the lifts close for the summer, but that won’t be until the beginning of May. Although, the closing of resort can be a blessing in disguise, especially if you like to party. Many of the local watering holes throw epic ‘Drink the Bar Dry’ or ‘End of Season’ partys. Keep an eye out for closing parties at the ‘Ski Lodge‘ in La Tania and ‘Jacks‘ in Meribel, as they are always worth attending. Also the ‘Folie Douce’, Meribel, is already trying to convince people to head back to resort for its own end of season bash. If we base this on the piste side Après they have been throwing this winter then it could be worth putting something in your calendar.

Is it hot enough to ski naked?

It can be, and feel free to try it, and we doubt the French would mind. That said,here are 3 reasons not to:
1, The air may be warm air but the snow is cold, ice burns can hurt
2, The Three Valleys still have some button lifts, need we say more!
3, Due to the altitude and the thin air the sun is stronger than your normal sea level nudist beach, you may prefer to only have one set of burnt cheeks.

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Are there special skis for spring skiing?

If it is fresh powder everyday, then you may want to pack your wideboys. However, there are no specific skis for the spring conditions. You will find that your normal gear will work just fine. The snowboarders among you will be pleased to find out that spring conditions are lots of fun on your board as you can carve some fun turns on the piste. For the fan of the Snow Blade you may find that the spring conditions are not ideal for you, length is best for gliding along the spring snow.

Can I go swimming in the Lake?

You can but it is not that hot just yet. You can take part in some water based challenges. Find yourself a large puddle or small pond that is near a slope. The challenge is to get a good run up and see if you can make it across without getting wet. Check out the video clip below for some inspiration.

Can the Easter Bunny find me out in the mountains?

Easter is pretty early this year so it is a worry that the snow won’t have thawed at that time of year. The good news is that the Easter Bunny has a network of heated tunnels that run across the alps, so it will take a lot of snow to stop your chocolate oeufs being delivered. The other bonus is that the late spring skiing won’t coincide with school holidays.

Can I get cheaper stuff, like ski hire, if I go late in the season?

You may not get cheaper hire but you will find that there are some great prices for this years spring dates, have a look at our availability to see how much you could be skiing for. It could even be your second ski holiday of the year.

Can you could sum up why spring skiing is such a good idea in one sentence?

It feels OK to après a little earlier.

If you have any more spring skiing questions or answers please pop them in the comments below.

Posted in La Tania, Meribel, Ski | Tagged Apres Ski, Courchevel, easter, La Tania, Meribel, Q&A, spring skiing, three valleys

Tag Archives: Apres Ski

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Spring Skiing Q&A

Meribel Chalet Holidays

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