Can't wait until the winter to get on the snow? Then why not try a week in Saas Fee on the glacier with the Warren Smith Ski Academy.

Conditions are excellent at the moment. Just take a look at the video clips below:

Courses include video analysis, technique development, use of a moguls and GS course, numerous dry land training activities including tennis, beach volleyball, football, basketball, volleyball, hiking, climbing and swimming. There are still a few places available and dates for the rest of the summer are as follows:

Week 6 - 13th - 20th August
Week 7 - 27th August - 3rd September
Week 8 - 3rd - 10th September
Week 9 - 10th - 17th September

For more info go to: www.warrensmith-skiacademy.com

 

 

Our roving snow reporter, Lizzie Norton, former MD of Ski Solutions is enjoying a well earned retirement and is reporting back to us on the conditions in the Alps and North America this winter.

If Vail is Colorado's favourite "ski town", then Aspen must surely be its favourite "party town" - though the skiing is pretty good too. Aspen is the ideal second stop on your two-centre ski trip and do it that way round. Just a couple of hours by road from Vail, you can ski that last day and transfer late afternoon in time for aperitivi and dinner at one of Aspen's hot spots. You've got over your jet lag and you're ready to Party...

I find Aspen has changed less than Vail since my last visit some five years ago. Naturally, what's hot and what's not are different with new bars and restaurants vying for the top ...

Courmayeur is far and away our most popular short break destination - and with good reason! The village, with its charming cafes and boutique-filled cobbled streets, is among Italy's most seductive. The setting, beneath the spires and glaciers of Mont Blanc, simply jaw-dropping. Oh, and the mountain restaurants - as good as anywhere in the Alps - won't blow your entire budget in one day! Ok, the ski area isn't huge, but the 100km of mostly intermediate runs pack more variety than many of Courmayeur's big name rivals, and off-piste, the sky's the limit.

A Ski Solutions press trip to Courmayeur confirmed all of the above! Just check out the video below where Graham Bell gives his thoughts on Courmayeur.



Lots of spectacular off piste is accessible from the lifts - but always take a guide.


Courmayeur has an exquisite range of mountain restaurants, none better than Chiecco, ...

Who would have thought when I made the decision in late November to ski the States this year in mid-February, that it would have been such a fortuitous one.

 

I arrived in Vail last week just after they had received over 40" of new snow.  The skies had cleared the day we arrived but the temperatures were still brutally cold.  For the next five days, the temperature rose bit by bit and the skies became bluer and bluer.  Yesterday, as we left, it felt as if Spring had arrived - if only briefly as another storm is due later in the week.

 

So what of my impressions of Vail, which I last visited five years ago?  Ever since my first visit I have always felt it was a bit like "Disney-on-Skis".  Even with the enormous amount of recent snow, the streets were completely clear - no hazardous ice ...

The Ski & Board Shows are a traditional part of the build up to the ski and snowboard season and although we won't have a stand at any of the shows we're hoping to be there in some form or fashion. Just in case you don't have the dates here they are:

• The Scotland Ski + Snowboard Show - 16th to 17th October - Glasgow, SECC
• Metro Ski and Snowboard Show - 20th to 24th October  - London, Olympia
• British Ski + Board Show - 29th to 31st October - Birmingham, NEC

The shows are usually a great place to go and get up to speed on the latest kit, find out about resorts you may be interested in visiting and generally just get in the mood for the winter. Oh yes and usually a few beers are involved. .

Are you planning to visit one of the shows? Then keep ...

It's been snowing in Banff and so here at ifyouski we've been wondering if it's going to be a big snow year and which resorts will open first.  There always seem to be a few North American resorts that start making snow super-early so that they can claim to be the first to open, however, here in Europe there are a number of resorts with glaciers that are open nearly all-year round.

Tignes in France is always a good option for some pre-season skiing and if it gets a good snowfall it will usually open the main pistes down to the village. It's due to re-open on the 25th of September with the links to Val d'Isere scheduled to open on November 27th. www.tignes.net

In Austria, there are a number of ski resorts that open early including Solden  http://www.soelden.com/ (Open from the 10th September and will host the World Cup Opening 22-24th October), The Kitzsteinhorn Glacier in Kaprun http://en.kitzsteinhorn.at (Open from the end of September ...