Go Skiing in November!As you read this the summer is on the downward spiral into Autumn, “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” as Keats would have it, so Gallery and Jerseyski.com have teamed up to give you something to look forward to as the days get shorter and we start the countdown to the Festive Season!
Lots of skiers who ski once or twice a year find that it takes the first couple of days of their annual ski holiday to get back to the standard they were at last season, which is frustrating, to say the least! Perhaps the answer is to get some skiing in beforehand or maybe get some ski skills training to get off the “plateau” and on to the next level. So we thought we would rip up the rulebook which says most people go skiing from January through until March, and look at some pre season, (and pre-Christmas) ski alternatives.
We have a choice of 3 very different ski breaks this November and December, but they all have one thing in common, they are on Alpine glaciers which hold their snow nearly all year round!
Weekend Break
Our first trip is to Austria, flying via Gatwick to Salzburg with British Airways, for the annual “White Start” weekend on the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier in Kaprun from the 9th-12th November.
Kaprun is a village that falls in the area of Zell Am Zee, and sits on the wide valley floor on the opposite side of the valley to Lake Zeller and the town of Zell Am Zee, in the Hohe Tauern National Park. Kaprun sits at the base of the Kitzsteinhorn, the only glacier in the province of Salzburg, which rises to a height of over 3,000 metres. Its height guarantees ‘100% Snow Certainty’, which means that it can be skied as early as September and as late as May (9 months of the year).
We covered this resort in a feature in our February issue. The weekend is traditionally the start of the winter season for the locals, with the opportunity of testing the new season’s skis from all the manufacturers for free, snow dances in the village, and a friendly relaxed atmosphere.
Pre Christmas Treat!
Leave Jersey at 07.00 – arrive in Innsbruck at 11.50, be on the slopes by 13.30, I did it, so can you!
This trip is from Sunday 9th- Wednesday 12th December, for 3 nights and 2 1/2 days skiing, which includes flights from Jersey to Innsbruck via Gatwick with British Airways, with baggage routed through, transfers to the resort, half board hotel accommodation and lift passes. The destination for this offer is the Stubai valley which has four ski areas, all of which are covered on your ski pass. You can ski on Sunday afternoon at Schlick 2000 in Fulpmes, Monday and Tuesday can be spent on the Stubai Glacier, further up the valley. On the Wednesday morning you can either ski again or visit the Christmas Markets in Innsbruck, 20 minutes away, before your return flight departs at 13.20. This trip is suitable for skiers and snow boarders of all levels, even beginners!
We hope you can join us on one of these Gallery/ Jerseyski.com ski breaks, for further details, and to book see www.gallery.je/ski or www.jerseyski.com
One week Skills course
For the skier who is determined to improve, we have a ski skills training week with the Warren Smith Ski Academy in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, flying direct to Zurich with Blue Islands, and Swiss Railways transfer from the Airport. Skis are carried free on Blue Islands, and complimentary champagne is served on the flight! The world-famous car-free village of Saas-Fee is situated at an altitude of 1,800 metres at the foot of the highest Swiss mountain range, the Mischabel chain. Summer skiing takes place on the Allalin Glacier, which rises to a height of 4,027 metres. There’s a choice of 2 weeks for this course, either 11th-18th November, or the week after, 18th-25th November.
Warren is one of Britain’s leading professional freeskiers and an Internationally Certified Performance Coach and Ski Instructor. He has been a sponsored Volkl freeski athlete for over 5 years and has represented the Oakley UK Freeski Team for over 10 years. He has spent many years teaching recreational skiers, developing ski instructors and coaching racers all over Europe. The Warren Smith Ski Academy pro team are not only internationally qualified coaches and instructors, but a group of elite professionals who have been hand picked and trained by Warren Smith to give out the classic Academy product of coaching that combines Ski Technique, Ski Biomechanics and Ski Physiology. The combination of the three is what has earned Warren Smith and his Academy international recognition in the ski industry.
Here’s what the Mail on Sunday’s ski Correspondent, Neil English, said, ‘The enthusiasm, clarity and dynamism of all Warren’s coaches, spurred every one of us on to significantly greater skill levels. Improvement on this scale is deeply infectious, my advice is book now or be left behind in the doldrums of “old school” skiing!’
These courses are intended for low intermediate skiers and above who want to get better, but they won’t suit plodders or the faint hearted!
