Archive for the Category » Ski Resorts «

How to Search Ski Holidays for Beginners

06 Jun 2011 By admin

Many types of catered holidays can help you enjoy your time off, be together with your family, and have a wonderful time. Catered skiing holidays can be great fun for you and your loved ones. However, when you are going on catered skiing holidays, there are several things that you must plan for ahead of time. These things include flights to get you to your destination, the accommodation that you choose to stay in when you are there, and transportation such as rail services and car hire services. All these things are important items to consider as you begin planning your skiing holidays.

Choosing A Destination

The first thing to remember when you are planning skiing holidays is the importance of the destination. There are many great ski slopes all over Europe, and lots of these places offer anywhere from a weekend to a week or more of skiing fun. Many resorts provide skiing holidays in mountain areas that are some of the most beautiful in the world. However, there are several questions that you need to ask before you choose the best place for your skiing holidays.

The first things you need to focus on while choosing skiing holidays are how long you are going to be there, the number of people who are going, and their ages. These are probably the most important factors in deciding where to take your skiing holidays. The length of your skiing holiday will have a lot to do with the destination that you choose. If you are only going for the weekend or a couple of days, you can find a remote and beautiful place to go to for your skiing holiday. If your trip is short, your focus will be on skiing, and it won’t matter if there are not very many amenities or family things to do. The other attractions that might be in the area won’t be as important as the family ski resort itself. You want to choose a ski resort that will allow you to do as much skiing as possible in the short time you have for your holiday.

If your skiing holiday is going to be longer than a few days, the location and amenities of the place that you choose for these skiing holidays are both very important. When you are going to take a ski holiday that lasts longer than just a few days, the other things that you can find to do become much more vital to you. For a long trip, you will need other things to do, no matter how much you love skiing. You will need to make sure that you choose skiing holidays at places that have restaurants, shopping districts, entertainment, and other activities. These will allow you to take a break from skiing, and make your skiing holidays more enjoyable overall.

The ages of the people going on your skiing holidays are also very important. If you are going on skiing holidays with your children, you need to choose places that have ski lessons for children, and fun activities for them as well. With your children along, you also want to research the safety of the ski resort even more thoroughly than you otherwise would. Remember again, that with children, you are going to want to pick your skiing holiday locations where there are lots of things for them to do besides skiing.

Getting There

Once you have chosen a place for your skiing holidays, you have to decide on the best way to get there. The travelling that is involved often costs more than the actual skiing. However, there are many deals on flights and packages to various destinations for skiing holidays, if you know where to look. If you can save money on airline flights, you will have more money to spend on your skiing holidays.

The accommodation that you choose is also an important part of planning family skiing holidays. Whether you stay on the actual site of the family resort, or somewhere near the slopes, you want to be able to get there easily each day to ski. Remember, if you are staying at the place where you are skiing, it might be more expensive. However, your ski slope fees will usually be included. If you find an accommodation that is much cheaper than the resort, but where skiing is nearby, you might find this to be less expensive, but you probably will have to pay for the ski slope fees.

There are other things to consider as you plan your skiing holidays. Things like rail services that can get you to your destination, and whether or not you want to do a car hire are all decisions that you have to make before you leave on your trip. You will find that if you take the time to plan your skiing holidays before you go, you will be able to relax and enjoy them much more.

Category: Ski Resorts  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment

Picking Ski Resorts With Ski Lessons Included

27 Apr 2011 By admin

Perhaps this year is a good year to take up on my ambition of trying out skiing for the first time. This is a nerve-racking venture for me, considering I am more suited to warm sandy beaches and city sightseeing tours. However, like many people perhaps, I feel that at some point in my life before I reach a certain age that I should really do something beyond my own comfort zone. Therefore, skiing is something beyond my own comfort zone and is an experience that many people should enjoy at some point in their life.

If like me you are thinking of going skiing for the first time, then you should choose wisely on you ski destination/resort. The problem with finding a ski resort is that most beginners will opt towards destinations that are more popular without really being prepared for what is in store. Some destinations/resorts are not suitable for beginners as they do not offer easy slopes and professional/experienced skiers that dominate the slopes may put off beginners.

It is important to choose a resort that offers ski lessons to beginners; this way you will enjoy your holiday break without feeling to vulnerable to the elements. It is better to gain some ski lessons before you go on holiday so you can get a good feel of the motions and feel less intimidated. When going on a ski trip one does need to expect to use as much as energy as they can as this is not a simple slide down the park!

It does not matter how old you are when you take up ski lessons, as the tutorials are tailor-made for you to learn at your own pace. When learning at the ski resort you will be thrown at the deep end, in that you will immediately learn the techniques through skiing down some of the slopes. This is the only way you will gain a true experience of skiing from the moment you lay your feet into the skis; you will find that practising a few times will mean that you will progress faster than you expect.

Skiing lessons can be taken privately or with a group. Bear in mind that if you do opt for private lessons then you are more likely to pay more than you would with a group ski session. Many of the lessons involve useful skills and techniques, which can be in the form of starting up, stopping, turning corners and cross-country skiing. When taking up ski lessons one thing to keep in mind is that you will need to be prepared to use a lot of your leg strength and practice on your balancing techniques.

Dry slope skiing is very different from actual skiing on the snow slopes as this does not include the possibility of coming across uneven surfaces and possible bumps that you are likely to come across when skiing down the slopes. However, this will enable you to work on your balancing techniques and improve leg stability on the skis. There are always staffs at hand to help you out, but if you are afraid to fall then you will be disappointed to know that you need to expect yourself to fall a number of times in order to increase your confidence on the slopes.

One key element to ski lessons is learning how to fall properly without damaging yourself too much. For instance if you land on front, instead having your arms reached out in front of you, you have them across over your face and chest so end up rolling. Obviously, you will have a few minor injuries but is to be expected. In the end, you will need to remind yourself that you are there to have fun and it just the thrill of the experience you are after.

Category: Ski Resorts  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment

Lake Tahoe Ski And Snowboard Guide

03 Apr 2011 By admin

When the days are short and snow hides the dirt and makes the water of Lake Tahoe WAY to cold for swimming, you do the only thing you can do: Go SKIING!!! There are fourteen ski resorts in and around Lake Tahoe in both California and Nevada. There are thousands of hotel and motel rooms, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a gourmet, or deliciously funky restaurant, and there’s more music, theater, shows, gambling and amenities than you could possibly know what to do with.

But relax. It’s simple. Follow these two steps for the best winter vacation you’ve ever had: 1) go to Lake Tahoe. 2) go skiing! Everything else will come naturally.

Getting to Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is easy to find. If you’re flying (and you don’t have your own helicopter), the closest airport with good service is Reno Tahoe International Airport. All the major carriers fly in there including the beloved Southwest Airlines. From Reno the closest Tahoe ski resort are only 30 minutes away (Mt. Rose and Diamond Peak), and the farthest are barely over an hour. Flying in to Reno also puts you at an advantage as most of the traffic comes in from Sacramento and San Francisco, so tourist congestion is minimal.

From Sacramento or San Francisco take US Hwy 50 East to South Lake Tahoe, California and the casinos at Stateline, Nevada and Heavenly, Kirkwood or Sierra at Tahoe; or take Interstate 80 through Truckee to Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Donner Ski Ranch, Sugar bowl, Northstar or Homewood. Good weather info can be found at weather.com (http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USCA0584?from=search_city), NOAA.gov (http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=rev&smap=1&textField1=39.25139&textField2=-119.97194), and snotel (http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/California/california.html).

Check traffic and snow conditions before you go at CalTrans(http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/), NDOT (http://www.nevadadot.com/traveler/roads/) and Magnifeye(http://www.magnifeye.com/).

Tahoe Terrain and Snow

Lake Tahoe is big: 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. Along its 72 miles of shoreline ski conditions can vary from north (Northstar at Tahoe) to south (Kirkwood), so it helps to keep track of the weather and snowfall rates. If you’re into groomers and perfect corduroy, or neck deep powder in the trees, check the snow reports on each resort’s website and hit the one with the most new snow.

Most of the resorts have terrain parks, and usually more than one. Heavenly has several including beginner, intermediate and advanced jumps, rails and boxes for all skiers and snowboarders.

Which resort should you go to? Well that’s complicated. Since everything at Tahoe is totally awesome, it can be challenging to find the right resort for you. The huge resorts, Heavenly, Squaw, and Kirkwood, offer fancy dining, big vertical relief, and incredible on-mountain amenities. The small ones, Homewood, Diamond Peak and Mt. Rose, offer a more low key experience that might be great for beginners or people who want to experience everything Tahoe. Every mountain has its specialties, secret powder stashes and amazing views of the lake.

Backcountry Skiing

Though there are some of the best ski and snowboard resorts in the world, there are FAR more mountains to be skied around Tahoe than you can reach at the end of a chair lift ride. Any of the peaks around the Tahoe Basin, however, can be reached at the end of a hike.

Whether by snowshoe, crampon and ice axe or ski tour you can reach endless untracked ridges and couloirs from the Pacific Crest in the Desolation Wilderness on the West shore to the Carson Range above Reno on the east. Many resorts also have hikeable backcountry terrain, like the Milkyway Bowl, at Heavenly which gives you a few more feet of vertical for a little bit of extra effort. Always check for up-to-date avalanche, snowfall and weather forecasts for the entire Tahoe back country area from the Sierra Avalanche Center (http://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/) before you go out of bounds.

Lifts, Trams and Gondolas

Tahoe is the land of the six-pack high-speed chairlift. We have gondolas, funitels, and trams along with a life time supply of high speed 6 person chairlifts. The resorts here are fully modern with the latest in technology and as rich skiing history, like the old Trams at Heavenly and Squaw Valley. Skiing around Tahoe is a fully modern, fast and fun experience. The astounding uphill capacity at the resorts keeps you skiing with a minimum of down time.

On-mountain Amenities

What’s that? You want a little down time? Understandable. Skiing endless top to bottom mogul or powder runs can be tiring. You need a recharge now and then. No worries, no matter where you are at the resorts here you’re never far from a bite to eat. Mid mountain lodges, top of the mountain lodges abound with gourmet dining, and drinking, right off the runs with stellar views of the ski slopes and the lake and no shortage of wine and beer.

Tahoe Lodging

Sure, you could sleep in your car at the base of the runs after eating a ski-bum-gourmet meal of saltines and ketchup, but why now live a little? You want be good to yourself; that’s why you’re here.

As a year round vacation destination, Lake Tahoe has thousands of hotels and motels to choose from after a big day on the slopes. If you’re hungry there are enough dining establishments to feed tens of thousands! Great lodging rates can be found to keep your budget happy even at a hotel close to the slopes!

In a competitive vacation market such as Tahoe, resorts are always teaming up with hotels to offer ski and lodging packages to get you the best deal for your trip. Whether you’re skiing or snowboarding, you can bundle your lodging, lift tickets and equipment rentals into one great deal, so you spend less money and more time having fun.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe, in California and Nevada, is a world class winter destination mentioned in the same breath as Vail, Park City, and Banff. The snow is falling. The lifts are running. Come hit the slopes!!!

Category: Ski Resorts  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment
« Previous Entries