Winter sports
| Top trends | Europe
ADVENTURE Winter mountain holidays are no longer just about skiing and snowboarding. Ski touring (skiing uphill with synthetic ‘skins’ attached to the base of the ski) has exploded in recent years, with most ski resorts now offering specially designed routes for uphill skiers — also known as ‘skinning’. Ski touring off-piste is also growing, with many courses on offer, notably those from Mountain Tracks which was last year bought by the Ski Club of Great Britain. Fat biking — mountain biking on fat tyres — is booming in popularity, as is racing of all types. Popular races include the legendary Inferno ski race in Mürren (which this winter celebrates its 75-year anniversary), the skiing equivalent of the Colour Run which takes place in Les Gets and the Three Valleys Enduro race are all popular.
From top: Ski touring in Brooks Range, Alaska; husky sledding
HOLISTIC SKIING The Ski Club of Great Britain’s 2016 research pointed to skiers’ growing desire to have health and spa facilities with their holiday accommodation, and last season saw a push towards more holistic experiences in the Alps, incorporating skiing into health and fitness retreats. Chalet Rosière, the world’s first wellbeing chalet, opened in La Rosière, HIP Chalets started offering mindful skiing weeks; Element Concept in Verbier has been running women’s weeks that incorporate life coaching, yoga and nutrition sessions; Mountain Therapy offers weeks of skiing, yoga and nutrition in Les Arcs; and Alikats in Morzine combines skiing with yoga, pilates and trail running.
JOINING SKI AREAS AND SKI PASSES Last winter, a final link in the lift system of the Arlberg was joined to form Austria’s largest ski area — St Christoph, St Anton, Lech, Zurs and Warth-Schrocken — making up 190 miles of pistes, on a par with the Espace Killy (Val d’Isère-Tignes). The project to link Andermatt and Sedrun in Switzerland comes to fruition this winter with the installation of a gondola and chairlift to create the largest skiing destination in central Switzerland. This year, a new Magic Pass has gone on sale in Switzerland offering access to a host of smaller resorts In France, the Eskimo Pass in the Haute Maurienne Valley is gaining publicity for its value offering.
AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES
“More customers are looking for smaller, independent chalet operators with a growing interest in ‘spending local’ with their travel money,” says Richard Sinclair of Sno. But that doesn’t mean big resorts will lose out. Val Thorens now offers dinners in a mountain- top yurt with torchlit descent or a shepherd’s hut beside Chez Pépé Nicolas restaurant on the road to Les Menuires.
countrybycountry.com | ABTA Magazine 59
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