....anyway, off to Saalbach Hinterglemm on Wednesday for a five day Lads trip. How's it looking CB?
Most of Northern Italy closed.
France maybe about to follow suit.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the whole of The Alps closed by the end of the week.
Must be terrible for the businesses that rely on the snow season ☹️
Most of Northern Italy closed.
France maybe about to follow suit.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the whole of The Alps closed by the end of the week.
Must be terrible for the businesses that rely on the snow season ☹️
I hope you’re very wrong. Granted Aosta valley resorts look to be closed but aside from the connection at La Thuile Rosière they might as well be miles apart. More risk from the Mont Blanc tunnel.
Anyway I’m flying to Geneva on Saturday come what may for a week in La Plagne so **** this panicking.
Anyway I’m flying to Geneva on Saturday come what may for a week in La Plagne
Fingers crossed for you, but I'd be looking carefully at insurance and cancellation options.
I know someone, not a friend but friend of a friend who is intensely annoying and lords it up about having no kids and being able to ski whenever they want. Flew to Cervinia yesterday for a month, ahahahahaha, bugger.
Members of our ski club flew out yesterday to La Thuile and it looks like bugger all is happening lifts wise on the webcams.
I'll message somebody later to see what's happening.
A few people had cancelled before they went as employers were telling them they would have to self isolate (with no pay) when they returned!
La thuile is in the aosta valley - all lifts closed in the aosta valley as of today, including the monterosa, and I had jheard that La Rosiere which links La Thuile into the Tarentaise valley in France will also close - but it does seem to be open
https://www.lathuile.it/en/index.html
https://www.larosiere.net/en/ski-runs-opening/
Plan to be in Courchevel Fri > Mon via Geneva airport. Keeping a close eye on things!
Snow looks very good so will be hacked right off if it gets closed down!
Dolomites all closed now as well. Expectation of France doing the same!
Ski club being repatriated this evening, not sure if they'll need to self isolate upon return yet!
not sure if they’ll need to self isolate upon return yet!
If it's from north italy, then yes
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public#returning-travellers
Mrs Dubs cousin's lad is coming home early from his season in Austria.
We've cancelled plans to head out to Morzine in a couple of weekends time - one of our party is already forced to self-isolate on return by his work so it's too much of a ballache for a weekend away. Glad we decided to (not) book last minute.
I'm going bikepacking somewhere in the UK instead, unless there's still snow in Scotland?!?
According to Government advice Bob they should be okay as they are in the Category 2 zone.
Snowing at both Nevis & Glencoe yet again this morning; epic conditions in the back bowls at Nevis last week with miles of untracked freshies available for only the price of a small cornice drop to get in. Coe has the best cover they've had for some years and with spring just around the corner, conditions well into May should be excellent up there. Touring in the Cairngorms is excellent again; the 4x4000 route was skied last week with good snow the whole way around.
Both Glenshee & Lecht are open; Shee having the better conditions and a lot more terrain open. Looks a bit sad on the webcams down near the road, with heather showing between the pistes but higher up in Coire Fionn and up on Glas Maol, it's great snow. Backcountry touring is good, with lots of steep options available. The Lecht is still open but is beginning to look a bit sad.
Now that our own 21st March Monte Rosa trip has been cancelled by Inghams, we will have to give them the opportunity to offer a re-book or refund.
Plan B is therefore several days in Scotland mixing between skis and bikes. That's not the end of the world... We get the two extra days that would have been wasted travelling.
Just seen some Brit Skiers hospitalized in Saalbach....where we are heading to on Weds. 😬
Rockape - it was my first trip to Saalbach so can't compare year on year etc.
Ski hire is bloody expensive IMO so worth looking around b4 you go. There are sales in the big shops though but I only noticed that at the end of the stay! Might have been tempted to buy boots at those prices.
They are struggling lower down, its like a giant slush puppie but also some great snow a bit higher up. We didn't get to Zell am See but really liked Leogang area and parts of Fieberbrunn.
The black down into Saalbach was by far the best run of the lot. Enjoy!
EDIT crossed with your follow up - hope the Brits are OK
Fingers crossed for you, but I’d be looking carefully at insurance and cancellation options.
Thanks @oldtennisshoes, insurance is very comprehensive but likely only able to claim if travel advice for France changes. I’ll be really hacked off if it does though as I look forward to my winter holidays more than any other and have had this booked for 10 months.
Thanks CB, it’s funny old weather at the moment, getting warmer but also brighter, so will be mixed. Obviously now got other issues to consider than just the weather!
We did look at Italy when we booked this Hinterglemm trip, so at least dodged that bullet. I think we’ll try and avoid visiting every bar and restaurant and stick with the hotel area only.
Off to Kaprun on Saturday, first boarding trip for about 8 years! Unfortunately the neck injury I sustained about 15 years ago (desiccating 2 discs and causing impingement onto the spinal cord) has just flared up as it does every year or so. However, instead of just giving me a bit of a sore neck for a day, it's got progressively worse over the course of the past several. Not ideal 🙁
Eek. Be careful not to catch a heel edge. That could be very bad....
Just got repatriated by Crystal yesterday - very quick turnaround.
We'd been in Aosta Valley for a week already, but folk arrived on Sunday midday, the announcement was made about the whole valley's resorts closing was made Sunday afternoon and by Monday evening everyone was flown back out of Turin on 'special flights' late at night just before the entire country was locked down.
Top marks to Crystal and their staff. Real shame for all the hotels, bars and restaurants etc ... not a good prospect as the season had been pretty quiet already.
Off to Mayrhofen early tomorrow for a lads trip. Conditions look OK and Webcams look quite quiet. Anyone heading off to Austria?
Information we have is all resorts are open.
@thegeneralist I should probably resist the urge to sharpen my edges to a more aggressive angle too 😀
Back from a good trip to Alpe D'Huez. disappointed not to get stranded there for a few more weeks tbh. saw no sign of the virus over there at all, except a few punters wearing masks at grenoble.
Resort wasnt exactly quiet all week either! unless that was quiet. in which case i wouldnt want to return.
lucky with the conditions, woke up to freshies on 3 of the mornings! there were 2 whiteout days, one of which was wet and rainy, but clear sunny skies the rest of the time.
@andeh – also look at BAC Elland
Bloody hell, is that place still going. I bought some snowboard trousers from there about 25 years ago!!
Anyone heading off to Austria?
Yes we’re off to Ischgl on Saturday.
There’s a list of 10 or so apres bars that are closed and apparently they’re only half filling gondolas and buses. Hopefully apart from that it’ll be business as usual 🤞
Update: Ischgl closed from this weekend.
That’s the end of that then.
Should we rebook for France or just sack it off this year 🤔🤷🏻♂️
Also looks like Snowbombing is cancelled too for anyone that was planning on going
It was suggested on another thread that France may try to hold back any mass closures for another week because of the local elections on the 15th and 22nd. If that's right, next week is possibly the last definite week of the season.
Locally to me they've today announced that schools are closing in 16 towns as of now (not in the Alps) for the next 3 weeks (let's wait and see see if the EWS in Olargues gets the bullet shortly)
We've just taken the decision to cancel our family trip to Kaprun 🙁 Was supposed to be flying on Saturday but decided based on the worsening situation in Austria. Basic wooden accommodation built for asylum seekers has been repurposed for quarantining infected tourists, which reports suggest is not particularly luxurious. Not a great prospect of potentially being stuck there with young children...
@turboferret that's the correct call. My pre-easter week has also succumbed to the same fate, but hey ho.
We're a bit torn, Crystal have just emailed to say refund will be with us in 5 days with no action or chasing on our part, which is good. They are offering for us to re-book for next year, which suggests they expect the situation to get worse.
But France still open and if what @ocrider says holds true then we'd be alright next week. Or we'll be stuck getting home from a closed resort. Driving to France is option, possibly even in the campervan so we have somewhere to stay.
Rock the Pistes is cancelled in Portes du Soleil though so they are starting to limit large events I guess.
Going to see what Johnson says after Cobra meeting and decide what to do.
@turboferret are you just taking the hit on the money? Presumably no refund unless they cancel it or the resort shuts?
@oldtennisshoes it's only money at the end of the day, it could be fine, or could descent into a nightmare. On the bright side I get to go to work instead...
@phil5556 we're assuming that we won't get anything back financially, unless something dramatic changes between now and Saturday morning. I doubt many travel insurance policies would pay out just because you decided not to travel. We might be able to get a refund on our airport parking, but that's not exactly the big-ticket item... On the plus side I only spent £9 on equipment, being an edge sharpening tool!
Heart goes out to people missing out on a planned holiday - Appreciate there's far more to life than skiing, given what's going on in Italy but I'd be gutted to miss out - lets hope the medical community and the immune-response of humans can beat this thing over the coming six months and we can go back to worrying about snow quality in 20-21!
@phil5556 that might have been optimistic on my behalf earlier. Macron is addressing the nation this evening, so I wouldn't pull the trigger on travel, accommodation, etc just yet.
I'm due to fly with the family to Geneva 2 weeks on Saturday. I don't see any point in cancelling and not getting any compensation. Better the governments take that decision for you so your covered for insurance. We would still like to go as its the same holiday we had last year and it was a great success. Its the consequences of quarantine with the kids for 2weeks ...maybe and then a difficult journey home if that's possible that's the crux. If we take it to the wire then we may just not turn up at the airport. Everything is booked independently so there will be no ABTA cover. Will just do the courtesy calls if it comes to that.
Looks like I've timed a day off well again!
Heading to Glenshee tomorrow and it's been snowing there pretty much all day!
All Austrian Tirol and Salzburgerland resorts closing after this Sunday. Looks like season is over. Apart from splitboarding 😢
Yup, looks like season over, might try and sneak a couple of days in Jockland but hotel cancelled our reservation FOC so worst case scenario is we lose flights and car hire.
Gutted but I guess in 6 months this will look like a drop in the ocean.
Last day in Mayrhofen, definitely shutting down behind us. Been a good week apart from that.
We've got a late March trip to Switzerland booked - not expecting it to go ahead now but fingers crossed...
My local resort is currently staying open based on advice from the swedish government. Others that they own (skistar) in Norway and Austria have shut.
Still, tis the season for splitboarding anyhow!
We're pretty lucky, as the operator has cancelled about 12 hours before we were going to, so full refund coming our way 🙂 Glad we didn't cancel yesterday, as we would have got nothing!
