It feels like the winter season has only just finished (the peaks are still snow covered which is testament to that) and yet the Portes Du Soleil is gearing up for the summer mountain biking season already. Take a walk past through Morzine and the shops have done a quick turn around and the bikes are out on display. In fact, one week tomorrow the first lifts open to mountain bikes in Les Gets!
 
So here is a run down on the lift opening and closing dates throughout the PDS this summer.
 
Les Gets
Lifts are open daily from the 15^th June until the 8^th September.
However the Chavannes side opens up for weekends from the 25^th May.
 
Morzine
It has been well publicised that the Pleney lift will not be open this summer as it is being replaced, but there is no need to worry. Access to the Pleney side (and to Les Gets) will be provided by chairlifts open between 08:30 and 10:30 every morning from the 28^th June until the 1^st September.
The Super Morzine lift is also being opened up earlier this year, running daily from the 15^th June.
 
Chatel
Lifts open daily between the 22^nd June and the 8^th September.
The Pierre Longue area will also be open on the weekend of the 15-16^th June.
 
Morgins
Open daily from the 28^th June until the 1^st September.
Also open on weekends from the 8^th June until the 16^th September.
 
Champery
And finally the cable car in Champery possibly has the longest season of all, from the 15^th June until the 6^th October.
 
 
The big annual event of course is the Pass’Portes Du Soleil (28-30^th June) which gives participants access to the whole PDS area, including areas such as Torgon, which is not open at any other time in the summer season.


As usual Ski-Lifts will be offering a full shared and private transfer service for the whole summer season and bikes are transported completely free of charge. Shared transfers start again from the 15th June 2013.


The Ski-Lifts Team

As a fantastic winter season begins to draw to a close most of us won’t start thinking about heading back out to the mountains until next winter. However, that’s a real missed opportunity to see the ski areas we know so well in a completely different light.
 
Summer is a great time to visit the Alps, in fact the first tourists to visit these areas were doing so in the summer months, long before the development of snow sports, and now more and more people are re-discovering why it’s the perfect destination for a summer holiday.
 
First of all there is the obvious plus points – stunning mountain scenery, alpine meadows, lush forests, streams, waterfalls and lakes. Many people perhaps don’t know that the summer months in the Alps can bring some beautiful weather as well, with glorious sunshine and soaring temperatures.
 
The range of activities to keep anyone occupied are vast – from hiking to white water rafting, downhill mountain biking to golf, paragliding to a relaxed barbeque on the shores of an alpine lake. You can find out much more information on the activities available by clicking here.
 
There are a multitude of local events and festivals that happen throughout the summer months, including local music festivals, celebrations of alpine cultures and gastronomy, sporting events and much more. Full listings can normally be found on the websites of the tourist office for the area you plan on visiting.
 
Here are just a small selection of some of the events taking place this summer that you may be able to build into your holiday.
  
Mountain Biking Events
 Pass'Portes Du Soleil (28-30^th June 2013)
This annual event marks the opening of the Portes Du Soleil area for the mountain biking season, with participants covering a vast course taking in the infamous resorts of the Portes Du Soleil such as Morzine, Les Gets, Chatel and more.
 
Mega Avalanche (8-14^th July 2013)
One of the most famous mountain bike races in the world! Thousands of competitors tackle a course that runs from the summit to the base of Alpe D’Huez. The course passes through all terrains, including crossing snow and glaciers, before descending into the forest trails lower down the mountain.
 
Crankwork (6-14^th July)
A newer event that celebrates all things mountain bike – with competitions, demonstrations and much more. This event takes place in the resort of Les Deux Alpes.
  
Events to watch
2013 sees the 100^th edition of the Tour De France, which promises to be a spectacle not to be missed, especially after Britain’s first ever winner in the race last year, Sir Bradley Wiggins.
The Alps should prove the decisive stages for the race this year as they make up three of the final stages before the ride into Paris.
 
18^th July 2013 – Gap to Alpe D’Huez.
This year sees the iconic 21 bends up to Alpe D’Huez climbed twice, which will be a stern test for everyone!
 
19^th July 2013 – Bourg D’Oissans to Le Grand Bornand.
The race now moves north up through the Alps, with another demanding stage for some very tired riders by now.
 
20^th July 2013 – Annecy
The penultimate stage of this years race and realistically the last opportunity for anyone to stake their claim for the overall win, this difficult stage is based around the picturesque town of Annecy at the northern edge of the Alps.
 
Rallye Du Mont Blanc (5-7^th September 2013)
If you prefer your racing with an engine, than maybe this is more for you. The annual even based in Morzine marks the finish of the summer season.
See the drivers tackle the narrow mountain roads and tight hairpins at breathtaking speeds. This is the 65th running of the event and is part of the French national championships.
 
Coupe Icare (19-22 September 2013)
This year is the 40^th anniversary of this annual festival of free flight. Held in St Hilaire, near to Grenoble, each year sees hundreds of pilots take to the skies to show their skills.
 
 Music Festivals
There are some major international music festivals also taking place around the Alps. The three we mention here are situated on the shores of lakes, with views of the surrounding mountains and they offer an unforgettable festival experience.
 
47^th Montreux Jazz Festival (5-20^th July 2013)
 
Musilac (12-14^th July 2013)
 
Paleo (23-28^th July 2013)
 
And don’t forget that if you are planning on travelling out to the Alps for your summer holiday, Ski-Lifts offer transfers year round to all of the resorts throughout the Alps, making getting out here very easy.
We hope you take our advice and have yourself a great holiday!
  
The Ski-Lifts Team

It seems that the start to the 2012-13 season has been one of the busiest in a long time, with demand over the Christmas and New Year weeks pushing the most popular resorts to capacity.

This got me thinking about what makes these resorts more popular, what keeps many people coming back year after year instead of exploring other lesser know resorts?

It’s a fairly emotive and subjective thing to decide which is ‘the best ski resort’. I’m sure we all have our opinions on the matter, and it’ll be shaped by various criteria – where you enjoyed the most (which possibly could have more to do with the après than the actual riding), what the snow conditions were like when you were there (one of my favourites is a tiny resort simply because when I was there it was a powder heaven which no one else in resort seemed to want to disturb!) and for others it seems to be purely based on reputation.

After trawling the internet it was easy to find numerous lists of the top 10 resorts and funnily enough – none of them quite agree!
Obviously certain resorts seem to pop up on more than one list which should be an indication that it is pretty good.

What also stands out is that there is possibly a bias (maybe subconsciously by the author, maybe targeted towards the expected audience) towards a certain type of resort.

So, we though we’d bring you a selection of these lists (who honestly doesn’t like a good list) and we invite your feedback on resorts that may have been overlooked, or your own top 10 resorts. So, here goes…..

First up is the Top 10 Resorts in Europe taken from the website Sno.co.uk
1. Meribel
2. Morzine
3. Chamonix
4. Verbier
5. Val D’Isere
6. La Plagne
7. Kitzbuhel
8. Courchevel
9. Zermatt
10. St Anton
 
Same criteria, this time from the Outside Online website
 

1. Chamonix
2. La Grave
3. St Anton
4. Kitzbuhel
5. Verbier
6. Murren
7. Zermatt
8. Bernese Oberland
9. Alagna
10. Andermatt

 
Looking at it perhaps from a different perspective (and expanding it to the whole world, although I think with a little bit of an American bias!) is National Geographic
 

1. Girdwood, Alaska
2. Fernie, BC
3. Zermatt
4. Bozeman, Montana
5. Chamonix
6. Cortina D’Ampezzo
7. Whitefish, Montana
8. Crested Butte, Colorado
9. Aspen, Colorado
10. Niseko, Japan

Tripadvisor has compiled a list based on feedback from the site users for the best skiing vacations in Europe
 

1. Interlaken
2. Zermatt
3. Chamonix
4. Lapland
5. Zell Am See
6. Garmisch-Partenkirchen
7. Kitzbuhel
8. St Moritz
9. Courchevel
10. Val D’Isere

14.        Avoriaz (because we’re not completely impartial and wanted to show where it came in!)

 
So there’s a selection purely based on people’s over all opinions and one thing that stands out on most of those lists is that they are generally big, popular and well known resorts.
But what about the smaller resorts?
 
The Guardian compiled a list of ‘The Top 10 Cheap Ski Resorts in the Shadow of Giants’
 

1. Soll
2. Montgenevre
3. La Tzoumaz
4. Avajan
5. St Martin De Belleville
6. Hochfugen
7. Les Houches
8. Andermatt
9. Jay Peak (USA)
10. Ogden (USA)

 
You might have to do a bit of research to locate one or two of those!
 
Finally, back to Tripadvisor, who put together two lists using various criteria (cost of accommodation, cost of a lift pass, ski hire, a meal and a beer) to create the top 10 best value and most expensive resorts in Europe.

Top 10 most expensive European ski resorts according to Tripadvisor
1.             Meribel, France
2.             Courchevel, France
3.             St. Moritz, Switzerland
4.             Verbier, Switzerland
5.             Gstaad, Switzerland
6.             Zermatt, Switzerland
7.             Klosters, Switzerland
8.             Ischgl, Austria
9.             Val D'Isere, France
10.           St. Anton, Austria
 
I guess a list dominated by the resorts you might have expected!
But for the best value resorts as below, you might be surprised by a few of them….

Top 10 best value European ski resorts according to Tripadvisor
1.             Mt Etna, Italy
2.             Bansko, Bulgaria
3.             Astún, Spain
4.             Berchtesgaden, Germany
5.             Kranjska Gora, Slovenia
6.             Spitzingsee, Germany
7.             Candanchú, Spain
8.             Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
9.             Oberstdorf, Germany
10.           Serre-Chevalier, France


I’d love to say that Ski-Lifts offer transfers to all of these resorts – but we don’t! It pains me to say it but there were even a few on there I hadn’t even heard of and some (Mount Etna for example) that I can’t imagine drags in that many people for a ski holiday. However, we do offer transfers to most of them, so take the chance to travel with us and get out and explore some of them.

The Ski-Lifts Team

Here at Ski-Lifts we’re always striving to add more shared routes to our transfer portfolio.
We know that they offer great flexibility, are a cost effective way for small groups or individuals, to travel to ski resorts and also because it’s helping to reduce the number of vehicles that are on the road, they are also helping us all to do our bit for the environment.

 

For the 2012-13 ski season we are now offering more shared transfers than we have ever done before!

 

Of course we still have our shared transfer services from Geneva airport to the Chamonix Valley, the resorts of the Portes du Soleil and Grand Massif, including Flaine, Les Carroz, Samoens and Morillon.

For the resorts of Morzine and Les Gets we even offer an Economy Shared Transfer which is the cheapest seat available from Geneva to these resorts!

 

On weekends throughout the winter season we now have a shuttle service running from both Geneva and Chambery airports to the resorts in the 3-Valleys, Paradiski, Val D’Isere and Tignes. With prices from just 65 Euros per person!

 

From Grenoble airport, there are regular shuttles running every Saturday throughout the winter to Alpe D’Huez and Serre Chevalier.

 

You can book shared transfers to Verbier, from Geneva airport every day of the week.

 

In Austria we have a huge selection of shared transfers to all of the popular resorts from Innsbruck, Munich and Salzburg airports. These resorts include Kitzbuhel, Mayrhofen, Obergurgl, Solden, St Anton and more.....

 

Before the winter season it will be possible to book shared transfers in Italy, to resorts such as Aosta, Courmayeur, Cervinia and La Thuile from both Turin and Geneva airports.

 

And we're not stopping at Europe! We even offer a shared service from Denver airport to Whistler.

 

To see the full range of transfers available to any resort, simply get a quote on our website.
If you can’t find what you need, just ask! 


The Ski-Lifts Team

Here's a run down on the season dates for the major ski resorts in France for the 2012-13 season.


We always advise you to check with the local resort tourist offices before booking early in the season, as dates can change based on snow conditions.


The Ski-Lifts Team