travel

Olly from Mountain Mavericks in Morzine dropped us a line this morning to let us know he was just getting ready to head up the mountain this morning. Lifts in the region have opened early (just at the weekends) and he was headed for Les Gets, with Les Crosets and Chatel open for riding too.

The lifts in Avoriaz open on November 24 but the Mountain Mavericks crew couldn’t wait that long so they hiked up there yesterday and rode fresh tracks all the way down to Prodain. Pictures from yesterday are below. Lucky devils…

Sunshine opened today with  8 out of 12 lifts running and 55 out of 107 runs open.

You can check out their webcam to see what we’re all missing sitting at home behind our computers!

http://www.skibanff.com/conditions/webcams.php

RCR(Resorts of the Canadian Rockies) announced yesterday that there will be no¬†man made jumps built in any of their terrain parks this year.¬† This includes Fernie, Nakiska and……Lake Louise!¬†

According to the RCR press release, 

"RCR cares deeply about the well-being of all of its guests and takes responsibility for their care very seriously. “We are undertaking an industry-leading initiative,” says Matt Mosteller, Senior Director of Business Development for Resorts of the Canadian Rockies. “All man-made snow jumps will be eliminated from RCR terrain parks this season.”

American Airlines has just announced their winter ski sale.¬† You can get great deals on fares to Jackson Hole, WY; Montrose/Telluride, CO; Steamboat Springs/Hayden, CO; Vail/Eagle, CO; and Gunnison/Crested Butte, CO.¬† You can travel from mid-December to mid-March but you’ve got to buy tickets before November 28th. With the high prices of gas these days and airlines preparing to raise their fares a lot this winter, it’s a good idea to grab deals while you can.

Check American Airlines’ website for more

Shortly after British Airways announced they would no longer carry surfboards, Virgin Atlantic announced that travellers can take one piece of sporting equipment free in addition to their checked baggage allowance.

As long as the equipment complies with size and weight allowances, Virgin Atlantic travellers can check in to the hold of the aircraft their diving equipment, golf equipment, fishing equipment, hang gliders, snow skis, surfboards, windsurfing boards, booms and sails, bicycles, paragliders, canoes and kayaks – all free of charge. Sporting wheelchairs are also considered sports equipment.

Paul Dickinson, Sales and Marketing Director, Virgin Atlantic, said:

Continental and Intrawest have recently announced that Continental will be flying directly from Newark Airport to Tremblant Airport. This is pretty sweet since the flight is only an hour and a half.  I live in New Jersey and the last time I went to Tremblant, we drove and I think it took like 8 hours.

British Airways are no longer allowing you to carry surfboards as part of their sporting equipment allowances. They suggest you send your surfboards by cargo! We suggest you fly with another airline instead…

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagsport/public/en_gb

Globespan has launched its first dedicated ski website. You can book flights, packages and accommodation on the new site. Globespan flies from the UK to several winter holiday locations including Vancouver, Geneva, Grenoble and Barcelona.

Visit the site at www.flyglobespan.com/ski/

Today at Sunshine the webcam scenes look very wintery.

Check it out. Winter is truely around the corner.

http://www.skibanff.com/conditions/webcams.php

If you’re planning on a season somewhere or even spending 10+ days on the snow at certain resorts, season passes can be a great way to save money. If you buy early enough there can be even more savings.

Sunshine is offering season pass rates of $729 until September 30 then rates go up to $859. At a day ticket price of $73.96 this year, only 10 days on the snow and you can break even!

Fernie has season passes until October 13 for $899. Day tickets will be $72 this year.

Lake Louise also has discounted rates until October 13 - $829 for a seasons pass and $72 for a day ticket.

Everywhere else in the world people may not have noticed but the hot topic of discussion here in Canada the last few weeks has been money.  The Canadian dollar is at a 30 year high right now.  Today the Canadian dollar was on par with the
US dollar.  Forcasters here in Canada are even predicting that the Canadian dollar could be worth $1.05 USD by Christmas.  So what does that mean for snowboarders?

  Your money might not go as far as it did a few years ago.  It might be worth checking your budget if you are coming on vacation or for a season.  For Canadian riders it means that cheaper gear in the US becomes even more affordable.

You can also use currency converting sites like www.xe.com to help you out.