Regular readers will know we have been living in Innsbruck on an extended stay these past few weeks –  it is the ultimate Ski + City location in the Alps. 13 ski areas around the city with 23 attractions off the slopes, all on one pass: Innsbruck Ski + City Pass But you don’t need a pass for what has come to be one of our new favourite activities – ski touring. Axamer Lizum, Innsbruck. Image © PlanetSKI One of the first resorts around Innsbruck that we went to back at the beginning of March was Oberperfus. It is a small resort with just three main lifts and 17kms of slopes. It’s about a ..read more

The International Snow and Mountain Tourism Report 2024 has been unveiled at the Mountain Planet trade show in Grenoble, France. The report is compiled each year by the Swiss consultant, Laurent Vanat. It has been published every year for the past 16 years in partnership with Mountain Planet. It examines the ski, snow & mountain industry and its evolution. It highlights the current situation, trends and potential of the ski & mountain market. Laurent Vanat at Mountain Planet The latest report on the 2022/23 season reported that the ski industry is healthy and reached attendance level ..read more

Men’s Races There are set to be 38 World Cup starts and an additional six at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships, that’s 44 races in total. The draft men’s calendar for the upcoming season includes ten Downhills, nine super-Gs, ten GSs, and 13 slaloms. Men’s Provisional Schedule. Image c/o FIS Women’s Races The woman have a total of 37 World Cups and six WSC races, adding up to 43 races. There are nine Downhills, ten super-Gs, 11 GSs, and 11 SLs. Women’s Provisional Schedule. Image c/o FIS See further details on Ski Racing Media The post Provisional 2024/25 FIS Alpine World Cup Calenda ..read more

With the snowsports season now over teams from contractor Balfour Beatty, appointed by Cairngorm Estate owner Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) are set to be deployed on the mountainside. Here is their account of the current state of play in a released statement: A prime area of focus will be hundreds of ‘scarf joints’ linking beams and piers along the 1.7km viaduct. These were installed as part of a major reinstatement programme that ran for just over two years from November 2020. In addition, testing is under way on tensioning works to beams and diaphragms that were also installed as pa ..read more

For the last two years the inaugural cross-border races from Zermatt to Cervinia have been called off due to the weather. Earlier it was announced that they would not be on the schedule for next season: Zermatt-Cervinia downhill races axed “The training provision for elite athletes in all winter sports will be discontinued and reassessed for summer 2025, in line with the decisions of the FIS and the two national federations Swiss-Ski and FISI regarding the World Cup races in Zermatt/Cervinia,” said the CEO of the Zermatt lift company, Markus Hasler. A statement from the lift company goe ..read more

This winter generally got off to a poor start in the USA with the snow arriving late. Now though there are above average amounts in some resorts with people flocking to the slopes. Spring skiing in the USA. Image © PlanetSKI Spring skiing in the USA. Image © PlanetSKI In Utah some resorts have extended their season after good falls of snow this Spring. If the weather continues to play ball a hand full of resorts plan to continue with a couple hoping to open into May. Alta: April 21st Deer Valley: April 21st Park City: April 22nd Brighton: April 28th Snowbasin: April 28th Brian Head: May 5 ..read more

As we emerged from the thick cloud driving up the mountain and I saw my first piece of fresh snow. I had been dreaming of this moment for weeks, but the nerves began to kick in. I had a challenging week ahead as others in my group had skied before. I was the new kid on the block. Skiing for the first time. Image © PlanetSKI Once we reached the Hôtel Le Mottaret in Meribel that is run by Ski France we headed down to get kitted out with rental skis from  Intersport. Here the staff helped fit me out with all the essential equipment and I was ready to begin my skiing journey. I felt nervous ..read more

Earlybird Bookings for Winter 2024/25: ★ Ski Solutions Visit the Ski Solutions Website here to explore the Ski Solutions offers and destinations for next season. Or telephone Ski Solutions on 020 3918 9620 for a chat about your ski trip with tailor made suggestions just for you. ★ SNO Visit the  SNO website here  for the complete choice for next winter or Telephone SNO on 020 7770 6888 for a chat. ★ Sun Web Visit the Sun Web website here and find your ideal-deal. All Sun Web Holidays include a free lift pass. ★ Inghams Visit the Inghams Website to check out ski deals for 2024/25 seas ..read more

Three out of the 13 scheduled slalom races last season were called off due to the weather. In an interview with the BBC he said it was time for the sport’s governing body, the International Ski & Snowboard Federation, FIS, to come up with a “Plan B” and that “this year was maybe a season too late” for change. Many slalom races are held at resort level rather than higher up the slopes. The finish area is often in the resort where the bars and restaurants are. Heavy rain led to the cancellation of last month’s slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia (just above 800m), where temperatures were way a ..read more

It’s been interesting following the alpine weather this winter with a wide variety of conditions across the Alps and substantial changes happening very quickly. “It has been a winter like none I can remember with such huge variations and drastic swings,” said PlanetSKI’s James Cove. “Out in Austria last weekend it was like the middle of summer with the freezing level at 4,000m, well-above its highest peaks.” April heatwave hits the Alps “Now it is set to change again with the freezing level dropping to around 1,000m and people being warned to keep the snow tyres on their cars.” “It will tur ..read more