Ski Blog: News and Views from the slopes.

SuperSki Weeks For 2007/2008 Are Coming Soon!

It’s that time of year again. Time to think about the where, when and why not of the coming ski season. SkiEurope is kicking off another great year by releasing an earlybird preview of their SuperSki Weeks.

SuperSki Weeks are posted online for public consumption on September 1, 2007. Registered subscribers of the SkiEurope Report newsletter will be e-mailed an earlybird special preview on August 20, 2007.

Subscribe to the SkiEurope Report Here.

Prices for the 2007/2008 ski season start from $650 person (Innsbruck, Austria 6 nights, double occupancy) and include: roundtrip air, 6 or 7 nights hotel accomodation, buffet breakfast, transfer as specified and local taxes and service charges in Europe.

Best ski trip values for the 2007/2008 ski season include: Salzburg, Austria from $850, Interlaken, Switzerland from $919 person, Garmisch, Germany from $939 person, Chamonix, France from $989 person and Cortina d’ampezzo, Italy from $1,095 person. Be prepared to act quickly. Ski vacation vailability is limited and at these prices some ski weeks sell out quickly!

Igloo Villages in the Alps?

If you feel like sleeping like an Eskimo inside an Igloo but eat your Cheese Fondue like the Swiss do, then should try staying at one of the Igloo Villages in the Alps: Engelberg, Zermatt, Grindelwald and Garmich-Partenkirchen. The Igloo hotels are built new year winter. Interested? Then you can visit for more details: http://www.iglu-dorf.com/Willkommen_en.html

Restaurant Suggestions for Torino and Olympic ski resorts

If you have the fortune to be one of the few people that is viewing the Winter Olympics in Italy, here are some restaurant suggestions for your stay:

Bardonecchia, Ristorante Smith
The restaurant entrance goes through the not-so-charming bar, but you'll notice the dining room for its stylish decor, high ceilings and elegant table setting. Food and wine are excellent.

Claviere, 'L Gran Bouc
Restaurant-pizzeria with two main rooms, a rustic one and a second one with stylish antique decor. Serves both national as well as Piedmontese dishes. Very friendly staff.

Sestriere, La Gargote
This restaurant is located just a couple of minutes away from the slopes in Sestriere. The atmosphere is rustic. Rather expensive but definitely worth it.

Cow Horns, Mice Tails...and Weather Forecast

What do cow horns and mice (bushy) tails have in common with the weather?

According a recent story published by Swiss Info a lot.
" While Americans wait in the groundhog’s shadow to hear how long winter will last, folks in Switzerland turn to farms for forecasts. Six Swiss “weather prophets” in Canton Schwyz use cows’ horns and mice tails to predict the weather, right down to the day. The lines on a cow horn allegedly can predict that snow will fall on April 10 and the long bushy tails of field mice indicate a long hard winter. The weathermen, members of a meteorological club founded in 1947, are chosen for their “natural ability” to predict the weather based on a local tradition dating back to the 18th century." 

Ski Safari Stretching at Both Ends (Kitzbuhel, Austria)

Years ago, the Kitzbühel inaugurated the “Ski Safari”, a neat tour of the entire ski area from Pass Thurn to Aschau, marked by jolly elephant signs. Even reasonable intermediates could notch up 50,000 vertical feet, a record envied by heli-skiers. This year, the tour has been stretched at both ends. A new link has been built at the south joining the Kitzbühel lift system with Mittersill in the P valley. Of greater importance, greater terrain-wise, is the KiWest gondola which rises across the valley from Ashau upward into the Westendorf ski lift system. Westendorf is part of the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser, already a vast interlinked ski area. Possibilities almost without limit.