Winter Festivals 2012: Snowboard Events and Ski Parties

Lucy Grewcock    ash     chamonix, ski fetivals, Skiing, Skiing Holidays, skiing in Austria, skiing in France, Skiing in Serbia, Skiing in the US, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays, Switzerland, whistler, winter festivals

What could be better than spending a week in the mountains, shuushing down iced-white pistes and bounding through fresh powder? How about adding world-class DJs, all-night parties, arty events and extreme freestyle competitions? Welcome to the world of winter festivals 2012…

Winter festivals are never just about the sports Photo: Will Bremridge

From Austria to North America, ski parties have snowballed in the past few years, and they’re set to get even bigger and better in 2012. Here’s a few that are full-on winter festivals, add these to your calendar: read more

Skiing and Snowboarding Holidays on a budget

Mark Pawlak    snowboardingholidays     Budget holidays, ski deals, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays

As vacations go, you don’t generally think of skiing or snowboarding as a bargain holiday option. It’s not just the travel and accommodation that you have to fork out for but also the togs and accessories that you will need when you get there.

Snowboarding holidays, where fun comes cheap. Image: Flickr/boolve

However, there are always budget ways to enjoy any break and the snowboarding or ski trip is no exception, if you know where to look. There are still some great last minute ski deals online should you decide that you want to escape the rigmarole of a dull January; you can have a week on the slopes for a surprisingly small sum.

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Ski jobs: is this the best job in the world?

Gabriel    bestskiholidays     heli skiing, ski jobs, Skiing, Skiing Holidays, skiing jobs snowboarding, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays, snowboarding jobs

What’s the best ski job? Well, others might disagree, but I think it could be the heli-ski guide. When it boils down to doing what you love, heli-ski guides love what they do because to them it is the best job in the world. But I can’t be the judge of this – I’m just a professional tour guide and ski instructor: I know they’ve got one of the coolest jobs around!

Ski Jobs: we think we've found the best job in the world Image:Flickr/ kentgoldman

So, answer the following questions and see how your job matches up. Time for a career change? Or just a skiing holiday to see for yourself? This could be one of the best jobs in the world – if you’re not jealous now, you soon will be!

How big is your office space?

Heli-ski guides’ offices are about 2.2 million acres and have an average annual snowfall of 25 meters. Getting to the copy room might be tough, but then again, we don’t make copies. Heli-ski guides have earned a 360-degree corner office, with mountaintop views. The only time they see a “cube” is when they drop them to the bottom of their tumblers and pour a drink over them.

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Should I book a Package Snowboarding Holiday or Book Independently?

Luke    snowboardingholidays     Snowboarding, snowboarding deals, snowboarding gear, snowboarding holidays

Most people only get one snowboarding holiday a year. Any worries over work want to be forgotten and stress left behind to relax with friends, family and great snow. So you want to get it right.

But enthusiasts and novices alike are overloaded with options and choices, often making the process a daunting one. For many, a package snowboarding holiday is an easy answer to this problem, for others booking their holiday independently delivers the freedom they seek.

For those unsure as to which may suit them best, here is a quick look at both.

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Skiing in Canada and the Banff Big 3

Mark Pawlak    bestskiholidays, Top 10s     Banff, Canada, ski, Skiing, skiing holiday, Skiing Holidays, skiing in Canada, snowboard, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays

Booking a skiing holiday you want choices – we’re not talking about aisle or window, but real, on the ground, multiple lift pass choices. And one resort stands out for people skiing in Canada, and it’s Banff.

Mt. Norquay - for Olympians and families

Three resorts within Banff National Park is a good start. But what really appeals is the tri-area lift ticket and free transport from the resort to the ski areas. Choice, it’s all about the choice.  Book a skiing holiday, take all that time off work, travel halfway around the world and the last thing you want is to be faffing about with multiple passes and expensive add-ons.

Banff has almost 8,000 acres of ski-able terrain and routes for all standards. If you’re tempted, here are a few tit-bits on what you’ll be signing up for.

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10 Reasons to Ski in Japan this Winter

Neil Skilton    bestskiholidays     japan, ski in Japan, ski resorts, Skiing Holidays, skiing in Japan, sking, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays

Japan: Steeped in legend and myth, yet actually very easy to get to know. More and more people are beginning to discover this, along with the poorly kept secret that the country offers some of the best skiing holidays and snowboarding trips in the world. As if that wasn’t enough, here are ten more reasons why you should ski in Japan this winter.

'Mountains of fun' Image: © JNTO

Yuki (pronounced you-key)

Snow – or ‘Yuki’ in Japanese – is perhaps the first attraction for many powder hungry skiers and snowboarders.  With an annual snowfall that rivals world class destinations such as North America, there is plenty to play with.

Throughout the winter months storms generated over Siberia bring reliable snowfall to all the mountains in Japan.  For guaranteed, epic powder conditions no other country comes close.  For the lightest, driest powder head to Hokkaido, but be warned, up there it can get extremely cold!

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Skiing in France: are smaller resorts better value?

Lucy Grewcock    ash     France, Skiing, Skiing Holidays, skiing in France, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays

When skiing in France I had always stuck to the Alp’s biggest resorts to get my winter kicks; hotspots like Tignes, Val d’Isere, Chamonix and Alp d’Huez not only offer hundreds of kilometres of ski terrain and a network of speedy lift connections, but also boast all-action après scenes, non-stop nightlife and a smorgasbord of restaurants and accommodation options – so, why settle for anything less?

Can you go small and get more?

Cost was the main reason that I dared to consider a ski a resort with anything less than 200km of piste and 50-odd après bars.

But, a few winters ago, after a costly MOT had left my bank account at an all-time low, I begrudgingly booked a cheap apartment in the compact resort of Les Contamines Monjoie, where 40 piste-runs and handful of bars stood in very poor comparison to the 200 plus pistes and countless bars I’d enjoyed in Val d’Isere the year before. But with ski-pass and accommodation in Les Contamines costing around half the price of last year’s splurge, it was small-resort or none at all.

Since then, I’ve tried other smaller resorts and realised there’s much more to skiing holidays in France than offered by the biggest and most famous destinations, and here’s why:

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