Chamonix has been hit relatively hard by the credit crunch. Over half the tourists are from abroad, with many British and Russian visitors. Hotels have reported that reservations are down by 15%, with restaurants suffering with sales down 30%. Lift pass turnover is also down 6% on last year.
However, Chamonix may be suffering due to the good overall snow conditions which has seen a rise in booking in other ski areas including the Pyrenees, Southern Alps and Massif Central. Chamonix tends to see a rise in visitor numbers when there are poor snow conditions.
I haven’t written a post here in far too long. I apologize for that, sincerely. It’s not my intention to let this blog fade away. Between my business and social obligations, I’ve been left with very little time to nourish this blog. That’s not to say I don’t have anything to talk about, it’s just that I rarely take the time to sit down and put my thoughts into a format you all would enjoy reading.
Kwame Nkrmah-Acheampong hails from Ghana where temperatures rarely fall below 22C. Yet he has become the only black African to ski on the international circuit.
Kwame first tried skiing when he moved to Britain and got a job as a receptionist at the snow dome in Milton Keynes, and is now set to ski in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
One of the most important things with blogging is reliability. It doesn’t matter if you post ten or twenty pieces of content a month. What does matter is that if you do a weekly roundup it goes out at the same time every week, that if you post a video Friday that you do so every week, and that the content is along the same theme.
People don’t want to ‘tune in’ to find their program isn’t on, or that it’s been replaced with an adult movie.
What’s important is that if you’ve created a channel, and if you’re a content producer, you need to show up, or people will leave for a more reliable channel.
I guess this is a verbious way of saying that I’ve been a bit crap at updating the blog recently. With the twin perils of the February holidays and working in the chalets again due to staff hemorrhages, there been very little time in the day to devote to other stuff. Other stuff including this blog.
But I’ve also had a change of heart. Gone will be the Chamonix news. There never is that much, and what there is to report is normally the result of fatalities. If you want the news then head to a more reliable channel. I’ll stick with the videos, as I like to find new ones - I can also pretend I’m working as I scout through Youtube. What I aim to do is put out more in depth posts.
A report recently published by experts highlights the importance of skiers to wear a helmet. Researchers from Canada looked through the existing research on winter sports injuries, and offered advice about how to prevent accidents.
Reports show that head and spine injuries are becoming more common, although the overall injury rate among skiers and snowboarders has fallen. Although brain and spine injures only happen in a minority of cases these injuries are more likely to lead to disability or death; with snowboarders more likely to have accidents than skiers, men more likely than women and those under 35 at greater risk - fortunately I tick all those boxes…
1. Brain injuries are a leading cause of death and disability in kids. They account for 10 percent of all snow-sport injuries.
2. About 24 people die each year in the United States from skiing and snowboarding accidents.
3. Injuries can be painful and debilitating. Think skull fractures, and neck and spine injuries.
4. Concussions are common, accounting for 15 percent of all snowboarding injuries. They can lead to illness, amnesia, brain damage and death.
5. Helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 60 percent. They’re easy to wear. They should fit snugly and not impact line of sight, and conform to national safety standards.
6. Cool people, such as competitive snowboarder Shaun White, wear helmets.
So if you’re heading out skiing, or particularly snowboarding, wear a helmet - it will reduce your chance of an injury, it won’t increase the risk of a neck injury, and all the cool kids wear them (or so I’m told). Just make sure your helmet fits properly and has the European CE mark.
Fire at ENSA Last Night
A fire started last night at the Ecole National de Ski et Alpinisme (ENSA) building with firemen immediately on the scene. Fire detectors set off alarms and around 50 children who were staying in the building were safely evacuated. Fire fighters think the fire started in a sauna on the ground floor, which was unoccupied at the time, and the fire was contained in the sauna area and was under control within an hour.
Weekend Ski Trips Up This Winter
Weekend ski trips have proved a highly popular option among British travelers this winter, according to figures released by easyJet. It would appear that skiers have been reluctant to miss out on the excellent conditions in the Alps this season and are perhaps taking shorter ski breaks as a consequence, with numbers on flights to alpine destinations in France, Italy and Switzerland up 16% on last year.
Paul Simmons, easyJet’s UK general manager, said: “Early last year as the credit crunch began we noticed that ski weekends became popular, even though the snowfall wasn’t as good. “This year we’ve really seen a jump in weekend flights with people wanting to hit the slopes quickly and cheaply.”
The 2009 Nissan Outdoor Games Comes To A Close
The Nissan Outdoor Games came to a close last Sat. The competition involves 5 teams having 5 days to shoot a movie representing 5 types of mountain sports: skiing, snowboarding, BASE jumping, paragliding/speedriding and mountaineering. The winning film was selected by an international jury made up of athletes, television and film producers and artists - including the legendary Glenn Plake.
This year the prize went to Team Argon with the film “The Devils Ride”. The judges said that their entry represented a complete narrative, with some great cinematography and riding. It certainly wasn’t my favourite, but it definitely did feature the most Nissan cars in the 5 minute film. Maybe, just maybe, that’s what squeezed it for them?
Arctic explorer Ben Saunders recounts his harrowing solo ski trek to the North Pole, complete with engaging anecdotes, gorgeous photos and video. In 2004, Ben Saunders became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole.
High Winds Close the Chamonix Valley
Gale force winds closed most of the Chamonix lift system on Tuesday, with only Les Houches remaining fully open. It was a similar story in both Courmayeur and Verbier as snow storms battered the alps.
Avalanche Blocks Col des Montets
Also on Tuesday an avalanche 70m wide swept across the road on the Col des Montets covering it with around 4m of snow. Initially it was reported that a car had been engulfed in the snow, but after the PGHM completed searches this was fortunately proved not to be the case.
Park and Ride Comes to Chamonix
With the Febuary half term nearly upon us the Mairie is running a promotion on parking at the Grepon car park with parking set at 1 Euro a day with ambassadors from Compagnie du Mont Blanc to offer help and info to visitors. Visitors will then be able to travel on the buses for free with their parking tickets. This service will run until the 8th March.
During the Christmas period up to 16,500 people caught the buses each day - up 40% on 2008. The Compagnie du Mont Blanc claim that 50% of skiers now catch the bus with the major routes showing between 30% and 100% increase in passengers.
Les Houches Starts the Slow Process of Change
I’ll write more about the Les Houches and Chamonix shenanigans later. But to update you: both Les Houches and St Gervais have voted unanimously to create a SIVU. This essentially means that the 8, yes 8, separate ski concessions will be regrouped into one.
This doesn’t mean that there will be just one company running the ski area. That would be far too sensible. What it does mean, however, is that their is one voice amongst the various owners of terrain and lift installations, who will be in a stronger position to negotiate how to run the ski area in the future. Patrick Dole, the mayor of Les Houches, will preside over the SIVU and it will be based in Les Houches.
Will this mean there will be progress on the Crozat chair replacement and on a link to St Gervais? Who knows?
