Lora Payne

https://youtu.be/wgjNFzpHWps So, the news we’d all been hoping for, and that I was advocating for last week, has finally been announced. From 15th December, the UK government have confirmed that quarantine will be cut from two weeks to one, as long as you get a Covid test after five days (costing £65-£120). But unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that winter is back on just yet… As it looks highly likely that French ski resorts will stay closed until mid-January, or at least their lifts will, as Planet Ski is reporting, but you would still be able to hike (does that mean tour or splitboard?) and get takeaway food. As this article states, Tignes for one are not happy: https://planetski.eu/.../french-ski-resorts-can-open-in.../ And I’m sure they’re…

https://youtu.be/b9BH3UQZ29c Following on from last week’s exciting vaccine news, made even better by the announcement that Moderna in the US (which is part funded by none other than Dolly Parton) has also created an effective Covid vaccine, a lot of us are starting to believe we may actually get some snow time this winter. Result.  Inghams reported a 50% uptake in consumer interest this week, while a Club Med survey showed half of British skiers and snowboarders would still head to the mountains even if they had to quarantine when they got back. Their report also backed up what I’ve been saying about more of us than ever planning to drive this year, and to book last minute. The overall…

https://youtu.be/aJfuh_A3uWo Given lockdown and the fact most of us can’t travel beyond our postcode at the moment, there looks to be little hope of early shred missions this winter. As has been reported this week, Inghams, Ski Total and Flexiski have canceled all December trips including those over Christmas (though Crystal are yet to make that call, as you can see from the trips still listed on their site: https://www.crystalski.co.uk/) But this week’s news that Pfizer/BioNTech have produced a vaccine that was 90% effective in global trials does flash a bright light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to life after Covid one day (despite the inevitable disruption this winter). As does the news that quarantine may be…

https://youtu.be/S4_v7XJdkC0 As with all our info at the moment, the big caveat is to keep an eye on the Foreign Office website for travel advice: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice At the moment most people reading this will be under lockdown and not permitted to travel abroad at all, but you have to hope this will change as the months go on. And that once lockdown is lifted the efficiency and speed of test results will improve, removing the need for two weeks of quarantine. I will talk more in the next episode about this but prepping for a last-minute mission rather than booking now makes the most sense. And there’s no harm thinking about where you’d like to go for that last-minute mission. Some…

https://youtu.be/HJaxgflPcrk Catered chalet holidays are going to be tricky this year, Crystal has canned their whole chalet operation and are just promoting hotels and self-catering apartments. And while I have heard from some indy chalet operators that they will be running catered chalets for different household groups with social distancing and mask wearing in communal areas, which is presently allowed in France for up to 10 people but wouldn’t be under UK guidance, many of the operators I’ve spoken to expect demand to be low. I’m not sure I would risk the catered option unless you can book the whole place out. As for self-catered chalets more generally, the uncertainty does mean there are some insane deals floating around for…

https://youtu.be/W7GWRDdhweU Forget flying this year. Aside from the Covid risk on the plane, airlines are putting fewer flights on, and often canceling at the last minute if they’re not full, so you could potentially get stuck in the mountains. Getting refunds or amends at the last minute has been a nightmare over the last few months too, even though EU law, which for now still applies, states that you should get refunded for most canceled flights within seven days. I’m just not sure it’s worth the risk at this stage. The ski train has been canceled this year too and while you can still get to the Alps if you change in Paris, whether Eurostar will stick to their full…