Ed Leigh’s COVID Saving Snow Tips | Ep 44 | Resorts

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 ski resorts in France and Austria had opened already but have since been shut, but when they do reopen they will of course be trying to make things as Covid-secure as possible this winter, helped by the fact skiing and snowboarding are outdoor activities. Here is the page to keep an eye on for French resort openings: https://en.france-montagnes.com/…/french-ski-resort… and this is the page for the latest news from the Tirol: https://www.tyrol.com/information-coronavirus…

This is a nice little graphic detailing the Covid measures in French resorts: https://en.france-montagnes.com/french-ski-resorts-and… & here the Swiss measures, which are fairly similar: https://www.verbier.ch/…/informations-sur-la-situation…/

The crux of it is – you’ll need to wear your mask whenever you’re indoors or where people congregate eg a lift queue. Some resorts are selling gaiters/neck warmers with a face mask incorporated into it for maximum Covid protection, such as this 3 Vallees mask: https://www.les3vallees.com/…/afnor-certified-3…/

though I imagine lots of people will be wearing regular gaiters too (and according to this Gear Junkie article, Vail Resorts in the US at least will be fine with that as long as your mouth and nose are covered: https://gearjunkie.com/best-face-coverings-balaclavas…). Here are some Burton neckwarmers: https://www.burton.com/…/c/mens-face-masks-neckwarmers… & some nice ones from Picture Organic https://www.picture-organic-clothing.com/…/657-neckwarmers

Other resort Covid measures include table service only in restaurants, thinking of how this is going to play out in all those mountain huts, I’d say this is the year of the packed lunch. Swiss resorts in Valais (including Verbier and Zermatt, which are some of the only resorts in Europe open right now) have actually just closed restaurants and cafes to reduce the Covid risk, though hopefully, this will change later in the season.

When planning where to go I wouldn’t suggest you head for a mega resort, as running those in a socially-distanced way is just going to involve a lot of queueing. Instead, look for quiet under the radar places. The resorts in the Haute Maurienne for

example https://www.haute-maurienne-vanoise.com/hiver/

or Val d’Arly in France (if you book directly with them, they’ve already said they’re giving full Covid refunds) https://www.valdarly-montblanc.com/…/ski/our-ski-areas/

Look for resorts which have chairlifts running up from the base station rather than gondolas or big cable cars, as these will be running at reduced capacity due to social

distancing, so the queues will be big. I’d suggest St Foy https://www.saintefoy-tarentaise.com/en/ or La Rosiere https://www.larosiere.net/en/

or Damuls in Austria https://www.damuels.at/en/welcome-in-damuels-faschina.html

That said Ischgl in Austria has gondolas, but they are mega efficient, so even with social distancing I’d expect those queues to move quickly https://www.ischgl.com/…/Active-Winter/Skiing-in-Ischgl

Same goes for the new Flegere gondola at Chamonix, lucky they got rid of the old cable car just in time! https://www.chamonix.com/flegere-index,83,en.html

I’d also look for places with hikeable terrain and remote refuges. This is definitely a good year for ski touring or splitboarding. Try the Lou Becus refuge in Les Contamines https://www.lescontamines.com/winter or Le Refuge d’Ze in Manigod: www.refuge-dzelavoye.fr or this mountain hut trip on the edge of the Vanoise National Park www.pralognan.com & Mint Snowboarding in Morzine are also running splitboard touring days https://mintsnowboarding.com/

And if the Alps really do look off the cards for the whole winter, you might still be able to head to Scotland, here’s an episode I did last year on skiing and snowboarding north of the border: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=457724498455990

Plus the UK snow domes will hopefully be open again in December and offering socially distanced indoor shred fun. Here’s a good overview of the best indoor snow facilities in the UK: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/The-UKs-top-ski-slopes…/

One final point, if you do get to book a snow trip this winter, remember the companies who treated you well last winter. Who refunded you right away? Who tried to fob you off with a voucher? Who are you still chasing? For my part, I’d suggest you hire your skis or snowboard through Intersport this winter, as last season they refunded every single one of their customers, no questions asked. The last thing you want on top of a cancellation nightmare is to be scrambling around to get your money back. This year, again, they’ll let you cancel your ski or snowboard hire up to the day before your trip. And they have some massive discounts going on, head here to find out more: https://www.intersport-rent.fr/en/