Skiing holidays 2008

There are thousands of resorts to choose from, which are endlessly changing, so keeping track of what is new, where to go and when is a must before booking your skiing holiday.

With this in mind, travelbite.co.uk has been talking to the experts to find out what lies in store this winter …

Trends - what's new for the 2008 ski season

"Last season was known for its snow worries, particularly at the lower altitude resorts," explained Betony Garner, of the Ski Club of Great Britain.

As a result it is the higher altitude resorts that are likely to be more popular with skiers this season, along with resorts which have been keen to market their snow-making capabilities, with some even going as far as guaranteeing snow.

Litsa Constantinou, chief executive of ski holiday specialist Inghams confirms this, saying the high altitude resorts are seeing the most early-booking interest, particularly in Europe.

"The most popular destinations so far include Canada and Lapland as well as the higher resorts in Switzerland, Austria, France and Italy," she said.

In terms of when to go, Ms Constantinou explains early winter could be good this year according to research from some weather experts.

"A long-range weather forecaster has just predicted heavy snow in the upper Alps at the start of winter," she said.

"The forecast comes from Piers Corbyn, founder of Weather Action, who is regarded as something of a maverick in meteorological circles. Nevertheless, his prediction will be hard for skiers to ignore and will no doubt motivate skiers and snowboarders to the slopes."

Another growing trend for the new season is the popularity of gliding over the fresh snow with off-piste skiing. Shops have been stocking up on shorter, fatter skis, more suited to travelling over the fresh power, Ms Garner reports.

And if you are worried that your ski gear might be looking all too neon, Ms Garner reassures skiers that "bright, bright colours are definitely in". And the accessory for skiers who like to swot over their daily performance, from average speeds to distance travelled, is a portable GPS system - an additional feature available at a handful resorts, but one that may well grow in popularity.

Skiing in France - the experts' hot tips for 2008

France is by far the most popular place to go on a skiing holiday for Brits, with just under half of all British skiers opting to head for the French mountains, according to the Ski Club of Great Britain.

Val Thorens, with its snow guarantee, high altitude and sheer size is very popular with UK skiers, along with Tignes, which is also highly rated for its snow record.

The most-rated all-round French ski resort with the experts at Crystal Ski was Alpe d'Huez.

"Set high in the Grandes Rousses mountains, Alpe d'Huez has been nicknamed 'L'Ile au Soleil' - the Island in the sun - and boasts the fifth largest ski area in France, linking the villages of Vaujany, Oz, Villard-Reculas and Auris-en-Oisans to provide its visitors with well over 200km of piste to explore," the ski specialist explained.

Other appealing qualities to the resort include a sports centre, a large outdoor pool and an ice skating rink, all of which come free with a full area lift pass.

Plus, the resort has been upgrading its ski lifts - the slow Louvets double-chair to Auris-en-Oisans has been replaced by quicker four-person chairs.

If you are travelling with some non-skiers, then there's no need for them not to enjoy the mountain views too, with access to slopes available via marked walks. Plus there are shops and a cinema at the resort.

Due to its sprawling size, the purpose-built resort also has a very wide range of runs to cater for beginner, intermediate and advanced skiers.

Particularly worth noting are the challenging expert runs.

"Try the Sarenne, the longest black run in Europe at 16 kilometres but beware as once started, you have to finish it, as there are no exits on the way down," explained Crystal Ski.

Austria, Switzerland and Italy - resorts to look out for

There are hundreds of ski resorts to choose from across Austria, Switzerland and Italy, and these three countries are our next favourite place to ski after France.

Betony Garner of the Ski Club of Great Britain says the appeal of Austria and Switzerland is in their "traditional Alpine feel", such as wooden chalets and beautiful mountains.

Resorts that look set to be popular for the 2008 season in Switzerland include Andermatt (almost 3,000 metres high, featuring 25 lifts and 130 kilometres of pistes) and the slightly smaller but even higher Engelberg, located in the centre of the country, particularly for their off-piste potential.

In south-western Switzerland other popular resorts include Zermatt, famous for the iconic Matterhorn glacier, as well as Verbier, known for its celebrity guests, and Nendaz, which features 412km of pistes and 92 ski lifts.

Back in fashion this year is the high-altitude Swiss resort of Les Diablerets, which has been reintroduced by the Ski Club's holiday arm Ski Freshtracks. The resort is well over 3,000 metres high and has good links with Geneva.

In Italy some of the most popular ski areas do well thanks to their proximity to French and Swiss ski areas over the border. Among them is Italian resort of Cervinia, located on the other side of the Matterhorn, and Sauze d'Oulx, which held some of the skiing competitions in the 2006 Winter Olympics. The resort is part of what is called the Milky Way ski area of Turin, northern Italy.

When it comes to Austria, the four ski areas of St Anton, St Christoph, Lech and Zurs offer a "simply vast" skiing experience, according to Crystal Ski.

Commenting on the all-round skiing available at St Anton, the ski specialist said: "It offers some of Austria's most extensive and most challenging skiing. The cosmopolitan atmosphere of this famous village also ensures plenty of activities off the piste with a multitude of lively bars, excellent restaurants and plenty of shopping opportunities."

From December 18th and 22nd 2007 the resort will also be hosting the FIS Ladies World Cup downhill and slalom competitions.

It is also considered as having some of the best snowboarding in the country, particularly for freestyle boarders.

Skiing in the USA and Canada

The US resorts of Aspen in Colorado and the Canadian resort Whistler in Canada are some of the best known of North America's ski destinations, but there are plenty of other less well-known resorts with great slopes, facilities and more to discover.

If money is no object then one of the newest destinations on the North American skiing map is Revelstoke, currently being offered by Ski Freshtracks, the holiday arm of the Ski Club of Great Britain. The resort won the Where to Ski and Snowboard 2008 best development award for North America.

Suitable for advanced off-piste skiers, Revelstoke is yet to be fully developed as a ski resort, with new lifts to be installed for the 2008/9 season. However, the big attraction will be its vert - at 1,800 metres it is reckoned to be the biggest in North America. The Ski Freshtracks Revelstoke trip is offered as part of a 'cat and heli-ski holiday' that includes stays at Kicking Horse and White Grizzly.

For the all-round North American ski experience the experts at Crystal Ski recommend the resort of Lake Louise in Canada.

The resort is part of Banff National Park and boasts some superb views of the surrounding area, as well as skiing for all abilities across its 200 kilometres of piste.

As well as downhill skiing, the Lake Louise offers dog sledding, heli-skiing and cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. Snowboarders are also well catered for with long runs, back bowls and tuition available.

"Lake Louise continues their ongoing commitment to provide a high quality snow surface each season. An additional $85,000 has been invested in new equipment and upgrades," explained Crystal Ski.

It added: "Lake Louise Mountain Resort has added three new portable gun towers which can be used in six separate locations on the mountain, which provide greater coverage and a higher rate of snow production."

Scandinavia and the Nordic countries: To ski or not to ski?

Holidaymakers looking for an all-round winter holiday experience that is less focused on skiing are increasingly heading to Norway, Sweden and Finland. The countries all have the attraction of lots of snow, combined with a range of different and exciting holiday activities for non-skiers, particularly appealing for families.

"Skiing is something of a side order for Finnish winter holidays, snowmobile or reindeer safaris, real saunas and dog sledding have equal prominence which many people are looking for in an alternative winter snow experience," commented Litsa Constantinou, of Inghams.

She reports holidays to Lapland are among the most popular so far, and explains the attraction of holidaying in the land of Santa, along with a strong snow record and affordable prices has seen Finland's popularity grow year on year.

However, if you are looking for the all-out skiing experience then there are holidays available. Ski tour operator Neilson is one of the biggest companies to offer skiing breaks in Norway and Sweden, offering holidays to the all-round Swedish resort of Are and the Norwegian resort of Hemsedal, which is good for both cross-country skiing as well as downhill.

The emerging ski destinations?

While the USA and Canada, France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy make get the most interest from downhill skiers, there are plenty of other ski destinations out there.

Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia are some of the most popular of these, with Brits buying ski holiday homes in popular resorts. However, the Ski Club of Great Britain warns there are questions over how snow sure some of them are thanks to their lower altitude, adding that Bulgaria's most popular location, Bansko, may be reaching saturation point.

Aside from eastern Europe, there are other ski destinations slowing gaining momentum.

For 2008 Inghams has introduced the resort of Furano in Japan "legendary for its powder snow", and Baqueira-Beret in Spain, which the active holiday specialist says is the country's best, and has the added attraction of being where the Spanish royals like to do their skiing.

One to look out for in future is Russia, which Ms Garner of the Ski Club explains has lots of resorts rarely visited by Brits.

The country is gearing up to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, but is "not on the map at all" when it comes British skiing holidays.

Ski safety

The increase in the popularity of off-piste skiing as well as skiing in general, and warmer winter weather has meant avalanches have become even more prevalent over the past few seasons.

With this in mind skiers are advised to make sure they have the right training to operate avalanche transceivers.

Betony Garner of the Ski Club of Great Britain explains that if someone in a group is unlucky enough to find themselves buried in snow, it is the group that must attempt to rescue them, and knowing how to set the transceiver to receive mode and understand how to use the equipment is essential.

The Ski Club will be running talks on ski safety at Snow and Rock stores ahead of the ski season, but if you are unable to make it to one of these, there is plenty more information available online.

More information on avalanches and ski safety can be found at pistehors.com, Slf.ch and the Ski Club of Great Britain