The Culture Bank

Attaching yourself to skis for the first time is going to be scary. This is a natural reaction as you begin to realise that you are limiting your ability to run and get yourself out of trouble as you normally would. Most people will feel constrained, and some may feel unable to enjoy their very well planned ski holidays. Therefore, you will need to work past this feeling of helplessness in order to take control of your situation.

Take your time with this. Getting used to the idea of a new way of getting around is like learning how to walk all over again. Think how daunting it was when you first got on a bicycle and you should expect the same levels of anxiety when you first learn how to ski. Once you become comfortable with the idea of skiing, the mechanics of it will start to become intuitive.

The first few things your instructor will take you through on the snow will be:
•    Warming up: you will be shown a few techniques. Remember them. Warming up is very important in order to help avoid injury.
•    Walking: this is done by sliding first one ski forward, and then the other.
•    Side stepping: this is done by shifting one ski up the hill followed by the other and making sure your skis are at right angles to the direction of the slope. This is tricky and will be awkward at first, so have fun with the situation and remember to laugh!

This is a lot of work to do before you even start to ski, so make an allowance for the time this will take when planning your ski holidays.

Mount Hutt

New Zealand contains a number of excellent skiing facilities, and they don’t come much better than the free-riding terrain around Canterbury on the South Island.  Mount Hutt offers the largest skiable area on the South Island, and attracts skiers of all levels from all over the world.  Many top-level skiers train here, and the snow season usually runs from June to October.

The Mackenzie Basin

The Mackenzie Basin, which is located between Christchurch and Queenstown on the South Island, should be a must-ski stop on any New Zealand ski tour.  Mount Dobson offers slopes particularly suited to family excursions, and there is a team of international instructors ready to tutor beginner and intermediate level skiers.  Expert level trails are also available.

North Island

The prime location for downhill skiing north of the Cook Strait is undoubtedly Mount Ruapehu, even though this is actually an active volcano!  The slopes here are far less crowded than what you will find on the South Island, although the terrain is just as exciting and varied.

Winter sports, particularly skiing, have never been so popular.  One of the best places to enjoy skiing is Austria.  There are flights out to Austria from airports throughout the United Kingdom.  Additionally, there are some great deals available for those wanting to spend a holiday at a great ski resort.

Austria has some fabulous ski resorts.  Among them is Alpbach with its exciting pistes, Axamer Lizum, a traditional ski village, and Bad Hofgastein, famed for its spas and relaxation opportunities as well as its skiing.

Glacier skiing has also become very popular, with visitors able to take to the slopes during late spring and summer.  The Stubai Glacier in Tyrol enables skiing between October and June and is close enough to Innsbruck to allow holidaymakers to use this major city’s amenities.

Accommodation for skiers in Austria is excellent, with a range of hotels and chalets available.  An example is the Chalet St Martin in St Anton.  It sleeps 23 people, and is just over a mile from the town, and easily accessible by bus.

Entertainment after a day of skiing is great for visitors, and Austria offers some of the best après-ski in Europe.  There are bars, restaurants and clubs all geared towards helping winter holidaymakers enjoy themselves in a relaxing and fun atmosphere.

There are many skiing holiday packages to Austria on offer from the UK.  The range allows skiing enthusiasts and beginners to seek out the best value holidays at a time they prefer.

Perhaps you have spent months thinking about your ski holiday. You have spent weeks trawling the internet for ski deals. You have spent days preparing your wardrobe. You have spent hours getting used to the feel of skis on your feet, while your Austrian ski instructor has been yelling “bend zee knees!” over and over again.  None of that matters now. It all comes down to this single moment.

You are standing at the top of your chosen resort’s nursery slope, which will be no more than ten metres of gentle gradient. You see little children in the distance, moving downhill with an agility and confidence of which you can only dream. You are focusing on your stance. Your ankles, knees and pelvis are all slightly flexed and at the ready. You are an athlete. A finely tuned machine.

You push off with your poles, remembering to keep your eyes in the direction you are travelling. Then, swoosh. You are now at the bottom of the hill and have come to a stop as you have met up with the gentle uphill gradient, placed there to bring you to a standstill. You’ve done it!

Next you will learn how to control your speed and direction and to stop at a place of your choosing. Once you master that, you will be ready to hit the beginner trails by yourself, and so your skiing life begins. You will soon learn why people return year after year, and will find yourself looking for more cheap ski deals as soon as you return to office. Welcome to the world of skiing!

Remember when skiing holidays were reserved for the rich, royal or pampered? At that time, a couple of nights at a ski resort could set you back a whole mountain range of cash. Well, not any more. Tour operators and resort owners have responded to the increased demand for this exciting sport by making cheap skiing holidays a reality.

If you want to take your loved ones on a skiing break that is not going to bankrupt you, there are a few basic rules that apply. You will get better deals and more competitive prices if you choose to stay at lesser known resorts. The locations that need to work harder to attract your business are generally more likely to offer better deals.

Remember that hotel rooms are less expensive than ski chalets, and if you are willing to cook and clean for yourselves, you can make further savings by taking the self-catering option.

Budget airlines now offer cheap deals in ski season, and you can further reduce costs by making your own travel arrangements to your holiday destination.

There will be extras that you need to budget for such as ski passes, equipment hire and après ski activities, but you will really start bringing the costs down by looking out for deals that include lift passes as part of your holiday package. Rest assured, with cheap skiing holidays, it is now possible to balance your desire for an adrenaline rush and your need to keep control of the purse strings.

As much as luxury ski deals might appear to be a contradiction in terms, it is possible to find yourself a high class chalet or hotel at an affordable price.  You can indulge in top quality facilities and services without having to blow your whole budget.

So, why is it worth looking into a luxury skiing holiday deal? One reason is the level of hospitality you will receive.  These chalets are comparable to a 4 or 5 star hotel.  You not only get the basics you require but your needs and more as well.  Your ski chalet host will be able to organise any ski hire or lessons you may need and if you are visiting for a special occasion they will be sure to cater to this.

The food and wine you will be served is of the highest quality.  Luxury chalets are home to the best chefs who can serve up both traditional and modern masterpieces.  In general, you can indulge in tea in bed followed by a hot breakfast, an afternoon tea to welcome you back after a hard day on the slopes, and then a four course meal followed by coffee and chocolates in the evening.

Luxury ski holidays 2011 provide your stay with that extra special touch.  Many chalets provide additional features including saunas, a Jacuzzi, steam rooms, swimming pools, gyms or a cinema.  The rooms themselves are beautifully designed and furnished so you can truly relax after a full day of skiing.

France is one of the most popular places to head, if you are into skiing.  Not only do the Alps provide a huge variety of terrain but the country also offers a wide selection of resorts and chalets.  However, if you are undecided about where to go, the following outlines three of the best places located in France to go skiing in 2012.

Courchevel is ideal for beginners or parents wanting to bring along their children.  You will find fantastic beginner slopes located in the Altiport area.  The ski school is very good.  They provide specially designed waistcoats that lock onto the chair lifts, for the safety of small children just starting out.

If you are at more of an intermediate level then Serre Chevalier is preferable.  This selection of villages is made up of 250 kilometres of varied slopes served by around 62 chair lifts.  The villages of Monêtier-Les-Bains and Chantemerle are particularly attractive.

If you’re skilled at skiing then the best ski holidays 2012 would have to be Val d’Isère.  This is the most popular French resort for British tourists.  Just over 90% of visitors are actually at a beginner or intermediate level.  However, it is the more advanced skiers who can truly take advantage.  This resort is renowned for its wide selection of challenging slopes.

Despite being somewhat pricey, France is a top choice for skiing.  Whether you are donning skis for the first time or are a professional, you will be able to find the perfect resort for your needs.

The Vosges

The Vosges is a small mountain range located between Lorraine and Alsace in the East of France. It has four main ski holiday resorts, each offering more than fifteen pistes. The ski resorts here receive very good snow every year, with the biggest resort on the Vosges being La Bresse, offering 30 ski runs and illuminated runs for evening skiing (something not very common in most resorts).

The Jura

The Jura is a range of mountains that borders with Switzerland, where the resorts are at the crest of the range (some are in France while others are in Switzerland). The most well-known resorts on the Jura are the French resorts of Les Rousses and Métabief-Mont-d’Or which has the largest amount of pistes at 42 km. The Jura is particularly well-known for cross-country skiing. So if it is a cross-country ski holiday in France that you are looking for, the Jura is a good bet.

The Massif Central

The Massif Central is in central southern France. There are two large resorts and a number of smaller ones. Besse-Sancy and Le Lioran are the two large and most well-known resorts; they both have over 40 km of pistes. The resorts are designed to be very similar to the larger Alpine resorts with similar lifts and facilities.

All of these ski holidays areas are much less well-known than the Alpine ranges, so there will be plenty of opportunities to find deals for the 2011-2012 season.

Ask anyone who has ever experienced a skiing holiday and most of them will tell you what an outstanding experience it was.  However, the secret to any enjoyable experience is all about the planning in advance.  That is especially true when it comes to this type of holiday.  Here are some considerations when you are in the planning stages.

Decide where you want to go – do you want to stay close to home in the UK or is travelling to another country a viable option?

Determine if you want to ski all the time or not – you might want to spend the majority of your days on the slopes and then relax around a warm fire the rest of the day, or you might want to find a resort that features other activities including a lively nightlife.

Consider your options where accommodation is concerned – ski resorts offer several lodging options including chalets, condos, kitchenette apartments, lodges, and luxury resorts.  Let your budget decide for you.

Beginner or experienced skier – do you want to include skiing lessons in your holiday package or are you experienced enough already? Many holiday packages feature some affordable prices and include skiing lessons for beginners.

Family destination or romantic getaway for two – if you and your loved one want something that is more intimate and romantic, there are dozens of options to explore online.  However, if you are taking the children, be sure that there are plenty of kid-friendly activities that they can enjoy.

Skiing may seem fashionable and exclusive, but just as Formula One drivers once had “L” plates, so every ski champion once snow ploughed down a nursery slope.  There is no stigma to being a beginner and the market is full of skiing holiday deals that provide exactly this type of holiday.

Skiers are generally regarded as a beginner or intermediate if they have spent four weeks or less on the slopes.  A resort suitable for beginners would include excellent nursery slopes, plentiful professional tuition, some easy runs to aspire to, and ideally, a deal on a beginner’s ski lift pass.

For novices, or those who are introducing children to skiing, hiring clothing and equipment is preferable to paying a large outlay on the wrong size or creating bulky airline luggage.  Children often grow quickly, and sizes may be over or underestimated according to what clothing goes underneath.  Once a skier is hooked, and decides that skiing may become part of their life, then ski clothing may prove to be a good investment.

Certain resorts are more suited to beginners than others.  For example, Andorra, Borovets in Bulgaria (also good for snowboarding), Saas-Fee in Switzerland, and La Plagne and Les Arcs in France are all regarded as particularly suited to beginners and intermediates.  Ski holidays in any of these resorts will provide ski schools, nursery slopes and clothing hire.

It is often recommended that beginners book skiing holiday deals in low season to begin with, such as late January or March, although some Alpine resorts are open from December to May.  See your travel agent or book online for skiing deals in 2011.