Anyone following the snowfall reports updated several times a day on Skiinfo.com will know that fresh snow can still fall at these high altitudes at any time of the year. Last Saturday July 12th for example, Skiinfo.com reported a few inches of fresh snow on the glacier ski area shared by Cervinia in Italy and Zermatt in Switzerland around the Matterhorn and by today (Wednesday July 16th) this had reached 15cm (six inches). Similar falls were reported at the recently re-opened Saas Fee glacier ski area which has a terrain park and half pipe in operation. A second Italian glacier, Val Senales, also reported 15cm (six inches) of new snow yesterday.

There was still more fresh snow on the Stubai glacier in Austria, as it closed for winter 2007-8 yesterday. It plans to re-open for the 08-09 ski season after just a few months in early Autumn.

The fresh snow is a big bonus for skiers and boarders still carving up Europe's ski slopes in July. In summer it's usually a case of getting up on the slopes by 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning before the warm summer sun turns the snow cover slushy by lunchtime. Then its summer sports like horse riding or mountain biking in the afternoon, or just relaxing by the pool. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you splat on lots of sun cream to keep your tan under control – with UV rays bouncing off the snow at you as well as hitting you from above, you can quickly cook if not properly protected.

Terrain parks can be as good in summer as in winter and some of the world's best are open today for lucky boarders and skiers to enjoy.

Despite the closure of the Stubai and Kaunertal glaciers for snow sports, Austria still has the biggest choice of summer ski spots with four glacier ski areas to choose from.

The Tux glacier has the most ski terrain open, with fresh snow last month and a snow depth of 165cm. There are nine lifts currently operational serving 15km of piste with temperatures averaging -2 Celcius at the top of the glacier. The Dachstein Glacier is open daily and is currently reporting a 590cm snow depth, albeit a tad crusty. Three lifts and two runs are open but the main attraction is the Atomic Super Park.

At Kaprun six lifts are serving the ski runs on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier and snow depth are about 60cm (two feet) with some fresh snow falling. The Molltal glacier has up to 213cm (seven feet) of snow and has three lifts serving the ski runs at present.

France's three remaining summer ski centres are all open at Les 2 Alpes and neighbouring Tignes and Val d'isere.

Besides Val Senales and Cervinia in Italy, a third choice is Passo Stelvio. In Norway the summerr ski areas of Folgefonn, Galdhoppigen and Stryn each operate a single long drag lift and are all reporting accumulated snow of up to an incredible eight metres (27 feet).

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Two direct services each week will stop at Moûtiers, Aime-La-Plagne and Bourg St Maurice serving ski areas including Courchevel, La Plagne, Tignes, Méribel, La Rosiere and Les Arcs. Return fares start from £269 return.

The service has become increasingly popular thanks to the opening of the new station at St Pancras contrasting with widely reported problems for air travellers. The train also appeals to the estimated one percent of travellers who make the environment a priority when booking their holiday.

Whilst airlines are reducing baggage allowances and increasing charges for hold baggage, rail travellers can take an extra item of luggage on board the train at no extra cost.

Studies have also shown that the train can beat the car and air travel in time it takes from central London to the Alps, with the airline equivalent of getting to the airport, getting through immigration, waiting for the plane, flying, waiting for baggage, getting through immigration and transferring to the resort taking longer in some cases. There is also likely to be less stress.

"These services are very popular year on year as our travellers greatly value the seamless travel and their arrival in the stations located high in the French Alps, close to their resorts," said Simon Montague, Eurostar's director of communications.

Hundreds of other resorts across Europe are also easy to reach by rail with a few changes of train en route. Many Austrian and Swiss ski centres have rail stations in resort.

It is now official, scheduled air service will commence for the 2008-2009 ski season to Mammoth/ Yosemite Airport (MMH) from Los Angeles International (LAX) beginning December 18, 2008. Daily service provided by Horizon Airlines will continue through to April 12, 2009. Airline reservations will launch July 14th, 2008 . Flight schedule is as follows: LAX - MMH 14:20 hrs - 15:25 hrs MMH - LAX 16:05 hrs - 17:10 hrs The equipment used will be the Q400, an 80 seat aircraft which services many of Horizon Airlines shorter domestic routes. Mammoth/ Yosemite Airport is conveniently located just 15 minutes drive away from the resort town of Mammoth Lakes and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. For more information and great visuals, click on www.VisitMammoth.com/airport

Five cable reels for Whistler Blackcomb’s PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola are in the homestretch of a 18,000 kilometre/11,000 mile journey as they arrived by train in Whistler in the evening of Tuesday, June 17th. After travelling for over 11 weeks via truck, barge, boat and rail; the final leg of the journey consists of a literal push from the Whistler valley to the Blackcomb Peak 2 Peak lift station located at 1860 metres/6,102 feet.

“Navigating the final route from the Mons Road rail siding in Whistler will be our biggest challenge of the entire project,” says Hermann Amsz, OmniTrans Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, the transportation logistics company that has coordinated the details of this epic journey.

A German built Goldhofer trailer shipped from Montreal will transport the reels up Blackcomb Mountain’s gravel access road. Besides 48 wheels, the trailer features a hydraulic sliding system, which enables the reels to be loaded from the railcars in Whistler, and then unloaded on Blackcomb Mountain, without a crane.

extremely heavy loads. Maneuvering this massive trailer up a gravel mountain road will be no simple feat. Due to the extreme weight of each reel, the trailer will be pulled and pushed up the mountain road with two all terrain, off-road haul trucks. All reels will be placed at the lift station ready for stringing by the end of the week.

Almost every cable installed at Whistler Blackcomb originates from FATZER AG’s Swiss factory, and all lift ropes are constantly monitored and inspected by FATZER representatives long after installation.

“To be part of the Peak 2 Peak project and to work together with Whistler Blackcomb’s team, who we found to be as dedicated to their jobs as we are, is a great privilege and honour,” says Peter Kuenzle, FATZER AG General Manager. “Our specialists will be present when the installation of the ropes starts. Our service does not stop when the ropes are sold - that is when our service starts.”

The initial “straw lines” were flown by helicopter to connect Whistler and Blackcomb on June 9th and 16th. With these ultra-light connections in place the real work can begin. It is a 12 to 14 week process of pulling progressively larger cables across the 4.4km/2.73 mile span until the final track and haul ropes are in place. The cable stringing will be managed by lift manufacturer and a ski industry leader, Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group.

“The cable that has arrived will connect our two world class mountains,” says Dave Brownlie, Whistler Blackcomb President & Chief Operating Officer. “With all four towers erected and tremendous progress being made on each lift terminal, getting the cable to Whistler to begin the stringing process is another exciting milestone towards the completion of the Peak 2 Peak Gondola.”

... from where a new red piste links to the main Gornergrat area joining at the top of the Gifthittli lift. From here you can ski all the way down to Furi and connect across to the Klein Matterhorn sector.

The Gornergratbahn have also been investing in new carriages and in speeding up the time it takes to reach the summit. There are now six through trains in the mornings to take skiers from 1604m to 3089m in just 29 minutes.

The Alpine forecasts have finished for the season

As usual, many ski resorts have been taking advantage of the “interval between winter and winter”, known to some as “summer”, to improve their lift and snow-making facilities.

The exclusive resort of Lech in the Austrian Vorarlberg has long had a reputation for its special microclimate that makes it one of the most snow-sure resorts in the Alps.

The last link at last…
Finally, after a long wait, the Zermatt lift company has this Autumn constructed an 8-seater gondola link between Furi and Riffelberg. This, at last, makes the resort’s three ski areas fully interlinked and also improves access to and from the ski area of its Italian neighbour, Cervinia, with which it shares a common lift pass. (Co-incidentally, Cervinia has, for this winter, upgraded many of its slow lifts, especially in the Valtourneche, area to high-speed chairs.) The Zermatt/Cervinia ski area is now one of the most extensive international ski domains in the world – far outpacing any North American rival.

With major lift developments in top resorts such as Zermatt, St Anton, Cervinia, Whistler and Breckenridge to name but a few, the resorts have had a busy summer.

We are delighted to bring you all the latest info on new lifts from Where to Ski and Snowboard 2005 as well as a reminder of the developments that took place last year. Check out your favourite resort and see what's new.

What's new on the slopes
New chairlift for Mottaret replaces the old Chatelet lift which serves the beginners' zone and Snowpark. This fast six-seater will start lower down the mountain, near the Sitelle restaurant, and can also be accessed from the Matre piste.

A new reservoir for snowmaking has been created at the top of the Plan de l'Homme chairlift to help snowmaking in the Tougnete area. 15 new snow canons have also been installed on the Eterlou piste as well as three new ones for the Moonpark.

The Gelinotte piste has got a new section through the trees so that recreational skiers can still use the piste during competitions.

The new land of Alpine Milk and Alpine Honey…

A chic organisation shrouded in secrecy, which runs the Milk & Honey bars in London and New York (you need to know the special ever-changing phone number to book your bar stool) already has an alpine base at The Clubhouse in Chamonix. We can exclusively reveal that Match Bar, from the same team, will open in December - sister to the Match bars in London's West End, Clerkenwell and Shoreditch. The believed target property is beneath the Hotel Cretes Blanches, next door to the legendary Dick’s T-Bar. There are also rumours that they have Verbier in their sights as well and are close to signing a deal...

No longer rack and Ruinettes…
A new six-seater high speed chairlift will open this coming winter from Ruinettes (?) up to Les Attelas 2, where the four-seater gondola (to be dismantled) used to arrive. The two-seater Attelas 3 chairlift will also be dismantled. The new lift can handle 2,400 people per hour, possibly increasing to 2,800. The journey time will be just 5 minutes and 33 seconds, so the punctilious Swiss tell us. New snowmaking equipment will also be introduced around this area.

The staff of Ski Solutions have been thrilled to discover a really professional, personal ski boot fitting service in West London. It has always been something of a dilemma whether to buy boots in the UK or the Alps. However, we have never found people in the mountains or in the city who go to such immense and technical trouble to ensure a perfect fit in ski or snowboard boots. They have just moved to new premises...

With new brochures arriving every week, our team here have been busy scouring them to find the best new chalets and get themselves up-to-speed with all the additions for the forthcoming winter. To date, we have identified over 100 new to the market or brand new chalets (with a staggering total of 1250 beds) on offer in a wide variety of resorts including the top-selling favourites of Courchevel (13 new chalets), Meribel (8 new chalets) and Val d'Isere (14 new chalets). Big expansion has taken place in St Anton (10 new chalets) with some great new luxury properties. Zermatt (2 new chalets) is the other top seller this season.

In a review of specialist ski holiday websites on 29 January 2005, Nick Trend in the Savvy Traveller column of The Daily Telegraph compared skisolutions.com with three other major sites.

We are proud to say that we came out of his survey rather well.

Trend noted that:

"Unlike the other sites reviewed here, Ski Solutions was a full-blown specialist travel agency before it [also] became an internet site.

Trend also reported that Director Lizzie Norton:

"puts the greatest emphasis on trying to give a complete service - from listing late deals to providing detailed advice and information on resorts and accommodation. She estimates that about 60% of her customers ring with an 'open' question: they want suggestions on where they should go or stay, rather than have a specific holiday or package in mind.

The company deals with about 50 tour operators but will book tailor-made arrangements - mostly for private clients at the top end of the market who don't want to book a package.

Nick Trend is not the first journalist to spot the brilliance of our website. Writing in the Mail on Sunday on 19^th December 2004, Fred Mawer said:

“This refreshingly plain website is one of the best places to search for a chalet. There are about 750 on the site, described in no-nonsense style. You can search by resort, comfort levels and price. You can also narrow down your search by selecting things such as accommodation that allows you to ski-in and ski-out or that provides childcare.

“… Staff at this long-established ski travel agency have first-hand knowledge of most properties, so can talk you through your shortlist.

“There are good resort descriptions too, supplied by a long-established ski journalist [Alistair Scott, for 20 years ski columnist of The Sunday Times.].”

You don’t need to believe the journalists. Try this website for yourself and see what you think. More to the point, give us a call and speak to one of our highly-trained and experienced staff to get the best up-to-date, inside-track information on your ski holiday.

The Ski Solutions team comprises web-savvy human skiers capable of harnessing the full power of the internet together with a unique personal knowledge and understanding of the world’s top ski resorts and the chalets, hotels and apartments to be found in them.

Whilst in many areas of life a web search is often the easiest way of finding the best value books, cd’s, flight seats or white goods, this is usually not the case when it comes to ski holidays.

Ski holidays are, by their very nature, complicated products involving many different components. In attempting to make a web comparison between the price quoted by one tour operator and another for “similar” holidays, it is by definition impossible to compare like with like.