As my thoughts are turning to skiing in Sun Peaks, BC, Canada (again!) from mid December to the end of the season, I’m sure you’re all similarly focussed on your own skiing plans. This Iglu update landed on my desk today, so I thought I would share some European and BC inspiration. Countdown to the ski season IGLU Ski Affordable Skiing for Winter 2024-25 Save £175 per booking on a huge range of skiing holidays in Austria, France and Italy This generous offer is on whilst stocks last, and is a true incentive to book now. Iglu Ski offers 7 nights half board, from £712 per person (discount removed), based on two sharing a room with a balcony, at the 3* Hotel Petit Prince, Alpe-d’Huez, departing on December 14th, 2024 from London Gatwick with transfers. Alternate flights: Manchester +£13; Bristol +£44; Birmingham +£37. Alpe-d’Huez offers extensive, high and sunny slopes, equally good for all levels of skier.
Save £90 per chalet booking Head to the popular resort of St. Anton, Austria, for a fun-packed week on the slopes and lively après. Iglu Ski is offering £90 per booking off a range of chalets here and elsewhere until further notice. For example, they offer 7 nights from £1149 per person, (discount removed), catered board, based on two sharing at the 4* Chalet Rendl Mountain Lodge, departing Manchester or London Gatwick or Birmingham on December 14th, 2024 with transfers.
In a rare deal, there is a few hundred pounds to be saved here, with a lift pass included for Christmas week at this specific Chalet Hotel. Iglu Ski offers 7 nights from £1,545 per person catered board, based on two sharing, at the 3* Chalet Hotel la Foret, Les Arcs Peisey Vallandry, France, departing London Gatwick on December 22nd, 2024 with transfers. Manchester flights +£35. Ski for less than £500 Hop over to La Plagne for an inexpensive ski getaway. Iglu Ski offers 7 nights from £475 per person, self-catering, based on four sharing at the 3* Le Mont Soleil Apartments, Plagne Soleil, France, departing from London Gatwick on January 12th 2025 with transfers.
Ski for less than £750 Choose wisely and a week for under £750 is achievable. For example, Iglu Ski has a week from £524 per person half board, based on four sharing at the 3* Hotel Villa Emma, Canazei, Italy, departing London Stansted on January 11th, 2025 with transfers. Alternative flights: London Gatwick +£33; Glasgow +£205; Manchester +£144; Bristol +£244; Birmingham +£165.
Ski for less than £1,000 Head to pretty Söll, Austria, for a new year breath of fresh air. Iglu Ski offers 7 nights from £891 per person, half board, based on three sharing at the 4* Hotel Alpenpanorama, departing on January 4th, 2025, from London Gatwick with transfers. Alternate flights: London Heathrow -£59; Manchester -£69; Edinburgh +£110; Bristol -£59; Birmingham +£170; Liverpool -£69; Luton -£39. Half-price lift pass There’s a half-price lift price offer on selected holidays in France, Italy and Andorra. Be drawn to France’s Three Valleys and ski to your heart’s content. Iglu has a half-price lift pass offer whilst stocks last. For example, they offer 7 nights from £1,109 per person, based on three sharing at the 4* Hotel Le Menuire & Spa, Les Menuires, France, half board, departing London Gatwick or Manchester on December 15th, 2024 with transfers. Add on a half-price lift pass. Half-Price Lift Pass
Save £100 in Whistler Buy a lift pass at the time of booking, and save an additional £100 off the price of the holiday when in Whistler. Iglu Ski offers 6 nights from £861 per person, room only, at the 4* Crystal Lodge and Suites, Whistler, Canada, based on four sharing, departing from London Heathrow on December 4th, 2024 with transfers. For more info about Whistler, check out the Tourism Whistler site at: https://www.whistler.com/ They also produce a regular newsletter called The Whistler Insider (https://www.whistler.com/blog/) full of insightful articles about the village, skiing, activities, surrounding area and lifestyle from a team of local writers, filmmakers, photographers, athletes and artists. Next stop: Sun Peaks! In the pipeline, a new blog about Sun Peaks and the much-anticipated opening of the new West Bowl terrain. And, for other updates on Sun Peaks, go to Sun Peaks Independent News: https://sunpeaksnews.com/ and Sun Peaks Resort (https://www.sunpeaksresort.com) to get the big picture.
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Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Fresh Snow, Fresh Start, Fresh Tracks - getting ready for the 2024-25 ski season!
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
My Epic Gear
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| Epic Gear |
Vail Resorts Launches My Epic Gear Membership for 2024/25 Season as Company is Named Among ‘World’s Most Innovative’ by Fast Company
- New ultimate gear membership gives skiers and riders all the benefits of gear ownership, but with more choice, lower cost and no hassle
- Limited number of memberships available for the 2024/25 winter season across 12 world-class mountain resorts, including Vail Mountain, Breckenridge, Whistler Blackcomb, Park City Mountain and Stowe
- Fast Company names Vail Resorts among World’s Most Innovative Companies in recognition of dedication to ongoing innovation including My Epic Gear’s re-imagination of the gear experience
On March 19, Vail Resorts launched My Epic Gear membership sales for the 2024/25 season across 12 North American mountain resorts - Vail Mountain, Whistler Blackcomb, Park City Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte, Heavenly, Northstar, Stowe, Okemo and Mount Snow. Available for the whole family, this membership program reimagines gear ownership and gear rental, with more choice, lower cost and no hassle.
My Epic Gear memberships unlock access to over 60 of the most popular and latest ski and snowboard models, with free in-resort delivery or free daily slopeside pick-up and drop-off. The entire membership experience, from gear selection to boot fit to personalized recommendations to delivery, is available at members’ fingertips in the My Epic app. Memberships are limited for the 2024/25 winter season, and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Having the right gear is essential to the experience of every skier and rider, however, the traditional model of gear ownership and gear rental has not changed in decades,” said Vail Resorts CEO Kirsten Lynch. “My Epic Gear reimagines gear ownership and gear rental, providing more choice, lower cost and no hassle. Travelers no longer have to haul their equipment cross-country; frequent skiers and riders can try the latest gear and get different gear for different conditions; and for kids, their gear grows with them.”
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| Courtesy of Vail Resorts |
My Epic Gear members can:
- Access over 60 of the most popular and latest 2024/25 ski and snowboard models from 13 leading brands, including Salomon, Burton, and Rossignol.
- Try a different model of ski or snowboard any day – such as powder skis – and receive personalized gear recommendations based upon experience level, conditions, and the latest equipment choices.
- Select a favorite model of ski or snowboard at the beginning of a season and, with a 7-day advanced reservation, get that model any day of the season, fully tuned.
- Include boots with personalized insoles and the latest BOA performance fit system – or bring their own boots.
- Choose free in-resort delivery or daily slopeside pick-up and drop-off to spend less time carrying gear and more time on the mountain.
- Manage the entire gear experience in the My Epic app, from gear selection to boot fit to delivery.
- Spend less than owning or renting premium gear.
In recognition of the company’s continued innovation, Fast Company today named Vail Resorts one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024 for “launching a first-of-its-kind ski gear membership program.” This year’s list shines a spotlight on companies that are shaping industry and culture through their innovations, setting new standards and achieving remarkable milestones in all sectors of the economy.
Additional Membership Details
Pricing ($USD): Adult and child memberships cost $50 for the 2024/25 season and unlock access to a $55 daily use fee for adults (ages 13 and up) and a $45 daily use fee for children (ages 3 through 12). Members can choose to bring their own boots, saving $10 per day off their daily use fee for adults and $5 per day for children, provided their boots pass a quick visual inspection. All members may also add a helmet for $10 per day.
How the Membership Works:
- Join: Purchase a membership in the My Epic app or at myepicgear.com. Login to set up your member profile within the app and personalize your experience. Memberships are limited, and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Reserve: Make and modify your gear reservations at your fingertips in the My Epic app.
- Gear up and go: Get your gear where and when you want it – delivered in-resort or use daily slopeside pick-up and drop-off.
Gear Brands: My Epic Gear memberships unlock access to over 60 of the most popular and latest 2024/25 ski and snowboard models from 13 leading brands.
- Skis: Atomic, Salomon, K2, Blizzard, Rossignol, Stöckli, Nordica and Völkl
- Snowboards: Burton Snowboards, Lib Tech, Salomon, Jones Snowboards, Ride Snowboards and CAPiTA
- Boots: Gear reservations also include boots with personalized insoles and the latest BOA performance fit system. Members can also choose to bring their own boots.
A limited number of selected Epic Pass Holders piloted My Epic Gear at Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone during the 2023/24 winter season.
Epic Passes On Sale for 2024/25 Season
Friday, February 9, 2024
Resorts Rise to the Top Peaks Challenge Across Canada
Photo by Reuben Krabbe: Marlie Marchewka skiing Gil’s at Sun Peaks Resort
Despite a size advantage and huge social media following, Sun Peaks Resort was lagging behind the top 3 in this year’s Mackenzie Top Peaks Challenge at the beginning of the week. At 6th place as the contest went into the Canada Votes segment, an urgent committee was assembled in Sun Peaks to design an appeal to fans all over Canada to start voting daily.
Headed up by Olympian, Canadian female athlete of the 20th Century, and most decorated female Canadian alpine skier, Nancy Greene Raine, the committee brought together influencers and key resort personnel. Just three days later, their first efforts led to Sun Peaks nabbing 2nd spot, inching ahead of Stoneham, but with Mont Adstock way out front in first place. Every day counts, though, and the Leaderboard changes minute-by-minute vote-by-vote.
You can vote directly at:
https://mackenzietoppeak.ca/vote/7532f387afdf777f0e95f63de4241eca
And you can keep track of how Sun Peaks is doing on the Leaderboard at:
https://mackenzietoppeak.ca/leaderboard
Use this new quick link to Vote for Sun Peaks:
For Sun Peaks, the initial application submission and subsequent community effort to get through the first round was highly successful. A spot in the top ten was secured by significant numbers of locals nominating their favourite resort. The beautiful BC resort got into Round Two along with nine other Canadian ski resorts, all in the running for the podium.
This current round is the ‘Canada Votes’ section, when all adult residents of Canada can vote for any of the 10 resorts daily up to March 3rd 9pm PST. When voting closes on March 3rd, the vote count will determine who is in the final three and those resorts will be judged by a panel for podium positions and coveted cash prizes to fund sustainable projects. Results will be announced on Friday, March 9 during CBC Sports Presents in the Top Peak Report. Bronze gets $10,000, Silver gets $20,000 and Gold will be awarded $100,000.
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The Sun Peaks project is to create a permanent Ski Cross Course made mainly from dirt which will save millions of gallons of water. It will effectively future-proof the course for generations to come. A leader in sustainability, Sun Peaks was the very first mountain resort in North America to be certified in April 2004 under ISO 14001, one of the world's most recognized EMS standards.
On the surface, Sun Peaks looks well placed to make the podium and even win the $100,000 first prize. There are 73k Facebook, 65k Instagram and 4k TikTok followers for the central British Columbia ski resort which has the second largest biggest ski area in Canada at 4,270 acres (1,730 hectares). To put that in perspective, the current leading resort - Mont Adstock in Québec has around 14k Facebook followers and roughly 3.6k on Instagram (I couldn’t find an official TikTok page) and only about 120 acres (48.5 hectares) of skiable terrain. Close contender Stoneham has 39k Facebook fans, 1.3k on TikTok and 11.1k on Instagram plus 335.5 acres (135.8 hectares). And Mt Washington, the only other Western Canada ski area in the Top Ten, has around 44.7k on Facebook 41k on Instagram and 1600 acres (648 hectares) of skiable terrain.
With Mont Adstock notching up around 1000 votes per day, how is it steaming ahead? Is it an early spurt which will lose speed by the finish line? Or is it part of a pre-planned concerted effort to get gold? Is it people power, loyalty, marketing, media coverage, or canny targeting of the right demographics?
I asked volunteer, Brian Gignac about the keys to their success. Advance preparation was vital: ‘Our planning began immediately after the holiday season to ensure that we would be ready to submit our application as soon as possible. Given that phase 1 voting was accessible for less than a month, having a well-structured plan was essential.’ A committee was formed of volunteers, led by parents of the local ski team. Although only five parents at the outset, others joined the campaign as word got out. ‘We established smaller sub-committees to handle specific tasks, including the management of the application, the development of the environmental project, compliance with the various challenges that needed to be accomplished, social media and a dedicated group to keep the team motivated,’ says Gignac. ‘The active participation of both the parents and athletes has significantly contributed to our success in this first phase.’
Mont Adstock’s three-pronged environmental project consists of a multifunctional timing cabin made from secondhand materials to LEED standards, ski gates and reduction in snow canon usage. The ski gates are particularly innovative, with tentative plans for wider scale manufacture in the future. ‘We plan to continue the development of ski gates manufactured by recycling water bottles,’ Gignac elaborates. ‘Our collaboration with the Cégep de Thetford’s plastic department has already led to prototyping and testing. If the results continue to be successful, we seek approval and market these innovative ski gates.’
Through Facebook and Instagram, Mont Adstock has leveraged social media to generate engagement. ‘Our athletes who are quite familiar with social media actively spread the word and rallied support from friends and family to vote,’ says Gignac. ‘Our community shares a deep bond with the Mont Adstock ski resort for several reasons. Proximity: Being the only ski resort within an hour’s drive from larger urban centres. Family atmosphere: Our resort resonates with a strong family vibe and the love of skiing has been passed down through generations. Tourism hub: Over the past few years, our resort has transformed into a year-round playground for diverse activities – golfing, hiking, snowshoeing, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and alpine skiing. More recently, we inaugurated a new ski chalet, and the development of a residential development has taken form.’
The network of supporters is posting daily reminders to urge repeat voting. As Gignac says ‘for many, it has been part of their daily routine’. The local newspaper took up the story, he adds, and there is some municipal, provincial and federal support from elected officials.
For Mackenzie Investments, the buzz created by around two months of participation on social media is key to their brand building goals. The concept was born out of the pandemic when the investment company spotted a way to connect nationwide skiing communities via social media through this collaborative contest. With over 30 years supporting the national ski industry, Mackenzie aims with this challenge to celebrate Canada's most invested ski community - one that embodies the Top Peak mantra: ‘Be Invested - On and Off the Hill’.
Melanie Smith, Mackenzie’s Brand and Sponsorship Lead says the challenge is different this year as it includes bonus points for sustainable initiatives. Recognising the importance of wintersports to Canadians, the Toronto-based company has supported racing, Alpine Canada and grassroots skiing over the past three decades. The Mackenzie Top Peak Challenge has grown significantly since it began in 2021. ‘What has grown has been the engagement, doing the challenges, and voting,’ says Smith. Partnering with CBC last year helped amplify awareness, shifting participation in the challenge from local communities to coast-to-coast engagement.
Me at Sun Peaks, sporting my latest Alchemy of Ride jacket
Details of the Mackenzie Top Peak Challenge are at:
You can vote directly for Sun Peaks at:
https://mackenzietoppeak.ca/vote/7532f387afdf777f0e95f63de4241eca
And you can keep track of how Sun Peaks, Mont Adstock and the other resorts are doing on the Leaderboard at:
https://mackenzietoppeak.ca/leaderboard
The countdown clock is ticking!