General News

There’s nothing quite like returning to a resort you know well and discovering new things and seeing improvements. Well, that’s what I have experienced in Verbier this week.

Verbier had a reputation for a poor lift system, but finally that’s changing. Last year the La Chaux Express was put in at Ruinettes; this winter a new 6 seater replaces the old 2 person chairlift to Attelas and takes you up in 5 minutes. It’s a welcome relief to queuing for the Funispace or using the old chairlift.

The lift company, Televerbier, also promises to continue with a new lift planned from Tzoumaz over the back of Savoleyres. It will also put in new lifts from the nursery slopes going to Savoleyres in one direction and Ruinettes in the other. When that happens the lift system will finally be world class.

This season also sees new snow cannons in La Chaux as part of an investment of 2.3 million Swiss Francs to help out when Mother Nature fails. With poor snow conditions this winter the cannons have certainly helped and Televerbier has done a good job with the limited amount of snow.

I’ve skied 5 weeks this winter across The Alps and Verbier’s slopes are undoubtedly the best I’ve been on.

ALTERNATIVE THINGS ON SNOW
Many resorts across The Alps are now making a concerted effort to offer other activities to skiing and boarding. Verbier is no exception.

There are now 9 snow shoes routes with 45 km of paths available ranging in degrees of difficulty from gentle strolls to serious walks. The resort has joined The Swiss Snowshoe Federation in response to this growing demand. It may not sound as exciting as skiing but it is great fun getting away from the crowds and exploring the mountains. I can thoroughly recommend it.

Paragliding has always been popular in Verbier and now The Verbier Summits Paragliding School is offering even more rides w ith extra pilots this season. They take off from Ruinettes and 30 minutes later land down the valley in La Chable right next to the lift, so the whole event takes a mere 1 hour.

I did it this week with my two young children and it was superb. Soaring like a bird over Verbier comes highly recommended!

SKI SCHOOL NEWS
The Ski and Snowboard school, European Snowsport, is going from strength to strength since it opened in Verbier 3 years ago and now employs 48 fully qualified instructors. All are English speaking and for this season ES offers video feedback with a special video room up on the slopes where one of their instructors will talk you through your turns and show you where things can be improved. It is a fantastic learning tool.

New Generation, has also opened in Verbier this season with 8 instructors.

The specialist off piste ski school, Powder Extreme, has also hired extra staff to deal with increasing demand. This season its director, Felix Tanguay, is taking a trip to Hakuba in Japan and plans to lead a similar holiday next season.

So, if you want to ski somewhere really different then watch this space as I’ll let you know how the trip goes.

IN TOWN
Verbier is also finally addressing its traffic congestion problem and is expanding its pedestrian priority areas with plans under way to build a 4 storey, 480 space underground car park near the centre so people will be encouraged to keep their cars out of town.

This is long over-due, though I’m sceptical it will greatly improve the congestion on the Rue du Medran as cars and people jostle for position in the choking fumes of all the 4x4s.

The resort also needs to sort out the chaotic scenes at the bottom of the Medran lift first thing in the morning as too man people squeeze into too small an area. The simple solution of moving the bus stop up the hill to nearer the car park and flattening the meeting area would help greatly, but still nothing seems to get done.

Also new this year is The Verbier Language School set up by Ski Club member, Rosi Pickard and her partner Eleonore Ribordy. It’s based right in the centre of town next to Danni Sports and offers courses for residents and holidaymakers alike.

Now doing French classes may not sound the most exciting thing to do on a ski holiday but many are signing up for the classes; English residents living in Verbier, resort workers who want to do more than just drink beer in The Pub Mont and local Swiss who want to learn English.

SAVING MONEY
A holiday in Verbier does not come cheap but new this season there is a way to make things slightly less draining on your pocket. The

Verbier Entertainment Book costs 35 Swiss francs and offers over 1,500 francs worth of discounts with the vouchers inside. For example you can get 2 bottles of wine for the price of one at the T-bar, 50% off a service at Ski Service and free entry to the Casbah nightclub before 12.30. The list of money saving offers is huge and the book really can save you a few pounds.

After a hard day on the slopes a relaxing massage is perhaps the best way to unwind and ease those aches and pain. Sussane Levy, a specialist sports masseur, has set up a new business in the village for this winter and will either visit you in your chalet, hotel or apartment or you can go to her home near the Savolyres lift. She also gives a special rate for Ski Club members. My wife enjoyed a massage with her this week and says she is fantastic!

THE FUTURE
So the resort of Verbier is certainly not resting on its laurels with a host of new things this season.

“It is very important to keep developing and moving forward,” says Pierre-Yves Deleze, the resort’s marketing manager. “Any resort that does not move forward goes backward, so we are determined to keep ahead of the competition and offer the people who come to Verbier a first class service”.

A noble thought, but I do wish they would sort out the traffic problem and the ridiculous over-crowding at the bottom of The Medran in the morning.

LINKS
www.verbier.ch
www.verbier-summits.com
www.europeansnowsport.com
www.powderextreme.com
www.verbierlanguageschool.com
www.verbierentertainment.com
Susanne_levy@hotmail.com
www.MySwitzerland.com