Last update: 25/01/21
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Snow Report 18 January 2021 - Tim finally gets the touring skis out...
It's Luke's birthday day out - Bouc Blanc anyone?
Previous Snow Reports
Lift Opening Date...
Update 20/01/2021:
As we feared... This evening it was announced by Tourism Minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne that lifts must remain closed for now and a “reopening in mid or late February seems highly improbable”.
Meanwhile resorts are technically open with an 18:00 curfew in place and bars & restaurants closed except for takeaway services. Shops & schools remain open and there are a host of outdoor activities available from skidoo adventures to fat bike and dog sledding. Cross country skiing and ski touring tracks are still being maintained. More on opening dates here...
Free Resort Ski Bus Service, Business Openings & Medical Centre Hours
Note that there are special timetables in operation due to curfew etc.
Temporary Timetable from 25 Jan 2021 reflecting new curfew rules: Timetable here
All the PROVISIONAL timetables and further information at latania.co.uk/resort/skibus.htm
Also new Winter 2021 Resort Maps and Hiking / Footpath maps have been released. More here...
Courchevel 2020 / 2021 Brochure here
The Sherpa Supermarket in La Tania is now open for the season.
Pub Le Ski Lodge, Marmottons, Le Farçon, Les Chanterelles & Bistro Machet are now open in La Tania for takeaway service. A fairly accurate list of restaurants open across The 3 Valleys here
Hotel Montana were planning to open on 20 January 2021 this is now on hold.
The La Tania Medical Centre is open Tuesday - Thursday - Friday from 9 pm to 12 pm without appointment and all day with appointments. This schedule is "until the lifts open".
Pub Le Ski Lodge is Open For Takeaway On-Line (Taiga Cocktails too!)
Pub Le Ski Lodge in La Tania is now open for a click & collect or telephone takeaway service.
Open for collection from 11:30 to 14:30 and from 17:00 to 18:00 with a range of baguettes, snacks, burgers, main courses, deserts and a Children’s Menu. Drinks available all day.
Delivery across La Tania & Le Praz from 18:00 to 20:00 (order by 19:30 please).
Closed on Modays and Tuesdays.
ORDER ON-LINE AT PUBLESKILODGE.COM
Lift Opening Dates... TBC
Brexit Travel Impications Article updated here
Update 19/01/2021:
French newspaper Le Monde reporting that it is unlikely there will be any lifts opening in the French Ski Resorts for the February holidays as infection rates are still too high. A formal announcement is expected Wed/Thu 20/21 Jan but these leaks are usually correct.
Lift Companies / Resorts will need to make a decision on continuing maintenance, grooming, safety work, snow production & avalanche control for mountain access / ski touring or possible later opening. We’d expect the larger areas (and 3V is the biggest) to keep going and hoping...
Update 14/01/2021:
Further curfews / restrictions expected from Castex in speech tonight at 7pm... Now 6pm from Saturday!
Update 7/01/2021:
French PM Castex - "There will be no reopening of bars and restaurants before at least mid-February. There will be a point on January 20 to see if an early February reopening of theatres, cinemas, ski resorts and ski lifts is possible". The Prime Minister also announced that the border with the United Kingdom will remain closed until further notice and that the incredibly slow vaccination roll out will be sorted out. More here...
Meanwhile we've updated the Brexit Deal implications (EHIC Continues, No Visas, No Roaming Charges, Pets are Allowed, No International Driving Licence required, No passing on of camera speeding tickets etc).
Update 06/01/2021:
No announcement of ski lift opening in France before 13 January according to Le Dauphine in their article tonight here
Update 04/01/2021:
Italy and Austria have announced provisional opening dates of their ski lifts for 18 January 2021 but there is no official word from France and a further delay looks likely - although we stress there is nothing official.
Getting to France (or other Schengen countries) from the UK remains a challenge however, with an approved test, a signed Attestation doc with a valid reason and possibly proof for non-essential travel, an address where you are staying and a passport with 6 months left on it are the minimum requirements from the evidence we have seen/heard.
Update 02/01/2021:
The date of 7 January 2021 (if infections come down) is looking increasingy unlikely with a further French lockdown or local curfews predicted. An update is expected soon. A date of 20 January is possible (when the bars/restaurants closure is scheduled to end) but much will depend on infections rates and any spike from Christmas (and New Year raves etc).
Update 29/12/2020: Further Brexit Deal Implications
EHIC continues, no roaming charges, pets are allowed, no IDP needed, no short term visas required, free testing at Dover, an international French Travel Attestation and very limited checks at the border so far... (although airlines have been enforcing essential travel rules more than border control).
Brexit Travel Impications
Update 25/12/2020: Brexit Deal Agreed
Initial news on what this means for travel to France etc - Blog post here
Update 23/12/2020: UK Travel Ban "Relaxed"
Lorry Drivers, EU Nationals, Brits with residency in France and some professionals allowed back in to France with a negative test. How many EU Nationals will be able to get back for Christmas though now Macron has had his revenge is anyone's guess...
Update 22/12/2020: UK Travel Ban
Announcements expected today on testing protocols to allow lorry drivers in and French residents to return home.
Update 21/12/2020: UK Travel Ban
A UK to France travel ban for 48 hours (along with restrictions from another 30 countries) came in on Sunday night. Only route to France is via Spain we think - they haven't acted yet (but did in the end). French news are reporting that French Residents will be able to return from 22 Dec with a negative test result - this is still to be confirmed. Note that this doesn't mention essential travel or workers - just residents.
EU meeting today should provide further clarification. But this is bad news, struggling to stay positive this morning. Can't even go skiing in Scotland from England...
Update 18/12/2020: 7 Jan dependent on infections reducing
The date of 7 January 2021 is being bandied about as "official" but it is NOT as far as we are aware. There was always the caveat of infection rates to come down and hospital capacity to be available. Lots of activities and ski touring pistes, footpaths, sledge runs & cross country tracks are all being prepared for access from Sat 19 Dec - more here. Ice Diving on the Le Praz Lake has just been added today too!
Also social media is awash with the UK being banned from travelling to the EU from 1/1/21 as there are EU Covid Border Rules allowing only non-EU countries with very low rates (like NZ) in to the EU. However individual countries can do what they like and no one knows if the "essential travel only" would be checked/enforced anyway (it hasn't been so far since March) or even what would happen about flying via Geneva - With Sunday's news of course this is all immaterial anyway.
Update 14/12/2020: 7 January Opening?
Plenty of mainstream sites going with our 7th January lift opening story which was suggested by Castex but it is dependent on infection rates going down. However Germany have announced further lockdown measures until 10 January so of course France may follow (and all bars and restaurants are to remain closed in France until 20 Jan).
Update 10/12/2020: Curfew in France from 20:00 to 06:00
FRANCE From December 15th: Lockdown will be lifted, and trips out of the home will no longer require an essential reason or an attestation (permission form).
A curfew from 8pm to 6am will be introduced. Cinemas, theatres and other cultural centres, which had been scheduled to reopen on 15 December, will stay closed until at least 7 January.
Bars, restaurants and gyms will remain closed until at least 20 January, as planned.
Rules on religious services remain the same.
The curfew will be lifted on 24 December, but not on 31 December as had previously been suggested.
No mention of ski resorts but note "cinemas, theatres and other cultural centres will stay closed until at least January 7th". A further meeting with Mairies of ski resorts is scheduled tomorrow at 11:00 but probably more about what financial help will be on offer rather than any opening date being suggested.
More at: TheLocal.fr
Previously...
No confirmed dates as yet but all hope of opening lifts during the Christmas holidays seem to have gone. Confirmation is expected in announcement on Wednesday after the appeals from the ski resorts but no expected change as Germany says the resort should close for the Christmas holidays. Some French restrictions are expected to be lifted on 15 December but it looks like bars and restaurants will be takeaway only until 20 January. There is some talk of 5 or 10 of Jan for ski lifts running but this is speculation and Macron did say infection rates must come down first (the 15 Dec date could be in doubt due to this, as infection rates are not coming down as fast as expected).
Courchevel has announced over 85 outdoor activities, events and entertainments to go ahead over the holidays on a Covid secure manner as they attempt to get people to come out and enjoy the resorts and mountains even if the lifts remain closed. More details here...
Courchevel Adventure will be offering the following activities from 19 December: Snowmobile driving - Dog Sledding - Ice Diving - Piste Basher Driving - Fatscoot - Children's Snowmobile Circuit - Segways - Biathlon Shooting - Archery - Paintball - Escape Games.
Similarly, Méribel will be offering a number of activities with all the footpaths from Lake Tuéda to the Altiport maintained and accessible. The Explor Games will take place around the Lake and all picnic areas will be open. The Shops, Equestrian Centre and Cinema will be open every day.
It has been confirmed that Ski Touring on certain routes in Courchevel selected in consultation with S3V will be allowed. This is so their work on maintenance and piste grooming can be carried out safely without endangering skiers. Certain slopes on the ski area will be authorised in addition to the Millet /Ski Touring tracks from Le Praz to Col de la Loze which will additionally open from 23 December every day 10:00 to 15:00 until the opening of the ski lifts. Further info here...
Ski Amis, VIP Ski and Alpine Elements call in the Administrators
No doubt as a direct consequence of no revenue through the peak Christmas Holidays due to the French Government closing the ski lifts until January it's sad news to all those who had stayed, worked or were going to in the future in these places.
Ski Amis (Catered chalets in La Tania, Les Menuires, La Plagne and Les Arcs plus plenty of self-catering places across the French Alps), VIP Ski (nothing in La Tania but catered chalets in Méribel) and Alpine Elements (ran Hotel Montana in La Tania and lots of properties across the French Alps plus Summer Holidays in Greece too)are now all in Administration.
Hotel Montana will be open this season with the owners family running it - More here...
Come-Ski who have a catered chalet in La Tania are taking a break for Winter 2020/2021 but will be back next season.
Silver-Ski are not operating for Winter 2020/2021. Their website seems to be permanently closed for maintenance so not sure if they will be back or not.
Meanwhile Hotel Pomme de Pin is being re-branded as Hotel La Pomme and is now part of the Maison Tournier group - expect the end of €11 Pizza, €5 Stella and €50 bottles of Veuve Clicquot - More here...
What's New for 2021 - The Definitive Guide
Part 1 - La Tania / Courchevel
Part 3 - Val Thorens / Orelle / Les Menuires / St Martin
Emovis-Tag - Beat the Autoroute Toll Queues
The UK Site available to get your Tag and electronically pay for your French Autoroute Tolls without the queues during the school holidays - There's a €5 discount here
The 2023 Alpine Skiing World Championships in Courchevel & Méribel
Official Website on this massive event being held from 6th to 19th February 2023.
Explore The 3 Valleys Guide Without Skis
Lots of useful and interesting information in this Explore The 3 Valleys Guide Sans Les Skis
The 3 Valleys Escapade in a Day 2020 - The Height of Everest Twice!
The toughest recreational skiing day ever? The Winter 2020 attempts now in the Hall of Fame
Chris, Katie & Matt 31 Dec 2019 - last one of the decade & first one of the season More here...
Leon, Klemen and Maxi: Les Cremes de Marrons 04 Jan 2020 - From Val Thorens More here...
Pascal 05 Jan 2020 - This one from Orelle. Col was closed so some added lifts in place More here...
Tamás Ocsovai 08 Jan 2020 - Tamás from Hungary started/finished from Val Thorens More here...
Andy & Kyle 11 Jan 2020 - La Tania veteran Andy along with Kyle redo the La Tania route. More here...
Phil, Bradley, Jordan & Brooke 15 Jan - A great family day out. More here...
Oliver, Martin & Zoe 16 Jan 2020 - Oliver's second time for the challenge. More here...
Mr & Mrs Slippery + Neil 18 Jan 2020 - More old people with the help of youngsters. More here...
Simon and Bethan 21 Jan 2020 - La Tania regulars finally get their finger out. More here...
Al, Pete and Jack 27 Jan 2020 - At the third time of trying finally succeed. More here...
The Waterfield Family 22 Feb 2020 - Ian, Anna, Beth & Jenny (under 10!) make it in Feb! More here...
Jan, Paul & Matthew 08 Mar 2020 - Turned out to be last attempt of the season, well done! More here...
The 3 Valleys Escapade in a Day - come and have a go if you think you're hard enough...
La Tania Ski Blog / Snow Reports / Latest News
Click here to open a new page latania.co.uk/blog
Quick Links and The Important Stuff
Latest Photos and Latest Videos with the video snow reports plus The Ski Blog. The Mobile Site
Value For Money in The Three Valleys - where you can eat & drink well without breaking the bank
Ski Flight Information - all the routes, all the operators, all Winter
The Toughest Days Skiing Ever? The Escapade 35 lifts, 51,000ft vert, 92km
La Tania does football - some of the past trips suffering watching our teams...
Shops and Services - all the shops and services from electricians to vets to paragliding
La Tania Shop - order lessons, ski hire, child care, catering, flights, GPS, insurance on-line
Holiday Reviews of La Tania now on-line and searchable by company / chalet
Our YouTube Channel with video snow reports, skiing, bands and general carry on...
The La Tania Maps / Aerial Pics pages - interactive maps, piste maps and village plans
Ski Gifts - all your ski gifts, presents, books, DVDs, car hire, flights, hotels, parking... Charente Gites
Our Summer Life in La Tania Page and The La Tania Celebrity Watch
Mobile Site - WebApp with off-line content.
Instagram #latania Feed...
More of the #latania Instagram Feed...
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