Ed Leigh's COVID Saving Snow Tips | Ep 45 | When To Go

Given lockdown and the fact most of us can’t travel beyond our postcode at the moment, there looks to be little hope of early shred missions this winter. As has been reported this week, Inghams, Ski Total and Flexiski have canceled all December trips including those over Christmas (though Crystal are yet to make that call, as you can see from the trips still listed on their site: https://www.crystalski.co.uk/)

But this week’s news that Pfizer/BioNTech have produced a vaccine that was 90% effective in global trials does flash a bright light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to life after Covid one day (despite the inevitable disruption this winter).

As does the news that quarantine may be cut to a single week when lockdown ends or even removed altogether, plus the signs are that airport testing will be ramped up too, as this piece in the Guardian gets into: https://www.theguardian.com/…/uk-set-to-cut-covid-self…

Next week I’ll be advocating what I think the government needs to do to help the snow travel industry this winter and get us to the mountains safely.

What is clear is that snowboarding and skiing this season is going to be a last minute bundle. But there is still a lot you can put in place now. As I’ve already advised driving is your best bet for flexibility (and not being at the whim of airline cancellations), so check you have all your vehicle documents in order (the RAC has a good checklist here: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/driving-abroad/checklist/), get a Eurotunnel ticket https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/

or ferry crossing, search the best deals here https://www.directferries.co.uk/ferries_from_france_to…. Check your passport has at least six months validity on it, visit this government site for all the post-Brexit travel info: https://www.gov.uk/visit-europe-1-january-2021

If you’ve never driven to the Alps before, I promise it is fairly straightforward and can be a lot cheaper, especially if you’re a group of four. My friend Jeremy Sladen has put together a great and extremely thorough guide to driving to the Alps (with a special focus of France and Austria). Don’t be put off by how long it is, as you can easily skip to the chapters with topics you want to know more about, be that routes or prepping your vehicle. There is also a great bit on saving cash by going out on the Eurotunnel and getting a ferry back, and the best times of day to travel. My favourite line in the video is that driving keeps you “in charge of your own destiny”, true more than ever this year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Oz0RmBtrw…

One thing you might want to do, given there is likely to be a last minute rush for accommodation, is to book a place now for as late in the season as possible. Easter even, but at a place with a 100% refund policy. Eg La Rosiere’s tourist office, which also has refunds on ski passes: https://www.larosiere.net/en/free-cancellation-covid/ or any of these resorts: Sainte Foy https://www.saintefoy-reservation.com/en/annulation_covid/

Vaujany http://www.vaujanyskicompany.com/…/27082020203753…/

Val d’Arly https://www.valdarly-montblanc.com/…/ski/our-ski-areas/ & La Clusaz https://en.laclusaz.com/…/covid-19-refund-guarantee…

NB With Airbnb and HomeAway you often have to rely on the individual owner to refund you, so are more at risk if you need to cancel.

And last up, it makes sense to also book your ski and snowboard hire now. Intersport have some crazy good deals on and will also let you cancel right up until the last minute, so you have literally nothing to lose by booking now. Here’s a link for their site: https://www.intersport-rent.fr/en/