Everest Three Peaks – Sherpa Dorje Gyglen and Kenton Cool

Kenton Cool has just summited three Himalayan peaks in three days, with Sherpa climbing companion and friend, Dorje Gylgen. 

In the past few days, they have climbed Nuptse (7,861m), Everest (8,848m) and Lhotse (8,516m) in what Kenton called the ‘Ultimate Three Peaks Challenge’. 

They are the first mountaineers to achieve all three peaks in a single trip.  

Before the ten-day expedition started, he told the BBC: “I’m not sure if it is possible to climb all three of these monsters in one go, but that’s surely the best reason of all to try.”

“I’m hoping that I will be able to climb all three mountains without returning to base camp, but for that I’m going to need a bucket load of good luck and a heap of good weather.”

Yesterday, they achieved their goal, as Kenton announced on Facebook: “LHOTSE HAS BEEN SUMMITED. DESCENT HARD. NOW AT CAMP 2 FOR THE NIGHT. THREE SUMMITS IN THREE DAYS. NUPTSE, EVEREST,LHOTSE. THE FINISHING LINE OF BASE CAMP IS IN SIGHT.”

The timing for this extraordinary feat is perfect – next week marks the 60^th anniversary of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary’s first successful ascent of Everest in 1953.

Top of the World – Mt Everest

Of course, Gloucestershire-based climber, Kenton is no stranger to Everest.  In fact, this was his 11^th time at the summit (more times than any other British climber).  

Last year, also accompanied by Dorje Gylgen, he took up the Olympic gold medal to fulfil a pledge made by Arther Wakefield for his part in the unsuccessful 1922 British Everest expedition.  You can see the full story by clicking here.

Four hours ago, having safely reached Base Camp and the conclusion of the expedition, he reports: “Back down in BC totally shattered like never before after a week in high mountains. Will update with photos tomorrow…now it’s rest.”

… well deserved rest, we reckon, Mr Cool!

 
Other related posts:
Kenton Cool’s Olympic Everest Pledge
New Mount Everest record
Overcrowding on Everest

(photo by Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post)

When Elsa Bailey skied on her 90^th birthday, she vowed she’d return 10 years on. 

True to her word, she has now celebrated her 100th birthday on skis at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado.   

She actually spent her birthday dancing! 

Then, on the first day of her 101^st year, she donned her skis and did some turns, much to the delight of family, friends and onlookers. 

Elsa has always led an adventurous life.  She has skied for 75 years and tried out  all manner of other sports on various continents, from white-water rafting to scuba-diving.  Just last autumn she visited Brazil alone and stopped off en route home to Florida’s Disneyworld, where she rode the Space Mountain roller coaster five times!  

These feats are all the more remarkable given that Elsa is registered blind. 

Her mantra, according to the Denver Post which reported the story here, is “Just keep plugging, and you’ll make it.”

At the weekend, at the start of her second century, she finally hung up her skis!

Happy Centenary, Elsa!

Her achievement reminds us of the retired Japanese office worker, Tamae Watanabe, who last year stunned the mountaineering world by summiting Everest at the age of 73 – setting a new world record for the oldest woman ever to reach the 8848-metre peak, as we reported in a previous story here. 

The oldest person ever to climb Everest is Min Bahadur Sherchan from Nepal, in 2008, at the ripe old age of 76.

Other related posts:
New Mount Everest record
Kenton’s Cool feat – first ‘Everest Three Peaks’
Overcrowding on Everest

It’s time to pack your skis and boots away until the next ski season.  Before you do, your equipment needs a bit of simple TLC to keep everything in tip-top condition.  Check out FSN’s Five Top Tips for Ski and Snowboard Care for how best to care for and store your kit during the off-season. 

Boots too… Follow FSN’s Five Top Tips for Ski Boot Care to ensure clean boots, and a comfortable, odour- and spider-free fit for the start of next season.  

Next season, when you get all your kit out of the loft, you may well be a bit rusty on your skis but at least your equipment will now be ready for action!

  
Other related posts:
FSN’s Five Top Tips for Ski Clothing Care
Boot Fitting Advice
Choosing the right ski jacket
Why down clothing is best

An article in the weekend’s Telegraph newspaper caught our eye.  It was entitled “There is nothing simple about travel insurance”. 

How right they are!

Travel insurance is always a worry.  Policies vary so widely in terms of cost and cover. 

It goes without saying you always want to be insured on holiday, especially if you are taking your children with you or pursuing an active sporting holiday such as skiing/snowboarding. 

However there are always so many horror stories of people footing bills for thousands of pounds because they fell prey to smooth sales talk and don’t read the small print. 

The Telegraph cited the latest concerns of Which? Travel that “travel insurance is so often sold to customers as a simple product which will allow them to travel ‘worry-free’, save in the knowledge that they have ‘comprehensive’ cover”. 

Which? Travel was focussing on policies sold by airlines as a default add-on when you book flights online.  According to the Telegraph: “it found that none of the policies sold for a seven-day short-haul trip by companies such as British Airways, Ryanair and easyJet met the Which? requirements for ‘best-buy’ policies.” 

Some airlines even scaremonger customers into buying their travel insurance, by using pop-ups on their sites that state if you don’t buy travel insurance they would be acting against Foreign & commonwealth Office advice. 

Of course it’s easy to buy these policies… at a click of a button as you book your flights… then it’s one less thing to worry about in your holiday preparation.  However, we would urge you to be extremely prudent and double check before you buy.  The chances are the policy being offered to you is unlikely to be the most suitable, nor the best value for your family needs. 

Travel insurance is a complicated area and it’s all too easy to buy a policy with cover limits which are too low for you.  Some even have important exclusions, which could invalidate your insurance. 

Our advice is to shop around carefully for a policy that suits your specific needs.  Don’t use price as a guideline: a low quotation doesn’t necessarily equate to worse terms and lower limits.   As travellers have different needs, it isn’t possible to make a recommendation for one policy that will be a good buy for all travellers.  You can read some of our tips here on what to look out for in our feature Choosing the best travel insurance policy.   

As the Telegraph concludes: “Insurance is too important to be sold through tick-boxes at the same time as people are already trying to grapple with an online flight booking system.”

 
It might be worth checking out whether ERV’s dedicated ‘winter sports insurance’ suits your family. FamilySkiNews have a special discount on their policies for our readers. Simply click here and quote the 10% discount code: FAMILYSKI10.

Other related stories:
Choosing the best travel insurance policy

As you trade in thick sweaters and winter boots for the shorts and t-shirts, with the promise of a sunny bank holiday weekend ahead, spare a thought for your cast-aside ski kit too!

Best not simply to shove it into the loft until next season, unless you want mouldy clothing!  

Mildew reduces breathability/waterproof efficacy so be sure to follow our Five Top Tips for Ski Clothing Care to ensure your clothing is sweet-smelling and ski-ready at the start of next season.   

 
Other related posts:
FSN’s Five Top Tips for Ski Boot Care
FSN’s Five Top Tips for Ski and Snowboard Care

Olympic Torch to orbit earth in NASA’s International Space Station this November

Russian astronauts will take an Olympic Torch into orbit as part of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games Torch Relay. 

It will go into orbit aboard the International Space Station this November. It will be an unlit Torch, as naked flames are prohibited inside a spaceship going to the ISS!

This news has just been confirmed by Vitaly Davydov, deputy head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos. 

Of course, Russia became the first country to send a man into space, over 50 years ago, when Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth in 1961.  It seems only fitting that Russia will be the first country to send the Olympic Torch into space too!   

It is also possible that the torch will be carried outside the station into space when Russian austronauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazansky perform the world’s first ever ‘Olympic spacewalk ceremony’!  

The Torch will then return to Earth on a manned flight, scheduled to land on November 12. 

These ground-breaking events are part of the Olympic Organising Committee’s attempt to stage the biggest and best Olympic Torch Relay ever, as we reported in this previous story, Coca-Cola partners Sochi 2014 Torch Relay.  

Mount Elbrus – Europe’s highest mountain

The Relay is due to begin on October 7.  During its 123-journey, 14,000 Torchbearers will cover a massive 65,000 kilometres, across all 83 Russian regions, encompassing 2,900 towns and villages, and the torch will also journey to the top of Europe’s highest mountain, Mount Elbrus (5,642m), and to the bottom of the world’s deepest lake, Lake Baikal (1,600m).  It will reach the Olympic Park on 7 February at the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Games.

Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and President of the Russian Olympic Committee remarked:  ”The torch relay is to demonstrate the character of modernRussia, its great historical and cultural achievements and the achievements of the common people… We are proud now to have the opportunity to be the first nation to send the Olympic torch into space.”

Related stories:
Sochi Games to mark ‘new’ Russia’s 25th anniversary
Sochi fashions – barking up the wrong tree
Chemmy’s comeback
New Paralympics websites ready for Sochi 2014
Amy Williams appointed Olympic ambassador
Tickets for Sochi 2014 test events now available
Exactly one year to the Winter Olympics – what are Britain’s medal chances? (posted Feb 7, 2013)

Mighty Mont Blanc

How do you get from the top of Mont Blanc to Chamonix?

On skis… then running (still in ski boots)…  and cycling (still with those wretched ski boots on, of course)!

The previous record for the fastest descent of Mont-Blanc was held by a Catalan skier, Kilian Journet, at 1 hour 7 minutes. 

Any route is permitted, from the summit at 4810m to the designated destination, the main church in the centre of Chamonix, at 1038m.

Here’s how:

Forests and frozen lakes adorn the white-washed landscape of Beitostolen

Planning next year’s family ski holiday?..  Fancy a change from the Alps?… or perhaps you’re a first-time skier?…or keen to try your hand at a new snowsport – cross-country or telemark skiing, or even dog-sledding?

If any of the above sounds like you, then we strongly urge you to consider booking your next family ski holiday to Norway.

Why Norway?… 

Try your hand at a new sport – dogsledding perhaps?…

Well, let’s face it – the Alps are getting pretty crowded, and full of Brits too!  The Norwegian resorts are extremely family-oriented.  They boast a long season – up to six months in some resorts – with perfectly groomed slopes and superb snow quality and reliable cover, even late in the season when the Alpine snow is getting heavy and slushy.    

The Norwegian countryside also makes a change from the usual dramatic craggy backdrop of the Alps.  It is a picturesque, undulating landscape of whitewashed hills, with vast swathes of frozen lakes framed by extensive black pine forests.  

The Norwegian people are hugely friendly, with an infectious love of the great outdoors… and the cuisine is different and delicious too – think herrings and smoked salmon piled high on rye bread; and tasty meatballs with Tyttebaer (cranberry) sauce.

Don’t be put off by any concerns about exorbitant Scandinavian prices (with the exception of alcohol perhaps, which can be prohibitively expensive – we recommend stocking up at Oslo Airport’s Duty Free shop if you’re concerned!).  The good news here is that Crystal Ski is reintroducing ski holidays to Norway for next season (2013/14), as we reported in an earlier story here, and they’ve put together some amazingly cheap packages.  

… or cross-country?

Crystal Ski managing director Simon Cross explained to us: “The snow-sure resorts, the varied terrain and excellent family facilities in Norwegian resorts have always been popular with British skiers, but no one has facilitated what customers also want: making ski holidays to Norway more affordable. Norway isn’t known as a cheap destination, but we’ve managed to use our buying power to get some great value half board options plus incredibly inexpensive self catering cabins and apartments.”

For instances one week’s stay at the Hovi Cabins in Beitosløten start at £375pp self-catering (based on six sharing), including return flights and transfers from Gatwick Airport, departing 5 January 2014.  

Now that sounds like a bargain to us!

To find out more about Crystal Ski’s Norwegian resorts, see our special feature Learn to ski wtih Crystal in Norway here, or contact Crystal Ski directly.  They even have some special limited special offers on selected dates for early-bookers, including free and reduced kids’ places; 2for1 lift passes; and special ‘Learn to Ski’ packages (including equipment hire, lift pass and tuition) for beginners.

Other related stories:
Crystal Ski returns to Norway
Learn to Ski with Crystal in Norway
End of season celebrations in Norway
Let there be light
What are the Northern Lights?
World’s largest winter sports week for disabled skiers 
Dog-sledding with an ex-Paralympian skier

A ‘bluebird’ sky in Val Thorens

For most of the alpine resorts still open, this coming weekend is the final weekend of the 2012/13 season.  

Thanks to the decent snowpacks in most resorts, topped up by the snowfalls of last week (with up to one metre falling in parts of the Alps, most notably in Switzerland and Italy), there are a surprising number of resorts still open – 33 in total in Europe, and 18 in North America. 
So if you haven’t made it to the slopes the season yet, this really is YOUR LAST CHANCE!

The list below is by no means exhaustive but includes most of the main resorts and glaciers:

There’s Maytime skiing in Switzerland at Engelberg and on Gstaad’s Glacier 3000 until 5 May.  Thereafter Gstaad will open just weekends until 26 May.  Pontresina and St Moritz are hoping to remain open until 26 May.  Zermatt’s main ski area closes on 5 May, but its glacier remains open year round.   

Most remaining French resorts close after this weekend, with the exception of Val d’Isère which remains open until 5 May; Tignes and Chamonix until 12 May; Val Thorens – the highest resort in France– are hoping to stay open until 19 May.

In Austria, Ischgl and Kitzbühel are open until 1 May.  Solden is open until 5 May; the Molltal and Pitztal glaciers are open until 12 May; the Kitzsteinhorn glacier is open until 2 June; Kaprun until 2 June; Kaunertal and Stubaier glaciers until the weekend of the 8/9 June and the Hintertux glacier remains open year round.

In Italy, Cortina d’Ampezzo closes on 1 May; Val Senales and Cervinia are open until 5 May.   

In the Pyrenees, which have enjoyed their best ski season ever, Baqueira Beret has extended its season to May 5.  

Meanwhile across the pond…

Most resorts in Canada and the USA are closing after this weekend. However, a handful are offering Maytime skiing:

In Canada, Lake Louise (Alberta) is open until 5 May, while SunshineVillage (Alberta) and Whistler/Blackcomb (Britisn Columbia) are staying open until 20 May.

A few more resorts are open in America: Loveland (Colorado) and Sugarloaf (Maine) are open until 5 May; JayPeak (Vermont) until 12 May; Mt Bachelor (Oregon) until 26 May; Snowbird (Utah) and Timberline Lodge (Oregon) until 27 May;Mammoth Mountain(California) until 31 May; and Arapahoe Basin (Colorado) hopes to go right through until 16 June.

[Please note that all these dates are provisional and subject to change, according to weather and snow conditions.]     

Other related posts:
Springtime skiing
It’s party season
Vail + Verbier = An Epic Partnership

Spring can offer some of the best skiing of the season, and this season in particular, the snow is still excellent for the time of year, and many more resorts than usual remain open!

Firstly, the obvious…

1) It’s warmer.  Spring takes the edge of the winter chill, so you don’t need to wear tons of layers.

2) Après-ski is all outdoors! Days are longer, and sun terraces are packed all day long.  Some are staying open longer now too to cash in on the après-ski fun, so you can spend longer on the slopes, indulge in a relaxing drink and treat your kids to an ice cream.    

3) Snow is softer  (…that means landings are softer if/when you fall!). Midday is the best when the sun has warmed it up a bit, before it turns to end-of-day slush.

4) Queues are shorter.  Hard to believe when the weather’s so glorious, but most people are already thinking ahead to the summer and simply don’t ski this late in the season.

5) Prices are cheaper.  Rates drop after Easter, and who doesn’t like a good discount?…

Don’t forget your sunhat!

For the best late-season skiing, you need to aim high to guarantee good quality snow.  Check out our blog Which resorts are still open? 

You can also find FamilySkiNews.com’s Top 5 favourite Alpine resorts for springtime skiing by clicking here.

Other related features:
Glacier skiing
Springtime skiing
It’s party season
Snowing down under