Hot of the press “ mécaniques Le Conseil d'Etat donne son feu vert pour l'ouverture des pistes de ski. Des autorisations sous conditions.” Le Nouvelliste 16.12.2020, 17:27 I know which one I believe

"Valais: moins de 100 hospitalisations Covid , 8 Novembre 345" from todays Le Nouvelliste

Available on Amazon Black Friday for £439.00. Bought one last night : )

Superb conditions today lots of powder and not many people

Lot’s of Santas on chassoure today and also quite a few sharks teeth

There’s a Nicholas wine and beer store near to Migros at the airport train station which is open until 8pm

There’s a train from Martigny to Chamonix. Martingy is a short train ride from Sion. The train journey is truly spectacular.

Sadly a 20 year old Swedish girl died in an avalanche on Mont Gond this afternoon Le Nouvelliste has reported

I think it’s now gone up to 19CHF I don’t think you can buy the day before .

I flew back from Hong Kong on Tuesday after a few days R&R after Road trip on Hokkaido. We had nearly an hours wait at Cathay Pacific check in for clearance to take snowpulse airbag in checked luggage despite having a confirmation email from Cathay Pacific granting permission and all the necessary paperwork. There were no problems at check in at Heathrow and Chitose. The supervisor at HK said that they had never seen one before and it was only after things became somewhat heated i.e. that that could keep the cylinder and that I would sue them that permission was granted.

Had a great day in rusutsu today with guides lots of fresh through the trees

There’s also a two storey car park about 200 metres before the télécabine it’s either 5 or 8 CHF per day

Arriving in Niseko Friday evening for 6 nights then road trip to Kiroro and Furano.

@Mountaindoc, A good place to eat either for lunch or dinner is Les Etagnes which is at the bottom of the gondola on skiers left it also has a nice après bar called cheers, it’s mainly Dutch but quite a good atmosphere. The Brits mainly go to the Edelweiss but it can get quite lively. There’s a nice microbrewery Brasserie 3300 which is where a lot of locals go. Restaurants are more difficult as often it’s a matter of personal preference and price. Le Raccard is always a good bet for fondue or a steak and reasonably priced. Trattoria dei Savi is a good Sardinian restaurant. If you want something up market le Mont Rouge is good but seriously expensive also La Lanterne . Most of the mountain restaurants are run by Télé Nendaz and are nothing to write home about, however the one at Combatseline at the top of the Novelli chair at Siviez is quite good and with a large terrace with great views on a sunny day. Enjoy your holiday in Nendaz

It’s much improved due to snow canons and although fairly steep it’s very wide and normally well groomed

I've just changed car Hire company, both were through Tabirai, for a larger car a Nissan Xtrail via Nissan car hire. However it says that although the car is equipped with an ETC device I have to provide my own ETC card. presumably I can buy or rent one from the hire company or at Chitose airport?

Yes definitely will use the Ohnsen as didn't have the opportunity the last time I visited Japan and definitely having a bed :lol:

Yes I contacted them regarding my airbag and that's what alerted them to the skibag and I've just received an email regarding the weight which is likely to be under 20kgs

I am going next week with Cathay Pacific and they say that if my ski bag exceeds the 80” rule that I need permission. I’ve never had that before even with EasyJet 🤔

I am going next week with Cathay Pacific and they say that if my ski bag exceeds the 80” rule that I need permission. I’ve never had that before even with EasyJet 🤔

I think the bus fare is 11.40 single unless you have a half price annual card ☹️

You’d probably have to book a 6 seater taxi. I can’t remember if there’s an additional cost but a normal 4 person taxi would cost about 90CHF depending where you are staying

There’s a bus service from outside the train station

There’s a bus service from outside the train station

A lot of the traffic going to Siviez are people from down in the valley who use it as the quickest way to get to Mont Fort. Most people who own properties in Nendaz have their own transport and getting to Siviez isn't that much of a problem. Of course snow cannons will make a difference in poor seasons like this year but in a good season Prarion is a great area to ski off piste through the trees.

It's official La Nouvelliste says an accord has been signed after twenty years of negations with WWF. Hopefully this will lead to a major investment in upgrading the lift system on Fontaines and Prarion

There's a blue run which goes down but there are one or two steeper parts but generally the ski schools hope to get beginners down to the lift station by the end of their first week. There's a blue run at Siviez off the Tortin chair which is a good confidence builder.

I'm pretty sure that Telenendaz go by Calender year so you should be ok

Have arrived back after a great week in Whistler. In the end we hired a car , a Hyundai Santa Fe, for $98 dollars one way and a Hyundai Elantra the return journey $83. The fuel came to $43 We didn't need a car during our stay & as we had an evening flight we spent the day in various parts of Vancouver The most difficult part was finding the button to open the fuel cap!

I know I won't need the car when I get there, been before, but I like the freedom of movement, Taxi is about $250 each way, Car hire is about £220-240+ fuel. I'm used to driving in a snowy environment in . the Alps so as long as I can park somewhere at a reasonable cost I should be OK. I've never paid for car parking in Canada before so it was a bit of a shock.

Thanks I still think driving is the best option especially with an 11 o'clock checkout and an evening flight back

Does anyone have a current view on parking in Whistler . staying in Delta suites & they're asking for $24per night plus taxes for parking. Perimeter bus want $336 plus tax for return journey from Vancouver airport.

Last Sunday was the last day for the old two seat chair at Les Masses. it's being replaced by a four seater.

Gentianes was in great condition early afternoon apart from the odd patch which hadn't had as much sun to soften it up. Snow forecast for tomorrow

If you decide to buy locally then Denner or Coop in Conthey are good options Wine and beer are quite reasonable there. beware though that Denner don't take UK credit or debit cards. Also call into the Edelweiss for Happy hour beer 4CHF a pint between 4 & 5. Don't bother with Irish Bar Beer there reduced by 1CHF to 6CHF for happy hour & no atmosphere. Cheers Bar at Les Etagnes is good but no happy hour.

I think that the limit is similar to the UK limits from outside the EU I.E. 1 litre of spirits, and I think 2or 3 bottles of wine. As Andy says it's Schengen but if the border post is manned they quite often stop UK vehicles. I have been stopped regularly and once I had to pay duty on Champagne and wine.

A mixed day I was on the Novelly chair and was first down, then went up Greppon which was badly windblown: there was no snow on the walk up to L'Etygeon. I saw Chassoure gondola was open only to find it had stopped just before I arrived at 9.45 lucky for me as it's still showing as closed at 2.00pm pity the poor dabs on it. Did Gentiane instead it was the best I've ever seen it. Knee deep powder and very few tracks. Lets hope the get the gondola running again soon

Taking a torch is useful if the moon should go behind a cloud but you won't need them for skiing. It's very popular with the locals and though you are discouraged from skiing down many people do and as under a new name says moonlight skiing is magical

I've used my nationwide debit card for the odd purchases and there is only the one charge as opposed to the two charges for cash withdrawals Just checked one was for a peage,

Thanks, I don't fancy going to the caisse every morning especially peak weeks and weekends but as Euro>CHF heads toward parity, currently 1.04, its starting to look more and more attractive. I'll wait until end of September and see what happens