Mixed opinions on CDA super lift pass Retrospective on the 2007-2008 ski season Avalanche in the Hautes-Pyrenees Adventure skier Jean-Noël Urban dies on Gasherbrum First death of the summer season on Mont Blanc PGHM celebrates 50 years of mountain rescue DBO Walkers killed by avalanche in the cirque de Gavarnie Avalanche on the Aiguille du Midi Drug taking in ski mountaineering SAM 2008 Chamonix Freeride Days – 10th Anniversary Multiple burials revisited Gavarnie cut off by monster avalanche Winter conditions leads to rise in avalanche deaths Ubaye in shock following avalanche death The Vallee Blanche is not a ski piste Salomon on strike, Look wants to buy Rossignol La Grave cable car turns thirty Avalanche Pic Mauberme Four climbers killed by Pyrenees avalanche Another crevasse death on the Vallee Blanche Respected Houches mountaineers killed by avalanche Three ski fatalities in the Northern Alps Dynafit Zzeus boots and Manaslu Skis British boarder in VB crevasse fall Multiple Avalanche Burials, rarer than you think? International Ski School loses trademark case Melting glaciers worry the UN ORTOVOX informs: F1 and standards conformity/compatibility Smog blankets Alps Alps snow holding up despite record temperatures Mystery of bodies in the woods Ski Accidentology Missing snowboarder records “last message” on digicam Climber identified after half a century Boarder found dead at Pra Loup Time to retire the Ortovox F1? Bust up between la Clusaz and the Croix Fry The Beaufortain gets a Beacon Basin Management buy-out for Dynastar? St Lary Freeride 2008 Col de Porte ski station closed Two ski tourers killed in Belledonne Skier missing on the Vallee Blanche Salomon halts French ski production Trophée des Derbys 2008 Tignes season worker killed by avalanche Love Shack Ski tourer killed by Hautes-Alpes avalanche Beware of tracks! Happy anniversary le Corbier Vallorcine renews off piste ban Vosges climbers injured by snow slide Faction’s Fat Twins Ski tourer killed by Pyrenees avalanche In the heart of an avalanche Artificial snow, a short term fix? Kilimanjaro, blame it on the sunshine Ultimate touring ski from Dynastar? Backcountry boarders killed by avalanche in Southern France Oil price will hit ski resorts hard French avalanche analysis 2006-2007 Cébé halts production of goggles and helmets Black Diamond Skis 2008 Henry’s Avalanche Talk in Val d’Isere this Saturday Henry’s Avalanche Talk launches new information services Salomon turns 60 You dig, or you die! Are Southern Alps ski resorts ready for winter? Record breaker for les 7 Laux French ski resorts race to open Zag is back ‘Cham’, The Beach on Ice! Drought worries southern ski resorts Dynafit Se7en Summit Ski and Vertical ST binding Avalanche starters get year ski ban A weekend with the Dynafit Zzero 4 Environmentalists take aim at snowmobilers Tarentaise ski monopoly imposes “roaming charges” Mondial du ski 2007 Trip Report Pyrenean Glaciers melting away The Keys to the Espace Killy Ride Hard, Ride Safe Avalanche Days 2007 Review of inexpensive ski touring gear Chamonix to have ‘Ski Ambassadors’, more lift openings Ski resort operator Transmontagne is wound up Ski Company Goes Green To Combat Climate Change Mont Blanc doubles in size Black Diamond Test Centre Autumn Avalanche in the Belledonne Mondial du Ski and Snowboard 2007 World’s longest ski vert President of the UIAGM killed by crevasse fall Quiksilver to dump Rossignol? Savoie ski resorts commit “ecological suicide” Retrospective on the 2006-2007 ski season Transmontagne goes bust Avalanche Risk in French Mountains

Mixed opinions on CDA super lift pass

Here at PisteHors we’ve never understood the problems with roaming between domains in the massive Companie des Alpes group. The CdA currently 13 ski resorts in France having recently acquired stakes in Val d’Isère, Valmorel, La Rosière. After checking the shareholders register we recently discovered that they also have a large shareholding in l’Alpe d’Huez. However skiing different days in different resorts has always been a faff. Why don’t they just sell one lift pass for the whole area?

Well it seems that the CdA has heard our complaints with the Carte Skier Fréquent (Frequent Skier Card) although the introduction of this super lift pass has not pleased everyone. The CSF was trialed between les Arcs and Serre Chevalier last season, not exactly nearby resorts but both possessing the hand free systems needed to make the pass work. If you are familiar with the French highway’s telepeage system then you will already understand the CSF. Basically you purchase the card for an annual fee of 30 euros (ouch!). However you can then just turn up at any CdA resort in the programme and ski. No need to queue at the lift pass office, fill out forms, sacrifice your first born etc. From 2008/9 you will be able to use the card in Val d’Isère, Tignes, Les Arcs, Peisey Vallandry, La Plagne, Les Ménuires, Méribel, Flaine - Grand Massif and Serre-Chevalier with further resorts to be added later. Your credit card will be debited the month following for any days skied. The CdA says that anyone skiing more than 8 days will benefit from taking out the card, that’s around 20% of their clientele.

Skiers will benefit from a reduction of 30% on the daily lift pass price. However it should be remembered that daily lift passes are considerably more expensive than 6-7 days passes. However lets crunch the numbers. In 2007/8 an Espace Killy pass cost 42 euros and a 6 day pass 202.50 euros. So with a 30% discount six days skiing will cost 176.40 euros. It seems like a win-win. In fact the break-over comes at 9 days skiing in the same resort. Remember that a 6 day+ Espace Olympic lift pass used to entitle you to ski in other areas. So maybe the Carte Skier Fréquent isn’t such a great deal. Personally we would have liked to have seen a digressive tariff, the more you ski, the less you pay.

Ski resorts are also unhappy with the new pass claiming it breaks the link between skier and resort. Mayor of Tignes Olivier Zaragoza says the CdA is putting its shareholders first. He’s particularly unhappy after a long outage of the Grande Motte cable car at the weekend which he blames on lack of investment by the lift company. He accuses the CdA of milking ski resorts. The CdA has replied that it reinvests at least 20% of turnover and that the new card will encourage skiers to ski more.