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Welcome to the Eurozone - Page 3

post #61 of 65
6/10/08 at 3:10am
Hi, I'm 26 and work for a worldwide Heliskiing organisation called Elemental Adventure (www.eaheliskiing.com). We represent Heliskiing operators from all around the world (Canada, Russia, The Himalayas, Alaska, Turkey, Greenland, South America, Kamchatka, Sweden and New Zealand). Happy to field any Heliski related questions.

Personally, I have skied since I was 6. I haven't done a season (much as that would have been great- on the life todo list!), and have skied Europe and USA so far. Hungry for more.
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post #62 of 65
6/10/08 at 4:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PowHog View Post
Unlikely since air fares (which are supposed to further rise short term) and ground transportation considerably add to the total costs, that alone usually more than offsets the effect of the deflated Greenback when compared to skiing here. Plus lodging and tickets have often been pricier overseas anyways so it may turn out to be roughly the same now.

If s.o. wants to cross the pond to go skiing then it's probably not for the exchange rate alone.
Money will make a difference (it always does, even with people who claim it doesn't!) but PowHog is right: there are many other factors too.

I guess that there are three groups who will look at North America (and, by the way, I think that almost all of them are U.K or Irish-based -- mainland Europeans are pretty conservative about where they ski).

First, families or relatively new skiers. There are already more than a few who find the easy skiing, friendly atmosphere, well managed trails, English-speaking ski schools and so on a revelation after the pluck-you attitude of a lot of European resorts. I can see companies catering for that market expanding their offering next winter, especially around school holidays.

Second, keen intermediates to advanced, the sort of people who might go to the Three Valleys or Portes de Soleil. I don't think that many North American resorts would tempt them with Whistler being the obvious exception (it's already VERY popular). Perhaps also Vail -- I don't know enough. But, if I were in that group, I'd think very hard -- you're adding an awful lot of journey (and jet-lag and, in the case of Colorado, altitude acclimatization) to your holiday.

Then there are the hard core types (the sort that read ski forums in June when it's 30 outside ). Of the people like that whom I know, a lot have jobs in just those areas that are being affected by the current financial turmoil (banking, law, IT) so they may not have the disposable income next winter that they have had in the past, and they also tend to be time-poor as well as cash-rich. But I'm sure some will be tempted by a heli-skiing trip if it is that little bit less pricy.
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post #63 of 65
6/10/08 at 4:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hitherandthither View Post
(and, by the way, I think that almost all of them are U.K or Irish-based -- mainland Europeans are pretty conservative about where they ski).
I agree.
It's just to easy and cheap for me to jump in my company car and drive 8 to 10 hours to get to a great resort as opposed to paying close to €1000 to get in the States or Canada and then either sacrifice mobility or shell out even more cash for a rental car.

Aside from that, I am drawn to North-America. I would love to ski non-groomed slopes more in a relatively safe environment. I'd love to go heliskiing, I'd love to ski with a higher treeline and I'd love to taste the light powder you guys get!
If I had a little more financial power I'd probably consider actually coming over sooner than I might otherwise because of the better exchange rate but I would definately not be a deciding factor, an accelarator(sp?) at most.
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post #64 of 65
6/10/08 at 5:10am
Thread Starter 
See, for me, it's not that big a difference in price, timing, etc between US and Europe.
Flights are more expensive, but pretty much everything else is cheaper in the US - yes, even lift passes!

But I don't go there because of costs. I go there for more reliable snow, and smaller crowds. The resorts are smaller, but I think you get the same, or possibly more skiing in, cause you're not stuck in a queue/scrum.

So, I leave Luton at 6pm on a Saturday afternoon, and go to Geneva, then have a 3 hour transfer to Tignes, so get to my hotel around 11pm or midnight. Instead, I leave Heathrow at 10am, arrive into Salt Lake about 4pm, and drive 40 minutes to the Canyons. On the way back, ski Saturday morning, get an afternoon flight, and arrive in London on Sunday morning, with the day to unpack, do washing, etc. Or, I ski in Tignes on Saturday morning, get a bus back to Geneva, get the evening flight back to Luton, and land around midnight.


...but I still enjoy skiing in Europe!
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post #65 of 65
6/10/08 at 6:03am
I think there is a quite a difference between choosing NA over Europe if you are coming from the UK than if you are coming from the Continent.

Besides language and other "psycological" barriers, there is the simple matter of frequency, cost and length of flights.
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