Serre Chevalier fresh snow

Everyone's skiing powder today, and freshly topped-up pistes in Serre Chevalier. I live in Briancon and we had at least 15cm of snow on the roads (thanks snow-ploughs for the early awakening at 5am!) Gavin's up teaching skiing at the moment so looking forward to hearing his snow report for Serre Chevalier later today!

Serre Chevalier full area opening Sat 19 December 2009

The tourist office web site has confirmed plans to open the whole ski area this coming Saturday. Great news! All of the links should be open. Lower runs may still be a little sparce but there's an enormous amount of snow-making going on! Bring your layers... it's very cold at the moment!

Back in Serre Chevalier

We're back and the winter has commenced! Both of us have been away for a week or so, Gavin training instructors for BASI in Verbier and me (Mel) back in the UK visiting family with the kids. Ryanair flew us from Turin to Stansted and did a great job of looking after me and two year old toddler and baby Ellen - I was dreading the flight but it went so smoothly! Then we took a BA flight from Gatwick back to Turin yesterday and their large luggage allowance of 23kg per passenger, including baby sharing seat with mum, was such a bonus! We had a relaxing time with Gavin's family in St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, and my parents in Brighton - now living in Brighton Marina which is surrounded by small boats and big yachts (our second hobby is sailing... but we're not doing much of it until we get ourselves a small family boat... anyone got a Kingfisher 20+ with a Junk Rig?!)

Serre Chevalier open 12 December 2009

We knew there was a reason why we chose to base ourselves in MONETIER LES BAINS, the highest village in Serre Chevalier's skiing network! This weekend the resort opens but is limited to the MONETIER LES BAINS sector thanks to its North-facing slopes and higher altitude. The tourist office has announced that the slopes accessible from the BACHAS chairlift will be in use - see you there!

Accommodation Finder service, Serre Chevalier

Quick Profile: Melanie Crosby

Melanie (Mel) settled in Serre Chevalier with ski instructor husband Gavin Crosby in 2001. Since then she has built up a small portfolio of properties (spa apartments, chalets, village houses) that she lists on her ever-evolving web site EurekaSKI PLUS.

OK, she's busy with the kids too (Ewan is two years old and Ellen Rose is six months old at the time of writing this), but she works beneath the stars to find Gavin's clients, and anyone else looking, a great place to stay. She'll also book airport transfers (most popular routes are Turin and Grenoble), hook clients up with value-for-money ski hire (or any other equipment needed), book restaurants, recommend childcare, ... she's an in-resort contact for anyone thinking of having a ski holiday in Serre Chevalier.

Ski lessons in English, Serre Chevalier

Quick Profile: Gavin Crosby

Gavin is a ski instructor in Serre Chevalier. He has been teaching skiing for more than 18 years and more recently also trains and examines aspiring ski instructors for BASI.

His company EurekaSKI Ltd offers ski coaching and group lessons (3-6 skiers) for all ages and abilities. Clients get priority in lift queues and off-piste skiers are provided with avalanche safety equipment and training free of charge e.g. transceiver, rucksack, shovel and probe. All lessons are paid for in Sterling.

Gavin's wife Mel helps his clients (and anyone looking) find accommodation, book transfers, get value for money equipment hire, ... Mel is a one-stop-shop for resort information generally! Read about Mel in a different thread.

Snow in Serre Chevalier

There was a huge sigh of relief in the Crosby household yesterday. We've been promising our little boy Ewan that more snow was on its way (since the early fall of snow in October) - and so it came... but quite a few weeks later! Snow right down in the valley, a good 20cm I would say. It was minus 3 deg C this am - come on, keep it cold! This afternoon we'll be getting the sledge and little ski gear out.

Welcome to EurekaSKI's Blog

It's late. I've just set up the Blog so please come back and read more posts which we hope to be adding daily (unless snow or the kids are keeping us otherwise entertained!) Til soon ...