Wengen Video plus Think Courmayeur, Chamonix, Cervinia and Soelden

Fall is waning, the Cascades are turning white and thoughts are turning to skiing. It is a time to reflect on the 2009 trip and look ahead to 2010.

First, Kim Kaiser, the consumate trip cinematographer, put together a wonderful video for the 2009 travelers. A short version of the video is available on You Tube, thanks to the efforts of producer Steve Sanford. To view the seven minute video, entitled "Wengen Short 0001," click here.

For details on the 2010 trip click on Ski Masters Euro Trip website.

Here is description of the 2010 trip in the trip director's own words:

Not for 25 years has Ski Masters Euro Trips visited so many ski areas in one trip! During our 2010 excursion, we will visit Courmayeur, Italy, a charming upscale Italian town with access to a remarkable array of premier European ski resorts. Taking advantage of this excellent location, we have our deluxe private coach for the entire week, allowing us to conveniently visit several nearby premier ski areas. We will not only ski Courmayeur, but also Chamonix, France and Cervinia, Italy, which offers easy access to Zermatt, Switzerland as well.

Our second week takes us to Soelden, Austria, where three peaks over 3000 meters beckon us into the vast skiing wonderland of this popular resort. World renowned for its year‐round skiing and magnificent views, Soelden provides extensive slopes for all levels of skiers.

Whether you ski, shop, or sightsee, the 2010 Ski Master Euro Trip promises to be an opportunity to experience European ski resorts in four countries!

Alpe d'Huez France; Second Stop in 2009

After 25 years of European ski trips you would think Ski Masters would run out of new places to go. Not so. For 2009 Claudeen Lyle has added Alpe d'Huez to the itinerary. I can't pronounce it but it sounds like a wonderful area. Here is the scoop on the place, compiled from web sources:

Alpe d'Huez is often overlooked when people think about French resorts, which is a shame as it has all the attractions of doorstep skiing in modern apartments combined with a picturesque old town.

These two areas drift seamlessly into one another with lifts going up in a 360-degree pattern, while a clanking people mover, like a string of dustbins dangling from a wire, connects through the middle.

Alpe d'Huez sits at the top of the most famous stretch of road in the Tour de France, 21 hairpin bends over 14km (9 miles) at a height which tends to counter the effects of the south-facing slopes.

The 245km (152 miles) of runs go up to a glacier and down to a couple of old villages, with much in between for everyone from ski-together families to experts.

Mountain facts
· Resort elevation: 1,860m (6,100ft).
· Top elevation: 3,320m (10,890ft).
· Base elevation: 1,120m (3,670ft).
· Number of lifts: 84.
· Number of runs: 123.
· Average annual snowfall: 7.6m (26ft).

Where in the world?
Alpe d'Huez is situated in the Grandes Rousses mountains in the French Alps, high above the Oisans Valley.

Hit the slopes
The main slopes run in a long line across the resort, the bottom runs ideal for beginners. But go higher and you can find far more - the Sarenne run from the top of the glacier, at 16km (10 miles) the longest black run in Europe, or the off-piste terrain from the glacier which funnels through the legendary Tunnel on to the front face and more steep powder.

Intermediates can cruise for miles, taking long sweeping runs down to the villages of Vaujany, Oz and others. Even only moderate skiers can take the gondolas which criss-cross the slopes, leading to a feeling of achievement. The Signal and Signal de l'Homme areas, almost self-contained, are good for family excursions.

The lift pass also includes skiing in Les Deux Alpes and Serre Chevalier, trips frequently arranged by package tour reps.

Beyond the slopes
Your lift pass also includes entry to the magnificent outdoor swimming pool and Olympic-size skating rink, as well as the exceptional sports centre with indoor and outdoor pools, tennis, squash, climbing wall, golf range and more. You can parapente (parachute off the mountain with an instructor), and try ice driving along with more usual pursuits such as tobogganing.

Resort Facts
Green Runs (Beginner): 31%
Resort Height (m): 1860m
Blue Runs (Easy): 26%
Total Piste: 245 km
Red Runs (Medium): 28%
Lifts: 84
Black Runs (Hard): 14%
Ski Pass (approx.): 192 Euro

Activities
Indoor
Tennis, Squash, Gym, Aerobics, Swimming, Shooting Range, Climbing Wall, Concerts, Cinemas, Library, Museum
Outdoor
Ice Rink, Curling, Walking Paths (cleared), Tobogganing, Snow-shoeing, Microlight Flights, Sightseeing Flights, Ice Cave, Off-Road Vehicle Tours, Hang-Gliding, Paragliding, Ice Driving School, Snowmobiles, Quad-Bikes

About the Resort
"Alpe d'Huez has been growing, since 1936, at 1869 meters above sea level Grandes Rousses massif south face. The Pic Blanc, reaching 3330 meters at it highest point, offer an impressive and reviving panorama, ranked 3 stars in Guide Michelin.

At 1 hour from Grenoble, and only 4 hours from Paris or Geneva, Alpe d'Huez is a multiple activities area to share between family and friends.

In addition to its sportshop, ready-to-wear shops, grocery stores, bars and restaurants proposing, for some, Oisans specialities : crozets, farcis, ganafles, gratin dauphinois, triees, caillettes, and more, Alpe d'Huez has equipped itself with structures completing the site and giving to holidaymaker indoor or outdoor, sport or cultural activities.

For the day after you have finished skiing there are a number of restaurants and bars to keep you entertained throughout the night whatever your taste in cuisine or night life!" - Alpe d'Huez

For snow report, click here.

Lenore Speaks; Ski Europe, the Early Years

SKI MASTERS EUROPE TRIPS – 1982 to the present.

Shall we call it a Movement, or a Dream that took on a life of its own? In the late 1970’s, as owner and Director of Ski Master Ski School I started to put together ski trips after ski school was over for the season in an effort to inspire my staff of instructors to ski other areas and get “really excited” about skiing, ergo, they will become more inspired and effective ski instructors. We went en masse to Sun Valley, Park City and Jackson Hole. Immediately, many students in the school got wind of our plans and wanted to join. Hooray, we had a viable project! We had so much fun and expanded our horizons.

The next year I was invited as the President of the Northwest Division of the Professional Ski Instructors of America to be part of a group that represented our Division of the National Organization at a Ski Instructors Exchange with Austria. At that time 65% of Austria’s gross national product was tourism. They had recently come off of hosting the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. They had devised this “Exchange” to promote skiing in Austria. It fell on very fertile ground! Besides having the privilege of being hosted in grand fashion to get acquainted with Austria and its wonderful people and its great variety of ski areas, it made me feel like I would be comfortable escorting a group to this friendly country and their fabulous skiing possibilities. I was able to make contacts with their travel bureau called the “Tirolerlandesreiseburo”. (If they could live with that name and be a success, they must be competent – and they were.)

Thus, our first ”Ski Masters European Ski Trip” evolved. “Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread”. 108 people signed up for our first adventure! Our destination was St. Anton, Austria where we transferred our group in three buses and accommodated them in three hotels. Our second week was in Innsbruck, Austria where we took over an entire hotel, The Rotor Adler. It was like a European fraternity house! What memories we have of those two weeks! More to come.

Lenore Lyle, Owner and Director Emeritus of Ski Masters Ski School, Inc and Ski Masters Europe Trips

Ski Masters European Ski Magic

For nearly three decades the Lyle family has been leading groups of hardy skiers on European ski trips. The popularity of the trips is legend. Guests often sign up over a year in advance; often before the destination is even announced. When the trip begins they endure a nine hour flight in seats designed for children, long bus rides and languages and currencies they don’t understand for the privilege of skiing in a foreign country.

Why on earth would they do that? If they just wanted a foreign country Canada is just two hours away. Why would they send in checks to go on a tour to an unknown destination 14 months before the trip even begins? Why would they go at all? After all, there are plenty of wonderful ski areas in the USA that are easier to get to, have better snow and grooming and where they speak English.

This site has been created to answer that question. Ron, Lenore and Claudeen Lyle have created a travel experience that defies description. The trip is more than skiing. It’s about people, places, relationships, food, cultures, history and, oh yes, skiing. It’s about friends and fun.

This site is for those who have been on the trips in the past and those that might want to go in the future. We will explore the history of the trips; the why did Lyles do it in the first place. We will hear tales from those that have gone before. The veteran travelers will laugh and smile when they conjure up their memories of the trip. This is their site.

Have you been on the trip? Do you have a story to tell? Send it in and we will share it. Just e-mail your recollections to Steve Dennis at rosemont.partners@comcast.net and he will post them to the site. Then come back often and read the tales. They will likely trigger another memory for you and you will write again.

Read, enjoy and “think snow.”