There's no business like snow business!

Happy New Year! I hope you all have your 'pencils sharpened' and are ready for the term ahead!

Firstly the answer to the little puzzle I set you before the holidays.... Why should Santa relocate and where should he relocate to? The answer is that he should relocate to Kyrgyzstan in order to optimise the efficiency of delivering Christmas presents. The explanation is here.

Secondly, as many of you are aware, I spent Christmas amidst the snow of the French Alps in the Three Valleys area. One of the resorts of the Three valleys is Val Thorens which advertises itself as the highest ski resort in Europe. (The resort is at 2300m). Below is a photo I took looking down on Val Thorens from Cime Caron (3240m) on Christmas Day (it certainly beats cleaning sprouts and stuffing a turkey!). The highest peak on the skyline is Mont Blanc.

The history of Val Thorens is that it was created as a year round ski resort back in the 1970s. Summer skiing was possible then on the glacier below..... (spot the ice and erratics!)

Over the last 30 years, however, the glacier has receded to the point that summer skiing is no longer possible. However, because of its altitude, Val Thorens still has a very long skiing season. Despite this, poor snow in lower resorts in recent years meant that skiers were becoming increasingly cautious - even about booking up for Val T. As a result, to combat the bad press of global warming, they have launched a 'snow guarantee' , promising 70% of all pistes open from 25th December until the 1st May, or your money (for lift passes) back! In the 32 year history of the resort there has never been a shortage of snow between those days so they are not taking too much of a gamble and a lready it is proving to be a clever way of attracting advance bookings for the late season from March onwards.

You can read more about Val Thorens and its snow guarantee here.