The line up and schedule for the second Altitude Comedy Festival which kicks off in Meribel next week has now been announced.
The 2009 comedy line-up includes Marcus Brigstocke, Ed Byrne, Andrew Maxwell, Phil Nichol, Ardal O’Hanlon, Omid Djalili and the Comedy Store Players – all playing multiple gigs.
The Festival debuted last year and proved a successful mix of snow, sun and fun predominantly for the thousands of Brits in resort but also with French comedians performing for French speakers and even some of the British performers attempting to deliver their routines in French.
Altitude 09 kicks off with a gala performance on Saturday, 28th March and runs through to Friday April 3rd with dozens of events through the week staged daily between 11am and 3am.
Performance costs range from free-of-charge up to 25 Euros and venues from small cafes on the slopes to the resort’s biggest venues. Passes covering multiple events at a discount are also available.
Besides comedy there are plenty of live music performances with KT Tunstall headlining with a concert at the Olympic ice rink in aid of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as well as many other acts from different musical genres.
On top of the music and comedy there are fun events on the snow including races and snowball fights. The more serious British Land National Ski Championships, boarder cross and big air competitions are also taking place during the festival.
The festival is keen to be green, with founder comedian Marcus Brigstocke a passionate campaigner on climate change. One euro is donated to the WWF for every ticket sold.
An annual study of lift ticket prices from more than 600 ski areas in 40 countries worldwide has provided some statistics to back up trends most skiers have been aware of throughout the season.
The findings are published in the eighth edition of the World Ski Lift Ticket Price Report (2009) which converts six-day, high-season ticket prices published in 20 different currencies in to US dollars, European Euros and British pounds to allow for international comparison.
The Study found huge fluctuations in cost depending on where the skier lived and to which country they were travelling, compared to last year.
The change in price depending on where you live was reflected in the world average price, which for people in the Euro-zone increased by 4.9% from 174.33 to 182.90 Euros but for US citizens decreased by 8.5% from 258.00 to 236.00 Dollars. Brits fared the worst with six-day ticket costs up on average from £130.75 to £168.98 because of the weak pound – an increase of nearly 30% on average.
The price changes of course reflect currency fluctuations rather than price increases in resort and vary according to destination with prices to most European nations and Canada lower than to Japan, Switzerland and the US due to the strong Yen, Franc and Dollar.
After five or six years of a weakening US Dollar, Swiss Franc and a longer period of a weak Yen, the changes seem to indicate, for the time being at least, a return to cost differentials in the 1990s when the US was clearly the most expensive in the world and Switzerland the most expensive in Europe.
But it’s not that simple. Although Swiss headline prices are high, families may find skiing there cheaper than elsewhere in Europe because the country has the most generous child discounts with free places at many resorts until children are aged 8 or 9 (compared to 4 or 5 elsewhere) and then 50% off until aged 16 or 18 (a third off to 11 or 12 and full adult price from 12 or 13 elsewhere).
Similarly, although US headline prices are high, most resorts offer very flexible prices with much lower prices outside peak periods and further discounts for online, advance or package purchases.
That said, Report findings included 8 of the world’s top ten most expensive tickets are offered by ski resorts in Colorado, and 19 out of 20 were in the US.
Deer Valley in Utah sold the world’s first $600+ ticket ($602) for Xmas/New Year week this season.
An average six day US resort peak-season lift ticket cost of $408 is exactly double the average French ski resort peak season cost of $204 dollars.
The Matterhorn Ski Paradise which links Zermatt in Switzerland and Cervinia in Italy has leapt back up to the position it held six year’s ago as Europe’s most expensive at about £255 for six days, although the previous title holder, the French Mont Blanc regional pass that includes Chamonix and a dozen other passes at £230 for adults remains the more expensive for children.
The tiny principality of Andorra, once famous as a budget destination, now has Europe’s highest average lift ticket price at $245.
The lowest priced six day pass in the world was found at Iran’s Tochal ski area near Tehran with a $51 cost.
The weak British pound means skiing in Scotland is currently 20% cheaper for Americans.
On the upside for Brits, the Australian and New Zealand dollars are doing even worse than the pound meaning skiing in the southern hemisphere this year is the best value it has been for many years with prices down 10-15% on average.
Spain’s leading resort, Sierra Nevada, will offer half price ski tickets after the Easter holidays and have announced that the season will last for an extra fortnight to at least mid-May because of all the snow.
The resort, Europe’s most southerly, currently has five metres (17 feet) of snow on its slopes and 100km (63 miles) of piste open. The discounted lift pass will be available from April 20th to May 15th.
Other Spanish ski resorts are almost as well endowed and have between 170cm (six feet) and 260cm (12 feet) of snow.
