The first snow has fallen in the NSW alpine region, two months before the official ski season. Four centimetres of snow was recorded overnight, and live snow cameras at Thredbo village showed a blanket of white on the upper slopes. “It’s great, it started early this morning and it’s still falling lightly now,” says Thredbo [...]

The thought of a winter vacation usually conjures up images of skiing down snow-capped mountains, indulging in daily après ski sessions or skating on frozen ponds in quintessential winter wonderlands like Colorado and Switzerland. However, more and more travelers are seeking snowy vacations that offer more than ubiquitous skiing, snowboarding and ice skating.

Italy is the best value country in the world for skiing, a report next week will say, with three Italian resorts making a list of the top ten cheapest skiing locations. Prices in some Italian resorts have fallen by 10 per cent over the last year as operators have started a price war to drum [...]

Off-piste skiers and snowboarders have been warned they could face medical bills of £16,000 if they are hurt on the slopes and haven’t purchased suitable travel insurance.  That is the average cost of calling out a search and rescue team in a European ski resort, according to research by Complete Ski, the insurer.

Both notions heli-hiking and heli-camping impart the expression “mountain vacations” a completely new significance. Courageous hikers and campers just hitch a ride on a helicopter to a distant place that would take days to reach instead.

One of the fastest growing hotel global companies, the Rezidor Hotel Group, reveals about the launch of the Park Inn Trysil Mountain Resort in Norway. The hotel facility, comprising 369 rooms, is planned to open in December 2011 – precisely during the ski season.

This summer, why not get rid of the sand-and-surf set and go for the hills? The resorts in mountains offer new purposes to hit the hills long after the snow has melted.