Where to Ski And Snowboard - Launched! New edition of the skier’s bible

Launched! New edition of the skier’s bible

14th September 2010, by Wendy King

Books at the launch in London

Monday 6 September was our big day in London – the launch of Where to Ski and Snowboard 2011. And not even a tube strike could stop us enjoying our party.

Are we jinxed? It was the third time that a rail strike has fallen on the same day as our book launch. Wind and rain was forecast too; it duly arrived. But our guests came armed with brollies and the determination to have a good time.

And we had an excellent turnout to introduce the 15th edition of our wonderful ski resort guidebook, over 100 guests made it along. Joining us on party duties this year was editor Gill’s daughter Laura – taking the evening off from student studies to help us out with the guest arrivals, books etc.

The launch is usually the first big social gathering of the new season, so we welcomed journalists, tour operators and tourist office representatives – some of whom joined us for their first time, and many of whom travelled a long way to meet us. There were representatives from resorts in Switzerland, Italy, Canada and France, alongside major tour operators and independent groups.

The focus, of course, was the new edition of the book; everyone keen to get hold of their copy – or multiple copies in some cases! Even in a high-tech world of online media, there is a strong market for a good, detailed and informative guidebook.

Here are just a few comments arriving as orders go out:

‘Thanks for another great copy of the book,’ Reader 2011 edition

‘Can’t wait …eager to get my hands on it and start dreaming of this years skiing,’ Reader 2011 edition

‘A big thank you for the new copy which has safely arrived,’ Reader 2011 edition

This year, we have new (or extended) chapters on resorts in Austria, Italy, the French Pyrenees, Spain and Slovenia. What they have in common is that they feature in our new list of 50 resorts with prices below average in our Resort Price Survey – which means that are the cheapest options for eating and drinking costs on the mountains. All of this is a great basis for finding affordable fun on your winter holidays, and let’s face it most holidaymakers are keeping an eye on their spending these days.

The evening progressed well, with the editors giving short speeches on the new bits of the book and introducing guest speakers from Switzerland Tourism and the Association of Snowsports Countries.

We co-hosted the evening with the ASC, also promoting their ‘Fresher’s Ski Weeks’ – a marvellous opportunity for complete beginners to learn to ski for free – and with retail outfit TK Maxx, who have some great low-cost ski gear to offer next season (we’ll be posting separate items about this).

While the formal party ended by 9pm, many of us continued snowy discussions in a nearby pub … reluctant to end another super evening.

Here’s our recent news item about the book.

Where to Ski and Snowboard 2011 is published by NortonWood Publishing and complemented by this website. The book cover price is £18.99 but it is available to buy online, at a discount, through our ‘Buy the Book’ web pages on the site, from £16.99 including p&p.