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The Ski Season of 2012/2013 is Over - Now What?

Learn a Language , Go Outside and Get Ready for Summer

featured in News & reviews Author Sophie Nicholson, Tignes Editor Updated

If last weekend’s unexpected dump of snow is anything to go by, winter may well still pay another visit to us here in the Alps but to all intents and purposes we can consider the ski season of 2012/2013 is pretty much over. Deep breath. Sleep for a week…. then what?

If you’re anything like us, you’ll have spent the last 6 months utterly consumed by all things snowy and when it all finally comes to an end you can be left in a real state of limbo. Your friends have left, your favourite bars and restaurants have closed, it’s not quite warm enough to swim in the lake and the place is covered in roadworks. It’s safe to say that nothing says tumbleweed quite like an out of season mountain town so what are you going to do? Summer will be here sooner than you think so instead of spending the next 6 weeks flopping around resort like an amoeba, we thought we’d give you some ideas of how to make the most of the period known locally as the ‘interseason’.

If you want to be super productive then why not sign up for a language course? While most local businesses shut down for the month of May, local language schools really crank up the activity giving locals and visitors alike the opportunity to enhance their French language skills and with it, their employment prospects. It is well worth knowing that if you are employed on a French contract or have a French registered business and if you pick a registered language training provider, then you should be eligible for a training budget to cover the cost of lessons. There are numerous language schools based in the main hubs across the Alps offering a range of courses including intensive sessions, weekly lessons, conversation classes, private tuition and tailor made courses.

In Chamonix, INSTED will be running tailor made and private classes this month until their intensive and semi-intensive courses start on the 17th of June. Classes run all through the summer and the intensive courses are scheduled to give students time to learn French in the morning and explore the mountains in the afternoon. They also offer semi intensive evening courses. All their teachers are French natives and hold a Masters Degree to teach French to foreigners. If you want to sign up for their summer courses, now is the time to get your application in.

Over in the Portes du Soleil, Morzine based Lost in Translation run a wide range of year round lessons throughout the local area from Chatel to Samoens. And for the first time this summer, they are also able to offer accommodation for any student not based in the local area. All their lessons are taught by qualified, experienced native speakers and focus on speaking and listening skills.

Across the border in Switzerland, the Verbier Language School also have some new packages in their product line up – the VLS Experience (language camps for corporates and adults) and the VLS Energy (language camps for children) where students spend the mornings studying and the afternoons doing activities in the language the language being learned. While the new camps don’t kick off until June, the VLS will be running their weekly French classes starting from the 13th of May.

So once you’ve mastered the local language, it’s time to get immersed in the landscape and May is a great time to get out and try some local activities before the summer hordes hit town. What is so great about spending time in the Alps is that there’s always loads of stuff to do in the outdoors even outside of the peak holiday months. You can always get out rock climbing, on a Via Ferrata, take a last minute ski touring trip, go cross country mountain biking, road biking, hiking and even sign up for a guided photography walk if you're in Chamonix. Admittedly a lot of mountain based activity companies may well be on holiday at this time of year, so if you are looking for a ‘guided’ outdoor experience it’s always worth checking in with them to see what they might be able to come up with. If you’re looking specifically for a mountaineering or climbing experience, see if you can book a day with a mountain guide who will know exactly which routes are safe and in condition at this time of year.

Last but not least, this is a great time of year for preparation. Whether you’re a biker looking to take on a cyclosportif or downhill event, a climber looking to move up the grades, a trail runner aiming to get your times right down, or you’ve got plans to tackle a 4,000m peak this summer – the interseason is your time to get in shape, get your kit sorted, and give yourself the best chance of reaching your goals this summer. So get your bikes serviced, sign up for a yoga class, do some pull-ups, treat yourself to some new kit, get exploring your local trails and take another deep breath – the summer of 2013 is just around the corner and it’s going to be the best yet.

Ride, hike, run, fly and climb on…..