Global Ski Report: November Brings Early Season Deals and Openings

Méribel (tel.+(4) 79 08 60 01; www.meribel.net), part of France's expansive Trois Vallées (Three Valleys) cluster of interlinked ski resorts, has installed a new high-speed chairlift to replace the slow-moving, fixed-grip Golf lift from Méribel Village to the Altiport area. There, summer slope improvements and reconfiguration opens up this popular, high-traffic area. North American visitors, who are accustomed to clear on-slope signage, will be cheered by the continuation of the resort's new sign program, concentrating on directional banners at the junction of ski runs. How many of us have ended up a valley away from our intended destination in huge Alpine ski regions!

Elsewhere in the Three Valleys, the highest resort, Val Thorens (tel. +(33) 4 79 00 08 08; www.valthorens.com) has created a new 100-acre beginner area equipped with four new roof-covered magic carpets. The new area will provide first-class facilities for first timers, but also improves access to the Cascades chairlift serving more green and easy blue slopes.

For a real change of pace book a night or more in one of eight Iglu-Villages (tel. +(41) 41 612 27 28; www.iglu-dorf.com) in Europe (Davos, Klosters, Engelberg-Titlis, Gstaad, St. Moritz and Zermatt, Switzerland; Zugspitze near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and Andorra). These seasonal structures built of ice blocks and snow feature surprisingly warm sleeping accommodations, indoor bathrooms, and an improbably romantic ambiance. The Iglu Villages are scheduled to operate from Christmas to April.

Recession. What recession? The Tschuggen Grand Hotel (tel. +(41) 81 378 99 99; www.tschuggen.ch/en) in Arosa, Switzerland, debuts a private funicular that speeds twelve guests at a time from the five-star hostelry up to the ski slopes in just 2½ minutes. And did we mention that the two cabins are outfitted with leather seats so that those 2½ minutes pass in comfort?

Spanish Resort Adds New Sixpack Chair

North Americans don't think of Spain as a ski destination in the same league as the Alpine countries, but our friends on the other side of the Atlantic do. Masella (tel. +(34) 972 890 078; www.masella.com) has added a six-passenger chairlift, the Pia Express serving new terrain called the Pia-1700m Zone with five new runs, largely snowmaking-equipped. Masalla shares a lift pass and is interlinked with neighboring La Molina.

New Zealand's largest ski area, Mt. Ruapehu (tel. +(64) 6 385 8456; www.mtruapehu.com) is aiming for another distinction by planning to extend its season to November 8 at the Turoa sector. That will rank it the longest season in the Southern Hemisphere, whose counter-seasonality generally has ski areas shutting down in September or the first half of October.

World Ski & Ride Guide Published

In addition to getting ski resort information online, some people still like to have a printed guided to leaf through. The 600-page 2010 Ski & Snowboard Guide (www.wheretoski.co.uk/2010) has been completed revised and updated, yet it features the star ratings for resorts and their components. How good is the resort for beginners, experts, families and the like. Published in the U.K., it is available through www.amazon.com.

Talk with fellow Frommer's travelers in our Winter Sport Forum today.