For the first time the Tour de France is coming to the Swiss mountain resort of Verbier as the 15th stage of the tour is scheduled to finish late in the afternoon in Verbier on Sunday 19th July, following a 700m, 8.5km elevation between Le Chable and Verbier during the final ascent.

Telluride Ski Resort made a proposal to the Town of Mountain Village earlier this month to build an outdoor summer amphitheatre on its slopes. The facility would host summer and fall concerts, along with other festivals and events, during daytime and nighttime.

The road from Chamonix to Verbier passes over the Col des Montets and into Vallorcine, the last village before the Swiss border. The 21st century has made two inroads into this peaceful backwater, a gondola link into the Le Tour ski area at the head of the Chamonix valley and L’Ours Bleu, an expensive development that is proving popular with British buyers. Soon Vallorcine will change for ever, but not yet.

A weekend of festivities marked the official launch of Bansko’s summer season, including the  traditional Between Three Mountains outdoor concert and folklore singing and dancing, as well as a sumptuous food festival.

This summmer when you are planning your vacation and looking for things to do and places to hike or mountain bike, don’t forget your favorite ski resort. Make it a point to check the web sites of your local ski resorts and your favorite destination resorts as you may be pleasantly surprised at all the features many resorts offer during the summer and early fall seasons.

New Hampshire’s Cranmore Mountain ski area will welcome visitors to its slopes this summer with an expansion of their popular tubing operation to open July 1 on Neveplast matting, designed to simulate the sensation of tubing on snow. The tubing park will be offered along with Fun Zone activities, including bouncy house, disc golf and other fun and games for families.