Only mountains with MERLION are better than simply mountains

"Merlion travel club" continues to reward its best partners with interesting tours. This time MERLION travelers conquered Olympian routes of Switzerland and even summits of unique Dolomite Alps. The most active partners, which showed best results in the purchase of Dell's equipment, traveled to the St. Moritz ski resort (Switzerland). And then there was a series of unique trips: this time MERLION marked on the map of the "travel club" a picturesque French city Chamonix, fashionable Austrian Saalbach and also famous Italian resorts Cervinia and Cortina. IT fans from different Russian cities went for the trips. The biggest number of active winter recreation lovers among IT industry workers is in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan, Perm and south Makhachkala, according to the geographic data of the project participants.

St. Moritz (Switzerland)
The first trip to one of the most prestigious resorts started under the auspices of Dell. Navigators of the route were representatives of the company Kholodok, Artyom, distributors manager, and Omelchenko Aleksandr, servers and data storage devices manager. It was St. Moritz which was chosen to be the site of a visiting session of Dell's adventurers club "Snow Summits" during which an informal meeting with partners and MERLION was held.

St. Moritz is sometimes called "Top of the World" and it deserves this name. And all this thanks to its unique environmental conditions: stable snow mantle, settled weather and crystal air. St. Moritz it is not just long routes with a sudden change of heights – from 1850 to 3300 m - but it is also an ideal place for active winter recreation. Walking on a frozen lake, skating, musical festivals, freestyle sporting contests, hot springs, all of it is offered in this fantastic Swiss town. After the arrival, all the participants divided into 3 groups - professionals, advanced and beginners. MERLION trip members were racing throughout the mountains on skis, snowboards and toboggans. Professionals conquered the summits of Corviglia, Corvatsch, Diavolezza and even went through some Olympian routes. Every evening the trip participants shared their experiences and photos with each other, enjoyed refined original cuisine and local wines.

Chamonix (France)

Symantec, Microsoft, VWware and Veeam sponsored the trip to the homeland of skiing, French resort Chamonix. The first destination of the route made by MERLION through the Alps was Geneva where an excursion was organized for the project participants which included the most famous places of interest. Chamonix is the parent of the winter sport, because here, at the end of the 19th century, skis were invented. The Best of Alps or Mecca of Mountaineering - this is how Chamonix is called sometimes. Such names are deserved - it is situated near the highest summit in Western Europe, Mont Blanc. In Chamonix, every participant of the trip found its own summit to conquer. Unmatched landscapes, clean mountain air and vernal sun all ensured best conditions for them. Every evening IT travelers were planning future mutually beneficial cooperation and conquest of new business summits.

Saalbach-Hinterglemm (Austria)

The trip to Italy under the flags of Tripp Lite, QNAP and Netgear was led by the employees of sponsor companies.
Vendors team were represented in the small mountain country by:Rubanenko Maksim, key clients and partners manager (Tripp Lite), Pudova Tatiana, marketing director, Minayev Sergei, development director (ONAP) and also Vasilyev Sergei, regional manager (Northwestern Federal District) and Tyapayev Denis, key partners manager (Netgear).

One of the biggest sports region in Austria, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, is called "ski circus" for the diversity of slopes and abundance of skiing routes to fit every taste: extreme and almost flat, even and broad, sunny on south slopes and shady on north slopes. Mountain slopes of the perfect Austrian quality together with a vernally warm sun and a warm company of people left unforgettable memories to every participant of the trip. After the arrival to the Munich airport (Germany) the group made an easy trip to Austria. Participants of the trip highly appraised the wonder of the engineering thought - famous German autobahns and comfortable Austrian roads.

Not only experienced skier went to conquer the mountains of Austria but also beginners. Thanks to a local instructor, they successfully made their first ski trips. And although all the students in the beginning could hardly fasten their boots, next day these beginners were seen not only at starter routes but also at slopes of advanced difficulty.

The indispensable attribute of skiing is the so-called "apres-ski" principle, which means rest and recreation after a hard day.
Apres-ski in a broad sense refers not just to traditional hot drinks (beer, punch and mulled wine) between the rides but also to all the life in the resort after an active skiing. Many mountain cafes offer not just drinks but also provide a unique atmosphere, uniting the people interested in the skiing world and wishing to make the recreation joyful for themselves and others. This is what attracts to Austria many fans of active winter recreation. Our participants are no exception. Members of the skiing IT-trip were particularly impressed by open-air parties in the center of Saalbach, which made it one of the most clubbing resort in Europe.

The trip ended in visiting Munich on the day when the group was returning to Moscow. Participants were able not just to taste famous classic dishes of the German cuisine and drink a jug of beer in a legendary Bavarian beer hall Hofbräuhaus, but also to visit some most famous places of interest and various shopping malls of the city.

Cervinia (Italy)

Sapphire and Panasonic invited their best 2011 partners to Cervinia. On the first day, the official part of the trip started - Panasonic conference. Yevgeny Karpov, head of the marketing and planning group of telecommunications department and Yevgeny Lobanov, purchase manager, spoke at the conference. Speakers presented telecommunications products of Panasonic and told about the market of printers and laser MFPs and also presented a product range of Panasonic MFP for 2012. Partners did not let speakers go for along time, asking them topical questions. Business program ended in individual meetings with the representatives of the organizing company. There are routes of all difficulties in Cervinia ski resort, from continuous panoramic slopes to adrenal black routes. Skiing in Breuil-Cervinia, Valtournenche and Zermatt is the pleasure beyond time, borders and visa obligations, as well as the ski zone itself which connects two states (Italy and Switzerland). The group spent all their on slopes, refining their skills of skiing and snowboarding. Route participants even climbed to the top of famous Matterhorn mountains (3 899 m). Reputed Italian cuisine also played a decent part in the program of the trip, national pizza and pasta left no one indifferent. Every night Sapphire kept on their gastronomic research of Italian dainties in local restaurants. Participants of the ski trip had a chance to visit Milan - to enjoy vernal sun, beauty of the cathedral (Duomo di Milano), castle Sforza and famous theater "La Scala". The trip participants became so close that, after they returned to Moscow, they later met again in a warm setting of a Moscow restaurant.

Cortina (Italy)

Last stage of MERLION tour to conquer mountain summits was the trip to an Italian grand ski resort Cortina D'Ampezzo.
MERLION planned the route together with Allied Telesis. Sponsor's team was represented during the route by Belsky Yuri, head of Allied Telesis representation office in Russia and CIS countries, and Melchakov Aleksei, solutions sale manager.

Trip organizers prepared the participants thoroughly: before they could start conquering mountain tops, IT-adventurers had to try their abilities in reaching the top of an intellectual Olympus. That's why the first day of the trip was devoted to a non-standard official part, which was conducted as a trivia contest. All the participants divided into three groups and chose questions from different categories in turns. A team received points for right answers which corresponded to the difficulty of the question. Every question was accompanied by a short commentary from Allied Telesis representatives. After the trivia, the winning team was rewarded with memorable prizes.

After the intellectual training, next day the group went on to conquer so-called Dolomite Alps, which are listed among UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2009. The trip to Venice made the tour especially colorful. In Venice our travelers were able to get to know Italy from a different side. Participant spent the day going through sunny streets and water canals of the city. The group spent their last day in the "ski heaven" (that is how Italians call Cortina) improving their skills of skiing and snowboarding. Take part in marketing programs of MERLION and we guarantee that you will conquer new summits!

And to those, who have already reached the top, we suggest not to lie on your oars but to go ahead!