November 2021

Ski Resorts

Spanish Resort Expands Into Third Valley

The Spanish ski resort of Cerler, which is celebrating 50 years sine opening this year, will expand its ski area in to a third valley, Castanesa, this season. The new lift, one of Doppelmayr’s efficient D-Line models and able to carry 1,800 skiers per hour (expandable to 2,400), will open up four new runs and take Cerler’s total ski area size up to 80km. The new Castanesa lift climbs 352 vertical metres from 2,043m to 2,395m altitude giving access to the one blue, two red and one black new runs. 18 new snowmaking cannons have been installed along them. However, the new lift it is just the first of the resort’s planned expansion which will see three more new chairlifts…

Snowhunter 28th November 2021

Lifestyle

New Welsh Outdoor Centre With Major Dry Ski Slope Moves Forward

Plans for what has, in previous incarnations, been priced at a £200 million year-round leisure resort development in the Afan Valley of South Wales have been granted conditional planning approval. Originally unveiled as the Afan Valley Leisure Resort project in spring 2017, the centre was originally slated to offer a range of outdoor sports including white water rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking and what was billed as “the world’s largest artificial downhill ski slope” on 130 hectares of former forestry plantation land on the southern slopes of the River Afan Valley. People would stay in one of 600 lodges and flats or a proposed hotel with facilities also including a spa and restaurants The planned opening year was originally 2021.…

Snowhunter 26th November 2021

Technique / Safety

Covid Regulations For Hitting the Slopes in France

Ski areas are opening for the 21-22 season across the Alps. Something that didn’t happen this time last year in countries like France, Germany and Italy. So far so good, except for the hopefully quick lockdown in Austria anyway, but each ski nation has different rules as to what they require of skiers and boarders to get on the slopes. And the rules keep changing depending on local infection levels from one week to the next. In Italy you need to show proof of vaccination, recovery from infection or of a recent negative test result. In Germany you can now only ski if you’re vaccinated or recovered from as recent infection, having a negative test result is no longer enough,…

Snowhunter 25th November 2021

Uncategorised

WORLD SNOW ROUNDUP #218

Issued: 24 November 2021 By Patrick "Snowhunter" Thorne European RoundupNorth American RoundupAsia Roundup WORLD OVERVIEW It was a key weekend in the start of the 2021-22 season on Saturday as we went from dozens of ski areas having opened to over a hundred now operating as many more open for their seasons in Asia, Europe and North America. For quite a few of them, particularly in France, Germany and Italy, it is quite an emotional event as for most it is their first season start for two years, having lost last winter to COVID lockdowns. But, sadly, COVID lockdowns are back with Austria, which had been leading the way with the most ski areas open in the world, announcing a 20-day…

MarcD 24th November 2021

RoundupsSki Resorts

Dolomiti Superski Unveils Ride-On-The-Roof Cable Car

Italy’s Dolomiti Superski resort has become the latest to unveil a cable car with an ‘outdoor balcony’ where users can stand and ride up in the open air if they wish. Describing the new lift at Carezza as “a one-of-a-kind convertible cable car,” Dolomiti Superski say it is nearly 4km long, climbs 644 vertical metres in seven minutes connecting San Cipriano with Fromm Alm and has a capacity of 60 people. Those on the ‘balcony’ will have an uninterrupted view of the stunning scenery of the Catinaccio. DACHSTEIN NEUE PANORAMAGONDEL 18.5.2013 FOTO. HEINZ WEEBER The lift is believed to be the third of its kind following similar installations on cable cars at the Dachstein glacier in Austria (above) and on…

Snowhunter 22nd November 2021

RoundupsSki Resorts

NZ Ski Area Plans to Double in Size Thanks to 230m Long Tunnel

One of New Zealand’s fastest growing ski areas has ambitions to become one of the country’s largest too. The operators of The Remarkables ski area, NZSki, have announced plans to bore a 230 metre long skier’s tunnel in order to access a whole new valley of skiing and more than double the resort’s available terrain. The tunnel, to be created near the top of the Curvey Basin chairlift, would provide access to backcountry terrain in an area behind the existing ski area and known as The Doolans. A 1.4-kilometre long chairlift would be constructed within the new terrain which would add more than 500 hectare’s to the resort’s existing 385 hectares to grow it to 900 hectares (2,224 acres). NZSki…

Snowhunter 20th November 2021

Lifestyle

Snowboard, Skateboard & Surf On The Same Day in Switzerland

A group that has runs an indoor freestyle multi-sports hall in the Swiss ski resort of Crans Montana, and which has recently added a surf park to its attractions is to take over the resort’s snowpark this winter, raising the possibility of its clients being able to snowboard, surfboard and skateboard on the same day. One of the company’s founders described it as a “childhood dream.” From the start of the winter season, the Alaïa group, in collaboration with the company Helvepark and its main partner Tudor, will be taking over the management of Crans-Montana’s Snowpark. Following the opening in May of Alaïa Bay in Sion and Alaïa Wake Surf in Le Bouveret, the young Valais start-up organisation has signed…

Snowhunter 19th November 2021

Technique / Safety

Ischgl Spend €700K On Pandemic Safety Measures

Ischgl, the Austrian ski area which is caught up in an ongoing mass legal action focussed on whether the resort and/or wider Austrian authorities acted quickly enough to prevent spread at the start of the pandemic in early 2020, says its Silvrettaseilbahn AG lift company has spared no effort before the season to ensure the safest possible start to the winter and have invested around 700,000 euros in safety and hygiene measures. Initiatives include new camera and software systems are being used to optimise the queuing areas on the three feeder lifts from resort. This means that waiting times can be passed on to guests in real time as valuable information via the iSki Ischgl app. Extensive disinfection measures are…

Snowhunter 17th November 2021

Uncategorised

WORLD SNOW ROUNDUP #217

Issued: 17 November 2021 By Patrick "Snowhunter" Thorne European RoundupNorth American RoundupAsia Roundup WORLD OVERVIEW At least a dozen more ski areas have opened over the past week in the Northern Hemisphere, taking the count of areas operating past 50. Individual resorts opening in Austria, Switzerland and the USA takes the total number of areas open in each to double-figures. The weather, however, has not held much excitement for skiers in the past seven days. True, there have been some small to moderate snowfalls on mountains across Europe and western North America but it has still been too warm to make much progress towards opening in many areas, with North America’s East Coast remaining unseasonably warm. It’s too warm for some…

MarcD 17th November 2021

Weather

Åre Builds a Windshield For a Ski Lift Station

Strong winds are often a problem for ski lift operations at resorts the world over, but some are more prone to it than others. There are many techniques in ski area design to try to ensure that lifts can run as many days of the season as possible, with one of the simplest options being choosing a surface tow rather than an aerial lift, if possible, in an exposed location. Now Scandinavia’s leading ski resort of Åre has announced plans to make its lift network more “wind and weather safe”. One of the first parts of the plan is a new structure designed to “steer” the wind away from a major lift, the Sadelexpressen 6-seater. The new ‘wind rack’ or…

Snowhunter 16th November 2021

Gear

Make Your Own Skis

A company called First Track Lab has been building a reputation for creating prototype skis and snowboards in just a matter of hours. The company has been working with a variety of brands in the capacity of a research and development business. However this autumn the Fast Track Lab has opened its doors to regular members of the skiing public, giving everyone the chance to design their own skis! The ski creation process involves choosing the shape of your skis then taking part in two half-day sessions and discovering all the stages involved in making a ski. Budding designers can take part in each part of the manufacturing process before testing their babies out on the Verbier ski area. The…

Snowhunter 14th November 2021

Ski ResortsTechnique / SafetyTravel

Whistler Skiers Petition To Make Vaccine Certificate To Ride Lifts Mandatory

Canada appears to have the most fragmented picture of the major ski nations in terms of what one resort requires skiers to do in terms of pandemic safety and what neighbouring areas require. Some resorts in Alberta and BC are requiring all skiers and boarders over 12 years old to show proof that they are fully vaccinated or they’re not allowed on the lifts. Others will allow people to ski if they are not vaccinated but have a recent negative test. On the East Coast the 75 members of the Quebec ski resorts association have all said they will only allow fully vaccinated skiers on their slopes. In some cases the resorts are making the decision because only allowing fully…

Snowhunter 12th November 2021

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