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AdventuresEnvironmentLifestyleRoundupsSki ResortsTravel

The Ski Map of the World

The biggest ever ski map, basically a ski map of the entire world, is now available online, and is looking for any skiers or boarders anywhere to help make it bigger and better still. OpenSnowMap is a community-created and maintained ski map of the world, displaying more than 150,000km of ski pistes on its website. Skiers and snowboarders can browse the map from Antarctica to Alaska, from California to Japan and look at the pistes available in each and every resort, from the smallest to the largest. The coverage goes from the incredibly dense network of nordic trails around Oslo (Norway), to the biggest Alpine resorts of the Alps, to tiny hills in small Slovenian villages. The project doesn’t ‘own’…

Snowhunter 5th March 2020
AdventuresSki Resorts

New Steepest Piste in Europe Opens in Austria

What is claimed to be the steepest groomed ski run ever opened in the Alps with a pitch of nearly 88% (more than 41 degrees) has been unveiled this weekend at Austria's Kaunertal Glacier. The Black Ibex piste pitches at up to 87.85%, which the resort's operators are keen to stress is steeper than the steepest part of the famous Streif slope used in the annual Hahnenkamm downhill races in Kitzbuhel (pictured below). The Harakiri piste above Mayrhofen has built a reputation as Austria’s steepest slope for more than a decade.  It reaches a pitch of 78% over its 375 metres of vertical. However the Lange Zug “extreme ski route” above Lech in the Arlberg, was already steeper with a…

Snowhunter 23rd February 2020 6
EnvironmentSki ResortsWeather

Australian Resort Destroyed By Bushfires Won’t Open This Winter

The Blyton Group which owns Selwyn Snow Resort in Australia’s New South Wales has announced that due to the extent of the damage sustained in the bushfires last month, the ski area will be unable to open for the 2020 snow season. However it will be rebuilt “even better”. An initial assessment of critical resort infrastructure has identified extensive damage to buildings, power, water, sewerage and snowmaking. Selwyn Snow Resort has been advised that restoration of power alone will take several months, due to the damage of several kilometres of power poles leading to the resort. Preparations for the clean-up of the site are underway with demolition of all buildings required, as well as the removal of destroyed resort machinery…

Snowhunter 23rd February 2020
Ski ResortsWeather

Best Conditions of Season So Far in Scotland

It’s the best conditions this season, and equaling the best for the past few seasons, on Scottish ski slopes at present. An online post from Nevis Range ski centre advises, “The skiing is far too good to go to work today so call in sick now!” They add that their ski patrol report that the skiing is exceptional from their morning safety inspection. Nevis Range, 13th February 2020 Up to now Scotland’s ski season has played out in a similar fashion to recent years with some good snowfalls but then temperatures rising soon afterwards so the snow largely melts away making it difficult to build a base. This time though Storm Ciara kept dumping for four days and currently it…

Snowhunter 13th February 2020 1
LifestyleRoundupsSki ResortsUncategorised

Dave McCoy, Founder of Mammoth Mountain, Dies Aged 104

Dave McCoy, one of the remaining legends from the early history of downhill skiing, and one of the biggest names in ski resort development through much of the twentieth century, has died at the age of 104. Born in 1915, McCoy’s legend include the fact that he made his first skis himself whilst still at school, and then became Californian state skiing champion aged 22. He set up his first rudimentary ski area in 1938, before hitting on the more snowsure location for Mammoth Mountain in 1942. Mammoth started with a simple home-made roadside rope tow, powered by an old truck engine, but over the next 63 years, McCoy and his wife Roma, whom he’d met in the late 1930s,…

Snowhunter 10th February 2020 1
RoundupsSki ResortsWeather

At last! Japan Receives the Heavy Snowfall it has Been Waiting For

As the time of writing it is just over three weeks since my last article which sadly had to be heavy on the theme of ‘lack of snow’ over the first part of the winter season here in Japan. Unfortunately, that general trend continued for a few more weeks (and sadly is continuing in some regions). The Chinese New Year holidays are increasingly a time when people from Asia are visiting Japan to come and celebrate their holidays. Many choose a ski holiday or a chance to just visit snowy areas so that they can ‘play in the snow’. This year, the Chinese New Year celebrations generally were from 25th January onwards. Of course, that was just about when the…

David T 10th February 2020
RoundupsSki ResortsWeather

Up To a Metre (40 Inches) of Snowfall Reported in the Alps

The sunshine is back out in much of the Alps after heavy snowfall over the past three days – particularly Tuesday and Wednesday. Resorts reported up to 107cm (just under four feet) of snow falling, the biggest accumulations reported in the Swiss Valais region. Bonneval Sur arc, over the back of Val d’Isere in the French Alps posted the biggest accumulation there – 90cm (three feet) with Cervinia topping the Italian snowfall table with 80cm (2.7 feet). Les Menuires in pictured top and La Rosiere (which has had 80cm/32") below. But there was snowfall right across the region with many resorts posting 30-60cm (1-2 feet) accumulations,. Transforming conditions after the mostly dry and sunny five weeks since Christmas. In Austria…

Snowhunter 30th January 2020
AdventuresLifestyleSki ResortsUncategorisedWeather

Ready, set, go! Active winter holiday in Zillertal

Creating the very first tracks in the snow early in the morning, feeling the fresh air on your skin and a unique alpine panorama all around you ... This is the start to a perfect skiing day. But it takes a bit more to fully enjoy the mountaintops. You can experience what that is in Zillertal in Tyrol. The valley combines fun in the snow in every conceivable form with mountain cabin fun, romantic excursions and off-piste action. The following is an inspiration of what it takes to make the winter holiday with your loved ones perfect. © Zillertal Tourismus GmbH, Andre Schönherr Hintertuxer Glacier: What the King of the Valley has to offer A valley that guarantees piste fun?…

MarcD 28th January 2020
RoundupsSki ResortsWeather

Massive Snowfalls in the Pyrenees

The Pyrenees mountains, home to around 50 ski areas in Andorra, France and Spain, have seen huge snowfalls over the past three days. Official snow total stats are up to  1.5 metres (five feet) over the past 72 hours though some skiers have found pockets they believe 1.8 metres (six foot) deep and drifts of up to three metres (10 feet). A number of resorts closed ahead of the snow storm arriving as along, with heavy snowfall, gale force winds were forecast, but these resorts are starting to re-open now as the storm eases.  Initially the biggest snowfalls were expected to impact Spanish ski centres but in the end it was French areas that posted the biggest falls.  Ax 3…

Snowhunter 24th January 2020 1
Ski ResortsWeather

Scottish Ski Centres re-Open With Fresh Snow

Scottish ski areas have begun re-opening after nearly a week of storms which brought winds of up to 75mph (120kph) but also considerable hill snow. The country’s five Highland ski areas have had another challenging season so fare, with stormy weather and record warm temperatures stopping them from establishing bases. Cairngorm on Wednesday. This winter though they have all been able to keep at least some terrain open, typically small areas for novice skiers, as all five areas now have variants on all-weather snowmaking systems which can make snow even when traditional snowmaking systems can’t. Cairngorm in January 2020 before the snow arrived. The latest snowfall, which has been heaviest in the West, has accumulated the most at mid-mountain, with…

Snowhunter 16th January 2020