Ski Resorts

Argentina’s Catedral Alta Patagonia ski area near Bariloche is working to install a new quad chairlift  and create new slopes ahead of the 2022 season start in just under three months’ time. It has already been snowing there over the past week though, with autumn just getting started. The new lift and runs are the latest part of a modernisation master plan announced in 2020 as the ski centre, which has the most ski lifts on the continent, celebrated 80 years of operations. The plans also include snowmaking upgrades a remote avalanche triggering system. The new French-built POMA quad chairlift is being erected in the resort’s "Connection" sector climbing up to 1,900 metres above sea level with an uplift capacity…

Most of the world’s largest ski areas are nearing full operations for the first time since the start of March last year. Last season many were forced to remain closed and those that did open only opened a fraction of their terrain due to very limited demand because of coronavirus restrictions on numbers visiting. In many cases that meant it was not financially viable to open all the lifts and prepare large amounts of terrain. The world’s largest ski area, the3 Valleys in France, reported 550km (357 miles) of its 600km (375 miles) of runs open for the peak Christmas – New Year period.  Les Portes du Soleil (pictured top) said it had 500km (213 miles or nearly 90%) of…

It is believed that somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 ski areas may currently be operational in more than 50 countries across the northern hemisphere. The numbers are back to the norm for late-December after thousands in leading ski nations in Europe were kept closed due to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic this time last year. This season everywhere is open and most ski nations have their borders fully or partially open, with increased restrictions on arrivals from some countries, and/or unvaccinated people. Over 1,200 ski areas are believed to be open in China and Japan but they have their borders closed to tourists.  France has blocked tourism from the UK due to high numbers of the omicron variant…

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…

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…