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RoundupsTechnique / Safety

Austrian Areas Open Hoping For Lockdown End This Week

More than 50 Austrian ski areas are now open for the 21-22 season, although the country is currently closed to tourism. Austria went in to a 20 day lockdown in late November in a bid, which currently seems to be working, to cut down surging coronavirus infection levels in the country. Ski areas though are allowed to open to local people although restaurants and hotels must remain closed. But the 20 days is due to end next Sunday, 12th December – before the main ski season is due to begin – and many of the country’s leading ski regions are clearly hedging their bets that they will be able to reopen to tourism again in the same way that the…

Snowhunter 5th December 2021
Uncategorised

Legend in Ski Instruction Killed In On-Slope Accident

A famous ski coach and instructor who wrote several books that became ‘bibles’ for ski instructors have been killed in an on-slope collision in Colorado. Ron LeMaster, 72, was skiing at Eldora Mountain Resort on Tuesday, November 30th, when he was involved in a collision with a snowboarder and died at the scene. Police investigations in to the incident are ongoing. Ron worked as a ski instructor and race coach for more than three decades. His most influential books included “The Skier’s Edge” and “Ultimate Skiing.” He also wrote technical guides for the Professional Ski Instructors of America. “He was also a kind and generous person willing to drop everything to chat about skiing efficiency, mechanics and methodology,” Dave Schuiling,…

Snowhunter 5th December 2021
Ski ResortsTechnique / SafetyTravel

French 21-22 Season Starts Snowy as List of Rules To Go Skiing Grow

The main ski season in France is getting underway despite a growing list of requirements skiers need to meet to get on to the slopes. Ski resorts have reported 20-60cm of fresh snowfall in the past week and as a result, great early season conditions, particularly up high. Tignes was the first to open, back in October, and half a dozen more centres opened at the end of last month. This weekend will  see more than 20 opening, some for ‘preview weekends’ earlier than their expected opening dates, thanks to the snowfall. Snow piling up at Avoriaz Rising pandemic levels in France, in common with most of Europe, means a covid pass is now required to get on the lifts,…

Snowhunter 3rd December 2021
AdventuresSki ResortsTechnique / SafetyTravel

Canadian Resort Closed By Too Much Snow

Although much of north America has been having a slow start to the 21-22 season with warm weather and limited snowfall, Eastern BCC and Western Alberta have been enjoying some fantastic powder days. Ski resorts including Sun Peaks,  Sunshine and Lake Louise currently have the most terrain open of any ski area on the planet. But the snowfall is now starting to cause avalanche danger issues, with a numberof ski areas reporting problems with avalanche danger on access roads. Yesterday, December 1st, Parks Canada closed the access road to Sunshine Village near Banff for the entire day due to heavy snow and extreme avalanche risks. Sunshine last week The resort later announced it will be closed today, December 2nd, too,…

Snowhunter 2nd December 2021
Uncategorised

WORLD SNOW ROUNDUP #219

Issued: 1 December 2021 By Patrick "Snowhunter" Thorne European RoundupNorth American RoundupAsia Roundup WORLD OVERVIEW It is the start of December and that means the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere by the meteorological measure of the seasons. The good news is that for most areas, in terms of the coronavirus, although infection rates are rising and the latest new variant identified, so far we seem to be in a much better position than a year ago. Only Austria is in a (hopefully) short-term lockdown and even here the slopes are open to locals. In countries like France, Germany, Italy, Andorra and Spain, which saw few or no areas open at all last winter, there’s been some euphoria as the…

MarcD 1st December 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 1
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