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Ski ResortsTravel

SHORT BREAK SKIING GATEWAY TO THE SUN…AND SNOW

Sports Journalist and ski instructor Bruce Pope tries out Morzine-Avoriaz for the first time and finds far more than just a stash of snow anda short transfer time. Trees are rushing by on either side as I dart down a snowy track. I’m loading my outside ski nice and early, determined not to miss the enticing entrance to a chute on my right that flashed by too quickly on my previous run. The timing is good this time and with the speed I’m carrying I’m airborne for a split-second as the chute dips down, eliciting an involuntary “whoop” along with a small jolt of adrenaline. I’ve come to Morzine for a few days and I’m loving every minute of it,…

james.rix@targetpublishing.com 23rd January 2019
Roundups

World Snow Roundup #71

Issued: 22nd January 2019 By Patrick "Snowhunter" Thorne Our latest roundup of snow conditions around the world. Each section that follows below goes into detail country by country. Clicking the map thumbnail will take you to our dynamic snow forecast map for the latest detail (where you can also overlay live weather & reported conditions). Weather outlooks for Europe and North America can be found at the end of this roundup. INTRODUCTION: 'Quieter' perhaps best describes the weather in the Alps this past week after the heavy snowfall that lasted for three weeks from Christmas to mid-January in the Eastern Alps. The snow there is now lying up to six metres (20 feet) deep and should be enough to last…

MarcD 22nd January 2019
AdventuresLifestyleSki Resorts

Crans-Montana Creates Unique New Ski Touring Routes

In what they’re describing as a world first, Swiss resort Crans Montana has created 15 new ski touring routes with varying levels of difficulty. The resort is positioning itself as one of, if not the, leading ski touring centre in Europe and possibly the world. Working with ski-mountaineering champion, Séverine Pont-Combe, the routes have been created within a vast area of the mountains around the Valais resort which they’ve called The Rando Parc. In total there are more than 40km of marked and secured ski touring routes, which combined include more than 8,000 metres of vertical. Routes are graded blue, red and black and are suitable for everyone from complete beginners to the more advanced. There are three introductory level…

Snowhunter 22nd January 2019
Ski ResortsTravel

Vail Resorts To Open To Late May at Breckenridge Each Season

Vail Resorts have announced that they’ll aim to have the resort that’s the first to open in Colorado each season in each autumn, as well as the resort that’s last to close in spring. The announcement comes as the multi-resort group said it aims to reach agreement with the US Forest Service to keep the slopes open at Breckenridge later in to spring, and said it planned to keep the resort operating at least until the US Memorial Day holiday at the end of May, starting this season (May 27th this year). “Combined with Keystone’s recent capital announcement to enhance snowmaking and position the resort to be the first to open in Colorado, the two Summit County resorts will offer…

Snowhunter 20th January 2019
Ski ResortsUncategorisedWeather

Major Storm Brings Huge Snow Accumulations to California

A major storm currently hitting the Pacific Coast, and particularly California, has been rated one of the five biggest of the past decade by local weather agencies. The reason it is being given such a high weather danger warning is only partly due to the huge snowfalls it’s bringing with it It is also bringing winds of up to 110 miles per hour and people were advised not to go outdoors overnight. “There is a rare "Blizzard Warning" in effect from 10PM tonight through 7AM tomorrow. Avoid travel at that time as it will become extremely dangerous,” a statement from Mammoth Mountain advises, continuing, “The good news? Heavy snowfall is expected and it's looking like an incredible bluebird holiday weekend…

Snowhunter 17th January 2019 1
AdventuresWebsite tips & info

British Instructors abroad

Snow Enthusiast Editor, Rob Stewart, a former full-time ski teacher himself, catches up with some old friends to find out what life is really like in the ‘World’s best office’ during the final winter before Brexit might have a huge impact on how British instructors can work in the EU. Here’s what they have to say: Isla Marsh is a BASI ISIA ski instructor and BASI 1 Snowboard instructor working in Hakuba, Japan and Perisher, Australia for independent ski schools, Hakuba Snowsports School and Perisher Snowsports School. The best thing about her job is: “Watching people get stoked on skiing” and nothing much frustrates her apart from the odd management issues. Would she recommend ski teaching as a career? Isla…

james.rix@targetpublishing.com 17th January 2019
Roundups

World Snow Roundup #70

Issued: 15th January 2019 By Patrick "Snowhunter" Thorne Our latest roundup of snow conditions around the world. Each section that follows below goes into detail country by country. Clicking the map thumbnail will take you to our dynamic snow forecast map for the latest detail (where you can also overlay live weather & reported conditions). Weather outlooks for Europe and North America can be found at the end of this roundup. INTRODUCTION: The third successive week of heavy snowfall in the Eastern Alps brought some of the most significant accumulations yet to Austria, southern Germany and Eastern Switzerland over the weekend with some resorts reporting as much as a metre of snow in 24 hours (again) and an accumulation of…

MarcD 15th January 2019
Travel

The lure of off-radar resorts by Ed Leigh

Ed Leigh is publishing weekly money saving tips for skiers on his Facebook and Instagram pages which are well worth checking out. Snow-Forecast.com is all about finding the best snow in even better locations that may not necessarily be the big-hitting resorts. In the video below, Ed encourages us to consider some alternatives. Of course, always check out our own snow picks giving the best of the forecast and reported conditions before heading out... https://youtu.be/vtoBQCTnmYU The Chamonixs, the Val d’Iseres, the Courchevels and all the other spots that always feature on the Telegraph’s most popular ski resorts list: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/the-top-20-ski-resorts-voted…/ Instead I’m going to tell you about some real hidden gems. Resorts that may not all have vast piste networks, banging nightlife…

snowfore 14th January 2019 1
Lifestyle

World Snow Day Returns

World Snow Day will be back next weekend for its eighth annual staging on Sunday, January 20th, 2019. The worldwide event co-ordinated by the International Ski Federation (FIS) is simply a celebration of snowsports and fun and is particularly targeted at families and children. Ski resorts, regions and in some cases entire snowsports nations take part with a big mixture of fun events and incentives such as free or heavily discounted children’s or beginner ski and snowboard lessons on the day.  2019 will see 469 events in 45 countries. FIS President Gian Franco Kasper remarked, “once again World Snow Day has exceeded 400 events. This is great achievement and testament to how important children and families are to snow sports.”…

Snowhunter 14th January 2019
Ski ResortsWeather

Base Depths Reach 5 Metres in the Alps

Andermatt ski area in Switzerland has posted a 20cm increase in its upper-slope base depth, measuring it at 5m (16.6 feet). It’s the first ski resort in the world to hit the 5 metre mark this season, and the first half of January is an early point in the year for any resort to reach this depth.  The resort has had 50cm of snow in the past 72 hours. Down at resort level the base depth is 65cm (just over two feet).  More heavy snow and strengthening winds are expected tomorrow which seems likely to increase the current avalanche danger level 3 (‘considerable’) in the area to level 4 ‘high’. Loser, over the border in Austria, is close behind with…

Snowhunter 12th January 2019