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AllTechnique / SafetyWeather

The Weather Extremes of PyeongChang

It was clear as the Olympics got underway on February 8th that Pyeongchang was going to set records for the coldest recorded Games, but initially it wasn’t clear quite how many different ways this would impact on the competitions.  The wind was not immediately factored in to our thinking either but as soon as events started being cancelled due to the wind, rather than the fact that team coaches were reporting skis warping after one run due to the cold, it became clear that was a factor too. (The presence of a wind farm at the Alpensia Olympic ski venue shows that wind is not unusual here) The “PyeongChang Gust” Strong, gusting winds were the main issue for the first…

Snowhunter 18th February 2018
AllSki ResortsTravel

Ski Japan: February update & focus on Hokkaido

Last time you might remember that I reported on a very good start to the snow season in Japan – in particular, Hokkaido. Niseko base had received around 6m of snowfall by the end of December and by early February that had increased to over 9m, with considerably more than that on the slopes. Snowfall consistency may not have been quite as impressive in January and the first part of February, but I’d say those numbers are still pretty good - and as this article goes online there are some exciting conditions to be enjoyed. It's very difficult to generalise the ski season in Japan as a whole simply because the popular/larger ski resorts are located over such a huge…

David T 15th February 2018
AllWebsite tips & info

Guide to MySnow on Snow-Forecast.com

The Snow-Forecast.com team took on board user feedback that the site was great if you knew which mountain destination you had in mind, but harder to use if you were interested in watching several different resorts within a similar driving radius to your home or accommodation. The idea behind MySnow is to have a handy digest of all your favourite resorts, maps and user settings on one page. Who can have a MySnow Page? Everyone! If you sign up for snow alerts, upload a photo to our gallery or register an account via our mobile app, you will have a login to the site emailed to you. Premium subscribers automatically get access to an enhanced page (see below). Once in,…

snowfore 12th February 2018
AllEventsWeather

Coldest ever start fo the Winter Olympics ?

One of the Olympic news commentators’ most consistent comment in their coverage of the start of the 23rd Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, is that it’s cold.  Many saying it’s “very cold.” Various temperatures have been reported which the commentators consider cold or very cold, ranging between -5C and a (“threatened”) -25C.  The commonest number quoted has been -10C although an excited BBC reporter showed a reading of -20C on his phone. Reuters produced a report saying that conditions were so cold they warped racing skis and some journalists have questioned how cold it has to be before events are cancelled. As it is competitors scheduled to compete in the first day or two of competition this weekend were…

Snowhunter 10th February 2018 1
AllEnvironmentWeather

The Snowmageddon in the Alps of January 2018

The start of 2018 has seen unprecedented snowfall in the Alps.  With resorts cut off by snow-covered roads or high avalanche danger it’s hard to think now that only a few months ago people were getting convinced that, after fairly warm and dry starts to the past three winter, the start of the ski season was no longer a safe bet for booking a snow sports trip.  So prices were rising at Easter and there were deals aplenty in December and January. December 2017, the first full month of the current season, had already been very snowy. Checking through Snow-forecast’s stats going back more than two decades, we reckon it was the snowiest start of a ski season in the…

Snowhunter 8th February 2018 1
AllLifestyle

Snow-Camp Wales Gets £10,000 Funding Boost

Snow-Camp are the UK’s only registered charity to use a unique combination of snowsports, life-skills sessions, qualifications and vocational opportunities to support inner-city young people. The charity, established nearly 15 years ago in 2003, has a small, dedicated team who are passionate about delivering an alternative approach to engage young people by providing a year-long Programme Journey making use of artificial and indoor ski slopes in the UK.  So far they’ve helped nearly 8,800 young people get on in their lives. Snow-Camp’s ambassadors and patrons include Sir Steve Redgrave and Olympic medallist Jenny Jones. On Snow-Camp’s 10th anniversary in 2013, the charity embarked on an expansion from its South East England base to go national with a vision to be…

Snowhunter 8th February 2018
AllSki ResortsUncategorisedWeather

Heavy Snowfall in the Pyrenees

There's been a lot of snow in the Pyrenees over the past few days, leading to powder conditions. Snowfall of up to a metre has been reported in the past 72 hours in the French Pyrenees, but there's been heavy snow in Andorra too, and good falls on the Spanish side as well. This was Vallnord yesterday. https://www.facebook.com/vallnord/videos/10156073647715419/   Grandvalira, the region’s largest resort with 210km of runs, reported 50cm of snow in 48 hours yesterday and it was still snowing hard last night. Snowfall is expected to continue through today followed by clear sunny weather the rest of the week. https://www.facebook.com/andorralovers/videos/874301926074165/   Porte Puymorens in the French Pyrenees has reported the biggest snowfall so far at 105cm (3.5 feet)…

Snowhunter 6th February 2018
AdventuresAllEnvironmentLifestyleTechnique / SafetyTravel

The Skier Climbing Everest To Raise Funds for Snow-Camp and Protect Our Winters

On the 1st April 2018, professional chef, Dave White, whose day job is that of a professional chef on a super yacht, will be boarding a plane from London to Kathmandu in Nepal to take on a life changing expedition, attempting to summit the North Col of Mt Everest. Why? Well apart from wishing to challenge himself, Dave will be raising funds for snowsports charity  Snow-Camp, the snowsports youth charity dedicated to changing the lives of inner-city young people with snowsports. He is also going to be raising money for POW UK (ProtectOurWinters) as well as documenting the changes in the Himalayas on my journey to raise awareness about climate change . “Being on mountains has become a big part…

Snowhunter 1st February 2018 2
AllTravel

Skiing in Japan: a story of the past 30 Years…

Welcome to the first of a new series of White Room articles coming to you directly from snowy Japan. In each of these articles, we’ll try to update you on the current snow situation as well as introduce you to some interesting aspect of the Japan winter season. When I first came to Japan nearly 30 years ago, there was hardly any information available in English about skiing in Japan and you hardly ever saw any ‘foreigners’ on the ski slopes. The few foreigners that you did meet were mostly either expats living in the city or those living locally and teaching English. There may not have been many foreigners about, but the ski slopes themselves were frustratingly busy. The…

David T 30th January 2018 2
AdventuresAll

Warren Miller Has Died

Warren Miller, whose ski films made him a legend in the ski world in his own lifetime, has died at the age of 93. Miller was born in 1924 in depression era USA.  Being keen on skiing, surfing and photography as a boy he joined the navy during the war and shot his first ski films at Yosemite on a borrowed cine camera whilst on leave at Christmas 1944. Leaving the navy in 1946 he spent his winters working as a ski instructor at Sun Valley, Idaho where he filmed fellow young ski teachers to help them improve their technique. His films became increasingly popular, not just for their commentary but for humorous commentary and scenes Miller added in.  In…

Snowhunter 25th January 2018 5