J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Ski resorts across North America have been celebrating fresh snowfall in the past 24 hours.

The snow – the first significant falls for the best part of a month for many – is particularly welcome at resorts in areas along the Pacific Coast that have had to delay opening due to warm weather and no snow.

Heavenly and Kirkwood in California both announced they would now be opening this weekend, noting that along with fresh snowfall the cold weather had allowed their snowmaking teams to go in to action.

Snow was also reported in major ski states like Colorado and Utah where most areas are open but have so far only been able to open much more limited terrain than usual due to the conditions.

The snowfall has also arrived over on the East Coast where again 4-8 inch totals were reported so far but with the snow continuing to fall.

Back in California Mammoth Mountain, which has managed to stay open since it opened early in October and has the most terrain open in the US, reported one of the bigger falls in the past 24 hours, with nine inches of snowfall so far.

After the dry and warm weather of the past month for much of North America the latter half of December is looking much better with more cold weather and snow-bearing fronts forecast to move across the continent over coming weeks.

The world's largest ski resorts operator, Vail Resorts, has taken its global total of ski areas to 40, with the acquisition of three more ski areas.

The company has bought three resorts in Pennsylvania from Seven Springs Mountain Resort Inc for approximately $125 million (US).

It means Vail Resorts now own or operate 36 US ski areas including the largest, Park City Mountain, as well as three Australian ski areas, including the largest, Perisher, and North America's largest ski area at Whistler Blackcomb in BC, Canada.

Although they own many world-famous destination resorts like Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Heavenly and of course Vail itself, more than half of the company's US resorts are now located in the East and Midwest, often close to major cities. Skiers living there typically purchase the group's Epic Pass season ticket which gives them lift access to both their home mountain and neighbouring areas as well as at Vail's major destination resorts in the west, when they book a ski holiday to one of them, as well as other leading resorts around the world.

"These great ski areas in Pennsylvania are a perfect complement to our existing resorts, creating a much stronger connection and compelling offering to our current and future guests in Pittsburgh as well as those in other critical markets such as Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Cleveland," said Kirsten Lynch, chief executive officer of Vail Resorts.

The other two ski areas newly purchased are Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain. Vail already owned five ski areas in Pennsylvania so now own eight, a fifth of their resort total and more than in any other state. Eight also marks about a third of the two dozen ski areas in Pennsylvania.

Austria's ski resorts can re-open hotels and restaurants to guests from this weekend, the government has announced. The country is currently the only major ski nation that has closed its ski areas to tourism.

However decisions will be made on the precise details on a state-by-state basis by regional governments, particularly for hotels and restaurants.

Tirol region say ski areas can re-open from this Sunday, 12th December, Salzburgerlad from a week on Friday, 17th December.

Coronavirus cases in the country, which were amongst the highest in Europe in late November, have halved during the 20 day lockdown, although the numbers going to hospital remains high.

The rules are to be that vaccinated people and those who have had the virus but recovered will be free to resume 'normal life' under the so-called '2G Rule' but the unvaccinated will remain under lockdown conditions.

Most Austrian ski areas had been opening for the season as normal anyway, in terms of grooming runs and turning on the lifts. Ischgl opened last weekend – to locals only – with the most terrain open in the Alps.

A new picture book of skiing has been published, seemingly aimed at those fairly new to skiing, although it could make a nice gift for those who already know the sport.

Lavishly illustrated with hand-drawn pictures by author and illustrator Kimberley Kay, an avid skier and former ski racer (pictured below), Ski A to Z is a fun introduction to skiing.

There are several sections for each letter of the alphabet, with A covering Alpine Skiing,. Artificial Ski Slopes, Altitude, Avalanche and Apres Ski …before we move on to B for Boots and Bindings!

Along with a simple description aimed at clearly demystifying each topic, there's also a list of practical tips.

The book aims to explains what it can take years to discover, and many things that no one mentions to beginner skiers.

Ski A to Z retails at £12.95 available from Waterstones

https://www.waterstones.com/book/ski-a-z/kimberley-kay/9781782552338

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort says they'll have their deepest base ever for an opening day when the lifts start turning again there this Friday.

The ski area, located on the BC/Alberta border, currently has 160cm (64") of snow lying after clocking up 323cm (nearly 11 feet) of pre-season powder.

The centre is located in a fairly narrow part of North America along the Alberta/BC border which has seen exceptional November and early-December snowfall when most of the rest of the entire continent saw warmer than average Fall temperatures and limited snowfall.

Until big ski areas began fully opening in Europe last weekend resorts including Lake Louise and Sunshine near Banff as well as Sun Peaks in Alberta were posting the most terrain open in the world. Sunshine also had to close for several days due to extreme avalanche danger due to all the snow when other resorts couldn't open for lack of any snow.

The current December forecast is looking more promising for the rest of North America with some light snowfalls reported already across the continent this week and much more significant snowstorms expected from next week for the latter half of December.

Some resorts in the Tahoe region, where many have still been unable to open for local of snow, are optimistically dubbing this the upcoming "winter reset".

The pharmacy at Val d'Isère in France is offering British families with 12-15 year old children the chance to obtain a document which will allow them to use ski lifts and other service in France, as well as across the EU, without needing to take repeated COVID tests.

Currently British families heading to ski this winter face a problem as most countries require children over age 12 to have been double vaccinated to qualify for their COVID passports, but until recently the UK has so far only offered single jabs to teens.

That policy has now changed but it can be hard for teens to get their second jab quickly or proof they've had it, leading to a petition to the UK Parliament that the vaccine passport be available to younger teens who need it for travel.

To qualify for the Val d'Isère pharmacy's offer, children must have had their single vaccine dose in the UK, actually had COVID in the previous six months, and go with their families to Val d'Isere to pick up the physical document, having submitted their evidence and a €36 fee by email at least 72-hours in advance.

Although things are constantly changing, of the major ski nations it is believed only Switzerland has announced it will treat British teenagers with a single jab as fully vaccinated.

In most cases this means that whilst younger British teens can accompany their families on ski holidays, they face a regime of frequent, sometimes daily COVID testing to be allowed on the slopes and into shops and restaurants.

The online service from the Val d'Isère Pharmacy, is available to 12-15 year old British teens who had had their single shot of vaccine and who have recovered from a coronavirus infection in the previous 12 months and have evidence of that.

The Pharmacy then provides a physical document for collection on arrival in Val d'Isère which should then be valid across the EU.

To apply families should email scans of proof of child's ID (eg passport) and proof of the single vaccination mentioning vaccine type, lot number, place of vaccination and thirdly a copy of the positive covid test. This should be sent to dvs@pharmasolaise.com Payment is due upon collection of the document in resort.

Under 12s are normally exempt and over 15s can now get two jabs and the UK NHS app is accepted.

The London ski show says it will be back next Autumn and to prove it recently staged a preview event a year in advance at Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park.

The show was last staged in 2019 by the Telegraph Group which axed both its show and its magazine at the start of the pandemic last year. So this revived show, although at the same venue and for the usual four days in late October that the show has run in recent years has different organisers, the Smart Group.

The organisers appear to be continuing the move in the previous shows before the start of the pandemic with more of a move towards a live event and less of a consumer show, at least in terms of the public image.

"What we are creating is a 'come alive show', an experiential event celebrating 'Avant' in the daytime with a dream-like ski village, packed with activities for adults and children alike. Then morphing seamlessly into night-time, a vibrant, hedonistic world of après.", says Greg Lawson, Smart Group CEO, who added, "Festival-goers can expect to see fashion shows, a real-snow kicker and teaching slope, chalet bars and entertainment, street food and the opportunity to try on and purchase everything they'll need on the slopes with much more still to be announced."

It's officially called The London Ski & Snowboard Festival.

The UK did see its first ski show since the pandemic began, The National Ski Show, staged at the NEC in Birmingham in mid-October this year. Widely reported as very busy and a major success it was the first major show outside London for more than five years. Organisers say it already has double the number of stands booked for next year.

The London Ski & Snowboard Festival will take place 27th - 30th October, 2022 at Evolution London in Battersea Park with events divided between Avant (Daytime) 11am-5pm and Après (Evening) 5pm-10:30pm

https://www.londonskiandsnowboard.co.uk

Ski areas in some of the countries where ski areas couldn't open at all last season, or only open limited terrain in a limited way, have opened for winter 21-22 with huge amounts of terrain open for early December.

Ski resorts in Andorra, Austria, Italy and Spain currently have the biggest ski areas open in the world, with several opening up more than 100km of slopes each – the biggest areas open anywhere since last April. Most of the areas concerned have not been open for skiing since the start of March 2020. Les Menuires is pictured top on Saturday.

Altogether more than 200 ski areas have now opened across Western Europe with more than 50 each in Austria, France and Italy.

"After a bumpy week of Covid news, we're starting to see confidence returning slowly among British skiers with some much-needed better news from the ski resorts themselves. Big dumps of fresh snow and then the Swiss removing their knee-jerk travel ban, have customers coming back to book after a week of wait-and-see. Most of my team are heading out to the Alps over the next fortnight, and our first customers to ski in a year and a half flew out to get first-tracks on Sunday. We can't wait now!" commented Richard Sinclair of ski travel agency SNO. https://www.sno.co.uk/ski-holidays/

Italy's huge Dolomiti Superski region has opened more than 600km of slopes, which include 178km at Val Gardena, the largest area open in the world at present. Neighbouring Alta Badia is also in the world top 12 with about 70km of runs open there.

In Austria the country may be in (hopefully) the final week of a 20 day lockdown but ski areas are allowed to open to lucky locals whilst tourism remains closed and Ischgl reports 126km of slopes open, the most in the Alps.

Tignes/Val d'Isère has the largest area open so far in the French Alps with 78km of runs skiable.

The Pyrenees have also had a snowy few weeks and resorts in Andorra and Spain have been opening large amounts of terrain with Formigal and Grandvalira both reporting about 90km of slopes open.

These destinations have overtaken North America's snowiest areas in Alberta and BC including Sun Peaks, Sunshine and Lake Louise which had topped the 'terrain open' table the past few weeks and have 80-90km of slopes open.

Over 100 ski areas have now opened across Europe including many of the continent's leading resorts, some opening early for preview weekends due to the currently good snow conditions.