J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

All of the main ski areas in Australia that can open are now open for winter 2020 – a month after the pre-pandemic planned season start date which would have been June 6th.

Mt Hotham and Falls Creek were the last to open. They were due to open on June 24th but delayed doing so twice due to limited snow cover. They finally opened on July 6th, yesterday, following fresh snowfall.

After a very snowy May, when some areas got a metre of autumn snowfall, June was drier and warmer meaning that lack of snow cover has been as big a problem as pandemic prevention measures for Australian centres.

When Mt Baw Baw, Mt Buller, Perisher and Thredbo were permitted to open as the pandemic eased on June 22nd and 24th they had very little terrain open.

This caused issues for skiers and boarders hoping to get on the slopes but finding very limited ticket availability with centres operating at around 50% capacity due to pandemic restrictions, and additional problems finding snow space for social-distanced skiing with the limited cover.

Things have improved over the weekend though with moist areas reporting 15-25cm of fresh snowfall.

Most of Australia's ski areas are located in the provinces of New South Wales or Victoria, the latter having seen a surge in virus cases over the weekend leading to closed provincial borders and local lockdowns, but so far the province's ski areas remain open.

Selwyn Snowfields will no open this winter as is base buildings and lists were destroyed by bush fires before the pandemic arrived.

The Russian ski resort of Khvalynsk re-opened for snowsports on Saturday, 4th July.

The ski area, located close to the Volga river, used 1,000 square metres of snow it had stockpiled since mid-winter and then spread back out on the slopes to create a ski run.

According to local media reports "dozens" of skiers hit the slopes in 30C (86F) heat, describing the experience as "amazing."

A swimming pool was created at the base of the slopes for skiers and boarders to try to ride across.

Skiers and boarders had been encouraged to dress in, "…swimsuits, beach suits, carnival outfits to make the descent bright!" by the organisers, who charged 400 rubles (€5) for a lift pass.

The resort created a 300 metre long slope in July for quite a few years now, and it normally remains ski able for 2-3 days. However this year it is so hot there was little left by the second day.

The Fonna (Folgefonn) Glacier in Norway was closed today due to a big snowstorm that deposited at least 35cm (14 inches) of fresh snow on the area (pictured above this morning).

The road up to the glacier was closed due to the snow.

Fonna is one of three glacier areas currently open to skiers in Norway and one of 11 in Europe.

It opened for the season about two months ago after teams took around two months to dig out exceptionally deep snow burying the road to it.

It eventually opened posting a snow depth of over 13 metres, which subsequently grew to 15 metres with more spring snowfall. That's one of the deepest bases ever reported at a ski area.

That depth has now almost halved with temperatures reaching up to 20C prior to the current cold spell.

By coincidence I had contacted Zermatt's lift co a week or so back as I was interested by the fact that there are slightly different social distancing rules on each side of the border to add to the other points mentioned. They replied this morning, "All is fine here in Zermatt and we are glad that we were able reopen the cable cars. The reopening went very well and the crowds are increasing day by day. Yes there are different rules in Switzerland and Italy. Now in Switzerland we have to keep 1.5 metres distance and in Italy 1 metre. That means also, that in Cervinia and Zermatt different rules are applying. But this is not a big deal, because the guests are informed about the rules on both sides and the guests are following the rules very well."

Ah, thanks for all those kind words and useful info. Alas my journalistic 'skills', if they can even be described as such, leave much to be desired and I thank you for teaching me humility by repeatedly reminding me of my many inadequacies over the years.

New Zealand is leading the ski world (and the world in general) at present in successfully suppressing the virus and its ski areas can all operate pretty much normally.

Half-a-dozen have opened for the 2020 season so far with more due to join them in the next few days.

However some of the country's bigger resorts decided to open later in the winter, and to only open around the weekend in low season, not because of the virus, but because they think business may be down as much as 50% due to a lack of international skiers arriving from overseas, with the country's borders closed. They're therefore looking to cut costs to break-even this winter.

However, by contrast, the early signs are that call by the country's prime minister Jacinda Ardern for kiwis to support local tourism ventures this winter appears to be paying off for smaller areas that are less reliant on skiers from overseas anyway.

Smaller ski areas that opened at the weekend in the South Canterbury ski area reported to local media that they saw record business. Ohau's opening day turn out was its highest ever whilst Roundhill also saw good numbers. Both were opening on schedule and plan to operate a normal winter schedule.

The bigger resorts that are more reliant on international business also reported good numbers for opening weekend. Around 2,000 people came to Cardrona for it's opening day, which was attended by Jacinda Ardern, and around 1,000 were at Treble Cone (pictured above at the weekend).

Thanks for your public update on your ongoing campaign re the minutiae of the Swiss/Italian border. As we've discussed previously it's a tricky one as Cervinia talk about their "summer ski season" and as I was just trying to be supportive of their efforts to get tourism moving again after the virus hit them so hard. I am not sure how you require we proceed? Do you need Cervinia expunging from summerski records because the skiing is on the Swiss side, ...or a lengthy explanation with aerial pics to explain to skiers heading to Cervinia that they will be skiing in Switzerland after riding up to the glacier on lifts in Italy each time? Just doing the July report so will do my best to make clear Cervinia-based skiers will definitely be skiing in Switzerland and apologies again for above failures.

The Ellie Soutter Foundation is staging a virtual auction, this Saturday, July 4th, 2020.

The charity, which is dedicated to supporting talented young people in snow sports, will stream the auction live from the French Alps on Saturday 4th July between 4:30-7:30pm CET.

Items available to bid for include a holiday in Thailand, game fishing in Portugal, a pair of limited-edition skis, a 3-night B&B stay in Morzine and much more.

The online auction is already live now and will close at 7pm CET on Saturday 4th July, to bid simply follow this link: https://app.galabid.com/ellie

There is also a raffle featuring a whole host of amazing prizes to be won, including: ski lessons with LGS Snowsports tuition, a pair of Summit goggles and a day trip to Annecy, all of which can be won for only a 5€ ticket!

Simply follow the Foundation on Facebook or Instagram to join in with the raffle and make sure you don't miss out on bagging yourself a brilliant prize.

All of the funds raised will go towards The Ellie Soutter Foundation's commitment to supporting promising ski and snowboard athletes, both financially and mentally to help, them fulfil their potential and achieve their dreams. http://www.theelliesoutter.foundation

Ellie Soutter was one of the most progressive Junior Female Snowboard Athletes of Great Britain and became Vice Champion of the world in the Junior Freeride World Tour in 2017. She was winner of a Bronze medal for Team GB at the 2017 European Youth Olympics and was tipped to be one of GBs strongest contenders for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

But as a junior athlete coming from a family without substantial wealth, Ellie often had to miss out on competing and training through lack of funds. She felt and understood the constant pressure to obtain the necessary funds for her training and events. She took her own life on her 18th birthday.

Ellie's family then decided to form The Ellie Soutter Foundation in her memory to help and assist other young winter athletes in similar circumstances. The foundation's aim is to help young athletes at all levels with funding for their journeys and ensure they receive the kind of support and training that can help identify mental health issues that can arise from the pressures they are often placed under and help prevent the situation that ultimately led to Ellie taking her own life.