Messages posted by : J2SkiNews
Whistler Blackcomb in BC, Canada appears to be getting its season back on track following significant snowfall since new Year, including 60cm (two feet) on higher slopes in the past 72 hours. The resort, which has the largest ski area in North America and more than 200 ski runs had less than 10% of its terrain open for much of December due to warm temperatures and precipitation falling as rain on its lower slopes. It's snowfall totals were about 25% the average. It is now reporting a snow depth of 1.7 metres (nearly six feet) and has more than 80 runs open, just over a third of its total. Whistler was not alone in facing a challenging season start with the conditions it experienced shared by other ski areas in the Pacific Northwest corner of North America, and across the Pacific in Japan. It has now also started snowing very heavily in Hokkaido, Japan and south of Whistler in Washington State, USA, location of Mt Baker which hold the record for the most snow in one season and the highest average annual stat. It is now reporting the deepest snow in North America at 3.1 metres (10.3 feet) after nearly 1.5 metres (5 feet) of snowfall in the past few days, having been unable to open until shortly before Christmas due to a lack of snow. Photo Credit: Mitch Winston Photography/Whistler Blackcomb. |
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Almost all of Australia's ski areas are reported to currently be under serious threat from the bush fires currently ravaging the country. Charlotte Pass, Falls Creek, Hotham, Mount Buller and Mount Stirling Alpine Resorts and their surrounding communities are all under serious threat and in most cases have been evacuated due to the severe danger to life posed by the fires. Three of the resorts (Mount Buller, Mount Hotham and Mount Stirling) are in the province of Victoria where premier Daniel Andrews has declared the first ever state of disaster. At Falls Creek all guests were advised to leave the resort by 10am Friday January 3rd. Mt Buller issued this statement earlier today: "There have been two fires burning south east of the resorts for several days. The closest one at Rocky Nob was declared contained last night, which was the greatest concern for the two resorts. The further one at Bluff Creek has not been contained and while unlikely, it could sweep over the ridge towards the resorts with the predicted wind change. Water bombing recommenced for a couple of hours yesterday evening when the smoke cleared a little. A dozer line was put in to protect Bluff Hutt. The Police closed Mt Buller Road yesterday afternoon. Buller Ski Lifts has a team of 10 on mountain and has tested their generators and primed the snowguns so they can be activated if necessary." In New South Wales the Fire Service has released fire spread prediction map for today, Saturday, January 4, including Perisher, Thredbo and Charlotte Pass where resorts have been running snowmaking systems to pump water on to dryland to help to try to protect it. Rachael Oakes-Ash of the Australian-based global ski website snowsbest.com is running reports on the developing situation and has a piece on ways to help from afar: https://www.snowsbest.com/australia-bushfire-help/ (Stock image used) |
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The biggest indoor snow centre to open in Europe for at least 15 years is set to open on January 15th. SNØ (which probably doesn't need translating…) has been five years in planning and construction and will be among the six biggest in the world and four biggest in Europe at 505 metres long and 100 metres wide at its widest point. The height difference of 90 metres will also be one of the biggest indoors yet. More than 100 indoor snow centres have now been built on six continents around the world, but since the turn of the century most of the bigger facilities have been built in Asia. The new centre has been built on to a hillside at Lørenskog 20 kilometres to the east of the centre of Oslo. The complex rises over six storeys and houses a snow-covered area of 36,000 square metres. It also features a number of world firsts including more than a kilometre of five-metre wide cross country ski tracks, suspended from the roof at the lower end of the downhill slope. Downhill skiers and boarders certainly won't miss out though, the slope is equipped with three ski lifts, including a high speed quad, with a combined capacity of 5,000 skiers and hour. There is also an indoor terrain park as part of the massive indoor snow space. The park features rails, hops and as the building design took in to account the fact that some skiers and boarders like to get airborne, there's even a big jump. The centre is of course the second iconic snowsports centre to open in Scandinavia in the past few months following the appearance of Copenhill, the year-round dry-slope down a waste-to-heat renewable energy power plant that finally opened in the autumn in Copenhagen. The entrepreneurs and visionaries behind SNØ don't see the centre as just a leisure and training. They envisage the surrounding community becoming a world-leading centre for snowsports innovation. snooslo.no |
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Ski resorts across the Alps are reporting bumper business over Christmas and New Year, crediting the generally good conditions to be found in most areas. In France the Association Nationale des Maires des Stations de Montagne reported bookings running at 70%, up 3% on last winter, with the biggest numbers growth coming in the northern Alps and in the Pyrenees. January bookings are also running at 3% above average. There had been concerns that ongoing rail strikes in France might depress numbers but if so the growth would have been even greater without them. There are similar reports across the Alps. Yesterday Saas Fee in Switzerland announced all 2,900 car parking spaces it had were full by 10am and advised anyone arriving after then they would not be allowed in, recommending arriving by bus instead as, "More environmentally friendly and more fun." Unlike many recent Christmas/New Year holiday periods most ski areas in the Alps are fully (or almost fully) open thanks to good November and December snowfalls and it has also been largely sunny since Christmas. So most grumbles, if there are any, now are of crowded slopes and lift queues. |
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Those planning to participate in `Veganuary' from Wednesday and switch to a vegan diet for the month, as well as those who are vegan anyway, may be interested to know that one of the UK's largest ski holiday companies, Ski Beat, now offer vegan menus in each of their 59 chalets. Ski Beat's Veganuary ski holidays depart throughout January with package holidays from £499pp (including savings of up to 30%). The seven night ski holidays include a cooked vegan breakfast followed by an afternoon tea with home-made vegan cakes and three course vegan evening meals, free of meat, dairy and other animal products …as well as return flights and transfers. Non vegan partners and friends accompanying will be offered Ski Beat's regular menu.
Over 250,000 people are expected to take part in Veganuary 2020, while the number of vegans in the UK has quadrupled during the past five years according to Vegan Society statistics. |
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Big Sky Resort in Montana has announced it will install the new fastest six-person chairlift in North America, the Swift Current 6, for next winter (2020-2021). In a resort statement Big Sky, which has one of the continent's five biggest ski areas with almost 6,000 acres of skiing, said the new lift is the next step in their strategy to create the most technologically-advanced lift network in North America, a key pillar of the Big Sky 2025 vision. Two years ago they installed an eight-seater chairlift, the first in North America, and promoted as the most technologically advanced on the continent.
The resort will have installed five major Doppelmayr lifts in the past four years. This new high-speed chair will feature a signature Big Sky Blue Bubble cover and ultrawide heated seats. Construction of the new lift will commence as soon as possible following closing day of the 2019-2020 season on April 19. |
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St Moritz have announced that they won't be staging their traditional New Year's Day firework display over the lake, but will instead stage a ten-minute long drone show. A fleet of 100 drones will work in formation 100 metres above the frozen lake at the famous Swiss resort to create a multi-coloured display and three-dimensional images in the sky on the evening of January 1st, 2020. Some of the patterns in the air that will be created have been especially designed for St Moritz and the ten-minute display will be synced to music. The community are reported to have decided to switch to a drone display almost a year ago following a display staged by a visiting Indian family in a pre-wedding celebration. |
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There have been some huge snowfalls in Alberta and BC over the past few days giving exceptional powder conditions. Resorts along the Alberta/BC border have seen some of the biggest accumulations with Panorama (pictured) in BC and Sunshine, over the border near Banff, both reporting more than a metre (40 inches) of snowfall in the past 7 days. Revelstoke has also reported more than a metre of snowfall. It has a 1.8m (six foot) base, one of the deepest in Canada. The biggest fall of all was reported at little known Manning Park Resort, 200km east of Vancouver, which got 154cm (five feet, two inches) of snowfall. Most resorts in the two provinces got at least 50cm of snowfall and for many this has so far been the winter that has kept giving with two months now of regular snowfalls. However it's been a different story on the Pacific coast where north America's biggest resort Whistler Blackcomb has struggled to open much terrain with only about a quarter of its usual snowfall average arriving so far. Things have picked up here too though and several feet more snow are expected here over the coming weekend. |
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