J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

This week saw recent patterns continue; the effects of La Nina brought more snows to North American resorts, whilst the European Alps saw very little snow.

European Weather and Snow This Coming Week

Much of the Alpine area will continue to experience above average temperatures for a few more days at least, although temperatures are dropping and most forecasts indicate seasonal averages prevailing within a week or so. The weather will remain settled and (unfortunately) dry for most areas into next week.

European weather continues to be dominated by a blocking system of high pressure to the East, which brings milder than usual conditions to most of The Alps. Longer range forecasts are hinting at movement and we have our fingers crossed.

Some of the early-opening resorts have announced delayed openings this week - including Davos and Val Thorens - although glacier skiing is available at several resorts in Austria, Italy and France.

We appreciate your help!

This time of year is always frustrating; snow reporting can be a little patchy as resorts prepare for the season and, although we do our best to get you the latest information, the occasional gremlin gets into the data. We aim to bring you the most up-to-date data we can, and we now include pictures from over 3,000 webcams on our pages so you can see for yourself. If you spot anything amiss, or we don't include your favourite webcam, please let us know - thank you!

Lake Louise opens more expert terrain

Fantastic early season conditions at The Lake Louise Ski Area has allowed the resort to open up expert terrain and access to the highest early season vertical in North America. Thanks to consecutive days of snowfall and the hard work of the Mountain Operations and Avalanche Control teams the resort is off to a great start.

November 17th sees the opening of the Top of the World 6-Pack Express chairlift and the Summit Platter, giving skiers and borders access to 3,250 ft of vertical. Lake Louise's Grizzly Gondola is also scheduled to open the following day, Friday the 18th, giving guests access to over 25 runs.

"The Lake Louise Ski Area is very happy to be able to offer this type of terrain so early in the season," says Dan Markham Director of Marketing & Sales at Ski Banff Lake Louise Sunshine.

With World Cup right around the corner, these conditions could not come at a better time.

With the additional openings of Sunshine Village and Mt. Norquay, Banff National Park now offers more early season skiable terrain on one lift ticket anywhere in the Rockies.

More snow in the forecast for Canada's Protected Playground brings optimism for the season ahead as we look forward to playing host to fresh turns in our famous dry light Canadian Rockies' powder.

...and if you've not heard of Snow-Camp before, do take a look.

They're doing some fantastic work and you might be able to help them out!

www.snow-camp.org.uk

Snow-Camp are looking for a Fundraising Events Coordinator.

Snow-Camp is an innovative youth charity that uses a unique combination of skiing, snowboarding and life-skills programmes to support inner-city young people.

Through the combination of snowsports and life-skills, our programmes enable young people to grow in confidence and self esteem, develop as individuals and make positive choices for their lives.

The Opportunity

An exciting role at Snow-Camp's Hove Office delivering our range of fundraising events, developing new events and engaging new supporters.

As traditional funding streams are becoming more challenging to access, fundraising events are becoming increasingly important to Snow-Camp.

We have been building these events up over recent years – with The Everest Challenge, Jump for Snow-Camp, City Drinks and Run for Snow-Camp and we are now looking for an exceptional person to join the Snow-Camp team to run these and new events in 2012!

For full details, see the Post and Job Description.

The deadline for applications is midday 9th December 2011. Interviews will be held at our Hove office on Monday 19th December 2011. We look forward to hearing from you. All details are on our website www.snow-camp.org.uk

billip1 wrote:where would be closer and good to ski ?

Straight up into Les Arcs on the Funicular (right next to the station). 8)

Bus or taxi gets you to any of La Rosiere, Ste.Foy or Espace Killy.

wilf1234 wrote:Any thoughts on what length skis I need (I'm 1.88m (6'2")and 90Kg.)

Hi Wilf, and welcome to J2Ski.

You really do need to "try before you buy" and work out what sort of ski you're suited to. You will find that different ski designs will work best for you in different lengths so you should find a ski you enjoy and then look for something similar.

The cost of rentals in Switzerland (as with just about everything else) has gone up considerably for this winter due to the strength of the Franc.

That said, it's 150 quid to rent modern, well-maintained skis (that you can change if you don't like / want to try something else) versus 150 quid on skis you don't know, can't change and have to pay to take to the mountains (and service) every year...

Are you anywhere near one of the snowdomes? Definitely worth seeing if you can test a few models if you're really set on buying.

Photo:Sean Hannah

Sunshine Village's opening completes Banff National Park's triple treat

Sunshine Village is set to open this Thursday, November the 17th for the 2011-2012 season, a day earlier than inititally expected.

After dumping 40 cm's of snow in 48 hours Sunshine Village made the decision to get people on the slopes a day early and anticipate running a total of 4 lifts including: Wawa, The Strawberry Express, Wolverine and Jackrabbit. With a current snow base of over 69 cm and more snow in the forecast skiers and borders can expect a snow filled opening day with a lucky few getting up to the resort a day early as winners of a resort hosted contest.

This Thursday's opening will be the third and final resort opening in Banff National Park which also include The Lake Louise Ski Area and Mt. Norquay. Both resorts opened Nov. 5th, 2011 to eagerly awating skiers and borders, some in line as early as 6:30 am hoping to catch the first chair of the season.

With rumours circulating of another of La Nina winter, Mt. Norquay, The Lake Louise Ski Area and Sunshine Village hope for a season filled with their famous dry light Canadian Rockies powder.

For more info see www.SkiBig3.com

This from the Salt Lake Tribune :-

Professional skier Matthew Jamie Pierre died in an avalanche he triggered while snowboarding at the unopened Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort Sunday afternoon.

Pierre, 38, of Big Sky, Mont., was snowboarding with a friend in the South Chute area when the avalanche swept him off a cliff, said Unified Police Department spokesman Lt. Justin Hoyal.

The avalanche was reported to authorities at 3:15 p.m. Pierre was not buried in the avalanche but was already dead when rescuers reached him, Hoyal said. His friend was uninjured.

This sadly reinforces the need to treat early season snowpacks with the utmost caution; please be careful, whether you're in The Rockies or The Alps.

The avalanche triggered by Pierre was one of at least 10 human-triggered avalanches reported Sunday as an unstable snowpack made for hazardous conditions, according to Brett Kobernik, avalanche forecaster with the Utah Avalanche Center.

Kobernik said four of those avalanches were in the unopened Alta Ski Resort. One person suffered a leg injury, but no other injuries were reported in the slides.

RIP Jamie Pierre