Messages posted by : J2SkiNews
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Not sure if she actually won in the dress or not, trying to find out...
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Four-time Olympian Chemmy Alcott decided to be a little different when she skied her final ever competitive race today in Meribel at the Delancey British National Alpine Championships, opting to compete wearing a traditional Austrian dress. The outfit also included a helmet bearing the legend 'That's All Folks'. After competing in the Super Combined race, an emotional Chemmy said after her final race, "It hasn't quite sunk in yet that this is my last ever ski race. When I was in the start gate I thought 'this is the last time I will be in this position' and I had to fight back some tears. But then as I started skiing I really enjoyed it and seeing all the people I care about in the finish area was really special." "This has been my best ever British Championships. I took the pressure off myself and there is so much support and it's also the first time I feel like I can give back to the younger girls. This event would be nothing without the support of Delancey and specifically Sir John Ritblat who has been supporting British skiing for 36 years. He has put everything into this event and his passion for our sport is unrivalled. We owe so much to him." "Today has been really emotional. I have put my heart and soul into this sport and to end it having fun like I did when I started is just great! I hope my legacy is to show people that you can pick yourself up when you are down. I've always taken risks and pushed the boundaries. I want younger racers to do the same but not forget why we do this sport and that is because we love it." "I know I want to stay in skiing. I am keen to do some TV work in skiing and hopefully some TV adventuring. I also feel like I have a lot of experiences to pass onto the younger races so I will definitely do some consultancy work with athletes. Charity work will also continue to be a big part of my career." Chemmy Alcott's skiing career has spanned 23 years and she has recorded five top 10 World Cup finishes. Her highest World Cup ranking was 8th and she has won the Senior British National Alpine Ski Championships overall title 7 times. Recently Chemmy finished 19th in the Women's Downhill and 23rd in the Super G at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. |
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The battle to offer the largest ski area in the USA and possibly North America is likely to take a few steps forward during April as two of the largest ski companies in the US do battle in the courts over the future of Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR), pictured above, one of three ski areas next to Park City and the only one with a base right in the famous ski town. The legal battle centres on PCMR's failure to properly renew its lease, which it has held for more than 50 years, on the land its ski slopes are located on. These are owned by a company called Talisker, which also owns the neighbouring Park City resort of Canyons, but last year decided to lease Canyons and pass on the legal action to Vail Resorts, operators of 10 US ski areas. Upon taking control of Canyons Vail Resorts almost immediately issued PCMR, which is run by another large US multi-ski-resort-owning group, Powdr, with an eviction order. The court case coming up in April is essentially about whether Vail get their way and PCMR has to leave. Previously PCMR's operators have said they weren't sure why Vail wanted to evict them from the land, as PCMR separately own the resort base area, but Vail last week clarified their position and said they would offer to buy the base. It is believed they could also access the slopes of PCMR from Canyons. The potential significance of Vail Resorts gaining control of PCMR would be that when combined with Canyons, the two combined would have around 7,300 acres, making it by far the largest ski area in the USA and only a few hundred acres smaller than North America's largest area Whistler Blackcomb. Vail was formerly the largest ski area in the USA but this season Big Sky resort in Montana began claiming that it had "the biggest skiing in America" after its acquisition of a neighbouring, bankrupt ski area gave it 5,750 acres, more than 500 acres more than Vail. |
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Not that safe historically, though hopefully they've improved things now:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/winter_sports/6581607.stm |
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A speed skiing world record is reported to have been set this morning in Vars, France. Simone Origone is reported to have reached 252.454 Km/h (156.868mph) on the resort's Chabrières piste. The Italian was the existing record holder, but his old record of 251.4 km/h (156.2 mph), which he broke my one kilometre per hour of speed, had stood for almost eight years, as he set in in Les Arcs, France in April 2006. Most speed skiing events take place in the spring at venues around Europe and at Sun Peaks in Canada, North America. The current Speed Masters event at Vars continues until this Saturday 5th April with more record attempts expected. |
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It happens once a year and was originally a Guinness Book of records attempt but the Engelberg torch lit descent, the world's longest at 12km, takes place on Saturday, 12th April. Described by the resort as, "Beautiful to look at, unforgettable to be a part of," only proficient skiers/snowboarders aged 14 and over are permitted to take part. Costing 60 Swiss francs to take part (40 CHF for 14/15 year olds) and descending from 2,000m above sea level, the Titlis Fire Ride is the longest torch-lit downhill skiing procession in the world! The evening kicks off with a spaghetti meal at the Panorama Restaurant at the top of Titlis with the Fire Ride itself stating at 9.15pm. From a distance, the procession looks like a giant snake of fire winding its way down the mountain. Once the descent is over there's a party in the Chalet next to the valley station where hot punch and strong coffee liqueur are on the menu. |
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Sunday sees the start of the 2014 Delancey British Alpine Championships, the biggest event in the British Alpine ski racing calendar. This will be the 11th year of the Championships, Sunday in Méribel, France, which will see Chemmy Alcott (pictured) retire from competitive ski racing and top British racers Dave Ryding, Dougie Crawford (pictured), TJ Baldwin and Charlie Guest competing for the British titles. The Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships not only showcases the best British athletes in Alpine Skiing, but also provide the opportunity for young British athletes to showcase their talent and race on the same piste chosen by FIS to host the Finals of the Alpine Ski World Cup in 2015. The Senior and Junior Championships take place from 30th March to 7th April followed by the Under 16 and Under 14 Championships from 8th April to 11th April and will feature the best of British Alpine skiers, as well as some of the top World Cup Alpine athletes in the senior competition. All races are open to FIS registered national and international athletes and will include a big contingent from the British Combined Services. In the senior competition athletes will battle it out to become British Champion in Downhill, Super G, GS, Slalom, Super Combined and Combined, with the most successful male and female claiming the crown of overall British Champion. Chemmy Alcott, who has won on multiple occasions before, will race in the Downhill, Super G and Super Combined races, with her final event and retirement from competitive ski racing being the Super G/ Super Combined race on Thursday 3rd April. For the juniors they will compete in Downhill, Super G, GS and Slalom. "This is the 36th successive year in which I have had a personal or corporate role in the sponsoring of the British snowsports and other allied activities, which is believed to be the longest sustained sponsorship in British Sport," said Sir John Ritblat, President of British Ski and Snowboard and Chairman of Delancey's Advisory Board,"This year is also particularly special as Delancey has signed a contract with British Ski and Snowboard (BSS), to become the Headline Sponsor for British Ski and Snowboard." "We continue to be enthused at the opportunity to play our part in providing the ongoing support that Britain's snowsport athletes so readily deserve, and to ensure Team GB continues to be a force in winter sports," added Sir John. www.britishalpinechamps.com. |
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Jamie in Estonia - as you no doubt knew from the flag... As we reported on J2ski last month, an Edinburgh-based skier Jamie Stevenson from tour operator Ski Independence has attempted to break the record for the most countries skied during one month. Jamie has just returned to Scotland just returned to Edinburgh after smashing the Guinness World Record and skiing 17 countries in just 21 days, beating the old record by two countries and finishing a week early. "Having set myself an ambitious 20 country target in 31 days, I was delighted to ski 17 in 21 days. It was a shame 3 countries didn't have enough snow cover to be eligible," said Jamies on his return, "Nevertheless, the main objective was getting above 15 (the current record)." Apart from breaking the record Jamie, who travelled solo, raised over £3000 for Disability Snowsport UK in the process. Jamie set off on his mammoth 6000 mile journey early on Saturday 1st March, safely navigating his first run in the Cairngorms, Scotland, before departing for Baqueira Beret in Spain for the second leg of his journey. 21 days later, after 5000 grueling miles on the road, Jamie completed his 17th country skied in Norway. "It means a lot, in the initial planning stages people said I was mad, it was a waste of time and that I would never do it. To not only do the challenge, hopefully set a new record, but for everything to go to plan and raise over £3,000 for charity is a huge thing for me," said Jamie. Countries skied: • Day 1 - Scotland • Day 3 - Spain • Day 4 - Andorra • Day 5 - France, Italy Switzerland • Day 7 - Liechtenstein & Austria • Day 8 - Germany • Day 9 - Slovenia • Day 10-12 - Croatia and Hungary (resorts closed) • Day 13 - Poland • Day 14 - Slovakia • Day 15 - Czech Republic • Day 16-17 – Lithuania (resort closed) • Day 18 - Estonia • Day 19 - Finland (15th country –equals world record) • Day 20 - Sweden • Day 21 - Norway www.facebook.com/skiworldrecord |
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