J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

There's been further snowfall in the past 24 hours on high slopes in the Alps, following similar mostly light but wet snow accumulations above about 2,500m altitudes to snowfalls reported on high slopes last Thursday.

Whilst most snowfalls at the end of last week appeared to be particularly from the western Alps, the latest falls have seen some of the first falls on high slopes on the Dolomites and more southerly and easterly locations.

Among those reporting snowfall were Austria's Pitztal glacier, which is due to start its 24-25 season in just over a fortnight on the last weekend of the month and the Kaunertal, opening at the start of October.

Italy's Passo Stelvio summer ski area also saw up to 20cm of fresh snow, as did Sulden (pictured below), which aims to open in late October for its 24-25 season. The Molltal glacier is pictured top.

Sälen, Sweden's largest ski area in terms of total kilometres of slopes and number of lifts, and a mecca for families, is enhancing the experience in the well-known Trollskogen in Hundfjället.

This troll-themed snow fun area for children and families will now have sound effects to "intensify the adventure" the centre's operators, the SkiStar group, says, adding,

"Troll tales bring our most beloved trolls to life, and along with the popular snowman Valle, exciting stories will be presented at locations such as Trollkyrkan, where the Rapptrollen will offer a musical experience, or with Dasstrollen Orvar and Svea."

Access to Trollskogen and the top restaurant nearby has also been improved ahead of the coming ski season with a new weather-proof lift from the square.

Building on the family focus, two new restaurants are opening at SkiStar Lodge Hundfjället. The bistro will serve flavours from both America and Italy, as well as pizza for take-away. The restaurant will offer breakfast and lunch buffets, along with an evening menu featuring Nordic flavours.

In addition family-friendly live music will be offered several days a week in the lodge bar after a day on the slopes.

Finally a total of 18 of Sälen's key lifts will now feature permanent real-time reporting enabling skiers to know how busy they are before arriving.

Charlotte Pass, Falls Creek and Thredbo have joined the list of Australian ski centres ending their seasons early due to warm weather and a declining snowpack.

Falls Creek will close on Friday, 13th, September; Charlotte Pass, which is home to the country's highest slopes and Thredbo a week today on the 15th. They join other Aussie areas already closed early including Mt Buller, Hotham, and Selwyn Resort.

"What a winter we've had at Falls Creek! From perfect snowmaking conditions throughout early season, to an 80cm snowfall week, powder days and so much great skiing and boarding, winter 2024 has been memorable. Mother Nature has had her own plans this season, which has resulted in a decline in snow conditions, meaning our lift operations will finish on Friday 13 September," a resort statement on Sunday reads.

It means only Perisher, Australia's largest resort, will remain open into the latter half of September, assuming that it too doesn't announce an early closure. It is down to about 10% of its terrain left open with a 20-60cm base.

Ski areas in the Alps have taken to social media this afternoon to post pictures of what, for most, are the first snowfalls of the autumn on their high peaks.

The snowfall is part of a major storm system currently impacting the western Alps and unfortunately, whilst the snow above 3,000m is great to see, valleys are again seeing extreme weather issues with road closures due to flooding.

Val d'Isere published the image above, Bardonecchia just over the border in Italy, posted this picture below on Thursday afternoon.



There are currently four glacier areas aiming to be open for skiing and boarding in the Alps, but most have struggled in recent weeks with above-freezing temperatures up to 4,000m altitudes melting snow cover. However Saas Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland, Passo Stelvio in Italy and Hintertux in Austria are opening when they can.

The past few hours has also seen first snowfall reported in the Colorado Rockies where centres hope to start opening next month, there's currently nowhere open in North America. Breckenridge is pictured below today.

Salomon say that their new Brigade Index ski and snowboard helmet (RRP £110) is the first on the market created to be fully recyclable.

The new helmet is itself made with at least 96% of materials from the same origin.

"It can be fully recycled once you're done using it, but there no compromise on safety or style," a Salomon spokesperson said, adding, "A little reflection goes a long way - nothing is lost, and plenty can be gained."

The helmet is lightweight, weighing in at 450g. It uses the company's EPP4D safety technology which maximises energy absorption and protects your head more efficiently from impacts, Salomon says.

The helmet has all the features you'd expect including V-shaped ear pad construction, for better comfort and hearing and Salomon's Custom Dial 360 which should make it easy to adjust it vertically and horizontally to fit.

There are built in channels allowing an even temperature and constant airflow between your head, helmet and goggles and the liner is 100% washable for hygiene.

In order for the recycling to work, buyers should register their helmet after purchase and can then request a return label for recycling once needed.

A new gondola will be in service this winter up to the snow sure slopes of the Pisaillas Glacier, high above Val d'Isère this winter 24-25.

The new lift is the third on the route, which began with a drag lift in 1972 and for the past 38 years has been served by a six-seat gondola.

The new Vallon Gondola is faster, more comfortable and can carry more people with spacious new 10-seat cabins and the ascent time up to 3,185 metres cut to just 6.5 minutes.

A statement from Val d'Isère says the new lift has been designed to its, "stringent demands in terms of customer satisfaction and environmental impact."

On the latter of those that means that the new lift was carefully installed to limit impact on the natural area, following the path of the existing lift in order to preserve the local wildlife and plants and with fewer pylons required than the previous lift. Rare and protected flowers disturbed by the new lift's installation were carefully transplanted.

The Austrian Tirol's Mayrhofen is set to run three successive weeks of festivals to round off its 24-25 season next spring.

The long time British favourite will first stage the Altitude Comedy Festival in late March, followed by the British Snowboard & Freeski Championships and then it's straight on to the perennial festival favourite, Snowbombing.

The British Snowboard and Freeski Championships, aka 'The Brits' will see their for the first staging in the Alps since 2019. The Championships were hit by the pandemic in 2020 like most festivals and were then staged in Scotland and on indoor snow at Tamworth but now return to Mayrhofen where they were last staged more than two decades ago in 2000 and 2001, from 29 March – 5 April.

That sandwiches them between the Altitude Comedy Festival (24-28 March) and Snowbombing (7–12 April) so it's possible to enjoy three weeks of non-stop festivals in Mayrhofen!

Spring festivals and similar celebrations have become increasingly important end-of-season crowd draws for ski resorts across the Alps as they try to maintain business levels through to Easter.

One of the key lifts from Les Arcs, the TransArc, has been upgraded over the past year with the shiny new version available for the coming winter, which kicks off on December 15th.

The new lift linking Arc 1800 with the mountain tops will be able to carry more passengers up in a shorter time but still manage to use less electricity than its predecessor, in keeping with the resort's strong environmental priorities.

The upgrade sees more spacious cabins, each now capable of carrying 10 passengers, added to the 3.4km long line. There'll also be more cabins overall, up from 92 to 138, and the lift will travel faster, at a veery nifty seven metres per second as it climbs from its base at 1,707 metres above sea level, to the arrival point at an altitude of 2,544 metres.

The greater speed means the ascent time has also been cut by a third from 20 to 13 minutes.

With an eye to the year-round, non-skier market, another current focus of the resort, there'll be a mineral gallery exhibiting beautiful specimens to visit at the mid station and a 360° panoramic view to enjoy the two. Of course skiers and boarders are welcome to enjoy both of those attractions too.