J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Alpe d'Huez has announced improvements particularly targeted at first time skiers for the coming ski season, which begins there on 7th December.

The improvements which began last season at the resort's les Bergers area will continue for 2013-14, this time in the les Jeux sector.

Improvements will include the removal of three old drag lifts to be replaced by a "télémixte" or "chondola" lift which contains a mix of gondola cabins and chairlift seats on one cable.

The new lift will have a very high capacity of 4000 persons per hour and is part of a re-organisation of the area to make it more efficient and user friendly for beginners.

The removal of the old lifts includes the demolition of some 80 support pylons and 50 kilometres of cables, the resort says, will further improve the aesthetic side of the ski experience.

More details of one of three 'new' ski regions known to being launched this winter are emerging.

The ski amade pass in Austria provides access to more than 800km of piste on one ticket, but as with other giant ski regions most of these are made up of small, separate areas.

However a spectacular new cable car, the G Link, is due to link two sectors about the village of Wagrain this winter. On the one side Wagrain's skiing is linked to neighbouring Flachau, on the other to St Johann im Pongau.

The 'new' ski region will have 120km of piste served by around 47 lifts and it will be possible to ski from Flachau to St Johgann I P and vice versa without needing to walk or take a bus.

As well as the new cable car, St Johann in Pongau is installing two new six-seat chairlifts this winter to replace older lifts on a crucial link in their local ski circuit
The new lifts will also help deal with increased capacity expected to be required by the installation of the G Link and replace the 25-year-old Panorama Lifts I and II. The new lifts will be state-of-the art high speed detachable chairs with conveyor loading, automatic locking child safety bars, heated seats and pull down weather protection hoods.

The other two 'new' ski regions are being formed by lift and piste connections being made between Arosa and Lenzerheide on Switzerland (resulting in 240km of piste) and between Folgaria and Alpe Fiorontini crossing the Trentino/Veneto regional border in Italy (resulting in 100km of piste).

There's been fresh snow in the Alps in the past 24 hours, helping to build anticipation for the coming ski season.

Although only a handful of glacier ski areas are currently open in Austria, Italy and Switzerland (with none in France), web cam images showed blue skies over fresh snow this morning.

The year-round ski area of Huntertux in Austria's Ziller Valley reported 15cm (six inches) of new snow in the past 24 hours (cam image above from there this morning). And base depths of 30 – 75cm. It has 12km of piste currently open over a 600 metre vertical.

The other ski areas currently open include Saas Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland and Passo Stelvio in Italy.

Austria's Molltal glacier reports 10cm of new snow on a 140cm base and the Pitztal glacier, with Austria's highest slope at 3440m and a special plus-temperatures snowmaking system reports 6cm of fresh snow. It plans to open for its eight month season to May 2014 this Saturday.

I have heard on the grapevine that the old "take it for a quid" (small print: there may be liabilities)could be on the table, so you may have change from your 5 Francs. Moving it shouldn't be too tricky - it's right next to a motorway - just need a few old telegraph poles to roll it along on and some enthusiastic students up for a whacky prank!

The Chill Factore indoor snow centre in Manchester, which opened six years ago, is up for sale for a price of £25m.

The complex, which has welcomed more than seven million visitors since opening, includes the UK's longest indoor snow slopes at 190 metres long.

There are currently six indoor snow slopes in the UK and around 55 operating in more than 25 countries around the world. More than 80 have been built over the past 25 years and the Tamworth Snowdome, now two decades old, is one of the oldest in continuous operation.

The UK's six centres is matched by the totals for Germany and the Netherlands, which also each have six, although slopes in those countries are up to 600 metres long.

The niche site snow365.com which follows dry slope and indoor snow centre development has estimated that more than 30 million people have been introduced to snow sports around the world through these complexes.

Most British snow centres have remained in constant ownership although the former SNO!zone in Glasgow which was run by the same companies as the centres at Milton Keynes and Hull was sold to a Scottish operator two years ago and re-branded Snow Factor (www.snowfactor.com).

There have been few new indoor snow centres built worldwide since the economic collapse five years ago. More than a dozen projects in the UK including the high profile Snoasis (www.snoasis.co.uk) at Great Blakenham and the more recent plan for Weston Super Mare (www.westonsnowdome.com) have so far failed to materialise.

However momentum is starting to build for new facilities with the company behind Ski Dubai now working on Ski Egypt despite the political problems there, a long moth-balled, decade old, $3 billion mall complex incorporating North America's first indoor snow slope, optimistically named 'American Dream' (www.americandream.com) also aiming to open at last by the end of next year and Mayor Boris backing a new complex for London near the 2012 Olympic site.

A new German snow centre close to Hamburg sponsored by the Austrian ski area Solden closed its doors in March due to financial problems but has announced it will re-open this autumn with fewer staff, a cheaper snowmaking system and a more limited operational timetable.

A ski lift operator in France may be the first to publish CO2 emissions along side prices for its lift tickets for 2013-14.

The Sybelles region in the country's Maurienne region is little known in the UK but has quietly become one of the largest in Europe over the past decade with around 10 small to medium sized villages sharing a ski area of some 350km. One sector of this with over 300km of pistes is inter-connected by lifts and piste.

CO2 emissions, based on ski lift operations, which affect climate change, range from 93 grammes for a half day ticket or 186 grammes for a day pass through to 4658 grammes for a full season pass. It is not clear of the area has taken in to account emissions from piste grooming or snowmaking.

A large number of ski areas run their ski lifts using 100% green energy – in France these include Paradiski and the 3 Valleys.

Although the Sybelles region is little known in the UK, holidays to the leading resorts are offered by tour operators including St Sorlin d'Arves by Peak Retreats (www.peakretreats.co.uk/saint-sorlin?) and La Toussuire by Ski Collection (www.skicollection.co.uk/Toussuire).

With the start of the ski season for most resorts now three months away, most are beginning to publish their lift-pass prices for the coming winter.

Inevitably prices are creeping up by a few Euros in most cases, but it's noticeable that ever more resorts – particularly in France – are copying the US model of 'fluid pricing.'

While in Colorado lift ticket prices fluctuate dramatically through the season and in some cases can rise and fall apparently in response to demand, similar to no frills airlines, in France the basic price is fixed, but various discounts are being offered when purchased online, particularly in advance.

The message appears to be, as soon as you know where you're heading this winter, check the resort's website to see if it is worthwhile buying your pass online in advance.

Among the deals currently on offer, the Paradiski region, the world's third largest linking La Plagne and Les Arcs and celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2013-14, is offering a discount of 10% off all ski passes purchased on line before the 31st October, 2013 via or www.skipass-laplagne.com

The 2013 ski season ends in Africa and North America after this weekend, as the run up to the northern hemisphere's 2013-14 winter gets underway.

In Africa the southern hemisphere ski areas of Afriski in Lesotho and Tiffindell in South Africa will both run their lifts for the last time this weekend before calling it a day for 2013.

In North America, the only ski area open at present is Timberline on Mt Hood in Oregon, which is open until Sunday, then closes until October 10th, by which time the annual snowmaking battle is likely to be underway on the highest slopes of the Continental Divide in Colorado to be the first in North America to open for 2-0130-14.

Snow has already been reported in the Rockies and there was heavy snow on the few open glaciers in the Alps earlier this week, just as 25cm of snow fell in 24 hours on slopes around Queenstown in New Zealand (pictured above).

In South America, Australia and New Zealand the season continues through September and in some cases to at least mid-October with Turoa in New Zealand usually the last in the southern hemisphere to close in early November. With a 2.5m base there so far it's looking good for Autumn 2013.