J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Kind of good news there's a common sense result (in the words of the great Harry Potter prophecy - 'Neither can live while the other survives') ...but a shame the big media corp (VOS, keeps changing owners, most recently snapped up by Daily Telegraph Group which is part of something even bigger) who launched the Manchester Show on the same date as the upstart new Birmingham one after it had been announced (draw your own conclusions) won, apparently by having deeper pockets. So instead of something new, which might or might not have worked, we get the same show managers as the London one which I recall a lot of folk moaned about. Will be interesting to see how long their commitment to Manchester lasts. Feels a bit like Lord Voldemort won this one!

(Alpe d'Huez in Winter, pic credit NUTS Agency)

Despite projects such as the proposed year-round Jumbo Glacier ski area in Canada, the number of ski areas in the northern hemisphere offering summer skiing has been in decline since the turn of the century with the numbers that at one point were close to 40 now down to less than 20.

This summer Val Senales in Italy became the latest not to open in the summer months although planning a long season from Early Autumn to Late Spring.

However the huge snowfalls of last winter 2012-13, which continued in to late Spring, led to a possible reversal of the trend.

As well as top resorts including Cortina, Verbier and several areas in the French Pyrenees re-opening for a few special late spring or summer ski days – the first former summer ski resort to re-open its slopes in winter has been recorded.

Alpe d'Huez joined les 2 Alpes, Tignes and Val d'Isere in offering skiing and boarding on its Sarenne Glacier from the Pic Blanc at 3300m as it did back in the 1990s.

The lifts have been open through July and are expected to remain open to 25th August with lift tickets priced at 20 Euros.

The resort is yet to say whether this is a one-off due to the exceptionally snowy winter/spring of 2013 or if it will be open for summer snow sport again from now on.

Prince Johan Friso of the Netherlands has died 'unexpectedly' due to complications after spending 18 months in a coma after being caught in an avalanche in the Austrian Arlberg.

The 44 year old prince had been in hospital in London for much of the time since his accident in Lech in February last year when he was buried beneath the snow for around 15 minutes. He had been moved back to the Netherlands last month.

"Prince Friso has died of complications related to the hypoxic brain injury, which he suffered as the result of his skiing accident in Lech, Austria on 17 February 2012," a Dutch royal palace statement said.

Prince Friso's elder brother Willem-Alexander became king in April after the abdication of Queen Beatrix and said at the time that the family lived in a "terrible situation."

Prince Friso had been skiing off piste with friends. He was wearing an avalanche transceiver allowing him to be found quite quickly but even so doctors in Innsbruck said he had suffered massive brain damage and a prolonged heart attack.

Méribel Vallée, the 'new' name that Méribel's marketing team would prefer what we once called Méribel, has announced a special promotion for opening day on December 7th.

Early rises should head to the Tourist Information Office in Méribel-Mottaret where the first 100 skiers to present themselves will be rewarded with a free Méribel Vallée ski pass and breakfast.

Plus, all those who ski in resort on the 7th or 8th December are invited to participate in a prize draw to win a VIP weekend for 2 in Méribel.

billip1 wrote:From the tone of these comments J2skiers clearly have no Seoul ....

(coat being got as we speak)

You deserve a special award for that one, superb!

Britain's number one female and number one male downhill skiers have announced they are engaged to be married to each other.

Dougie Crawford popped the question to Chemmy Alcott last week and Chemmy said, "Yes!"

"I'm so happy to be committing to a lifetime of love, laughs and craziness with my soul mate. In my personal life he has been a rock who has made me happier than I knew possible," said Chemmy,

"In my career he is a constant support and inspiration to me to fulfil my potential on the slopes. And in true Dougie style, the engagement was perfect - involving a high speed boat ride (slight exaggeration on my part!) romance, blood and tears – and to cap it all off we took a leap of faith with a cliff jump!"

Dougie's reaction was, "I'm so excited to be marrying my best friend. We have had the most amazing four years together and she makes me smile and laugh every day as well as inspiring me to work hard and be the best I can be. I feel so lucky to be marrying the girl of my dreams and look forward to lots of happy years to come! I'm also really relieved that the proposal is over with... there was a lot of stress and lying to keep it a secret!"

Chemmy has competed in three Winter Olympics during her career and remains the only British female to win a run in World Cup. She and Dougie are both currently out on the slopes training for the upcoming season and the Sochi Olympic Games.

If you want to go to Sochi for the Olympic Games next February the advice seems to boil down to, "Good luck!" Tickets and accommodation packages are available now through website cosport.com but they're not cheap.

Two nights bed and breakfast in a Sochi tower block three star hotel with tickets for the Ladies' Super Combined and Luge on 11th February 2014 were from 2,243 Euros for a double room, excluding travel to Sochi, or from Sochi to the venues in the mountain above. A five night package incorporating the Men's and Women's downhill races, on the same board basis, is from around 4,400 Euros for five nights and add the Opening ceremony to your package and prices quickly rise above 6,000 Euros with plenty of choices above 20,000 Euros for your short Sochi break!

Because of the high prices and questions over accommodation availability, international tour operators are reported to have chartered seven cruise ships to be anchored in the Black Sea off Sochi with over 5000 cabins to sell during the games. They did the same in Vancouver for the Whistler games and it worked well, according to reports.

Everyone heading to the Olympics will also need a tourist visa and a special 'Spectator pass' as an additional security check.

It's not known yet how popular Sochi will be as a destination for British skiers and boarders after the Olympics. The legacy of the games will be a network of world-class ski resorts, largely inter-connected by gondola lifts and with a promised joint pass.

However Crystal ski (crystalski.co.uk) who have been operating holidays there for several years says that so far they have not taken more than 10 skiers a year there, although they think that will change for the better once the Games have been staged.

"We love Sochi for the snowfall, not dissimilar from North America in its consistency, and the vast slopes offering a massive variety of skiing, including plenty to keep even the hardcore skiers entertained," said a Crystal Ski spokesperson.

oops, sorry, I just corrected the name!