J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

Pablo Escobar wrote:I tried posting on a news thread a while ago and it needed approval?!

Should be ok to reply there now... we appear to have had a glitch! :oops:

lesmen27 wrote:I hope to be ready for skiing before the start of the season 2010/2011.

Ouch. Glad you're on the mend - we're looking forward to your reports next winter! 8)

New May Snow On Scotland's Still Open Ski Slopes

A fresh spell of cool weather brought new snow to Scotland for the mayday holiday period and continuing cold weather means more snow is expected as we approach mid-May.

Cairngorm Mountain above Aviemore is now the only Scottish ski centre still open for snow sports and it reported 2.5cm (an inch) of new snow. The centre has received 141,000 skier visits to date (more than double the 65,000 skier visits in 2009, recovering from worst season on record in 2007). So far the centre has been open 133 days open since the end of November 2009.

Several hundred skiers enjoyed the fresh powder as Cairngorm entered its seventh calendar month of continuous operation in one of its busiest and most successful seasons in memory.

CairnGorm Mountain will keep its winter sports facilities open for weekends in May if demand remained high – at least 300 skiers a day are needed.

The best season for over 15 years continued over the May Bank holiday weekend with over 700 skiers taking to the slopes at CairnGorm Mountain and over 1000 non-skiers enjoying the action. Fresh snow overnight on Saturday and Sunday delighted skiing and non-skiing visitors alike as winter conditions continue to provide snowsports above the mid-mountain level.

Skiing is still possible on runs including the White Lady, M1, Coire Cas and the nursery slope area at the top of the Mountain in the Ptarmigan Bowl.

"The Bank holiday weekend has seen a return to wintry conditions and CairnGorm Mountain has welcomed both skiing visitors and non-skiers many of whom took the opportunity for some fun in the sledge park outside the top station. On Saturday 2nd May we also hosted our first wedding ceremony of the season with 75 guests celebrating the wedding of Jenny and James Purse (Ayrshire)." said CairnGorm's Marketing Manager Tania Alliod.

CairnGorm Mountain plans to offer snowsports and sledging at weekends only throughout May. The mountain railway operates every day for non-skiing visitors. A visual celebration of the 2010 CairnGorm winter has just opened with an exhibition of staff photographs entitled "The Big Freeze". Over 50 photographs and a selection of video footage taken during the winter is on display in the Day Lodge depicting highlights and challenges of the 2010 winter season.

Tania Alliod commented:
" This winter has been a season of superlatives for the ski area with vast snowfall combined with relatively stable weather conditions. Many members of the public have followed the season enthusiastically on CairnGorm's own web site and on Youtube and Flickr sites. The public have been fascinated by the amount of snowfall and the Big Freeze exhibition is a response to this interest displaying pictures taken by staff as they have gone about their daily business. Some of the pictures from the engineering and ski patrol team are taken during night shift and early morning and offer a unique insight into the work that has taken place to get the ski area open and operational for the public."

Over 1 million tons of snow shifted from roads and car parks and train track during the season – the funicular train track has been shovelled manually. Twice as many operational staff hours have been worked as last season and Loch Morlich below has been frozen for 96 consecutive days this winter .
Courtesy of and © Snow24 plc

snowb4ndit wrote:HOUSE SOLD...YIPEE! The Alps here I come. :lol: :D :lol: 8)

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

:thumbup: ...but so jealous I might ban you... :wink:

Second New Eight Seater Chair At Schladming Next Season Will Again Have High Comfort Loading

2013 World Alpine Ski Championships venue Schladming, which installed the first eight-seater chairlift in the province of Styria last season, has announced that it will install a second in time for next winter.

After the success of the Marchenweise eight-seater chair which has padded seats, weather protection hoods, and manufacturer Leitner's 'personal safety system' and high comfort loading (HCL) system, lift operator Planai-Hochwurzen-Bahnen GmbH has announced the new Mitterhaus chairlift will replace two 30 year old drag lifts and will be marketed with the promotional phrase, "a treat for the feet."

The new Mitterhaus lift will run from the resort to Ernstal and will have green comfort padding on seating and branding to match Schladming's logo.

The new lift will also have a weather protection hood and the high comfort loading system which dramatically slows chairs at the base and top station to only 0.5 metres per second or 1.1 miles per hour allowing passengers plenty of time to calmly sit down.

The new chairlift will be 1.126km long, take four minutes to make the ascent, carry 57 chairlifts and have an hourly capacity of 3,200 skiers per hour.
Courtesy of and © Snow24 plc

:evil:

Expect more flight disruption over the next few days.

More info on the Beeb here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8670560.stm

Most of northern Italy's airports are closed until at least midday, and France, Switzerland, and northern Portugal may also be affected.

The Met Office said ash could return to UK airspace on Sunday and next week.

Six Scottish airports will be closed until at least 1300 BST. Flights to Spain, France and Portugal were grounded on Saturday.

ir12daveor wrote:In Switzerland there are a number of incidents each year where Avalanches cross the ski piste. Bandit do you know which one is mentioned earlier in this thread?

Looks like it refers to the incident in Champex described here :- http://www.tdg.ch/actu/suisse/morts-avalanches-2010-02-28

[bandit beat me to it]

AllyG wrote:if you were going 'really off-piste'

It's often said... "a little bit off-piste" is like being "a little bit dead". You are or you aren't.

AllyG wrote:I don't know over what distance the Recco system works, but apparently analogue transceivers only work over 20m and digital ones over 10m

Ortovox claim 80m for their analogue models (M2 and F1) and 40m for the D3. There are a few models on the market with both analogue and digital for best of both.

AllyG wrote:Do you turn your transceiver onto transmit before you start ski-ing off-piste? Presumably one in the 'off' mode is no use at all.

Most of the popular models automatically turn on and into transmit mode when you clip them on. When you undo the clip they switch straight into search mode (to save time). Turning them off accidentally is (usually) difficult to do by design.

Leaving your transceiver in your car tends to defeat most designs however... :oops: