J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

Crans-Montana in Switzerland is celebrating the20th anniversary of its unusual multisport relay race this June when sportsmen and women, both amateur and pro, can get on the snow again to compete in both downhill and cross country races, as well as battling it out in five other sports too.

The race on 12 and 13 June sees teams competing in seven disciplines: swimming, mountain biking, mountain running, Alpine skiing, cross country skiing, cycling and running.

"This is a fun sporting event which also shows the variety of sporting activities to be enjoyed in Crans-Montana." said a resort spokesperson.

Competitors can sign up now at the event website.

www.terrific.ch

Courtesy of and © Snow24 plc

CairnGorm's best season for decades continues with 40cm of fresh snow in the past week, one of the world's biggest accumulations.

The Scottish ski area saw over 2000 skiers take to the slopes on Good Friday to check out the recent fall of snow, which was perfectly timed to provide excellent snow cover across the mountain for Easter skiing and boarding.

It is expected that skiing will continue to be available throughout not only the Easter holidays but right through April and into May. The resort will be open daily for snowsports until 3rd May (the bank holiday weekend) and thereafter every weekend in May, conditions permitting.

"Coming on top of the 117,000 skiers we have already had this season, Friday's figures set us on course for a grand finale to double last year's total of 65,000 skiers for the season by the end of April." said spokesman for CairnGorm Mountain Colin Kirkwood.

A number of special Easter events are taking place. The resort has arranged to open for evening skiing on Thursday 8th April when a number of lifts will remain open from 4pm until 7.30pm. Rides on the resort's piste-bashing machine and skidoos will be available for non-skiers.

Also for non-skiers on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th April Physics will be coming to the Mountain when a team from the Institute of Physics in Scotland will invite visitors to skewer balloons, make rockets with alka-seltzers and make water defy gravity as they highlight the relevance of physics to their lives.

www.cairngormmountain.co.uk

Courtesy of and © Snow24 plc

Skiing world record addict Oliver Kern has set two new world records, clocking up a 60,874 vertical metres (200,000 feet) skied in one day and in the process 5,550 (18.210 ft) vertical meters during one hour during a long day on the slopes of Speikboden resort in Italy.

Along with the two world records, by the end of the record day, the 36-year-old German had skied a 5.5 km long run 58 times as well as additional slopes adding up to a total of 361 kilometres (226 miles) skied. Kern also took the 2887 metre long gondola with a difference in height of 1,022m 58 times as well four additional chair lifts making a total of 520km (325 miles) in the gondola and on the slopes.

At 6.55 on the morning of March 22nd Kern began his record-breaking ski session at the South Tyrolean ski resort located in the Italy's Ahrntal region. Shortly after sunrise he started at the Sonnklar at 2400m. After five extremely fast descents, exact an hour later at 7.55am, the first world record was set with more than 5,550 vertical metres of skiing in an hour. The previous record of 4,490 was smashed.

After the first world record was set, Kern went on until the next world record of 60,874 (200,000ft) vertical meters in a day was reached. As Speikboden has no illuminated slopes, he skied from dusk wearing a head lamp. At exactly 10.09pm, more than 15 hours after beginning, the new record was set.

Kern chose Speikboden for his record attempts because of the smooth slopes, fast gondola and the perfect run. Kern and his support team stayed at the Hotel Alpenpalace.
Courtesy of and © Snow24 plc

Early results from the 2010 Winter Games in Whistler show that the resort's role as Host Mountain Resort has led to significant gains in international awareness according to the Canadian resort, "...a critical element in growing visitation over the coming years."

Whistler calculates that approximately 3.5 billion people around the world watched the Games on their televisions and online.

Based on a study conducted by Tourism Whistler in partnership with Tourism British Columbia, awareness of Whistler increased significantly in the key overseas markets of United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. The study measured awareness of Whistler before and after the 2010 Winter Games (November 2009, January 2010 and March 2010). Increases by market:

United Kingdom awareness of Whistler increased from 32 per cent to 45 percent, in Germany awareness increased from 19 per cent to 42 per cent and in Australia, already the most aware with 48 per cent of Australians knowing about Whistler before the Games, 62 per cent were aware afterwards.

During the 17 days of the Olympic Winter Games, Whistler achieved an average occupancy of 97 per cent. In the months leading-up to February 2010, Tourism Whistler had forecasted 90 per cent occupancy during the Olympic Winter Games period, acknowledging that this would require out-performing the levels achieved by each of the recent host destinations of the Winter Games - including Torino, Italy and Salt Lake City, US.

The value of the Games-time broadcast coverage is being leveraged by Tourism Whistler - with marketing and sales efforts aimed at converting awareness of Whistler into visits from travellers in existing and new markets in the months and years ahead.

A vital new message being shared with potential visitors focuses on the many legacies of the 2010 Winter Games that will now be an essential part of their Whistler experience. Some of the Whistler legacies that will be enjoyed by future visitors include Whistler Olympic / Paralympic Park which the resort intends to position Whistler as a destination for cross-country skiers from around the world and as a site for future World Cup events.

The Whistler Sliding Centre will launch a public ride program in the 2010/ 2011 winter season for visitors who want to experience bobsleigh and skeleton. World Cup competitions have already been scheduled for next winter.

The $600 million investment to improve the safety, reliability and capacity of the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler will be publicised for providing visitors with a faster, easier and more enjoyable journey to and from the resort than previously.
Courtesy of and © Snow24 plc

Just had a heads-up on this from European Snowsport - anyone in Verbier next week can enter the Verbier Challenge, which will be taking place a week today (Wednesday 7th April 2010). It's open to all ages and abilities.

I see them... are they back for you?

Snow this week

Spring conditions dominated European slopes over the last week or so... but that's changing as winter fights back today.

European Weather and Snow Next Week

We'll keep it brief... heavy snow and cold air is currently (Friday morning) pushing across The Alps, with reports of 10 degree (C) drops in temperature over breakfast!

Snow is likely to reach most Alpine resorts over the weekend, with significant accumulations (50cm+) to the North and West possible.

If you're traveling tomorrow then you should be prepared for some disruption as snow will fall to low altitudes in many areas. Drivers in the mountains should plan for Winter road conditions rather than Spring for the next few days.

Wind is going to be a feature of the weather for the next 24 hours or so, so temporary lift closures at altitude should be expected. Avalanche risks will be elevated following the new snow and considerable caution should be taken off piste, with local advice being paramount.

Clearer weather is likely to extend into The Alps from the South at the beginning of next week but a further period of decent snow looks very likely mid-week; keep an eye on our forecasts for the latest on that one.

The above cautions notwithstanding, anyone in the mountains next week should have great snow!

The long-term outlook is indicating cooler temperatures for early April; so this season is far from over.

Jolly good, carry on... :D

Tomorrow...









...it's gonna snow!

No really, it is. A lot.

So quit your wibbling you 'orrible lot and stand by your webcams!

:D