J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Pic courtesy of Manuguf

The International Ski Federation (FIS) has created a Ski Cross Working Group composed of experts with a wide range of experience in Ski Cross, Alpine Skiing and Snowboard Cross, with the aim of enhancing safety in Ski Cross racing, widely regarded as the most exciting ski sport on the international calendar at present, under the chairmanship of FIS Council Member Michel Vion.

"It is the continued goal of FIS to work to prevent injuries from occurring in the future, following the tragic accident that claimed the life of Canadian ski cross athlete Nik Zoricic in Grindelwald (SUI) on 10th March 2012. Besides considerable injury prevention efforts undertaken through FIS's Injury Surveillance System, the Ski Cross Working Group will work with the FIS Freestyle Committee and its ski cross advisory group to design, refine, and implement various activities," said Mr Vion.

Measures suggested by the Working group are being implemented immediately as the 12-13 competitive season gets underway.

So far they include a review of the Ski Cross course homologation/certification process; the creation of a new Ski Cross course designer's manual; the publication of a list of Ski Cross course builders for World Cup and World Championship events; the launch of further education for Technical Delegates (TDs) at Ski Cross events and collaboration with Alpine Skiing TD education and the assignment of a course advisor to each World Cup event to assist the Organisers with course preparation.

"Established to work for the development of Ski Cross, the Working Group will seek to define further measures and activities, with an added focus on efforts to leverage cross-discipline expertise in safety matters, notably with Alpine Skiing and Snowboard Cross," said an FIS statement.

Chemmy pic courtsey Colmar

Chemmy Alcott will return to World Cup ski racing at the weekend at the same resort where she suffered near career-ending injuries two years ago in December 2010.

Chemmy's return to World Cup ski racing as she begins her campaign to race at the Sochi Winter Olympics in just over 15 months' time will be in two Ladies Downhill races and one Super-G on Friday 30th November, Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd December at The Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup in Alberta, Canada.

The event is the first World Cup speed event of the season and sees the fastest skiers in the world compete in downhill and super-G in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Chemmy will be competing against her pre-season training mates - the Canadian Ski Team – as well as the top alpine skiers from across the globe. In her first two FIS super-G warm up races earlier this month at Copper Mountain, Colorado, Chemmy placed 8th and 9th.

"I know a lot of people will want to know my raw feelings of racing my first big race on the very hill that threatened to end my career. But in fact I feel weirdly peaceful. I know the hill, I know the terrain, I know I will be nervous," said Chemmy, "Don't get me wrong I am as ambitious as ever and I want to be fast - but I don't want that competitiveness to get in the way of me enjoying this momentous two minutes that I've fought so hard to be part of my life."

Chemmy's accident in 2010 broke her leg in two places and required a 20cm long metal plate to be fitted in her right leg fixed with ten screws. It was not certain at the time whether she would walk again, let alone ski. Over the last two years she has focused determinedly on her rehabilitation at The Third Space in London, and last year competed in ITV1's Dancing on Ice, something which she commented at the time aided the process and gave her the confidence and drive to return to competitive sport.

Chemmy has also suffered the setback of losing her British Ski & Snowboard (BSS) funding and is now supporting her skiing career through sponsorship raised via her website (www.chemmyalcott.com/donate). Her sponsors include Monarch Airlines, Mizuno, Skiset, Colmar, Atomic and Land Rover, as well as independent donations.

The Grandvalira ski resort in Andorra (grandvalira.com) reports it is the first ski are in the Pyrenees to offer more than 200km of lift-linked piste.

The last published data from the area claimed a total of 193km of piste for the giant ski areas that draws together the inter-linked ski areas formerly known by their base village names including Soldeu E Tarter and pas de la Casa.

However early reports ahead of winter 2012-13 indicate that the number of piste kilometres available has increased by 17km to 210km and that the number of runs is up 22 from 110 previously to 132 now. The rest operates more than 60 lifts, including more high speed quad and six-seater chairlifts than almost any other. A sis day high season adult lift pass in the once bargain-basement ski area is now 232 Euros.

The new runs appear to be half easy greens and half blacks - the number of which has increased from 20 to 33, perhaps in part to combat a criticism of Pyrenean skiing that much of the skiing is intermediate cruising. Grandvalira also hosted a World Cup race for the first time last winter.

Grandvalira is now more than a third larger than its closest rivals on size in the Pyrenees. Three Spanish areas, Baqueira Beret, Formigal and Masella claim between 100 and 140km piste total, the closest to the Andorran giant.

A new indoor ski area has been proposed for the city of Randers in Denmark which would be the world's biggest yet and boast a futuristic design.

The structure would be made up of three overlapping arcs containing the slopes. From above they resemble the six lines of a typeface snowflake.

Ski Dome Denmark (skidomedenmark.dk) would be 110m high and 700m in diameter with an indoor ski area of 64,000 square metres – nearly double the total of the current world's largest indoor snow area at SnowWorld Landgraaf in the Netherlands. It would be able to accommodate up to 3000 skiers and boarders at any one time and has already its own piste map. Indoor temperatures would be maintained at -1C

There will be six indoor runs, two easy blues, two steeper reds and two blacks – totalling just over 3km of runs. All indoor runs will be 740m long and 32m wide, the easy runs covering 42m of vertical, the moderate runs 67m of vertical and the steepest runs 92m of vertical. There'll be six indoor and two outdoor lifts and a travelator. The longest indoor run at present, around 600m in length, is the Amneville Ski Hall in France.

In a similar move to the recently opened indoor/outdoor ski slope in Lithuania, there would also be two outdoor black runs, 48m long and 800m long.

Other facilities will include a terrain park with quarter pipe, rails and kickers and off slope there would be shops, changing and bathing facilities, a hotel and restaurants including one offering spectacular views from the top of the structure.

An online movie of the project is viewable at:

The company behind Ski Dome Denmark, DanSki (danski.dk) and a Danish ski travel agency. They say they are working in partnership with skiwear brand SOS and the French ski resort Alpe d'Huez. The trail names have Alpe d'Huez associations like 'Mini Sarenne.'

Other planned slopes longer and larger than the current existing biggest buildings include proposed 1km long slopes in China from the company that runs the Beijing snowdome, a proposed 2km long slope in the United Arab Emirates and a 700m long slope proposed for Moscow. None of those were built.

I post this story, go to my inbox, ands there's an e just in from Montgenevre saying, 'because of all the snow' they're opening early, the next two weekends, ie tomorrow, before full time from, Dec 1. Thus beating Val Thorens. Doh!

With the exception of a brief half-term opening by Les 2 Alpes, Tignes has been the only French ski area open for snowsports for nearly two months.

That finally ends in a little over a week when Val Thorens, Europe's highest ski resort, is scheduled to open on 24 November 2012.

The chance of opening on time are looking much better this autumn than last when opening weekend celebrations had to be cancelled as warm weather stopped the resort from opening. Snow was made but a gap in the snowmaking between resort and slopes stopped it happening.

New snowmaking this winter should stop any recurrence of the problem, but in any case natural snow cover is currently looking good with 30cm lying at resort level and 60cm at the top of the slopes.

It's a full on pre-Christmas month at Val Thorens too. Opening weekend, 24-25 November, sees the Ski Force Winter Tour giving every skier in resort for the start of the season the chance to test the new models of more than 16 top ski manufacturers for free and benefit from professional advice. (Black Crows, Blizzard, Dynastar, Elan, Ficher, Head, K2, Kastle, Line, Movement, Nordica, Rossignol, Salomon, Scott, Völkl, White Doctor)

Then on 1-2 December 2012 the Rock on Snowboard Tour gives snowboarders a chance to test new gear from over 25 brands as well as getting tips from pro riders. And when the slopes close, the party starts with live concert every night.

Ski Force Winter Tour Pack are available from €84 per person and Rock on Snowboard Tour Pack is from €90 per person and includes two nights' accommodation in a studio apartment for 4 people (fully occupied) + 2-day Val Thorens/Orelle ski pass and access to ski equipment tests – book direct online.

A fortnight later on 17-18-19 December 2012 the first Ski Cross World Cup will be staged in Val Thorens.

Bolstered by its experience organising several European Ski Cross Cups, Val Thorens has climbed up a step on the podium and is set to welcome the Ski Cross World Cup for the first time.

This is the first European stage of the World Cup, a spectacular event on a run designed especially for the occasion by renowned shaper Nicolas Vaudroz. In preparation for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the best riders from around the world will be competing.

Snow & Rock were due to have a big stand like Ellis Brigham as in previous years but pulled out so maybe wishing they hadn't now. Yes, true about the food prices being what you'd expect - there was a funny few minutes just before the show opened when this vintage creperie wagon (I think it was) was suddenbly surrounded by heavy set security guys and pushed from the exhibition floor (leaving a bit of a gap next to the boule...). Can only assume there was some health and safety issue (Gas canisters?) but bit of a shame and funny seeing them push it out as they kept looking like they'd crash in to stands as they manoeuvered it.

Co'lidays are, apparently, the all new way to use social media to enjoy a jopint holiday and save some money.

The idea has been launched by French resort Les Menuires using Facebook as a way for people to hook-up and consider sharing driving, accommodation and skiing (the 3 Valleys new 2012-13 pass offers substantial discounts when three people, who need not be related, buy the same pass for the same duration together).

To sort your own Co'liday you log in to colidays.com using your Facebook ID and are then free to place a free ad seeking people to share your ski holiday, or a part of it (the driving, the sleeping, the skiing…)

"Skiing as a group is more fun and you can save money and make new friends by sharing accommodation, and with the driving cut your carbon footprint too," said Estelle Roy of Les Menuires Tourist Office.