J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

I enjoyed it but 21 quid for three sandwiches and two bad coffees was a bit steep. Most recent of the previous shows (and my first was 1986!) had a bit of an 'end of the closing-down-sale' feel to them and the sound system was loud and echoey so I felt like I'd done a few rounds of sonic torture after a couple of hours of that, but that last London show felt a lot better all round and no headache!

Greenpeace has released a report condemning the widespread use of PFCs or 'perfluorinated compounds' in the outdoor sports industry. The campaigning environmental charity carried out detailed scientific tests on a selection of more than a dozen leading brands and found all contained PFCs, including some claiming environmental credentials and some more than 10 times as much as others.

PFCs are used to give water repellency to outdoor equipment by Greenpeace reports that the chemicals have also been linked to a range of health problems including cancer, compromised immune systems and reduced fertility. These issues are particularly acute at the point of manufacture, normally in Chinas or elsewhere in the far east, but as PFCs never fully break down in the environment, they can build up in the food chain where the garments are purchased in Europe and North America too.

The report is being welcomed by companies that have made an effort not to use PFCs in their products, including Nikwax which produces water repellent aftercare for boots and clothing,

"More than ten years ago when I was offered PFCs to put in my aftercare products for the first time, I looked carefully at the issues and decided – no way!" said Nick Brown, founder and CEO of Nikwax "It's my responsibility to make a safety judgement on behalf of my customers and the environment, and for me PFCs were an unacceptable risk. We've worked hard ever since to develop high performance alternatives, and raise the issue to consumers and the industry."

In Europe, aftercare products full of PFC chemicals are on the shelves in many outdoor shops. These are sprayed or washed into clothing in people's homes, where cross contamination of air and household surfaces is likely. Once washed down the drain, PFCs are not effectively removed at waste water treatment plants, and so are polluting European waters as well as in the Far East.

Most of the toxicological research done so far has been focussed on the PFCs most commonly used in the past, so called "C8" PFCs.

The health risks associated with other members of the perfluorinated family are still relatively unknown, but many chemical manufacturers are now pushing slightly shorter "C6" PFCs as 'safe alternatives'. ' Greenpeace does not support this move.

"The health effects of some PFCs have been more studied than others, but that doesn't mean that those we know less about are safe. Our assessment is that the whole PFC family share characteristics which are likely to cause harm, and therefore should be avoided wherever possible. The Greenpeace report makes the same assertion very clearly," Nick Brown concluded.

With resorts like Revelstoke and Whistler with bigger lift-served verticals yet to open, Lake Louise (skilouise.com) in Alberta, Canada which oppened latt weekend is currently claiming to have the biggest lift served vertical open anywhere in North America.

The resort reports a 991m vertical is now open and is gearing up for the Lake Louise World Cup Winterstart festival with World Cup downhill racing from November 24th to December 2nd.

"Winter is off to an impressive start – it's been snowing a ton and our teams have been hard at work ensuring the best possible early season conditions," says Proprietor Charlie Locke.

New this season is a completely-revamped beginners' area and fun zone which will feature a tubing park and bag jump for the freestylers in the family scheduled to open later this season.

"We're excited about all of the improvements we've made that will enhance guests' experiences both on and off the mountain this season and we couldn't be more pleased that winter has launched," says Locke.

I was stuck in the Chunnel once on Eurostar for six hours when it snowed a bit in southern England and everything stopped. Got very hot in there and they ran out of water (and worse, G&Ts) but worst bit was when they turned the power (and thus lights) off -something about re-setting the power they said, although you wonder if it was a wind up. But despite that I'd still take the train given the choice, just enjoy it more than the stop/start flying process, although I end up flying 95% of the time. Agree with Nelly and others - personal taste, and I don't sleep whether early flight or train anyway.

Good skiers with free time and the available funds over the next few weeks can sign up for separate ski camps being offered by two of the UK's best known skiers being staged in the Italian resort of Cervinia, which opened for the 2012-13 season last month.

Interski (interski.co.uk) is running Race Training Camps with former Olympic skiers and Ski Sunday presenter Graham Bell in Cervinia. Participants will improve speed skills and learn new techniques while experiencing a ski holiday with a difference.

Participants must be a minimum strong red run skier and the course starts next Sunday 18th November 2012. Packages include return airport transfer from Geneva, five day lift pass, five days coaching (Mon-Fri), half board accommodation Rendez-Vous Chatillion Hotel, picnic lunches on mountain and evening video feedback sessions but exclude flights.

The other option are five-day camps being organised by freestyle legend Warren Smith (warrensmith-skiacademy.com) which will run from 17th and 24th November 2012 for a fee of £399 (members £369). These courses are designed to build and develop skill and confidence, learn to perfect all terrains including moguls, steeps, variables, powder and carving effectively on piste.

Linked to Zermatt across the Swiss border Cervinia currently has a 120cm (four foot) base and received 20cm of fresh snow last week.

It's another of those eternal questions in ski travel, ski or board? fondue or raclette? hat or helmet? ...and of course plane or train?

Fans of rail travel to the mountains have long argued that you can get from central London to some of the best known areas in the Alps as quickly by rail as you can flying, and with a lot less stress.

Now two ski journalists, Neil English and Daniel Elkan, have put the theory to the test with a race from London to Meribel battle, each aiming to be the first to reach Fish & Pips chalet and be the first to be sipping champagne in the hot tub.

Neil's route was a flight from Gatwick to Geneva and then a private minibus transfer, while Daniel, who is the co-founder of the snowcarbon.com website which promotes rail travel to the Alps, caught a Eurostar to Paris, changed stations and then took a TGV down to Moutiers, from where it is a 20-minute taxi ride to Meribel.

A cameraman followed each journalist, the film captures the drama, frustration and banter – exposing the advantages and limitations of each mode of transport.

"As a kid, I used to take the train to ski resorts with my family," said Neil English. "I loved it, it was always so exciting. But when Daniel challenged me to a race, I was up for proving that however enjoyable train travel might be, the plane is a lot faster."

"There plenty of ski resorts in the the Alps that you can reach as quickly by train as you can by plane if you live near London," says Daniel Elkan. "The conventional wisdom says that flying is much quicker, but measured door-to-door, that is a complete myth."

While there is also a direct ski train from London to the 3 Valleys, the slightly longer, indirect (via Paris) route was chosen deliberately because equivalent journeys can be made to resorts all over the Alps. "Only one region of France has the direct Ski Train from London but many other ski regions are accessible by Eurostar + TGV just as quickly, so this race has relevance to many regions and resorts," says Elkan. "And these journeys are comfortable, easy and fun."

"As a region, we want skiers to be aware of all their travel options. Travelling by train can make the journey part of the holiday," says Vincent Lalanne, director of Les 3 Vallées Association. "The film highlights the fact that these indirect routes are perfectly viable – so as well as an exciting race, it helps inform skiers about their travel options."

The film can be viewed on the homepage of www.snowcarbon.co.uk where you can see who won.

A number of the world's leading resorts on both sides of the Atlantic have opened in the past 36 hours, in most cases reporting excellent early conditions and in some cases opening early because of all the snow.

Mammoth in California opened yesterday (November 8th) and Breckenridge in Colorado – the most popular destination for Brits heading to the US opens today, as do Lake Louise, Sunshine and Marmot Basin in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta to the north.

The Canadian resorts say they have already received around a metre of snow each, and that 48cm of fresh snow has fallen in the last 48hrs.

"All three Banff resorts are now open with amazing ski conditions following heavy snowfalls with blue skies signal what can only be another phenomenal season of skiing and snowboarding in Canada's Protected Playground, Banff National Park," said Dan Markham, Director of Marketing and Sales at Ski Banff Lake Louise Sunshine.

In the Alps the first ski areas that don't have glaciers – but do have high altitude skiing up to 3000m to rely on - are also opening. Obergurgl in Austria and Bormio in Italy are both opening early this weekend, crediting the pre-season snowfall in the Alps, although Bormio has also been producing large amounts of snow.

The team of snowmakers at Bormio report that the slopes down from 3000m to 2500m, in particularly the slope Stella Alpina are all ready to open. The company has made 36,000 cubic metres of snow per day, the equivalent of 600 trucks full of snow over the past week.

The cable car Bormio 2000-Cima Bianca as well as the Valbella-3000 and Pian dei Larici chairlifts will be open with ski connections from Bormio 3000 to Conca Valbella (2550m) and from Piana dei Larici to Bormio 2000 open.

The famous French skiwear brand Killy has been relaunched using, the company says, the latest in state-of-the-art technology. Something a bit like Back to the Future 2.

The company's Zeus jacket has a futuristic price tag of £1000 (RRP) but maintains the long standing colour rule of classy items – it's only available in black!

Keen to stress that this is the top-of-the-new-range (Killy have plenty of lower priced jackets too) the reason the Zeus acket is such a premium price, we're told, is due to it incorporating a number of, "ground-breaking, quality technologies."

These include an intelligent heating system which is powered by reaction rather than electricity. It features a lining made from new technology called Schoeller® PCM™ [which stands for Phase Change Materials]. These contains microcapsules that are set at a specific temperature range.

The idea is that when body or outside temperature rises, the PCM liquefies within its capsule thereby storing the heat and keeping you comfortable. When the temperature falls again the PCM solidifies and releases the stored heat. This ability to turn the heat on or off makes the Zeus one of the first self-regulating ski jackets on the market.

Killy has also used Dermizax® NX, a highly technical membrane that allows ultimate breathability but is totally waterproof and can be used on very stretchy fabrics. Dermizax® NX is used by only a handful of high quality brands and is only featured in one or two top-of-the-range garments.

Fortunately, it also looks good. The jacket has innate style and features black heat bonded latex which Killy believes gives it, "…an understated 007 edge."

In the UK the jacket is only available from: www.ellis-brigham.com