J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Autumn, let alone winter, may still be several weeks away, but there have been large snowfalls on mountain tops in the Alps in recent days.

This has raised excitement levels in resorts like Verbier, but has actually brought powder skiing and snowboarding conditions in the first week of September to the half-dozen resorts that are currently open for glacier skiing in the Alps.

The Hintertux glacier, which, along with Zermatt, is one of just two ski areas that still endeavours to stay open 365 days a year, reported 40cm of fresh snow.

That's particularly good news as a hot summer had thinned the snow cover to less than a foot here, as on most European glaciers, that base is now back up to 60cm (two feet) with the new snow.

Zermatt's neighbour, Saas Fee, which opened mid-July and will stay open right through to May 2013, reported the biggest snowfall withy 45cm (18 inches) of new snow.

Although the year-round operation of those resorts mentioned and the seasonal spring, summer and autumn opening of others makes it difficult to say now when one ski season ends and the next begins, September does see the end of summer skiing at most summer ski areas that didn't already close and temperatures usually begin to tumble through the last few weeks of summer.

The Stubai, Pitztal and other Austrian as well as Swiss and Italain resorts and Tignes in France begin opening from mid-September to mid-October signifying, by one measure at least, the start of 2012-13 ski season, or at least the preamble!

Valloire in the Maurienne Valley has announced it's installing two new high-speed detachable six seater chairlifts, both are scheduled to open on December 15th 2012 and serve the Setaz ski sector.

The longer of the two new lifts is the 1.6km long Cornafond chair which will replacce two 'difficult-to-ride' drag lifts and an old double chair, cutting the uplift time in half and increasing capacity on the route to 3000.

Most of the terrain on Setaz is easy and intermediate grade but the lift also serves the long Dahu black which normally also includes a big mogul field.

The other new chair will serve Les Verneys and is just over a kilometre long and has a capacity of 2100 skiers per hour.

Along with new gondolas, chairlifts, magic carpets and upgraded cable cars for the coming winter – most of which we have reported on separately – the 3 Valleys, the world's largest lift-linked ski area, has a number of piste improvements to announce for 2012-13 too.

In the Les Menuires area a completely new blue run has been created from Le Bettex to Les Menuires to improve access to the Preyerand area (...but as with all newly created runs in the region over the past 20 years, it will not affect the total piste length of the region, which remains at 600km!).

The la Martre blue run, with connections to Les Menuires and Val Thorens, has been re-shaped to make it easier for beginners and intermediate skiers to ski back from the bottom of the Méribel Valley.
In Val Thorens the key Plein Sud run which sees 80% of 3 Valleys traffic pass through it has been improved by widening the run as much as possible and lengthening the passage to make it easier for skiers of all abilities and in addition the Walibi Gliss fun zone at Les Menuires has also been improved.

In the Méribel sector itself, skiing back to La Chaudanne via the Bourbon Busset run has been made more accessible to skiers of all levels, particularly around the area where it meets the bottom of the Mauduit run.

Snowmaking, which now covers a third off the total terrain with more than 2000 snow guns, will be extended to the Les Creux run with the installation of 46 snowmaking machines, and to the Cospillot run with 12 snowmaking machines – both in the Courchevel sector. Finally 15 new silent snow making machines have been installed at the foot of Val Thorens to provide snow cover when temperatures drop and even easier access to Val Thorens' ski area.

Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia has announced its big contest for the coming winter, 'Wonderstruck.'

The famous Canadian resort has run contests with incredible prizes – generally involving long VIP stays in the resort - for the last few years, and has allowed entrants from outside North America to compete for them

The exact details of what entrants will need to do to enter the Wonderstruck Contest are yet to be revealed, but previous contests have involved uploading short videos explaining why you should win.

All will be revealed when the contest open for entries on September 10th at www.whistlerblackcomb.com/wonderstruck.

Whistler says 'Wonderstruck' will be open to British, Canadian and US entrants and the prize will be, a trip to Whistler for a week "...which includes seven days of seven amazing experiences."
The contest is part of a coordinated promotional program by Whistler on the theme of 'Wonder.'

These include the creation of six themed 'wonder routes' around the slopes of North America's largest ski area and The Wonder Reels – a series of seven videos to be released through the season featuring "wonderous" aspects of Whistler Blackcomb as seen through the eyes of local children, athletes, artists and other local people.

Zermatt, one of only two ski areas worldwide that endeavours to open its slopes 365 days a year, is offering skiers and boarders the chance to test the new 2012-13 equipment from the start of October.

The famous ski area with lifts operating up to 3899m in summer and autumn, Europe's highest and with the two highest T bars not operating in winter, has a number of package deals available which include ski testing and lift pass in a choice of hotel accommodation at various star levels from two to four star superior for two or three nights on a bed and breakfast basis, or in apartments.

Packages include a two or three day ski pass, two or three days of testing and tips and advice from licensed ski instructors. Longer stay packages are possible.

Skis to test include Atomic, Blizzard, Dynastar, Elan, Fischer, Head, K2, Movement, Nordica, Rossignol, Salomon, Scott and Völkl models.

Skiwear, boots and poles are not provided so need to be brought along or rented.

Val Thorens in France, Europe's highest resort at the top of the world's biggest ski area, the 3 Valleys, has announced the results of its summer investment programme including piste layout improvements, more snowmaking, a four million Euro spends on upgrading its busiest lift, and a new avalanche training park.

The resort's Plein Sud piste, which four fifths of all 3 Valleys skier traffic passes along, had a 'tricky section' for novice skiers and boarders but this has been realigned and widened to make it easier for all.

Snowmaking has also been expanded with 15 new soundless snow guns in place at the base of the slopes – Val Thorens offers a snow cover guarantee for much of the season and is usually among the first three resorts in France to open, in the latter half of November, each season.

Also new on the slopes is an avalanche training park with eight beacons to discover when testing avalanche safety equipment. Free to use for all, the park will be used for training and teaching safety techniques.

Finally, again with an eye to improving the busiest sectors of the resort, 4,3 million Euros has been spent on upgrading the resort's busiest lift, the Péclet Funitel, the first major lift reached from the resort to the Péclet sector. After extensive user testing last season and a dedicated customer comment website, new cabins each capable of carrying 22 skiers, 19 seated, have been installed, which together with new automation at the stations has increased capacity on the lift by 25% and 'comfort' by 60%.

The airbag for off-piste skiers and boarders has now been 'perfected' according to Mammut (www.mammut.ch), a company that specialises in this area of protective ski equipment.

The company's latest 'Snowpulse LifeBag' range which Mammut call an "Avalanche Airbag system" has been extended with the onus on durability and lightness.

The idea of the 150 litre, inverted U shaped avalanche airbag is that it is treated in a similar way to a life vest used in water. The LifeBag System is designed to keep you on your back with your head out of the snow in the unfortunate event that you are caught in an avalanche. The idea is that the air bag keeps you on the surface avoiding asphyxiation.

Mammut's existing selection, Prorider 15, Guide 30 and Lite 35 products are joined by the Heli 22 and the Tour 45 version for the coming winter.

The Heli 22, retailing at £660, is the big brother to the Prorider 15 and has been designed in response to the requirements of heli-ski groups looking for a versatile rucksack. It has a full backpack and weighs 2.4kg without cylinder.

The Tour 45, retailing at £735, is designed for serious touring enthusiasts with a large storage volume and technical specifications and weighs in at 2.8kg without cylinder.

The ski season is still a few months away in Cortina, but the lack of snow on the roads was good news for the owners of the famous Italian resort's motorcar namesake which are about to set off to the Dolomites to celebrate 50 years of the iconic Ford Cortina car.

Next week a fleet of 25 Cortinas is due to set off from the old Ford factory site in Dagenham, Essex, to make the 2,000 mile round trip to the town that gave the cars their name, meeting up with other Cortina owners from across Europe on the way.

A total of 40 lovingly maintained cars will arrive in the main street of Corso Italia to celebrate the Cortina's half century and the drivers and their companions will be entertained at the obvious choice of the Hotel Cortina.

"There have been a few anniversary runs to Cortina before," said Graham Orchard, one of the organisers of Cortinas to Cortina 2012. "Drivers come from all over the UK - Surrey, Essex, Devon, Gloucestershire, Lancashire, Cheshire, Nottinghamshire and Buckinghamshire.

"All models will be present. The latest MkV is on a Y plate making it 1982 and the earliest MkI is a C plate, so would be a 1965 car."

The drivers have individual breakdown cover, just in case, and also carry tools and spares.

"We hope all the cortinas will make it here safely and look forward to welcoming them on Cortina's Corso Italia on Friday 7 September, where they will have the opportunity to show off their vehicles and share their passion with the general public," said Marianne Moretti from Cortina's tourist office.