J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Vail Resorts, which operates three of Australia's largest ski areas, has announced a new Epic Australia 4-Day Pass which essentially cuts the cost of a day pass to $138 AUD (approximately $69) if you ski all four.

Lift ticket prices vary at all Vail's resorts depending on when and how purchased but currently a one day adult ticket for the country's largest resort, Perisher, tomorrow August 15th is priced at $241 AUD (£125) if bought in resort.

Studies have shown Australian lift passes are normally among the most expensive in the world so the new $552 pass appears to offer, "unprecedented value for the occasional skier and snowboarder," as Vail put it.

Skiers and riders will need to commit to purchase up to 14 months ahead of their planned ski holiday though, as the price of the new pass will rise in coming months as with all of the company's Epic Pass products.

"Daily lift tickets are no longer the only option for the occasional skier and rider," said Jody Churich, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Vail Resorts. "When Vail Resorts launched the Epic Australia Pass ten years ago in 2015, it unlocked unlimited access to Australia's best resorts, plus access to premier ski destinations around the world, at an incredible value. And now, we are excited to bring that value to our guests who only want to ski and ride four days next season at Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham. We are fully committed to growing the sports of skiing and snowboarding and look forward to welcoming Pass Holders to our Australian resorts next winter."

Vermont ski area Mad River Glen is offering workers who scythe undergrowth on their ski slopes for 10 days a free 24-25 season pass and an unspecified amount of cash.

The ski centre has been recruiting staff to take on the task, scheduled for 10 days in September. The scything day begins at 7:00 am and the mowing continues until about 3:00 pm, with "many breaks."

"We use hand scythes to cut the grass, ferns and shrubs on the steepest slopes here at Mad River Glen. Most of the beginner and intermediate terrain is mowed with a tractor, mow crew steps in to finish off the areas the tractor can't go. We mow and move in a line shoulder-to-shoulder hiking up the trails as we go. It can be tough work but the camaraderie makes it so much fun!" a spokesperson for the centre said.

Mad River Glen celebrated its 75th season last winter. It is home to one of North America's few remaining single-seat chairlifts and is also famous as one of just three ski areas that still ban snowboarders from their slopes. This led to snowboarders responding on social media that they'd like the job but wouldn't be able to use the pass.

Austrian glacier ski centres have begun announced their planned season opening dates in early autumn.
Historically eight Austrian glaciers open their seasons in September and October although one of these, the Dachstein, has now given up offering alpine skiing and others have slipped to later opening date with most now targeting October rather than September, although a few still hope to open at the end of the month if conditions allow.

However, Austria still often has more areas open by late October than the rest of Europe (and sometimes the whole northern hemisphere) combined.

Currently Solden is targeting 27th September to start their season, the Pitztal Glacier the next day.
The Kaunertal are aiming for 4th October and the Kitzsteinhorn the 12th with the Mölltal waiting to the 26th, but all are stressing the dates are snow dependent. The Stubai have so far just said "mid-October".

Most of the glaciers have special opening festivals a few weeks after they open which often see autumn terrain parks unveiled, new season gear testing and Oktoberfest style beer tents. Some also offer specialist lectures, avalanche awareness courses and other workshops and entertainments too.

The Stubai has a series of celebrations planned with an Oktoberfest on 26-27 October, then snowpark opening from 8-10 November before the Freeride World Cup Opening is planned for 20-23 November.

The Pitztaler Glacier says there's will be from 9-11 November and the Kaunertal has gone for 9th November for the start of their annual 'Schneebeben' days.

Currently only one glacier, Hintertux, is open in Austria and struggling with rapid snow loss from its glacial ice due to high temperatures at high altitudes in the Alps over the past few weeks.

The final week of North America's 23-24 season, which began in Colorado in late October last year, has begun.

The Palmer Snowfield on Mt Hood in Oregon, above Timberline Lodge resort, has seen temperatures top 80F in recent weeks and its snowfield drop to about a mile of terrain left open. It says it will end its nine-month plus 23-24 season next Sunday. It's the last ski area still open in North America and normally has the continent's longest season every year.

Copper mountain in Colorado had been operating a hike-to terrain park through the summer but it too has reached the end of its 2024 run, with the last riders enjoying its delights over the past week (pictured above).

Timberline formerly had a 10+ month season staying open to the Labor Day long holiday weekend at the start of September then re-opening late October/early November for its next season, but with warming temperatures that has not happened for quite a few years now.

It is though only 8-10 weeks until the 24-25 season is expected to begin in North America with high ski areas in Colorado amongst those aiming to start snowmaking by the end of next month and hopefully open in late October, if conditions are right.

In the Alps the last resort that had still been open from autumn 2023, Les 2 Alpes, closed in early July and the first that will stay open into 2025, Saas Fee, opened less than a week later. There are also two year round glacier areas above Zermatt/Cervinia and Hintertux.

Utah ski area Snowbird is working to replace one of its oldest lifts, the Wilbere Chairlift, ahead of the upcoming 24-25 season.

The original Wilbere Lift opened in 1971, a double-chairlift, was one of Snowbird's original lifts and its replacement, though necessary, led to a lot of nostalgia at the resort when it had its final day of operations in spring.

The new Wilbere Chairlift, will be a fixed grip quad that will increasing the uphill capacity on the route.

The base loading station will feature a conveyor belt loading system to speed up boarding and allow a faster operating speed.

The base will also move from its previous location on Creek Road to the Creekside base area, near the Bryce Astle Training Center, making the chair more accessible from parking lots. The top station will remain near its current area, accessing the same terrain.

Bosnia's Ravna Planina ski centre near 1984 Winter Olympic host city Sarajevo has announced plans to build indoor ski run on one of their slopes.

The resort, which was the first in the country to install a modern gondola after the end of the Balkan Wars, said it intends to build a 350-metre long ski slope, with a drop of 100 vertical metres and width of 45 metres and complete its construction by 2029.

"In response to climate change, which significantly affects winter tourism, the idea emerged for a project that would enable year-round skiing, regardless of the season and weather conditions. The ski slope, snow park, cross-country skiing track, sledding area, and baby park will cover an area of 16.000 square meters," a statement from the centre explains.

Currently the longest indoor snow slopes in the world, at urban locations in France and Germany, are just over 600 metres long, but most indoor slopes are less than 200 metres in length, so it would be one of the longer ones.

The biggest vertical of a centre to date is around 90 metres, although a centre with a 110m vertical has been announced for China, so it appears the Ravna Planina indoor slope will be one of the steepest indoor runs in the world, probably the steepest.

The slope will be powered from renewable energy sources and cover an area of 16,000 square metres. It will also include a snow park, baby park and areas for cross country skiing and sledding.

Ravna Planina currently operates 12 kilometres of piste, including an FIS approved downhill race course, with snowmaking and floodlighting for night skiing. It is currently building a spa and conference hotel.

There have been several previous projects to build an indoor snow slope on an existing ski hill at a ski resort, rather than in an urban area as most of the world's existing 100+ indoor snow centres have been located to date.

Most recently Tignes announced a similar plan in 2016, but it was quietly forgotten.

It is unclear if the Ravna Planina project is fully financed at this stage or not, very often the key stumbling block in indoor snow centre projects turning from announcements to completed structures.

SAS airlines will resume the service launched between Heathrow and the recently built Scandinavian Mountains Airport this winter.

Flights will run on Sundays in the latter half of the season between 2nd February and 30th March 2025, taking in the February school holidays with prices from GBP 258.09 per person return.

The direct service operated before the pandemic and it marks a resumption in services that has seen ski flights come back even greater numbers than they were before.

Describing the relaunched service as, "The moment British skiers and adventure-seeking families have been waiting for," a statement from Swedish tourism promotion body Visit Sweden said that visits to Sälen/Trysil, the Swedish and Norwegian ski resorts that are served by the airport which sits on the border of the two countries, rose to over 26,000 bed nights, putting it in 5th place as the most visited region by British visitors to Sweden.

Hundfjället/Tandådalen ski resorts on the Swedish side, part of Sälen, are just a 10-minute transfer away with Sälen itself only 25 minutes from Scandinavian Mountains Airport. It is the largest skiing area in Sweden suitable for both beginners and advanced skiers. The area is made up of four separate areas, Lindvallen, Högfjället, and Tandådalen/ Hundfjället, with over 100 slopes between them.

Both Sälen and Trysil are owned by the Skistar group, the largest ski resort operator in Scandinavia and also a major investor in the airport.

Les Menuires has always been marketed as the family-friendly, most-affordable ski-in/out resort of the world's largest ski area, the 3 Valleys.

Its functional concrete architecture, one of the earliest developments in the French Alps, has had a chequered history, originally state of the art, then fairly quickly decried as dated and ugly, it's had a renaissance in recent years, winning architectural awards as opinions have shifted once more and seeing old apartments within removed and often two 1960s/70s sized apartments made in to one upscale 2020s model.

Newer parts of the resort have tended to be built with wood and stone on their exteriors and to a more traditional Alpine chalet architectural style.

Now, ahead of the 24-25 season and its 60th anniversary, the resort's indoor Galerie de la Croisette shopping mall is reported to be receiving a €3m investment in beautification from the resort municipality to redesign and refresh – in the heart of the resort. The mall has 70 shops serving 555 apartments.

Other news for next year from Les Menuires includes continued investment in upgrades of childrens' facilities on the snow with the Preyerand magic carpet replaced and the area also reorganised to make learning easier. In addition the Pelvoux magic carpet in La Croisette is now covered with a tunnel and also leads to a sledging hill.

You can find out more about the changes in Les Menuires and St Martin for this winter in Episode 217 of The Ski Podcast