J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

OK, I no longer apologise for the double whammy of helmet stories, I now realise it was, in fact, a thoroughly justified piece of journalistic intergrity and not a single phone was hacked in the process of producing it. Don't worry I didn't get in to trouble on the 'romance' threat, I just got a notification with explanation when it had to be cut.

I dunno, he said it was getting a bit too, ahem, 'saucy' (despite restraint of Ally and msot others) and some people were complaining so he had to shut it down... Think there are legal implications if someone really kicks off about it... But I'll let him know your point about it all being wiped, not sure if anything can be done there.

Iceman wrote:Aw, J2skinews dont apologise :cry:

I hope Dave the Admin Man didnt tell you to? Just say, "no I wont, so ner"

Nah I've not got in trouble with the big boss since the great '10 Ways Skiing And Romance Are The Same' disaster of the distant past. Not that he's told me anyway. I did think it was a bit lacklustre on my part running two helmet stories in a row though as i was posting it and then when I logged back in tonight and saw 7 pages of comments I thought "oops". But I'll take my apology back if you like? Oh dear now I'm sounding like the Paul Whitehouse indecisive bloke in the bar in the Fast Show.

There have been more big snowfalls in Western North America and this time it's not just north Western US states like Washington and Wyoming that have benefitted alongside Canada's Alberta and BC, but also more southerly states, particularly Colorado where Steamboat has reported a metre of snow in the past 48 hours with more snow forecast almost continually for the rest of the week.

The heavy snowfall has created serious avalanche danger however, with three experienced and well equipped back country skiers killed in an avalanche in Washington state at the weekend and a number of other single person avalanche fatalities elsewhere in the Western US.

In BC Revelstoke reported over 40cm of fresh snow fell on the resort at the weekend creating daily powder conditions. The forecast for this week predicts more snow on the way, with heavy snowfall anticipated for the weekend. Revelstoke has received 19cm of snow in the last 48hrs, 51cm in the last 7 days, with a total of 764cm of snowfall to date this season and currently has a deep base of 226cm (7.5 feet).

Further west, after receiving 50 centimetres of new snow over the last seven days, Mount Washington will extend their winter season by a full week in April. Skiers and snowboarders can now carve the slopes until April 22, 2012.

"Our snowbase is now over 300 centimetres so the decision to extend our winter season was easy," says Don Sharpe, Director of Business Operations and Marketing. "Skiers and boarders will now be able to enjoy another week of great Spring riding in April."

Hi all, just to apologise for setting this one off and I promise no more helmet stories (unless something truly new and newsworthy...) - it was just coincidence it came in after the last one. There have in fact been quite a few new stories of people dying from head injuries when not wearing helmets which I haven't posted recently, although i recall last year there were also quite a few when people who were wearing helmets also died from head injuries. Right just going to post a nice story about snow in North America, with only a few deaths involved, and they would have been wearing helmets, thoughh that's not much help in an avalanche, usually.

The mother of a 13 year old boy from Milwaukee who narrowly survived death after hitting a tree when skiing without a helmet has told local media that she has told her son, "...you're a miracle, and God has a plan for you... even if it's just to get the message out to wear your helmet, even if it's not cool when you're skiing."

The parents of 13-year-old Jacob DeGroot was airlifted from the slopes of Nordic mountain to a local trauma centre where surgeons told them the odds were not good and that he had to be operated on within five minutes to avoid certain death. They removed part of his skull to relieve the swelling of his brain and Jacob has lost some hearing and has speech issues but doctors hope to replace the section of his skull they removed in mid-March.

"On ski hills, wearing a helmet can help prevent injury up to 50%. Those are some overwhelming stats, to keep our kids safe," Child safety advocate Lisa Klindt-Simpson told local media.

While France launch a series of music festivals in Meribel and the Portes du Soleil in March and April and Switzerland offers The BRITS in Laax and Zermat Unplugged, Austria will be presenting some of Britain and the UK's top comedians and music stars this Spring.

In 1995, Ischgl lead the way in bringing big names to ski resorts for entertainment, with Elton John performing at the, now legendary, Top of the Mountain concert and since followed by a string of superstars including Kylie, Rihanna and Diana Ross.

Then Mayrhofen in the Zillertal became the base for the longer-established Snowbombing festival.

Now the newest fixture, also at Mayrhofen since its move from Meribel, is the Altitude Comedy Festival, with big names like Jimmy Carr, Al Murray, Ed Byrne and Ed Minchin on the line-up this March.

There are other festivals too, less well known in the UK, for example over in the Oetztal, Sölden DJ David Guetta headlines at the Electric Mountain Festival in April.

First up is the Altitude Comedy Festival from 26th – 31st March 2012 offering the perfect mix of skiing, comedy and music. To get your wristband book your Mayrhofen accommodation online at www.altitudefestival.com and tailor your package to suit you with coach travel, flights or lift passes as added extras.

Alternatively book your Mayrhofen holiday through Inghams (020 8780 4477; www.inghams.co.uk) and add a wristband to your booking for £150. At time of writing they have seven night packages at the at the three star Chalet St Lukas from £375 per person, with flights from Gatwick on 24th March and transfers.

The Electric Mountain Festival at snowsure Sölden (www.electric-mountain-festival.com) is the fortnight after Easter week from 9th – 21st April 2012. Superstar DJ David Guetta will open the festival on 9th April on the world's highest turntables at 2670m with the Rettenbach Glacier providing the unique backdrop. On 19th April, Dj Dany S, featuring Brit Tara McDonald performs at Sölden's Bierhimml. The 'In Bed with Space Tour' with DJ Kid Chris and Sua Amoa brings the real Ibiza feeling to the Alps on 20th April.

Famous for its adrenaline-fuelled snowboarding and crazy partying, the annual Snowbombing festival (www.snowbombing.com) takes over the resort of Mayrhofen from 9th - 14th April with leading DJs, club nights, live acts and snowboarders coming together for this ultimate event. This year the line-up includes Dizzee Rascal, Example, as well as Dj Shadow, Groove Armada Present Redlight, The Vaccines, Booka Shade (LIVE), Fatboy Slim's Street Party and many more.

Ischgl's Top of the Mountain concert on the last weekend of April will no doubt have the biggest name in the Alps performing once again, free-of-charge up on the mountain for tens of thousands of lift paws holders, but so far, the star in question has not yet been named.

The concept of the 'Ski movie' slope has been with us for a couple of winters now, and the first of a new version of the still new concept has just opened in France.

The 'ski movie' slope, which first appeared in the Austrian Skiwelt last winter and this season at Saalbach, among other resorts in the German-speaking Alps, is a special piste where users can be automatically tacked by means of their lift ticket by one or more cameras at they ski or board down the slope.

The result, according to the resort's marketing department at least, is a 'professional standard' film I(rthe quality of the actual skiing or boarding is down to you, which can be downloaded for a few Euros, posted on YouTube, linked to on Facebook and Twitter and all the rest.

The latest version, believed to be the firwst in France, has opened at Saint Lary in the French Pyrenees.

Here the concept in the – 'DC Live Park' is a little different. Skiers and boarders wear a thumb-sized sticker on their ski-helmet so the video camera can pick up the signal and track you on the slopes. But the result is the same, a video you can see later date on the Internet or mobile phone.

If you're interested in more conventional spending, Saint-Lary has also invested over three million euros in new children and learner ski areas of the resort so there is 30% more space.

There are also two new luge runs and the De Le Rue brothers have opened a new 700m long boardercross.