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A new chairlift being installed for next winter at Scheffau, part of Austria's Skiwelt region, will be able to carry more passengers than any other chairlift in the world, the resort says.

The new 8-seater Eibergbahn is also one of the most energy self-sufficient chairlifts in the world with around half of its energy requirements being met by a photovoltaic solar farm on the roof of one of the lift stations.

The new Eibergbahn will be able to carry up to 4,570 passengers per hour, a chairlift world record, with a maximum travelling speed of 5m/s.

"We have been planning the new construction of the Eibergbahn for many years. But only now has Doppelmayr, the renowned cable car manufacturer from Vorarlberg, succeeded in achieving the required transport capacity and thus matching the performance of the previous parallel fixed-grip 4-seater cable cars. We are already very excited about the new technically innovative 8-seater chairlift," said Andreas Haselsberger, Managing Director of Bergbahn Scheffau.

The new lift will be equipped with seat heating but will run deliberately without a canopy for wind protection to reduce its running cost with less weight and wind resistance.

There will be a 140 kWP PV system on the roof of the lift's valley station which can generate around 50% of the annual energy required.

The new lift is set to replace two quad chairs that were installed on the route in 1992. They've since made 43,000,000 rides, but are reported to be still in sound condition, so after an overhaul they are moving to Übersee to be reinstalled then continue operation.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) have announced 24-25 season dates, a new lift, and says lift tickets and other services are already on sale online with discounts for early buyers.

The famous Wyoming ski area will open on November 29, 2024 and its season will run until April 13, 2025, offering 137 days of skiing and riding.

Guests can save up to 15 percent on day tickets purchased before Oct. 1st on their website. The resort is also included on the Ikon Pass and Mountain Collective pass.

Jackson Hole says they'll upgrade their Sublette lift to a faster detachable quad chairlift this coming season.

The new lift will reduce ride time from eight minutes to four while climbing approximately 1,600 vertical feet at 1,000 feet per minute.

"We will continue to manage capacity on the mountain by restricting the number of tickets sold per day," said CEO Mary Kate Buckley. "We initiated this practice in 2020 to improve the guest experience and offer more time on the slopes. Managing capacity has been extremely well received by our guests and employees. This early-bird sale is the best opportunity to secure daily tickets to access the Resort at the best price. Construction of the new Sublette lift is on schedule, and we look forward to introducing this new lift to our guests this winter."

You can find out more about the new lift and Jackson Hole in general in [urlhttps://theskipodcast.com/podcast/230-jackson-hole-last-christmas-in-saas-fee-the-last-ride-project/]Episode 230 of The Ski Podcast[/url], when host Iain Martin was joined by Jess McMillan, Jackson Hole's Director of Events & Partnerships.

The trust which runs Folkestone Ski Centre and other sports facilities in the town has appointed administrators after running into financial difficulties.

The Folkestone Sports Centre Trust was established four years ago to operate long established facilities including the ski slope, a swimming pool, fitness facilities, dance studios, ball courts and a high ropes course.

In a public announcement, the trustees blamed "the current national and indeed world-wide situation" for a "dramatic increase in costs" while at the same time they say they have had a decline in income as, "many people struggle with their own finances."

Folkestone Ski Centre has a 60m main slope with tuition is offered from fully qualified ASSI (Artificial Ski Slope Instructors). The centre has also run a Junior Snowsports Academy for younger skiers to have fun while working their way up through the various tuition levels.

It is unclear what will now happen with the ski slope's operations and that of other sports facilities formerly run by the Trust. In their statement they advise to watch social medial channels for updates.

The Japan Tourism Agency says 546,000 skiers and boarders visited Japan from overseas in the 23-24 season as the country continues to see a rebound from its multi-season COVID-19 closure to international visitors.

The agency also put a value of 328,000 yen (£1,700) per person for each skier, giving an overall value of 179 Billion Yen or over £900 million to the Japanese economy from the incoming trade.

The number of domestic ski and snowboard travellers remained on from its 2018 peak of 8.8 million in 2018, with 5.5 million skiing in 2023-24. However average spending per domestic skier increased from 225,000 yen a traveler in 2018 to 328,000 yen per person in 2023.

The Japan Tourism Agency also pointed out that ski and snowboard holidays are one of the key tourism activities to increase local spending and extend stay days in local areas.

A vast expansion of Deer Valley resort's ski area will have a soft opening this winter, with the official full unveiling for winter 25/26 it has been announced.

Deer Valley, one of the ski areas next to the famous ski town and now 2034 Olympic hosts Park City, currently cover 2,026 acres, but the expansion will see its footprint nearly triple with a remarkable 3,700 new acres and no less than 16 new chairlifts!

So far it is unclear if everything will be available for the soft opening this winter, or only a part of the huge new area.

Along with the new ski terrain, a new village and hub with direct access to Route 40, and new accommodation, dining and retail options are all being added. The expansion was originally planned to be a separate, new resort adjacent to Deer Valley but was instead absorbed into the existing area.

At over 5,700 acres Deer Valley will also become one of North America's five largest ski areas by most measures, with the largest in the US its neighbour Park City Mountain resort. It means Park City will have 13,000 acres of skiable terrain on its doorstep.

The resort is also constructing a high-end Grand Hyatt Deer Valley hotel.

"Opening in advance of the 2024/25 ski season, guests can make the most of sophisticated dining, fun après-ski, welcoming kids' club, entertaining games room, on-site ski lockers, and electric vehicle chargers alongside the 442 luxury rooms, suites and private residences," a resort spokesperson said, adding, "Although part of Park City, Deer Valley's atmosphere and accommodation makes it stand out. Deer Valley limits the number of skiers on the mountain each day, and guests are encouraged to purchase lift tickets, lodging, ski lessons, and rental products in advance."

New Zealand's ski areas are celebrating what's expected to be one of the biggest snowfalls of the season to date, with totals of over half-a-metre expected by Tuesday evening.

Cardrona (pictured above today) reports that it has had over 20cm of new snow already today, with more on the way overnight and tomorrow. Treble Cone has reported more than 30cm of new snow at the top of the six-seater chairlift, and it continues to fall there too.

"This snowstorm is going to set us up for a fantastic August at both Cardrona and Treble Cone. It means we'll be opening more terrain, building more features, and will provide excellent conditions both on and off trail. Thanks for your snow dances – they've worked!" said Laura Hedley, GM of Cardrona and Treble Cone.

Some centres including Coronet Peak and Mt Dobson were closed today (Monday) due to the severe weather warning currently in place in place.

New Zealand has had a moderate season to date with most centres 50-80% open and bases of 30-70cm, although a few have been unable to open much at all. It seems likely the new snow will allow more to open every run and send some bases past the metre mark.

At least one small club field, Temple Basin, had been unable to open so far this season dure to too little snowfall to date, so it remains to be seen whether there will be enough snowfall there for its 2024 season to start.

The era of freestyle academies has seen these temples of freestyle sport opening in cities all over the world with new centres opening each year, allowing skiers and snowboarders to hone their skills indoors, year round, with the aim of follower boards, trampolines, dry slopes and foam bits to name but a few.

Many are tied to outdoor terrain parks in winter and a few, such as the Woodward Centre at Copper Mountain in Colorado, maintain snow parks outdoors through spring and summer too.

Europe's original centre opened in December 2010 in Swiss ski resort, Laax. The centre operated for a dozen years but was built in a former indoor tennis centre, dating back to the 1970s, and the decision was made to closed and rebuild the facility from the ground up in 2022. In the interim the Freestyle Academy LAAX has operated in a giant circus tent from National Circus Knie located in Flims, but from 1st August the popular freestyle hall is scheduled to re-open, completely rebuilt.

The new Freestyle Academy is back at Laax Muschetg and the resort promises it will be even bigger, even more action-packed than before.

"The proximity to the mountain and the snowparks and the combination of on- and off-snow training is what makes this location so special," a spokesperson said.

The new hall is intended to reflect the change and progress that freestyle sport has undergone in recent years. Those responsible for the project gained inspiration from discussions with coaches, national and international competitors and observing trends in the scene. They also picked up interesting insights from other destinations and winter sports resorts as they researched existing facilities. The new hall has been designed though to allow continuing evolution of its facilities moving forwards.

At 2,000 square metres, the new Freestyle Academy is half-as-big again than the old hall which was 1,300 square metres. It has been built partly underground which caused challenges during construction making difficult at times to deliver the building materials, many of which came from the old hall. True to Laax's eco-principles known as 'Greenstyle' the onus has been to 'reduce, reuse, recycle', everything that could be recycled was reused.

However, parts that had to be transported in large pieces posed a major challenge for the team and a few adventurous manoeuvres were necessary to get them into the hall. However, all the parts found their place and are now being partially enlarged and extended. A total of around 200 cubic metres of new wood has been used.

Facilities will be much the same as before but bigger and with more elements added. They include four Grand Master trampolines plus a Grand Master trampoline with connection to an airbag in the trampoline zone. The zone is complemented by an airtrack for acrobatics and an additional freestyle trampoline for jumps and tricks. One of the highlights is a Fivesquare trampoline equipped with a camera system for 360-degree video analysis of the jumps.

The new Freestyle Academy LAAX will be open, as before, to all - kids, families, teenagers and adults, who can use and enjoy the facilities alongside professional athletes who are working on skills, fitness and perfecting new tricks.