J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

The opening of a brand new airport located North West of Barcelona should make it quicker and easier for Brits to reach the Spanish Pyrenees and Andorra next winter.
The shiny new Lleida-Alguaire Airport, which is also connected to several of Spain's major cities by a high speed rail link, will begin taking charter flights – exclusively from tour operator Neilson - from December 19th.
The company expects to carry around 16,000 British skiers and boarders on charters from Batwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol bound for resorts in Andorra and a new choice they're offering for 11-12, Baqueira Beret. The flights will be operated by the Thomas Cook airlines..
Neilson, who for the past two decades have used Tolosa airport for holidays to the Pyrenees, report that guest holidaying at one of their Andorran resorts or their new Spanish destination will enjoy the benefits of shorter transfer times and exclusive use of all check-in desks, security points and arrival/dept hall for Neilson flight times.
Specifically transfer times to Arinsal in VallNord will be reduced from four to two-and-three-quarter hours and to Soldeu from three-and-a-half to three-and-a-quarter hours.

Bansko Protestors in Sofia

The rather murky world of Bulgarian ski resort development came in to some focus a few weeks ago when the World Wildlife Fund report that hundreds of people joined a protest in central Sofia to voice their concern over a planned amendment of legislation proposed by the Bulgarian government to cover up construction violations of Bansko Ski Zone over the past decade, built in the heart of Pirin National Park.
It has emerged that over the past 10 years, Bansko Ski Zone has been constructed on a territory larger than the one designated by the concession contract, which makes around 40% of it illegal.
Much of the illegal building has taken place on national park land which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site leading to tyhe involvement of the EC and UNESCO who have threatened penalties over the year, although so far there has been no sign of these happening.
Environment minister Nona Karadzhova has said that rather than ask that the illegally built ski lifts and buildings are removed, the government plans to solve the problem by amending the Concession Law so that the unlawfully built ski facilities on close to 647,000 m2 would become retrospectively legal.
The concession contract for Bansko Ski Zone was signed in 2001 with the concession rights given to Yulen JSCo., whose present major shareholders are two offshore companies as well as Bansko municipality. The offshore businesses lack any transparency as to who runs them but it has been alleged that their ultimate boss may be the head of the Bulgarian Ski Federation.
"If the law is amended, this would mean that the government is letting a private company usurp state land instead of punishing the offender", said Vesselina Kavrakova, Programme Manager of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme in Bulgaria. "This move would show support for the destruction of Bulgaria's protected areas and encourage breaking the law when it comes to nature conservation, This would be completely against the principles of EU environmental protection."
Pirin National Park is a part of the EU's environmental network NATURA 2000 and a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. The European Commission is currently investigating illegal construction of ski runs and facilities on the territory of the park after 2007, when Bulgaria became a EU member. Meanwhile, UNESCO have declared that if construction violations go ahead, they will designate Pirin National Park a World Natural Heritage site in danger.
National parks and reserves in Bulgaria represent exclusive state land and are the territories most protected by law. Their entire ownership belongs exclusively to the state and hence to the Bulgarian people.
Pirin National Park has unique natural resources such as 120 year old pine forests, including the oldest tree on the Balkan peninsula – Baikushev's pine with an approximate age of 1,300 years.


WWF is calling on the Bulgarian government to take charge of the illegally built installations for the benefit of the state and begin to recultivate the land.

There are now only two glaciers where you can - in theory and weather permitting – ski every day of the year, the Hintertux glacier IN Austria and Zermatt in Switzertland.
The number of indoor ski slopes open year round has passed 50 in 25 countries and next month the number of these where you can spend an entirely indoor snow sports holiday grows to three with the opening of a four-star superior hotel at the Allrounder snow slope (also known as the Jever Skihalle) in Neuss close to Düsseldorf in Germany.
The Hotel Fire and Ice (www.hotelfireandice.de) is scheduled to open on September 16th and joins a similar four star hotel adjoining the 550m long SnowWorld Landraff in the Netherlands and the five star Kempinski by the 450m long Ski Dubai.
The new hotel features restaurant, lounge, bar and fitness and wellness facilities including two saunas overlooking the snow slopes. There's a choice of room types up to the 100 square metre Presidential 'Fire & Ice Suite,'
There are also extensive hi-tec conference facilities with lots of organised programmes available for the corporate market, some making use of the 300m long ski slope, others the Climbing Park where guests can balance, clamber-up and teeter above 70 different stations or walk over and try to conquer the 32-meter high peak on the climbing wall.

Chamonix has confirmed that there'll be no new lifts for 2011/12, but the tourist office say that,
"There's an exciting futuristic project for the summit of the Aiguille du Midi at 3842m!"
The precise details are yet to be revealed but it seems that the highest mountain restaurant in France, the Aiguille du Midi up at 3842m, from which thousands of skiers and boarders begin their descent of the world's longest off (or on) piste ski run, the Vallee Blanche, with the sometimes treacherous shuffle down 'The arete' is heading for a makeover.
Under the tagline "step into the void" the Aiguille du Midi is destined to become what the tourist office describe as, "the highest museum in the world with an ambitious and futuristic vision for this exceptional site."
The "global project" is soon to be revealed say the tourist office, but for this winter, visitors can get their adrenaline going by placing a foot on the glass 'Terrasse Aravis', a projection suspended over the 2000+m vertical void above Chamonix.
The other news from the Chamonix Valley this summer is that the Grands Montets glacier above Argentière is the latest to get a physical cover put over in order to minimise the melting affect of climate change. A 750m² tarpaulin has been placed over the 'Bergschrund' at the top of the glacier.
This technique of ice covering has already been tried successfully on several Swiss glaciers. The tarpaulin will be removed in October before the main snow falls begin.

Squaw Valley

Squaw Valley by Lake Tahoe in California looks to be one of the resorts with the biggest changes planned for the coming winter. It has announced a $50 million capital investment plan spread over five years.
There will also be fundamental changes on the mountain, such as the ending of the resort's more or less unique resistance to naming names of ski runs, only the lifts and next winter there'll be named runs, complete with hi-tec electronic signage to them.
"Squaw Valley is an incredible and diverse mountain, and we are committed to honouring every aspect of the mountain's history, legacy and legend," said Andy Wirth, Squaw Valley's president and chief executive officer.
Capital spending plans, which will see an initial $15m spend for this winter, will cover everything from new food and hospitality offerings to new beginner and advanced high-speed chairlifts and trail improvements.
First off the base level of Squaw Valley's Olympic House base lodge will be transformed into a new day lodge and family recreation centre and there'll be a new ticket and sales centre. The main snowboard rental shop and demo centre will be re-opening in a new slopeside location next to the resort's main ski rental shop, allowing skiers and riders to effortlessly rent or exchange gear, and will offer the latest in ski and snowboard technology, including a new Salomon rental fleet.
The skier experience will be further enhanced by new magic carpets, new rental equipment and new progression-based features. Additionally, a major portion of the interior of the 17,000 square foot Squaw Kids facility is being remodelled and refurbished.
There'll be a bigger spend of approximately $20 million in capital improvements the following year for the 2012-13 winter season, including the installation of two new high-speed detachable lifts—one lift replacing Granite Chief servicing intermediate and advanced terrain, and the other lift replacing the High Camp chairlift. The existing High Camp chairlift will be refurbished and reinstalled in a new location with improved alignment.

The iconic resort of Jackson Hole in Wyoming, USA is spending around £3m this summer on improvements, the majority of it going on a new double chairlift.
Usually when a new chair is built these days it's a quad or 6 seater chairlift, but Jackson Hole believe they only need a double chair in the chosen location to help improve skier flow around the mountain and give a new access route back up from South Pass Traverse, below the existing Thunder Lift, to the top of the Bridger Gondola.
The link will mean skiers and boarders can stay on the upper slopes more easily if terrain on lower slopes is limited, for example at the start of the season. Jackson Hole is making a two pronged assault on that issue by installing more snowmaking on key lower runs too as part of a $4.5m spend following their second busiest ever winter.
The new Marmot chairlift will have a capacity of 1,200 skiers per hour and will take the resort's lift count up to 12.
Another chunk of the resort's summer spend is going on a $1m, makeover of Jackson hole's children's centre and they're also purchasing a new trail groomer with special park and pipe cutting features.

Take the Train to Les Arcs (then the Express to La Plagne)

Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) have opened bookings for direct rail access from St Pancras to the heart of the French Alps earlier than before. Bookings for winter 2011-12 can be made now.
The availability of rail tickets now circumvents a long standing issue for those who wanted the option of rail travel, but wanted to secure bookings for accommodation in resort well in advance and have the option of taking advantage of early booking lower-prices on airlines if rail travel options proved unsuitable.

As well as being more environmentally friendly, advantages and cost savings in rail travel include quick central-London check in, compared to the trip to the airport, check-in, security, wait, flight, baggage collection, transfer routine of flying, which can take the eight hours the train trip does and with all the bits of the trip added together, can easily equal or pass the return fares starting from £149 on Eurostar. For added savings and convenience, Eurostar allows ski passengers to carry on-board an extra item of luggage in addition to the normal luggage allowance - such as a pair of skis or a snowboard - at no extra cost.

Eurostar's daytime and overnight services, serve the French ski towns of Moûtiers, Aime-La-Plagne and Bourg St Maurice. Eurostar stations are located a short bus ride from the resorts avoiding lengthy transfers to and from the airport. Ski resorts close to the rail stations include Courchevel, La Plagne, Tignes, Meribel, Les Arcs, allowing people to choose a resort that matches their needs.

The direct seasonal ski services will run from Saturday 17 December (day services) and Friday 23 December (night services) until Saturday 14th April 2012. There is only seated accommodation on overnight trains.

Eurostar's overnight services arrive in the Alps early on a Saturday morning and depart late on a Saturday evening, making them perfect for winter sports enthusiasts looking for an extra couple of days on the slopes. On the Saturday day service, passengers can sit back and enjoy stunning views of the French countryside en route.

"French ski resorts are some of the most popular in Europe, and more and more travellers are seeing that high speed rail is the perfect way to reach them, with a minimum of stress and limited impact on the environment. On average, a Eurostar journey accounts for just one tenth of the carbon emissions of an equivalent flight and allows travellers to arrive close to their resort, relaxed, refreshed and ready to hit the slopes." Said Mary Walsh, Eurostar's Director of Communications.

Following the Scottish Government rescue of the famous Midlothian dry ski slope by Edinburgh earlier this year, two more of the country's dry ski slopes have been saved for the time being.
Many of the UK's artificial surface slopes are operated by local councils, often at a loss, and so are finding themselves on the front line in the current scenario of swathing cuts that councils are being forced to make across the country. At the same time, despite the durability of Dendix, many are reaching the end of their natural lives and finding the money to buy in new slope surfaces is a challenge for most. A third factor affecting some is the success of the UK's six indoor snow centres.

However the 230m long Pontypool slope, one of the UK's oldest and longest artificial surface ski slopes, has been saved from closure thanks to the efforts of the local Torfaen Ski Club.

The slope was threatened with closure through the summer months as the local council struggled to find GBP9.2 million in savings from its budget. This led to fears that the slope would fall in to disrepair and be in danger of vandalism but the Ski Club will now operate the slope each week at their own expense.
The other good news is that Ski Rossendale in the North West of England, which was established in 1973 but closed in March, plans to reopen in September following the creation of Ski Rossendale Limited, a social enterprise company, which has won the bidding process to operate from the council there and aims to operate the facility as 'a friendly, community-run centre.'