J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Vail's High Noon Express Lift (#5), it's latest quad, also known as "Chair 5," has gone into service at the weekend.
The Leitner-Poma lift take's Vail's uplift capacity to 59,092 people per hour, more than any other resort in the USA, and second in North America only to Whistler. It now has 17 high speed quads, more than any other ski area on the planet.
The new lift takes only six minutes to make its ascent, half the time of the fixed-grip triple chair it has replaced.
Guests were invited to receive free cookies and cocoa and a celebratory souvenir badge and local's Pepi and Sheika Gramshammer's, who are long time locals, made the first ride up.
"There is nothing on earth like Vail's Back Bowls on a powder day, and with 70 percent more capacity and half the ride time of the old lift, the new Chair 5, will allow our guests to move quicker up and around the mountain and get even more out of their days," said Chris Jarnot, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Vail Mountain.
Pepi was one of the first to ski the Back Bowls that made Vail famous when it opened in 1962 with only three lifts. Currently the resort has 5000 acres of terrain open.

Britain's Number 1 skier, Chemmy Alcott is recovering from surgery after breaking her leg in a high speed crash during downhill practice at the Lake Louise World Cup course in Canada.

"We understand that Chemmy fell on the upper part of a steep section of the Lake Louise course and continued to tumble down the piste. She suffered an open fracture and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Banff," said British Ski and Snowboard (BSS) Chief Executive, Dave Edwards.

"We are currently waiting to hear from the medical team as to the full extent of the injury and success of the operation. Chemmy is a great athlete and has worked very hard to be ready for the World Cup season, so missing it will be a big blow. Naturally, we wish her all the best and hope that she makes a rapid and complete recovery."

Chemmy was the first British woman to qualify for the World Cup Finals, the first British skier to win a run in a World Cup race and the first British skier to win the British Land National Ski Championships six times in a row.

Chemmy has competed in three consecutive Olympic Games, in Salt Lake City, Turin and then Vancouver - at both Turin and Vancouver she finished an impressive 11th place. She is currently ranked in the top 30 in the world for Super G, Giant Slalom and Combined and is an ambassador for British sport, encouraging younger athletes to pursue their dreams.

For more information visit British Ski and Snowboard at www.teambss.org.uk or follow them on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TeamBSS

Nevis Range's opening tomorrow will be the earliest since the 1990s. The resort has been closed for its annual pre-season maintenance programme, but staff have worked round the clock to complete the parts required for the lifts to run two weeks sooner than expected.

"We hadn't planned to open until Saturday 18 December, but with the recent snowfall the conditions have been improving steadily, so decided to open early this weekend. Thanks must go to our engineering team who have been working tirelessly so that we will can open early." said Marian Austin, Nevis Range MD,

The resort, near Fort William on the east Coast, will join Cairngorm above Aviemore, which has been open for three weeks, and the other two Eastern Highland ski areas of Glenshee and the Lecht which have been receiving near constant snowfalls for the past few weeks.

The earlier-than-planned opening at Nevis Range, the earliest in fact since 1996, does mean that an expanded ski rental facility scheduled to open in a fortnight won't be open yet and users are advised to rent from shops before they arrive if they don't have their own equipment. The effort will be worth it according to Nevis Range staff.

"Snow has been falling on the slopes for almost a month, a good base has built up and the conditions are now looking fantastic." Said Heather Negus, Marketing Manager."

Just to cheer you up Tony, here's an e just in from BC, "Have you been getting the updates about Fernie Alpine Resort? As some powder hounds have said- the best places to ski right now in North America- Jackson, Steamboat and Fernie Alpine Resort. We are the only resort in Canada that will have over 90 runs open this Saturday and we have had over 230cm of snow so far! Entire resort is open with all 5 Bowls open! It has been just incredible powder skiing!"

New cabins have been delivered to Europe's highest ski area, Val Thorens, to replace the old cabins of the highest cable car in the Three Valleys.
The two new cabins, one grey and one red, were delivered from Switzerland and made the last part of their journey across the snow, towed between two piste bashers.
The cabins will go in to service this weekend on the Cime Caron cable car, which is the highest on the 3 Valleys circuit, the world's largest with 600km of runs share by Meribel, Les Menuires, Courchevel, Val Thorens and others.
The same size as the canings they replace, each able to carry up to 150 people, the two new cabins cost 700,000 Euros and weigh in at 22 tonnes each.

Zermatt reports that as of this weekend it will have more runs available than anywhere else.
The famous Swiss resort, which operates Europe's highest lifts at 3,899m in the summer and is open 365 days a year (subject to weather conditions) will have eighty percent of its giant "Matterhorn ski paradise lifts and pistes open.
This means there will be more than 200km (125 miles) of runs to enjoy, with the snow in excellent shape too,
"Conditions are currently like those normally found in mid-winter." Said Reto Wyss of lift company Zermatt Bergbahnen.
The new terrain open from Saturday includes an additional 50km of runs, including the long valley run down from Furi to Zermatt.
After all the recent snowfall MeteoSwiss is forecasting plenty of sunshine over the weekend so the resort is predicting superb ski and boarding conditions.
"Thanks to these ideal conditions and a little help from the weather gods, there's nothing to hold winter sports fans back. Where else in Europe can you find over 200 km of pistes in early December to get winter off to a flying start." says Reto.
To avoid the need to wait at the ticket office Zermatt recommends skiers and boarders buy their passes online at ticketportal.com, or use Mobile Ticketing by texting the word ZERMATT to number 363 in Switzerland. A third option is to buy a Snow & Rail lift pass and train ticket combined pass from Swiss Federal Railways SBB, available at all Swiss stations.

Crystal Mountain, USA

Crystal Mountain in Washington state (www.skicrystal.com) is one of the few resorts in the world adding a new gondola this winter.
The new Doppelmayr built $5.5 million gondola connects ruins over the ski area's full vertical from the base to the ski area's summit, replacing a journey that used to require two successive chairlift rides and cutting journey time down to nine minutes.
The new lift, with a capacity of 450 skiers and boarders per hour, offers views across to the famous Mt. Rainier peak and has been named after it. As well as snow sports it will provide access to the mountain top for evening diners and for non-skiers.
The Gondola will also serve as a backup when the Rainier Express chair is not able to run due to high winds.

Pila in Italy's Aosta Valley has opened a rare new black run this winter starting from Platta de Grevon (2700m) and descending to Plan De L'Eyve. Access to the run is provided by a conveyor lift which leaves from the Couis 1 arrival station. This new lift is housed within a perspex cover, forming a tunnel which is likely to be largely covered by snow through the winter for minimal visual impact, as well as protecting users from extremes of weather.
The area where the new run is located is well positioned in terms of both slopes and snowfall and has been landscaped for a smooth descent and made secure from avalanche danger.
The resort has also announced that to add to the enjoyment for those who like their snow light and fluffy, the new piste will be left ungroomed after each nig snowfall – for several days at least, to provide an off piste experience.
Snowmaking has also been further upgraded this winter at Pila and there's a new baby park for fun in the snow on bobs and sledges, as well as a snow tubing slope, served by a 114-metre travelator, situated down by the village in the area near the church.
Pila opened last weekend for the winter and skipass prices are unchanged for stays off five days or more, compared with the winter season 2009/2010.
For skipasses valid for three days or more you have the option of skiing from one to three days in other ski resorts in the Aosta Valley.
For teenagers and seniors the discount rate on regular adult ticket prices are more generous this winter with those aged up to 14 years now receiving a 40% reduction (previously 30%) and for the over 60s there is a reduction of 50% on the daily ticket from Monday to Friday.