J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

The line up and schedule for the second Altitude Comedy Festival which kicks off in Meribel next week has now been announced.

The 2009 comedy line-up includes Marcus Brigstocke, Ed Byrne, Andrew Maxwell, Phil Nichol, Ardal O'Hanlon, Omid Djalili and the Comedy Store Players – all playing multiple gigs.

The Festival debuted last year and proved a successful mix of snow, sun and fun predominantly for the thousands of Brits in resort but also with French comedians performing for French speakers and even some of the British performers attempting to deliver their routines in French.

Altitude 09 kicks off with a gala performance on Saturday, 28th March and runs through to Friday April 3rd with dozens of events through the week staged daily between 11am and 3am.

Performance costs range from free-of-charge up to 25 Euros and venues from small cafes on the slopes to the resort’s biggest venues. Passes covering multiple events at a discount are also available.

Besides comedy there are plenty of live music performances with KT Tunstall headlining with a concert at the Olympic ice rink in aid of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as well as many other acts from different musical genres.

On top of the music and comedy there are fun events on the snow including races and snowball fights. The more serious British Land National Ski Championships, boarder cross and big air competitions are also taking place during the festival.

The festival is keen to be green, with founder comedian Marcus Brigstocke a passionate campaigner on climate change. One euro is donated to the WWF for every ticket sold.
www.altitudefestival.com

Courtesy of and © Snow24 plc

Brush up your ski technique for the winter

The Academy team will be returning to the UK once again this Spring for the UK indoor real snow courses. The courses will be hosted at the Snow Centre Hemel Hempstead, SNO!zone Castleford and at the Chill Factore in Manchester.



Many skiers take advantage of these training sessions in the UK and continue to move their skiing on outside of the typical skiing calendar. The existence of these venues really bridges the gap between the winter and summer ski season aiding the progression and keeping the ski muscles in tune.

The spring dates will once again take place during the month of May 2009. Information on the Indoor Snow Slope Courses can be found here. The booking form will go live with the 2009 Spring dates from the evening of Thursday 12th March.

The Snow Centre - Hemel Hempstead
Saturday 23rd May
Sunday 24th May
Friday 29th May
Saturday 30th May

Chill Factor - Manchester
Saturday 9th May
Sunday 10th May
Saturday 16th May
Sunday 17th May

Sno!zone - Castleford
Monday 11th May
Tuesday 12th May
Monday 18th May
Tuesday 19th May
Monday 25th May
Tuesday 26th May

amanda n wrote:yehaaaw, Mr Admin can you tell ian cause he being nastly lol and saying all the snow in france will be gone by the time i get there next friday :(

Don't you worry... we'll send a heatwave directly to "Wicked Wickers" to make his flowers wilt! 8)

A distinct change in the recent settled weather is under way. For most of the past ten days, the major alpine region has enjoyed blue skies - although Spring temperatures last week have once again given way to colder than average conditions.

Weather and Snow THIS Week

Starting tomorrow, predominantly affecting the Northern French Alps, Switzerland and parts of Austria, bands of snow will push into the area. Significant snowfall is possible to the North of the main alpine ridge, with accumulations of 30cm or more falling to 1000 metres and maybe below. Snow is likely in the affected areas throughout Tuesday and Wednesday.

A brief clear spell may follow before further snow at the weekend. We'll have a further update in our normal Thursday e-mail but the indications are promising for further good snowfall, albeit perhaps with a higher snow line.

With the tremendous depths of snow in most resorts, quiet slopes and many late deals available - it's a great time to get away if you can; and looking very good for Easter if you're off then. :D :D :D :D ...oh, hang on, I'm not... :cry:

...oh, and our Colombian barge-rider says it's snowing in Scotland too...

An annual study of lift ticket prices from more than 600 ski areas in 40 countries worldwide has provided some statistics to back up trends most skiers have been aware of throughout the season – lift ticket prices are much higher for Brits travelling abroad.

The findings are published in the eighth edition of the World Ski Lift Ticket Price Report (2009) which converts six-day, high-season ticket prices published in 20 different currencies in to US dollars, European Euros and British pounds to allow for international comparison.

The Study found huge fluctuations in cost depending on where the skier lived and which country they were travelling to, compared to last year.

Brits Hammered by plunging Pound

The change in price depending on where you live was reflected in the world average price, which for people in the Euro-zone increased by 4.9% from 174.33 to 182.90 Euros but for US citizens decreased by 8.5% from 258.00 to 236.00 Dollars. Brits fared the worst with six-day ticket costs up on average from GBP130.75 to GBP168.98 because of the weak pound – an increase of nearly 30% on average.

The price changes of course reflect currency fluctuations rather than price increases in resort and vary according to destination with prices to most European nations and Canada lower than to Japan, Switzerland and the US due to the strong Yen, Franc and Dollar.

After five or six years of a weakening US Dollar, Swiss Franc and a longer period of a weak Yen, the changes seem to indicate, for the time being at least, a return to cost differentials in the 1990s when the US was clearly the most expensive in the world and Switzerland the most expensive in Europe.

But it's not that simple. Although Swiss headline prices are high, families may find skiing there cheaper than elsewhere in Europe because the country has the most generous child discounts with free places at many resorts until children are aged 8 or 9 (compared to 4 or 5 elsewhere) and then 50% off until aged 16 or 18 (a third off to 11 or 12 and full adult price from 12 or 13 elsewhere).

Similarly, although US headline prices are high, most resorts offer very flexible prices with much lower prices outside peak periods and further discounts for online, advance or package purchases.

That said, Report findings included 8 of the world's top ten most expensive tickets are offered by ski resorts in Colorado, and 19 out of 20 were in the US. Deer Valley in Utah sold the world's first $600+ ticket ($602) for Xmas/New Year week this season. An average six day US resort peak-season lift ticket cost of $408 is exactly double the average French ski resort peak season cost of $204 dollars.

The Matterhorn Ski Paradise which links Zermatt in Switzerland and Cervinia in Italy has leapt back up to the position it held six years ago as Europe's most expensive at about GBP255 for six days, although the previous title holder, the French Mont Blanc regional pass that includes Chamonix and a dozen other passes at GBP230 for adults remains the more expensive for children.

The tiny principality of Andorra, once famous as a budget destination, now has Europe's highest average lift ticket price at $245. The lowest priced six day pass in the world was found at Iran's Tochal ski area near Tehran with a $51 cost. The weak British pound means skiing in Scotland is currently 20% cheaper for Americans.

Get Down (South)

On the upside for Brits, the Australian and New Zealand dollars are doing even worse than the pound meaning skiing in the southern hemisphere this year is the best value it has been for many years with prices down 10-15% on average.

More information from: info@snow24.com

...and Cuts Prices in Half...

Sierra Nevada will offer half price ski tickets after the Easter holidays and have announced that the season will last for an extra fortnight to at least mid-May because of all the snow.

The resort, Europe's most southerly, currently has four metres of snow on its slopes and 100km (63 miles) of piste open. The discounted lift pass will be available from April 20th to May 15th.

Other Spanish ski resorts are almost as well endowed and have between 170cm (six feet) and 260cm (12 feet) of snow.

Courtesy of and © Snow24 plc

On topic now please folks... I've trimmed the rather strange diversion, so let's get back to fake gear!

Skis were hired. I assume A had taken the hire shops insurance but Intersport replaced them as soon as A was back to the resort and he was skiing again that afternoon.

No details exchanged as all involved were very relieved that both A and the faller walked away (after some considerable time regaining composure). TBH we could have been looking at two very serious injuries; not nice seeing the guy slide but watching him disappear off the edge of the piste... :(

No idea what launched it but it's not a forgiving place to make any mistake, and I doubt I could have self-arrested on the same slope.

Down to a skiing incident, the French guy fell on one of the trickiest slopes in the resort but A was waiting in an un-wise location so not fair or appropriate to go blaming either I don't think. We've all had falls and mostly we get away with it - thankfully, everyone did this time too.