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Last week saw non-stop ski and snowboard action on the Schilthorn above Mürren in Switzerland as the annual Swatch Nines saw three new world records set.

Altogether of 40 invited riders from 13 different countries took part in the week-long session on a spectacular custom course of features which included "the Perfect Hip" which had been created with the intention of sending riders "sky-high safely."

That's exactly what Swiss freestyle skier Kim Gubser achieved with the biggest air of the week, hitting a high of 14.6 metres (47.9 feet) on Friday, breaking the previous record of 14.2m (46.6ft) set by American David Wise in 2016.

"I tested it out a little bit with smaller speed, and then getting faster and faster. We were looking where the limit is, and I found it. I found my limit." the 23-year-old freestyler said.

Besides Gubser's record, Austalian boarder Valentino Guseli flew to a height of 11.5 metres (37.7 feet), topping Swiss snowboarder Christian Haller's record of 11.3m (37.1ft), also set back in 2016.

Then 19-year-old Canadian Brooke D'Hondt established the first official record for highest women's snowboarding hip air after she reached a height of 7.3 metres (23.9 feet).

Swatch Nines was founded in 2008 as a friendly antagonist to traditional contests by providing unique playgrounds for action sports athletes to progress their skills as safely as possible in a non-competitive setting with filmmakers and photographers capturing unforgettable moments.

"The mission of Swatch Nines is to provide a platform for athletes to express their creativity and push their limits in a safe and non-competitive environment. The fact that we're able to break records like these shows that we're doing something right. I can't believe what the athletes were able to achieve on this setup. It's the most gratifying thing to see something that you've been planning for so long finally come to fruition and exceed all your expectations," commented event founder Nico Zacek.

A young skier has died apparently attempting to ski jump across a highway in Colorado.

The 21-year-old male skier died from injuries sustained whilst attempting to jump across US Highway 40 in what the local Grand County Sheriff's Office described as a "high-risk skiing stunt."

The incident occurred at the state's former Berthoud Pass ski area, one of the world's highest altitude ski centres but one which has not operated for over a decade and is used by ski tourers instead.

The Grand County Sheriff's Office's press release on the incident states that their preliminary investigation suggests that the skier attempted to clear the width of the roadway during a jump, but did not have enough speed and landed on the road at about 3 p.m. on April 9.

Bystander's called 911 and attempting to perform CPR but the skier, who was reported to be wearing a helmet and other protective gear, died at the scene.

The official cause of death and the identity of the skier have not yet been released.

German skier Christian Flühr, who has set 13 Guinness World Records, most of them for skiing, has announced he'll be setting a 14th world record next winter, to celebrate 25 years since he set his first one.

Flühr, from Germany's Feldkirchen-Westerham, now aged 50, set many of his records, subsequently broken by others, for endurance skiing, skiing downhill for as long and as far as possible, earning him the nicknames in Austrian and German media of "Bond on boards" or "0-0 skis" or simply "Mr Ski".

Although the details of what record Flühr will be attempting has yet to be announced, he has secured heavyweight support from Kitzbuhel's lift company, KitzSki. Board members Anton Bodner and Christian Wörister issued a statement to say,

"We are pleased that Christian Flühr has chosen our KitzSki ski area to set another world record. We will provide him with the best possible support with our entire team," said KitzSki board members.

Flühr will aim to set his new record in KitzSki in January 2025, a week after the famous Hahnenkamm race.

Flühr set his first world record in 1999 in Obertauern (December 14th - 17th) setting the world marathon skiing record by skiing for three days non-stop (68 hours and 23 minutes) covering the distance between America and Europe. One season later, in February 2001, Christian Flühr set the world record again by skiing for more than 4 days (103 hours and 21 minutes) non-stop. Later, he beat this world record several times but in other locations.

However by 2005 the record had grown to 202 hours and 1 minute, a record the still stands and was set by Australia's Nick Willey skiing at Thredbo, New South Wales, Australia between 2-10 September 2005. Altogether he skied down the slopes 916 times travelling over 1150km in the process.

Flühr's other records include skiing the most different lifts in one day, riding 60 different lifts within one day in Germany's Oberallgäu. He achieved his 13th and most recent world record a decade later in 2009.

"My first world record was exactly 25 years ago in the coming ski season. For the silver anniversary, it's basically my duty to get out on the skis again and set a new record," said Flühr, adding, "I'm looking forward to it and am firmly convinced that I'm going to achieve a new record. When I set my mind to something, I do it. That's how people know me."

Australian ski areas got some pre-season snowfall excitement exactly two-months before their 2024 winter is due to kick off at the King's Birthday public holiday long weekend.

Up to 15cm (6 inches) of snowfall was reported on ski slopes across the country

"Someone must've shaken up our snow globe overnight. Winter mode has been well and truly activated!" a spokesperson for Thredbo commented.

A young snow fan at Mt Hotham created what may be Australia's first snowman of the year, pictured top.

"With the snow season less than 2 months away, we'll be watching the temps as they continue to drop in the lead up to winter. Falls Creek will be opening for skiing and boarding from Saturday 8 June this year and we can't wait to see everyone back on the slopes!" a spokesperson for Fall's Creek said.

Currently, Lesotho's Afriski is posting the earliest expected opening date of the 2024 season, after not opening for snowsports last year. It's targeting June 1st for its opening day.

America's largest ski area, Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR), has been named an official venue of the Salt Lake City-Utah bid to host the 2034 Olympic Winter Games.

Pending confirmation of the 2034 Olympic events, PCMR will host competitions in men's and women's snowboarding halfpipe, snowboarding slopestyle, freestyle skiing halfpipe and freestyle skiing slopestyle.

The resort was the host of snowboarding competitions at the 2002 Games just a few years after it first allowed snowboarders on to its slopes. It was one of the last major US ski areas to allow snowboarding and even today two of the three resorts that still ban the sport from their slopes in the US are in Utah, one of them, Deer Valley, also in Park City.

"We are honored to work with the bid committee to create a uniquely meaningful "Home Games" experience for hundreds of U.S. athletes in 2034 and to welcome athletes from across the world, fostering unity and inspiring youth through the Olympic values. We can't wait to welcome the world to Park City in 2034!" a PCMR spokesperson said.

The IOC has not yet announced the hosts of the 2030 Winter Olympics but plans to do so, and the hosts of the 2034 Games on the eve of the start of the Paris Summer games later this year. It has said the French Alps are the preferred bidders for 2030, Utah for 2034.

Besides the 2002 Winter Games, PCMR has hosted 20 years of America's Opening World Cup races and the 2011 FIS Freestyle World Championships.

Excitement is building areas of a total eclipse that will pass over a 100 mile+ wide line up the coast of Northeast North America on Monday afternoon, providing totality over a number of ski areas in states and provinces including Vermont, Maine and Quebec.

Although some ski areas in the region have already ended their seasons, mother nature seems to have lined things up well for those still open, with up to 35 inches (87cm) of snowfall in the past week, one of the snowiest of 23-24, but clear skies forecast for most for Monday.

The forecast is actually better in the Northeast of the continent than in normally sunny Mexico and Texas where most eclipse watchers are heading as totality is due to last about a minute longer there and it was thought clear skies were more likely.



Ski areas seeing totality will include Stowe in Vermont, Tremblant in Quebec and Sugarloaf in Maine. Other ski areas not quite getting totality in the region will get 98/99% or higher. Ski areas and everyone else across almost all of North America will see a partial eclipse, and it will also be briefly visible to a small degree from the British West Coast including Scottish ski slopes (lifts closed for the evening) at sunset.

Many ski areas in the path of totality have organised festivities around the eclipse including bands performing Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Most will shut their lifts down for all of part of Monday afternoon for safety reasons and to let staff view the eclipse. All are warning not to look directly at the eclipse without suitable eye protection.

A growing number of US ski areas have announced plans to keep open into May after good spring snowfalls.

Most recently ski areas on the East Coast have reported up to a metre (3.3 feet) of fresh snowfall over the last four days.

However it's mostly West coast areas planning May operations with the deepest lying snow in North America. Only Killington in Vermont has confirmed its aiming for May if it can. It has had plenty of fresh snow this week but is well below its average for the season overall.

In California Mammoth Mountain and The Palisades are both reporting the snow lying more than 4 metres deep on their upper runs, two of the three deepest snowpacks in North America at present and say they are planning to stay open at least to the end of May, possibly into June.

In Utah, Snowbird have announced this week that they'll keep skiing and boarding through to at least Memorial Day at the end of May (27th). Spring operating hours with lifts running 8 am - 2 pm from May 6th, weekends only from May 12th. All "conditions permitting." A second Utah area, Solitude, is aiming for May 5th at present.

In Colorado Breckenridge, Loveland and Winter Park plan to stay open into May as well with Arapahoe Basin (pictured above this week) usually making it into June.

Crystal Mountain in Washington State is aiming to stay open into May too.

Oregon's Mt Bachelor plans to open to the start of next month while Timberline usually has North America's longest season, staying open into July or August, with skiing and boarding on its year-round Palmer Snowfield. It has the continent's second thickest snowpack at present at 4.4 metres.

Tickets are on sale now for the next London Snow Show, scheduled to take place at ExCeL over the weekend of 19-20 October 2024.

The Birmingham Snow Show which was revived for three years by the same company that runs the relaunched London Show has been cancelled. The London show debuted in its latest incarnation last autumn.

Tickets for adults aged 64 and under and teens aged 16 and older are priced at £10 a day, or £18 for both days. There's about a third off for seniors aged 65 and older and children aged 15 or younger are free.

The list of speakers, activities and exhibitors will grow over the six months between now and the show but headliners have been announced as American Olympic and World Champion alpine ski legend Bode Miller and Britain's own Dave Ryding.

Other speakers so far announced include Benji Alexander the first Jamaican Olympic Alpine skier and para-adventurer and expedition leader Darren Edwards.

Show visitors will also be able to take a free ski or snowboard lesson on the Teaching Slope sponsored by Crystal Ski Holidays, have an introduction to roller skiing including Biathlon laser shooting with RAF Nordic, watch Jibworx rail jams, learn about mountain safety and visit a new look Alpine Bar.

Exhibitors so far announced including Italy's Turismo Torino destination, Ski France and France Montagnes, Spain's Sierra Nevada, Norway, Switzerland's LAAX, Andorra and Austria's Otztal Tourismus and more will also be exhibiting at the show.

Gear companies so far lined up include Rossignol, Nordica, TSA, POC, Ski Exchange, Peak Ski Company, OOSC Clothing and Roarsome.

Tickets link: https://londonsnowshow.seetickets.com/event/the-london-snow-show-2024/excel/2961116