J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by SwingBeep

According to local reports https://www.suedtirolnews.it/chronik/stilfser-joch-unglaublich-wie-wenig-schnee-liegt https://skinachrichten.de/wenig-schnee-am-stilfser-joch-kurz-vor-beginn-der-sommerskisaison/ there is very little snow at Stelvio. Unless we have a cold wet summer, they will likely have to close the ski area for part of the summer.

The two new lifts (Geister 1 and 2), which were due to open last season, are still under construction. The haul ropes have yet to be spliced. Once the lifts are complete, the lift company will need to obtain an operating licence from Ansfisa, the National Agency for the Safety of Railway and Road Infrastructure, in Rome.

It has been an unusually cold week in the Alps, with glacier temperatures getting down as low as –14°C/7 degrees Fahrenheit overnight and remaining below freezing around the clock some days.

May 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are the Ice Saints (Eisheiligen) days. Yesterday was Saint Sophia's Day. It is usually called 'Kalte Sophie' in Switzerland and 'Koide Sophie' in Austria. According to weather lore, crops are not safe from frost until Sophie has passed.

Cervinia still has some lifts and some non-glacier runs open. According to their website https://www.cervinia.it/en/promo/cervino-spring-time-ticket-la-primavera-ti-porta-in-alta-quota
From 4th May to the 2nd June 2026 the Bontadini chairlift will operate from 9:00 am to 2:45 pm and runs 6 and 46 will be open. It will also be possible to ski down to Plan Maison, but the chairlifts from their will not be in operation. The lifts from Cervinia up to Plateau Rosà, will be open until 3:00 pm and run 7 will be open as far as Cime Bianche Laghi.

I think Cervinia tries to keep some lifts and runs open for as long as possible, so the lift companies can sell international passes for longer. They also have to operate the lifts from Cervinia up to Plateau Rosà, as these are part of the Alpine Crossing.

Several European companies sell old gondola cabins. Check out Taninges Télécabines in France, Altholz-Design UG (Gondel24) in Germany, and Reden Hermann Srl in Italy, Reden also sells second hand lifts. You can also find gondola cabins via small ads https://www.leboncoin.fr/annonces_similaires/3066385286 and auction platforms https://www.ricardo.ch/de/shop/Nure/offers/

Rather than staring at piste maps and google maps try staring at Open Ski Map https://openskimap.org you will have a much better chance of figuring out the route. In order to get from Alta Badia to Cortina you will have to take a Cortina Express bus or a taxi from the Hotel Armentarola to the Falzarego Pass, from there you ski down to the Cortina Skyline gondola lift, which you ride down on to get you back to Cortina. There are only two buses a day, at 10:00 am and 6:50 pm, so unless you want to take the bus all the way back to Cortina, you will need to take a taxi. If time is getting short you can take a taxi to the Skyline gondola. If there are no taxis waiting, call +39 0471 180000.

Think we were taken for mugs, in hindsight.

You were, if you scroll down to the bottom of the GripWalk website https://www.grip-walk.com/ you will see this table:



As you can see it clearly states that ski boots fitted with ISO 5355 "A" (adult) soles, commonly known as alpine soles are compatible with Gripwalk bindings.

Booked and paid ski hire ahead and brought our own boots.

In doing this you committed to taking whatever the rental shop offered, they effectively had you over a barrel. If you hadn't have paid in advance you could have gone to the other shop to see if the stories matched. Booking ski rental in advance mainly benefits the rental company and the affiliated shops.

Ski rental shops are staffed by seasonal labour that is increasingly difficult to find. Many of the people working in them have very little idea about what they are doing. Very few if any of them will have actually read any of the ISO standards that cover ski boots and bindings and probably won't have read the binding manufacturer's technical manuals.

The gradual introduction of the EES is governed by EU regulation 2025/1534. During the introduction, member states may fully or partially suspend the operations of the EES in the case of failure of the EES Central System, of national systems or of communication infrastructure that significantly disrupts the operations of the EES, or in exceptional circumstances that lead to traffic of such intensity that the waiting time at a border crossing point becomes excessive. So, until the system has been fully implemented and is operating as planned delays will vary.

It is impossible to say at this time because the EES is being introduced gradually and will not be fully operational until April 2025. By 11 November 2025, each Schengen area state was supposed to register 10% of third-country citizens entering the Schengen area in the EES. However, they didn't have to register biometric data up until 11 December 2025. By 10 January 2026, they are supposed to register the biometric data of 35% of third-country nationals entering the Schengen area in the EES. This figure is supposed to rise to 50% by 11 March 2026, with the aim of registering biometric data from everyone by 10 April 2026.

The EES-ETIAS Advisory Group met on 2–3 December 2025 and was satisfied with the progress made to date. The system appears to be functioning as expected. However, delays are likely due to several planes carrying third-country citizens arriving one after another, and if there are not be enough border guards to operate the system. I don't know if the Italians have employed extra border guards, but at Zurich Airport, the cantonal police force, who control the border, employed an additional 40 officers. However, at Geneva Airport, where the border is controlled by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, no additional officers have been employed.

Here in Canton Valais we are experiencing what is probably the worst snow storm since 1976. Due to the heavy snowfall the Valais State Council has declared a "special situation". We have been advised to stay indoors, if we must go out we should avoid walking near trees (the trees are heavily laden with snow so there is danger from falling branches) and avoid driving. There are extensive road and railway closures, Saas Fee and Zermatt are cut off. There are also extensive power cuts, all the ski lifts are closed as are the schools, libraries and museums.

The authorities have requested that people who had planned to travel to Valais for the Easter holidays postpone their arrival by one day.