J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Following the news at the start of the month that eastern Canada's largest ski area, Mont Tremblant, had seen record snowfall, a second Quebec ski area has said it has had an all-time record snowfall total for the season.

Massif du Sud said it was approaching a 750cm snowfall total earlier this month, which it said is a record for the province, and that it had also had a 13% increase in its skier numbers daily visitors.

It credited the snowfall, about a mmetre more than other resorts in the region,.to, "…a microclimate thanks to altitude and geographical location."

Luc Skypowder, general manager of the resort lamented the fact that although still fully open they would be fordced to close due to lack of demand,

"We work all season to bring the mountain to its peak, and that's when everyone drops out! And yet, these same people want the mountain to be snow-covered at the end of November, beginning of December… It's the world upside down!" he said.

The last day of the season is scheduled for April 23 (in the last resorts to close in Quebec and in the last 2 in the greater Quebec City region), it would nevertheless be possible to stretch more if the clientele was keen to enjoy winter sports and would be present on the slopes.

"The current conditions would certainly allow us to do so, which is however impossible because we would not be profitable." laments Skypowder, while the daily clientele (including visits from season pass holders) has dropped drastically in recent weeks, despite the abundant snowfall.

But where are the skiers hiding in the spring?

"It's a societal problem in my opinion! shares the general manager, a career man in the ski industry. Currently, Quebecers are planning their summer vacations, bike shops are overwhelmed, cars can wear summer tires since March 15, and yet… The snow continues to accumulate on the mountains of Quebec!"

Ski areas across the Alps and Dolomites have been experiencing cold temperatures and snowfall down to low-elevations over the past four days.

Snow totals reported on the highest slopes, around 3,000m altitude, have continued to build with some ski areas now reporting as much as 90cm (3 feet) of fresh snowfall in 72 hours. Skiers and boarders have reported "mid-winter conditions on the slopes.

The snowfall has arrived as most ski areas have closed for the season already, or will do after Sunday's skiing, but it's good news for ski areas that are staying open later this month nor into May or beyond, which are the ones reporting the most snowfall.

The heaviest snowfall has been reported in Austria with the Hintertux glacier reporting 90cm. Solden, which has the deepest snowpack in Austria has had 80cm and Switzerland's Engelberg, also open into May, has had 65cm.

Tignes, which has been posting the deepest snowpack in Europe all winter and had seen its 4.5m base that down to 4.1 metres before the snowfall began but its now back up to 4.5 metres. Its got three more weeks of its season to run through into May.

The winter weather hasn't been limited just to snowfall though with Austria's Molltal glacier closing for 48 hours due to gale force winds.

Lech is pictured top on Friday.

A new terrain expansion at Aspen Mountain will see the famous ski town's original ski area add about 20% to its skiable area.

Opening for the 2023-2024 season, the area called Pandora, which has been skied for years by ski tourers and freeriders, will now be accessed via a high-speed quad.

The new lift will open up 1,220 vertical feet of groomed trails and glades ranging from intermediate to advanced terrain. The expansion will be the first significant terrain addition to the area, one of four that make up the entire aspen-Snowmass offering, since the opening of the Silver Queen Gondola in December of 1985.

"Pandora's expansion will not only extend some of the best existing runs but also it will diversify Aspen Mountain's terrain mix, adding a nice helping of intermediate glades and groomed runs," said a spokesperson for the ski area.

Increasing the public's access to Pandora's terrain is also an important step against future climate-challenged ski seasons.

Tickets have been made available for next Autumn's snow shows in Birmingham and London, and the organisers say there are a limited amount of free tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The National Snow Show at the NEC Birmingham is back for its third staging in its new format but the London Snow Show at ExCeL London will be the first in the capital since the Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Festival was cancelled shortly before the pandemic began.

The two shows will begin and end the new National Snow Week, the Birmingham show on 14-15 October and the new London one on 21-22 October.

It has already been announced that speakers at the two shows will include Eve Muirhead OBE, skip of the British curling team which became Olympic champions at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing; multi gold-medal winning skier Millie Knight and boarding superstar Mia Brookes Mia who won the slopestyle event at the recent FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2023.

Tickets are available via: http://www.nationalsnowweek.com

A number of ski areas in Colorado have already ended their 22-23 seasons, and the majority will close at the end of the day this coming Sunday 16th, but five ski areas have confirmed they'll be staying open into May, or beyond.

Crested Butte, Telluride and Wolf Creek – which had previously been posting the deepest snow in the state – are among the areas that have already closed.

However, Copper Mountain and Loveland say they'll stay open until Sunday, May 7th. Winter Park stayed open to Sunday, May 14th and Breckenridge will remain open "as long as possible into May," with no closing date announced.

Other resorts staying open beyond this weekend include Aspen Mountain, Purgatory and Vail Mountain to Sunday, April 23rd.

Arapahoe Basin (pictured top this week) is likely to be the last area open as usual, staying open until at least Sunday, June 4th, although in past years at has ended up extending its season.

Australian ski areas have been celebrating pre-season snowfall over the Easter weekend.

Accumulations have been measured in millimetres rather than centimetres but have been enough to cause excitement with just two months until the 2023 ski season is due to begin there.

Most Australian ski areas are expected to open for the season over Saturday 10 - Sunday 11 Jun, 2023.

The Monday following has been a public holiday to officially celebrate Queen Elizabeth IIs birthday allowing skiers to make a long-weekend of opening-weekend. This year that public holiday in New South Wales and Victoria has officially been renamed to the "King's Birthday Weekend" following the death of the queen last year – and will stay the same date, even though King Charles III was born in November.

It is with a touch of sadness that we must move to change the name, but it is an important recognition of the new monarch, King Charles III, that the public holiday will continue and be henceforth named the King's Birthday public holiday," said the NSW Government's Employee Relations Minister Damien Tudehope.

Falls Creek pictured top, Perisher below.

The Beartooth Basin summer ski area located on the Montana/Wyoming border says it plans to open for its 2023 season over the Memorial Day holiday long weekend in the US at the end of May.

Originally established as the Red Lodge International Summer Racing Camp, in the mid-1960s by Austrians Pepi Gramshammer, Eric Sailer and Anderl Molterer, the centre is the only one in North America to only be open in the summer ski months.

The centre has faced challenges with lifts needing repair delaying season openings or lack of adequate winter snow build up other years, but this year it announced plans to open in March and has now specified the date. The length of the season can last from a few weeks to a few months depending on conditions.

Beartooth Basin is one of half-a-dozen summer-only ski areas in the northern hemisphere including centres in Italy, Japan, Norway and Sweden.

190 firefighters in full gear convened at Arapahoe Basin resort in Colorado recently for the 16th-annual Firehose Relay.

The race is a charity fundraiser to benefit the Children's Hospital Colorado Burn Camps Program, a program that allows children burn victims to go to camp.

38 teams of five firefighters skied or rode down a slalom course on High Noon (an intermediate run) hanging onto 50 feet of fire hose.

"It was an awesome sight to behold (previous ski/snowboard experience was not necessarily required) and helped raise about $30,000!" a spokesperson for Arapahoe Basin commented.

The event this year saw the most participation the race has ever had with the fastest time from when the hose started unravelling until the team crossed the finished line, was 35.02 minutes.