J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Anyes wrote:What about BC? - I am going to SunPeaks?

Very nice, great resort! From what I can tell looking good! They've had a great early season and opened early with tonnes of snow last month. For a whole they had more terrain open than Whistler (think they might still). Bit cold is all... :)

The long awaited cold temperatures and snowfall have arrived in New England and much of the rest of North-eastern North America.

The region has been suffering from warm and wet, or dry, weather which has left ski slopes brown and made snowmaking challenging.

But snowfall on Friday brought up to 14 inches (35cm) of snow to ski slopes in New York State and Vermont and there's more forecast. At times and in some locations snow was reported to be accumulating at up to two inches (5cm) per hour and blizzard conditions were reported at times as strong winds blew in at the same time.

The snow is expected to continue through to Monday with temperatures in the range of 5 to 15 degrees below freezing. Some areas may end up with totals of several feet (60cm) of snowfall, although for most it will be a third to half of that.

The weather is then expected to stay very cold through Christmas weekend.

It's cold further north in Eastern Canada too, where the area has been suffering from the same lack of snow.
It's an improving picture here as well although less snow is falling.

Up to now ski areas in the Eastern US have been carefully staging ski slope photography to show happy skiers

(Killington pictured below, Sunday River top, on Friday)

Starting this winter, from tomorrow, December 17th, the ski area of the Les Gets resort will be tobacco-free, believed to be a first in Europe.

In real terms, this means that smoking will be prohibited in the entire communal ski area, both on the ski lifts and on the slopes. Five smoking areas will be set up for those who still wish to take a "cigarette break".

"We want to showcase our number one asset which is the clean air of the mountain, which is why thousands of visitors visit us every year," explains Benjamin Mugnier, who is in charge of the project.

More than 3000 cigarette butts are collected annually on the Les Gets ski area, each representing 150 substances that are toxic to the environment, nearly 4000 pollutants (mercury, lead, arsenic, DDT, butane, ammonia...), up to 300 litres of polluted water or 1m3 of snow (equivalent to 3 bathtubs) and 10 to 15 years taken to break down.

For several years, the resort had been distributing free pocket ashtrays. However, there was a desire to take the approach further in order to drastically reduce this source of significant environmental pollution.
Beyond the environmental aspect, health is also at the heart of the concerns. Indeed, passive smoking is a significant phenomenon on ski lifts, with some skiers occasionally smoking on the same seat as other non-smokers or in queues, sometimes alongside children.

In the smoking areas, located at the top of the ski lifts, there will be ashtrays, made from recycled skis by the cooperative company Skitec. The cigarette butts gathered in the various smoking areas will be collected and recycled into energy, all in partnership with the association Tree6clope.

Several tobacco-free ski areas have already existed for several years in North America, Japan and New Zealand but the Les Gets approach is believed to be a first in Europe.

Project supporters include the League Against Cancer through the "Spaces without Tobacco" scheme and Alcome, the eco-organisation for the reduction of cigarette butts in public spaces.

In line with this comprehensive approach, Sagets (company operating the Les Gets ski and leisure area) has set up a "tobacco way out" programme for its employees. During the employee welcome days, awareness-raising has been put in place in partnership with occupational health, and the company has undertaken to support volunteers who wish to quit smoking, by financing the remainder of the treatment.

A popular December event at Mt Buller ski area in Australia has lost its novelty a little as snow keeps falling on the country's ski slopes, naturally.

The Australian 2022 ski season ended in early October as springtime got underway, but in the intervening two months, as summertime neared, then arrived, Australian ski centres kept receiving repeat snowfalls, the latest in the past few days.

At times, particularly in October, it was colder and snowier in Australia than in the Alps and Rockies where ski areas were waiting for snowfall and low temperatures for snowmaking.

The natural snowfall risks taking some of the excitement from the annual 'Snow In Summer' event at Mt Buller ski area, which uses a pile of snow stockpiled from summer to create a snowy area for fun activities around Christmas. This year the event will run from 27th to 31st December.

On the agenda are kids' activities, a live DJ and snow play activities daily.

"Our entertainers will provide some super exciting activities in the snow, plus a spot for general snow play and DJ's pumping the holiday tunes," the resort promises.

New Year's Eve will include a special Snow Disco with Glitter Bar and Snow Games to bring in the New Year.

The Melanoma Fund is advising skiers and snowboarders to improve their sun protection habits, to avoid the risk of sun damage and skin cancer.

They recommend apply a broad-spectrum SPF30+ water resistant sunscreen product, paying special attention to all exposed skin and that you reapply it every two hours (or each time you take a break) to ensure full protection.

"During summer sports, we know that sunscreen sweats, washes, and rubs off easily, meaning we must reapply more often. However, snow and strong winds erode sunscreen even faster, exposing skin to the intense UV rays, found at high altitudes," a Melanoma Fund spokesperson said, adding, "For every 300 vertical metres above sea level, UV intensity increases by about 5%. Multiply that by the altitude of your resort and you could be exposed to 40% or more intense UV radiation."

"With fresh snow reflecting up to 85% of UV radiation, a sunny day on slopes at high altitude can triple the usual risk of sunburn, sun damage and ultimately, skin cancer. The risk of snow blindness, or inflammation of the surface of the eye, is also greatly enhanced," explained Professor Brian Diffey.

The Melanoma Fund advises skiers:

1. Apply a broad-spectrum SPF30+ water resistant product, paying special attention to all exposed skin.

2. Reapply every 2 hours (or each time you break) to ensure full protection.

3. The sun is strongest between 11am and 3pm depending on the season and your location, so pay special attention during this time.

4. Avoid damage to eyes by wearing good quality 'UV protection' lenses. If switching from goggles to glasses during the day, remember to protect newly exposed skin.

5. Wearing a helmet not only offers crash protection, but also ensures that your forehead, scalp, and ears are sun protected.

Says Michelle Baker, CEO of the Melanoma Fund; "If you're into your skincare, remember that over exposure to the sun can undo all that amazing work, making us look weathered, and at risk of skin cancer. It really is simple – remember to apply and reapply your SPF."

Michelle appeared on Episode 163 of The Ski Podcast. You can listen to her at about 10 minutes in.




https://www.melanoma-fund.co.uk/sunguarding/snowsports

The latest major storm to hit western North America has taken the deepest reported snowpack in the world through the 3 metres (10 feet) mark.

Mammoth Mountain now reports 343cm (11.5 feet) of snow at the top of its slopes. Three other resorts on America's West Coast are past 2 metres, Mt Baker in Washington State (which holds the world record for the most ever snowfall in a season) on 231cm, Northstar at Tahoe on 226cm and Mt Hood Meadows in Oregon on 203cm.

A statement from Mammoth on Monday said, "The storm is now easing, extensive avalanche mitigation work will take place across the mountain today as our team works to safely reopen terrain after 2.5-3.5 feet of snow in the last 2 days."

The Palisades ski area reported they are at 125% of their average snowpack for December, and as of Monday morning had already seen 9+ feet of new snow since December 1st.

"With all this new snow, we have literally been digging ourselves out for the past few days. Now, with a few dry days in the forecast and a great base of snow, we are turning our attention to terrain expansion," a resort statement explains.

Further inland, ski areas in the Rockies have been reporting several feet of fresh snowfall in the past few days too and Alta in Utah has the deepest snow depth reported there at 196cm.

Scotland's Glenshee ski area has announced it will open some runs from Monday, 11th December, following snowfall at the resort.

"We will need to move the snow around a bit to get some of the runs into condition but at the moment we aim to open our Plastic, Dink Dink and Rope tows tomorrow morning from 9.30am," the resort posted on its social media on Sunday afternoon, reporting temperatures of -7C, and adding, "With the forecast of continued minus temperatures and the chance of a bit more snow during the week we hope we can get a bit more open in the coming days and we will update this as things develop."

The latest snowfall has been heaviest on the Eastern side of the country but all five Highland areas also have all-weather snowmaking machines which have been working for some weeks.

Glencoe has already opened a run for snowmaking and The Lecht says it will open some beginner terrain and possibly more at the weekend.

Unofficial pictures from Cairngorm ski area above Aviemore appear show a lot of natural snowfall there but currently the centre is believed to be sticking to a projected season start date of Wednesday 21st December.

Nevis Range in the West above Fort William say they're aiming to open their gondola for the winter season on the 17th too.

Ski resorts across the Alps have been reporting fresh snowfall over the past 24 hours, with some measuring as much as 65cm (two feet, two inches) of new snow on higher slopes.

The Western Alps appear to have had the most so far although snowfall has been reported right across central Europe.

France's Chatel (Pictured top on Friday) has claimed the biggest 48 hour total of 65cm of fresh snowfall. For Montgenevre it was 50cm, Avoriaz 40cm and Val d'Isere – currently hosting world cup racing – 33cm.

In Italy, Bardonecchia posted 40cm (16") in the last 24 hours.

Most of the leading alpine resorts that had not yet opened for the 22-23 season did so this weekend, including Les Menuires and Meribel as the 3 Valleys opened for its 50th season, with more than 150 of its runs open.

It has been a slow build to snow cover in Europe after the warm autumn, with few big snowfalls to date, but it has been fairly consistently cold with many small snowstorms and an increasing number of areas are now reporting over a metre of snow cover on their higher slopes.

It's been more problematic at lower elevations, particularly below 1500m, but the latest snowfalls have been down to the valley floor.