J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Seems very good value for adults, shame the child price is not lower.

Vail Resorts which has now expanded its portfolio of ski areas to 40 centres in Australia, Canada and the USA has announced nearly half-a-billion dollars of investment in upgrades for next season.

About a third of the money is being invested in the company's workforce with a big focus on career progression opportunities as well as the introduction of an across-the-company minimum pay rate of $20 an hour.

Vail Resorts, like many ski areas across North America and the wider world, is facing issues recruiting staff, in part due to limits on immigration. So, offering good basic pay rate, the company hopes, will make it more attractive and enable it to maintain the high service standards it aspires to.

The greater part of the investment, $300 million, is going to improve the "guest experience" with 21 new lifts set to be unveiled across 14 resorts from North America's east to west coasts next season.

These include some fast new chairlifts and gondolas to improve skier flow at key points at resorts including Breckenridge, Heavenly, Park City, Stowe, Vail itself and Whistler.

In terms of terrain expansion the main news is that Keystone is enhancing Bergman Bowl with 16 new trails, a new 6-person chair and expanded access to 555 acres of terrain.

The "Epic Lift Upgrade", as they're calling it, is Vail Resorts' biggest single-year investment into the ski and ride experience, a company statement announces, adding,

"The projects are designed to reduce lift line wait times and make getting on and around the mountains easier and faster."

The SkiStar group which runs a number of Scandinavia's biggest ski resorts says it has broken its previous visitor and sales reports with its best half-year result ever.

Net sales for the period from September to February inclusive increased by 64 percent compared with the previous (pandemic) year. Profits were up 106 percent, compared with the previous year.

"It is extremely gratifying that we can report the best half-year result in the company's history. This was primarily driven by growth in our core operations, thanks to a record number of skiing visitors to our destinations," said SkiStar CEO Stefan Sjöstrand, "We are emerging stronger as a company thanks to our new change in strategy: From SkiStar the winter ski resort company to the mountain tourism company focusing on an active holiday all year round. Due to this, our recovery following the more challenging pandemic years has come faster than expected."

SkiStar owns and operates alpine ski resorts in Sälen, Vemdalen, Åre and Hammarbybacken (Stockholm) in Sweden and Hemsedal and Trysil in Norway.

Skies and snow have turned an orange-brown shade across a large swathe of the Alps over the past 48 hours.

The unusual hue to the daylight and the snow was caused by dust particles blown north from the Sahara desert in Africa.

It's an unusual occurrence but not unheard of, seeming to happen at least once every ski season or two.

Resorts across the Alps and down in the Dolomites all reported varying levels of dust, with ski areas in Austria, Germany and Switzerland seeing to turn the 'orange-est' from the sand.

St Anton pictured top, Garmisch below.

The Jungfrau ski region which incorporates the skiing in spectacular scenery above the resorts of Grindelwald, Murren and Wengen has announced it is extending its season to May 1st.

It has joined a growing number of ski areas worldwide saying they intend to stay open in to May including Breckenridge and Vail in Colorado, Ischgl in Austria and Niseko in Japan. For some of these it gives skiers and boarders a longer season to get back on the slopes as pandemic restrictions continue to ease.

The detail is that the Eigernordwand Chairlift and ski runs will now stay open to May 1st having had the season there extended. The Grindelwald-Kleine Scheidegg ski area will also stay open longer, until April 24. There are also extended opening times for the Grindelwald-First ski area, now open until April 18 while the Männlichen ski area closes April 18 as planned.

The New Eiger Express lift (pictured top) that connects the resort of Grindelwald with the Eigergletscher (Eiger Glacier) station and Jungfraujoch Top of Europe (Europe's highest railway station) continues running all year round and provides visitors with the chance to ski or sightsee during the spring months.

The decision to keep the Eigernordwand Chairlift running all the way through until Sunday May 1st has been made possible thanks to the new Eiger Express lift providing access to the area.

Cervinia says it will open for summer skiing for the weekend of June 25-26 and then daily from the following weekend for just over two months from July 2 to September 4 this year.

Also open from early Autumn through to May, it claims to be open around 10 months of the year, placing it in the world top 20 for length of season. Cervinia offers summer access to the year-round ski slopes of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise above Zermatt.

"There are 25km of slopes, which make it the largest and highest summer skiable domain in Europe (up to 3883m on the Klein Matterhorn)," a statement from the resort says, adding, "The glacier (on Swiss territory) can be reached from Cervinia in just over 30 minutes using the ski lifts and slopes. Cervinia and Plateau Rosà have become the training ground for the World Cup national and international teams. The slopes are ideal for racing champions (with runs reserved to them), but there are also runs suitable for more scenic skiing."

Italian summer ski areas opened during lower infection rates in the pandemic in summer 2020 and 2021 even though Italian resorts had been forced to close in spring 2020 due to the first lockdown and in winter 2020-21. Along with Cervinia there is also summer skiing at Passo Stelvio and on the Presena Glacier in Trentino.

Most other Italian summer ski areas from the 1990s and early 'noughties' no longer open in summer due to climate change. Val Senales, which was one of them, now usually opens for an 8 month ski season in early September.

Les 2 Alpes in France also claims to have the largest glacier ski area for summer skiing.

A ski run at up-market Beaver Creek resort in Colorado has had to be closed to skiers due to the antics of a moose.

A sign at the base of the lift accessing the trail warns that the run is closed, stating,

"Due to very aggressive moose on the run-out, Royal Oak is closed, they have become very dangerous."

The aggressive moose and reported to be a mother and her calf.

"The terrain will reopen when it is safe for wildlife and guests," John Plack, senior communications manager for Vail and Beaver Creek told Vaily Daily, adding that the closure had been made, "out of respect for local wildlife" and to keep skiers and boarders safe.

Vail Daily reports that moose sightings have become increasingly common in the area over the past few decades and warning notices have also appeared in Neighbouring vail resort, although no terrain has been closed there are a result.

The animals were introduced to the region by a government parks and wildlife body in the late 1970s and now number in their thousands.

Colorado's Steamboat ski area is to see the installation of North America fastest 10-person gondola which will and also the addition of 650 acres of advanced terrain to give it the second-largest ski area in Colorado by winter 23-24.

The upgrades are part of a multi-year $90m spend by owners the Alterra group, which also includes phase two of Steamboat's Full Steam Ahead redevelopment completed.

The new expert level gladed terrain on Pioneer Ridge will be serviced by a new detachable chairlift and is set to open for winter 23-24.

Phase two of Steamboat's Full Steam Ahead project, due for completion ahead of next winter, will include the relocation of the lower terminal of the Christie Peak Express and the construction of first leg of the Wild Blue Gondola.

Upon completion for winter 23-24 Wild Blue will become the longest gondola in North America and the fastest 10-person gondola in the country. The state-of-the-art Doppelmayr D-Line gondola will feed skiers/riders through a newly created mid-station adjacent to Bashor Bowl with the final destination of Sunshine Peak. It will feature the first Omega V cabins in the United States. At a total length of 3.16 miles, the new gondola will increase the out of base capacity from 6,000 people per hour to 10,000 people per hour, getting skiers from bottom to top in 13 minutes.

The mid-mountain station, accessed by the lower half of the lift and due to open this coming winter 22-23, will access the recently re-graded Rough Rider/Bashor Basin area which will become home to Greenhorn Ranch, an area dedicated to beginner skiers and riders. It will feature progressive terrain-based learning and a dedicated chairlift.