Wintersports Rediscovered
Two new magic carpet lifts installed in the Bottrop Alpine Centre in Germany breaks all existing records for a lift of this type.
At 400m in length and with an operation speed of 1.2 metres a second and with drive power of 60 kW the lifts are not just longer, faster and more powerful than existing carpet lifts, but actually double the previous best.
Continue reading ‘World’s longest, fastest and strongest carpet lift installed at Bottrop’
The Slovak ski resort of Tatranska Lomnica is undergoing a dramatic 11 million euro face-lift in time for the 2008/9 ski season. The expansion includes the addition of a further 4.9kms (three miles) of piste, the creation of Slovakia’s longest piste at 6.5km (Four miles), the installation of a new quad chairlift, new snowmaking equipment, a new kids school and ski area, new ski rental facilities, night skiing and a new apres ski bar.
Tatranska Lomnica is located in Slovakia’s High Tatras Mountains, the world’s shortest mountain range at just 24kms (q15 miles) long, part of the Carpathian mountain range, and is within 20 minutes drive of Poprad international airport. Poprad is served by a four times weekly flight from London Luton and direct flights via Slovakia’s second city of Kosice from Dublin and Manchester, with flying times of just over two hours.
Four years of planning, to meet with the environmental restrictions imposed on development in the High Tatras National Park, culminated in approval for the first phase of the development of the existing ski resort being granted in July 2008. Work started immediately and will be completed by December 2008. The ski facilities and ski area at Tatranska Lomnica are operated by TLD Tatry, part of J & T Group, Slovakia’s most successful Real Estate company.
The close proximity of the slopes to an international airport, just two hours flying time from the UK, with a minimal transfer time of around 20 minutes, prices up to a third cheaper than mainstream European resorts, coupled with the new snow-sure snow making system, makes Tatranska Lomnica one of the most viable ski weekend destinations in Europe, for British skiers.
With natural snow cover backed up by the new snowmaking equipment, experienced skiers will now have the opportunity to ski on the steepest black run, at Lomnicke sedlo, until May.
www.tldtatry.sk
Andorra’s Vallnord, which encompasses the ski areas at Ordino/Arcalis, Pal and Arinsal, has announced that it has invested 10 million Euros in improvements for the coming winter.
The biggest investment is going toward a new detachable six-seat chairlift for Arinsal, as well as the continued expansion of the area’s large snowmaking system.
The new chair lift “Arinsal” replaces the old double one and will mean a faster, more comfortable route up from the mountain base at Arinsal (1550m) to Comallemple (1950m). Another chairlift will be installed in the Pal sector at Pla de la Tosa, above Pic del Cubil. This chair provides an alternative route for skiers from Pal to Arinsal, Setúria or Coll de la Botella areas.
Slope improvements include the remodeling of the Túnel pistel in Arcalís area which will change from blue (medium) to green (easy), gaining more room for beginners in the area that otherwise contains the greatest challenges of Vallnord. The De la Portella trail has also been widened at its narrowest part and there has been a remodeling of the Freestyle area.
In Pal the Del Camí Inferior trail from Coll de la Botella up to Planell has been widened and there’s a new freestyle area for beginners.
The additional snowmaking includes 15 more snow machines in the Arcalís area on the Portella del Mig and Basera trails, with a total of an additional three kilometres covered, as well as 31 new snow machines in the Arinsal area covering one more kilometer, and at Pal, covering two more kilometres.
The globally successful British snow forecasting business, SnowForecast.com, has decided to expand its worldwide appeal by publishing its snowfall projections in more languages. Seven new languages are available now with three more to follow, as follows:
French: http://fr.snow-forecast.com
German: http://de.snow-forecast.com
Portuguese: http://pt.snow-forecast.com
Italian: http://it.snow-forecast.com
Dutch: http://nl.snow-forecast.com
Spanish: http://es.snow-forecast.com
Greek: http://gr.snow-forecast.com
Bulgarian, Turkish and Russian are to follow
Quiksilver has announced that it has received a binding offer from Chartreuse & Mont Blanc to buy the Rossignol Group for 100 million euros ($147.2 million). The group includes the Rossignol, Dynastar, Look and Lange, now known as “brands.” Quiksilver paid $560.8 million ((today 378 million Euros) for Rossignol three years ago.
Chartreuse & Mont Blanc also has a non-voting minority interest by Jarden Corp, the parent company of K2 and Volkl and is run by a former chief executive officer of Rossignol.
August…September and soon the snow will fly on the northern hemisphere! Along with that we are planning an exciting new 2007-08 ski season at Ski Rebel Magazine but meanwhile we are pleased to report a 26.1% increase year over year for the month of August. A new exciting redesign complete with all the web 2.0 features will soon adorn the space you read…so enjoy. Meanwhile you may consider becoming a Ski Rebel VIP by subscribing to our new e-newsletter once it kicks into high gear later this fall.
Meanwhile we thought we’d give you a quick overview on the top 10 magazine stories that you liked the most.
1. Snow Mountain project slated for Houston, Texas
2. 2010 Olympic tickets go on sale in two months
3. Las Vegas WET expands with skill hill
4. Jamaica: the sequel - return to 2010 Winter Olympics
5. Snow continues to pummel Aussie’s
6. New Fashion from Nike this Fall
7. Sheraton announces new hotel at critized Xanadu entertainment facility
8. August skiing in Europe?
9. Over 100 engineers making plans for a 2.6 km indoor ski slope for Abu Dhabi
10. World first ”all weather” snowmaking machine rolls out of production
Stephen Jordan, Head of Marketing for the new indoor Snow Centre under construction at Hemel Hempstead has recently announced a decision to award supply of all snow sports equipment to HEAD – confirming an agreement to be the first UK snow sports centre to use HEAD’s innovative BYS system for rented skis and boards.
‘The equipment meets all our requirements with regard to quality, technological specification across the full range and its ability to cope with the demands of constant multi-user hire,’ said Stephen.
But most important was the development of the BYS system which will significantly streamline the hire process, reducing the amount of time taken to set up each customer with appropriate skis and boots.
The BYS (Black, Yellow and Silver) system, which is already proving successful at resorts in Europe, Canada and the US, reduces the amount of time taken to fit boots and skis – allowing customers the maximum amount of time on the slopes.
The system works with HEAD Ski Boots being available in just three fixed sole-lengths with the adjustment for individual foot sizes made inside the boot – which means the boots can fit perfectly into pre-adjusted bindings. The boots and skis are colour coded – black, yellow and silver – matching the base colour of the boot to the ski. The only additional setting is DIN adjustment to allow for the correct release setting.
To make things even more efficient all customer settings and details will be recorded so on subsequent visits individual snow ticket information will ensure that customers have the same boots, skis or board so they can get out on the snow even more quickly.
The HEAD Speed Disc Snowboard system works in a similar way to provide customers with a perfectly set board in less than a minute without the need for tools - regular to goofy happens in seconds!
Stephen said, ‘We’re delighted to be working with HEAD and in particular to be the first UK operator to offer our customers the benefit of the speedy and innovative system for fitting boots, skis and boards. Our aim is to allow visitors to the Snow Centre the maximum time on the slopes. Making the process of getting kitted out more efficient will help provide the best possible indoor snow experience.’
The Snow Centre at Hemel Hempstead is on target for opening to the public at the end of April 2009.
www.snowcentre.com