Skier powers down a run powered by Siemens technology.

Electronics giant Siemens invested heavily into winter sports events and is now finally seeing the dividends with more than 600 million Euros (850 million USD) in orders for the Sochi 2014 that include new trains, and a new power plant that will provide most of the electricity during the Games. Continue reading ‘Boom in winter sport investments paying off dividends for Siemens’

Acclaimed violinist Vanessa Mae hopes to qualify as the first skier for Thailand in the 2014 Winter Games.

Singapore born violinist Vanessa-Mae is hoping to ski for Thailand in the 2014 downhill ski competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia according to Thai media reports. Continue reading ‘Vanessa-Mae hopes to become Thailand’s first downhill ski racer at 2014 Games’

Pitzal was the sight of an all-weather snowmaking test for the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. Organizers want to avoid the problems Vancouver experienced with the snow.

Organizers of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games are looking for ways eliminate any chance of repeating the scene at Cypress Mountain this past winter when the ski area struggled to provide enough snow to build terrain features for freestyle event because of an unusually warm weather spell prevented organizers from operating the snowmaking equipment. Continue reading ‘Russian officials inspect all weather snowmaking system ahead of Sochi Olympics’

Longest indoor slope for Russia

The global economic meltdown has claimed another victim with the cancellation of a long standing plan to build the longest indoor slope after MT Development lost their bank liquidity and investors pulled out their funds.

Continue reading ‘Russia nixes plans to build longest indoor slope’

Your next exotic destination: Russia to invest $15 billion in Caucasus mountain range

The country’s south eastern Caucasus mountain range, which divide Europe from Asia and includes the highest peaks on the European continent, is at the heart a new $15 billion investments by Russian officials to develop five new ski resorts by 2020. Continue reading ‘The next exotic ski destination: Russia to invest $15 billion in Caucasus mountain range for five new resorts’

A Russian helicopter similar to this one, killed ten snowboarders when it was sidswipped by an avalanche

Ten people, mostly snowboarders from Russia and Germany, have been killed in an avalanche when the helicopter they were riding in to access remote terrain in the far east of Russia was hit by a huge avalanche.

Reports from Russia’s Emergency Ministry said the Mi-8 helicopter, carrying 18 people, was hit by the avalanche soon after it landed on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula on Saturday.
Continue reading ‘Heliski accident kills ten snowboarders from Russia and Germany’

Sobolinaya Mountain in Russia.

Local’s aren’t happy about the Russian Prime Minister’s decision to re-open a pulp and paper mill which has been known to spread a pungent odor on the slopes of nearby Sobolinaya Mountain ski resort.

Vladimir Putin has also drawn some fire from former Russian state Duma deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov. The former official described the Prime Minister’s decision as completely incompetent in a report for Moscow News.

Ryzhkov says that the mill, which opened in 1966, is the main polluter of pristine Lake Baikal, a UNESCO world Heritage Site, emitting five tons of harmful emissions into the atmosphere each year and polluting up to 400 square kilometres of territory around the town of Baikalsk.

Continue reading ‘Russian PM involved in eco-scandal at Russian ski resort’