A skier trains takes a run at Snow World Landraaf.

The Dutch Snowworld indoor snow centre operators have announced plans to invest 40-50 million euros ($64m USD) to build two new facilities in France and Spain by 2014. Continue reading ‘SnowWorld plans major expansion to France and Spain’

Baquiera Beret to add a 2.3 km high-speed detachable lift for the 2010 season.

Spain’s leading resort, Baqueira Beret, is going ahead with plans to install a new six-seater chairlift in time for the 2010-11 ski season.

Continue reading ‘Baqueira Beret embarks on new six seat chairlift project’

The longest artificial tubing slope in Europe was completed in record time at the Senda Viva park in Spain this spring.

The 340m (1,115ft)-long slope was made by Artificial ski, snowboard and snowtubing manufacturer Neveplast. It contains several turns and more than 72 parabolic elements for maximum tubing fun.

Along with supplying the “Tubby” slope itself, Italian-based Neveplast also advised the park on planning and supervision of works for the ground preparation.

Continue reading ‘A ride down Europe’s longest artificial tubing slope’

Formigal is one of Spain's top ski resorts.

If you don’t like partying with armies of women who’ve left their morals at home, then we suggest you avoid Formigal ski resort in the Spanish Pyrenees this weekend.

Hoards of partying women will hit the bars of Formigal on Friday to celebrate Santa Águeda day. Unsuspecting men should beware that on this one night of the year, ladies have the right to relieve you of your shirt, and anything else that takes their fancy.

Continue reading ‘Drunken female debauchery hits Spain’s Formigal this Friday’

Spain's Formigal ski resort plans to open this weekend.

With the exception of Eastern North America, which is suffering from unseasonally warm temperatures and a complete lack of snowfall, most other parts of the Northern Hemisphere have enjoyed exceptional early season conditions leading to early openings.

Europe:

Resorts across the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees have reported big and on-going snowfalls.

Switzerland: Engelberg was virtually closed down by snow at the start of the week as a massive storm hit central Switzerland with over three feet of fresh snow. St. Moritz and the Engadin Valley received 1.3m (4.4ft). Most other Swiss resorts have done well, too. Sedrun, for example, received about a metre (three feet) of new snow on November 30th.

Continue reading ‘Update: Ski Area Openings’

Masella ski resort expands skiable terrain

Masella, one of Spain’s leading ski areas in the Pyrenees about 1.5 hours north of Barcelona, has announced that it will extend the groomed skiable terrain by 4km and install a new lift in the Pia sector.
The resort will new runs this winter in the most easterly sector, Pia, of its ski area.
The new Leitner built “Pia Express” detachable six-seater chairlift will serve the new ski runs and provide access to the newly created Pia-1700m zone which can also be reached by road from the highway that links Masella to the neighbouring ski resort of La Molina at the Pla de Corda-2125m (the two resorts are also linked by ski runs).
The 4km of runs will be divided in to five new pistes which encompass all standards of skier and boarder (blue, red and black runs have been created). The north facing slopes are cut through the forests of the Pia and Estan areas.
The resort’ snowmaking has been extended to cover three quarters of the new runs with nearly 120km (75 miles) of runs served by around 30 lifts, including seven high-speed detachable chairs, three of them six-seaters.
www.masella.com

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Several major resorts received boosts with more than a dozen powder alarms this week for falls of 20-60 centimetres (8-24 inches) over a 24- to 48-hour period.

France was a major beneficiary of new snow. Resorts still open, such as Chamonix, Tignes, Val d’Isere and Val Thorens, all reported recent good accumulations. Sierra Nevada in Spain will extend its season for two weeks thanks to heavy snowfall this winter which has left 3 metres (10 feet) of snow on the hill’s upper slopes. This weekend will be the last of the season in Andorra, however.

In the United States, resorts in Utah, California and Colorado all reported significant snowfalls. Snowbird (UT), Mammoth (CA), Squaw Valley (CA) and Arapahoe Basin (CO) are among resorts that will remain open into May and beyond. In the east, the ski season at New England hills will come to an end after this weekend.

Sunshine Village and Whistler in the Canadian Rockies are open and should remain so well into May.

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