Work has begun on a brand new, 120 bed, £7 million pound hotel next to the liong established Tamworth Snowdome.

Clad in white render and green- coloured flat metal panels, the hotel’s bold design is said to be inspired by the ‘velocity of descent experienced by a ski-jumper’.

Work on the new hotel has begun more than a year after Tamworth town planners gave the hotel the go ahead – in a deal which netted the council £1million from developers Sawley Cross Properties who bought the land from the authority in November 2006.

Construction workers are now reported to be digging the foundations of the new hotel which will also include a bar and restaurant and create an extra 70 car parking spaces outside, taking the total number to 535 around the SnowDome.

The target opening date of June 2010 for the innovative West Coast Snow Park Perth, planned for the Western Australian city, is now looking unlikely as the impact of the US sub-prime financial crisis hits the local investment market.

Investment funding has become extremely hard to source, and even highly predictable resource projects are struggling to raise capital,”

said a company statement published on the project’s website.

“Raising funds for a mining project – or any commodities project for that matter – is comparatively simple. The revenue side of the equation is straightforward (you know, for example, that there is a vast market for iron ore and you know pretty much what you’ll be able to sell your product for). Once you work out what it will cost to dig it up and transport it to the customer you can work out the return on investment. “ the statement continued.

“For a project like Snowpark, however, there is uncertainty on both the cost and revenue sides of the equation. The project needs around $2 million to finalise the planning phase, to firm up on the financial viability estimates and to seek the capital necessary to construct the facility. But while there is uncertainty around the ability to raise the full project capital it is difficult to attract the ‘seed’ investors required to fund the planning phase.” the statement said.

On the positive side the delay means the project team have more time to study developing renewable energy technologies, a major passion, whilst they await a return in confidence in the capital markets – which looks likely to be at about the same time that new large-scale solar generation capabilities become a reality.

About the only negative comment the project has received has been concerning the expected energy consumption. There’s no escaping the fact that keeping a large building cooled to around -5 degrees will use lots of watts.

Fortunately, Snowpark Director Professor Nick Forster foreshadowed the increasing community concern over energy consumption some years ago so energy efficiency and the pursuit of appropriate green technologies has been a mantra for the project from the beginning.

The project team is currently investigating innovation in insulation, climate control and large-scale solar energy generation. There are some particularly exciting developments in solar energy generation that look like reaching commercial fruition in time for consideration.

“Wouldn’t it be fantastic if this major new attraction for Western Australia was also a pioneer in breakthrough Australian green energy generation?” said a company spokesman.

“For now, though it’s a case of being patient and continuing to develop the business case. Frustrating? Sure – but the mood of the global investment markets is not something within our control so we just have to bide our time.”

For skiers or snowboarders looking to bring a unique element to their holiday, the Ski Club of Great Britain is again hosting their annual resort race, the Luttman-Johnson Challenge in Zermatt on Wednesday 4th February 2009, which is open to anyone who is game.
Continue reading ‘Restaurant race in Zermatt’

A first central European indoor snow centre, ‘Winter and Adventure Park Vienna’ is on the cards for Austria with a planned investment of 100 Million Euro.

The Winter and Adventure Park Vienna is the brain child of Gerhard Hrebicek, President of iconvienna, and Martin Dolezal, President of Snowsports Academy who have been working together with a team of financing experts and engineers on the project.

The target population base encompasses 6.5 million people from the area surrounding Vienna – including Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

The centre in Vienna will be up to 400 metres (1300 ft.) long and 100 metres (330 ft.) wide. Current plans envisage it offering different kinds of catering, a wellness area, fun parks for children and adults, a ski school, and race training, as well as a designer hotel with 150 rooms including conference facilities.

The complex will be easy to reach by public transport and housed in a low energy building with Austrian green technology know-how as a benchmark project

The project in the 22nd district of Vienna requires investments of 100 million Euros. It will create 120 new jobs in operating, and about 300 during the three years of construction. The project has been worked on since 2006. We have gathered know-how and best practice from all around the world, and now we have finally completed the first steps of feasibility. We plan to open the Snowdome towards the end of 2012”,

explains Gerhard Hrebicek, Director of the developing team, who has worked as a manager in the sporting goods industry and as a ski instructor himself.

“We aim to develop an international benchmark project for future indoor snow centres here in Vienna. It will also be a new architectural landmark of Austria’s capital, but we will furthermore set new standards in operating”, says Gerhard Hrebicek.
The team is developing new architectural and new energy concepts – from different materials to solar energy. It is their goal to create the first low energy Snowdome with synergetic modes of application.

Martin Dolezal, President of the Vienna Ski and Snowboard Instructors’ Association, Vice-President of VSSOE (Association of the Austrian Sporting Goods Industry and Trade), and an expert in indoor snlw centres around the world said,

“The main importance of the Winter and Adventure Park Vienna will lie in its event and marketing potential, which will be increased by the infrastructure of the place.
The snow centre will give us the opportunity to present snow as an Austrian cultural good to the people 365 days a year. Especially children and teenagers will be able to start snowsports more easily. This will open completely new doors for the event scene and the economy as well and reposition snowsports in Austria and around the world.”

Martin Dolezal puts a great emphasis on creating a new brand with the so-far unique infrastructure of the indoor snow centre.

“We are currently developing that brand together with the European Brand Institute. With our international benchmark project we will also co-operate with other national and international ski resorts – indoor and outdoor.” he said.

The City of Vienna is largely convinced about the project. Skiing and “Après-Ski” – this whole Alpine flair – is not only popular with the citizens of Vienna. It will moreover draw the attention of tourists and convention participants. The Winter and Adventure Park Vienna will create a new tourist attraction of the “new” Vienna and promote winter holidays in Austria.

Norbert Scheed, Mayor of the 22nd district of Vienna, is an enthusiastic skier himself,
“The timing is just perfect. Vienna needs such an infrastructure, especially for kids and youth. In the near future, we would like the children of Vienna to reach snow by public transport all year long. Winter holidays are becoming more expensive for families. The Winter and Adventure Park Vienna will make it possible and affordable for everyone to go tobogganing, skiing, and snowboarding, no matter what the weather is like. Our district is welcoming the indoor snow centre and will be very happy, if the project is realized.”

A suspect in the 1998 arsons on Vail Mountain has been seen in Canada. Rebecca Rubin, who participated in the fiery eco-terrorism attacks on the Colorado ski area that burned the Two Elk Lodge and other structures including lift shacks and ski patrol rooms, has been seen near Vancouver, British Columbia. According to the FBI, Rebecca Rubin has family in the Vancouver area.

Squaw Valley Ski Patrol is offering free avalanche beacon classes on the 1st and the 15th of every month, as well as the annual Steep and Deep free avalanche awareness clinic began January 30th.
Designed to be an informative and fun evening of safety education, the annual Steep and Deep event is a free avalanche awareness clinic that includes multi-media presentations by local guides, extreme skiers, forecasters on weather, terrain analysis, snow stability, and more. This clinic provides knowledge and information that is not just imperative for hardcore skiers and snowboarders in the backcountry, but also for recreational resort skiers and riders who like to venture off-piste and explore steep terrain.
This year’s Steep and Deep free avalanche awareness clinic is taking place on Friday, January 30 at 7 pm at the Plaza Bar. All ages are welcome, and entry into the event is free. Event sponsors include Volkl, Recco, BCA, Ortovox, Tecnica, and Squaw Valley USA.
In 2006 Squaw Valley introduced ‘Beacon Basin’ – an area that is used throughout the season for avalanche beacon training classes. Squaw continues to use the Beacon Basin and offer free avalanche awareness/beacon classes twice a month throughout the winter season. Classes are open to the public and take place on the 1st and the 15th of each month. The classes meet at Ski Patrol Base at 5:30 pm (classes last about an hour and a half). Guests should bring their own transceiver but there are beacons available for loan as well.
Squaw Valley’s Free Avalanche Awareness/Beacon Classes, which teach avalanche safety and beacon use, are open to employees and the public. All attendees are asked to register beforehand by calling Ski Patrol at 530-452-7260.
www.squaw.com

As well as the widely publicised Westendorf Connection gondola that opened in the SkiWelt this year, a second new gondolas opened, at Hopfgarten, greatly improving up lift in that sector of the giant ski pass area.
The new “Salvenbahn 2” eight-passenger cabin gondola lift replaces an old chairlift and dramatically increases the speed and comfort of ascent on the route.
The 1775m long lift carried 47 gondolas giving a carrying capacity of 2000 skiers and boarders per hour for it 5.67 minute ascent from the valley station at 1178m to the mountain station at 1829m.