Tamworth Snowdome, one of the world’s longest established indoor snow centres and the holder of the copyright on the name ‘snowdome’ celebrates 15 years in business next month.
The Snowdome is celebrating with a ‘Now 15’ freestyle birthday jam on Tuesday, 28th April from 8.30pm to midnight with an early 1990s theme mixed with 15 references throughout – including the entry fee of £15 and 15 big prizes up for grabs including a six month slope access pass.
‘90s inspired ski/snowboard fancy dress is welcome and 15 old school tricks will be on display.
www.snowdome.co.uk

It’s coming up to the ski and snowboard party that Whistlerites and much of the world’s ski industry wait for every year – the World Ski and Snowboard Festival, running this year from April 17th – 26th.
Tour operator Whistler Horizons has teamed up with the award-winning Four Seasons Resort Whistler to offer a lift and accommodation package that combines both luxury and value at just £81 per night per person, double occupancy (excluding taxes).

The Four Seasons was described as “Whistler’s most enviable address” by Conde Nast Traveller UK magazine) at the astounding price of
Whistler Horizons holiday provide an in-resort concierge service which differentiate it from other services, at no extra cost to clients. This ‘ski butler’ service aims to satisfy every whim whether it’s reservations at Sushi Village, reserving a place for you in the queue for a First Tracks breakfast or child-minding or ski lessons for the kids. With the Festival there are so many events happening during this ten day bash that guests need all the help they can get to get the most from their trip.
The company also offer ski packages to Banff/Lake Louise.

There’s still two months of the ski season left at Engelberg thanks to the eternal snowfields off the Titlis glacier.
The famous Swiss resort has launched its annual Spring season pass which provides skiing on any day for the remainder of the season for 350 Swiss francs (233 Euros).
Apart from the sunshine and the snow there’s lots of ‘extras’ to enjoy at Engelberg. Each Wednesday for example from 1pm to 4pm some form of organized snow-fun takes place up at Lake Trübsee. You can try your hand at building igloos, curling or snow-volleyball (on ice skates) as part of ‘White Wednesday.’
Snowtoys Races are also organized using a type of sled known as a balancer where the trick is to hold your balance as best you can. The slalom is lots of fun and a great source of amusement for both participants and onlookers. Snow tubing is also on offer.
www.engelberg.ch

British adrenalin junkies are flocking to Chamonix to get their thrills this season according to easyJet.
The company has already seen a 16 per cent increase in passengers flying to Geneva this ski season, with the most popular transfers to Mont Blanc Massif resorts such as Chamonix, famous for its Vallee Blanche off-piste decent.
Although snowboarders and skiers of all ages can descend the Vallee Blanche if competent enough, it is not for the faint hearted. It is accessed by the Aiguille du Midi cable car (3,842 m), but fort many the real challenge is the 200m walk in ski boots, carrying your skis, along a narrow icy path, descending at 30 degrees with vast drops on either side of you, to reach the top of the slope. Skiers then descend from the Aiguille Du Midi at 3880m to Chamonix at 1100m on a 2780m vertical ski descent on the longest run in the world at almost 14 miles, straight down.
A professional ski guide needs to be hired to make the descent safely, avoiding the numerous crevasses that move along the Mer du Glace glacier. Although there are many different routes, the classic is from the ridge onto the Col du Midi and down to the Mer de Glace (sea of ice). A good level of fitness is required as the descent can take a whole day.
March offers the most optimum snow conditions so you can usually ski down the narrow winding trail all the way into town, but for those with sore legs there is a train back to Chamonix from the bottom of the Mer du Glace instead. However this route involves an ascent of about 200 metal steps to reach a lift up to the rail station, so you may wish you’d carried on skiing instead.
Paul Simmons, easyJet’s UK general manager, said: “We have seen the popularity of our routes into Geneva increase this ski season, due to the fantastic snow conditions and the fact that with 47 flights a day and around an hour’s transfer into Chamonix, many are jetting off for the weekend and seeking a new challenge.
Avid snowboarder, Nick Howdle, has just returned from a weekend in Chamonix where he descended the Vallee Blanche for the first time.

“The ride was amazing, the scenery breathtaking and although the day was exhausting it was one of the most exhilarating day’s boarding I’ve ever had. Anyone who can tackle a red run competently who’s keen to try something new should hire a guide and have the day of their life,”

he said

Chamonix is geared up for weekend breakers and has approximately 500 official ski guides trained in help people descend the infamous Vallee Blanch.
www.chamonix.com / www.easyjet4ski.com / www.easyJet.com

Scotland’s original ski centre has been put on the market again, reportedly in an attempt to find an investor who would look at funding a gondolas lift to replace the aged chair and make the centre more viable as a year round attraction.
The idea matches the successful route of Cairngorm at Aviemore and Nevis range near Fort William, both of which attract more summer than winter visitors with their funicular and gondola lifts.
Nevis range has been especially successful attracting mountain bikers who use the gondolas to lift their bikes to the top of a downhill course and Glencoe aims to emulate this business plan.
Glencoe has been in financial trouble for most of the past decade, bought out of receivership in 2004 and rescued again by a management buy out in 2007.

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong age 33 will race for Ghana in the 2010 Winter Olympics next winter.
Mr Nkrumah-Acheampong, nicknamed the ‘Snow Leopard’, who was born in Ghana but grew up in Glasgow, only started skiing five years ago when he worked in the SNO!zone indoor snow centre in the Xscape at Milton Keynes.
He will be Ghana’s first ever Winter Olympics team competing in the slalom and giant slalom events.
Mr Nkrumah-Acheampong, with the support of his wife and two children as well as a dedicated coach has worked hard over the past four years, competing on the World Cup circuit on a shoe string budget receiving help along the way from sponsors and goodwill help from ski resorts and fellow racers.

These Winter Olympics will be my last chance, so hopefully I will leave a legacy that has changed people’s view of African skiers,”

said Mr Nkrumah-Acheampong who has launched a campaign in Ghana to encourage youngsters to take up the sport, using grass skis.
It’s less good news for Lebanese ski racer Georges Salameh, also 33, who is facing a possible two year ban from the sport, meaning he will miss the Whistler Olympics, after testing positive for cocaine at the Alpine World Championships in Val d’Isere last month.

A study by China’s Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute has found that glaciers in the country’s western Tian Mountains are melting fast due to global warming.
The Xinjiang region has announced a 10-year engineering project to construct more than 50 reservoirs designed to collect the melt water, with concerns that water supplies could become scarce once the glaciers melt altogether.
The study reported glaciers have lost about a fifth off their volume in the past 50 years and that the melt rate is increasing.
Currently, in contrast to other parts of China, particularly Beijing, the region is having a boom in water supply thanks to the increased melt water, and the water is being used for, amongst other things, snowmaking at a ski resort in the partially desert Urumqi area, but scientists believe the current level of water supply is unsustainable in the longer term.
Scientists were unable to say how long water supplies would last as whilst global warming is melting the glaciers with increasing speed, it is also bringing more rain to the area, the hottest in China in the summer months.