Skiers looking to explore the Mont Fort glacier at Four Valleys now enjoy rides up with panoramic views, automatic doors, and shorter boarding times.
Last Saturday the Swiss ski area re-opened its Tortin-Gentianes cable-car after extensive renovations, providing a better experience for skiers on their way up to the top of the glacier.
Tortin-Gentianes cable-car after extensive renovations
Originally Built in 1981, the Tortin-Gentianes cable-car has been refurbished after 28 years of activity. It accesses the summit of Gentianes a few steps away from Mont-Fort.
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In the middle of a recession which has already forced much of the ski industry to lower it’s prices significantly for the upcoming season, the world’s largest ski lift operator has announced some unexpectedly positive news.
SkiRebel.com has learned that Compagnie Des Alpes (CDA), which runs more than a dozen leading French ski areas, reported overall sales growth of 3 per cent for last season, primarily due to a terrific season’s end in which sales increased by 38 per cent.
The group attributes much of its terrific April sales to the occurrence of the Easter weekend, but the overall season’s sales growth is impressive since the 2007-2008 season had itself featured record visitor numbers.
This steady activity in ski areas despite the general economic climate illustrates the resilience of our business line, which has experienced uninterrupted organic growth for more than ten years,”
said a CDA statement.
In addition to releasing its sales figures, the company reported that its wholly owned subsidiary SwissAlp SA, has reached agreement with the municipality of Bagnes to sell the totality of its stake in ski area Téléverbier SA (20.3 per cent) for about €13.8 million.
“Acquiring its stake in 1999, CDA brought its widely recognized expertise to Téléverbier’s development and governance. However, CDA has since determined that the particularities of the company and its environment prevent CDA from fully carrying out its role of industrial operator in the medium term,” said a company statement.
“The sale of the Group’s stake in Téléverbier is in line with the more active asset-management policy that I announced at the end of 2008,” said CDA’s Dominique Marcel. “The sale is being carried out under excellent financial conditions, providing a very satisfying return on CDA’s initial investment.”
“The capital gain yielded by the sale, about €1.5 million, will have a positive impact on consolidated net income for the current financial year, helping pay down Group debt and making the Group more flexible both strategically and financially.”
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It’s proving to be an awesome ski season in the Southern Hemisphere.
Perisher ski resort in Southeastern Australia, which reported 32cm (13 inches) of fresh snow in 24 hours last week, is the latest hill to boast great conditions.
To-date an accumulated 191cm (6.3 feet) of snow has settled across the resort, comprising 71cm (2.3 feet) in June and 120cm (4 feet) since the beginning of July, allowing Perisher to offer excellent riding conditions across its four resort areas.
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Some skiers favor safety over recklessness, and some live in the moment.
Nick Regos, an 80-year-old skier at Australia’s Mount Buller ski resort last Monday apparently still falls into the latter category. After attempting a two-metre ski jump on a black run and breaking his leg, the man was asked by medics why he had attempted it at his age.
“Life’s too short,” he replied.
Living in the moment, the man was flown by air ambulance to Melbourne for treatment, an eventful end to his ski season.
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Skiers at French Alps destination Courchevel should notice a few changes this upcoming winter, including a new six-seat chairlift and a new family terrain park.
Equipped with the Magnestick system, the new lift is intended to modernize the link between the ski areas of Courchevel 1850 and Courchevel 1650, which are two of the four towns that make up the Courchevel valley. In addition, the existing Cospillot’s ski lift will be extended to make more of the resort’s accommodations ski in, ski out.
A new family terrain park will open beneath the Verdon cable car, and it will feature a snow park, snow cross, and what is being called an Animation Area.
The resort is also adding defibrillator machines throughout the ski area, in an effort to provide rapid response to any heart-related emergencies on the ski hill.
Finally, guests will enjoy new three-hour lift passes and be welcomed by a new tourism office in Courchevel 1850.
The new lift passes will be valid for any three hours of the day. This will replace the ‘morning’ lift pass that will no longer be available, although the afternoon’s lift pass (from 12.30pm) will still be available. The Courchevel 1650 area will be incorporated in to the minipass.
The new tourism office will be built in the heart of “La Croisette”, in Courchevel 1850, near to the lift pass sales desks, ski school desks and ski lifts. The new facility will include a free internet wifi area.
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Vertical skiing: 30,500 vertical metres (100,000 vertical feet). Skiing Gear Junkies: K2 ski demos. Dreams of deep snow: Heli-Skiing. All of it only for the small price tag of $9,075 US. Desire: Priceless.
Attention ski gear junkies with disposable income, the details for CMH’s 2010 Heli-Ski demo trips for the newest K2 skis have just been announced.
The trips are Heli-Skiing from the Monashee Lodge in the Canadian Rockies next March and Helicopter Assisted Ski Touring from the Adamants Lodge in April.
The earlier trip features a skiing guarantee of 30,500 vertical metres (100,000 vertical feet) and daily K2 ski testing. Cost per person is $9,075 (US) based on twin occupancy. The Monashee mountains are world renowned and admired for their long, consistently steep-pitched runs, offering some of the best tree skiing on earth.
The later trip features a daily helicopter drop in the mountains for a full day of backcountry ski touring and K2 ski testing. Each evening guests will be picked up and flown back to the lodge for a relaxed dinner, soak in the hot tub, and drinks by the fire. Cost per person is $3,215 (US) based on twin occupancy.
On both trips guests will get the experience of participating in the testing and design of K2 prototype backcountry skis that will be released to the general public for the 2010-2011 winter season. Guests will have the opportunity to demo different skis throughout the trip, provide real-time and valuable feedback on the performance of the skis they have tested, and learn about the process of ski design from on-site K2 designers and engineers. In addition, once the skis are perfected and put into production for the 2010-2011 season, participants will be the first to receive a free pair of these K2 Skis compliments of CMH.
Both ski trips include accommodation at casually luxurious lodges, meals, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages, ground transportation from Calgary International Airport, the services of certified ski guides, training in the use of avalanche transceivers, powder skis, and helicopter transfers.
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Argentina’s Las Leñas ski resort has announced plans to invest in electricity generators and a water purification plant so it no longer needs to rely on the Argentinean national electrical grid nor the local water supply.
The generators are to become operational this season, and they as well as the plant are part of a $13 million (US) investment which also includes spending on a magic carpet conveyor lift for children and beginners, additional snow making equipment, and web site improvements with online purchasing of services becoming available in English and Portuguese.
Las Leñas has also upgraded their terrain park with new attractions for freestylers. The resort plans to organize three major competitions this winter, with a sponsorship from Rip Curl likely attracting professional athletes.
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