Snow Alert -Snowbird, Saas-Fee & Oslo Norway
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US Ski Team News
SUMMIT LAKE, Alaska (April 18) - Make that two consecutive Arctic Man victories for two-time Olympian Scott Macartney (Redmond, WA) and U.S. Snowboarding rider Ryan McDonald (Entiat, WA).
On a blue-sky Friday the 13th with a crowd of perhaps 10,000 spectators, they conquered the 22nd annual test in which a skier or rider barrels down an 80-second speed run, hooks up with a snowmobile driver - going about 40 mph or more during the hookup, gets pulled more than two miles through a lengthy - but mostly level - course, and then releases to navigate the final downhill section. Macartney, who won a year ago in his first shot at the Arctic Man competition in the Hoodoo Mountains north of Fairbanks - about 300 miles north of Anchorage, won in a record time of 4:01.49; Tyson Johnson, his snowmobile driver a year ago, was his pilot again. They hit a high of 88mph during the pull and Macartney was clocked at 82mph as he crossed the finish to beat the field of nearly 20 skiers by two seconds. Olympic teammate Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA), in his first attempt at Arctic Man, was second in 4:03.46. McDonald repeated as Arctic Man men's snowboard champion in 4:40.05, the only rider among the handful of snowboarders to break the five-minute mark.
Macartney, completing his ninth season on the U.S. Ski Team, and eight-year veteran Sullivan competed after the the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships at Alaska's Alyeska Resort where Sullivan won the gold medal in downhill. "He and I had a fun time," Macartney said. "This is a very different world from the World Cup, of course, because it's all pretty straight but the speed is high and, of course, there are no safety nets on this one section where you're going 80 miles an hour off a blind turn and roll. So, if you blow it, you'll definitely crash...ad you'll crash into a wall," Macartney said. Once again, longtime U.S. Ski Team waxing technician Brian Burnett helped arrange the participation and waxed their skis and McDonald's snowboard as part of the Global Motor Sports team. "You start with no poles [for the first downhill] so the balance is completely different...and you have no say in your line [when you're being pulled by the snowmobile], so that's different. At the bottom [of the final DH], the fatigue is pretty intense. Your legs are screaming - I mean, you've been skiing about five miles," Macartney said.
Apart from the hookup with the snowmachine driver, Macartney said the final phase can be gtricky because when the skier or rider releases, he or she has to slingshot up - "we don't have uphills on the World Cup," he noted - to the summit of a final hill before heading for the finish. He and Johnson hit a top speed of 88mph through the tow zone; the record of 91mph was set by the third-place skiers, four-time winners Eric Heil and Len Story. "We didn't focus on the top speed but we made up time on the slower sections," Macartney explained.
www.usskiteam.com

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Snow365.com / Patrick Thorne News From Indoor Snow and Artificial Ski Surface Centres Worldwide Here are just a couple of the stories this month Patrick has sent me. SNO! SHOW at SNO!zone This Autumn will see the launch of the new SNO! SHOW to be held on 29th and 30th September at SNO!zone in Xscape, Milton Keynes with support from winter sports retailer Ellis Brigham. With the use of the real snow slope at SNO!zone, the show will be the biggest UK-based Ski and Board show where customers can actually try out equipment on the snow. Both days will see the latest hardware and clothing on show from the main suppliers within the industry, available to test. Each day will also feature free slopeside coaching from some of the most well known Ski and Board Schools in Europe, as well as on slope demos from SNO!zone instructors, sponsored riders and some of Ellis Brigham’s up and coming talent. There will also be free avalanche safety talks, boot clinics, equipment servicing advice and demos, and movie premieres and shows. Saturday evening will also feature a Big Air and Rail Comp and party at the slope side bar. Arnauld Palu, Managing Director of SNO!zone comments: “This show will be a whole new experience for ski and boarding enthusiasts as they will find everything they want, right here, and be able to test it out on our real snow slopes. It will offer the industry a fantastic showcase for their products so we want everyone to be part of it.”
www.snozoneuk.co.uk


Coolzone Winterplex Still Moving Forward
Plans for the Coolzone Winterplex in Texas, first announced a year ago, are still progressing with backers, The Bearfire Group, aiming to commence construction by the end of the year with the facility likely to open in late 2008. The Bearfire Group is raising $375m for the Coolzone Winterplex within the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Possible sites being considered are reported to include a 527 acre location formerly owned by Intel. The Coolzone Winterplex’s main attraction will feature a 20-story outdoor ski and snowboard mountain which will be surfaced with Briton Engineering Developments’ Snowflex surface. The mountain will be complete with hotels, retaiuling, restaurants and chair lifts, a snowboard park with competition half pipe, toboggans and snow tubing. In addition to catering to extreme sports enthusiasts, the park will also feature activities for the entire family including two ice rinks, an outdoor ice trail, a winter wonderland for children with snow, an outdoor concert venue, rock climbing and rides. The project calls for more than 60 acres of attractions. Bearfire Group is also in discussions with a major motion picture studio to use their intellectual property to theme a portion of the park. By populating the park environment with identifiable characters, the Coolzone Winterplex will attract families as well as sports enthusiasts. The intellectual property will be highlighted by rides and entertainment. Additional family attractions include educational components and an opportunity to play in the park’s Winter Wonderland.
http://coolzonewinterplex.com


Halifax Ski Centre For Sale
Halifax Ski and Snowboarding Centre, at Bradford Old Road, Halifax is up for sale for £1.525 million this weekend. The deal includes the sale of The Sportsman Inn, indoor golf centre and the Charlie Fastrax children's adventure playground. Michael Carney, 64, who runs the centre with his son Darren, told local media he felt it was time to move on after the death of his wife. "I lost my wife Margaret to cancer three years ago. We had been married for 40 years and it hasn't been the same without her. Running the ski centre has been a challenge. We've had to fight for everything, in terms of planning. But now it's a nice family place and we have enjoyed it here."
www.ridehalifax.co.uk


From Patrick of snow365.com - Thanks


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Sugarloaf
T-shirts and shorts seemed to be the proper attire for the day here at Sugarloaf. We've had temps near 70 all day with bright sunshine, and there's still a TON of snow to be had out there thanks to the 95 inches of snow we've received in April.

Credit: Sugarloaf Cam photo
These are prime spring conditions, which is why we extended the season until April 29.
Because the temps will be mild overnight, they will not groom any of our 134 open trails tonight. We'll run the SuperQuad and Timberline lifts now through the 29th. Please note: there is no lift-serviced green circle terrain available at this time.
Tomorrow we can expect partly sunny skies, and though the temps will drop some, it will still be near 50 degrees here at the base.
While the trail is still open, the park features have been taken out of the Yard. We've had a great first season in there, and we hope to see all you park rats back here next year. If you're looking for spring skiing, no place is going to have anything even close to what we've got here at Sugarloaf. Check out our latest video and see for yourself
http://www.sugarloaf.com/

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BUDGET special offers Thanks to our special BUDGET offers, you can sleep for even less: BUDGET-PRICE Great locations near the slopes at prices I could afford!
Angelia and Christian In Wengen were my hosts and I intend on seeing them again. NOT just a room, people I will remember for a long long time! www.rooms.ch


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Bear Valley
There's 11-12" inches of new snow in the last 12 hours, Get up for the Best Powder of the Season!
www.bearvalley.com


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Eastern Mtn Sports

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The Endless Winter Counterpart In Europe
www.saveoursnow.com - climate change in ski resorts.
www.dailysnow.com - year round weekly snow news feed.
www.snow365.com - the world's only comprehensive and independent indoor snow and artificial surface slope site and news feed.

Patrick Thorne has contributed to Endless Winter and has published articles for Conde Nast

INdoor Snow updates will be posted here next week
Thanks Patrick ,... and Rachel too !


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Cortina

This is to let you know that todays weekly Cortina d'Ampezzo snow bulletin is the last one of the 2006-2007 season. But this is also to let you know that the ski lifts of the Faloria area will be open until 25 April. So why not take advantage of the 30 km of beautifully groomed ski runs with snow guaranteed? Hoping youve found this service useful and professionally presented, we look forward to you joining us again next winter! Some lifts (Faloria) will stay open until 25 April, the last date for which the seasonal skipasses are valid and 12 days in the season. The operating ski-lifts situation >>>
Please remember that Cortina's "skipass office" is open every day at these times: 8.30-12.30; 15.30-19.00; Sundays 8.30-12.30 www.cortina.dolomiti.org

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Snow New Zealand

The Lindauer Queenstown Winter Festival is just around the corner and we really want you to come along and be part of it. The Festival is how we herald the arrival of winter and trust us - the stage is set for one BIG celebration. 10 days, over 60 events and over 50 bands, comedians and entertainers all in Queenstown - Australasia's Ultimate Winter Paradise.
You can check out the full programme of events, they've got some great early bird specials on tickets and we've even put together some great travel packages to help you get here. It's the Ultimate Winter Party - And its sooner than you think! There's so much on this year's programme, so grab a cup of coffee and click here to have a good look around their website
www.snow.co.nz