"Endless Winter Snow"

9.03.2008

Labor Day weekend Snow above 8000 at Snowbird

*** TIMBERLINE LODGE on MT HOOD - Oregon
Magic Mile Closed until Sept 13th
Palmer Closed until Sept 13th

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Double Whammy Value Pass $339 before Sept. 30 With the only dual mountain pass that lets you ski and ride both Northstar-at-Tahoe™ Resort and Sierra-at-Tahoe® Resort, in just 5 visits you’re accessing Tahoe’s best tree skiing, award-winning parks and pipes, and wind-protected slopes for FREE! PURCHASE BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30TH AND SAVE UP TO $60!*
Northstar-at-Tahoe™ Resort and Sierra-at-Tahoe® Resorts

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Mt Buller - Australia
We are currently sitting on -2.7 degrees. We got down to -3 overnight and are heading for a top of 1 today. Isolated showers are expected, falling as snow above 1400 meters.
Thursday: Isolated showers, falling as snow above 1400 meters. Light to moderate easterly winds.
Friday: Isolated showers, falling as snow above 1500 meters.
Saturday: Isolated showers, falling as snow above 1500 meters.

Skiers and boarders will be in heaven today with 2cm of fresh powder to carve up. All 24 lifts will be in full operation, with the conditions being very good.
Make the most of your time on the slopes thanks to Ski Patrol's pick of the day:
Beginners: Bourke St
Intermediate: Chute
Advanced: Men’s Downhill.

www.mtbuller.com.au

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Squaw Valley

Squaw Valley Lift Tickets & Lessons

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Catedral Alta Patagonia
Santa Rosa left in Hill Cathedral the great Nevada but of the season Much snow in the beginning of the low season. More than two meters in the summit and almost 40 centimeters in the base. An incredible postcard. Today the Low Season, the storm of Santa Rosa is leaving to the great Nevada in all the hill Cathedral. Throughout the day and incessantly, great snowflakes accumulated more of a meter of new snow in the summit and between 30 and 40 cm in the base. From the 31 of August would begin to govern the prices of low season, that added to this fresh snow will make of September the best month of the Season to be useful the mountain in their maximum expression. According to the weather forecast, the snowed ones will inclusively continue tomorrow Sunday, reason why it hopes great volumes to enjoy to plenary session of the practice of ski like snowboard

Catedral alta Patagonia
Base Elevation: 3,380 ft. /1,030 m
Summit Elevation: 7, 837 ft./ 2,388 m
Runs Maximum Elevation: 6,892 ft. / 2,100 m
Vertical Rise: 3,512 ft. / 1,070 m
Terrain: 1,482 acres / 600 hectares

www.catedralaltapatagonia.com

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Cardrona spring conditions
A new express chairlift, snowmaking and cafe at Captain's Basin. A new half pipe (22ft walls), expert big air, and triple jump

The Mountain
Base Elevation: 1670m
Highest Lifted Point: 1894m
Vertical Rise: 390m
Terrain: 320 hectares

Lifts
1 quad fixed chairlift
1 quad express chairlifts
3 magic learner lifts
1 platter beginner lift
Lift capacity 7800 people per hour

Cardrona closes on 12th October 2008.
www.cardrona.com

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Alyeska Resort
ACT NOW! SEASON PASS EARLY BIRD PRICING August 31st is the last day to take advantage of the "Early Bird" season pass pricing. Prices will go up on September 1st, so make sure to lock in on the lowest rates offered all season. Skip the ticket lines and maximize your ski days with an Alyeska Resort season pass. You can purchase your pass either online or by calling the Tram Ticket Office at 754-2275.

OKTOBERFEST 2008 Friday October 10th from 6:00pm to 1:00am and Saturday October 11th from 4:00pm to 2:00am located in the Daylodge. Join us for authentic German food including Bratwurst, Ruotski, German Potato Salad, Apple and Cherry Strudel and more. Music by the Alaska Blaskapelles. Tickets are $10 at the door. For more information visit Oktoberfest or call (907) 754-2275. NEW ON THE MOUNTAIN
New for 2008-2009 Season, Alyeska Resort Goes to RFID for Lift Ticket and Season Pass Access
What does RFID mean for me?

Using an RFID lift and/or season passes allows guests to set up an automatic charge with a credit card, allowing them to directly access the lifts without waiting at the ticket windows. Alyeska Resort will debut a complete installation of radio frequency identification (RFID) gate technology and the Resort Technology Partners (RTP) software and web services system for the 2008-09 winter season. Purchase your RFID Lift Pass one time for $5 and use it for the rest of the season.

One great advantage for Alyeska skiers and riders is that the hands-free system means no more showing a pass at every lift. Skiers place their lift ticket or season pass inside a pocket by itself and leave it there for the day; the antennas will do the rest. The reusable lift pass allows visitors to bypass the ticket window and head straight to the lifts by purchasing visits online. After your day on the slopes, visit alyeskaresort.com and enter the web ID on the pass to track ski history and reload the card. On your next ski day, go straight to the lifts and skip the extra stop at the ticket office. To ensure efficiency of RFID system, skiers and riders can make sure the antennas read the chip in their pass by placing it in a pocket by itself. Do not put it in a pocket near cell phones, music players, metal ware or other passes. The ideal location is above the knees & below the shoulders.
The RFID system will provide a completely hands-free experience for all guests, scanning lift tickets and season passes automatically at turnstiles positioned at the entrance to each lift including the tram, chair 4, chair 3 and eventually chair 6. The scanners receive signals from the tickets that are tucked into jacket or pants pockets. The embedded RFID chip will register with an access gate that will automatically swing open to admit an authorized skier or snowboarder. The less time guests wait in line for lifts, tickets and rentals, the more time they have for fun.
Renewable Media – After this season, hang on to your new card (media). Passes and Cards will be able to be renewed online – never wait to pick up your card again. For more information regarding RFID, check out our RFID LIFT ACCESS page.

Alyeska Resort, located 40 miles south of Anchorage, is Alaska’s premier year-round resort. Tucked amid the Chugach Mountain, Alyeska Ski Resort offers world class skiing and snowboarding with stunning views of the Turnagain Arm. The 1,400 acres of terrain with 2,500 feet of vertical rise, is serviced by nine lifts included a new beginner quad, 60 passenger aerial tram, and high speed quad. Ski-in, ski-out access is available from the Hotel Alyeska which features 304 recently renovated guest rooms and meeting space, the luxurious Spa at Alyeska, five dining venues with fine dining at Seven Glaciers and Sakura & Sushi Bar restaurants, and a salt water mountain-view indoor heated pool and whirlpool spa. For more information on packages, events and rates call Alyeska Resort at 1-800-880-3880
www.alyeskaresort.com.

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News from the World of Skiing
Time start thinking tickets: Vancouver 2010 ... more
Right in time for the Beijing Olympic Summer Games, VANOC, the organizer of the next Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver (CAN) in 2010, released its detailed competition schedules which were approved by the IOC Executive Board. The tickets to 2010 Games will go on sale on 3rd October 2008.
With nine competition venues, 12 stadiums, seven sports, 15 disciplines and 86 medal events, producing the hourly competition schedules was a highly complex endeavor. Contingency plans for adverse weather conditions, event sequencing (to allow recovery time for athletes in more than one event), venue operational considerations and complex broadcast logistics (including balancing live global coverage of simultaneous events at different venues) all had to be built into the schedules.
The Opening Ceremony will be held on 12th February 2010 while the final sport event will be the men’s gold medal hockey game on 28th February. For detailed schedules of each of the FIS disciplines which is a total of 40 medal events

The way to Sochi 2014: Cross-Country Skiing ... more

Just a few days ago, Sochi 2014 - the host of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games - celebrated a special milestone of 2014 days to go until the event. A few days thereafter, its leadership delivered the first official progress report to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the 120th IOC Session in Beijing (CHN), outlining the team’s achievements during the first year since Sochi’s election.
During the Sochi Games, to be held from 7th to 23rd February, the skiing events will be staged around the village of Krasnaya Polyana some 45 minutes away from the city of Sochi proper. As per the bid book, the Nordic Skiing events are planned to be carried out at the brand new facilities at Psekhako Ridge, which is set to host the Cross-Country and Nordic Combined Cross-Country competitions in 2014.
Initiated in 2002 and opened for the 2005/2006 season, Psekhako Ridge is a new resort owned by Gazprom. It currently consists of 18 trails and six lifts including a gondola, as well as accommodation for more than 8,000 people. The second construction phase is now underway and will include additional pistes, a ski stadium and other facilities to be used during the 2014 Games. Construction of the Olympic Ski Stadium with its facilities at around 1450 m of altitude is scheduled to be finished in 2010. The first official test events as part of the FIS World Cup will in principle be held during the 2011/2012 season.
The second construction stage at the resort also includes four ropeways, ski lifts, summer sports facilities, a multi-level car parking, 300 and 180-room hotels, a cultural center with a water park, conference halls, restaurants, cafes and a business area. Gazprom’s investment in Psekhako Ridge is estimated to amount to a total of Euro 300 million. Psekhako Ridge is intended to become the Russian National Training Center after the Games. A delicate balance with the surrounding nature remains a challenge because Psekhako Ridge is adjacent to the highly valuable Caucasus Nature Reserve and the Western Caucasus World Heritage Site.
“The Psekhako Ridge ski area offers great promise for the Cross-Country Skiing events at the 2014 Games. While significant work remains to be done, including the construction of required accommodation facilities and major transportation infrastructure such as a highway from Sochi, the basis for an excellent Cross-Country venue is surely there,” commented Jürg Capol, FIS Race Director following his recent site inspection. “Russia is historically one of the major Cross-Country Skiing nations and given the experience at our recent FIS World Cup events in Rybinsk, we can look forward to great Cross-Country competitions in an outstanding atmosphere at the Sochi Games,” he added.
WWW.FIS-SKI.COM

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STUBAI Glacier - Hintertux Austrai
OPEN
Cable Cars / Lifts:
Five cable cars (Gamsgarten, Eisgrat and Schaufeljoch)
Three 6-seater chair lifts (Eisjoch, Fernau and Murmele)
One 4-seater chair lift (Rotadl)
Three double seat chair lifts (Wildspitz, Pfaffengrat, Gamsgarten)
Nine T-Bars and practise lifts

The Stubai Glacier represents one of the most extensive all-year-skiing areas in the Eastern Alps with 68 miles of slopes and off-slope tracks of all levels of difficulty and a 2.8 mile high altitude cross country slope.

The glacier ski area is complemented by the lifts on Neustift`s local fun mountain, the “Elfer” ski resort. Neustift is known far and wide for its beautiful ski tours. You can also use more than 2,8 miles of cross country tracks, wander along two winter hiking trails or enjoy a ride on one of the numerous natural tobbogan runs, among them the longest natural tobobban run in Austria.

Approximately 100 youth hostels in all of Austria are open to everybody. Groups and those travelling alone are advised to book in advance.

Each guest must present a valid International Youth Hostel membership card which can be purchased at any national Youth Hostel Association office.

Cable cars and lifts at Stubai Glacier:
Lift Bottom station Top station Distance
Height above sea level m Height above sea level m in m 6-seater cable car Eisgrat I 1,750 2,300 1,890
6-seater cable car Eisgrat II 2,300 2,900 2,300
6-seater cable car Gamsgarten I 1,750 2,300 1,910
6-seater cable car Gamsgarten II 2,300 2,630 1,570
8-seater cable car Schaufeljoch 2,900 3,165 1,155

6-seater chair lift Eisjoch 2,620 3,130 2,268
6-seater chair lift Fernau 2,580 3,064 2,067
6-seater chair lift Murmelebahn 2,607 2,672 499
4-seater chair lift Rotadl 2,632 3,015 1,284
Double seat chair lift Gamsgarten 2,295 2,713 1,904
Double seat chair lift Pfaffengrat 2,919 3,060 323
Double seat chair lift Wildspitz 3,107 3,215 373

www.stubaier-gletscher.com

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Austria Info - Hostels

100 youth hostels in all of Austria are open to everybody. Groups and those travelling alone are advised to book in advance.

Each guest must present a valid International Youth Hostel membership card which can be purchased at any national Youth Hostel Association office.

Lists of youth hostels and detailed information can be found:
- at the Austrian Youth Hostel Association
- at the Österreichisches Jugendherbergswerk

Persons without an International Youth Hostel membership card need a guest card with a ”Welcome Stamp” at € 3,50 per night. Once the card has been stamped with 6 Welcome-Stamps, it automatically counts as a Youth Hostel membership card Transportation by Rail
The Austrian Federal Railway network has a length of about 5,700 km and connects all major national and international cities.
Motorail Trains:
Motorail trains operate daily between
Vienna - Salzburg, Villach, Innsbruck, Feldkirch
Graz – Feldkirch
Feldkirch – Villach
Vienna - Berlin
Vienna - Hamburg
Vienna - Düsseldorf
On specific days also Vienna – Lienz, Vienna - Schwarzach-St.Veit.
In the summer motorail trains are also operated:
from Salzburg, Innsbruck and Villach to Germany, from Vienna to Italy, Slovenia, Croatia.

Vehicles may be transported on the Tauern train through the Tauern tunnel (Böckstein - Mallnitz-Obervellach, 12 km). http://www.oebb.at/
www.austria.info/

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Indoor Snow News
From Patrick Thorne - Snow365.com

Europa and World Cup Moves Indoors
Following several years of staging early season world cup events at Snowworld at Landgraaf in Holland, the International Ski Federation (FIS) is expanding the number of events to be staged on indoor snow this season, with venues in France and Germany added to the now regular Dutch fixture.

Europa Cup Slalom competitions will be staged between November 4th and 7th, first at France’s only indoor ski centre at Amneville, then at Snoworld Landgraaf in Holland and finally at Neuss in Germany.

Landgraaf will again hold Snowboard World Cup Parallel Slalom events on 10th and 11th October.

Snow Land For Mexico
Unlimited Snow has been appointed as general consultants responsible for design, engineering, installations, rides and activities as well as operational support for the new Snow Land in Mexico City.
Snow Land, Mexico will be a 12,000 square metre indoor snow and ice fun park including every imaginable snow and ice fun attraction for children of all ages. The warm part is themed as a snow village, whereas the cold part is themed as an Arctic world. Food and beverage facilities will be located on the first floor, overlooking all activities.

www.snowland.com.mx

Daron Rahlves Takes Classes At Ski Dubai
American ski racer Daron Rahlves was at Ski Dubai last week sharing his expertise with local ski enthusiasts at an exclusive ski race camp organised by the famous indoor ski centre. Sponsored by skiwear brand Spyder, the five-day camp ran from 24th-28th August and enabled skiers to learn race techniques of races from Ski Dubai’s multi-national instructors. The sessions were reinforced with tips from Spyder sponsored rider, Rahlves.
Mike Mahoney, General Manager at Ski Dubai, said: “We were delighted to have Rahlves at Ski Dubai for this exciting skiers’ camp. This camp was an incredible opportunity for avid skiers to learn from a true professional.”
On the final day of the camp, all participants could take part in a three-hour competition session which included a warm-up with Rahlves and a race where participants got the chance to show their new skills and compete for prizes.

New Neveplast Slope For Sila
Neveplast has completed the installation of a ski slope and two Tubby slopes at Sila, in the Calabrian mountains in the Appennines range. The ski slopes, which had been ordered by the Scalise Sport Group Srl which runs the centre and other leisure activities in the region, will bring skiing 365 days a year to the area.

The Neveplast Np30 and the Tubby slopes will allow for winter sports year round, including in winter if there is not enough natural snowfall. The ski slope has been equipped for use by the area’s ski school also that ski teaching can continue year round.
www.neveplast.it