The Alpine Ski World Cup starts today on the Rettenbach Glacier in Sölden, Austria

Today the FIS World Cup opens with the Women’s Giant Slalom on the Rettenbach glacier in Sölden, Tirol (AUT). The FIS Women's and Men's Alpine Ski World Cup is held for the 10th time in the Tyrolean ski resort and conditions are very good this year. The weather has cooperated with a cold front over Europe bringing snowfall last week along with excellent conditions for snow-making. “The course is looking great,” commented Hans Pieren, FIS Race Director for the men’s technical events from the Rettenbach glacier in Sölden (current weather conditions: sunny, -2º and 80cm of powder snow).
Yesterday the Frozen fire Worldcup-Party took place in the Aqua Dome Tirol Therme Längenfeld opening officially the winter season. Also the FIS Forum Alpinum – the Information Session for Ski Journalists – took place on Friday 26th October, the day before the Opening of the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup season 2007/08 in Sölden (AUT). It was held in the Freizeit Arena in Sölden.
Programme:

27.10.2007 Women's Giant Slalom
28.10.2007 Men's Giant Slalom
09:45 am: 1st run
12:45 pm: 2nd run

The FIS Ski Cross Country World Cup starts the season 2007/2008 in Düsseldorf

FIS Ski Cross Country World Cup starts tomorrow in Düsseldorf at the banks of the river Rhine. The snow specialists from ski dome Jever Skihalle Neuss are in charge to prepare a perfect track for FIS World Cup Cross Country and for the athletes from all over the world. The technicians need over 3000 cubic metres of snow made from 1500 cubic metres of water (the amount to fill a 50m swimming pool) to build the World Cup track. The snow is made in the ski hall. Twelve snow cannons installed under the ceiling of the snow dome produce finest fog by spraying pure drinking-water without any chemical additives through a high-pressure injector. Ice-cold air and pre–cooled water add up to superfine fog. As the air inside the ski dome has -4 degrees the fog crystallizes to finest snow on its way from the ceiling down to the ground. When the slope in the ski dome is prepared the snow has a temperature of -17 degrees. This temperature guarantees the ideal consistency of powder snow.
The snow transport to Düsseldorf’s Old Town is the most challenging organisational part to build the World Cup track. The snow, at a temperature of -10 to -14 degrees, is brought outside to be loaded on trucks. Five trucks shuttle from Thursday 25th October on the short route between Düsseldorf’s banks of the river Rhine and snow dome Neuss. The snow is delivered to snow-depots, at the lower waterfront. Covers protect the snow against rain or solar irradiation and keep in the cold. Starting on Friday the snow crawlers spread the snow equally over the whole area of the World Cup track. The completion of the slope is hand-made by slope technicians. A drainage system was developed by the technicians to avoid puddles on the World Cup track when the weather conditions are unfavourable. The underground beneath the snow is a layer of punched mats. The holes in the mats make sure that melting water drains off in case of high temperatures. Overnight from Saturday to Sunday a layer of fresh snow ensures that the track endures the extraordinary charges of the World Cup weekend.
“The snow-safety in Düsseldorf is so high that we did not have to name a snow-safe alternative venue in the contract with the International Ski Federation (FIS). Actually this is always part of the FIS event-agreement” says August Pollen, head of organisation committee FIS World Cup Cross Country Düsseldorf.
Switzerland Tourism will deliver a substantial entertainment program, including a Swiss village with skiing opportunities, a toboggan run, Guggenmusik and Alpine macaroni & cheese. On Saturday, at 20:30, the legendary World Cup Party will again take place at the Jever Skihalle Neuss, the home of all the snow on the Rhine venue.

Today at Sölden the Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup 2007/2008 opens the Winter Season

The Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup takes off on October 20th and 21th with the season’s first parallel giant slaloms held on the Rettenbach glacier in Sölden (AUT). The weather forecast for the weekend shows a reamarkable drop in temperatures (-12º at the glacier) with the freezing point dropping down below 1000m on Saturday and 900m on Sunday, cloudy at times and perhaps some snow showers (5cm of fresh snow fell during Friday night). Atle Skaardal, FIS Chief Race Director for the ladies’ FIS Alpine World Cup commented on Thursday: “The ongoing work and current conditions on the race course on the glacier look very promising. I am looking forward to a solid start for the season in Sölden. A good start there, as it looks like we’ll have, will help us get us well on our way to having a great season!”.

Programme:
20 Oct: Men's Parallel Giant Slalom
21 Oct: Women's Parallel Giant Slalom

IDE’s All Weather Snowmaker for Zermatt

The financial viability of the ski resorts depends to a great extent on favourable snow conditions and the snow-reliability of its ski areas. Nowadays ski operators adopt technological measures to reduce the risks from a snow deficient winter.
Snowmaking is the most widespread strategy to extend the operating season and to secure and guarantee the revenues of the ski resorts. Zermatt Bergbahnen is the first ski resort to order a new kind of artificial snow system: the IDE’s All Weather Snowmaker.
IDE Technologies is a world leader and pioneer in water desalination, wastewater concentrators and purifiers. The snowmaking technology comes from the mining industry where it is used to cool the goldmines.
CEO Zermatt Bergbahnen Christen Baumann explains how it works: “To put it simply it works like a freezer. The temperature of the surrounding air is irrelevant. In a closed container with a diameter of 3.2m and a height of 10m, water is exposed to a vacuum without any additives. A small portion vaporizes, the remaining water freezes to snow, which is afterwards expelled at a rate of about 40 cubic metres every hour. The snow produced has the consistency of a wet spring snow”. IDE’s All Weather Snowmaker is a unique, environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient solution. The energy it requires for a year is the equivalent to that of one household.
The new snow machine, which is produced in Israel, has a delivery period of one year and costs around CHF 2 million (EUR 1.19 million). It will be put into operation at the end of September 2008 to offset the bad snow conditions of the late autumn in the glacier piste. As Daniel Loggen, Director of Zermatt Tourism, says “We want to offer our guests perfect skiing enjoyment – so the innovation has come at just the right time”.

Skiing Magazine's Top 25 Resorts for 2007

Skiing Magazine Readers ranked these resorts as the best 25 for quality of snow, terrain, affordability, and nightlife. Skiing is a USA magazine by and for passionate skiers owned by World Publications, LLC.

1. Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia
   
2. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
   
3. Crested Butte, Colorado
   
4. Alta/Snowbird, Utah
   
5. Fernie, British Columbia
   
6. Brighton, Utah
   
7. Steamboat, Colorado
   
8. Snowmass, Colorado
   
9. Big Sky, Montana
   
10. Park City, Utah
    
11. Alpine Meadows, California
    
12. Lake Louise, Alberta
    
13. The Canyons, Utah
    
14. Solitude, Utah
    
15. Winter Park, Colorado
    
16. Vail, Colorado
    
17. Aspen/Aspen Highlands, Colorado
    
18. Copper Mountain, Colorado
    
19. Mt. Baker, Washington
    
20. Squaw Valley, California
    
21. Schweitzer, Idaho
    
22. Snowbasin, Utah
    
23. Mammoth Mountain, California
    
24. Breckenridge, Colorado
    
25. Sunshine Village, Alberta

Skiing Magazine Demographics

Maxiavalanche La Pinilla

Una nutrida participación de corredores internacionales participaron este fin de semana en La Pinilla (Riaza, Segovia) en la última prueba del Campeonato de Europa de Maxiavalanche. La prueba consistió en un descenso de largo recorrido en bicicleta de montaña con salida en la estación de llegada del telesilla Mirador y final en la localidad de Riaza. El espectacular trazado, con un desnivel aproximado de 900 metros y unos 12 kilómetros de longitud, combinaba tramos de fuerte pendiente, donde los descenders alcanzaron velocidades increíbles, con tramos más técnicos que discurrían entre los bosques de pino característicos del Sistema Central.

Los entrenamientos y las mangas de clasificación tuvieron lugar el sábado 6 de octubre. Al día siguiente se celebraron las dos mangas que decidieron los ganadores de las distintas categorías y la clasificación final de la Copa de Europa de Descenso en bicicleta de montaña.
La Pinilla ha sido la única sede en todo el territorio nacional de esta prestigiosa prueba. La Maxiavalanche La Pinilla cierra el calendario de eventos deportivos del 2007 que patrocinan La Pinilla, el Ayuntamiento de Riaza y Caja Segovia.

Mountain Dynamics GPS trail maps for North America’s top ski resorts

Mountain Dynamics, the leading developer of digital GPS trail maps for ski resorts in North America, has announced that its SnowRanger GPS trail maps are now available for 64 top US and Canadian ski resorts with the release of its Northeast map set.
On November 1st 2005, Mountain Dynamics Inc. launched the availability of its first set of SnowRanger ski resort trail maps with 18 resorts in Colorado for Garmin GPSes.
Each digital map shows the resort's chairlifts, trails, lodges, terrain parks, roads and parking, tree cover and contours, and more, and can be used with any Garmin, and, since last year, Magellan eXplorist GPS that supports downloadable maps. Most importantly the GPS shows skiers or snowboarders exactly where they are on the map, where they have been, and where they are heading. SnowRanger helps the skier or snowboarder get the most out of each day, and can be a valuable aid to safety.
"It's like a car navigation system for the mountain," said Marcus Needham, Mountain Dynamics' President and CEO. "SnowRanger gives you a bird's eye view of the resort, won't shred like a paper map in the wind, and isn't affected by blinding white-outs."
SnowRanger 2007/08 version offer five sets of maps covering major ski areas in Colorado/New Mexico, California/Nevada, Utah/Wyoming, the Northeast, and the Northwest/Montana including nearly all of North America's top ski resorts such world-renowned destinations as Aspen, Deer Valley, Jackson Hole, Vail and Whistler Blackcomb.
Garmin-compatible maps are available immediately from http://www.mountaindynamics.com/
as a download, on CD-ROM, or on SD and microSD memory cards. Magellan-compatible maps are available immediately on SD card from
www.mountaindynamics.com (for Triton, CrossoverGPS™, and eXplorist™), and will be available as downloads by November 15th from http://www.magellangps.com/. SnowRanger trail map data are also available in SportsDo's Ski Resort Location Packs for GPS-enabled mobile phones, at http://www.sportsdo.net/. The program that copies the maps onto the GPS (either from CD-ROM or from a download from this site) is only available for Windows.
You can see the resort list and a preview of their GPS map on the Mountain Dynamics website.