The Story behind the Salomon 1080 Ski

A look at how the Salomon 1080 ski started, the people behind it and really, the start of the twin tip revolution.  See..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4A3FfgCRkU

5 Places You Didn’t Know You Could Ski

Interesting report courtesy of unofficialnetworks.com

1. Uganda, Africa  (Mountains of the Moon)

• Spanning the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just above the Equator in central Africa, are the Rwenzori Mountains.
• These glaciated African peaks have been widely known by their nickname, the Mountains of the Moon, since before the birth of Christ. 
• Included in the mountain range is Mount Margherita, Africa’s third highest peak at  5,109m.
• Living at the base of the Ugandan mountains is an abundance of wildlife making Uganda the only ski destination in the world where you have a chance of seeing leopards, chimpanzees, elephants and the endangered mountain gorillas of Virunga National Park.
• The Mountains of the Moon are melting. According to the conservation group WWF 50 percent of the glaciers have melted by over the past 50 years.

1952 (left) and 2008 (right)

2. Puncak Jaya, Indonesia

• Puncak Jaya is the highest summit of Mount Carstensz located in the western central highlands of Papua province, Indonesia. 
• At 4,884 metres (16,024 ft) Puncak Jaya is the highest mountain in Indonesia.
• It is also the highest point between the Himalayas and the Andes, and the highest island peak in the world.
• There are several glaciers on its slopes including the Carstensz Glacier, West Northwall Firn, East Northwall Firn and the recently vanished Meren Glacier.
• Being equatorial, there is little variation in the mean temperature during the year (around 0.5°C) and the glaciers fluctuate on a seasonal basis only slightly.
• An expedition led by paleoclimatologist Lonnie Thompson in 2010 found that the glaciers are receding at a rate of seven meters per year and will disappear in four to five years.

3. Pico Cristóbal Colón, Colombia

• Pico Cristóbal Colón is commonly accepted as the highest peak in Colombia and the fifth most prominent in the world.
• Pico Cristobal Colon is located in a wild and remote area of extreme northern Colombia.
• Given its proximity to the northern coast, the humidity is high and precipitation is extremely heavy.
• Pico Cristobal Colon holds permanent snow and ice.
• Pico Cristóbal Colón was first climbed in 1939 by W. Wood, A. Bakerwell and E. Praolini.
• The peak is named for Christopher Columbus.

4. Mount Olympus, Greece ( the throne of Zeus )

• Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece.
• The highest peak Mytikas rises to 9,570ft.
• According to ancient Greek mythology Mount Olympus was the divine kingdom of the Olympian gods.
• Home of Zeus, the king of the gods.
  
•  The Olympian Gods would sit atop Mt. Olympus and socialize over dinner, where they would make decisions on the fate of the world and the mortals while eating ambrosia and drinking nectar.
• There are several peaks in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus that bear the name Olympus.
• Should a god break an oath, he would be cursed to live nine years away from Mount Olympus and not be able to take part in any of the gods’ gatherings.

5. Heard and McDonald Islands, Australia

• The Heard Island is a perfect volcanic cone rising out of the Southern Indian Ocean. 
• Technically Heard Island is an Australian external territory making it the nations highest peak.
• The Islands are located about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica.
• The groups overall size is 372 square kilometres (144 sq mi) in area and it has 101.9 km (63 mi) of coastline.
• Discovered in the mid-19th century, they have been territories of Australia since 1947
• The islands are among the most remote places on Earth
• The islands are currently uninhabited.

• 

Action from Freeskier's 2012 Ski Test

From March 5 - March 9, a huge group of professional testers skied literally hundreds of skis in every condition imaginable, from iced-over groomers to fresh powder. The results from this test will appear in the 2013 Freeskier Buyer's Guide, the biggest product guide in the business.  

Click to see the Ski Test

Subscribe to the print magazine: freeskier.com/subscribe

Get Freeskier on your iPhone/iPad: itunes.apple.com/app/freeskier-mag/id499829265?mt=8

Song: Luckyiam - For You (ft. Aceyalone & Slug)

Compression Clothes: Hoax or Handy?

Jumping on the trend bandwagon is iffy for some retailers, but with a trend like compression clothing, the payoff could be worth the potential risk.

“I think the growth of the market clearly dictates there’s a demand for it,” says Barry Levinson, co-founder of Ski Racing Development, a race-oriented shop in Colorado. “It’s been accepted at the top, and now it’s spreading out to the rest of the market.”

That top he’s referring to is the professional athlete community-including the U.S. Ski Team.
Troy Flanagan, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s high performance director, says about 75 percent of the ski and snowboard team athletes use compression clothing.

(photo courtesy Salomon)

And, as a result of the USSA’s not-yet-announced partnership with compression clothing company 2XU, every athlete will soon have a handful of compression options.

But does it work? READ MORE

From Morzine To Peru...

FROM SNOW TO RAINFOREST PROTECTION...

Every season we donate a percentage of all our online bookings to CoolEarth. Added to this are contributions from our suppliers, distributers and other friends in the ski industry, and thus we've manged to secure and protect another 45 acres of Ashaninka Rainforst in Peru from deforestation.

In total we are now protecting 77 acres of pristine rainforest, which keeps 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide where it belongs and protects 3500 mature trees, 14,500 saplings, 6 endangered species of animal, 322 types of plant and over 11,000 species of insect and worm.

Amazing! We're absolutely thrilled, so a massive, massive thanks to everyone involved and thank you if you booked online with us.

Willie@Doorstepskis

For more details on the great work CoolEarth are involved with see http://www.coolearth.org/

New for Summer 2012

Our resorts are renowned for being at the forefront of innovation and as such are consistently developing to maintain their reputation. Here’s what’s Yodel mag in Morzine discovered is new this summer….

Fabien Barel Mountain Bike Courses

Fabien Barel, the French downhilling legend announced his retirement from racing in August last year and has jumped wholeheartedly into his role as an ambassador for Les Gets village. Fabien has organised a series of mountain courses this summer that are available to everyone.
The courses are 3 days long and focus on downhill and endurance, there will be a maximum of 24 people in each group so you can really benefit from specific tuition.

Fabien Barel Coaching Track 

Another addition Barel has made to the village of Les Gets in his role as ambassador is a new coaching track. The track includes a succession of modules built along a mountain bike route. It is specially developed for riders to focus on a particular area of their riding such as tackling raised corners, braking or doing jumps.
Each of these teaching modules are accompanied by Fabien Barel’s video to show you how it’s done. You can find the new coaching track on Des Ecureils; the green run in the Chavannes area.
Each week of the summer you can also improve your mountain biking skills by following Barel’s introductory and improvement videos on the lesgets.com/vtt website. The bike training doesn’t have to stop when the lifts close!

Morzine swimming pool and spa

It will be the first summer that Morzine has had its very own indoor pool so there’s no need for a rainy day to interrupt your swimming training this year. The new complex includes 3 saunas, 2 hammams, a kid’s pool and a learner’s pool. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out over the busy winter then we suggest you head down there this summer.

GPS Rental

Les Gets is heading for its first summer equipped with the Flaik GPS system, which works resort wide and allows for data collection. You can hire the GPS equipment to measure your daily distance and the route you took either biking or hiking. By connecting the equipment to the internet at the end of the day it will show you all this information plus your maximum and average speeds.

Aquariaz

Set to open on July 1^st, the water park for Avoriaz has been highly anticipated. The park will consist of three different worlds to appeal to all ages. Firstly, the fun and colourful Water Playhouse is designed for children and includes water slides, buckets and water guns.
Then the Sidewinder is designed to appeal to adrenaline junkies who are looking for a little more excitement. The sidewinder is like a half pipe that you slide down in a rubber tube from a height of 10 metres.
The third world is designed to appeal to all ages featuring a flowing river with bubbles, jets and water games. It also has a normal swimming pool for anyone who just wants a regular swim and another swimming pool that is lined along one edge with a climbing wall.
And the pièce de résistance…an outdoor spa, heated to 34 C with a magnificent view of the valley down towards Morzine. Stunning.

Freestyle Airbag

Mountain bikers will be able to practice their jumps and freestyle this summer in Les Gets with the security of an airbag to fall back on! The huge inflatable measuring 15m x 11m will be used for demonstrations by professional riders during the big mountain bike events of the season.

Mountain Movie Success

The total proceeds of the St Jean D'Aulps film night have been released in its best year ever.

The film night, which was held in St Jean D'Aulps gym at the beginning of April this year encourages people to make mini movies to be judged in the competition. All proceeds from the night are then given to charity.
This year the night raised a whopping €4725 for charity. In the previous four years, the maximum amount raised in an evening was €1500 making this year a stand out success.
The evening relies on the generosity and film making skills of so many people to raise money for some brilliant charities; The Lavender Trust, Angel Ride and Secours de Montagne.
Click here to read more about the amazing story behind this special evening.