The 2016-17 season is here, and in anticipation of the best winter of your life, you’ve decided to buy a new pair of skis. You browse the internet or walk into your local ski shop and realize that you’re overwhelmed by the multitude of options facing you. You wearily admire topsheets while secretly wondering, “what the hell is the difference between a freeride and a freestyle ski? Do I want a poplar or beech core? Does any of this even matter?” Well, it does. And we’re here to help explain it all. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know before investing in your next pair of skis, broken down into two simple parts. - See more at: http://freeskier.com/stories/freeskiers-guide-to-understanding-and-buying-skis#sthash.WQjJUKsp.dpuf
The 2017-18 season is only 6 moths away, and in anticipation of the best winter of your life, you’ve decided to buy a new pair of skis. You browse the internet or walk into your local ski shop and realize that you’re overwhelmed by the multitude of options facing you. You wearily admire topsheets while secretly wondering, “what the hell is the difference between a freeride and a freestyle ski? Do I want a poplar or beech core? Does any of this even matter?” Well, it does. And we’re here to help explain it all. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know before investing in your next pair of skis, broken down into two simple parts. - See more
Shooting the breeze about the ski industry, the great outdoors and general gossip from the Doorstep Skis HQ in Morzine, France.
Friday, June 30, 2017
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Staying fit for the slopes the Olympian way
Olympic snowboarders, Aimee Fuller and Jamie Nicholls share their tips for staying fit for the slopes after a day on the hill snowboarding. So whether you're a skier or snowboarder find out how to last the week by clicking here.
Monday, June 19, 2017
Ski hire is all the same, right?
By Jock Dun
Ski hire is all the same, it’s just a question of getting the cheapest price – right? Well you couldn’t be further from the truth.
If you’re planning a ski trip, then sorting out your equipment hire will be high on your list of things to do. The age, the fit, the suitability and the condition of your equipment all make a massive difference to your ability to ski well and progress, not to mention to your comfort, safety and enjoyment.
The internet is awash with sites offering too-good-to-be-true deals on ski hire, and many of the big tour operators will try to sell you ski hire as well. Unfortunately, though, far too often they focus only on the price – as if ski hire was just a commodity – and not on the much more important issues of quality, service and suitability. Yes, of course the price is an issue, but it’s really about the best value for money rather than just the cheapest price or the biggest discount.
READ ON...
If you’re planning a ski trip, then sorting out your equipment hire will be high on your list of things to do. The age, the fit, the suitability and the condition of your equipment all make a massive difference to your ability to ski well and progress, not to mention to your comfort, safety and enjoyment.
The internet is awash with sites offering too-good-to-be-true deals on ski hire, and many of the big tour operators will try to sell you ski hire as well. Unfortunately, though, far too often they focus only on the price – as if ski hire was just a commodity – and not on the much more important issues of quality, service and suitability. Yes, of course the price is an issue, but it’s really about the best value for money rather than just the cheapest price or the biggest discount.
READ ON...
Thursday, June 15, 2017
The Environmental Impact of Making Snow
Coutesy of —Mary Catherine O'Connor @outsideonline.com
Pointing to the sacredness of the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff, Arizona, a coalition of Native American tribes has been fighting the development and expansion of Arizona Snowbowl ski resort since 1979. It remains defiant, reports the New York Times, despite having suffered a key legal defeat this winter. A federal court ruled against the tribes in a nearly decade-old lawsuit that claims the ski resort's plans to use treated wastewater from Flagstaff's sewage system to make artificial snow for the resort would interfere with religious practices and mar the mountains.Wait. The resort will use sewage to make snow? Technically, yes. That's why the story has garnered lots of attention. But recycling treated wastewater for applications that do not require potable water is not nearly as icky, nor as uncommon, as it might sound. This type of water is commonly used for irrigating golf courses and soccer fields, for example.
While Arizona Snowbowl would be the first resort in the U.S. to use 100 percent treated wastewater to make snow, it's a common practice in Europe and in parts of Australia, says Hunter Sykes, an environmental sustainability consultant who closely tracks the outdoor recreation industry and produced a 2007 documentary about the environmental impacts of rampant ski resort development called Resorting to Madness. "Most people who work with wastewater don't see this an issue, because it's not going to make people sick and, as far as we know, it's not going to contaminate flora or fauna," he says.
Not everyone is quite so comfortable, though, with the idea of using treated wastewater for snowmaking. Among the groups that oppose it, on the grounds that the water may contain chemical inputs from pharmaceuticals and other potentially hazardous hard-to-trace sources, include the Center for Biological Diversity. Sykes agrees that there is still much we don't understand about the chemical agents that persist in treated wastewater and how they could impact the ecosystems into which they're released, but says if it was up to him, he would use the treated wastewater.
Taylor McKinnon, public lands campaigns director for the Center for Biological Diversity points to a study that linked wastewater effluent released into a creek in Boulder, Colorado, with abnormal fish gender distributions. "There is an emerging and growing list of compounds [about which] we don't know the affects," he says, but we know that endocrine disruptors [in wastewater] will change fish sex ratios. This points to the need for additional research and more advanced water treatment."
But McKinnon and Sykes do agree on one thing: the real story here is the increase in snowmaking, industry wide, and the wider environmental impacts of making snow.
One can argue that for a ski resort in an arid landscape such as Arizona, reusing wastewater for snowmaking can be a much better alternative, environmentally speaking, than using increasingly scarce fresh water. In either case, other issues loom large. These include the energy required to pump the water, the quality of that water (even if it comes from "natural" sources), and the ways that artificial snowpacks change mountain landscapes.
ENERGY
In the Times story about Arizona Snowbowl, a forester with the U.S. Forest Service is quoted saying that climate change is making snowmaking increasingly necessary at ski resorts. That may be true, but the act of making snow where coal is used to generate the energy to make the snow is only exacerbating the situation.
"Burning coal to make snow is a self-destructive behavior for federal agencies and for outdoor recreation industry," says McKinnon.
The energy required to make snow will only increase if winters begin later and skew toward warmer or more erratic temperatures. "For a lot of [ski] areas, snowmaking is the biggest single expense, even before payroll," says Sykes.
Fortunately, many ski resorts are increasing the wind, solar and other types of renewable, clean-burning fuel they use for power generation. Plus, snowmaking equipment is increasingly energy efficient.
WATER
Ski resorts often make snow using nearby natural streams or lakes, but that doesn't mean the water is clean. Sykes points to how, in Colorado, water pulled for snowmaking from the Snake River is tainted with zinc, copper, lead and other metals that seep from old mining claims.
Even if water that is extracted for snowmaking is clean, the act of extracting it leads to other "externalities," he says. For one thing, pulling clean water upstream from sources of contamination, such as mining claims, removes the benefits of dilution that the water would have otherwise provided.
Reducing stream flow could have other consequences as well. "Another extraction issue is that you're removing sizable amounts of water from streams in the fall, which is a key time for aquatic life," says Sykes.
ALTERED LANDSCAPES
As snowpacks decrease in some parts of country, the demand for terrain parks is growing everywhere. To manufacture a sizable terrain park, ski resorts must manufacture snow. A lot of it.
That has led to more snowmaking, using more water and energy every year. In some areas, summer comes and goes but the massive piles of snow that were once halfpipes or tabletops remain. This prevents the natural cycle of melting and of plant growth and while these areas are small on each mountain, they add up in aggregate.
"You have a longer runoff period, so you have a lot of water running off smaller streams and they're carrying increased amounts of sediment. This is happening in parts of the mountain that have already been denuded, so topsoil is already depleted," says Sykes. "You're changing the profile of the mountain."
While sewage for snowmaking makes for good headlines, the real environmental issues seem to be hiding within the business of making snow.
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Why the Portes Du Soleil keeps solo skiers coming back!
Why the Portes Du Soleil keeps solo skiers coming back
The solo ski experts at The Ski Gathering tell us what is attracting first-timers and veteran solos to Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets.
The Ski Gathering offer singles ski holidays for individuals and sociable pairs. They have chalets in Morzine, Les Gets and Meribel. To find out more, visit www.theskigathering.com.
Across the board, solo travel has grown enormously in recent years, mirroring a general trend in ‘independent’ and socialising hobbies. Today, people use apps and websites to find flatmates, meet gym buddies, arrange car shares… and plan their solo-travel adventures.
This is particularly noticeable with ski holidays, where solo travellers are increasingly making their mark. Some solos prefer to ski alone, enjoying the total freedom of the mountain. But most see it as a social opportunity to meet other skiers or boarders and avoid paying the empty-bed supplement. For the latter group in particular, the Portes du Soleil has become a focal point in the solo travel revolution. Why is that?
It’s Perfect for Mixed-Ability Groups
It’s Day One of your solo ski holiday and you’re heading out with a group of people you’ve never skied with before. Head for the Les Gets Bowl - the perfect starting point for mixed-ability groups. Here, five lifts serve twelve interconnecting pistes of varying levels of difficulty. Perfect if you all want to try out different slopes but still meet for the lift ride back up or a swift vin chaud.
The speed demons can head straight for the steep Tulipe red run off the Ranfoilly lift; the less flamboyant can find their feet on the more slow-and-steady Reine des Pres.
Beginners won’t be left out
Resorts like Les Gets and Morzine are perfect for beginners. Friendly people, great ski schools, plenty of beginner slopes, and an easy(ish) descent back into resort. While you’re having lessons, the rest of the group probably won’t be too far away, so meeting up for a long social lunch is still on the cards.
Find time for yourself
One of the best things about solo travel is having the total freedom to do what you want, when you want. You can opt out of group activities and blaze your own trail any time you like. For an afternoon in your own company, intermediates and advanced skiers should head over to the back of Mont Chery in Les Gets. It’s so quiet over there, you can virtually have the mountain to yourself. Soak up the silence and get away from it all for the afternoon.
Looking for an adventure
Solo travel is all about creating unforgettable experiences, so set your alarm and have a crack at the Portes du Soleil ‘Loop’. A big day even for serious skiers, this will take you around the perimeter of this, the world’s largest ski area. Probably not one for snowboarders or inexperienced skiers, this is a demanding day’s exercise and you’ll probably need a guide who knows the way without consulting a pistemap. But those who finish the Loop will never forget the experience. Or stop bragging about it.
Have a guide show you the backcountry off-piste
If you’re traveling independently but are not joining a group of solo skiers, a week can be a long time to ski in splendid isolation. One way to break this up is to get lessons or a guide. The Portes du Soleil has vast off-piste skiing opportunities which are essentially off-limits without an experienced guide, so why not kill two birds with one stone? Explore the road less travelled while getting a bit of company for a day.
Discover hidden treasures
If you’re skiing with other solos, you will probably soon forget that you ever travelled out on your own: we often say that solo travel holidays are for groups of friends who haven’t met yet. A great way to cement this kind of dynamic is to discover new things together, and the Portes du Soleil has plenty of hidden treasures for you to seek out. One example is ‘Les Lindarets’, better known as The Goat Village. Named after the many goats which fill the village in summer, this magical location could scarcely be more picturesque and is the perfect spot for a lunchtime stop-off. It’s a skier’s heaven.
Those looking for an equivalent hell might head for the Swiss Wall. Only to be attempted by the most experienced mogul skiers, this near-vertical drop marks the entry point into Switzerland. Ski or snowboard down it, or watch in admiration from the chairlift to meet up at the bottom. You’ll need a head for heights either way.
So, if your group can’t make it this year, or your friends just won’t even try skiing this winter, there’s really no excuse for staying home.
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Which Ski Run Is Better for the Planet?
The method of clearing a ski run can be the difference between a permanent scar on the mountain and a healthy landscape
PHOTO: Hank de Vre
We’re on a mountain, but at the moment skiing is a distant abstraction. I’m sweating through my shirt and pining for sunscreen, following Jennifer Burt as she leads the way through shoulder-high brush. “In retrospect, maybe I should’ve brought you up the trail,” she says.
We’re at Powder Bowl ski area, north of Lake Tahoe, hiking up the middle of a run—if you could even still call it that. One of dozens of abandoned ski areas scattered around the Tahoe Basin, Powder Bowl closed in 1984. If Burt wasn’t here to tell me, I’d have been hard-pressed to pick out the run from the surrounding forest. But that’s kind of the point. Burt, 40, a restoration ecologist, has been studying how ski slopes regenerate—that is, how they return to their pre-ski-run condition—since 2005, when she was studying for her Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis.
We’re on a mountain, but at the moment skiing is a distant abstraction. I’m sweating through my shirt and pining for sunscreen, following Jennifer Burt as she leads the way through shoulder-high brush. “In retrospect, maybe I should’ve brought you up the trail,” she says.
We’re at Powder Bowl ski area, north of Lake Tahoe, hiking up the middle of a run—if you could even still call it that. One of dozens of abandoned ski areas scattered around the Tahoe Basin, Powder Bowl closed in 1984. If Burt wasn’t here to tell me, I’d have been hard-pressed to pick out the run from the surrounding forest. But that’s kind of the point. Burt, 40, a restoration ecologist, has been studying how ski slopes regenerate—that is, how they return to their pre-ski-run condition—since 2005, when she was studying for her Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis.
Industry experts estimate that as many as half of the country’s ski slopes could close in the coming decades, underscoring the importance—and permanence—of this decision.Initially, she was broadly interested in the ecology of ski mountains as managed landscapes, but soon she noticed that some ski runs looked markedly different than others. When mountain operators build a new ski run, she discovered, they make a choice that shapes how the mountain will look years, decades, and even centuries later. Industry experts estimate that as many as half of the country’s ski slopes could close in the coming decades, underscoring the importance—and permanence—of this decision. This slope, its edges already fading back into the woods, could be a preview of those future abandoned mountains. Luckily, whoever created it made the right choice, Burt says—they went with the chainsaw instead of the bulldozer. Read on..
Read more at http://www.powder.com/stories/news/ski-area-ecology/#4CACpDcY5assBUGZ.99
Sunday, June 4, 2017
€147.9 million on lift and piste development over the next 20 years
The big news at the town council public meeting this month was the formal presentation of a new lift development connecting Morzine and Avoriaz. The current Mayor has expressed his desire to better connect the two resorts for a number of years, and as far back as 2009 we heard rumours of a new telepherique to link the two together. However, although those responsible for the resort’s development have approved the final plan for the new lift, there are likely to be a number of legal objections which could delay construction for a long time. More on this to follow…
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