US Resorts extend closing dates

Weather-challenged resorts in the East and West are declaring their commitment to guests by making snow, extending their seasons, or offering free skiing and riding.
As most Eastern ski resorts are closing for the season in the wake of last week’s unprecedented heat, Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Loon Mountain—all managed by Michigan-based Boyne Resorts—are making more snow to carry the season into April. Saddleback, Maine, is doing the same. All turned on the snowguns this morning as temperatures fell into the 20s. This marks the latest snowmaking in history for all four resorts, and for the Boyne resorts, coincides with the spring sale of their 2012–13 New England Pass ($359 and up). Saddleback is making snow on five trails, with tickets priced at $39 today. Passholders from other areas pay $29 if they bring their passes. And on Maine Day, Apr. 1, tickets are $29. Waterville Valley, N.H., didn’t turn on the guns again, but it is offering free skiing and riding Mar. 26-Apr. 1 on the snow it already has. "We've been stockpiling a few feet of snow on our Exhibition trail, so unless it rains boiling water for a week, there will be plenty of free spring skiing and riding to go around", said Bob Fries, president of mountain operations.
Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows announced on Monday they will extend daily operations through the month of April, with Alpine scheduled to remain open Friday through Sunday through May 13. Squaw and Alpine's 2012-13 season passes will offer free skiing and riding at both resorts starting April 1 through the close of the season. Passes are slated to go on sale on March 27.
Diamond Peak Ski Resort in Incline Village will stay open through Easter Sunday, and possibly the weekend after, conditions permitting, a resort official said Tuesday.
Vail Resorts' Heavenly and Kirkwood are extending their respective winter seasons in the wake of big late-season storms. Heavenly was slated to close April 15. Instead, the resort will shut down during the week, and re-open Friday through Sunday Apr. 20-22 and 27–29, weather and conditions permitting. Kirkwood will follow the same three-day weekend-only schedule, and operate for as long as conditions permit. "We wanted to reward all the pass holders who stood by us this season", said Pete Sonntag, Heavenly’s general manager. New 2012-13 passholders also gain access to the extended portion of the season.
The 16th Annual Spring Loaded festival is underway at Heavenly, with concerts including the Gunbarrel 25 hosted by Glen Plake on April 7, Lake Tahoe Pond Skimming World Championship April 14-15 and the Heavenly Angels Helly Hansen Fashion Show as well as the Ski Patrol Fundraiser on April 14.

Nearly Half Of Lower Altitude Resorts Now Closed By Heat,…But Mostly Good Conditions At Remainder

Many of the world’s lower altitude ski areas have closed a week or two early as record-breaking warm temperatures in March in large parts of Europe and North America – approaching the high 80s Farenheit/20s Celcius has led to melt down on their slopes. At the same time the summer-like weather has meant many people have turned early to biking and golf.
Although there’s been virtually no fresh snow this week. However, conditions at higher-altitude and northerly latitude resorts in Europe are generally good to very good, thanks to the thick snowpack that built up through the exceptionally snowy months of December and January. There has also been quite a lot of fresh snow in the Pyrenees.
In North America it’s a different picture as Western Canadian resorts have had a good season all winter and remain, mostly, in great shape. Western US resorts to the south have had great snowfall this month and are also now in good shape in most cases with some announcing extended seasons. The big victim however is the East Coast where high temperatures mean that all but a handful of the top resorts have closed early.
There’s been no new snow fall at all during the last seven days in Austria. The last week was just sunny with nearly no cloud in the sky so skier and boarders can still enjoy some of best Spring conditions on the slopes. Ski resorts like Zillertal, Katschberg, St Anton and many more report best weather and good conditions. Despite its comparatively low resort altitude in SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser Brixental even the valley runs are still open and with a snow depth from 150cm (50cm) is still plenty deep enough base for skiing. The Best snow depth in the country can be found on the Dachstein Glacier with 540 cm. Ten other resorts still have a depth over three metres (ten feet) including Pitztal with 370cm, St Anton with 360cm the Molltaler Glacier with 320cm and Solden with 302cm.
The unusually warm weather that is affecting most of the northern hemisphere’s major ski regions has led to almost half of the ski areas in France closing -albeit in most cases the smaller, lower resorts that are suffering the most from the thaw. Although the warm weather has out far more people off winter sports and in to early gardening or biking, 118 resorts are still open and most of the big destinations are still benefitting from snowfall build up in December and January and plan to stay open to mid-April or even early May as planned. So while all but half a dozen of the biggest resorts have closed in France’s lower lying ski areas like Voges, Jura and the Massif Central, 80% of ski resorts in the internationally best-known northern Alps are still open and 86% of ski slopes are still practicable. What’s more the average snow base in the northern Alps is truly exceptional: 194cm (6.5 feet) at the top of the slopes and 64cm (over two feet) at the bottom. Conditions are also still good in the French Pyrenees and in the larger resorts of the Southern Alps. Here 16 resorts are still operating (while 23 others have already closed. The average snow depth here is 70cm (but up to 150cm (five feet) in Serre-Chevalier and 120cm (four feet) at La Grave and Montgenèvre).
There’s been no new snow in Italy in the past week with warm temperatures the dominant factor as elsewhere in central Europe. This means lovely sunny ski days but an impact on the snow cover. The deepest snow is on the Presena Glacuier above Passo Tonale with 3m (190 feet). Five other resorts have 2.7m (9 feet) or more including Arabba in the dolomites and, with an unusual top 5 snow depth position – Etna Nord in Sicily on the slopes of the famous volcano!
There have been sunny days in Switzerland too with the only snow fall reported in Laax with 20cm last Thursday. Slowly but surely snow depth are going down with the warm weather and Engelberg can no longer hold its record snow depth of over 6 metres (20 feet), it’s now down to 545cm (18 feet). There’s still 4m (13.3 feet) at Andermatt and 350cm (nearly 12 feet) lying above Crans Montana, Laax and Saas Fee. The conditions on the slopes are excellent and in year-round ski destination Zermatt there’s still some off piste freeriding to enjoy with a 130cm snow base.
The Pyrenees have seen the most snow in Europe over the past week. The two Andorra ski regions of GrandValira and VallNord have both reported 50cm each of new snow and depths are good in the Spanish Pyrenees too. Average snow depth in the French Pyrenees is 132cm of snow measured at the top of the runs and 16 resorts in the Pyrenees will remain open until Easter (or until 15 April if snow lasts). The deepest snow is at Cauterets, Luz Ardiden and Peyragudes with 225, 185 and 180 cm respectively.
There’s been almost no new snow in Norway or Sweden and snow cover is getting thin at many resorts. Hemsedal – normally open to early May - has 45cm, (18 inches) left on upper slopes. The nest snow depth is reported at Voss with more than three metres (10 feet) lying. With Scotland reporting a record high of nearly 24C close to The Lecht ski area on Tuesday there’s now little chance of a resumption of snowsports this season, although we live in hope as temperatures are at least now dropping back towards single figures. Cairngorm has introduced its summer guided hiking programme from the top of the funicular a month early, starting this weekend.
Western Canada continues to enjoy some of the best snow conditions of anywhere in the world, as it has all winter 2011-12. Resorts in BC have reported up to 90cm (three feet) of new snow in the past week and ther4e have been healthy accumulations in Alberta too. Despite this many resorts in the region will, as is traditional, enter their last week of operations next week. "It was sunshine, blue skies, and soft spring snow all weekend long at Revelstoke Mountain Resort this past weekend! 6cm of snowfall was received overnight and light precipitation along with excellent spring skiing temperatures are forecast …until our season-end on Sunday April 8th", said a statement from the resort with North America’s biggest lift served vertical. Not every resort will closed though – Sunshine, Lake Louise, Marmot Basin and Whistler are open to May or later.
Western USA has again had the most snow in the past seven days of anywhere in the world – the largest reported accumulation 1.25m (over 4 feet) at White Pass in Washington State. Several resorts including Heavenly and Northstar in California have joined the list or areas extending their 2011-12 seasons to the last weekend in April. However resorts are closing earlier than planned after an exceptionally warm March in Eastern North America has continued after the third warmest winter on record in the region. Whiteface Mountain by the Olympic venue of Lake Placid in New York State, which operates the biggest lift served vertical on the Eastern side of North America, closed at the weekend with dozens of others. "Trails are changing rapidly, (skiers should) be prepared for thin cover, bare spots, and some walking may be necessary", warned a spokesperson for the resort on closing day, adding, "Overall, thanks to our dedicated snow making and mountain staff, we had a great year despite the lack of snow from Mother Nature. Thank you everyone for skiing and riding the Greatest Vertical East of the Rockies - see ya next year!". Recently in some areas temperatures have been above 25C all week however some resorts that have a reputation for there snowsure conditions including Killington in Vermont and Sugarloaf in Maine say they expect to stay open in to April with at least some terrain open and cooler temperatures are forecast.

Best of the Swatch Freeride World Tour Xtreme Verbier

In front of more than 8500 astounded and cheering spectators, and over 40 000 viewers on the live feed on internet, the top-level athletes put on their highest game today to tackle freeriding’s most illustrious competition, the 17th edition of the "Xtreme Verbier". On the infamous north face of the Bec des Rosses, at 3222 metres, in Verbier, Switzerland, the skiers and snowboarders were challenged by a 500 metre steep, rocky, and technical face, testing even the very best. This is why only the very top-ranked riders qualified for this final and decisive competition of the six event Swatch Freeride World Tour 2012, which also determined the four World Champions in the disciplines of men’s ski, women’s ski, men’s snowboard, women’s snowboard. Surprisingly enough, all four winners of the Xtreme today also earned enough points to be crowned World Champions.The athletes were pushing the envelope in a tight battle for the world title. In tricky snow conditions, the competitors performed creative and stunning line choices while finding their way through the labyrinth of rocks scattered on the face. Judged on an overall impression by four judges of each of the categories ski and snowboard, any type of style can win. Throughout the season a big variety of style was witnessed on the podiums: big mountain chargers and more freestyle oriented athletes have been pushing the sport forward.

Ski Utah Yeti Grants Powder Turns in August

Ski Utah, Eider, Rossignol, & Ski La Parva, Chile have launched the Endless Winter Sweepstakes on the Ski Utah Yeti Facebook page. The Sweepstakes aims to rev the stoke of skiers everywhere for many months to come with the Grand Prize of "Powder Turns in August".
Visitors to the Ski Utah Yeti Facebook page between now and April 20 will have the chance to enter to win an all expense paid ski vacation for two people to La Parva, Chile. The Grand Prize is valued at $8,500 and includes a week of ski-in/ski-out lodging, lift tickets, rentals and airfare for two.
Each of the contest entrants will also have the chance to win additional prizes by Rossignol and Eider. Week one of the contest, March 23-30, a winner will receive a choice of Rossignol Super 7 or S7W skis, or a MagTek or Diva MagTek snowboard. Week two (March 30-April 6) the winner will receive the Telluride Jacket by Eider. Contestants who enter at any point during the sweepstakes are automatically entered for the Grand Prize La Parva, Chile trip as well.
"Ski Utah is committed to making powder accessible to our consumers year round", said Ski Utah Content Editor Brandon Ott. "This contest demonstrates our commitment to that promise even in summer’s hottest month".
Ski Utah is the marketing firm owned and operated by the 14 statewide ski resorts (Alta Ski Area, Beaver Mountain, Brian Head Resort, Brighton Resort, Canyons Resort, Deer Valley Resort, Eagle Point, Park City Mountain Resort, Powder Mountain Resort, Snowbasin Resort, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort, Sundance and Wolf Mountain) that make up the Utah Ski and Snowboard Association. The organization has been creating brand awareness of and demand for the Utah wintersports product since its inception in 1978.

Freeride World Champions Crowned at the Swatch Freeride World Tour Xtreme Verbier

In front of more than 8500 astounded and cheering spectators, and over 40 000 viewers on the live feed on internet, the top-level athletes put on their highest game today to tackle freeriding’s most illustrious competition, the 17th edition of the "Xtreme Verbier". On the infamous north face of the Bec des Rosses, at 3222 metres, in Verbier, Switzerland, the skiers and snowboarders were challenged by a 500 metre steep, rocky, and technical face, testing even the very best. This is why only the very top-ranked riders qualified for this final and decisive competition of the six event Swatch Freeride World Tour 2012, which also determined the four World Champions in the disciplines of men’s ski, women’s ski, men’s snowboard, women’s snowboard. Surprisingly enough, all four winners of the Xtreme today also earned enough points to be crowned World Champions.
The athletes were pushing the envelope in a tight battle for the world title. In tricky snow conditions, the competitors performed creative and stunning line choices while finding their way through the labyrinth of rocks scattered on the face. Judged on an overall impression by four judges of each of the categories ski and snowboard, any type of style can win. Throughout the season a big variety of style was witnessed on the podiums: big mountain chargers and more freestyle oriented athletes have been pushing the sport forward.
Swede Reine Barkered put on the most impressive run of the day, skiing faster and going bigger than his opponents who took similar lines. With zero hesitation, he charged down the now so-called "Barkered Line", to stomp numerous big cliffs on his way down. With his top result in Verbier, Barkered scored enough points to be crowned World Champion just in front of American Drew Tabke and French Aurélien Ducroz, both executing outstanding runs today on the Bec des Rosses. "I was back and forth about this line, the conditions were harder than any year before, but I managed to stay on my feet. Typically, my plan is to make hard things look easy and that’s what I did. This is my fourth year on the tour and the win hasn’t set in yet. It’s beyond anything I could possibly imagine. I talked to my dad today and I heard him cry for the first time, it’s an incredible feeling", said Reine Barkered (SWE), World Champion Ski Men.
In the snowboard division French mountain guide Jonathan Charlet once again showed us his consistent riding throughout the season with a sweet run, an original line choice and hitting more features than other riders. "I did not think I would be able to win this title. I needed to consecutive victories. To win in Fieberbrunn and then in Verbier seems impossible. On the top of the Bec all the stress and pressure throughout the season came out and I told myself the best moment of the day would once passing the finish line. So now I am incredibly happy. My father was here, as well as my brother and a lot of friends from Chamonix", said Jonathan Charlet (FRA), World Champion Snowboard Men.
Veteran rider Flo Orley rode the Bec for his 12th time in competition and proved he is still in the game with a well earned second, placing him third on the overall ranking. American newcomer Ralph Backstrom has had a solid season. Despite not being on the podium today he still managed to be runner-up Champion.
Top ladies were charging hard with beautiful line choices. The top 3 female skiers Christine Hargin (SWE), Eva Walkner (AUT) and Angel Collinson (USA), rode “men’s lines” as judge Martin Winkler put it. Swede Christine Hargin won with a spectacular line; fast, no hesitation and stomping several jumps, including a huge cliff at the bottom. Hargin was blown away to have won the World Champion title, taking over the title from her older sister Janette Hargin (World Champion 2011)!
"The world champion win was totally a surprise to me! According to the pre-event calculations it was hardly possible for me to win. The conditions weren’t super easy with a bit of crust so keeping my line fluid was a challenge. The airs I took in the end ended up working out and I can’t wait to celebrate tonight in the Verbier Village", said Christine Hargin (SWE), World Champion Ski Women.
Snowboarder Maria Debari (USA) is new on the tour this year. She outplayed her opponents on the Bec des Rosses with a committed run, linking up great jumps including a variant of Christine Hargin’s big cliff, all while managing impressive sluff. With Debari’s win today she snagged the world title, in front of Margot Rozies (FRA) and Shannan Yates (USA). "When I was invited to ride the tour I first hesitated but then couldn’t resist the event in Chamonix. With my victory there I was encouraged to continue. My goal was to be qualified to ride here in Verbier. I was really nervous today as the title was as stake, the difficult face and that my mother was here! I am so happy with the season and the atmosphere between the girls is really awesome", said Debari.
Event Director Nicolas Hale-Woods (CH) comments the 17th edition of the Xtreme, and closing the 5th edition of the Freeride World Tour: "Once again we saw amazing riding on a face that never disappoints. The Bec des Rosses is a fantastic mountain and a beautiful finish of a successful Swatch Freeride World Tour 2012. A new generation of skilled and upcoming freeriders are accelerating the pace on the freeride scene right now. Young talents are motivated and propelled up through the system thanks to the Freeride Juniors by Dakine and the Freeride World Qualifiers (FWQ)".

Fresh Snow In The Alps, More Big Falls in Western Canada and US

After about a month of often warm temperatures and limited snowfall, large parts of the Alps are again have seen heavy snowfall again in the past few days, with resorts that are benefitting from the new accumulations now looking well set up for the final 4-6 weeks of the season.
Skiinfo issued more than 70 powder alarms for 20cm (8 inches) or more of new snow by noon on Monday 19th March, the biggest number of European alarms since the first half of February. However it has remained very warm with rain at lower elevations in some cases.
The snow is also back in the Pyrenees with resorts reporting up to 20cm of fresh snow in the past 24 hours (to 21st March).
North America continues to be very divided with exceptionally heavy snowfall continuing in the West, with falls of more than 2.4m/eight feet reported at some resorts over the past week, while on the East record high temperatures has led to melt down on the slopes, with Ontario in Canada breaking its record high March temperature of 16C set in 19676 by a full 8C last week, peaking at 24C.
The varied conditions have led to between moderate and high avalanche danger off piste on both sides of the Atlantic with several deaths of skiers in the backcountry in recent days in America and posted avalanche danger of ‘Considerable’ to ‘High’ in the Alps.
After a very warm and sunny week last week, snow is back in the Austrian Alps and on Monday four resorts report 20cm (eight inches) of new snow in the previous 24 hours, including Axamer – Lizum above Innsbruck, Kuehtai and Lech Zurs. Accumulations over the past seven days have included 50cm at Fuegen, 40cm at Obergurgl-Hochgurgl and 29cm on the Pitztal Glacier. The sunshine is now back. Some of the best conditions for skiing are as were reported from Nassfeld, the Kitzsteinhorn, Ischgl and Zell am See Kaprun where with the fresh powder, the slopes are in good shape for the last weeks in season.
French resorts in the Alps received significant snowfalls on Sunday/Monday this week – the largest in most cases for about a month. Avoriaz and Flaine reporting 30cm (a foot) each overnight. Les Gets, Chamonix and in the Southern Alps Serre Chevalier also all reported significant falls. Temperatures have remained high with rain falling at lower elevations in some cases but for most resorts conditions at the start of spring are good. The new snow builds on the deep bases established at many ski areas during what were for many record snowfalls in December and January and means these are now freshened up for the Easter holidays as resorts enter what is for most the last month of winter 2011-12.
Western Italian resorts benefitted from the snow across the Alps at the start of this week. Madesimo reported 30cm (a foot) of new snow and Monterosa around 25cm (10 inches). On the downside however temperatures remain very warm in many areas with rain at lower elevations and summer ski-like conditions at some resorts. However snow depths remain good at most leading resorts from west to East with Cervinia in the Alps and Passo Tonale in the Dolomites both reporting upper slope bases around 3m/10 feet.
Switzerland received the best of Europe’s snowfalls at the beginning of the week, which were the biggest on the continent this month. More than 20 ski resorts reported fresh snow from 20cm to 80cm. The biggest snow falls were measured in Airolo (80cm), Andermatt (60cm), Zermatt (40cm) and the Gstaad Glacier 3000 (30cm). Another five resorts reported a powderalarm on Tuesday, including Brig with 30cm, Meiringen-Hasliberg with 21 cm and Laax, Mythengebiet and Pizol / Heidiland with 20cm each. Engelberg has the deepest snow depth in Euirope and the second deepest in the world with 606cm!
There has been a return to cold weather in the Pyrenees and several resorts on the Spanish side of the mountains have reported 20cm of new snow. Base depths remain healthy at up to 2.4m (eight feet) at some centres. In Andorra, where temperatures have dipped to -10C at times, GrandValira, the biggest resort in the region, has reported 12cm of new snow in the past 24 hours.
Snow conditions remain good at many of Scandinavia’s leading resorts with Voss in Norway reporting more powder alarms for 20cm+ accumulations. It has the deepest snow in the region at 3.5m (nearly 12 feet).
In Canada the snowfall continues to be heavy on the western side of the country in Alberta and British Columbia. With Whistler having passed its seasonal average figure of just over 190m of snowfall with, in its case, several months of the season remaining. Revelstoke Mountain Resort has received 66cm of new snow in the last 7 days with over 20cm falling in the last 48hrs. There’s more snow in the forecast through to the weekend with some lovely sunshine and great spring skiing temperatures anticipated. It’s looking less promising in exceptionally warm weather in Quebec and Ontario on the Eastern side of the country. "The snow cover at Mont Sutton, Quebec is still great on several trails", said a resort statement. "This said, some trails also offer bare-spots to the delight of spring skiing enthusiasts looking for an additional challenge!". Continuing warm temperatures are forecast for the next few days.
With only a few weeks of the season left at many resorts, Western US resorts are currently topping world table for both snowfall and snow depth. Tahoe continues its return to form with Alpine Meadows reporting the most snow in the world over the past week, and the biggest fall anywhere this winter, with 257cm – over eight-and-a-half feet. Mt Baker in Washington State to the north has also had a massive amount of snow in recent weeks and its snowbase at one point passed the 8m (27 feet) mark although has now fallen back below 8m – but it remains the only resort in the world top go beyond the 7 and 8m marks in winter 2011-12, maintaining its reputation as the planet’s snowiest destination. On the East Coast of North America it’s a very different story however with record highs and some areas talking of ‘summer ski’ conditions. Many still have some terrain open despite the onslaught of the high temperatures on the snowpack.

Freeride World Champions to be Crowned at the Swatch Freeride World Tour Xtreme Verbier

The sixth and final stage of the Swatch Freeride World Tour 2012 will be held on freeriding’s most prestigious face, the north face of the Bec des Rosses in Verbier, Switzerland, Saturday, 24 March (weather permitting). The event will be more thrilling than ever with four world champions to be crowned and several potential winners in each of the disciplines men ski, women ski, men snowboard, and women snowboard.
Verbier and the fabled "Bec des Rosses" is considered the pinnacle of freeride competitions. With its extreme nature only the best 12 men skiers, 6 men snowboarders, 5 women skiers and 3 women snowboarders qualify. We will also see a few wild cards, like the three times snowboard world champion Xavier de le Rue (FRA). The Freeride World Champion titles will be awarded taking the four best results of the FWT12 season, including Verbier.
The Xtreme Verbier is also a major public festivity; in 2011 the event hosted more than 10,000 live spectators. The "Bec" never disappoints, with riders pushing the limits in the sport of freeriding. In its 17th consecutive edition the stake is higher than ever with the world’s best riders battling out to score a high place on the ranking and for some, grab the world champion title and a prize purse of 45 000 USD.

Potential World Champions

In both the ski men and women’s discipline it is a nail-biter, with not less than five international athletes having the potential to be world champion! The five men athletes are, in the current ranking order: Sam Smoothy (NZL), Drew Tabke (USA), Reine Barkered (SWE), Aurélien Ducroz (FRA) and newcomer Oakley White-Allen (USA). Drew Tabke, currently second on the overall ranking reveals the pressure: "Going to Verbier in this position is really quite heavy mentally and emotionally. It is always an intimidating place to ride and there is a ton of pressure with the world title in reach. But when it comes down to competition day I will approach it just like any other run, which is to say I will ski to the very best of my abilities and enjoy the entire run".
For the women skiers, all five riders qualified for Verbier have a chance to grab the world champion title! American Angel Collinson is leading the troop coming in to Verbier but Eva Walkner (AUT), Jaclyn Paaso (USA), Christine Hargin (SWE) and Janina Kuzma (NZL) are all close behind. On Saturday we will witness these female skiers setting the bar at its highest level. In the men’s snowboard discipline there are two potential champions. Will French Jonathan Charlet bring it home or will we see American Ralph Backstrom on top of the snowboarders’ podium? Both riders have been riding solidly and consistent all season and it could be anyone’s game.
In women’s snowboarding, newcomer Maria DeBari (USA) and rookie Margot Rozies (FRA) will both tackle the Bec des Rosses for the first time in the quest for the title. 3rd ranked Shannan Yates (USA) has been on the podium on all four previous competitions but still hasn’t reached the top step.

Live feed on FreerideWorldTour.com in partnership with Dailymotion starting at 09:00 am on contest day (contest starts at 09:30) with 10 live cameras, including stabilised air shots from heli (wescam) and two expert commentators: Enak Gavaggio for French and Jack Shaw for English.