Sunday, 23 December, 2007
Ski tourer killed by Pyrenees avalanche
A 35 year old ski tourer has been killed by an avalanche in the Hautes-Pyrénées close to the ski resort of Val Louron. The deceased was named as Stéphane Sabathé. Originally from Tarbes and a resident of Toulouse was accompanied by a his wife and a friend. They were able to remain on top of the slide and were slightly hurt and in a state of shock.
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Wednesday, 19 December, 2007
In the heart of an avalanche
Lots of people give advice about what to do when caught in an avalanche but how many of them have actually been through the nightmare of white death? The ski resort of les Deux Alpes wants to do exactly that to visitors, but in complete security thanks to a simulator dubbed The Robocoaster. The simulator is the brainchild of local businessman Marc Dode who lost a ski instructor friend and his client in an avalanche several years ago.
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Thursday, 13 December, 2007
Artificial snow, a short term fix?
The Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research located in Davos have just released a monster 189 page tome in German studying the effects of snow canons on the mountain economy. I’ve only had time to read the “shorter” 35 page version. The overall conclusion is that while artificial snow is essential in the short term for the economic stability of ski areas long term it has no future below 1500 meters.
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Wednesday, 12 December, 2007
Kilimanjaro, blame it on the sunshine
The melting snows of Kilimanjaro near the African equator have become a symbol of global warming but is there really a link between the two? Two geophysicists, Philip Mote and Georg Kaser don’t think so. In an article in the journal American Scientific the two scientists have identified other causes.
Kilimanjaro - shrinking snows (photo: Nasa)
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Thursday, 06 December, 2007
Ultimate touring ski from Dynastar?
New babies from Dynastar to be unveiled at the January ISPO in Munich. A 2600 gram wide ski with good grip for the steeps. Ski legend Pierre Tardivel and friends have helped with the development. The ski is creating quite a buzz in the French ski touring world.
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Tuesday, 04 December, 2007
Backcountry boarders killed by avalanche in Southern France
We have a report that two Italian backcountry snowboarders have been killed in France by an avalanche on the border with the Cuneo region. The climbers were Riccardo Dutto, 60 years and Marco Fabbri, 38 years, both residents of Cuneo and were well known through the specialist Italian website Le Fioca Ven Mola.
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Oil price will hit ski resorts hard
Sheikh Yamani once said that the stone age didn’t end for lack of stone and if a new book by Jean-Marc Jancovici, consulting engineer and specialist in energy consumption is correct the ski age will end long before snow runs out. Interviewed by Stéphène Jourdain for the Dauphine Libere Mr Jancovici’s book is called “Le Plein s’il vous plaît!” (fill her up, please - ISBN: 978-2757803011).
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Sunday, 02 December, 2007
French avalanche analysis 2006-2007
During the 2005/6 winter we were buried under a veritable avalanche of hyperbole as the mainstream press blamed out of control freeriders for the worst season of avalanche fatalities since 1970. There were suggestions that off-piste skiing was about to be banned with even the (now) French President taking an interest in the bad boys of the backcountry.
Slab avalanche in the Maurienne - April 2007 - photo Alain Duclos.
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Cébé halts production of goggles and helmets
Cébé has announced that it is to close all its French factories and stop production of goggles and helmets by the end of the year. The manufacturer started production in Franche-Comté (France) at the end of the 19th century. It has been a subsidiary of the Italian Macrolin [MCL - ISIN:IT0001129847] group since 1999.
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Friday, 30 November, 2007
Black Diamond Skis 2008
Black Diamond have been in the ski market for a couple of years now. Their skis were originally manufactured by Atomic in Austria but they have moved production to their own factory in China. This has given the company more control over construction and allowed it to expand the product line to ten skis catering for alpine, randonnee and telemark skis. The twin tips could also do a tour in the park. The emphasis is on perrformance, surface area and relatively light weight. Julia from Black Diamond Europe showed us the range of mens and women’s skis.
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