Italian animal lovers cheered on a wild bear Monday after a daring escape from an electrified holding pen sparked a bear-hunt and a furore over its fate.
The three-year old, known only as M49, was captured Sunday in the Val Rendena valley in the Trentino region in northern Italy after it was spotted several times approaching inhabited areas.
But in a getaway compared by Italian media to Steve McQueen’s exploits in the 1963 WWII film “The Great Escape“, M49 went on the lam Saturday after scaling a four-metre (13-foot) high and 7,000 volt electric fence.
Italians cheer on wild bear’s ‘Great Escape’
“Run bear, run!” said one user on Twitter as the #fugaperlaliberta (#escapeforfreedom) hashtag went viral.
Others appealed to Matteo Salvini with the #salvinisalvalorso (#salvinisavethebear) hashtag – perhaps hoping the interior minister would extend his recent interest in the welfare of stray dogs and cats to bears.
Three teams from the state forestry corps were set on its trail, with sniffer dogs.
The search was complicated by the fact that the bear’s tracking collar was apparently removed after its capture.
The EagleVail chairlift to Beaver Creek was not accepted by the Forest Service.
A chairlift has been discussed since the 60’s in EagleVail.
From Vail Daily and Aspen Times
The Forest Service and Vail Resorts have cited wildlife impacts to deny building a chairlift connecting EagleVail to Beaver Creek.
Aaron Mayville, district ranger for the Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District has written to Steve Barber, EagleVail Metro District Manager that “a chairlift from EagleVail, across National Forest and into Beaver Creek is not possible right now.”
And Vail Resorts Executive Vice President, Mountain Division has also written to Barber stating that “we are not interested in discussions regarding a lift from EagleVail to Beaver Creek at this point.”
EagleVail golf putting green photo. Chris Dillmann. Vail Daily. The EagleVail chairlift to Beaver Creek was not accepted by the Forest Service.
The officials of EagleVail were interested in a lift as EagleVail residents also were, as it helps increasing property values as a boon for homeowners and a catalyst for renewal.
Vail Resorts owns and operates Beaver Creek Resort.
David Warner, VP of EagleVail Metro District board and longtime proponent of the lift said: “It’s definitely a setback; these were not good letters.”
A lift of U$D 5.2 million
The lift was envisioned to stretch from the current location of the driving range of the EagleVail Golf Club up to Allie’s Cabin or Rose Bowl.
The proponents believe they had been backed up by Vail Resorts about this lift idea in 2016. A chairlift has been discussed in EagleVail since its inception in the ‘60s.
Even before Beaver Creek was built, there was a plan considered to connect EagleVail with the old Meadow Mountain Ski Area.
Warner said he received a bid for U$D 5.2 million from a lift company to build a 11,250-foot-long lift from the driving range to Rose Bowl. People favouring this envisioned asking voters to get an additional sales tax or using revenue from the tax passed in 2018 to finance the construction and operation of the lift.
The proposed EagleVail lift alignment. The EagleVail chairlift to Beaver Creek was not accepted by the Forest Service.
The Property Owners Association board’s members came to a Metro District meeting in April asking the Metro Board for its blessing to conduct a U$D 15,000 study that would examine if there were ‘fatal flaws’ in the lift plan.
But then the Members of the Metro District suggested to just reach out to the Forest Service and Vail Resorts to see if they support the concept, and the answer was a resounding “no.”
Protection of wildlife, mainly the elk herd.
Mayville wrote in the May 4 email that ‘the entire hillside above EagleVail is an ‘elk refuge’ of sorts – when Beaver Creek was built, (a memorandum of understanding) was signed between the Forest Service, Division of Wildlife, Vail Associates, and others to set aside the area for the protection of wildlife (mainly the elk herd).”
Our summer in the mountains – one week in Courmayeur.
Since I first went to Courmayeur, having stopped there for breakfast, on our way home from our annual ski week in Pila, driving through the scenic SS26, I fall in love with the place. When we were coming up, just after coming out the Mont Blanc tunnel, you see the gondolas and the tram on top of the route, plus the town with all its buildings very prettily aligned around the route and I knew I wanted to check it out! Being working in the ski biz for almost all my life, before moving to the UK (in the US/Canada and Argentina/Chile), I knew about Courmayeur as a name, but I have not visited many ski areas outside America.
Summer in the mountains? Why not? The look from Plan Chécrouit in Courmayeur. Photo: The-Ski-Guru. Our summer in the mountains – one week in Courmayeur.
Of all places in our first family ski holiday in Europe, we’ve finished in Ollomont – a small ski ‘field’ – I would say, in the end of the road where mountaineers go to ice climb – but I will write more of this in another post.
But back now to Courmayeur. Since our first breakfast there, we had a second one on the following trip with my friend Claudine from the Tourist Office of Courmayeur and her baby – and then again we’ve been up the Skyway coming back from Lago di Como, and finally we’ve stayed for some nights in winter for two years now – and managed to ski the mountain! First time only one day and the last time, for two (even though my knee was not up for skiing!).
But last summer, I’ve convinced my husband to go at least one week during our summer holidays. I would love to uproot my family there, (to the answers of my husband of what will I do, I don’t speak the language – and me telling him to just learn it!) I wanted to stay in the summer, to see how it is life in Courma in the summer. I’ve been in the fall, seeing at all the hotels – for my Must-Read Guide to Courmayeur. Even many hotels were closed, they’ve opened them to me, and I could see them while many of the maintenance and upgrades were taking place.
SBIT stands for Seasonal Business in Travel. It is a membership organisation of 200 outbound British travel and service companies operating throughout the summer and winter holiday seasons. All members are SMEs and British businesses, not multinationals. Every company shares a common business model: they are highly seasonal so either specialise in winter or summer holidays and their business depend on being able to seamlessly move their temporary UK staff between countries in the EU in order to service their customers during periods of peak demand.
Zenith Holidays, another one of the members of SBIT. SBIT is fighting back Brexit – you can help too! Photo: Ax 3 Domaines.
The Organisation’s Aim
The aim is to protect 25,000 British jobs in their sector and to keep on giving value and choice to the British holidaymakers.
By raising awareness of the threats presented by Brexit, especially a no-deal Brexit, their aim is to ensure that policy makers on both sides of the channel take into account the value UK businesses deliver to EU resorts and destinations and to ensure that they put in place appropriate measures to support their mutual economic benefits – should Brexit in any form go ahead.
Take part in the Ski Club of Great Britain survey for a chance to win Grand Prizes!
Take part in the Ski Club of Great Britain survey for the chance to WIN a week-long SkiStar holiday for 4 worth £3,000, a pair of SALOMON QST 92 skis, a SALOMON PULSE snowboard or a SALOMON QST MIPS helmet!
Take part in the Ski Club of Great Britain survey for the chance to WIN a week-long SkiStar holiday for 4 worth £3,000, a pair of SALOMON QST 92 skis, a SALOMON PULSE snowboard or a SALOMON QST MIPS helmet!
Our friends at the Ski Club of Great Britain want to find out more about what today’s skiers and snowboarders are looking for from their snowsports holidays and are running this survey in collaboration with their partners.
We would like to invite you to take part in this survey with the chance to WIN a week’s holiday for 4 with SkiStar, SALOMON QST 92 skis, SALOMON PULSE snowboard or a SALOMON QST MIPS helmet!
All you have to do is fill in the questionnaire before the 16th of July 2019 – it should take no more than 15-20 minutes and all your answers will remain anonymous.
Book your Eurostar Ski Train as soon as it goes on sale on Wednesday 17th July 2019
It is very civilised arriving to the slopes by train, if you can do it. This is not only for us living in Britain, but whoever is planning to ski in the Alps and might want to also come and stay in London for some days before or after.
As per Daniel Elkan, Snowcarbon Founder, who is always monitoring what is going on with the sale of the Eurostar Ski Train and the combined Eurostar to Paris with connections to the French trains to get to some of the French Ski Resorts, you need to be vigilant, as the Eurostar Ski Train goes on sale at 8am on Wednesday 17th July 2019.
Book your Eurostar Ski Train as soon as it goes on sale on Wednesday 17th July 2019
There is a daytime and an overnight Eurostar Ski Train.
The Daytime train travels from London to the French Alps- The first outbound train departs on Saturday 21st 2019 and the final one on Saturday 4th April 2020.
Coming back from the French Alps the first train is on Saturday 28th December 2019 and last inbound daytime train is on Saturday 11th April 2020.
Overnight travel dates are the following:
From London to the French Alps:
First train outbound is on Friday 20th December 2019.
Last train outbound is on Friday 3rd April 2020.
From the French Alps inbound into London:
The first overnight returning train is Saturday 28th December 2019.
The final overnight returning train is on Saturday 11th April 2020.
Demaclenko snow systems brings the snow to South America.
Snow is what makes or breaks a ski resort. Before we used to ‘chance’ it and knew that usually you get snow starting at so many meters for sure, and if you have snow below this line, that was great. Over the years, what Brits would call a ‘snow sure’ resort due to altitude, maybe did not have snow at all. I am getting now 50 years old, and I do remember that in 7 years span, maybe you get one or two that you ask yourself –‘what happened with winter??’
Demaclenko pumping snow in El Colorado. Demaclenko snow systems brings the snow to South America. Photo: Demaclenko.
I used to stage some events in South America, more specifically in Las Leñas, and the lack of snow made me cancel these events twice. I am talking of the South American Extreme Skiing and Snowboarding Championships. The last time was terrible because we had so much media onboard and so much buzz was building around the events, that when there was no snow and I had to cancel everything, the media people working with me told me I have sold them a bubble of air! It was not intended, obviously. We also got two Seat cars as prize for the competitors- anyways, that was the last event I’ve tried to stage!
Last year Las Leñas and Portillo had to close on early September due to a bad snow season. I have written already how Portillo has now invested in snow-making by TechnoAlpin. Cerro Bayo, another boutique resort more south in the Argentine Patagonia’s Lake Region, has also invested with TechnoAlpin.
The other big company we know about is Demaclenko, also located in the Sudtirol province of Italy. You know that the area of the Sella Ronda has very good snowmaking, having these two companies on site.
St Moritz has been awarded the 2023 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Championships.
St Moritz, the renown Swiss resort, has been awarded the 2023 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Championships. Sochi, Whistler and Winterberg have applied to be the host of the 2024 edition of the event.
During the IBSF Congress in Prague, the Olympia Bob Run St Moritz-Celerina track was confirmed as the location for the 2023 World Championships.
It is the 24th time that St Moritz has being host on its entirety or part of the IBSF’s flagship event outside of the Olympic Games.
St Moritz has been awarded the 2023 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Championships.
St Moritz has also been given the hosting rights for the IBSF Junior World Championships in 2021 at the Congress in Prague.
Heike Größwang, IBSF secretary general has told delegates at the meeting that Sochi (Russia), Whistler (Canada) and Winterberg (Germany) have submitted bids for the 2024 World Championships.
The Sanki Sliding Centre in Sochi was the stage of both bobsleigh and skeleton events at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games but was not included on the list of IBSF World Cup venues for the 2019-20 ski season.
Indoor ski-slope finally opening within American Dream Mall in October
From Commercial Observer and Daily Voice
The 3.1 million-square-foot American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, NJ, will finally open on 25 October, after being built for 16 years (on and off). This was announced by developer Triple Five.
Chalet on the American Dream Mall ski slope. Rendering by American Dream Mall. Indoor ski-slope finally opening within American Dream Mall in October.
This project used to be called Xanadu, and had lots of missed openings, three developers, five governors and a major retail contraction, earning lots of sceptics across the state.
This facility will feature an 180,000-square-foot, 800-foot ski slope (of 16 stories high) and an ice-climbing wall. It will also have a ski school area, a chairlift, terrain park, chalet and restaurants.
Snow Cracks in the Central Zone of Chile: “This is a situation that should not be overlooked”
From Avalancha Sport
One of the postcards that alarmed all lovers of the mountain were the cracks that appeared in some sectors of the central zone of Chile where users in social networks recorded this event that can cause an avalanche.
Snow Cracks in the Central Zone of Chile: “This is a situation that should not be overlooked”. Photo: Avalancha Sport.
In this context and after this situation, Avalancha Sport spoke with Diego Pizarro, Mountain Risks Specialist and Instructor of snow and avalanches of the National Association of French Snow Studies (ANENA), who said that this phenomenon is not unusual at the beginnings of the season.
“My impression is very likely that this happened because there was an intense rainfall with little wind and very low temperatures during that period,” he began.
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