The-Ski-Guru

May 16, 2019

Ordino leaves Vallnord to integrate fully with Grandvalira

Chronicle of an announced separation, the Andorran stations of Arcalis and Pal Arinsal separate

From NieveAventura.com

Ordino Arcalís separates from Pal Arinsal, so that the Vallnord brand that grouped both Andorran centres will disappear. In fact, it was an announced separation. And since last June 76% of the shares of Secnoa (Ordino) were acquired by Saetde, the company that manages Pas de la Casa Grau Roig, and part of Grandvalira.

Ordino Arcalis aereal picture. Ordino leaves Vallnord to integrate fully with Grandvalira.

Ordino divorces his neighbor Pal Arinsal

The station of the commune of Ordino announced on Wednesday the separation of the stations that until now have gone under the same umbrella known as Vallnord. Neither has it transcended what will be the future of the brand. Arcalís owns 34% of the shares, while Pal Arinsal has 66. Among the possibilities, it is considered that the latter could continue operating as Vallnord after an agreement after the divorce.

Continue reading “Ordino leaves Vallnord to integrate fully with Grandvalira”

May 15, 2019

World First 0% Emissions Snow Groomer Was Launched by PistenBully.

Is it possible that slopes will soon be groomed 100% emission-free? At INTERALPIN 2019 in Innsbruck, the international leading trade fair for Alpine technologies, PistenBully is celebrating its 50th birthday – and in doing so, gives the industry an answer. With the study of the first electrically driven snow groomer, the PistenBully 100 E, this answer is a clear “Yes!”.

Environmental technology – Made in Germany
The first step was already taken in 2012 with the market launch of the PistenBully 600 E+ with diesel-electric drive. After all, the focus at Kässbohrer has been on sustainability for a long time now. So it should come as no surprise that, with the PistenBully 100 E study, Kässbohrer engineers have now made the impossible possible. Already well-known for their inquisitiveness and passion, paired with their claim as being drivers of innovation and possessing environmental awareness, it was only a matter of time until a study such as this was conducted. What this means is that we now have the prospect of completely clean slope grooming.

Continue reading “World First 0% Emissions Snow Groomer Was Launched by PistenBully.”

May 15, 2019October 26, 2020

Old knees do not need to mean no more skiing! ski~mojo’s review

Chemmy Alcott, ski~mojo's ambassador skiing with the support of ski~mojo. Photo: ski~mojo. Old knees do not need to mean no more skiing!

Old knees do not need to mean no more skiing! ski~mojo’s review

As I am writing this, I am about to turn fifty, and I still think daily on skiing. But my body is not the same one as before, and even though I consider myself pretty fit, my knees have not been great for a while. With a broken meniscus, which I never fixed as I don’t want to go through a knee-hole surgery if I can avoid it, to pain in my knees, and a recovering knee from a MCL injury, I am starting to wonder if my skiing days are going to be over soon.

So, I was thinking what I can do to keep on going – I always said that when I have no more knees, I’ll dedicate more to cross country skiing and snowshoeing, basically, to any activity to keep me in the mountains and enjoying the fresh air and scenery.

ski~mojo is an exoskeleton for the legs with a comfortable knee support containing powerful springs. Old knees do not need to mean no more skiing! ski~mojo's review — ski~mojo is an exoskeleton for the legs with a comfortable knee support containing powerful springs. Old knees do not need to mean no more skiing! ski~mojo’s review

I’ve even thought of maybe learning how to sit-ski, like people suffering with paraplegia or quadriplegia do. But that seems really hard, and I do take my hat to these sit skiers!

I have been reading for a while of some aiders to old knees, and as far as I’ve seen in the market there are two major brands- one UK that has been promoting their product with the help of ambassadors of the likes of Chemmy Alcott – called ski~mojo, and one that is from Eastern Europe that is called Againer.

Continue reading “Old knees do not need to mean no more skiing! ski~mojo’s review”

May 14, 2019September 13, 2019

Spot on: Gran Baita Hotel – Courmayeur

Gran Baita Executive room with outside pool with jacuzzi. Photo: Gran Baita Hotel Courmayeur. Aiguille du Midi vs Punta Helbronner – which one you should do?

Spot on: Gran Baita Hotel – Courmayeur

This article may contain affiliate/compensated links. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.

The Gran Baita Hotel is a four starts hotel, part of the Alpissima group of hotels in the Aosta Valley. It is located in Courmayeur, 15 minutes from the Armani funicular, 10 minutes from the Via Roma, the elegant pedestrianised shopping road in Courmayeur, and five minutes-drive with a free hotel transfer to the Dolonne gondola.

It is located in a quiet and elegant neighbourhood in Courmayeur, with amazing vistas of the Mont Blanc chain, and the characteristic Dent de Géant peak. I totally recommend it as a lovely hotel to go for your ski or summer holidays.

Restaurant of the Gran Baita. Spot on: Gran Baita Hotel – Courmayeur

Decoration is all in the Valdostan style, with lots of wood and cosy interiors. The hotel has 54 well-appointed rooms, many of them with balconies offering magnificent views of the Alps, as Courmayeur is located just by the Mont Blanc and the views everywhere you look at, are amazing! From the regular rooms, many of which are being renovated for the next winter holiday, to the Executive Rooms, with a wooden rustic-chic feel and mini private outside pools with jacuzzi, you have a choice for your stay. Some of the rooms are connecting, to house families. I’ve recently stayed in Room 222, that does not look towards the pool, but has a lovely feeling, with two balconies, and you can see the Dent de Géant while in the balcony. Completely loved my room. Travelled with my mum and she said she wants to buy it!

The in-house restaurant is lovely decorated in wood with oozes cosiness and offers local and international dishes. La Sapiniere, is their newest addition, a stübe, typical from the Alps, serving Valdostan cuisine in a super cozy ambiance. The American bar has a welcoming fireplace and a spacious terrace with amazing views of the Mont Blanc and the surrounding mountains.

Continue reading “Spot on: Gran Baita Hotel – Courmayeur”

May 14, 2019

The “Cholitas Escaladoras” (Climbing ‘Cholitas’) are going for Everest

It was there, in the freezing cold, on the high peak charged with the noise of silence and the brave winds. It was there, where they, tired, arrived. There were five of them and two arrived at five o’clock in the morning, on a summer morning, at the summit of the highest mountain in the Southern Cone. Five women, Bolivian, cholitas, advanced in the heavy and solid snow under the moon.

Lidia Huayllas, Dora Mangueño, Ana Lía (Lita) Gonzales, Cecilia Llusco Alaña and Elena Quispe climbed the Aconcagua and the news, at the beginning of this year, toured the world’s newspapers. For them, it’s a pride, but not enough: they want more.

It’s three in the afternoon and Lita is about to submit her thesis of the Tourism career. She is 34 years old and is the first of her family to attend university, to leave the confines of the town and live in the city. She is from the Zongo Valley, a small community 83 km from La Paz, in the eastern buttresses of the Andes Mountain Range. The area, full of vegetation and mountains, was the place where I observed the hills from the window, every morning.

Continue reading “The “Cholitas Escaladoras” (Climbing ‘Cholitas’) are going for Everest”

May 13, 2019

Copper Mountain News and recap of the season by GM and President Dustin Lyman

In a letter from Copper GM and President Dustin Lyman, he expressed that overall, they had a successful ski season, with 313 inches of snow, receiving 98 inches in March alone, breaking the record of the resort’s snowfall for the month since the opening date, 47 years ago.

Copper has welcome IKON passholders for the first time and will keep on partnering with Alterra on the IKON pass next season, in addition to offering Copper Season Passes and Four Packs. With Copper’s new Premier and Premier Pass Plus options, guests will receive special access to select lifts just at the former Secret Pass offered, but a host of other benefits including the Athletic Club and close-in parking to maximise the guests’ time at the resort.

Copper Mountain is having a USD 100 million multi-year transformation and will continue this summer with several projects on and off the mountain. The new Tucker Mountain lift will provide access to expert terrain that was previously accessible only via snowcat or by hiking. It will run from the base of the Blackjack lift to the top of The Taco. Solitude Station will be no more as of the 2020/21 season as they are constructing a brand new 25,000 square foot mid-mountain lodge that will include a full – service casual restaurant, full-service bar and lounge, private dining area, cafeteria and incredible views of the Ten Mile Range.

Continue reading “Copper Mountain News and recap of the season by GM and President Dustin Lyman”

May 12, 2019

Our Route des Grandes Alpes to cross from France into Italy

Our Route des Grandes Alpes to cross from France into Italy

This past summer we went to have a holiday in the mountains. From Chamonix we were off onto Courmayeur. But it was a Saturday – what is considered here in the mountains as a Samedi Noir or Sabato Nero, meaning very long queues to cross the Mont Blanc Tunnel.

This past summer was ridiculously hot – even in the mountains – with the temperature being 31 C in Chamonix in the morning – imagine staying a couple of hours in line to cross the Mont Blanc Tunnel did not seem too much fun at the time.

How adventures start - with a good map. The IGN Route des Grandes Alpes. Our Route des Grandes Alpes to cross from France into Italy. — How adventures start – with a good map. The IGN Route des Grandes Alpes. Our Route des Grandes Alpes to cross from France into Italy.

I’ve asked the evening before some friends I have in Chamonix on how other way we could go – and how about taking the Petit St Bernard Pass. Arnaud Jamson, the deputy director of the Chamonix Tourism Office suggested me to go all around and stop in Megève for lunch, then go to the Lac du Roselend and from there go up to La Rosière to cross into La Thuile through the Petit St Bernard. This is a typical road for motorcyclists and bikers alike – many of these roads have been used by the Tour de France!

As I have a memory of a mosquito, I’ve asked at the hotel’s reception where I could get a good map, and I was told to go into the main street in Chamonix. There is a wonderful books and magazine store – that I could stayed for hours just looking around, where I bought the IGN Map of Route des Grandes Alpes. I love maps and this one was a great addition to my collection.

Continue reading “Our Route des Grandes Alpes to cross from France into Italy”

May 11, 2019

Crested Butte’s Teocalli Lift Replacement Approved by U.S. Forest Service

The U.S. Forest Service has approved the replacement of the Teocalli Lift at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR). Beginning in early-May 2019, CBMR will begin removing the existing Teocalli Lift to replace and realign the lift for an improved on-mountain guest experience. The upgraded lift will debut in the 2019-20 winter season.

CBMR will replace the Teocalli Lift – a 1979 Riblet fixed-grip double chairlift – with an upgraded fixed-grip quad chairlift. By increasing the operating speed and subsequent spacing between the chairs – to accommodate the increased operating speed – the new Teocalli Lift will increase uphill capacity by more than 50 percent. The upper terminal of the Teocalli Lift will be shifted closer to the top of the Red Lady Express, while the lower terminal will remain in the existing location at the intersection of the Bushwacker, Gunsight Pass and Upper Conundrum trails.

After the existing Teocalli Lift is removed, site preparation and foundation work is expected to begin in July with the new Teocalli Lift being installed in August, weather and conditions depending.

Continue reading “Crested Butte’s Teocalli Lift Replacement Approved by U.S. Forest Service”

May 10, 2019September 22, 2020

A Hike for your Bucket List: The Via Alpina crosses 14 of the most beautiful Alpine Passes in Switzerland.

The passes of the Via Alpina

The Via Alpina crosses 14 of the most beautiful Alpine passes and six cantons of Switzerland, with a great variety of cultures, geology and topography. Broad roads give way to exposed ridge paths. The variety of flora and fauna along the route is among the most diverse in the world.

The Via Alpina goes from Vaduz to Montreux in 20 stages, staying north of the Swiss Alps. Over 390 km, hikers enjoy the many highlights that Switzerland has to offer.

Vertical drops from the Via Alpina trek. A Hike for your Bucket List: The Via Alpina crosses 14 of the most beautiful Alpine Passes in Switzerland.

While the sections initially pass through relatively flat terrain in St. Gallen, the altitude being climbed increases quite steadily in the Glarnerland. When it comes to that Alpine feeling, the highlight of the route can be found in the Bernese Alps.

Day by day, hikers work their way through majestic mountain landscapes, with each pass crossed opening up a new world. This trail covers a total of 14 passes in six cantons and involves 23’600 m of ascent and 24’800 m of descent.

The route takes hikers to the secluded Surenen Pass, the famous Grindelwald, the Kleine Scheidegg pass with views of the Eiger, Mönch und Jungfrau mountains, the well-visited Blüemlisalp hut, perhaps one of Switzerland’s most beautiful lakes in Lake Oeschinen, the enchanting Bunderchrinde Pass and the sleepy Rochers de Naye mountains with unique views of Lake Geneva, to name but a few highlights.

Continue reading “A Hike for your Bucket List: The Via Alpina crosses 14 of the most beautiful Alpine Passes in Switzerland.”

May 9, 2019

Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday

Last season we’ve had a holiday in the mountains, staying in Courmayeur. We tend to go to the Aosta Valley every winter, and we’ve passed by Aosta coming back from Lake Como a couple of times, but we never went up the mountain up from Aosta. My kids are very keen of Pila, as it is the very first resort where my youngest learnt how to ski, and the first European resort where my oldest skied. Pila is just on top of the city of Aosta, the capital of the Aosta Valley, in the border of Italy with France to the West and Switzerland to the North.

This week we have chosen to stay in Courmayeur was a bit unsettled, you had nice weather in the morning and torrential rain in the afternoon, so we needed to choose the gap when to go up in order not to get soaked!

We went in the morning, Pila is 30’ through the motorway from Courmayeur, and 40-45’ if coming through the scenic national route. We went through the nice route and left the car in the parking lot of Pila by the train station in Aosta.

On top of the Chamolé chairlift. Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday.

My kids were really excited, and so were my husband and myself, to get into the 18’ Leitner gondola ride up the mountain. It is weird to see all the mountain without snow, and weirder to see the landing of the gondola full of grass and nicely piquet fencing to direct the ‘pietons’ up or down the mountain.

We’ve started by going down to the start of the Chamolé chairlift. Walking down it seemed much shorter than going on skis – which I find weird, but I guess that not having to pass by all those ‘Interskiers’- (as we call the kids that come with Interski to Pila in the winter) who barricade the exit of the gondola, makes it a smoother walk down.

Continue reading “Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday”

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Ordino leaves Vallnord to integrate fully with Grandvalira

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World First 0% Emissions Snow Groomer Was Launched by PistenBully.

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Old knees do not need to mean no more skiing! ski~mojo’s review

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Spot on: Gran Baita Hotel – Courmayeur

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The “Cholitas Escaladoras” (Climbing ‘Cholitas’) are going for Everest

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Copper Mountain News and recap of the season by GM and President Dustin Lyman

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Our Route des Grandes Alpes to cross from France into Italy

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Crested Butte’s Teocalli Lift Replacement Approved by U.S. Forest Service

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A Hike for your Bucket List: The Via Alpina crosses 14 of the most beautiful Alpine Passes in Switzerland.

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Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday

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