Some more worthless ski news..

[RustyK]

National Ski Club Newsflash

MOST POPULAR SKI RESORTS IN THE WORLD
PlanetSki reports that the 2014 International Report on Snow and Mountain Tourism rates the world’s most popular ski resorts based on their number of skier days. The report is produced by Laurent Vanat, a Swiss independent tourism consultant. The report is in its 6th edition and covers the snowsports world of 56 countries representing 99.6% of the total market volume. Listed below are the top 20 resorts with the nationality and last year’s position in brackets.
1. La Plagne (France)(1)
2. Saalbach Hinterglemm/Leogang (Austria) (7)
3. SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser (Austria) (2)
4. Les Arcs (France) (3)
5. Ischgl/Samnaun/Silvretta (Austria) (6)
6. Whistler Blackcomb in (Canada) (9)
7. Courchevel, Méribel, Mottaret (Les Trois Vallées, France) (4)
8. Val Thorens (France) (10)
9. Vail (Colorado, USA) (24)
10. Breckenridge (Colorado, USA) (21)
11. Serfaus (Austria)(32)
12. Alpes d'Huez (France) (8)
13. Sestriere Via Lattea (Italy and France)(13)
14. Zillertal/Mayrhofen (Austria) (14)
15. Alta Badia (Switzerland) (36)
16. Soelden (Austria) (11)
17. Tignes (France) (17)
18. Les Ménuires (Les Trois Vallées, France) (15)
19. Flachau-Wagrein-Alpendorf (Austria) (18)
20. Grand Valira (Andorra) (16)
Other U.S. resorts in the Top 50 were Mammoth (32), Keystone (43) and Copper Mountain (44).
The study also stated that 48%of the world’s resorts are in Europe, 35 % in the Alps, 21% in the America’s, and 13% are in the Pyrenees -- and there are 48 resorts in the world that have more than 1 million skier days each, three-quarters of which are in the Alps.

NEW CHAIRLIFTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN AUSTRIA’S SKIWELT
A 10-million euro hi-tec 8-seat chairlift at Scheffau in the Austrian Skiwelt will replace the old Aualm quad chairlift which clocked up 23.8 million passengers during its 25 years in operation. It will have a conveyor belt entry, heated seats, weather protection hoods and self-locking safety bars with footrests which can no longer be manually lifted on the ascent.

ERCIYES TO BECOME THE LARGEST SKI RESORT IN TURKEY
Kayseri’s Erciyes ski area has rapidly expanded over the past few years and Will now become Turkey’s largest ski area with 160 kilometers of interconnected slopes for the 2014-15 season when nine more ski lifts will be added, giving 20, mostly brand new lifts and 100 miles of ski runs. 120 million euros have been spent on the project so far and 21 new hotels are also under construction at the resort base.

NEW SWIMMING POOL COMPLEX FOR FRANCE’S CHÂTEL
A new ‘aqua centre’ Châtel Forme d’Ô will be open in the French Portes du Soleil resort next winter.
The eco-friendly Center has been built with ecological materials, uses renewable energy and has a green energy system to heat the water. Châtel Forme d’Ô will be able to host up to 700 visitors per day and will include a family area and fun areas for children along with saunas, steam rooms and a relaxation room.

CUMMING PURCHASES MAJORITY INTEREST IN SNOWBIRD
Snowbird Resort’s long-time owner, Dick Bass and Ian Cumming, founder of Powdr Corp -- although that company is now run by son, John Cumming -- have formed a partnership that makes Cumming the majority owner of the resort while the 85-year-old Bass remains as chairman although he can no longer live and work in Snowbird. Both the Bass and Cumming families say that the Snowbird partnership does not involve Powdr Corporation which is involved in lawsuit over leasing rights with The Talisker Corporation and Vail Resorts that may see the Powdr’s premier resort property, Park City, be transfered to Vail Resorts.

GORE MOUNTAIN TO REPLACE ADIRONDACK EXPRESS
This summer Gore Mountain in New York will replace its 30 year-old Adirondack Express with a new high-speed detachable quad. The new lift will have a capacity of 2,400 people per hour, 300 more than the previous lift. Padded chairs and eight fewer towers will make for a more comfortable ride, and the lift can operate 38% faster than its predecessor. The Adirondack Express II project is enabled in part by increased investments in New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) facilities.
Other improvements underway include a "soft start" feature for the J-bar, which will provide an easier, more comfortable guest experience when the lift restarts in that beginner area.

PAJARITO MOUNTAIN TRANSFERED FROM LOS ALAMOS SKI CLUB TO LOS ALAMOS COUNTY
The Los Alamos Ski Club announced that a 2/3 majority of voting members approved to transfer the club’s Pajarito Mountain Ski Area to Los Alamos County and the management group that operates Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort. County and Sipapu officials pledged to make skiing – and especially securing water for snowmaking purposes – their first priority. The unique partnership between Los Alamos County and Sipapu will ensure the future of skiing and year-round recreational activities at Pajarito, said outgoing Los Alamos Ski Club President Philip Rae. Sipapu is located 70 miles east of Pajarito and is the state’s fastest growing ski area and northern New Mexico’s oldest resort. Skiing in the Pajarito area dates at least to the 1930s, and a ski club was first organized in 1943 for the folks that were building the first atomic bomb! Today, the area has six lifts, 40 trails on 751 acres and a peak elevation of 10,440 feet.

VAIL RESORTS COMMITS $85 MILLION IN RESORT IMPROVEMENTS FOR 2014-15
Beaver Creek’s combination gondola/six-passenger express lift will replace the Centennial Express, Beaver Creek’s primary portal. It will have one gondola cabin for every five chairs.
Breckenridge’s Super Chair on Peak 8 is being upgraded from a quad to a six-passenger express will provide a 30 percent increase in capacity.

COLORADO RESORTS PAY RECORD $17.9 MILLION IN RENT TO U.S. FOREST SERVICE
The Denver Post reports that the 22 ski areas using U.S. Forest Service land in Colorado paid the federal government a record $17.9 million for the 2012-2013 ski season. That's more than $1 million than the previous record, for the 2007-2008 ski season, and 28 percent more over a 12-year average. The ski resort operators pay the Forest Service in revenue-based rent. The money isn't due until a year after the ski season ends, so the payments for the just-ended 2013-2014 season won't come due until next year.

NEW DOMAIN NAMES INCLUDE DOTCLUB (.CLUB)
New domain names have recently been made operational and one of these is dotClub, so a ski club could now have the internet name "www.LocalSki.Club" address. America’s ski clubs and councils might consider registering their names to protect against commercial use of their names. For more information, go to Domain.com at http://www.domain.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. then hit your return bar.

NEW ENGLAND SKIER DAYS 2013-2014
Vermont Ski Areas Association had 4,503,269 skier days last season-- about even with the previous season's visits and making it number one in the east and third in the country.
More than 2,272,826 snowboarders and skiers visited the 33 resorts in Ski New Hampshire, missing last year's numbers by just 4,000 visitors.