National Ski Club Newsflash
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
The National Ski Club Newsflash is emailed each month to America's ski club officers by The National Ski Club Newsletter on a year-round basis to augment our printed issues which are published in November, January, March, and May. If you wish additional club officers to receive the Newsflash, please email their names, club name, their office within the club, and email addresses to
wilbanks@ski-club.net.
INFORMATION SKI CLUB OFFICERS CAN USE:
Click on the names below for more information and deals of some of your favorite destinations.
COLORADO
CANADA
ITALY
AUSTRIA
JAPAN
NORTHSTAR GETS TWO NEW LIFTS
WINTER PARK TO HOST NEXT SEASON'S NASTAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
NEW QUAD AT SOLITUDE
ASPEN ZAPS PAPER LIFT TICKETS
MORE FLIGHTS TO NEW MEXICO RESORTS
COMPAGNIE DES ALPES SELLS VERBIER STAKE
CONDE NAST NAMES BEST SKIING TOUR OPERATOR SPECIALISTS
WORLD'S BEST SKIING AIRPORTS
SKI TEXAS -- AGAIN?
WHAT WILL THE AIRLINES THINK OF NEXT???
NORTHSTAR GETS TWO NEW LIFTS
Northstar-at-Tahoe will have two new lifts next season. The 8-passenger Highlands Gondola will connect the Village at Northstar and their new Ritz-Carlton and the Bear Paw double at their beginner area has been replaced with a realigned fixed grip quad. The new quad will provide ski-in, ski-out access to the Ritz-Carlton from mid-mountain and also improve access to the beginner teaching terrain.
WINTER PARK TO HOST NEXT SEASON'S NASTAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Winter Park, Colorado, will be the location for the 2010 NASTAR National Championships from March 25–28, 2010. Over 1,000 racers compete in the multi-day event each year. Racers qualify for the National Championships by earning a top-three ranking in their age division at 120+ ski resorts in North America. NASTAR (NAtional STAndard Race) was developed by SKI Magazine in 1968, is the largest recreational ski and snowboard race program in the world. Last season, more than 220,885 NASTAR racers recorded 553,808 starts.
NEW QUAD AT SOLITUDE
Solitude Mountain Resort is replacing its Powderhorn double chair with the Powderhorn II high-speed quad chairlift. This makes three new high-speed quads in two years for the Utah resort!
ASPEN ZAPS PAPER LIFT TICKETS
The Aspen Skiing Company's will do away with paper lift tickets and use new high-tech lift tickets resembling credit cards beginning next season. The cards can be read by radio-frequency scanners at all four Aspen ski areas and will be reusable and reloadable. Since the ticket is read by a scanner, skiers can keep it in a pocket and don’t have to attach it outside their clothing.
MORE FLIGHTS TO NEW MEXICO RESORTS
American Eagle is adding a second daily flight between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and New Mexico’s Santa Fe Municipal Airport, providing easier access to Ski Santa Fe, Taos Ski Valley, Angel Fire, and Red River resorts.
COMPAGNIE DES ALPES SELLS VERBIER STAKE
The Compagnie Des Alpes, the world’s largest ski lift operator, which runs more than a dozen French ski areas, has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, SwissAlp SA, has reached agreement with the municipality of Bagnes to sell its 20.3% stake in Téléverbier SA, owner of Verbier Ski Resort, for approximately 13.8 million Euros.
CONDE NAST NAMES BEST SKIING TOUR OPERATOR SPECIALISTS
For the 10th year, Wendy Perrin, editor of Conde Nast’s "The Perrin Report," has named the travel specialists who offer the best expertise, access, and value which are listed by their area of specialty. The best European skiing specialist for the sixth year in a row was Dorothea Rasser of SkiEurope/Alpine Adventures. For North and South America, the skiing specialist was Jana Emery of Ski.com. It's her seventh time to receive the award. Congratulations to both!
WORLD'S BEST SKIING AIRPORTS
In the annual Skytrax World Airport awards, Zurich, Switzerland, is rated as the best airport in Europe -- and it was number four worldwide -- while Munich is rated the second best European Airport. In North America, Vancouver, B.C., is the third best airport in our part of the world. More than 8.6 million passengers from more than 100 countries evaluated the "typical" airport experience.
SKI TEXAS -- AGAIN?
Snow/Sport Entertainment, Ltd. has announced a new project called Texas Alps in Grapevine, Texas, almost in the shadow of Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport (DFW). To be called Texas Alps, the $70 million project will have a 590-foot indoor ski slope, an indoor ice climbing wall, and a luge track. Similar facilities near DFW were announced two years ago, when the Bearfire Resort indoor ski facility in Fort Worth said it would open sometime in 2009 -- but the project still hasn't broken ground.
WHAT WILL THE AIRLINES THINK OF NEXT???
If you think U.S.-based airlines are cutting costs in some strange ways -- check this out. According to UK news sources, Europe's Ryanair is considering plans for passengers to stand during flights so that more people can be squeezed onboard. Apparently, the airline is in talks with a manufacturer about designing planes with standing room -- where fliers would perch on bar-style stools with seatbelts around their waists. Ryanair estimates it would be able to pack in 50 percent more passengers while cutting costs by 20 percent, if they are given the go-ahead by the Irish Aviation Authority. While they appear to be serious about the idea, remember that this is the airline that proposed to charge passengers to use on-board toilets last year, but that idea was cancelled due to a huge public outcry.
