FEBRUARY SKIING SECRETS
1st February 2020
Last modified on May 21st, 2021
– What have turtles got to do with skiing?
– Terrifying video of snowboarder clinging to a cliff face
– Girl dangling off chairlift rescued at Elk Mountain
– Moose stampedes through queue of skiers
SKIING SECRETS STORIES FROM JANUARY 2020
MONDAY 24th FEBRUARY
TERRIFYING VIDEO OF SNOWBOARDER HANGING ON A CLIFF FACE
A snowboarder was spotted clinging to the side of a cliff waiting to be rescued.
Snowboard coach, Olivier Roy, filmed him in Whistler Blackcomb, Canada, a couple of weeks ago.
“I was coming out of the Spanky’s Ladder zone on Blackcomb with the group I’m coaching, when we saw a bit of commotion and, eventually, this poor guy perched halfway up a nasty cliff with no way up or down,” he said.
Shortly after, a group of ski patrollers arrived with ropes.
Olivier Roy says he couldn’t wait to see what happened but says he heard that the snowboarder was rescued after about one to two hours.
“He was later seen having a beer with his buddy,” he says.
“He’s alright!”
Thank goodness for that.
But how on earth did he manage to get there in the first place?
SATURDAY 22ND FEBRUARY
ELK MOUNTAIN CHAIRLIFT RESCUE
A young girl was dangling off the chairlift last Sunday at Elk Mountain in Pennsylvania.
But not for long.
Within minutes a group of quick thinking Elk Mountain staff arrived with a ladder, managed to remove the young girl’s skis and gently lowered her down the ladder and safely to the ground.
Watch below as the young girl is rescued.
FRIDAY 21ST FEBRUARY
MOOSE STAMPEDES THROUGH ÅRE LIFT QUEUE
It’s not unusual to see wildlife on the mountain as one skis along, but we never expect them to join us in the lift queue.
Watch the short video clip below as a moose recently stampeded through a lift queue at Åre, the ski resort in Sweden.
Thankfully, no one was injured as the moose careered through the group of baffled skiers and jumped over a fence beyond the queue.
We’re not sure who was more spooked by the event, the moose or the skiers!
THURSDAY 20th FEBRUARY
TIGNES AVY RESCUE DOGS
These fabulous dogs are trained to find us, to help rescue us and to save our lives if we get caught in an avalanche.
Meet Dipsy, Nitro, Rider and Storm, Tignes’ avalanche rescue dogs.
They took part in an exercise with the Tignes ski patrol.
Watch the video below to see what happens.
These dogs are ‘spot on’ in every respect.
IT’S APERITIVO TIME!
Regular readers will know that PlanetSKI is based in the Aosta Valley in Italy for the rest of the winter.
You’d be hard pressed not to have noticed.
Avoiding the crowds in the Aosta Valley
PlanetSKI arrives in Aosta for 3-month stay
And the best thing.
The snow?
The mountains?
The resorts?
Er, no.
The hour or so after 6pm when it’s Aperitivo Time.
A glass or wine or beer comes with some complimentary culinary accompaniments.
Aperitivo in the Aosta Valley. Image © PlanetSKI.
Not only to do they taste delicious but they summarise the Italian view of hospitality.
They are offered gratis as a sign of welcome.
And the price for a glass of their finest Italian beer and a local white wine from the valley, plus the nibbles of course.
€9 – that’s £7.50.
TUESDAY 18th FEBRUARY
ALPINE RESPONSIBILITY CODE
Worth remembering in the busiest week of the ski season.
The Code
MONDAY 17th FEBRUARY
RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS
Apparently it’s ‘Random Act of Kindness Day’ today.
Did you know?
Well, you do now.
Erna Low Holidays, the ski specialists to France, is giving one lucky skier who is booking, or who has already booked, a ski holiday to Arc 1950, a FREE 6 day ski pass.
Another lucky skier will receive entry to the Village’s Deep Nature Spa.
“We are joining in this fun day to celebrate being kind to others with a lift pass offer for one lucky person in the ski resort of Arc 1950,” said the Managing Director of Erna Low, Jane Bolton.
“A second winner will also have access to the stunning Spa in the village of Arc 1950. For families or individuals who have already booked to this resort or for anyone who books during this coming week (17-21 February), we will place the names in a random draw and two lucky winners will be notified on Monday 24th February.”
Arc 1950Oh, and if you want some tips on driving to the French Alps from Erna Low:
How to get to a ski resort by car
SUNDAY 16th FEBRUARY
CAPTION TIMES:
SATURDAY 15th FEBRUARY
NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE!
We were waiting in the lift queue in Pila, in the Aosta Valley and came across an Asian snowboarder wearing her Gucci handbag.
The young woman proceeded to snowboard down the slopes while holding her handbag in the right hand! ?
Kitted out for snowboarding on the slopes in Pila complete with Gucci handbag. Image © PlanetSKI.
FRIDAY 14th FEBRUARY
WHAT SKI RACERS DO JUST BEFORE THE START
Ever wondered what goes on in the minds of elite alpine skiers in the moments just before they hit the racecourse?
A few of the world’s top skiers have been revealing all for a short Behind The Scenes film produced by the International Ski Federation (FIS).
THURSDAY 13th FEBRUARY
SNOW IN BAGHDAD
Iraq’s capital Baghdad woke up on Wednesday morning to a thin dusting of fresh snow.
It’s an extremely rare phenomenon for one of the world’s hottest countries.
Bagdad – Irak 12-02-20 ☃️ pic.twitter.com/iGa0G7WSPx
— Alpenweerman (@Alpenweerman) February 13, 2020
SNOW IN WEARDALE
And today 13th February, Weardale in Co Durham has had a decent covering of snow.
Hopefully it’ll last until the weekend.
Tricky conditions at Weardale ⛷
How much skiing is there today? Hope it lasts 'till the weekend 🤣 #snow #Weardale https://t.co/B5Oycth08F— PlanetSKI Snow News (@planetski) February 13, 2020
Weardale Ski Club is situated 30 miles west of Durham offering the longest lift served ski run in England with 423m of skiing with a vertical rise of 95m.
Snow can come anytime between November and April.
They aim to open at weekends and Wednesdays, but if the snow cover is good, they open on other days too when volunteers are available.
WEDNESDAY 12th FEBRUARY
GETTING HIGH (ER)
The ski resort of La Thuile in the Aosta Valley in Italy sits at 1,441m.
The skiing goes up to 2,579m.
It is possible to get even higher.
La Thuile, Aosta Valley, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI.
MONDAY 10th FEBRUARY
HUMONGOUS LIFT QUEUES AT VAIL
Vail Mountain was at the receiving end of an epic 96.52cm (38 inches) of fresh snow that attracted thousands of skiers over the weekend.
The snow was terrific and the the lines for the chairlifts were epic too, or should we say ‘horrific’.
This was the sight at Vail Mountain on Sunday 9th February.
The queues were equally long on Friday and Saturday.
Jamie Leary posted the short video clip of the lift queue from her chairlift as it took her up the mountain.
She was one of the lucky ones.
Jamie Leary commented on Twitter, “This was INSANE. Sundown Bowl opened later in AM at Vail. Five min of pure joy followed by 2 hrs of misery… not sure the people in the end of that line made it up before closing!”
We think there may have been a lot of very grumpy skiers!
This was INSANE. Sundown Bowl opened later in AM at Vail. Five min of pure joy ⛷ followed by 2 hrs of misery… not sure the people in the end of that line made it up before closing! @CBSDenver @vailmtn #4wx pic.twitter.com/oaC6XdWSWP
— Jamie Leary (@JamieALeary) February 8, 2020
And here’s Greg Johnson, Vice President of Mountain Operations, explaining in the video just how much snow fell over the weekend at Vail Mountain.
It’s been a wild few days here at Vail with historic snowfall.
Learn more about what it takes to get the mountain open in these epic conditions from Vice President of Mountain Operations, Greg Johnson.See the full version here: https://t.co/kOQ6Mi4owy pic.twitter.com/mnuMU2NcQ0
— Vail (@vailmtn) February 10, 2020
SATURDAY 8th FEBRUARY
NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT
Loving this short video shot early in the ski season at US’s Mammoth Mountain.
The short clip from Instagram shows an adult bear with her cub perching bird-like in the snowy branches of a pine tree.
We can see the hefty bulk of a large adult in the background but it’s the cub that we see cheekily peeking out.
Bearing in mind this was shot during the early weeks of winter these bears would be winter-ready for hibernation and therefore bodily bulky. ?
Hopefully they’re both snuggled up for winter and snoozing away the winter in their den.
WEDNESDAY 5th FEBRUARY
TRICKS ON SKIS
It’s certainly fun to be able to do tricks on skis, but we’re not sure how essential it is to do this?
? ⛷
TUESDAY 4th FEBRUARY
HANDBALANCING WEARING SKIS AND SKI BOOTS
It’s incredible what some people do while wearing skis.
Watch Stefanie Millinger, a gymnast and an extremely flexible contortionist, handbalancing wearing her heavy ski boots with hefty bindings on her skis ?
Her nickname is Milli, and she’s from Salzburg, Austria.
(… and she’s performing her act wearing Atomic skis)
MONDAY 3rd FEBRUARY
GOOD POINTS, WELL MADE
Hard not to agree with these sentiments.
They were on the lift in Schladming in Austria that links the ski area of Planai with Hauser Kaibling.
Good point, well made. Image © PlanetSKI.
Good point, well made. Image © PlanetSKI.
Good point, well made. Image © PlanetSKI.
Good point, well made. Image © PlanetSKI.
We took the chair on our recent visit to the Austrian resort.
And these are some of the articles we posted from our visit.
Coming in to land at Klagenfurt
SATURDAY 1st FEBRUARY
GURGL OR GOGGLE
Dave Ryding’s goggle banter with the boys in Austria.
So how would you say Obergurgl and Hochgurgl? ?
A TIGER IN THE TAIGA
Boris is a Siberian Tiger.
He’s an impressive beast as he roams through the snowy Taiga in Russia.
Watch the short clip below and listen to the crisp, crunchy sound underfoot.
The Taiga is a forested region in the subarctic region.
Wow! Those eyes!
Listen to that crisp snow underfoot as Boris walks through the snowy Taiga in Eastern Russia.
*Boris is a Siberian Tiger
*The Taiga is a forest in the cold, subarctic region
@AmurTigerCentre #amurtiger @ConserveWildCat pic.twitter.com/lNBji6Y5D3— PlanetSKI Snow News (@planetski) January 30, 2020
THIS IS A BOBSLA
It’s a new Austrian invention, it’s a one person electric vehicle that’s a mix between a snowmobile and a go-kart.
Unlike traditional snow vehicles, the Bobsla doesn’t have a steering wheel but it seems to be controlled by two levers to the left and right of the machine and then it simply slides and drifts around on the snow.
It has a plastic front-end that absorbs any impact, a bit like the dodgems.
Although it seems a bit clumsy at first when the driver accelerates, then, woosh it can hit a top speed of around 20mph.
It has 12-kW dual-motor as well as a pair of treads on the rear.
It’s a new activity on the snow and this year it is available in at the ski resort of Obergurgl in the Austrian Tirol – The Bobsla in Obergurgl
The ski area a bought several units that can be rented for 15 minutes for €20.
Have a look at the Instagram post for some recent action in Obergurgl.
Watch the video below to see the mighty Bobsla in action, the video shows how easy it is to ride and drive.
