April Ski News in Brief
1st April 2025
Last modified on April 25th, 2025
– Last Chance for Tickets to The Big Ski
– Another Fire at Derelict Sheffield Ski Village
– Gatwick Worst UK Airport for Flight Delays
– Scandinavia Glacier Melt Accelerates
– Ski Ballet Returns UPDATED
Last Chance for Tickets to The Big Ski
25th April 2025
The event takes place on May 9th with ticket sales closing at noon today.
- 6-8 pm: Ski Session (exclusive slope hire)
- 8 -10 pm: Social hour
- Lift pass, equipment hire, food and welcome drink included
Another Fire at Derelict Sheffield Ski Village
24th April 2025
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue was called to Sheffield Ski Village at 17:45 on Wednesday.
10m x 10m of ski slope matting was ablaze and it thought the fire was started deliberately.
The ski village closed after it was destroyed by fire in April 2012 and has been repeatedly targeted by vandals.
Sheffield City Council has received £19.4m of Levelling Up money to help develop the site.
Gatwick Remains Worst UK Airport for Flight Delays
22nd April 2025
Departures were an average of more than 23 minutes behind schedule in 2024, according to date from the Civil Aviation Authority, CAA.
The airport is used by many ski charter flights and easyJet is based at the airport.
“Air traffic control restrictions in other parts of Europe have continued to impact the airport,” said a Gatwick Airport spokesperson.
“Together with our airlines, we’ve put in place a robust plan… to improve on-time performance further in 2025.”
The 10 worst UK airports on average for delays are:
- Gatwick – 23.6 minutes
- Stansted – 20.3 minutes
- Manchester – 20.3 minutes
- Southend – 20 minutes
- Birmingham – 19.9 minutes
- Bournemouth – 18.9 minutes
- Bristol – 18.8 minutes
- Cardiff – 18.6 minutes
- Luton – 18.6 minutes
- Heathrow – 18 minutes
Gatwick airport. Image © PlanetSKI
Scandinavia Glacier Melt Accelerates
21st April 2025
Glaciers in Sweden and Norway are melting faster, warn climate experts.
In 2024, the warmest year on record in Europe according to the EU’s Copernicus system, Swedish and Norwegian glaciers melted by an average of 1.8 metres.
Ski Ballet Returns
20th April 2025
This is not quite what professional ballet skier, Lara Rosenbaum, remembered of the now nearly extinct sport of ski ballet when she last participated 25 years ago.
Yet from her view at the judges table scoring competitors at Monarch Mountain and KHEN Community Radio’s first annual “Ski Ballet on Freeway” competition, Rosenbaum relived the grace, the glamor and the occasional goofiness of ski ballet.
4 Dead in Tourist Cable Car Crash Near Naples
17th April 2025
A British couple were among the four people killed and have been named as Elaine and Graeme Winn.
Elaine, 58, and Graeme, 65, lived in Market Harborough in Leicestershire.
The accident happened at Mount Faito in southern Italy.
Italian media reports that the cabin had been near the top of the mountain when one of the cables supporting it snapped.
It was taking hikers and sightseers.
One person is seriously injured.
A second cabin was also on the line but was near the bottom of the valley – 16 people were winched to safety.
Italian media reported that the cable car had been travelling over a steep area when the cable snapped.
The local mayor said it was believed a traction cable had broken.
“The emergency brake downstream worked but clearly not the one on the cabin that was about to reach the top of the hill,” he told Italian media.
The Mount Faito cable car has been operating since 1952.
An accident on the line in 1960 left four people dead.
An investigation is underway.
British Skier Dies After Skiing Into a Stream
15th April 2025
The 54-year-old man was skiing on a marked run in Grindelwald in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland when the accident happened.
He was pulled from the water by fellow skiers who administered First Aid and called the emergency services.
He died in hospital the following day.
The UK Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who died in Switzerland.”
An investigation is underway.
Swiss Flag. Image © PlanetSKI
Pond Skimming Ends Season
14th April 2025
It’s the classic way to see out the season – a spot of pond skimming to bring things to an end.
Skiers and snowboarders attempt to ride across a man-made pool without falling into the water below.
It tends to be one of the best parties of the year at every ski resort that holds an event and usually sees some crazy costumes and wild antics.
Park City Mountain in Utah is relatively new to the game, but its fourth annual event last weekend saw 150 skiers and snowboarders attempt to make it to the far side without getting wet.
Mount Spokane in Washington state closed on Sunday April 13th – going out with a splash.
We’ll be bringing you more videos shortly so do check back…
2026 Winter Olympics Tickets On Sale
13th April 2025
Tickets for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Italy are now on sale worldwide.
Early bird offers are available.
Sales are well beyond Italy, reaching countries such as Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France and Canada.
The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will be held from 6 to 22 February at various venues in northern Italy.
The Paralympic Games will be held from 6 to 15 March.
This is the first phase to be opened to the general public, following an advance sales period that saw more than 660,000 tickets sold.
“The start of general sales is an important step for fans to start building their Olympic experience,” said the organisers, who are also running an Early Bird campaign offering special prices.
This offer is valid until 6 May and applies to certain sessions.
Tickets can be bought here:: tickets.milanocortina2026.org,
Each user can purchase up to 25 tickets, exclusively in digital format.
Ticket prices are as varied as the geography of the venues, starting at €30 for the women’s ice hockey preliminary round in Milan and €40 for various other disciplines.
- €190 for men’s ice hockey preliminaries,
- €280 for speed skating,
- €450 for short track
- €750 for the pairs figure skating.
See here for more on Inside the Games.
Image c/o Milan-Cortina 2026
IOC Approves Signing of French 2030 Olympic Contract
11th April 2025
The French government has already given the necessary financial guarantees and signed an Olympic Host contract.
Now the Executive Board of the IOC has agreed to countersign the Olympic Host Contract.
It allows for the formal start of work and engagement with the newly formed Olympic Committee.
- What will the France 2030 Winter Olympics look like?
- France & USA set to host 2030 & 2034 Winter Olympics
Meribel, France. Image © PlanetSKI
New Boss for Cairngorm Mountain
10th April 2025
Mike Gifford has been appointed CEO and will have overall responsibility for day to day operations and strategic developments at the publicly-owned Cairngorm Estate, which covers 3,500 acres.
He is an experienced ski, paddle sports, mountaineering and mountain biking instructor and was born in Aberdeen and educated at Keith Grammar School.
“Cairngorm Mountain is already a great asset for the local area and for Scotland, and I look forward to helping the business grow even stronger in future,” said Mike Gifford.
“I’m very conscious that the mountain and the wider estate have a special place in the hearts of local people, sports enthusiasts and visitors of all ages and abilities.
“Becoming chief executive is a big responsibility, but I’m delighted to be taking it on and excited to be working with the fantastic team here to make Cairngorm Mountain all it can be for present and future generations of customers.”
A key focus will be continuing the resort’s transition to a year-round attraction that offers a variety of family-friendly outdoor activities and environmental education in all seasons, while maintaining snowsports as its core winter activity.
Skiing on Cairngorm Mountain. Image © Dianne Frazer
Peter Mearns, chair of Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd, said the new chief executive would be instrumental in shaping a successful future for the resort.
“This is a time of great opportunity for Cairngorm Mountain,” said Mr Mearns.
“In Mike Gifford, we are confident that we’ve found an excellent leader to start a new chapter and take the business forward.
“In addition to his business and sporting experience, he has impressive skills in leadership, financial management and stakeholder engagement, all of which will be invaluable at Cairngorm.
“Over the past few years, we have put a lot of effort into enhancing our customer offering with mountain biking and carting, child-friendly tubing slide and play areas, guaranteed snow for beginners, and enhancements to the car park, Ptarmigan building and viewing platform.
“That commitment to quality will stand us in good stead and continue to be a hallmark of our approach to developing Cairngorm’s potential.
“I’d also like to thank all our loyal customers who have continued to support Cairngorm through a very challenging period and hope they will join the board in wishing Mike every success.”
Mr Gifford will take up his new role at Cairngorm Mountain on 16th June.
Image supplied by Cairngorm Mountain
Ben’s Bus Donates £15,000 to Solar-Aid
8th April 2025
The money from the ski transfer company will be used to invest in solar initiatives in Africa and is part of its policy to offset the carbon emissions of its vehicles.
“We genuinely care about the environment and our climate,” said Ben Keown the director of Ben’s Bus.
“The mountain roads are too often clogged with thousands of cars polluting our clean mountain air.
“Climate change and global warming are having an undeniable effect on ski resorts.
“By travelling on one of our shared transfers, your carbon footprint for getting up the mountain will already be minimal.
“However, we’ve gone a step further and now fully offset the carbon emitted by our buses.
“Conventional carbon offsetting schemes have their flaws, so we’ve devised our own way of reducing CO2 emissions.”
See here for more: Ben’s Bus
Some Restaurant Placemats Are Better than Others
8th April 2025
Here’s one from The Roxy mountain restaurant in La Thuile, Italy.
It was sent in by PlanetSKI reader, Ian Anderson, who has recently been enjoying the spring conditions in the resort in the Aosta Valley.
La Thuile, Italy. Image c/o Ian Anderson.
You can eat your pasta on all manner of vinyl records inside here.
Roxy restaurant, La Thuile, Italy. Image c/o Ian Anderson.
The bombardinos at the Roxy are second to none.
La Thuile, Italy. Image c/o Ian Anderson.
And here are the current conditions in La Thuile:
La Thuile, Italy. Image c/o Ian Anderson.
La Thuile, Italy. Image c/o Ian Anderson.
See here for more on the conditions in the Alps as the season slowly draws to a close:
Patscherkofel, Austria. Image c/o Liz Vizard.
And The Winner Is…
6th April 2025
Big White Ski Resort and the Snowsport Industries of Great Britain, SIGB, have announced that Carl Price has won an all-inclusive snowsport holiday to Canada.
The contest offered skiers and snowboarders the chance to win a winter holiday by purchasing new ski or snowboard boots from participating SIGB retailers in the UK.
Carl bought his new Burton Ruler snowboard boots from Absolute Snow, one of the UK’s top online retailers.
He has been awarded an all-inclusive trip for two to Big White Ski Resort in British Columbia.
Image c/o Carl Price
The prize package includes:
- 7 nights of luxury accommodation in a superior hotel room with a private hot tub
- 6 days of skiing or snowboarding across Big White’s expansive 3,140 hectares of terrain
- Airfare credit covering flight costs
- Round-trip airport transfers
- A dining certificate to The Woods restaurant
- Tickets for two to the resort’s tube park
Image © Big White Ski Resort
“This competition not only gave skiers and snowboarders the chance to win an incredible trip but also reinforced the importance of supporting the UK’s snowsports industry,” said a statement from SIGB.
“Purchasing new boots from a UK retailer ensures that customers receive expert fitting advice, access to the right equipment for them, and a guarantee of quality after care service.
“By choosing to shop locally, snowsports enthusiasts contribute to the sustainability of UK retailers, allowing them to continue providing their expertise and fostering a strong ski and snowboard community here in the UK.”
“Big White Ski Resort, renowned for its ski-in, ski-out village, deep snow, and varied terrain, is excited to welcome Carl and a companion for an epic week in the snow,” said Big White.
To find participating retailers visit: https://www.sigb.org.uk/retailers
About the Snowsport Industries of Great Britain:
The Snowsport Industry of Great Britain represents the UK’s snowsport industry, including winter sport retailers, suppliers, media, and travel companies.
The trade body exists to support its members, foster trading relationships, and help to promote skiing and snowboarding across the UK.
China’s Glaciers Shrink by More than a Quarter
4th April 2025
The latest data shows the glacial area has gone down 26% since 1960 and 7,000 small glaciers have disappeared completely.
The figures are in a UNESCO report.
China’s glaciers are predominantly in the west and north of the country, in the regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, and the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai.
China’s total glacier area is around 46,000 square kilometres, with around 69,000 glaciers in 2020.
This compares to around 59,000 square kilometres and around 46,000 glaciers in China between 1960 and 1980.
Suspensions Lifted for Norwegian Ski Jumpers
3rd April 2025
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, FIS, has decided to lift the provisional suspensions of five Norwegian athletes.
They are under investigation by the FIS Ethics and Compliance Office for their suspected involvement in the tampering of their ski jumping suits at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Trondheim 2025.
Here at PlanetSKI we reported on it at the time:
Marius Lindvik, Johann Andre Forfang, Robin Pedersen, Kristoffer Sundal, and Robert Johansson are now allowed to engage in training sessions, or any other activities organised by the Norwegian Ski Association or other National Ski Associations with immediate effect.
The provisional suspension of three officials from Norway’s Men’s Ski Jumping team remains in place.
Protests at Trump Cuts to US Forestry Staff
2nd April 2025
A group gathered at the Townsend entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
It is the latest demonstration in support of park staff who have face losing their jobs.
They are concerned that staff layoffs could have a lasting impact on wildlife, the visitor experience, safety, and even the local economy.
High Number of Ski Tourer Deaths in Swiss Alps
1st April 2025
There were 28 fatal accidents last winter, the highest number of deaths in five years.
The number of emergencies in the Swiss Alps also rose slightly according to the mountain emergency statistics of the Swiss Alpine Club.
Off-piste skiing accounts for 85% of fatal winter sports accidents.
The winter of 2023/24 saw an above-average amount of snow at higher altitudes, while lower regions remained saw less snow.
The better snow conditions than in the previous year led to increased activity in snow sports, which was reflected in the number of emergencies, according to the Swiss Alpine Club, SAC.
3,570 people needed assistance.
Although the number was slightly higher than the previous year, it was also slightly lower than the figures for 2021 and 2022.
111 people lost their lives in 93 accidents – half were foreigners.
Last summer, 36 people also lost their lives while hiking in the mountains.
According to SAC, this was the lowest number in ten years.
Blue skies and gentle touring. Image © PlanetSKI.
Promising Turkish Ski Racer Dies in Ski Resort Hotel Fire
1st April 2025
Berkin Usta, 25 years old, represented his country in many international competitions.
He competed in the 2017 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival and took Turkey’s best ranking in the men’s giant slalom event.
In 2021, he won a silver medal at the FIS Alpine Skiing Anatolia Cup and was one of seven athletes representing Turkey at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
He died alongside his father Yahya, 57, at a fire in the Kervansaray Hotel in the Uludağ ski resort.
The Turkey ski team has expressed its condolences.
“We were deeply saddened to learn that our national skier Berkin Usta, who represented Türkiye at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, tragically lost his life at the age of 25 in the Uludağ fire,” it said in a statement.
“May God have mercy on our national athlete and his father, Yahya Usta, a former national skier, who also perished in the same fire.
“We wish a speedy recovery to his mother, Fikriye Usta, who is still in hospital after the fire,” the statement concluded.
Related articles:
Istanbull in words and pictures
Skiing in Turkey. Image © PlanetSKI
Verbier Hosts Its First Pride Event
1st April 2025
Verbier will welcome its first Pride event on Saturday, 5th April 2025, bringing a huge celebration to the slopes and resort.
The programme includes on-mountain activities such as a “Drag Race” and DJ sets from 11:30 AM at Inkontro restaurant.
Visitors who purchase a ski pass or package in advance and arrive dressed in rainbow colours will benefit from discounted lift passes.
Après-ski and evening festivities will take place across the resort’s bars, ensuring a lively atmosphere.
Verbier: www.verbier.ch
Verbier has a number of events on across April as it looks to show people the attractions of spring skiing.
Ski in Meribel Next January with Ski France
1st April 2025
Stay at one of Ski France’s brand-new properties, Chalet Brioche, in January 2026.
Located in the picturesque Méribel Mussillon hamlet within the popular resort of Méribel, Chalet Brioche features four bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom, plus a mezzanine with a single bed.
The chalet also has a warming log fireplace, a terrace with an outdoor hot tub and sauna, and a large flat-screen TV.
With easy access to the slopes and the Three Valleys – the world’s largest connected ski area – it’s an ideal base for a week in the Alps. Meribel’s village centre is just a 12-minute walk away, perfect for evening outings.
A week’s stay at Chalet Brioche from 11 January 2026, costs £10,698 total based on nine people sharing a chalet on a Contactless Catered Basis.
Ski France (0203 475 4756, www.skifrance.co.uk)
Meribel, France. Image © PlanetSKI
