July’s Ski News in Brief
1st July 2025
Last modified on July 18th, 2025
– Felix Baumgartner Dies
– New 3D Model to Help Avalanche Forecasts
– GB SnowboardX & SkiX Squad Announced
– Efforts to Save Small Austrian Resort Fail
– Delay to Kicking Horse Gondola Repairs… UPDATED
Felix Baumgartner Dies
18th July 2025
56-year old Felix Baumgartner was an Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper.
He was widely known for jumping to Earth from a helium balloon from the stratosphere on 14 October 2012 and landing in New Mexico, United States, as part of the Red Bull Stratos project.
Felix Baumgartner dead at 56 — legendary skydiver known for famous 2012 stratosphere jump killed in tragic paragliding accident https://t.co/p1YKTqTIQr pic.twitter.com/15UUS6h6OR
— New York Post (@nypost) July 17, 2025
See more on the BBC.
New 3D Model to Help Avalanche Forecasts
18th July 2025
The 3D simulation tool was developed by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, ETHZ, and the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, SLF.
It enables more accurate forecasts to be made of the course, height and propagation of alpine mass movements such as snow, ice and rock avalanches.
“We now have a reliable and operational tool that enables us to help the authorities to assess the possible consequences of imminent alpine mass movements by means of simulations,” said Johan Gaume, a professor at ETHZ and the SLF.
See more on Swiss Info.
Related Articles:
- Swiss village buried by landslide as glacier collapses
- Intense summer rainfall in the Alps predicted
- Another Swiss village evacuated due to landslide threat
- Monitoring rockfalls in the Alps
GB SnowboardX & SkiX Squad Announced
16th July 2025
It comes ahead of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February 2026.
Efforts to Save Small Austrian Resort Fail
15th July 2025
The owners of Gaissau-Hintersee that lies to the south of Salzburg have lodged a demolition notice for its ski lifts.
The company that owns the resort has failed to secure an estimated €40 million needed to modernise the ski area, install snowmaking and restart operations.
The resort is situated between 750m and 1,500m.
It has three chairlifts, four T-bars, and two magic carpets.
Image c/o Skiresort.info
With climate change and less snow falling the future of the resort has been in doubt for some time.
The resort has not been open in recent years and the demolition notice indicates the end of the road.
The formal demolition request is expected to be processed by state authorities in the next few weeks.
Delay to Kicking Horse Gondola Repairs
14th July 2025
The Canadian resort has said that supply chain delays mean replacement parts will not be available until early next month.
A gondola fell to the ground last season just after it left the departure station.
Eight people were on board and no-one was seriously injured.
A hanger arm was the component involved in the gondola fall.
The resort has said that all gondola cabin hanger-arms will be replaced with newly manufactured parts.
There has been no mention of when the lift may re-open.
The lift was closed after the accident leading to most of the resort’s terrain being unavailable.
Kicking Horse, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI
Norway Set to Introduce Tourist Tax
13th July 2025
Under newly approved legislation some municipalities will be able to impose a 3% fee on overnight stays from summer 2026.
The fee will appear on hotel bills and short-term rentals such as Airbnb.
The authorities say the purpose of the tax is to help safeguard Norway’s natural treasures and alleviate strain on local infrastructure.
Earlier the Norwegian parliament rejected a proposal for a nationwide hotel tax and it has now opted for targeted and locally applied measures.
Municipalities wishing to implement the tax will need to show that tourism is putting significant pressure on public facilities.
They will need to lodge detailed plans on how the funds will be used, subject to review by the government.
Norway is becoming increasingly popular with British skiers.
Skiing in Norway. Image © PlanetSKI
It is unclear which ski areas, if any, will be affected.
It is expected the cities of Oslo and Bergen will adopt the measure.
Many UK skiers arrive at airports in the two cities.
In 2024, Norway recorded 6.20 million international tourist arrivals.
That figure is predicted to grown to 6.28m in 2025.
Europe represents 80% of all arrivals with leading markets being Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK.
Father & Son Die in Austria Hiking Accident
10th July 2025
Eyal Keren and Omer Keren, from Israel, fell to their deaths while hiking the Stubai High Trail in the Tirol.
The father, aged 58, slipped on wet ground and the son tried to grab him and fell.
Another son raised the alarm and went to the aid of the two.
“The Department for Israelis Abroad, in cooperation with the Israeli embassies in Vienna and Bern, is handling the tragic incident in which two Israeli citizens were killed in Austria,” the Israel Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The ministry is in contact with the family and assisting them during this difficult time.”
Rescuers pronounced the two dead at the scene and their bodies were flown off the mountain.
EasyJet Pays Workers to Find Oversized Bags
9th July 2025
Airport workers employed on behalf of easyJet are being paid bonuses to stop passengers with suspected oversized baggage.
A leaked email shows gate staff at contractor Swissport are ‘eligible to receive £1.20 for every gate bag taken.’
The email was addressed to staff at sevenUK airports including Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle.
It is called it the ‘easyJet gate bag revenue incentive,’
The email was sent out in November 2023 but the incentive scheme is still operating.
“EasyJet is focused on ensuring our ground handling partners apply our policies correctly and consistently in fairness to all our customers,” easyJet said in a statement.
“Our bag policies and options are well understood and we remind customers of this when booking, before they travel and on their boarding pass.”
See more in The Guardian
Easyjet at Innsbruck airport
Investigation into Marmolada Glacier Collapse Published
8th July 2025
A full scientific investigation reveals the details of what caused the disaster in the Dolomites in July 2022.
11 people died with 7 people seriously injured as a huge block of ice broke away from the glacier and hit hikers on the trails below.
The research says that a combination of factors that led to the collapse:
- Record temperatures accelerating melting
- Water trapped in crevasses creating high hydraulic pressures
- Degraded permafrost
- An unfavourable bedrock geometry
The study has been published in “Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences” with research conducted by an international multidisciplinary team of experts including glaciologists, geologists, engineers, and geophysicists.
They came from various Italian and European institutions including University of Parma, University of Padua, National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics, University of Trieste, University of Zurich, ARPAV and Stellenbosch University.
See here for further details on the web site of the University of Padua.
Its findings will be read with great interest as rising temperatures in the Alps leads to instability.
- Swiss village buried by landslide as glacier collapses
- After the Blatten landslide what is the future of the Swiss village?
- Intense summer rainfall in the Alps predicted
- Another Swiss village evacuated due to landslide threat
- Monitoring rockfalls in the Alps
Marmolada ice collapse. Image c/o Alpine rescue services.
Investigation After Fatal Alps Plane Crash
7th July 2025
Four people died after a light aircraft crashed in the Austrian Alps at the weekend.
The plane came down near Wald im Pinzgau which is in the district of the Zell am See ski resort in Salzburg province.
It had taken off from an airstrip near Munich in Germany and was on a round trip.
Three men and a woman, all reported to be Germans, died in the crash.
An investigation is underway.
Permafrost Continues to Melt
4th July 2025
The permafrost in the Swiss Alps is warmer than at any time since coordinated measurements began 25 years ago.
Permafrost is permanently frozen ground that many structures including lifts and mountain buildings are built into.
It also helps keep the mountains stable and limiting rick falls.
In Switzerland 5% of the country’s surface area has permafrost.
In 2024, there were record values at practically all locations and in almost all measured categories, according to the Academy of Natural Sciences writes.
At 23 measuring locations, the temperature at a depth of 10m has risen by more than 0.8 degrees in some cases between 2014 and 2025.
The permafrost is warming the most in regions where annual average temperatures are below two degrees and where there is little ice, such as on rock faces above 3,500 meters.
See more here on Bluewin.ch
Family Win Refund After No Snow on Lapland Visit
2nd July 2025
A family has won its six-month fight for a refund on their £3,500 holiday to Lapland.
Lisa O’Neil from Cumbria complained after tour operator Tui said her family’s four-day trip could go ahead last December despite there being no snow forecast and the firm having a “no snow you don’t have to go” policy in place.
It meant none of the snow activities part of the package – a husky ride, reindeer encounter and snowmobile trip – could go ahead.
ABTA referred the case to an independent adjudicator who found in favour of the O’Neils.
“The family’s essential purpose in taking the trip, to enjoy snow-based activities, was defeated,” the adjudication read.
It added Tui had not complied with its own “no snow” policy and the family would not have set off for their trip had Tui let them cancel or reschedule it.
See here for more on the BBC
Investigation After Fatal Helicopter Crash in the Alps
1st July 2025
The accident happened on the Oberaletsch Glacier the Valais canton in Switzerland.
The 51-year old passenger in the helicopter, which was carrying three people, died.
The pilot and flight assistant escaped with minor injuries.
It’s understood the helicopter tipped onto its side while hovering
It hit the ground and fell onto its side according to the cantonal police.
The helicopter belonged to Air-Glaciers and the company has said it is deeply saddened by the death of the passenger.
The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board has started an investigation.
IOC Climate Awards
1st July 2025
The International Olympic Committee is highlighting the work of organisations tackling climate change.
Swiss Glaciers Melting Like Swiss Cheese
1st July 2025
Scientists report that 2.5 meters of ice surface have melted from the Rhone Glacier.
And it has left holes that resemble a Swiss cheese.
Breckenridge Finds
1st July 2025
The US resort has revealed what it has found on the slopes after its annual spring clean up.
This year they found plenty of the traditional objects along with lots of vapes, a spatula, a pair of snowboard boots, shedloads of headphones, an iPod Nano, a message in a bottle and more.
View this post on Instagram
