Spot on: Black Crows Skis – 2018-19 ski season

The new Corvus- a big mountain ski - Photo: Black Crows.

What is new with the Black Crows skis range.

Black Crows is a ski brand inspired by modern art, passing via urban culture. The logo was created by Yorgo Tloupas of Yorgo&Co, and is an association of chevrons,which remind us of our childhood drawings and symbolises the squadron of crows. Simple and geometric, it can be modified into infinity, creating a perspective close to illusion, within the line of optical art. Like this, black crows skis are recognisable to everybody.

The involvement of Yorgo&Co’s Paris design office and more particularly of its founder, Yorgo Tloupas, in the artistic direction of the brand, manifested the link between urban and skiing universes. This relationship is equally one of the foundations of the company, of having the willingness to surpass classic boundaries between the mountains and the town with a new approach to the mountains.

Black Crows CORVUS Skis- Photo: Black Crows. Spot on: Black Crows Skis – 2018-19 ski season.
Black Crows CORVUS Skis- Photo: Black Crows. Spot on: Black Crows Skis – 2018-19 ski season.

Black crows is above all a story of friendship, that of evolving freeride skiers in Chamonix, Camille Jaccoux and Bruno Compagnet . These are two personalities coming from the free-skiing universe, both passionate about mountains and adventure. This passion was translated by their willingness to find skis adapted to their practice in the Mont-Blanc massif. Black Crows was born from this intention.

It started, firstly, with a ski, the corvus, created in 2006 and which went on sale in 2007. A ski with a length of 196cm and 105 at the waist, capable of accelerating without limits in the massifs great powder fields, but also which had the capacity to handle delicate passages encountered in the high mountains. This non-conformist ski was the catalyst for the morphologic evolution of freeride skis.

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Alterra expects to sell 250,000 Ikon ski passes while Vail Resorts Epic Pass sales are up thanks to the $99 military pass

The state of the industry in Colorado - Alterra expects to sell 250,000 Ikon ski passes while Vail Resorts Epic Pass sales are up thanks to the $99 military pass

Alterra is expecting to sell 250,000 of the new IKON Pass while Vail Resorts stated that their sales of the EPIC Pass are up thanks mostly to the $99 military pass. This was the excerpt heard during the annual Governor’s Tourism Conference at the Talisa Hotel in Vail. The “Trends in ski” panel with Alterra’s Head of Sales Bob Stinchcomb, Vail Resorts marketing chief Kieran Cain and Powdr’s Jennifer Rudolph.

Lauren Berlamino, of Karsh Hagan, a marketing, design and tech company started the discussion with where the whole ski industry is in Colorado, noting the challenges of shorter seasons due to climate change and aging demographic. The opportunities to be had are the experiences beyond skiing and the leading the way in sustainability.

Powder Skiing in Back Bowls In Vail, CO. Photo: Vail Resorts. Alterra expects to sell 250,000 Ikon ski passes while Vail Resorts Epic Pass sales are up thanks to the $99 military pass.
Powder Skiing in Back Bowls In Vail, CO. Photo: Vail Resorts. Alterra expects to sell 250,000 Ikon ski passes while Vail Resorts Epic Pass sales are up thanks to the $99 military pass.

One-fifth of skiers are 55 years or older, with some of the most avid participants are aged 70 and older. Skiers and snowboarders visits in the country have increased from 8.7 million in 1996-97 to 9.2 million in 2017-18. Berlamino states that this growth does not correlate with the overall population growth over the past years.

“It kind of sounds like we’re facing an uphill battle, but really Colorado is doing amazing in this industry,” she said. “I think nobody’s better positioned than our state to continue to ride this momentum and be successful amidst all this change that we’re seeing.”

Powder Skiing in Back Bowls In Vail, CO. Photo: Vail Resorts. Alterra expects to sell 250,000 Ikon ski passes while Vail Resorts Epic Pass sales are up thanks to the $99 military pass.
Powder Skiing in Back Bowls In Vail, CO. Photo: Vail Resorts. Alterra expects to sell 250,000 Ikon ski passes while Vail Resorts Epic Pass sales are up thanks to the $99 military pass.

According to the National Ski Areas Association, Colorado’s share of overnight ski trips in the calendar year of 2017 was 21 percent, followed by California at 13.7 percent. Of the 53.2 million skier visits, that’s about 11 million visitors to Colorado.

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Gales and tide surges wreak havoc in all of Italy, killing at least 10. What is the situation in Trentino-Alto Adige and Belluno

Lots of trees have fallen due to a massive storm in the area of Trentino Alto Adige and Belluno. Photo: Vigili del Fuoco. Twitter.

What is the situation in Trentino-Alto Adige and Belluno: Gales and tide surges wreak havoc in all of Italy, killing at least 10.

Gales and tide surges wreak havoc in Italy, killing at least 10. After two days of severe weather that has caused historic flooding, at least 10 people are dead in Italy nationwide.

Arabba after the storm. Gales and tide surges wreak havoc in all of Italy, killing at least 10. What is the situation in Trentino Alto Adige and Belluno.
Arabba after the storm. Gales and tide surges wreak havoc in all of Italy, killing at least 10. What is the situation in Trentino Alto Adige and Belluno.

Italy has seen gales that sent trees crashing into cars, water surges have destroyed a port and high tides in Venice have flooded the San Marco Basilica.

There were dozens injured by the weather conditions.

But in the mountains, on Monday a body of a woman was found in Val di Sole,  and the body of a fisherman was found by firefighters in Lake Levico in Trentino, and a volunteer firefighter was hit by a falling tree during an operation at San Martino in Badia, in Alto Adige. The fisherman found in Lake Levico is likely to have been blown into the lake by the winds.   Falling trees was the cause of many of the deaths and of major disruption.

La Repubblica stated that “In 48 hours there have been over 7,000 interventions” by firefighters at a national level, many of them for removal of fallen trees, it reported.

Some mudslides isolated parts of the country and several rivers saw record levels and potential floods. In the northeast of Italy, snowstorms trapped tourists at resorts. At higher elevations as Stelvio pass near the border with Switzerland, 180 people remained cut out after a heavy snowfall blocked the alpine pass, ANSA reports.

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So you think that Jackson Hole is only for Extreme Skiers? Think again!

So you think that Jackson Hole is a haven for Extreme skiers only? That you need to be able to dive into the Corbet’s Couloir to say you’ve been there/done that?

This season Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is looking forward to open its 53rd ski season on November 22nd for holiday sightseeing rides on the Aerial Tram and then for skiing on the Saturday, November 24th. But this year, Jackson Hole has enhanced the mountain to make it more ‘family friendly’.

Jackson Hole is renowned for its amazing landscape. Photo: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. You think Jackson Hole is only for Extreme Skiers? Think again. Also a haven for beginners now.
Jackson Hole is renowned for its amazing landscape. Photo: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. You think Jackson Hole is only for Extreme Skiers? Think again. Also a haven for beginners now.

NEW! Solitude Station 

Solitude Station was thought and then built in Jackson Hole to create an easier skier progression and family experience. Dedicated entirely to kids and adults learning, this vast complex is accessed via a quick two-minute gondola ride from the base area.

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Snowmaking Operations Underway at Aspen Snowmass for the 2018-19 Season

Ajax - Aspen Mountain Snowmaking -picture by Dan Bayer. Aspen Skiing Company. Snowmaking Operations Underway at Aspen Snowmass for the 2018-19 Season

Snowmaking Operations Underway at Aspen Snowmass for the 2018-19 Season

 Up to 11 Inches of New Snow in the Last 48 Hours

ASPEN SNOWMASS, Colo.—Nov. 1, 2018—Last night, Aspen Snowmass officially kicked-off snowmaking operations in preparation for the 2018-19 season. With the necessary sustained cool temperatures, the snow guns were fired-up starting the highly-anticipated countdown to the ski/ride season. Aspen Mountain and Snowmass are scheduled to open Nov. 22 followed by Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk Dec. 8.

A lonely snowmaker working in Ajax. Photo: Dan Bayer. Aspen Skiing Company. Snowmaking Operations Underway at Aspen Snowmass for the 2018-19 Season
A lonely snowmaker working in Ajax. Photo: Dan Bayer. Aspen Skiing Company. Snowmaking Operations Underway at Aspen Snowmass for the 2018-19 Season

“All of our systems are tested and ready and you should hear the sounds of snowmaking on the streets of Aspen. Bootpacking has started, our maintenance projects are wrapping up and our teams are preparing the mountains for opening day,” says Katie Ertl, senior vice president of mountain operations for Aspen Snowmass.

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Cairngorm Mountain’s funicular to be shut for the ski season?

The Cairngorm Mountain's funicular might not open this coming season. Photo: Cairngorm Mountain

 CairnGorm Mountain’s funicular railway could be out of action for the whole of the upcoming ski season- as per the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). The UK’s highest railway has already been closed for about one month due to problems with the structure supporting its tracks.

Early December there will be a report from engineers on their investigation of this issue.

Cairngorm Mountain's economy might suffer if the funicular does not open this season.
Cairngorm Mountain’s economy might suffer if the funicular does not open this season.

HIE said that the ‘worst case scenario’ would be for the railway to be closed. Obviously this raised alarm bells and is cause of concern on the impact it will have locally.

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