SBIT is fighting back Brexit – you can help too!

SBIT is fighting back Brexit – you can help too! Photo: Skiworld, one of the members of SBIT.

SBIT is fighting back Brexit – you can help too!

SBIT stands for Seasonal Business in Travel. It is a membership organisation of 200 outbound British travel and service companies operating throughout the summer and winter holiday seasons. All members are SMEs and British businesses, not multinationals. Every company shares a common business model: they are highly seasonal so either specialise in winter or summer holidays and their business depend on being able to seamlessly move their temporary UK staff between countries in the EU in order to service their customers during periods of peak demand.

Zenith Holidays, another one of the members of SBIT. SBIT is fighting back Brexit – you can help too! Photo: Ax 3 Domaines.
Zenith Holidays, another one of the members of SBIT. SBIT is fighting back Brexit – you can help too! Photo: Ax 3 Domaines.

The Organisation’s Aim

The aim is to protect 25,000 British jobs in their sector and to keep on giving value and choice to the British holidaymakers.

By raising awareness of the threats presented by Brexit, especially a no-deal Brexit, their aim is to ensure that policy makers on both sides of the channel take into account the value UK businesses deliver to EU resorts and destinations and to ensure that they put in place appropriate measures to support their mutual economic benefits – should Brexit in any form go ahead.

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Take part in the Ski Club of Great Britain survey for a chance to win Grand Prizes!

Take part in the Ski Club of Great Britain survey for the chance to WIN a week-long SkiStar holiday for 4 worth £3,000, a pair of SALOMON QST 92 skis, a SALOMON PULSE snowboard or a SALOMON QST MIPS helmet!

Take part in the Ski Club of Great Britain survey for a chance to win Grand Prizes!

Take part in the Ski Club of Great Britain survey for the chance to WIN a week-long SkiStar holiday for 4 worth £3,000, a pair of SALOMON QST 92 skis, a SALOMON PULSE snowboard or a SALOMON QST MIPS helmet!

Take part in the Ski Club of Great Britain survey for the chance to WIN a week-long SkiStar holiday for 4 worth £3,000, a pair of SALOMON QST 92 skis, a SALOMON PULSE snowboard or a SALOMON QST MIPS helmet!
Take part in the Ski Club of Great Britain survey for the chance to WIN a week-long SkiStar holiday for 4 worth £3,000, a pair of SALOMON QST 92 skis, a SALOMON PULSE snowboard or a SALOMON QST MIPS helmet!

Our friends at the Ski Club of Great Britain want to find out more about what today’s skiers and snowboarders are looking for from their snowsports holidays and are running this survey in collaboration with their partners.

We would like to invite you to take part in this survey with the chance to WIN a week’s holiday for 4 with SkiStar, SALOMON QST 92 skis, SALOMON PULSE snowboard or a SALOMON QST MIPS helmet!

All you have to do is fill in the questionnaire before the 16th of July 2019 – it should take no more than 15-20 minutes and all your answers will remain anonymous.

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Book your Eurostar Ski Train as soon as it goes on sale on Wednesday 17th July 2019

Photo: Randy Laybourne. Unsplash. Book your Eurostar Ski Train as soon as it goes on sale on Wednesday 17th July 2019.

Book your Eurostar Ski Train as soon as it goes on sale on Wednesday 17th July 2019

It is very civilised arriving to the slopes by train, if you can do it. This is not only for us living in Britain, but whoever is planning to ski in the Alps and might want to also come and stay in London for some days before or after.

As per Daniel Elkan, Snowcarbon Founder, who is always monitoring what is going on with the sale of the Eurostar Ski Train and the combined Eurostar to Paris with connections to the French trains to get to some of the French Ski Resorts, you need to be vigilant, as the Eurostar Ski Train goes on sale at 8am on Wednesday 17th July 2019.

Book your Eurostar Ski Train as soon as it goes on sale on Wednesday 17th July 2019
Book your Eurostar Ski Train as soon as it goes on sale on Wednesday 17th July 2019

There is a daytime and an overnight Eurostar Ski Train.

The Daytime train travels from London to the French Alps- The first outbound train departs on Saturday 21st 2019 and the final one on Saturday 4th April 2020.

Coming back from the French Alps the first train is on Saturday 28th December 2019 and last inbound daytime train is on Saturday 11th April 2020.

Overnight travel dates are the following:

From London to the French Alps:

First train outbound is on Friday 20th December 2019.

Last train outbound is on Friday 3rd April 2020.

From the French Alps inbound into London:

The first overnight returning train is Saturday 28th December 2019.

The final overnight returning train is on Saturday 11th April 2020.

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Demaclenko snow systems brings the snow to South America

Demaclenko snow systems brings the snow to South America. Photo: Demaclenko.

Demaclenko snow systems brings the snow to South America.

Snow is what makes or breaks a ski resort. Before we used to ‘chance’ it and knew that usually you get snow starting at so many meters for sure, and if you have snow below this line, that was great. Over the years, what Brits would call a ‘snow sure’ resort due to altitude, maybe did not have snow at all. I am getting now 50 years old, and I do remember that in 7 years span, maybe you get one or two that you ask yourself –‘what happened with winter??’

Demaclenko pumping snow in El Colorado. Demaclenko snow systems brings the snow to South America. Photo: Demaclenko.
Demaclenko pumping snow in El Colorado. Demaclenko snow systems brings the snow to South America. Photo: Demaclenko.

I used to stage some events in South America, more specifically in Las Leñas, and the lack of snow made me cancel these events twice. I am talking of the South American Extreme Skiing and Snowboarding Championships. The last time was terrible because we had so much media onboard and so much buzz was building around the events, that when there was no snow and I had to cancel everything, the media people working with me told me I have sold them a bubble of air! It was not intended, obviously. We also got two Seat cars as prize for the competitors- anyways, that was the last event I’ve tried to stage!

Last year Las Leñas and Portillo had to close on early September due to a bad snow season. I have written already how Portillo has now invested in snow-making by TechnoAlpin. Cerro Bayo, another boutique resort more south in the Argentine Patagonia’s Lake Region, has also invested with TechnoAlpin.

The other big company we know about is Demaclenko, also located in the Sudtirol province of Italy. You know that the area of the Sella Ronda has very good snowmaking, having these two companies on site.

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St Moritz has been awarded the 2023 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Championships.

Photo: Bobsleigh World Cup in St Moritz.2015. St Moritz has been awarded the 2023 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Championships.

St Moritz has been awarded the 2023 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Championships.

St Moritz, the renown Swiss resort, has been awarded the 2023 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Championships. Sochi, Whistler and Winterberg have applied to be the host of the 2024 edition of the event.

During the IBSF Congress in Prague, the Olympia Bob Run St Moritz-Celerina track was confirmed as the location for the 2023 World Championships.

It is the 24th time that St Moritz has being host on its entirety or part of the IBSF’s flagship event outside of the Olympic Games.

St Moritz has been awarded the 2023 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Championships.
St Moritz has been awarded the 2023 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Championships.

St Moritz has also been given the hosting rights for the IBSF Junior World Championships in 2021 at the Congress in Prague.

Heike Größwang, IBSF secretary general has told delegates at the meeting that Sochi (Russia), Whistler (Canada) and Winterberg (Germany) have submitted bids for the 2024 World Championships.

The Sanki Sliding Centre in Sochi was the stage of both bobsleigh and skeleton events at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games but was not included on the list of IBSF World Cup venues for the 2019-20 ski season.

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Indoor ski-slope finally opening within American Dream Mall in October

American Dream Exrterior. Rendering Courtesy American Dream Mall. Indoor ski-slope finally opening within American Dream Mall in October

Indoor ski-slope finally opening within American Dream Mall in October

From Commercial Observer and Daily Voice

The 3.1 million-square-foot American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, NJ, will finally open on 25 October, after being built for 16 years (on and off). This was announced by developer Triple Five.

Chalet on the American Dream Mall ski slope. Rendering by American Dream Mall. Indoor ski-slope finally opening within American Dream Mall in October.
Chalet on the American Dream Mall ski slope. Rendering by American Dream Mall. Indoor ski-slope finally opening within American Dream Mall in October.

This project used to be called Xanadu, and had lots of missed openings, three developers, five governors and a major retail contraction, earning lots of sceptics across the state.

This facility will feature an 180,000-square-foot, 800-foot ski slope (of 16 stories high) and an ice-climbing wall. It will also have a ski school area, a chairlift, terrain park, chalet and restaurants.

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Snow Cracks in the Central Zone of Chile: “This is a situation that should not be overlooked”

Snow cracks. Photo: Anders Jilden. Unsplash. Snow Cracks in the Central Zone of Chile: "This is a situation that should not be overlooked."

Snow Cracks in the Central Zone of Chile: “This is a situation that should not be overlooked”

From Avalancha Sport

One of the postcards that alarmed all lovers of the mountain were the cracks that appeared in some sectors of the central zone of Chile where users in social networks recorded this event that can cause an avalanche.

Snow Cracks in the Central Zone of Chile: "This is a situation that should not be overlooked". Photo: Avalancha Sport.
Snow Cracks in the Central Zone of Chile: “This is a situation that should not be overlooked”. Photo: Avalancha Sport.

In this context and after this situation, Avalancha Sport spoke with Diego Pizarro, Mountain Risks Specialist and Instructor of snow and avalanches of the National Association of French Snow Studies (ANENA), who said that this phenomenon is not unusual at the beginnings of the season.

“My impression is very likely that this happened because there was an intense rainfall with little wind and very low temperatures during that period,” he began.

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The Patriata chairlift rescue operation was completed after 10 hours.

The Patriata chairlift rescue operation was completed after 10 hours. Muree, Pakistan.

The Patriata chairlift rescue operation was completed after 10 hours.

From The News of Pakistan.

The operation to rescue the picnickers stranded in the Patriata chairlift, Murree in Pakistaan, has been completed after the area’s main attraction broke down on Saturday.

The Patriata chairlift rescue operation was completed after 10 hours. Muree, Pakistan.
The Patriata chairlift rescue operation was completed after 10 hours. Muree, Pakistan.

“All 90 tourists stuck in the cable cars have been rescued to safety and all of them are safe and sound,” said Patriata cable car manager Mohsin Fazal, while talking to Geo News. “Whole cable car system will be checked before it is allowed to resume operation. The cable car operation will remain on hold while the chairlift will remain operational.”

As many as 90 people remained marooned in the air for 10 hours.

The cable car manager said help was sought from the district administration, Rescue 1122, the Civil Defence and the Pakistan Army.

DC Rawalpindi Chaudhry Muhammed Ali Randhawa said there were eight to nine people in every cable and none of the rescued is injured.

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A Dolomites train project could be ready for the 2026 Olympics

A Dolomites train project could be ready for the 2026 Olympics. This train is one working at Sudtirol. IDM Sudtirol. Photo: Hans-Peter Leu. A unique experience is provided by the new railway line from Merano/Meran to Malles/Mals: the train brings you to Malles, where you can rent a bike and return slightly downhill alongside the orchards and ancient sites of the old Roman trade route Via Claudia Augusta.

A Dolomites train project could be ready for the 2026 Olympics

The project that will link the provinces of Trentino, Alto Adige (Sudtirol) and Veneto has a high degree of feasibility according to former councillor Mauro Gilmozzi. The cost is of one billion two hundred million Euros to be absorbed by the State and the provinces.

The Dolomites train could become a reality by 2026, in time for the Winter Olympics. Connecting Trento to Bassano, then to Feltre, Belluno, Calalzo, Cortina, Dobbiaco, Bressanone, Bolzano and returning to Trento.

An Italian traain in Verona Porta Nova Train Station. A Dolomites train project could be ready for the 2026 Olympics.
An Italian traain in Verona Porta Nova Train Station. A Dolomites train project could be ready for the 2026 Olympics.

A challenge that has a very specific name: Ring Dolomiti. The feasibility is “high” according to Mauro Gilmozzi, former councillor for infrastructures and the environment of the junta Dellai. “We keep in mind that for the most part this ring is already there.”

Total cost: from one billion two hundred million upwards. What seems an onerous amount, “… would be a cost to be divided between various agencies, the Provinces, the State.”

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The Mille Miglia is coming to the Alps- Coppa delle Alpi

The Mille Miglia is coming to the Alps- Coppa delle Alpi. Photo: Coppa delle Alpi.

The Mille Miglia is coming to the Alps- Coppa delle Alpi.

The organisers of the Mille Miglia in Italy have announced that the Coppa delle Alpi will take place across 15 of the most spectacular Alpine passes in Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany in early December.

The Mille Miglia is coming to the Alps- Coppa delle Alpi.
The Mille Miglia is coming to the Alps- Coppa delle Alpi.

The 2019 edition of the Coppa delle Alpi by 1000 Miglia, the first winter regularity race for vintage cars organised by 1000 Miglia S.r.l., will take place from 4th to 7th December.

The competition, officially included in the Italian Great Events Championship, will consist of four legs through some of the most evocative mountain locations in Italy, Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

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