Big Opening Weekend for Skiing 09-10

Many of the world's major resorts in at least 10 countries are opening for 2009-10 season this weekend. In Europe, the ski season begins in Andorra with Grandvalira opening a fortnight early after heavy snowfall in the Pyrenees.

In the French Alps, Europe's highest major resort, Val Thorens is the second resort to open in France, joining Tignes which has been open for nearly two months already. In Austria, Obergurgl is opening and in Switzerland, Andermatt, Davos, Klosters, Flims and Laax join Engelberg, Zermatt, Verbier, Les Diablerets and Saas Fee which are already open.

In Italy, Livigno is opening early and is running its lifts free of charge this week with no lift pass required. More resorts are opening in Finland, Norway and Sweden joining the 20 or so already open in Scandinavia.

Across the Atlantic In Canada British Columbia's Big White, Sun peaks and whistler resorts have opened this weekend, joining Alberta's Banff resorts, Lake Louise, Marmot Basin and Nakiska which have opened in recent weeks.

More areas are opening in the today US too including Boreal in California and White Pass, they join the latest openers Mt Baker in Washington State and Breckenridge, Colorado, which opened a few days ago.

Ski holiday ideas in Slovenia

Slovenia is celebrating the 2009/2010 ski holiday season with the debut of a new cable car and ski piste linking the local Kanin resort to Italy’s Sella Nevea resort.

The joint ski area will be accessible with one lift pass, allowing skiers from both the Slovenian and the Italian sides of the mountain to enjoy the slopes at both resorts. The internationally connected ski centre will be the first of its kind in an area where, for most of the previous century, there was a strict border divide between the two countries.

The connected ski centre is expected to be called Kanin–Canin and will be one of the largest ski areas in Slovenia. Kanin is Slovenia’s only resort with slopes over 2,000m and the high altitude means its season often lasts into early May.

The resort has a good mixture of advanced, intermediate, beginner and cross-country trails. The link to Sella Nevea will provide an even greater choice of runs, particularly for beginner skiers.

Ski operators are said to be confident for this coming winter season

While ski operators are cautious, they are also confident for this coming winter season, snow loving timeshare owners will be pleased to hear.

Al Morgan, information manager at the Ski Club of Great Britain, pointed out that ski operators have been offering some early season deals. The industry is also pulling together to approach existing skiers and snowboarders as well as first-timers, he continued. While he admitted that the credit crunch hit the snowsports industry at a bad time, he said the skiing market is resilient and operators are feeling positive about this winter season.

He made his comments at the Metro Ski and Snowboard Show, held at London Olympia. According to Ski Club of Great Britain figures, France is still dominant in the UK snowsports market with a 43 per cent share and this has remained the same since 2007/2008.

The overall UK snowsports market now stands at 1.27 million people, the data also shows.

1st snow kicks off area's ski season

The first cold snap of the season brought the first snowfall of the season overnight Saturday. But the cold will be a memory by midweek, when temperatures are expected to be as high as 73, according to the National Weather Service.

Two inches of snow was reported at Mount Mitchell, an inch of snow fell near Banner Elk and in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and about a half-inch covered the ground in Waynesville, said Scott Krentz, a metereologist with the National Weather Service, on Sunday. “Areas at 3,500 feet and above got about a half or so,” he said. The shining sun doesn't mean it's going to warm up right away; Krentz said the forecast calls for temperatures 10 degrees below normal for today, with a high around 59 degrees and an overnight low of 30. A freeze warning was in effect overnight, set to expire at 9 this morning, for much of Western North Carolina.

But the harsh cold isn't bad news for everyone in WNC. The folks at Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley started making snow Sunday morning and will open at 1 p.m. today. “It's the earliest opening in our history,” said Tammy Brown, spokeswoman for the ski area. “We are going to stay open as long as we can.” It was 25 degrees when they started making snow at 6:45 a.m. Sunday, Brown said.

Skiers will have to battle the heat before long, though. Warmer weather returns the middle of the week, with highs once again reaching the low 70s and lows in the mid-40s to around 50, according to the National Weather Service.