MP3 player saves lost skiers

A skier and a boarder were saved by the light of an mp3 player after they got lost in the Swiss Alps.

The 22-year-old men got lost after setting off from the resort of Savognin, in south east Switzerland on Friday. They were suffering from mild hypothermia as they has to endure overnight temperatures of -15C.

They were able to alert the authorities using a mobile phone, but it when it ran out of battery power all they had left was an MP3 player, which the snowboarder had been using to listen to music.

Airborne rescuers were eventually able to reach the pair high on a wooded slope after being guided by the light of the digital music player.

A cold Christmas and frosty New Year

After a sunny but cold Christmas period in the Alps, France and Switzerland are looking forward to more snow during the coming week, whilst over in North America, the heavy snow that continues to fall in both the east and west is a welcome sight.

In Europe, it's France which is expecting the heaviest of the snow over the New Year period. Isola 2000 in the Southern Alps, is expecting 75cm of snow over the next five days, in addition to the monumental amounts of snow they had two weeks ago. This resulted in the resort being completely cut off due to avalanches across the access roads.
The more northern part of the French Alps is expecting between 20cm and 40cm, which will be greatly appreciated by New Year skiers, as it has been very sunny in France for the last ten days and the pistes are getting increasingly packed down.

Switzerland is also expecting some snow during the middle of the week but isn't expected to be anywhere near as heavy as in France. The snowiest of the Swiss resorts should be Saas Fee and Zermatt where 31cm is expected to land by the end of the week.

Austria is set to be largely sunny for the coming week. Clear skies and cold temperatures should mean the fresh snow over the Christmas period can be perfectly preserved. Temperatures in the higher resorts will drop dramatically, especially in Obergurgl and Obertauern, so be sure to wrap up very warm this New Year!

Over in the US, Snowbird and Alta in Utah have both received nearly 150cm of snow in the last five days, living up to their legendary powder status. In Canada, Whistler should see a whopping 155cm of fresh powder over the next five days, whilst Revelstoke is 85cm and Kicking Horse is forecast a respectable 67cm of snow.

Blizzard batters parts of the Alps

Extremely heavy snowfall forced Val d’Isère, Saas Fee and Alagna to temporarily close on Monday, whilst Tignes only managed to open 2 lifts due to the extreme weather.

The weekend skiing in France was fantastic with largely sunny skies on Saturday and Sunday combined fresh powder off-piste. However Monday wa a completely different story in the Espace Killy. A metre of snow had fallen since Sunday morning and was still coming down hard on Monday. Tignes only managed to open two lifts on Monday morning, including one drag lift on the beginner slopes and the Tichot chair from Val Claret.

It was a similar story in the northern Italian Alps, close to the French and Swiss borders, where it has been snowing extremely heavily. Alagna has received 100cm of snow since Sunday morning and all the lifts were shut on Monday due to huge amounts of fresh snow.

Zermatt and Saas Fee both got lots of snow on Monday, and Saas Fee had to temporarily close as a result of the high winds and heavy snow, but conditions should be fantastic when they re-open.

Elsewhere in the Alps, the sun has been getting through and resorts in the Southern Dolomites enjoyed a bright weekend.

The outlook is for large snowfalls in the south western Alps. Austrian resorts are expecting between 10cm and 30cm of snow for the week ahead, and Isola 2000 in France was expecting 15cm on Monday and 22cm on Tuesday.

The eastern side of the Alps isn’t expecting anywhere near as much snow, but temperatures are forecast to be low so the snow will stay in great condition.

Lifts stopped by cold in Canada

Low temperatures in Calgary, Alberta, led to the region’s Olympic Park ski area shutting down on Friday because the weather was too cold for the lifts to operate within required limits.

An Arctic Storm brought temperatures down to -27C during the daytime on Friday with wind chill below -40C. The cold weather is expected to continue for several more days and may bring actual temperatures as low as -40C. The cold weather has been accompanied by strong winds of up to 41mph.

Canada Olympic Park cancelled all outdoor activities, but park spokesman Stewart McDonough told local media that it was rare for the park to shut down due to bad weather. However the lifts should not operate in strong winds or very low temperatures. The forecast high at present is about -31C.

Snow for the Southern Alps!

The more southerly French resorts and the Italian resorts should benefit the most from the predicted storm, which could bring up to 100cm of fresh snow to some Italian resorts by Monday.

Cervinia, which has been open since early November, is expecting around 50cm over the weekend, and Madonna di Compaglio opened today, about a week ahead of schedule. They are expecting a phenomenal 100cm of fresh snow by Monday!

In France, Alpe d'Huez plans to open this weekend, along with Val d'Isère and Les Deux Alpes, and conditions are already looking good with a base of 60cm on the upper slopes and a light dusting expected on Saturday and Sunday.

Serre Chevalier is looking forward to 26cm of new snow thanks to the storm but doesn't currently plan to open until 13th December.

In Austria, it's been a great week for snow conditions and the Arlberg region and parts of the Ski Welt will be open from either Friday or Saturday. And in Switzerland, cold temperatures preserved the great snowfall that many resorts had over the weekend, and more is expected to arrive. Saas Fee and Zermatt should be particularly happy with over 60cm forecast in each resort!

Resort News

MONTGENEVRE - Chondolas (a mix fo gondolas and chairs) continue their inexorable alpine rise with not one but two opening in Montgenevre this season. Les Chalmettes gondola, which accesses the intermediate friendly north facing Gondrans slopes, is being replaced and another is planned to link this area with the Chavlet slopes. The good news? This will replace a soul-sapping uphill walk. Kids and families will rejoice!

HINTERTUX - Peak-time queues to get up the Hintertux glacier will be eased this season with the opening of a new 24-man gondola, the Gletscher I, from the base of the resort up to Sommerbergalm. It may sound like a spaceship but we are assured it is a conventional gondola. It replaces one of the old parallel gondolas which has now been decommissioned.

ZERMATT - Beginners get the benefit here with a new nursery slope at Leisse, just above the Sunnegga funicular and new linking lift this will be ideal for kids and first-timers.

LA THUILE - Small is beautiful in La Thuile this season. A new fast quad is being built near the base to serve three new runs, a blue, a red and a black. Keeping them short and sweet, the lift only rises 180m but all runs are powered by artifical snow.

TREMBLANT - Access to and from the sunny side of the mountai will be greatly improved this season with a new eight-seat gondola which will link the Versant Soleil sector with the centre of the village.

Stocking fillers from just 99p!

With Christmas just around the corner, we thought we'd round up all our best stocking filler bargains! With prices from as little as 99p, you can afford to shop online with skiwear4less this year!

BLIZZARD SKI CAP
RRP £12.99 OUR PRICE 99p!

A fantastic little stocking filler, this Blizzard ski cap is an absolute must have for just 99p!




BIG AIR SKI SWEATSHIRT
RRP £14.99 OUR PRICE £2.99!

A great little present for anyone at Christmas, perfect for layering up on ski trips or just for wearing at home when it's getting colder. Available in different designs and sizes.




FIVE SEASONS KIDS TRILBY PANT
RRP £39.99 OUR PRICE £5!

A fantastic pair of ski pants for the little one this Christmas at an unbelievable price of just £5! Available in 2 colours, these are perfect for the next ski trip and at only £5 they won't be around for long, so grab a pair now!




BIG AIR FEVER SUNGLASSES
RRP £34.99 OUR PRICE £5!

These Big Air Sunglasses are an absolute bargain for just £5! They'd make a great stocking filler for any skier.




STARGAZE HAT, GLOVE & SCARF SET
RRP £44.97 OUR PRICE £10!

A great value set to keep you warm during the winter months. Item's can be bought seperately in the Clearance section but we're doing this great deal with a saving of over £30! So grab a set today and get it wrapped up in time for Christmas!




In fact, we've got so many great value stocking fillers that there would be too many too post on this blog. So be sure to head over to www.skiwear4less.com now and check the rest out!

Spanish resorts benefit from early snow

Sierra Nevada and Formigal both opened their doors last weekend and Baqueria Beret is opening on the 22nd November.
Over 7000 skiers and boarders took to the slopes at the Sierra Nevada resort near Granada last weekend, a week ahead of the planned opening date. It was the first time the resort has opened early for 20 years, thanks to heavy snowfall the previous weekend and currently has over 33km of pistes open.The resort is one of 15 new ski resorts added by Crystal for the 2008/2009 ski season which also includes Formigal, which opened on 15th November for weekend skiing. The resort will re-open on 22nd November. Formigal is Spain’s largest resort, recently expanded into four valleys and new direct flights to Huesca have cut the transfer time to just over one hour.

Snow News

- There is fine sunny weather on Monday across the open Austrian resorts.
- The combination of last weeks fresh snow at Tignes and the cold weather this week is providing excellent riding conditions on the glacier.
- The Swiss resorts of Saas Fee and Zermatt both offer great autumn riding on their glaciers.
- Glorious sunny weather blesses the open Italian resorts on Monday.
- Geilo in Norway is open for snowsports but the amount of terrain available is limited at the moment.
- In Scotland Cairngorm is now closed for lift maintenance until early December. The Lecht is also now closed but this is due to the lack of snow.
- Breckenridge and Keystone in America opened over the weekend and Mammoth received 30cm of fresh snow on Saturday.
- Lake Louise and Mount Norquay at Banff in Canada both opened on 8th November, offering good skiing. Sunshine Village is scheduled to open on 11th November.

Go-ahead for £350m skiing centre

The government has finally given the go ahead for the world's first indoor winter sports resort to be built on a disused quarry in Suffolk.
Developer Onslow Suffolk will oversee the build at the quarry at Great Blakenham which is expected to take 30 months. During the construction phase, it's hoped that 3,500 jobs will be created and another 1,800 full-time equivalent jobs provided once completed.

Godfrey Spanner, Managing Director of Onslow Suffolk, the developers of the scheme said, “At last we have final approval, after eight years and costs running into many millions, we can move forward and give our country something unique to be proud of. SnOasis will now become a reality bringing with it countless opportunities for jobs, the local and national economies, education, athletes and the winter sports industry.”

He added, “we have been working hard behind the scenes with various winter sports bodies to attract major competitions to SnOasis. We can confidently say once complete it will host an ever growing number of international events, leading to it becoming a regular venue on the world winter sports circuit. These activities will undoubtedly bring further benefits and kudos to our country.”

The project was backed by the business sector, but faced opposition from residents and environmental groups including Natural England who were concerned about damage to the environment and congestion on local roads.

Once completed, it will claim the titles of...

- Europe’s largest indoor ski slope
- The UK’s first Centre of Excellence for winter sport
- The UK’s first 400m Ice Speed Skating track
- The UK’s first 100m Bobsleigh push start
- 14 winter sports in one location
- The UK’s first 1.5km dedicated Cross-Country Skiing Track
- The UK’s first Ice Museum

Snow Report

AUT: Last week's fresh snow has boosted snow conditions across Austria.
FRA: Tignes benefited from 30cm of fresh snow last week, doubling the snow depth. Cold weather is helping to maintain the great snow conditions.
SWI: Saas Fee and Zermatt are both open for skiing and expect more fresh snow on Tuesday.
ITA: Val Senales received 50cm of fresh snow last week. Light snow is forecast until Friday.
SCO: The Lecht is open for snowsports. Although this week is milder than last week, the temperature is expected to drop again on Friday.
USA: More resorts are opening for winter skiing; Killington opened over the weekend and Mammoth opened on Monday.
CAN: Sunshine Village is scheduled to kick off the Canadian season this week, opening on Friday.

Your guide to the best priced ski wear!

With the credit crunch biting at your heels and Christmas just around the corner, you're probably thinking that you can't afford to buy new ski wear this year. But you can!
Our Crazy Clearance section on skiwear4less.com is proving to be a huge success, we've slashed the prices on 1000's of products so that you can afford to stock up on some essentials! And the choice just keeps growing each day!
Check out our guide below to your ski wear essentials and pick up some bargains for this years trip!

THERMALS
The most important layer, without a good quality base layer, the performance of each subsequent layer will be compromised. This layer should be close fitting to maximise the fabric's moisture wicking capabilities.
Though it's essential to purchase a good quality set of thermals, it doesn't have to break the bank! We've got sets reduced from £60 a set to just £10 a set! Thats a saving of £50! With brands such as Big Air & Five Seasons, you know you're getting good quality products!



FLEECE
A good quality fleece can be worn underneath your ski jacket to provide extra warmth.
We've got a great selection to choose from, including Dare 2 Be & Five Seasons, with an RRP of £30 we're clearing them for just £14.99! That's a saving of £15!



SKI JACKETS
Purchasing a good quality ski jacket is very important, the jacket you choose should offer durable protection against the abrasive effects of snow and ice, but must be light enough to allow for sustained activity.
We've got some amazing Five Seasons ski jackets for ladies and men in our Clearance section. With RRP's of up to £80, you'll be saving a fantastic £40!



SKI PANTS
Ski pants are constructed on the same principal as ski jackets, therefore it's important to buy a pair which fit well and are comfortable. Detachable braces and adjustable waists can also help to perfect the fit. We've got a great selection to choose from, with prices starting from just £10!



SKI GLOVES
Good quality gloves go a long way to making your ski day comfortable. You need to keep your hands dry and warm and padded ski gloves can also protect against injuries. Look for gloves and mittens that fit snugly, are well insulated, and allow your hands to move freely.
Check out our great range of ski gloves, with prices starting from just £6.99!



ACCESSORIES
There's plenty of other things to stock up on for your trip, such as sunglasses, ski goggles, lift pass holders, handwarmers, footwarmers, ski ties and more. But you'll find them all at knockdown prices at skiwear4less.com
Our best bargain would be our Apres Ski Boots, which we stock in adult sizes for £19.99 and junior sizes for £14.99. These have a huge saving of £20! So grab a pair today!



KIDS SKI WEAR
It's important to choose the correct ski wear for your children, good fitting ski jackets and ski pants are a must. We've got a wide selection at skiwear4less.com in a great range of colours and sizes. Our Kids Clearance section is also stocked with loads of bargains, so be sure to grab some before they dissappear!



In fact, we've got so many bargains it would be impossible for us to fit them all on this blog!
We've also got skis, snowboards and ski boots at incredible knockdown prices, so get yourself over to skiwear4less.com now and fill your cart with some cut price goodies!

Vail Resorts ban Burton Love Boards

Six ski resorts are joining in the protest over Burton's two controversial new snowboards, which feature images of Playboy models.
Smugglers' Notch in Vermont says it has banned employees from using the Love and Primo boards made by Burton Snowboards. Vail Resorts has prohibited employees of its Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Keystone resorts in Colorado and California's Heavenly Mountain from using the Love boards or any other inappropriate, offensive or suggestive equipment while on duty. The boards also led to a demonstration last week outside Burton's headquarters in Burlington, Vermont.
Burton CEO Laurent Potdevin says the company supports freedom of artistic expression and stands by the boards.

Should I buy or rent skis?

Rental means you are able to try out the latest skis, but you are going to pay for this privilege. Many rental rates in France and the USA are over £100 per week. Not cheap! Buying means the skis will probably last you about 15 to 20 weeks. You are soon able to work out why a busy ski rental shop owner, even after paying commission to the tour operator, is the wealthiest man in town.
The cost of new skis has fallen in recent years due to new discounters, like skiwear4less.com and Ski Warehouse retail shops. They now sell both Rossignol and Blizzard skis from £89.99 including bindings. It makes you wonder how the old boys like Snow and Rock and Ellis Brigham can charge over £600 for a sophisticated lump of wood!
If you have your own skis the two biggest enemies of them are rocks and rust. Rocks mean that the skis will need servicing, cost about £18 from The Ski Warehouse (branches in Tamworth, Castleford, Newcastle and Carlisle) or £25+ from Snow & Rock. Rust, or if your posh oxidisation, of the edges takes place for the simple reason that people leave wet skis in a nylon bag. After your holiday the best thing to do is thoroughly dry your skis, leaving them in an airing cupboard overnight even. Once dry, seal the edges using a cheap candle so no moisture can penetrate the edge and put them in a dry environment.
Before you go to ski again, simply rub off the excess wax and hey presto your whizzing down the slopes whilst others are queuing in the hire shop!

Newcastle Ski Warehouse NOW OPEN!

Skiers & Boarders! We now have a new Ski Warehouse store located in Eldon Square, Newcastle! You'll find us at street level, next to New Look and the Monument Metro. We've got some great clearance bargains in store, so if you're in the area be sure to call in, have a look around and grab a brochure!
Opening hours are as follows:
Monday - Saturday: 9am - 6pm
Sundays - 11am - 5pm
Late night opening Thursdays until 8pm
Telephone: 0191 261 6686
We're also on the look out for staff to work in our new busy ski shop, so if you're in the Newcastle area and like the idea of working in a busy ski store, call us on 01228 792006 for an application form.

Which snowboard, boot and binding is right for me?

Sorry, but you have probably read loads of hype on flash websites, listened to your mates harp on about their Burton this and that, examined in minute detail the bindings and their latest clips and years of research, plus enthused about the memory foam liner and micro massage foot bed. Unfortunately, most of this is unadultered bullsh*t! Keil Sport, just outside Zell am See make most of Jake's boards - not Burton. many of the other brands are made by the massive Pale factory in Austria or in Chinese sweat shops. Ours are made by Pale. Bindings are all made in the Far East, did you notice how all the clips look the same? Thank you Taiwan and China! Boots, they also come out of Chinese factories, where oriental workers wonder about the strange footwear that Europeans and Americans wear. How do they run in them...?

We've got a great selection of snowboards, boots and bindings online at www.skiwear4less.com, if you're unsure which would be the best board for you, simply call us on 0871 226 3347 and we'll be able to give you some great advice.

What's the best ski for me?

This most frequently asked question is not a simple one to answer. This question relies on many factors such as your height, weight, skiing ability, male or female, aggressive or non agressive towards the snow. Type of terrain you like to ski, length of time you have spent skiing and of course budget.
Although, Snow + Rock and budget don't seem to mix.
Just because you're worth a few bob doesn't necessarily mean you should buy an expensive ski or on the other hand, if you're an expert skier don't expect a beginners ski to perform like a FIS race ski.
We strongly advise that if you're not sure simply phone us on 01228 792006 for good honest advice.
Great value and advice, no wonder we sell one in five of the UK's skis.

What's happened to Rossignol?

Huntington Beach, Calif. Quiksilver, Inc., said today that it has received a binding offer from Chartreuse & Mont Blanc to buy the Rossignol Group for 100 million euros ($147.2 million).

The sports-apparel company said that Chartreuse & Mont Blanc is headed by Bruno Cercley, who is a former chief executive officer of Rossignol. The deal, expected to close in the fall, includes the Rossignol, Dynastar, Look and Lange brands of winter sports equipment and apparel.

Robert B. McKnight, Jr., Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive and President of Quiksilver, Inc., commented, "This offer is a compelling transaction for Quiksilver and represents the culmination of a thorough sale process. Once completed, we can fully concentrate our efforts on our core apparel and footwear brands Quiksilver, Roxy and DC."

Quiksilver paid $560.8 million for Rossignol three years ago, but put the unit up for sale this year after becoming disappointed with its foray into hardgoods and the winter market. Quiksilver expects the transaction to close in fall 2008 and said it plans to use sale proceeds to pay down debt. Chartreuse & Mont Blanc is majority owned by Macquarie Group, and has a non-voting minority interest by Jarden Corp, the parent company of K2 and Volkl.

New Stock Online NOW!

We're constantly adding more and more new items onto our newly redesigned website skiwear4less.com. New items are being listed every day and we hope to add hundreds more over the next few weeks. So be sure to check back regularly! Click above to be redirected to our home page and see what new items are in stock today!

08/09 Ski Warehouse brochure out NOW!

Our new 08/09 brochure is out NOW! We've got amazing savings on ski wear, skis, snowboards, accessories and more! Inside you'll find a great range of products for all the family and we've got a location list of all our Super Ski Roadshows up and down the country!
You can get your copy now by emailing us with your name and address to enquiries@skiwear4less.com and we'll send you a brochure right away!

Our new, exclusive blog is here!

Hello and welcome to the brand new skiwear4less blog! We figured it was about time that our valued customers could find all the latest ski news, equipment reviews and amazing ski bargains all in one place! So please, bookmark this page, as during the coming ski season, we'll be bringing you full write ups and evaluations of all the newest equipment and we're not afraid to tell it like it is! Along with this, you'll also find out details of when our Super Ski Roadshows will be hitting a town near you, along with some of the amazing bargains they'll be bringing with them.
Please feel free to leave comments on posts if you've got any questions you'd like to ask and we'll get back to you as soon as possible!