New base for freestyle aces

Sheffield has been announced as the new training base for some of Great Britain's freestyle team.

The English Institute of Sport will now play host to the 30-strong British, English and Yorkshire squads. Peter Styring, an England Moguls coach, said: "We've got a young squad who are already performing at a high level, so it gives us great things to look forward to for future Winter Olympics."

London hosts World big air event

A World Cup big air event, featuring top British and international skiers and snowboarders, is returning to Battersea Power Station on 31 October.

More than 10,000 fans flocked to the venue last year to see the industrial site transformed with a 32m high ski jump, packed with 500 tons of snow.British Olympic hopefuls Ben Kilner and Dom Harington will compete alongside last year's winner Peetu Piiroinen.

"It will be great preparation for me in the lead up to Vancouver," Kilner said. "I'm looking forward to taking on the world's best snowboarders, especially in front of a home crowd." And in the freestyle ski event, Winter X gold medal winner Tanner Hall will compete against British hopeful Paddy Graham.

The three-day event kicks off on 30 October with a Battle of Britain ski and snowboard contest and music from acts including Orbital and Friendly Fires. Marcel Looze, snowboard race director for the International Ski Federation, said: "The very special location at Battersea, the enthusiastic crowd and great performance of the riders made the first FIS [International Ski Federation] World Cup in London a success.

"FIS is proud to have London in the calendar again." Big air is not an Olympic sport but all riders can score crucial World Cup ratings points which will improve their chances of qualifying for the Winter Olympics, which are being held in Vancouver, Canada, in February 2010.

Ski resorts cutting prices to lure locals

A struggling economy is turning out to be good news for skiers and snowboarders who live close enough to mountains that they can hit the slopes every weekend.

Many ski resorts are slashing prices on season passes and offering locals-only discounts in an effort to boost revenues from nearby metropolitan areas at a time many U.S. travelers are choosing to vacation closer to home. In few places is this trend more evident than in Utah, where snow lovers can drive from downtown Salt Lake City and be in a lift line in roughly 30 minutes.

"It's a no brainer," said Nick Como, Solitude Mountain Resort's marketing director. "There's so many people down there that don't ski. There's a great market that's just untapped." Labor Day is the traditional kickoff to preseason winter deals, with discount offers generally expiring every few weeks until the season starts.

Solitude, like many other resorts around the country, has begun offering new season ticket packages at reduced prices on the heels of a winter in which skier visits nationally dropped 5.5 percent in the 2008-09 season from the record 60.5 million visits the season before, according to the National Ski Areas Association. The association's annual report said destination resorts fared the worst last winter, with resorts close to major cities weathering the economic downturn the best. Many Utah resorts noticed a dip in room reservations from out-of-state tourists, but an uptick in season passes purchased by Utah residents.

"Salt Lake feels really fortunate to have a large local population near us. A lot of our resorts are reaching out to locals maybe more this season than you've seen in the past," said Jessica Kunzer, spokeswoman for Ski Utah, the ski industry's marketing arm in the state. "A lot of the resorts are saying they've extended their early season offerings and discounts. ... The consumer really wants to make sure they get the best bang for their buck."

In Colorado, the reigning king of skiing in the U.S., a growing number of resorts are offering payment plans for season passes, refusing to raise prices and creating special packages for tourists and locals. "What we're finding is that people are still willing to find a way to make skiing happen this year," said Colorado Ski Country USA spokeswoman Jennifer Rudolph. "So the planning is happening, yet they're still looking for a deal at the same time. Resorts are trying to answer the call for both groups of skiers."

Rudolph said Echo Mountain, the closest resort to Denver, is offering special deals on night skiing for children in an effort to get local families on the mountain throughout the week. Early indications are that Colorado's discounts and new packages are working, Rudolph said. "We took a pulse of our members after the Labor Day weekend to see how pass sales were. The majority of them reported very robust pass sales, if not higher, than last year," she said.

In Vermont, the most skiied-in state on the East Coast, resorts are resisting offering new bargain basement deals. Only about 20 percent of the ski industry's market in that state lives in Vermont, with the rest coming from areas like Boston and New York. "The deals have always been there, but now people are doing their homework and people are seeking out deals," said Jen Butson, spokeswoman for Ski Vermont.

While Vermont noticed a decline in skier visits last season, Butson said it was on par with the state's five-year skier average. "Last year and the year before were good snow years. That makes a difference on the people making last-minute decisions and people who live in our drive market," she said. "Snow always trumps a bad economy."

Some winter enthusiasts are looking for snow a little closer to home, though. New York vaulted ahead of Utah to become the fourth-most skied in state last season by depending on the millions of people who can drive a couple of hours for a day of skiing. Western resorts aren't giving up on out-of-state skiers, though.

Utah tourism officials were meeting Thursday to finalize their winter advertising plan, which in addition to national ad buys includes targeted markets like Los Angeles and New York. "Certainly, the general feeling is that flat is the new up. We want to hold steady. Last year was the fourth largest skier day year, which despite the economy, was very good for us," said Leigh von der Esch, director of the Utah Office of Tourism. "My counterparts in New England, they love it when the gas prices are low. ... We like it when the air fares are low."

Still, von der Esch recognizes the importance of being a tourist in your own state. "We're really trying to encourage the folks who live in Utah to think, 'Greatest snow on Earth. Just around the corner,' " she said.

Katy Perry To Launch Ischgl Ski Season

Pop superstar Katy Perry has been announced as the main act to launch Ischgl’s ski season at the end of November. The giant ski area which straddles the border with Switzerland and shares its lifts and runs with neighbouring Samnaun has an increasingly long standing reputation for starting and ending it’s long winter season with free concerts starring top music acts from around the world.

Katy, 24, who was born in California and has topped the charts all over the world with her singles I Kissed A Girl and Hot N Cold, will perform in the Tirolean village on Saturday 28 November, the day after the lifts open on the 27th. She follows in a long line of headline acts that have launched the season, including Leona Lewis and Gabriella Cilmi last year and prior to that Rihanna, The Corrs, Lionel Richie, Ronan Keating and Pussycat Dolls.

Entrance to the concert, which kicks off at 6pm, will be by valid lift-pass. A one-day lift ticket for 28 November will be 55 Euros (covering skiing and the concert). A two-day lift ticket will cost 8 Euros. Skiing opens at Ischgl, one of Austria’s highest and most snowsure resorts, on Friday 27 November.

Man dies in fall off Lake Tahoe ski-area chairlift

Authorities in Nevada say a 51-year-old man has died and his wife injured when he fell from a chairlift in the Heavenly Ski Area. The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office says the man fell from the Tamarack Express Chair and down a mountain in the area Monday afternoon. It was not immediately known how far he fell.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fall but say preliminary findings show equipment malfunction with the chairlift. The Reno Gazette-Journal identified the man as Mark Alan Dickson, most recently of Glendora, Calif. It says his wife, 47-year-old Rebecca Gonzaga, suffered non-life threatening injuries.