Skiing: Finn edges out rivals

Tanja Poutiainen made a winning start to her defence of the giant slalom World Cup title in Soelden, Austria - albeit by just one hundreth of a second. The Finn produced a storming second run to edge out home favourite Kathrin Zettel. "This is a dream start to the season," she said.

Italy's Denise Karbon was the leader at the mid-point but lost vital time in the closing stages of her second run and dropped to third. Great Britain's Chemmy Alcott made a solid if unspectacular start to her campaign, coming home in 19th spot. The opening race of the season was marred by an injury to Austria's Nicole Hosp.

Hosp, the 2007 overall World Cup champion, crashed in the morning run and was flown to hospital in Innsbruck with torn ligaments in her right knee.

Result:
1 T Poutiainen (Fin) 1:12.14 1:12.82 2:24.96
2 K Zettel (Aut) 1:12.40 1:12.57 2:24.97
3 D Karbon (Ita) 1:11.52 1:13.76 2:25.28
4 T Maze (Svn) 1:13.01 1:12.79 2:25.80
5 M Pietilae-Holmner (Swe) 1:12.56 1:13.28 2:25.84
6 A Paerson (Swe) 1:13.34 1:12.57 2:25.91
7 K Hoelzl (Ger) 1:13.32 1:12.84 2:26.16
8 V Rebensburg (Ger) 1:13.52 1:12.76 2:26.28
9 L Vonn (US) 1:13.30 1:13.05 2:26.35
10 C Alfieri (Ita) 1:14.73 1:11.70 2:26.43

Ski Season Begins Early

Early snow fall, colder temperatures and perhaps a sprinkle of P.R. have led ski resorts in North America, Europe and elsewhere to open early.

Loveland Ski Area, a small family-oriented resort about 50 miles west of Denver, opened on Oct. 7, about the same time that Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort, about 45 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, welcomed skiers. They were followed closely by Arapahoe Basin in Colorado and Boreal Mountain Resort on Lake Tahoe.

Even the Mammoth Mountain Si Area in California, which wasn’t scheduled to open until mid November, got dumped on last week and opened lifts, according to the L.A Examiner.

Similar snow reports are coming from the Alps, the Indian Himalayas and the Japanese Alps, according to the online Ski Magazine, First Tracks. Saas Fee and Zermatt got plenty of snow and are already open, as are with Cervinia, Val Senales and Passo Stelvio in Italy.

Huge snow complex plan unveiled

A multi-million pound giant snow complex could be built in Blackpool on the site which had been earmarked for a super-casino.

Developer Greenbank Partnerships said the proposal included five ski slopes, bars, shops and a hotel and would see 3,000 jobs being created. Blackpool Council said the plan was at a very early stage but the development could change the face of the resort.

In 2007, the resort was overlooked as the destination for a super-casino. Officials chose Manchester before the project was abandoned altogether. Greenbank Partnerships has now been given permission to conduct a feasibility study on the Central Station site over the next 18 months.

It estimates that two million people would visit the facilities each year. Chris Baybutt, from Greenbank Partnerships, said it was a "significant development" for the resort which was an "obvious choice" for the project.

Metro Ski and Snowboard Show

Could there be a better way of ushering in the new winter sports season than with a giant snowball fight? If there is, I can't think of it - and just such an event is taking place at this year's Metro Ski and Snowboard Show, which starts this week.

Organisers of the show are transporting ten tons of the white stuff in refrigerated trucks from the Milton Keynes Snowzone to Olympia in London - and they want as many people as possible to start throwing it around in an attempt to get into the Guinness Book Of World Records for the biggest indoor snowball fight ever recorded.

The five-day show at Olympia, which starts on Wednesday, will be followed by yet another winter sports extravaganza in London - the Freeze Snowboard, Ski and Music Festival, more of which later.

Adult ticket prices are £5 for the Wednesday, £9 (advance) or £12 (on the door) Thursday and Friday, and £13 (or £16) for the weekend.

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.

Skiing: Maier calls it a day

Austrian Alpine skiing champion Hermann Maier fought back tears as he announced his retirement from the sport. The Olympic gold medallist, who had been planning a return to the World Cup circuit in November after recovering from a knee injury, said he wanted to retire while he was still in good health.

Maier competed on the circuit for 13 years, winning four overall World Cup titles, four Olympic medals, including two golds in 1998, and three world championship titles. A late developing ski racer, who had previously mixed working as a ski instructor at his father's ski school in Flachau with brick-laying in the summer, Maier's career appeared to be over in 2001 when he nearly lost a leg following a motorcycle accident, requiring seven hours of surgery.

However, he made a remarkable comeback after more than a year on the sidelines, winning the World Cup super-G race at his favourite Kitzbuhel in January 2003.

Eastern Europe offers best value ski deals as prices on the slopes rise sky high

British skiers should head for Eastern Europe for the best deals on the slopes this winter but are being warned that even prices in traditionally cheap ski resorts have jumped.

Top-value ski destinations are Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Slovenia, according to a survey by the Post Office. Including basic week-long costs such as equipment hire, lift passes, meals and drinks, Romania's Poiana Brasov ski resort offered the best value at £195.76. Borovets in Bulgaria (£250.87) was the next-best resort in terms of value for money, with High Tatras in Slovakia third (£264.97). In contrast, Banff in Canada had costs of £429.06 and Verbier in Switzerland was £422.21.

However, Poiana Brasov prices had risen 4% compared with this time last year, while Borovets was up 14% and High Tatras was up 20%. Elsewhere, Norway's Geilo resort saw the biggest price rise with travellers facing an increase of 26%. But some popular resorts had lower prices than last year, with Courchevel in France down 11% at £298.87 and Vail - in Colorado, USA - also down 11% at £372.83.