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A major safety awareness initiative by the Foreign Office to tackle alcohol misuse in ski resorts and emphasise the necessity of full travel insurance cover will come into full swing in December when the first British skiers will be heading for the French, Swiss and Italian ski slopes. 

This campaign is a security and safety awareness campaign. The theme is to ski safely in relation to the abuse of alcohol, which can lead to accidents during or after skiing.

The safety awareness programme has been initiated by the Foreign Office for areas in which many ski resorts are located. It has been supported by French police and rescue services, tourist offices and airports in the regions of Savoie, Haute Savoie, Isere, Rhone as well as Geneva airport and several major Swiss ski resorts. In Italy, which joined the project later, resorts in the province of Turin will be involved for the forthcoming season. 

British tour operators including the number 1 UK ski specialist Crystal Ski, Thomson Ski, First Choice Ski as well as student specialists Off the Piste and Ski Alpine have agreed to collaborate. It is a poster campaign which supports a diverse range of exciting and innovative education projects that aim to reduce alcohol misuse and make a tangible change in ski resorts. Projects range from posters in restaurants, bars, airports and other public spaces, as well as leaflets and display material in British tour operator owned chalets, club hotels and bars. 

This campaign was initiated after several accidents in ski resorts which were directly related to alcohol abuse by young people. The aim of this campaign is to avoid accidents and deaths in ski resorts as alcohol can affect you more quickly at high altitudes and seriously limits your awareness of danger and cold. 

”We are committed to supporting educational projects which make a positive difference to people lives and ensure that they have good, safe fun on their holidays” said Mathew Prior, MD of TUI Ski.

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After a night full of action on the big air jump at the 6Star Billabong Air & Style 2009/II at the Bergisel Stadium in Innsbruck, Austria, Marko Grilc (SLO) took the top spot on the podium and is now the new leader on Swatch TTR World Tour. Grilc was not on the original invite list, but after two injures during practice for the main event, he was given a spot in the legendary competition. 2008/2009 Swatch TTR World Champion, Peetu Piiroinen (FIN), took second place at the Air & Style and Andreas Wiig (NOR) rounded out the podium in third.


All New Swatch TTR Top 5

With the first 6Star result of the season registered, there were many changes in the TTR Top 10. Marko Grilc, the new TTR World No. 1, really shook up the Swatch TTR Rankings as he bumped Sebastien Toutant, who could not compete this weekend, down to World No. 2. Other big movers in the ranking include Torstein Horgmo (NOR) who jumped up to No. 3 and Peetu Piiroinen who moved up to World No. 4. Antti Autti, Tim Humphreys and Chas Guldemond all moved into the

TTR Top 10.

Big Air and Big Podium

The head-to-head knock out format for the big air competition made the contest quite the nail biter for the large crowd in attendance. The long in-run, poppy jump and steep landing was a perfect combination for Grilc to throw down a switch backside double corked 1080 in the super finals to take the Air & Style 2009/II title. “This is the best day of my life by far. I never even thought that this could happen. I am just very stoked” says an overwhelmed Grilc after the prize giving. “I went to Australia and New Zealand and then today I am Number one. I don’t even know what to say. It came out of fun and pleasure and now I am here and I am stoked.” He was up against Peetu Piiroinen in the final round who was able to stomp a backside double corked 1080 for the second place finish. Andreas Wiig laid down a clean fronside 1080 double flip in the final for the third place spot on the podium.

Next On The TTR Tour

The TTR Tour takes a break for a couple of weeks and things will resume with another major event, the 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge, taking place in Norway over the New Year’s holiday weekend. With some familiar faces from the Air & Style slated to attend the Arctic Challenge, including Peetu Piiroinen, Antti Autti and Torstein Horgmo, the race for the TTR World Title is already heating up. After the Arctic Challenge wraps up, the TTR Tour moves on to Davos, Switzerland for the 6Star O’Neill Evolution. And, the ladies have a big contest on the horizon with the 6Star Roxy Chicken Jam Europe at the beginning of January.

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November 2009 will go down in history as the snowiest month on record at Whistler Blackcomb, dating back to when the collection of weather data began 30 years ago. 

November 2009 has seen a total accumulation of 560cm (220 inches) of snowfall, nearly four times that of November’s average snowfall of 148cm (58 inches). This is an increase of more than 19 per cent over the previous record of 469cm (185 inches) set in January 2006, and a 22 per cent increase over January 1992’s record of 459cm (181 inches).

”To begin the season with a record breaker the likes of 5.5 metres of snowfall has certainly heightened the level of excitement in the resort, especially in this year, as we prepare to be a host venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games in February,” says Stuart Rempel, senior vice president of marketing & sales at Whistler Blackcomb.

And now, with the record broken, there is still an entire season of skiing and riding to look forward to. With a season that offers 192 days of skiing and riding, Whistler Blackcomb is already over half way towards the resort’s average annual snowfall of just over 10 metres (33 feet).

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