Laax already has one of the planet’s strongest reputations with boarders and freestyle skiers, including, it claims, “the largest half pipe in the world,” …but rather than rest on its laurels the Swiss resort says it will be adding a fifth terrain park this coming winter. The new "Free60" Natural Snow Park’s main selling point will be minimal intervention in whatever the natural conditions are. Located between Crap Sogn Gion and Plaun, there’ll be a total of 18 obstacles, but with the onus on keeping things natural, “The special feature: the elements lie in unprepared terrain …including ramps, rails, bridges, pillows and pale jams made of wood and covered naturally with snow,” a resort statement explains.

As hot weather continues to impact the Alps and many other mountainous areas around the world, it looks like only one ski area will be open for the final 10 days of August and into September in the northern hemisphere. The number of centres currently open is already at a historic low, with just two areas left open to the skiing public in Europe and one in North America. Two of these have announced they plan to end their seasons on August 21st. This will leave, all being well, Hintertux in the Austrian Tirol (pictured top today) the only ski area still operating. It’s one of two ski centres that usually aim to keep their glacier slopes open 365 days

Issued: 10th August 2022 By Patrick "Snowhunter" Thorne Southern Hemisphere European Roundup North American Roundup Asia Roundup World Overview La Parva resort this week It’s been a week of fresh snowfall almost everywhere, across southern hemisphere ski fields. The Andes saw 20-40cm (8-16”) accumulations, mostly on Friday and Saturday last week, before sunny skies returned. There was slightly heavier snowfall in Chile but almost everywhere got a good freshen up. New Zealand has had more of its characteristic weather ups and downs, with several snow-bearing fronts moving through once again, although things are looking calmer once more now. In Australia there was short, sharp shock as a huge storm hit last Wednesday to Friday, unfortunately bringing heavy rain as well as

Last Updated 12 August 2022 at 14.20 GMT (Updates so far since commenced on 12 May 2020: 1,366) The web's most comprehensive guide of ski resorts opening around the world during the pandemic. An estimated 80+ Ski Areas Are Currently Open Worldwide in 8 Countries on 5 Continents including: Africa: Lesotho. Europe: Austria, Norway. North America: USA South America: Argentina, Chile Oceania: Australia, New Zealand Browse by country: North America: Canada USA Europe: Andorra Austria Bulgaria Finland France Germany Italy Norway Scotland Spain Sweden Switzerland Asia: China Japan Canada has re-introduced random testing at four of its international airports - those used mostly by skiers in Alberta, BC, Ontario and Quebec. The UK's largest tour op says this has led to a dip in sales for

Saudi Arabia has submitted a bid to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games at a ski area it plans to build in the Sarawat mountains, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of the Red Sea coast. However work on the ski area has not yet commenced. Trojena Sports City has been promoted as an “all year ski village” but it remains unclear how this will be achieved. The Sarawat mountains, which peak at 3,666m over the border in Yemen, are a little cooler than the surrounding area and occasionally see a dusting of snow in winter, but it seems too warm for conventional snowmaking machines. Promotional videos for the project, which appear to show animations of skiers skiing uphill into