First Tracks
The Age
Thursday May 16, 2002
Anchors for your skis
Researchers in the US are working on a new generation of skis with electronic brakes. The brakes induce an opposing charge on the snow, pulling the surface of the ski and the snow together. "The change in friction is the equivalent of going from ice to dry pavement," a researcher said. It's believed the brakes will be applied through sensors on ski poles.
On the nose
Scottish skier Alain Baxter has been stripped of his Olympic slalom bronze medal by the International Olympic Committee. Baxter tested positive for the banned substance methamphetamine at Salt Lake City.
Baxter, the first British skier ever to win an Olympic medal, says he had no idea the Vicks inhaler he bought for $2 over the counter in America contained methamphetamine.
He has appealed the decision.
Kids must have lids
Aspen has made crash helmets compulsory for ski school students under six and may increase the policy next winter to include students under 12.
There were 14 deaths on Colorado's slopes this year, including five at Aspen. Several other Colorado resorts also are likely to introduce the helmet rule next winter.
Helmets are recommended but not compulsory at Australian resorts, however, Mount Hotham is looking at the issue.
Resorts sold
Air New Zealand has sold Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Mount Hutt to Southern Alpine Resort Recreation for
$NZ27 million.
Gritty end to season
Sand from the Sahara Desert has fallen out of the sky on to some Swiss ski resorts, including Zermatt and Verbier.
About 80,000 tonnes of sand rained on the resorts at the end of the European season.
Meteorologists say rising water vapour sucked the sand up into clouds in Algeria and Morocco. A cold front caused the clouds to drop their load when they were over the Swiss Alps.
Diver marries
Thredbo landslide survivor Stuart Diver married Rosanna Cossettini in April. Diver was the only survivor of the 1997 landslide that killed 18 people, including his then wife Sally. The couple will live in Thredbo.
Aussie exodus to NZ
The number of Australians visiting New Zealand for a snow holiday has doubled in the last three years, according to figures from the NZ Ski Marketing Network. The Network says numbers have grown from 21,000 in 1999 to 44,000 in 2001.
Slippery thieves
Italian police spent some of their winter chasing a band of snow thieves. The thieves were removing snow from glaciers and selling it to snow-starved resorts at $800 a truck load. A special branch of the police was set up to deal with the crime. Some European resorts suffered a terrible season of warm temperatures, rain and high wind while other resorts reported good conditions throughout.
How fast can a skier go?
American Jeff Hamilton once fell off his skis at 241.9kmh. "It was the most painful experience of my life," he says. "I felt like I was on fire and being beat up with a baseball bat at the same time."
The tumble rates as the fastest fall in non-motorised sport. But Hamilton says people rarely die in his sport of speed skiing.
"The speed skiing track is cleared of all obstacles, so there's nothing to hit if you fall. Much less dangerous than a downhill run," he says. "In speed skiing, you just slide and burn. You get third-degree burns that amazingly enough leave the rubber suit intact."
Speed skiers compete in a FIS World Cup each season with races in Sweden, Finland, Austria, Italy and the US. Also, there is an annual world record attempt in Les Arcs, France.
So what's it like to go beyond the 200kmh barrier?
"It is constant acceleration," says Hamilton, who operates a ski shop in Aspen. "Every second you're going faster than the second before. The air pressure is trying to blow you apart, as are the minute undulations in the track that are practically invisible to the naked eye."
The world speed skiing record of 248.28kmh is held by Austrian Harry Egger.
To put things in perspective, recreational skiers reach speeds of 30-65kmh, or 80kmh if they're really going.
Where ski writers dare
Snow scribe Jim Darby, a former writer for this magazine and editor of the now defunct Xtravert, has taken the biggest plunge of all.
No, he hasn't dropped down a French couloir or made a world-record bungy jump from a helicopter over Mount Everest ... it's hairier than that.
Darby and former Hotham staffer Lou Pullar have launched into the perilous world of ski magazine publishing.
Called TheSkiMag, the first edition hit the streets a few weeks ago.
Darby's mag sits alongside other Australian glossies devoted to the snow, including Powderhound, Chill Factor and Australian Skiing.
Arnie the ice man
America's Sun Valley resort has honoured Arnold Schwarzenegger by naming a ski run after him. They've called it Arnold's Run, but we reckon they could have given it more grunt with a name like The Terminator. Arnie is a favourite son at the resort. He owns a home there and leads the annual torchlight parade.
Greber killed by avalanche
Mount Buller's popular ski school director Bernd Greber was killed by an avalanche at Schruns, Austria, on December 27.
Greber, 36, was skiing alone about 2pm when the avalanche struck and carried him 500 metres down the mountain. His wife raised the alarm about 4pm when he had not returned home and rescuers found his body several hours later.
There was evidence that Greber had tested the slope for safety before he went down. Greber (inset), who had been associated with Mount Buller for 16 years, was a highly accomplished ski racer, coach and instructor.
A memorial service was held for him at Mount Buller on January 27 and another is planned this winter.
The photo shows the area of the avalanche. Lawinen-abriss indicates the area
of the avalanche break and fundstelle indicates where Greber's body was found.
What we're paying: daily lift ticket prices over the years
2002 2001 2000 1995 1990
Thredbo $77 $75 $73 $56 $46
Perisher Blue $77 $75 $73 $56 *
Mount Hotham $78 $75 $72 $51 $39
Falls Creek $78 $75 $72 $52 $39
Mount Buller $75 $70 $66 $52 $41
Mount Baw Baw $47 $44 $49 $38 $32
Mount Buffalo $49 $39 $39 $32 $17.50
Selwyn $58 $46 $44 $25 $35
Prices quoted are maximum high-season costs. Some resorts have cheaper ticket
deals in low and shoulder season.
*Unknown
© 2002 The Age
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