Ski Safety Blog

A recent survey carried out by the Ski Club of Great Britain reports that almost half of skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes with ski insurance. The Association of Mountain Doctors in France dealt with 140,000 injuries last year, the most common being a sprained knee. Accidents not only put a major dampener on your holiday, but can incur huge medical costs to cover things like mountain rescue and transport back home. World First Travel Insurance reports the average claim for medical expenses for injuries while skiing is £684, or a little over $1,000.

Taking out ski insurance is the safest and smartest thing to do, especially as it is relatively inexpensive - as low as £13 (about$20) per person in England. Before deciding on a policy, check you're not already covered for winter sports with your bank or credit card. You should also have a clear idea of how much your equipment is worth (make sure you get adequate coverage) and if you intend to participate in extra winter sports - heli-skiing, toboganning, ski touring or ski racing - your policy should specifically mention it.

Direct Travel Insurance warns skiers to read all the terms and conditions and make sure it covers you for the following:

• Medical and air ambulance costs including Search and Mountain Rescue


• Personal liability up to $3 million if you are the cause of someone else being injured (in the U.S. many homeowners policies cover personal liability for ski accidents)


• Piste closure cover - due to high winds, too much or lack of snow (make sure you don't have to prove that 100 percent of all local resorts are closed - 80 percent is more reasonable).

There are also safety precautions you can carryout to minimize your risk of an accident: Check the weather forecast if you're planning to go off-piste and make sure you tell someone where you're going; ensure you and your children always wear helmets; take regular rest breaks as most accidents happen when skiers are tired; and limit drinking on the mountain as alcohol can severely damage your coordination and reaction times.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 5:23 PM | Permalink

SInce the slopes are grassy rather than snow-packed, at least one Colorado ski town is embracing a different type of outdoor recreationists. While Black Hawk is banning bikes, Breckenridge is throwing out the welcome mat. Freshly painted bike lanes along Main Street and other roads reflect the town's efforts to become one of the state's most bicycle- and eco-friendly communities. Soon, the north and south Highway 9 entrances to Breckenridge will include large signs boasting the town's accessibility to cyclists. Smaller signs throughout the town are planned to help guide people to their destinations.

These changes are anticipated to boost the town's ranking with the League of American Bicyclists, which rates communities from bronze up to silver, gold or platinum based on how cyclist-friendly they are.

Vail is ranked bronze, Steamboat Springs is silver and Boulder is platinum. The criteria for rankings include engineering, education, encouragement and evaluation, according to www.bikeleague.org.

Breckenridge is already praised for its "safe routes to schools" program, access to mountain-bike trails and bike parks as well as existing way-finding signs, but officials want to rank even higher.

Waterproof trail maps now available for $10 in local bike shops and the town welcome center include the latest trails and guides for areas in and near Breckenridge as well as other parts of the county.

The new bike lanes on Main have narrowed motorized traffic, and this is expected to reduce speeds, which is also seen as a plus by town officials.

And the town government encourages staff to sub-out their cars for bikes when possible. Bicycles are offered for in-town errands, the police department has bicycle patrols, and even building inspectors have been pedaling to site visits.

The new trail map, trail conditions and other features are available at the town website, www.townofbreckenridge.com.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 9:56 AM | Permalink

Colorado candidates for governor and the U.S. Senate tried to woo Colorado's ski industry last week, with some targeting the industry's concerns and others sticking to their general campaign speeches.

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, said the possibility of losing snowpack was one reason he supports comprehensive energy legislation seeking alternative fuels and caps on carbon dioxide emissions. Democratic Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff stuck to his stump speech, but added that global warming was a threat to future snowpack.

Republican Senate candidate Jane Norton said she opposed current proposals, such as Hidden Gems, to designate hundreds of thousands of acres of state land as federal wilderness areas. Her primary opponent, Ken Buck, when asked his position on the Hidden Gems proposal, admitted he was not familiar with it. Buck focused on changes to the worker visa program to secure seasonal employees.

The three gubernatorial candidates also appeared. John Hickenlooper, the Democratic candidate and Denver mayor, said the state needs to expand its marketing efforts for ski vacations, including smaller resorts. GOP candidate Dan Maes, an Evergreen businessman, stuck to his campaign speech. His primary opponent, Scott McInnis, a former congressman and state lawmaker, reminded the attendees that he "never had a vote in opposition to your interests."

Perhaps most noteworthy was the number of ski days reported by each candidate: Senator Bennet managed to ski five days this past season, five times more than any of the three other senatorial candidates. Hickenlooper is the only gubernatorial candidate to have skied this past season, hitting the slopes three times.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 1:26 PM | Permalink

The Colorado ski industry experienced a slight uptick in skier visits despite what an industry leader described as a "strange" snow season. The state's ski resorts tallied 11.86 million skier visits, a 0.8 percent increase over the previous season, according to data released Thursday.

Overall, the state got 26 percent less snow than it did during the 2008-09 season, according to Colorado Ski Country USA, a trade group representing 22 Colorado ski resorts. But a series of spring storms brought back excellent skiing conditions late in the season, which helped attract in-state visitors to Front Range resorts. Skier visits nationwide rose 4.2 percent, with the Rocky Mountain region gaining 3.4 percent.

CSCUSA member resorts reported 6.74 million skier visits, a 0.4 percent increase over the previous season. The trade group announced the results during its annual meeting in Denver on Thursday.

Separately, Broomfield-based Vail Resorts on Wednesday reported a 1.2 percent increase in visits to its four Colorado resorts and a 10.7 percent jump at its Heavenly resort in California for a total of 6 million visits during the nine months that ended April 30. Vail Resorts withdrew from Colorado Ski Country USA in 2008, but its numbers are included in the statewide totals.

International and out-of-state visitors contributed strongly to Colorado's numbers by staying at Colorado destination resorts. Telluride reported an 8.2 percent increase in visits this past season, partly by drawing tourists from Australia and South America. Aspen Skiing Co. said visits to its four mountains rose 4.3 percent over last season thanks to "a late surge" of visitors in late March and April.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 6:14 PM | Permalink

Arapahoe Basin is the last Colorado ski resort to close this year. Yesterday was the final day of the season with what ski area officials say should be the area's third-best year for skier visits. A-Basin spokeswoman said skier visits will be down from last season, mainly due to a lack of snow from January to March. Heavier snow arrived in April and May. Last year was the second- best season for A-Basin, behind the record 430,897 skier visits in the 2007-08 season.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:14 PM | Permalink

American ski racing fans got big news yesterday when Vail-Beaver Creek was awarded the 2015 world alpine ski championships. Only on three previous occasions has the top international skiing event taken place in the United States. Vail previously hosted the biennial event in 1989 and 1999. Aspen hosted the event in 1950.

The announcement comes four months after the U.S. Ski Team's best performance at a Winter Olympics. Vail's Lindsey Vonn now can look forward to competing in the world championships in her hometown when she will be 30 years old, presumably at the height of her career. Vail Resorts plans to build a new women's downhill at Beaver Creek's Birds of Prey, pending Forest Service approval.

There was a sense in that it was North America's turn because the past five and next two world championships were awarded to European resorts, but the Vail delegation was surprised to win by a first-ballot vote. Vail-Beaver Creek received eight votes, with four going to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and three to St. Moritz, Switzerland.

U.S. Ski Team chief executive Bill Marolt, who got to watch the 1950 championships in his hometown of Aspen when he was 6 years old, said the U.S. was "deeply honored" to be chosen. The decision helps underscore Colorado as the center of alpine ski racing in America.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 9:40 AM | Permalink

Vail Resorts, Inc., parent company of five ski resorts, several luxury hotel properties and other companies, has purchased Mountain News Corp., parent company of the website On the Snow.com.

CEO of Vail Resorts states that Vail intends to invest in the development of new content and digital applications. Expanded news coverage and content are being developed now and will be ready for the new season.

OnTheSnow.com claims to be the most visited winter sports Web portal in the world with 13 global versions in seven languages. A Nielsen audit this past winter showed the site was visited by 2.2 million unique monthly visitors.

But many in the ski industry argue that the web traffic is merely generated by the snow report app that radio stations and other news outlets load onto their site, and the traffic reports count those as page views on the OnTheSnow.com website. It remains to be seen how the website will be altered to best serve the Vail Resorts conglomerate. At least the OnTheSnow.com website will not wind up like skipressworld.com, now an abandoned site with stale information.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 12:18 PM | Permalink