TOP FIVE FRIDAYS: OCTOBER 16, 2020
#1: FIS World Cup Season Starts This Weekend in Soelden, Shiffrin to Sit Out:
Looking up at the final pitch of the GS course at the first FIS World Cup Tour stop of the 2020-2021 season, scheduled for this weekend in Soelden. Image: Official Soelden World Cup Ski Race Page on Facebook
Well, after a long and tumultuous off-season, it’s finally here: the start of the 2020-2021 FIS World Cup circuit! Kicking off this weekend in Soelden, Austria, this year’s World Cup season will officially get underway with a Women’s GS race on Saturday, followed by a Men’s GS race on Sunday. Representing the U.S. Women’s team will be Keely Cashman, AJ Hurt, and Paula Moltzan, with Nina O’Brien leading the charge. Unfortunately, Mikaela Shiffrrin will have to sit this race out due to tweaking her back during training a couple weeks ago. While only a minor setback, this latest news continues a much longer series of unfortunate events for arguably the world’s most talented ski racer. On the men’s side of things, a high quality lineup consisting of Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Tommy Ford, Bridger Gile, Ted Ligety, River Radamus, and George Steffey will be representing the U.S. Team. While any of these athletes stand a chance to earn points, the U.S. Ski Team itself has suggested that Tommy Ford leads the pack in anticipation of this particular race.
Surely at this point you’re aware of the immense challenges presented by this off season, but skipping them altogether would inadequately set the stage for this weekend’s races. In addition to uncertainties surrounding the viability of hosting an international competition, as well as challenges in creating the schedule itself, the U.S. Ski Team has also faced significant offseason training challenges as their access to snow was limited, not only compared to prior seasons, but also to their European competitors. Still, despite the challenges, the U.S. Ski Team is eager to get the season started, with team leader Tommy Ford saying, “with a race approaching, staying anchored and present was tough throughout the lockdown… For now, it's nice to be on snow and able to feel that free flowing feeling.” Unfortunately for us, we won’t be able to catch the action on TV here in the U.S. as broadcasting contracts were unable to be agreed upon in time, meaning NBC’s coverage of the FIS World Tour will start with the circuit’s second stop of the season when it heads to Lech Zürs, Austria on November 13-14. To follow along with this week’s action, you can check out the results page on the FIS website. Otherwise, be sure to check back next week for our first full World Cup recap of the season!
#2: Colorado State Government Announces Proposed Guidelines for Ski Resort Operators, Including “Isolation Housing” for Stricken Guests:
With winter on the horizon, ski resorts across North America have been anxiously awaiting official government guidance on operational regulations. Progress was made on that front in Colorado this week, although with one potentially problematic stipulation. Image: Arapahoe Basin on Facebook
In other, “the ski season is almost upon us,” news, we caught an article from The Colorado Sun this week that gives us some updates in regards to the state’s official government policies and recommendations regarding ski resort operations this coming season. As you might recall, it was Colorado Governor Jared Polis who ultimately is responsible for kickstarting the sequence of events that resulted in the nearly simultaneous closure of ski resorts last March. At that time, he’d ordered Colorado ski resorts to close overnight, resulting in both Vail and Alterra making the decision to close all of their resorts, in Colorado and beyond. While that was inarguably the right call by both parties, the short notice way in which it went down left many ski resort owners feeling a bit caught off guard to say the least. As such, one of the offseason goals for many ski resort operators has been to establish a stronger line of communication with state governments to ensure that a similar situation doesn’t happen again this season. Wolf Creek, CO for example, spread around a customer survey with the intention of collecting information from its guests that it then passed along to Governor Polis in an effort to give the state government data regarding its customers’ plans for the upcoming season.
This week, we’re catching the result of these off-season efforts as Colorado has published its official guidelines and recommendations for ski resort operators for the upcoming season. The good news is, for the most part, the guidelines are in line with the protocols many ski resorts have already put in place. From capacity limitations and facial coverings, to outdoor eating recommendations and restrictions on who can ride a chairlift or gondola together, the proposed guidelines are largely what ski area operators have expected. There is however, one unexpected and potentially tricky issue: what to do with guests who contract Covid-19 while visiting a ski resort from out of town. In the guidelines, state officials are asking ski resorts to have a plan for “isolation housing.” In other words, resorts would need to have some sort of housing setup and reserved for quarantining those who contract the illness so that they don’t return home, bringing it with them. While this makes plenty of sense in regards to limiting the spread of the illness, particularly in light of what we saw happen at Austria’s Ischgl Ski Resort last season, it also puts ski resorts in the difficult position of having to create makeshift recovery wards. At present, Colorado’s state guidelines are merely a proposal and are set to go to vote this afternoon. Ultimately it’ll be interesting to see whether this last requirement is approved, or if it’ll be seen as too much of a burden on ski resorts. As always, we’ll keep you updated as this story plays out. For now, we’ll turn you over to The Colorado Sun.
#3: Fischer Ski Factory, the Largest in Europe, Suffers Catastrophic Fire:
A look at this week's fire that claimed the Fischer Ski factory in Ukraine. Image via PlanetSki.eu
In other less than ideal ski news this week, we regret to share with you the news that the Fischer ski factory in Ukraine suffered a catastrophic fire. Now, if your gut reaction is something along the lines of, “that’s awful, but fortunately I don’t ski Fischer so it’s unlikely I’ll be impacted,” we hate to say it, but prepare to be corrected. Measuring in at 20-hectares, or roughly 2,178,000 square feet, the Fischer factory is the largest ski factory in Europe. With that bit of information, you could probably guess that the Fischer factory doesn’t just make Fischer skis, but also skis for a number of other brands, as well as snowboards, hockey sticks, running shoes, and more. Additionally, the factory is the place of employment for approximately 1,000 people. In other words, regardless of whether or not you’ll be on Fischer skis this season, this news is significant.
At present, the specific cause of the fire is unknown, however investigators have determined that it began in the roof of a production shop and was fortunately prevented from spreading into the warehousing section of the building. It also began in the early morning hours, meaning the building was empty and no injuries were reported. While it’s too soon to have a full scope of the implications of this news we’ve got to suspect that the building and business were covered under adequate insurance, meaning that it’s likely the factory will be rebuilt. That said, any postponement in production from Europe’s largest ski factory is likely to have a significant impact on the supply chain of the ski and snowboard industry. How that situation sifts out is yet to be determined, but if it becomes news, you can be sure we’ll share it. For now, we’ll turn you over to PlanetSki.eu to learn more about what we know.
#4: The Value of Snow Farming Gets Validated: Multiple European Ski Resorts Open Using Last Year’s Snow:
If this snow seems like it's way out of place to you, don't worry, there's a reason for that: it's from last winter. Image: Idre Fjall on Facebook
Finally, let’s round this week out with a story that ranks high on the cool factor. If you’ve been reading our Top 5 Fridays for a while now, you may recall some of our previous coverage on the concept of snow farming.
Well, as we learned this week, the answer is a resounding, “yes.” In an article from Spain’s NevaSport.com, it’s been announced that Sweden’s Idre Fjall ski resort has officially opened for the season as of today, October 16, 2020, using entirely snow farmed snow. While the image we’re sharing here is impressive, we’d also recommend checking out the images in the article from NevaSport.com as they really help put the success of snow farming in perspective. In addition to this week’s news from Idre Fjall, we also learned from that same article that both Levi and Ruka ski resorts in Finland, as well as Kvitfjell ski area in Norway, have also opened in some capacity in recent weeks using snow farmed snow. While there’s sure to be debates regarding the range of environmental implications resulting from the practice, as well as from those wondering whether all the effort is worth it to open one slope just weeks ahead of schedule, our only question is, “when will this catch on in North America?” To learn more about this week’s opening of Idre Fjall, head on over to NevaSport.com, where you’ll have the option of reading the article in its authentic Spanish form, or Googleated English.#4.5: Don't Forget, Our 2021 Ski Test is Now Live!
