GLOSSARY – Bud Fawcett

4FRNT

4FRNT truly stands alone in the world of skiing. Like the ridges of a fingerprint, the personalities, talents and commitment of our team of professionals uniquely identify 4FRNT. We are a youth-oriented brand that is owned and operated by a core group of experienced athletes who are driven to propel the emerging state of freeride skiing. Armed with first hand knowledge of our sport and our industry, we are helping to change the face of skiing forever. Through years of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears we have established a company that embraces our riders talents and utilizes their knowledge through state of art engineering and testing in the best terrain and ski manufacturing facilities on the planet. The result is a portfolio of products that allow skiers of all ages and abilities to enjoy their time on the hill more than ever before.

4FRNT is owned by our team of professional athletes, and all of our pro riders develop their own signature model skis. Each pro is 100% involved in his model’s construction, from the initial shapes and cores to the final top-sheet and base graphics. We are the only ski company whose professional riders have the absolute power to control and maintain the construction, graphics and performance of their skis.

The 4FRNT brand will always remain committed to our mission: to produce the highest quality products, utilizing only the richest raw materials, designed by true professionals. The components found in our skis are the finest materials available. We select only the best wood cores, the most durable plastics, and the strongest edges. Our quality control and attention to detail along with our unflinching commitment to our sport makes 4FRNT one of a kind.

5150 Snowboards

5150 Snowboard, Backcountry Snowboarding”>Snowboard is a brand owned by Ride Snowboard, Backcountry Snowboarding”>Snowboard Company. 5150 Snowboards produces in addition snowboard bindings, snowboard outerwear and distributes them worldwide. 5150 Snowboards is part of K2 Inc. K2 Inc. Was founded 1961 on Vashon Island, close to Seattle.

Air and Style, Air-Style

Charly Weger and his snowboard photographer friend Andrew Hourmont first started the Air & Style Contest in Innsbruck. They only expected some hundred spectators but more than a few thousand showed up to see a single Straight Jump from each rider. From there on it developed into one of the most influential snowboard challenges today.

Until 1999 the sponsorship exploded and over 45.000 visitors witnessed the last Air & Style in Innsbruck, when six people died after the show when everybody tried to leave at once and the exits could not funnel the masses. The Contest had to move and the Bergisel stadium was renovated. In Seefeld, a place near Innsbruck five other contests were held until 2005 it found a new home in Munich, Germany where it expanded its program with Freestyle Motocross. For February 2008 the contest returned to Innsbruck, and will presumably stay there for the following years. Also three Skateboard contests have taken place in Innsbruck and Seefeld, even won by Tony Hawk in 1999. After the end of the International Snowboarding Federation in 2002 the contest joined the newly formed TTR World Tour, and Air & Style Munich is now a SIX(6)Star event, the highest in the ranking, whilst Air & Style Innsbruck has a FIVE(5)Star accreditation. In 2000 the prize money was over 250.000 US Dollars (including an Audi A3).

On February 2nd 2008, an Air & Style Quarterpipe event was held in Innsbruck in addition to the Straight Jump in Munich. Kevin Pearce won the event which makes him the first winner of two Air & Style competitions in one season. The organisor has announced that this event will from now on also be held annually as a TTR 5 Star event.

AK Skis

Aldo Kuonen (his initials AK form the company logo) manufactures high performance alpine skis, emphasinzing lightness, maneuverability, stability and speed. We embrace Aldo’s philosophy of skiing and his dedication to quality and precision.

“Addicted to nature’s beauty and the thrill of a perfect run. Skiing beyond gravity, free and passionate. We seek no substitute for your dreams.” Aldo Kuonen

ALDO KUONEN has designed and produced his own line of skis for more than ten years. After decades producing race skis for Rossignol and serving as VP of Sales and Marketing for Swiss Atomic he decided to produce a collection maintaining world cup standards of design and materials. AK skis are limited production and made-to-order.

All AK skis are constructed with Hess laminate wood cores, Montana P-Tex 6000 bases and various layering of fiberglass, hyper carbon and or titanol as appropriate for each model. AK skis are light, stable, maneuverable and fast.

Race and excellent carving skis are Aldo’s passion but he has collaborated with Michael Craig of AK Ski-USA to produce the No Ka Oi and King Salmon, the finest Big Mountain skis available today.

All Mountain Ski

An all mountain ski is a “kind hearted” and easy to turn with Ski, with a normal radius and very forgiving.

Alta Badia

Alta Badia is a ski resort in the Italian province of Bolzano-Bozen. It is included in the territories of the comuni of Corvara, Badia and La Val (La Valle). Alpine Skiing World Cup races often take place there.

Amplid

All Amplid snowboards and skis are made in Amplid designed, built and owned moulds, to satisfy the demands of our next level riders. We constantly question the supply of ready-made pret-a-press raw materials – if we don’t get the wood cores the way we want them we produce them ourselves. Our black magic is made on the premise that if we don’t find the carbon fibre in the weaving we want, we weave it ourselves.

Arbor

Arbor’s long-standing assertion is that solutions to many of today’s most difficult snow, skate, and apparel design challenges exist in the natural world. Since 1995, we’ve built Arbor around this belief – replacing, environmentally harmful materials with ecologically based, natural alternatives. The goal is to create a higher level of function and relevance, in the most responsible way possible. The result has been improved style and performance, with significantly reduced environmental impact. Through it all, Arbor has remained a rider owned and operated company. After 12 years of hard work developing and distributing the greener option – we’re proud to be known as the pioneer of ecologically-driven, rider-oriented design. In the end, it is our unique approach that has allowed Arbor to develop an independent voice and arrive at today’s fusion of green innovation and expanded environmental awareness. As we look to the future – a commitment to the original mission will continue to drive the brand: develop products using the conscious approach to design that has defined the Arbor tradition; always source the most sustainable materials, improving our products without damaging the environment; donate to groups working to protect and restore the planet.

Armada Ski

An idea hatched over a few beers between the world’s greatest skiers, Armada is no longer a suggestion of what a ski company should be. Today, Armada is distributed globally in 25 nations and embodies the cutting edge of the sport: athlete driven, design obsessed, and technologically superior.

Our independence allows for a single-minded focus on the product, assuring that the skis always meet the needs of an elite team of riders who know what works. Skiers the world over who demand the best demand Armada.

Armada is a family of athletes, artists, designers, and engineers that didn’t just push the envelope—we blew it wide open. And the industry is scrambling to catch up.

Atomic, Atomic Ski, Atomic Snowboards

Atomic is part of Amer Sports which is the world’s leading sports equipment company with internationally recognized brands including Wilson, Atomic, Suunto, Precor, Mavic and Salomon with its family of brands. All Amer Sports companies develop and manufacture technically advanced products that improve the performance of active sports participants. Amer Sports Corporation is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchanges.

The Atomic Division manages for the different segments of sport following brands: ATOMIC for Alpine Skiing, Nordic Skiing and Snowboarding, DYNAMIC for Alpine Skiing, VOLANT for high-segment skiing, OXYGEN for Snowboarding and KOFLACH for Mountaineering.

Backcountry Ski

Backcountry Snowboard, Backcountry Snowboarding

“Backcountry Snowboards is a producer of ski-, snowboard-, snowboard shoes, snow shoes, outerwear, mountain products as well as accessories for these trend sports, which backcountry snowboards is selling mainly through their internet site. Backcountry is also known as skiing in a sparsely inhabited rural region over ungroomed and unmarked slopes or pistes. More importantly, the land and the snow pack are not monitored, patrolled, or maintained. Backcountry snowboarding is a unique sport that is rapidly growing in popularity. The sport of backcountry snowboarding is characterized by the fresh tracks and deep powder that only the slopes of a remote mountainside can offer. The sport is a completely separate discipline from snowboarding at a public resort and it comes with its own set of hazards. The sport often attracts independent-minded adventurers because there are no lifts, nor are there any hired personal there on the spot to help a rider in trouble.

Another unique characteristic of backcountry snowboarding is that it is a blend of both mountaineering and snowboarding. The ascent of the mountainside for many riders is often considered to be as big of a thrill as the snowboarding itself. A love of simply being in the mountains is a necessity for the backcountry snowboarder because if a helicopter is not accessible, the day will often consist of 90% mountaineering and 10% snowboarding. A boarder not prepared for this reality can be in for a grueling day

Backcountry

Backcountry skiing is skiing in a sparsely inhabited rural region over ungroomed and unmarked slopes or pistes. More importantly, the land and the snow pack are not monitored, patrolled, or maintained. Fixed mechanical means of ascent such as ski lifts are typically not present. Freeriding asks for a solid knowledge of powder riding. Freeriding is not a specific sport nor a specific style of riding, it simply gives a name to the new trend “riding on unmarked slopes or pistes”. The reason for this trend is due to the new technologies of snowboards as well as special skis designed for deep powder. Both products are perfectly designed for both areas, ungroomed as well as groomed slopes or pistes. The expression “freeriding” has been invented from the snowboard world. Skiers have called freeriding, “Variation Riding”. Snowboarders are calling the ungroomed and unmarked slopes or pistes backcountry. Off piste is the more general term people use when leaving the marked pistes and slopes. A very special form of freeriding is the extreme backcountry – big mountain – which takes place in especially deep and rocky areas.

Bataleon

Bataleon is a snowboard-, snowboard-bindings and outerwear producer, who is selling his products through traditional sport dealers as well as internet

Blizzard Ski

“Where are Blizzard skis made?
The Blizzard factory is located in Mittersill, Austria about 15 minutes from Kitzbuehel. The Mittersill facility is the international headquarters for Blizzard Sport GmbH and employs all of the product development, marketing, and production personnel. All Blizzard products are designed and produced in Mittersill.

When was Blizzard founded?
Blizzard produced its first ski in 1945.

Who is Blizzard Sport USA?
Blizzard Sport USA is the new distributor of Blizzard ski products in the USA. We are located in West Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Is Blizzard partnered with anyone else in the industry?
Blizzard is currently a stand-alone ski brand however; we have recently become part of the Tecnica family. In October of 2006 The Tecnica Group, a worldwide leader in winter sports equipment, acquired Blizzard Sport GmbH, The Tecnica Group owns the following brands: Tecnica, Blizzard, Nordica, Rollerblade, Lowa, Nitro, T-Shoes, Dolomite, Think Pink, and Moon Boots, and X Socks.

Where can I purchase Blizzard Skis?
There are Authorized Blizzard Retailers all over the United States. To find the authorized Blizzard dealer in your area, please enter your zip code in the Dealer Locator on the Dealer Locator page.

Can I order directly from this site?
Unfortunately, we don’t sell skis directly to the public. However, soon visitors to the site will be able to purchase Blizzard accessory items, such as T-shirts, bags, and hats.

Are Blizzard retailers authorized to sell online?
Yes, some of them are. However, if you choose to make an online purchase of Blizzard skis, please make certain that the seller is an Authorized Blizzard Retailer in the USA.

Where can I demo Blizzard Skis?
Most Authorized Blizzard Retailers have demos available. In addition, there are many demo events across the country throughout the winter season. Please visit your local Authorized Blizzard Retailer for demo information.

What do I do if I think I have a warranty problem?
Blizzard Sport USA products are warranted for one year after the date of purchase against defective workmanship and materials when used for the purpose intended, under normal conditions, and providing they receive proper care. Merchandise covered under this warranty must be returned to an authorized Blizzard Dealer (with proof of purchase date) who will then send it to Blizzard (transportation prepaid by customer). Blizzard will inspect returned merchandise for evidence of misuse and will determine whether repair, replacement, or adjustment is due. Blizzard will return merchandise prepaid. Learn more about our warranty policy.

How do I choose the proper ski size?
We recommend sizing skis with the “”use your head”” method. The key to this rule is simplicity. For type 1 (novice) skier, size the skis with the tip approximately chin height. For type 2 (intermediate), use approximately nose height. Type 3 (expert) skiers will be sized correctly when the ski tip is at forehead height. For the best sizing, ask your local Authorized Blizzard Retailer.

How can I get an answer to a question not listed on this page?
You can send an email inquiry to info@blizzardsport.com”

Blue-Tomato

Blue Tomato is a wide range of sports product online-shop with big selections on snowboards, freeskis, surfboards. Blue Tomato is according to their own statistic the biggest snowboard school in Austria.

Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a snow-covered slope on a snowboard that is attached to one’s feet using a boot/binding interface. It is similar to skiing, but inspired by surfing and skateboarding. The sport was developed in the United States in the 1960s and the 1970s and became a Winter Olympic Sport in 1998. Winter sport that evolved from skateboarding and surfing. Three main styles of competition exist: Alpine, Freestyle, and Boardercross. Developed in the 1960s, Snowboarding was believed to have originated in the United States, where several inventors explored the idea of surfing on the snow. The sport, however, quickly evolved, and the early, rudimentary Snowboards gave way…

It’s highly unlikely that there’s someone who has never seen nor heard of Snowboarding. But if you really have no idea what Snowboarding is, just imagine it as surfing or skateboarding – only on snow. Snowboarding is a relatively new winter sport wherein you ride an epoxy-fiberglass board (resembling a large skateboard) with your feet strapped on it, and manipulate gravity to go down a ski slope or a specially constructed pipe. The principle of Snowboarding is to maintain your balance as you surf down a ski slope with both feet securely attached to the Snowboard, Backcountry Snowboarding”>Snowboard via high-back or non – release plate bindings.

Unlike skiers, who shift their weight from one Ski to the other, Snowboarders shift their weight from heels (heelside) to toes as well as from one end of the board to the other. To stop the board’s motion, they push their heels or toes down hard to dig the edge of the Snowboard, Backcountry Snowboarding”>Snowboard into the snow. Although most people compare snowboarding to Skiing, Snowboarding Techniques are closer to skateboarding and surfing than to skiing. A snowboard is a board ridden in snowboarding to descend a snow-covered slope. It is often thought as a winter form of a surfboard or skateboard, except that the rider’s feet are bound to the board with bindings. Snowboards generally have a length between 140-165cm, a width of around 25 cm, and are constructed with a laminated wood core with a steel edge. A variety of snowboards exist to suit specific body types and riding preferences. The first modern snowboard was arguably the Snurfer, a mixture of snow surfer, originally designed for his children by Sherman Poppen in 1965 in Muskegon, Michigan. Poppen’s Snurfer started to be manufactured as a toy the following year. It was essentially a skateboard without wheels, steered by a hand-held rope.

During the 1970s and 1980s as snowboarding became more popular, true pioneers such as Dimitrije Milovich, Jake Burton (founder of Burton Snowboards from Londonderry, Vermont), Tom Sims (founder of Sims Snowboards) and Mike Olson (GNU Snowboards) came up with new designs for boards and machineries that had slowly developed into the snowboards and other related equipment that we know today.

Dimitrije Milovich, an east coast surfer, had the idea of sliding on cafeteria trays. From this he started developing his snowboard designs. In 1972, he started a company called the Winterstick; by 1975, The Winterstick was mentioned in Newsweek magazine. The Winterstick was based on the design and feel of a surfboard, but worked the same way as skis.

The growing popularity of snowboarding is reflected by recognition of snowboarding as an official sport: in 1985, the first World Cup was held in Zürs, Austria. Due to the need for universal contest regulations, the ISA (International Snowboard, Backcountry Snowboarding”>Snowboard Association) was founded in 1994. Today, high-profile snowboarding events like the Olympics, Winter X-Games, the US Open, and other events are broadcast to a worldwide audience. Many alpine resorts are now setting up terrain parks. It is also notable that the sport has had a significant impact on such countries that are largely without snow, such as Australia and Afghanistan.

Although many skiers and skateboarders took up the sport, the vast majority of ski areas didn’t. Many of the early snowboards were extremely difficult to control and they were generally banned. Only 7% of U. S. ski areas allowed snowboarding in 1985 and the story was much the same in Europe . As equipment and skill levels improved, though, snowboarding gradually became more acceptable. Most of the major ski areas had separate slopes for snowboarders by 1990. Now, about 97% of all ski areas in North America and Europe allow snowboarding and more than half of them have ramps and pipes.

Today, more than 3.5 million people have taken up snowboarding. That is around 20% of all visitors to US ski resorts.

Bogner

The core of the brand is its history – competition sports and fashion. The successful union between ski champion Willy BognerSr. And his wife maria Bogner laid the grounstone for the Bogner brand. Due to her precise sense of style. Maria Bogner soon became the “inventor of sportswear” This was the launch of brand’s success. The second generation, Willy Bogner Jr. and his wife Sonia, have continued this special link between sports and fashion to this very day … and carried it out into the whole world.

Burton

Burton Snowboards is the world’s leading manufacturer of snowboards. Founded by Jake Burton Carpenter in 1977, the company specializes in a broad product line aimed at snowboarders: hard goods, outerwear, accessories. Aside from selling goods under its own brand name, Burton incorporates several sub-brands which focus on a specific specialty. These sub-brands include Anon Optics (snowboard goggles and eyewear), R.E.D. Protection (helmets and body armor), Analog Outerwear, and Gravis Footwear. In 2005, Four Star Distribution sold four of its snowboard brands to Burton, including Forum Snowboarding, Jeenyus Snowboards, Foursquare Outerwear, and Special Blend (SB) Outerwear. Burton, a private company, also owns Channel Island Surf Co. In February 2008, Burton also acquired DNA Distribution, which includes Alien Workshop, Habitat, and Reflex. Burton’s professional snowboard team includes Shaun White, Jeremy Jones, and Terje Haakonsen.

Burton European Open, Burton open

The first event happened in Austria, in resorts around Innsbruck in 1999. After a year’s break the BEO moved to Fieberbrunn in the year 2001 to join the legendary “Lords of the Boards” event. After that the BEO got revamped and found a base in Livigno, Italy, for the coming three years. Since 2005 Laax is the official home of the BEO and will hopefully be for a long time. Superpipe and slopestyle course are placed on the majestic Crap Sogn Gion at 2220 m altitude with an impressive panorama all over the Alps. 2006 was a very interesting year for the BEO as it was the last big contest just before the Olympic Winter games. Last year the event theme “Mexico” turned the BEO into a colourful event with outstanding riding and very challenging weather conditions. 2008 the riders will take off with the “BEO Airlines” for progressive freestyle riding in Laax.

Capita

Capita is a snowboard- and snowboard-outerwear producer. Capita sells their products through traditional sport dealers and the internet. Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head with Per meaning ‘through’ or ‘by’… and … capita meaning ‘head’. Both words together equate to the phrase ‘for each head’.

It is usually used in the field of statistics to indicate the average per person for any given concern, such as income, crime rate, etc.

It is also used in wills to indicate that each of the named beneficiaries should receive, by devise or bequest, equal shares of the estate. This is in contrast to a per stirpes division, in which each branch of the inheriting family inherits an equal share of the estate. But this only applies to West Virginia and people who live in Bannerville, PA It is usually a sum divided by an amount of people.

Carver

You can split up the carvers in 3 main groups. The first type of carver is the so called fun carver. His or her skis are rather short, so that he can drive where he wants to. He also can go off the pistes when the snow is good and it isn’t to dangerous. The 2nd type of carver is the extreme carver. His skis are very short and have an extreme cut. This enables a short radius what really makes you feel the famous centrifugal force – feeling, which every carver is dreaming of. And finally the 3rd type of carver is the race carver. This often are people who are also driving competition or even championships. Their skis are rather long for a carving ski. This enables a very good control of your material and in consequence of that a higher speed, which you need when you are driving runs.

But one thing is staying the same in all three kinds of carving: The famous centrifugal force – feeling.

Carving

Carving is when you ski a turn with very little skidding, using the edges of your skis. For most people, the ultimate goal of skiing is to be able to carve their turns perfectly. Carving is the word used to describe the way people ride boards – skateboards, snowboards and surfboards. While riding a board, the rider leans and cuts into turns, and this is called “carving”. Most skate parks in the US are made with lots of “flow”, meaning the concrete smoothly slopes in such a way that skaters can carve a line all over the park easily. The better flow a park has, the better carving the skaters can experience.

Carving Ski

Like all skis, alpine “downhill” skis were little more than glorified planks of wood. Later on metal edges were added to better grip the snow and ice of a ski trail. Through the years downhill ski construction has become much more sophisticated. The use of composite materials, and space age metals made skis stronger, lighter, and more durable. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, spearheaded by ELAN, manufacturers began producing parabolic “shaped” skis (when viewed from above or below, the center or “waist” is narrower than the tip or tail). Virtually all modern skis are made with some degree of side cut today. The more dramatic the difference between the width of the tip waist and tail, coupled with the length stiffness and camber of the ski, the shorter radius turns the ski is capable of creating. Skis used in the downhill race events are long with a subtle side cut as they are built for speed and wide fast turns. Slalom skis, as well as many recreational skis are shorter with a greater side cut to facilitate tighter, easier turns.

Crans Montana

Crans-Montana (also known as Crans sur Sierre) is a ski resort in the heart of the Swiss Alps in the Valais, located on a plateau above Sierre. The resort is an amalgamation of the two separate villages of Crans and Montana. The political municipality is known as Montana.

The skiing area of Crans-Montana is comprised of 140km of pistes, and is topped by the Plaine Morte at 3000m.

Crans-Montana is famous for the organisation of the 1987 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. It also hosts an important freestyle event called Crans Montana Champs Open where the world’s best freestyle skiers compete. In addition, the town hosts many golf tournaments, for example the Omega European Masters, (an event from the European Tour) which takes place each September.

Davos

Davos (Romansh Tavau, italian Tavate) is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It is located on the Landwasser River.

Davos is famous as the host to the annual meetings of the World Economic Forum (WEF), an annual meeting of global political and business elites, which is often referred to as simply Davos. It is also known as a winter sports area, including serving as the site of the annual Spengler Cup ice hockey tournament, which is hosted by the HC Davos local hockey team. Settlement of the Davos area only started in High Middle Ages with the immigration of Rhaeto-Romans. From about 1280, the barons of Vaz allowed (German speaking) Walser colonists to settle down and conceded them extensive self-administration rights. Davos became the largest Walser settlement area in eastern Switzerland. Natives therefore still speak a dialect that may seem atypical for Graubünden, rather showing similarities with (German) idioms of western parts of Switzerland, such as Bernese Oberland and Upper Valais. 1436, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions was founded in Davos.

From the middle of the 18th century, Davos became a popular destination for the rich and ailing because the microclimate in the high valley was deemed excellent by doctors and recommended for lung disease patients. For example, Robert Louis Stevenson, who suffered from tuberculosis, wintered in Davos in 1880 at the recommendation of his Edinburgh doctor, Dr. George Balfour. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote an article about skiing in Davos in 1899. Davos is also the setting of Thomas Mann’s novel Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain), which takes place at a sanatorium.

In the “natural ice” era of winter sports, Davos, and the Davos Eisstadion was a mecca for speed skating. Many international championships were held here, and many world records were set, beginning with Peder Østlund who set four records in 1898.

Subsequently, Davos became famous as a ski resort, especially with citizens from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. After a peak in the 1970s and 1980s, the two-part city has re-established itself as a leading, yet less high-profile, tourist attraction.

The six main ski areas are:

* Parsenn / Gotschna
* Jakobshorn
* Pischa
* Rinerhorn
* Schatzalp
* Madrisa

Dealer Board shop

Dealer Board shop is an online-shop, which is specialized in winter sport products, snowboard-sports, wakeboarding and accessories.

Dynastar Ski

Dynastar is a winter sports company based in the Chamonix valley, France. Founded in 1963, the name Dynastar was born when Les Plastiques Synthétiques, manufacturers of Starflex skis, collaborated with Dynamic on a new compound ski. The Dynastar brand is owned by the Rossignol Group, which is in turn owned by Quiksilver Inc.

The Dynastar ski division is run as a separate entity and is responsible for creating stand alone products separate from the rest of the Rossignol Group. Known for its very high quality products, it is renowned for having one of the best product groups in the wintersports industry.

Elan Ski

Elan is a world-famous Slovenian company, specializing in the production of sporting goods. It is best known for its skis and snowboards. Other products include sailboats from 30 to 50 ft length, motor yachts, apparel (mostly sportswear), equipment for sports facilities. The brand-name became better known in the 1970s, when Swedish skiing ace Ingemar Stenmark won three consecutive Alpine skiing World Cups on Elan skis. Two decades later this company changed the ski industry by marketing the shaped or parabolic ski.

The Elan Group consists of 20 interlinked companies under the joint ownership of the Skimar company. Most of the group’s companies use the Elan brand-name and logo as part of their projects, products and services. The company’s headquarters are located in Begunje, Slovenia, while its various manufacturing companies are scattered throughout Central Europe: Elan skis and sailing yachts are made in Slovenia, Elan snowboards are manufactured in Austria, and its motor yachts are produced in Croatia. The group markets its products through independent distributors in 46 countries over the world, with marketing taken over by Elan’s own companies in North America, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland.

Engelberg Titlis

Engelberg is a municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It has a population of c. 3,500, of which 600 are of foreign nationality (2000). It is the leading mountain resort in central Switzerland. In the Middle Ages, Engelberg was known for the educational accomplishments of its Benedictine monastery, whose school was well-known and regarded throughout the country. From the 19th Century, Engelberg became internationally known as a resort and spa, but is today visited as much for skiing as for its clean air. With its combination of modern sports facilities and alpine location, Engelberg is a magnet for both summer and winter tourism. The closest large cities are Lucerne and Zurich.

The ski terrain is largely for advanced skiers, and although there are some easy places to ski, beginners should be wary of some challenging pistes.

* Altitude Engelberg: 1020 metres
* Max altitude Titlis: 3200 metres

There are 320 local businesses which employ 1700 people. 11% of these are in the agricultural sector, 14% in trade and industry, 75% in services.

The main sights of Engelberg are: Mount Titlis, Mount “”Hahnen””, Engelberg Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in the Swiss Congregation, the museum of the valley, the hotel Europäischer Hof, a number of old chapels.

FIS, International Ski Federation/Fédération Internationale de Ski

Fischer Ski

Fischer Skis is an Austrian company producing Nordic, Alpine skiing, Tennis and Hockey. It is one of the largest manufacturers of equipment in the world cup for both Nordic and Alpine skiing disciplines and manifactures a wide range of skis and ski equipment targeted against both professionals and amateurs.

Flims Laax – explained in PalmerProject-Ski- and Snowbord-Lexicon

Flims (Romansh: Flem) is a municipality in the district of Imboden in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Flims is the original capital of Switzerland. The town of Flims is dominated by the Flimserstein which you can see from almost anywhere in the area.

Originally growing as a summer spa town in a distinctly wind sheltered and wide open area, especially since the building of big Hotels from 1877 on, it is nowadays also famous for winter sports (mainly skiing and snowboarding) and is now part of the Weisse Arena resort which combines the formerly separate resorts of Flims, Laax and Falera. It is regular host to international competitions such as the FIS World Championship in skiing and the Burton European Open in snowboarding. In 2004 the resort was featured in the popular Xbox snowboarding video game, Amped 2, and then in 2005 in the sequel Amped 3 on the Xbox 360. Due to the easy access the Weisse Arena cable-cars provide to the mountains, the town has become a popular winter and summer tourist locale.

Into the 1990s, Flims dairymen delivered their milk to a dairy store in town from which villagers collected their raw milk daily. The practice was forever changed with the introduction of milk trucks that now carry the local product out of town to be pasteurized.

The small, quiet village was traditionally a winter home for dairymen whose animals grazed on the lush green slopes of summer. Cabins reminiscent of Heidi still dot the hillsides and ski slopes of Weisse Arena. The dairymen’s winter homes are easily identified by their structure which includes stalls on ground level, home on upper level. The style allowed for rising heat from the animals to help heat the home during bitter winter months.

Today Flims is a year round resort popular not only with winter sports of snowboarding, cross country skiing, downhill skiing and sledding, but also summer sports including hiking, rock climbing, paragliding, mountain biking and swimming in Caumasee, a spring-fed, iridescent-blue-water lake. There are annual figure skating camps run by Viktor Kudriavtsev and Marina Kudriatseva. Skaters who have been regulars at the camps include Swiss national team members Jamal Othman, Sarah Meier, and Stephane Lambiel, as well as international skaters Evan Lysacek, Gregor Urbas, Karel Zelenka, Kiira Korpi, and Ari-Pekka Nurmenkari. Laax (Romansh: Lags) is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

It is famous for winter sports (mainly skiing and snowboarding) and is part of the Alpenarena Arena resort which combines the formerly separate resorts of Flims, Laax and Falera. In addition to winter sports, Laax is also known for summer sports such as hiking, downhill biking, and mountain biking. The village has views of the Signina group to the south and the Flimserstein to the north. The main facilities in the village include a swimming pool, a small supermarket, a post office and several shops, including a bakery.

It is regular host to international competitions such as the FIS World Championship in skiing, the finals of the British Snowboard, Backcountry Snowboarding”>Snowboard & Freeski Tour and the Burton European Open in snowboarding.

The municipality of Laax stretches from the village itself, to Plaun and the Vorab glacier, in the skiing area. This is all one valley and the river eventually flows to the River Rhine.

A small lake, Laaxersee (Lag Grond), is located in the village.

Riders Palace is a hotel for snowboarders and skiers and is part of the Design Hotels group.

In 2004 the resort was featured in the popular Xbox snowboarding video game, Amped 2, and then in 2005 in the sequel Amped 3 on the Xbox 360.

Flow

Flow is a brand of snowboarding equipment, designing and manufacturing boards, boots and bindings.

Flow was started in 1992 by Neil Pryde and Reinhardt Hansen. The original product designer was Werner Jettmar who created a binding (to secure the riders boots) that differed significantly from the typical two-strap arrangement. The brand has since added snowboards, boots and clothing to it’s product line.

Flow is owned by Shriro Pacific LTD., a privately owned group of companies. Its US offices are in San Clemente CA, and the president of the brand is Anthony Scaturro.

Forum Snowboards

Forum snowboards was first started by Four Star Distribution and pro snowboarder Peter Line in the summer of 1996. On July 15, 2004 Forum was bought by Burton Snowboards.

Peter Line attempted to create the greatest pro team ever, which resulted in “The Forum 8”, arguably the most progressive group of riders ever. The Forum 8 were: JP Walker, Jeremy Jones, Joni Malmi, Bjorn Leines, Devun Walsh, Chris Dufficy, Wille Yli-Luoma and Peter Line and were seen on Mack Dawg Productions’ “The Resistance”.

Since then, 6 of the original 8 have left Forum, with Joni Malmi and Peter Line the only original Forum 8 left. JP Walker, Devun Walsh, Lauri Heiskari and Iikka Bäckström left Forum Snowboards in 2006 and 2007.

Currently, the Forum team consists of: Peter Line, Joni Malmi, Eddie Wall, Travis Kennedy, Pat Moore, Jake Blauvelt, Stevie Bell, Jake Welch, Nic Sauve, Daniel Ek and John Jackson.

Forum has been working with Mack Dawg Productions to produce a number of snowboard videos including The Resistance, True Life, Video Gangs. However, their most recent video, “That” was not made by Mack Dawg. Forum’s videos all feature riders of the Forum team along with friend’s of the team. In 2006, team members Stevie Bell and JP Walker appeared in one of the most highly anticipated documentaries of the year in Sunset Film’s “Montreal”.

For the 2008 season, Forum renamed and redesigned most of their products. The former Jiblet was renamed to the Manual. Along with the new line up, Forum has added new models Darkness, Destroyer LTD, The Stomper, Eddie, Seeker and the Bully.

The full 08 men’s line up consists of: Recon, Recon Wide, Manual, Stomper, Youngblood, Youngblood Team, Destroyer, Destroyer LTD, Destroyer TK (Travis Kennedy), Destroyer PM (Pat Moore), Darkness, Seeker, Roost, Lander, Grudge, Bully, Raider, and Eddie.

Freeride Ski

Good all round skis, as comfortable on piste as off it. Fat enough to give novice off-piste skiers enough float to cope with powder conditions but thin enough for edge to edge speed on piste. They are generally softer than Fat Freeride skis to lift in powder during turning and to help turn initiation on-piste. Fat Freeride skis, these are specialized off-piste tools aimed at skiers who will spend the majority of their time away from groomers or who are fortunate enough to have at least two pairs of skis. Relative stiff with a geometry for medium to large turns perform well in powder, crud and should have enough grip on hardpack. Piste performance is usually okay but they won’t shred moguls down the zipper line. The longest fat freeride skis are in the 190-200cm range and require considerable skill and strength to tame.

Freeride Snowboarding

Of the three Snowboard types, the Freeride Snowboard is the most popular. Accounting for half of all Snowboard sales, this type of board is a good all-mountain, park and Halfpipe Snowboard that is designed to float well in Powder Surface. You can enjoy carving, catching air, and basically all riding aspects with this type of Snowboard.

Freeride boards have a directional shape and are meant to be ridden primarily in one direction. Having a directional shape means that the Snowboard’s tip is different from its tail. In freeride, the tail is generally more narrow, shorter, and flatter than the tip of the board. With this, the stance on freeride boards is usually offset toward the tail of the board. Still, freeride boards can be ridden Fakie, despite their directional shape.

Freeride Snowboards are usually fairly soft and maneuverable enough for beginners, but stiff enough to hold a fast turn in hard snow. This type of Snowboard, bridges the gap between Freestyle and Alpine carving. However, it isn’t as stable as a carving board and it isn’t as agile as a freestyle board.

Freeriding

Whether just learning to link turns or pushing the limits of an Alaskan descent, freeriders prefer the all mountain experience: open terrain, backcountry chutes, fresh powder, trees, as well as an afternoon spent in the park or in a freshly cut pipe. This is the realm where pros can show what they are really made of.

Freeriding is the most general style of snowboarding and has correspondingly versatile equipment. Like freestyle, freeride equipment uses a soft boot. Boards in this category are relatively longer and more directional in their shape. If you don’t know what kind of terrain you like, or know that you like everything, this is your category.Freeriders are not restricted to the runs laid out and groomed by the ski resort. The whole mountain is their playground. They range from laid back types who want to cruise powder linking short turns to veritable snow surfers laying down wide curves and playing with the terrain to extreme big mountain skiers, hucking rock bands and tackling gnarly couloirs.

This discipline has developed from lift served off-piste skiing where equipment used to be Slalom, GS or Super G skis. Ideal on hard pack these skis required many months to master in difficult and powder conditions. With the revolution in ski shapes during the latter part of the 1990s manufacturers increasingly started to cater for the off-piste market producing wide, shaped and increasingly specialized skis.

Skis in this category are generally too heavy for extensive climbing but in recompense by offering excellent performance. Stiff but often exotic materials give them the torsional ridgidity for reactive turning and grip. Wide enough under foot (80+mm) to cope with deep powder. Turn radiuses are medium to large (20m+) to assist stability at speed and to enable the rider to pilot the ski. “

Frontlineshop

Frontline Shop is a wide range Online-shop with a huge assortment on winter sport products and technical outerwear

Funsport

Funsport — a sport primarily practiced in leisure time and for fun

Garmisch Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a market town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, not far from the border with Austria. The 1100-year-old towns themselves (Partenkirchen’s roots go back to Roman times) were separate communities until the mayors of Garmisch and Partenkirchen were forced by Adolf Hitler to combine the two in 1935 in anticipation of the 1936 Winter Olympic games. The towns remain united and are casually known as Garmisch much to the dismay of the residents of Partenkirchen. Most visitors will notice the slightly more progressive feel of Garmisch while the fresco-filled, cobblestoned streets of Partenkirchen offer a glimpse into times past. Early mornings and late afternoons in pleasant weather often find local traffic stopped while the dairy cows are herded to and from the nearby mountain meadows.

Gnu

Mervin Manufacturing is an American snowboard manufacturer. Mervin is the parent company of Liberace Technologies (aka Lib Tech) Snowboards, Gnu Snowboards, Lib Tech Skateboards, and Bent Metal bindings. In the mid 90’s Mervin was also an OEM supplier for companies such as Canada’s Luxury brand and for The Movement Snowboards.

Mervin was purchased by Quiksilver in the late 1990s. Since this acquisition, Mervin has continued the tradition of making winter toys out of plastic, fiberglass, heavy metals and fast growing trees. Additionally, they manufacture Roxy snowboards, a Quiksilver brand. Mervin’s original founders continue to reign supreme and promote the fact that their snowboards are made near Canada by snowboarders with jobs.

Grindelwald

Grindelwald is a municipality in the district of Interlaken in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Long famed as a winter tourist destination with slopes for beginners, intermediates and the challenges of the Eiger glacier for the experienced, there are activities for the non-skiers, from tobogganing to groomed winter hiking tracks. It is the usual starting point for ascents of the Eiger and the Wetterhorn. Nowadays Grindelwald is also a popular summer activity resort with many miles of hiking trails across the Alps.

Grindelwald can be reached by train (Berner Oberland Bahn) from Interlaken.

The Wengernalpbahn connects Grindelwald to the Kleine Scheidegg from where the Jungfraubahn ascends inside the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch and trains descend to Wengen.

The Gondelbahn Grindelwald-Männlichen connects Grindelwald with the Männlichen and with onward travel on the Luftseilbahn Wengen-Männlichen offers an alternative route to Wengen.

Gröden

Gröden is a town in the Elbe-Elster district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Val Gardena (German: Gröden; Ladin: Gherdëina) is a valley in the Dolomites of northern Italy. It is best known as a skiing area. Val Gardena is one of five valleys with a majority of Ladin speakers (two of these valleys are in the province of Bolzano-Bozen). The form of the Ladin language spoken in this valley is called Gardenese in Italian, Grödnerisch in German and Gherdëina in Ladin.

Hawaii Surf Rider Shop

Hawaii Surf is a online-surfer-shop, which entails specialities in watersport, skateboard gear, wintersport items, snowboards, skis and outerwear.

Head, Head Ski, Head Snowboards

Head NV is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of premium sports equipment. We are a technology driven company, our motto being “Superior Performance Through Superior Technology”.

We can trace our roots back to 1950 when Howard Head, the inventor of the first metal ski, founded the company. The Tyrolia bindings and Mares diving brands were added in the 1970’s and more recently the Penn balls and Dacor diving brands were acquired during the 1990’s.

Head NV has been under its present management since 1996 and is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.

Our current operations are organized into four divisions: Winter Sports, Racquet Sports, Diving and Licensing. Within these divisions we have created or acquired some of the most recognizable brands in the sporting goods market including:

Head
Tennis, squash, paddle and racquetball racquets, tennis balls, tennis footwear, badminton products, alpine skis, ski bindings and ski boots, snowboards, bindings and boots

Penn
Tennis and racquetball balls

Tyrolia
Alpine ski bindings

Mares/Dacor
Diving equipment

We hold leading positions in all of our product markets and our products are endorsed by some of the world’s top athletes including Richard Gasquet, Andrew Murray, Ivan Ljubicic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Patty Schnyder, Amelie Mauresmo, Hermann Maier, Bode Miller, Didier Cuche, Marco Büchel, Patrick Staudacher, Maria Riesch, Elisabeth Görgl, Sarka Zahrobska, Jon Olsson and Gianluca Genoni.

Our products are sold through over 29,000 accounts including pro shops, specialty sporting goods stores and mass merchants in over 85 countries around the world.

Our strategy has always been to develop groundbreaking products positioned at middle to high price points. We believe this helps us achieve our financial returns as well as gain market share.

Hot-Zone.tv Snoboards

Hot-Zone.TV has a wide range of snowboard products online. Snowboadr boods, snowboard bindings, snowboard outerwear, goggles and snowboard protectors are some products in their range. They also carry lugguage and watches.

Indigo Snowboards

Handmade ski and snowboards in the higher price level. They are from Munich and built in a titanium-sandwich-wooden core with bamboos sidewalls and Nano-highspeed-base.

Ischgl

Ischgl (1377m) is a small village (population: 1489 in 2001) in the Paznaun Valley in Tyrol (Austria). Its ski resort Silvretta Arena Ischgl-Samnaun is connected with the ski resort of Samnaun across the border in Switzerland. Together this ski area belongs to the largest skiing resorts in the Alps. Its 200km of groomed pistes are served by over 40 mechanical lifts including cable cars, gondolas, detachable chair lifts and some T-bars.

Ischgl is well-known (and sometimes criticized) for its lively après-ski parties and roistering nightlife. The resort became famous when it began regularly hosting pop concerts celebrating the end of the annual ski season (Top of the Mountain Concert) at the Idalp (2300m). Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, Elton John, Pussycat Dolls, Rod Stewart, Jon Bon Jovi, Nena, Sugababes, Enrique Iglesias, Pink, Anastacia and Melanie C are among the international stars who have performed at these concerts. Also Paris Hilton and Naomi Campbell visited the village. Hilton several times to make ski holidays and to merchandise the Rhich Prosecco. Ischgl hosts the only “”Pacha”” club (the Spanish night entertainment brand) in Austria [1], in Hotel Madlein.

In April, 2002 Bill Clinton gave a Message from the Mountains at Ischgl and made this tiny mountain village the location of a world media event.”

Jibbing

Jibbing means that you snowboard or ski on anything BUT snow. E.g. Rails, tables, trash containers, etc.

K2, K2 Skis, K2 Snowboards

K2 Inc. (NYSE: KTO) was founded in 1961 by brothers Bill and Don Kirschner in Vashon Island, near Seattle, Washington. K2 is known for pioneering fiberglass ski technology, which made skis significantly lighter and more lively than their wood and metal contemporaries.

In late 1969, the company’s rapid growth required new capital and Bill Kirschner decided a well-financed partner would be necessary. The company was acquired by the Cummins Engine Company of Columbus, Indiana. Then in November 1976, the company was acquired by a private group of Northwest investors. The group, called Sitca, purchased K2 and its subsidiary, Jansport.

In 1982, company management purchased all outstanding shares of Sitca Corporation from the group of Northwest investors. Management decided to concentrate all resources on the alpine ski market. It sold its Jansport subsidiary, distribution subsidiaries in Canada, France and Austria, and majority ownership of the Swiss distribution subsidiary

In September 1985, Anthony Industries, Inc. acquired 100 percent of the stock of Sitca Corporation. Anthony, an NYSE listed company, develops and manufactures products for leisure and recreational markets under many brand names.

On June 22, 2006, K2 announced it was moving its business office from Vashon Island to Seattle’s Industrial District. (Manufacturing moved to China in 2001. On April 25th, 2007 Jarden Corporation announced a definitive agreement to acquire K2, Inc. for a cash and stock value per share of $15.50″

Kessler Hansjürg, Kessler, Kessler Ski, Kessler

High in the Swiss mountains, in a setting surprisingly similar to something you’d see on the set of Heidi, is Hansjurg Kessler’s workshop. Accessible only by foot, packhorse or ATV, the unassuming father of four children works his magic – one snowboard at a time.

And judging by the results of this year’s Olympic competition, he is doing a good job. In the men’s parallel giant slalom snowboard event, which took place on February 22, 2006, 14 out of the 30 total riders, competed on Kessler’s handmade boards including the gold and silver medalists, Swiss brothers Philipp and Simon Schoch.

The following day, half of the women’s field in the parallel giant slalom was riding a Kessler Snowboards”>Kessler board as well, including all of the top five female finishers. Daniela Meuli of Switzerland, Amelie Kober of Germany and American Rosey Fletcher all made it onto the podium with Kessler Snowboards”>Kessler boards. Even non-snowboarding Olympians are riding his boards. American ski racer, Bode Miller, has a Kessler Snowboards”>Kessler board in his quiver as well.

Another fan of Kessler’s boards is action sports icon, Shaun Palmer. At the time of his World Cup finish that landed him on the 2006 US Olympic Snowboard, Backcountry Snowboarding”>Snowboard Team, Shaun Palmer was riding a Palmer Platinum LE, a limited edition snowboard handcrafted by Hansjurg exclusively for Palmer Snowboards.

Shaun made headlines in December with his miraculous snowboard cross comeback, which resulted in his spot on the Olympic team. He began competing on the World Cup circuit on his tried and true Palmer Channel Titanium, a board that hasn’t been produced for the past four years. After failing to get the results he was looking for, Shaun switched to the Kessler-designed Platinum and had immediate success. Shaun tore his Achilles tendon in a competition prior to the Olympics and was not able to compete in Italy.

In addition to owning a small snowboard company baring his name, Kessler has agreed to design and produce the Platinum LE for Palmer Snowboards for the 2006/07 winter season. The result is the first snowboard in the world that allows for full-blown power riding without compromising effortless handling and total control. It is also the most expensive board in the world, retailing at $1,900. But it’s worth it.

The Platinum LE is 100% carbon construction and is the benchmark of Palmer technology. The lightweight Platinum LE features all the benefits of carbon: rocket-fueled rebounds, powerful acceleration and dampening. The award-winning Klothoid shape, full woodcore and stone ground 7200 graphite base creates a very fast and powerful, yet easy to handle ride.

What does Kessler have to say about the recent success of his boards? “I am so tired from the past few months – working 90 hours a week preparing every board specifically for each rider’s needs. Kicking ass is exhausting…” Not to worry, Kessler will be rested enough to deliver the Palmer Platinum boards to consumers in time for next winter.

The Palmer Platinum LE, handmade by Hansjurg Kessler will be available in limited quantities in Fall 2006.

Just Built Better – Since 1995, Palmer has been making the best boards in the world. Through proprietary technology and exclusive materials, Palmer Snowboards provides the best ride and the finest on-mountain experience. No matter your style, you will find the perfect ride with Palmer. Palmer Snowboards , it’s all about the ride.

Kicker

Kicker (extreme sports), a type of ramp used to help an athlete gain higher altitutudes

Kitesurfing

Kitesurfing, also known as kiteboarding, involves using a power kite to pull a rider through the water on a small surfboard or a kiteboard (which is like a wakeboard). Generally kiteboarding referes to a style of riding known as free-style or wakestyle where as kitesurfing is more waveriding orientated. These two styles usually require different boards and specific performance kites.

A kitesurfer or kiteboarder uses a board with foot-straps or bindings, combined with the power of a large controllable kite to propel him/herself and the board across the water. The sport is still in its infancy, but is rapidly growing in popularity. In 2006, the number of kitesurfers has been estimated at around 150,000 to 210,000, with 114,465 inflatable kites sold that same year.

The sport is becoming safer due to innovations in kite design, safety release systems, and instruction[citation needed]. Many riding styles have evolved to suit different types of riders and conditions, such as wake style, wave riding, freestyle, jumping, and cruising.

Kitesurfing is one of many forms of kite propulsion, which include kite landboarding, snowkiting, kite buggying, kite skateboarding, kite jumping, and using kites to propel sea kayaks. A kite can even propel a large ship.

Kitzbühel

“Kitzbühel is a medieval city in Tyrol, Austria, situated along the river Kitzbühler Ache. It is the administrative center of the district (Bezirk) Kitzbühel. The first known settlers, who surfaced between 1100 BC and 800 BC were Illyrians mining copper in the hills near Kitzbühel.

Around 15 BC the Roman Emperor Augustus occupied the Alps and proclaimed the province Noricum. After the fall of the western Roman Empire, Bavarii settled in the Kitzbühel region around 800 and started clearing forests.

In the twelfth century the name Chizbuhel is mentioned for the first time in a document of the Chiemsee monastery. Chizzo relates to a Bavarii clan, Bühel describes the location of the settlement upon a hill.

Kitzbühel became part of Upper Bavaria in 1255. Louis II, Duke of Bavaria granted Kitzbühel the rights of a city on June 6, 1271, and it was fortified with mighty city walls. During the next centuries the city became a center of trade, grew steadily and never was affected by wars. So the city walls were razed at the level of the first floor and used for building new houses.

When Margarete Maultasch married Bavarii Duke Louis V the Brandenburger in 1342, Kitzbühel became part of Tyrol. After the Peace of Schärding (1369) it was given back to Bavaria. On June 30, 1504 Kitzbühel became part of Tyrol again when Austrian Emperor Maximilian conquered Kitzbühel and Kufstein.

Maximilian took mortgage on Kitzbühel, and so at the end of sixteenth century it came under the rule of the Counts of Lamberg. On May 1, 1840 Kitzbühel was given to the state of Austria in a ceremony.

The wars of the 18. and nineteenth century didn’t reach the city, whereas some inhabitants participated in the Tyrolean rebellion against Napoleon. Kitzbühel once more became part of Bavaria after the Treaty of Pressburg, but was reunited with Tyrol after the fall of Napoleon, at the Congress of Vienna.

When Emperor Franz Joseph finally resolved the remaining constitutional uncertainties, and furthermore railway construction of the Salzburg-Tiroler-Bahn was finished in 1875, the city’s trade and industry flourished. Also during World War I and World War II Kitzbühel remained far from the areas of war.

Tourism

Kitzbühel is one of Austria’s best known and fanciest winter sport resorts, situated between the mountains Hahnenkamm (5616 ft., 1712 m) and Kitzbühler Horn (6548 ft., 1996 m). The Hahnenkamm is home of the annual world cup ski races, including the circuit’s most important event, the downhill race on the famous Streif slope. This downhill is counted as one of the hardest downhill competitions in the world cup. During summer time Kitzbühel also hosts an ATP tennis tournament on clay, the Austrian Open.

The Kitzbüheler Alpenrallye is an annual festival of historic automobiles. It was first held in 1988. The first trip of the United Buddy Bears was 2004 to Kitzbühel, following by the first trip into the “”big wide world”” – when they went to Hong Kong and many other metropolises on all five continents.

The city is also home to the historic Grand Hotel Kitzbühel, a private resort, training and conference facility led by the worldwide management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Access to the Grand Hotel is generally limited to members and alumni of the firm and their families.

A further sight is the 3S Aerial Tramway, the aerial tramway with the highest span in the world.

Transport

Highway B161, which connects St. Johann in Tirol with Mittersill, passes through Kitzbühel, intersecting here with highway B170 to Wörgl. Kitzbühel Hauptbahnhof, Kitzbühel Hahnenkamm, and Kitzbühel Schwarzsee are train stops at the Salzburg-Tiroler-Bahn.

Knee-Injury, Knee Problems

The knee is the lower extremity joint connecting the femur, fibula, patella, and the tibia. Since in humans the knee supports nearly the entire weight of the body, it is the joint most vulnerable both to acute injury and to the development of osteoarthritis. Upon birth, a baby will not have a conventional knee cap, but a growth formed of cartilage. In human females this turns to a normal bone knee cap by the age of 3, in males the age of 5.

The knee is a complex, compound, condyloid variety of a synovial joint which hovers. It actually comprises two separate joints.

* The femoro-patellar joint consists of the patella, or “”kneecap””, a so-called sesamoid bone which sits within the tendon of the anterior thigh muscle (m. quadriceps femoris), and the patellar groove on the front of the femur through which it slides.

* The femoro-tibial joint links the femur, or thigh bone, with the tibia, the main bone of the (lower) leg. The joint is bathed in a viscous (synovial) fluid which is contained inside the “”synovial”” membrane, or joint capsule.

The recess behind the knee is called the popliteal fossa. It can also be called a “knee pit.””

Knee-Surgery

Knee replacement, or knee arthroplasty, is a common operation done to relieve the pain and disability from degenerative arthritis, most commonly osteoarthritis, but other arthritides as well. It consists of replacing the diseased and painful joint surfaces of the knee with metal and plastic components shaped to allow continued motion of the knee.

Incapacitating pain from arthritis of the knee affecting everyday activities – particularly walking and standing – is the main reason to have a total knee replacement. The patient must be aware of the risks of the surgery and be prepared to take those risks rather than continue with the symptoms.

Kronplatz

Kronplatz Holiday Region in the heart of the green Pustertal valley between the Zillertal Alps and the Dolomites is a perfect place to recover, relax, worship the sun, hike, to enjoy culture, folklore and good food.

Lamar Snowboards

Lamar is a snowboard producer, that is as well producing snowboard bindings and boots. They distribute their products through the traditional distribution channels, like sport shops and internet. Lamar Snowboards is located in Vancouver, Canada.

Lib Tech Snowboards

Limited Snowboards

Limited Snowboards (Ltd Snowboards) produces Snowboards, Snowboardboots and bindings and distributes their products through traditional sport shops, especially in the US.

Line Ski

Since 1995 we’ve focused on two things – going skiing and building skis
for people that want to have more fun skiing. That’s all we do, it’s all we
know, and it’s what has enabled us to progress the sport further then
anyone could have imagined ten years ago. HERE’S OUR STORY
The catalyst behind Line’s creation and our mission still today is the simple concept that a skier needs innovative product to progress their riding and the sport. All of today’s most popular action sports grew in popularity thanks to this evolution in the
80’s and 90’s. Unfortunately, this was not the case with our favorite sport of skiing. Through the years, ski designs hadn’t changed outside of graphics and model names. They were all long, pointy, straight, stiff, essentially designed for elite
Olympic racers to go faster on ice around poles wearing spandex.

Besides restrictive product, skiing was also promoted as a much more traditional & conservative sport relative to snowboarding. This ultimately drove the majority of new winter sport customers to buy snowboards. Even many long time skiers became bored and made the switch. As snowboarding grew in popularity, resorts began creating “”snowboard parks”” where snowboarders could hit jumps, rails, ride pipe, while skiers weren’t even allowed in. Can you imagine a time when there were signs at the top of the park that said “NO SKIERS ALLOWED”. The “ski” industry completely ignored what skiing could become. Its future wasn’t looking very bright.

Livigno

Livigno (Italian: Livigno, Romansh: Livign) is a town in the Alps. It belongs to the province of Sondrio, in the region of Lombardy, Italy.

Geography

It is located 1,816 metres above sea level. Livigno’s main river is called Akua Granda, also known as Spöl. Trepalle, which belongs to Livigno, is considered Europe’s highest inhabited parish. Livigno was once a traditional and cultural village. Livigno is one of the few Italian villages which do not belong to the drainage basin of the Mediterranean Sea but to the Black Sea basin. A part of the old village was completely destroyed in the 1960s by the creation of a reservoir, the Lago di Livigno.

History

Livigno’s first settlers were probably shepherds during the Middle Ages. The first documents called this area “”vinea et vineola””. This Latin name does not refer to the presence of vineyards in the area, but comes from the German language, meaning “”avalanche””. The valley has always been at risk from this point of view. The last avalanche hitting the village was in 1951, which caused 7 deaths and damage to a dozen houses. Politically, Livigno has always followed Bormio’s history, although the relationships between the two communes have always been tense, Bormio being dominant and more populous than Livigno. Until the 1970s Livigno was a farming village. In recent decades, though, things have changed, and nowadays Livigno enjoys a better economic situation and a higher number of inhabitants. Livigno has recently enjoyed one of Italy’s highest birth rates (19.4 births per 1000 inhabitants).[1] Livigno’s economy is based on tourism, both in winter and in summer, and on its duty-free status, with goods sold at bargain prices. Building companies, craft industry and agriculture are somewhat developed, but all these sectors are in various ways linked to the main source of income.

Main sights

Saint Mary’s parish church was built at the end of the 19th century, on a previous church. The current building incorporated the previous one, which was left standing until the end of works, allowing church services to be carried out as usual. Other buildings of note are the Caravaggio church, with some ex voto paintings and a picture which is traditionally attributed to Caravaggio, and Saint Rocco church, built at the beginning of the 16th century as a votive offering for protecting the village against plague. Other sights are represented by the breathtaking panorama, with high peaked mountains and marvelous valleys.

Duty-free status

Livigno enjoys a special tax status as duty-free area. Italian VAT (Value Added Tax) is not paid. Although tax advantages for Livigno were recorded as far back as the sixteenth century, the current tax exemption was first introduced by the Austrian Empire around 1840. It was then confirmed by the Kingdom of Italy around 1910, then by the Italian Republic and the European Economic Community in 1960. Although no VAT is paid, income taxes are, thus Livigno cannot be considered as a tax haven.

The reason for such a status is justified by the difficulty in reaching Livigno during winter times, for up to six months a year, and the centuries-long history of poverty in the region. The various states, therefore, wanted to make sure people would have an incentive to continue living in the area (so that they could still claim it territorially); at the same time, the tax income from Livigno was likely to have been negligible for any state involved.

Even nowadays, only three roads lead to the town, two from Switzerland, through the Forcola di Livigno (2,315 m, open in summer only) and the Munt La Schera tunnel, and one from Italy, through the Foscagno Pass (2,291 m). However, given the astonishing increase in wealth of the recent decades, the improvement of roads and the widespread availability of cars, many outsiders see this exemption as an unjustified privilege, although it has created and sustains several hundreds of jobs.

Leaving Livigno into Italy on the road there is a custom checkpoint manned by Guardia di Finanza. Entering or leaving from Switzerland there is both Guardia di Finanza, Polizia di Stato and Swiss Police.
Livigno once made a living from agriculture and a little commerce. Smuggling was both widespread and not socially deprecated, being often the only way to survive in such a harsh environment. This generated some prejudice in the remaining population of Valtellina, where smuggling was also widespread, with the local proverb gent de cunfin, tücc’ lader o asesin, or “”border people, all thieves or murderers””.

Nowadays Livigno is a rich area, and the main activities are linked to tourism, especially as a ski resort. Many inhabitants of Valtellina visit once in a while to buy goods at substantially lower prices, especially tax-free gasoline, sometimes from as far as Sondrio. The tax free allowance for tourists applied here is the same as the one applied to travellers coming from any non EU country.

The 2005 Union Cycliste Internationale mountain biking world championships were held here, from August 28 to September 4.

Culture/Sport

Despite its small size, there are many cultural organizations in Livigno. Some of these are:

* Corpo Musicale, a local street band
* Gruppo folkloristico, a folk group
* Monteneve Chorus
* Carcent theatre group [2]
* A few rock/pop bands, the most well-known being Metal Dreit

The mass-media sector is quite developed as well. In the 80s a local radio, Radio Alteuropa, used to broadcast from Livigno, covering up to a wide part of the neighbouring Valtellina valley. The local monthly newspaper, Al Restel,[3] was founded in the same period and it is still published today.

Nowadays, most of information is given by a TV channel, TeleMonteNeve,[4] which broadcasts the City Council’s meetings, a news report 3 times a week and other information both for residents and for tourists. On-line new media is also growing. An example is Senzaiva, an on-line cultural magazine. Its name means “”without VAT””, referring to the special duty-free status of Livigno and of all cultural products.[5]

The local dialect is being categorized in a dictionary, funded by the local administration.

Sport also plays an important role. In Livigno there are nearly 20 sport associations, most of them are supported by an association called Sporting Club.[6] Many young athletes often end up with good results in their disciplin”

Madonna di Campiglio

Madonna di Campiglio is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Pinzolo . It has around 700 inhabitants. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an altitude of 1,522 m. There is a small plaza in the centre of the town.

Morrow

On June 22, 2006, K2 announced it was moving its business office from Vashon Island to Seattle’s Industrial District. (Manufacturing moved to China in 2001.)[2] On April 25th, 2007 Jarden Corporation announced a definitive agreement to acquire K2, Inc. for a cash and stock value per share of $15.50.

Mountainbiking

A mountain bike or mountain bicycle (abbreviated MTB or ATB (All Terrain Bicycle)) is a bicycle designed for mountain biking, either on dirt trails or other unpaved environments. In contrast, road bicycles are not designed for such rugged terrain.

Mountain bikes have wide, knobby tires for extra traction and shock absorption. In recent years, front wheel suspension has become the norm and full front and rear suspension is becoming increasingly common. Some mountain bikes are also fitted with bar ends on the handlebars, but with the increase in popularity of riser handlebars (as opposed to a flat straight handlebar) fewer riders use bar end extensions. The bikes normally have 26 in (559 mm) wheels, but since 2002 some models have been available with 29 in (622 mm) wheels, which is the same diameter most commonly used for road bikes (also known as 700c).[1] (The name given to a rim diameter in inches is different from the rim’s actual size.) Riding bicycles off-road goes back to the beginning of cycling itself. Road racing cyclists have long used cyclo-cross as a means of keeping fit during the winter, eventually becoming a sport in its own right with the first world championship in 1950. The French Velo Cross Club Parisien (VCCP) comprised about twenty-one young cyclists from the outskirts of Paris, who between 1951 and 1956 developed a sport that was remarkably akin to present-day mountain biking.[2] The Roughstuff Fellowship was established in 1955 by off-road cyclists in the UK.

However the mountain bike has its origins in the modified heavy cruiser bicycles used for freewheeling down mountain trails in Marin County, California, U.S.A. in the mid-late 1970s. At the time, there was no such thing as a mountain bike. The earliest ancestors of modern mountain bikes were based around frames from cruiser bicycles such as those made by Schwinn. The Schwinn Excelsior was the frame of choice due to its geometry. Riders used balloon tired cruisers and later modified them with gears and motocross style handlebars. They were called Klunkers. The term would also be used as a verb since the term “”mountain biking”” was not yet in use. Riders would race down mountain fireroads, causing the hub brake to burn the grease inside, requiring the riders to repack the bearings. These were called “Repack Races” and triggered the first innovations in mountain bike technology as well as the initial interest of the public. The sport originated in the U.S. state of California, on Marin county’s famous mountain, Mount Tamalpais.

It was not until the late 1970s and early 1980s that road bicycle companies started to manufacture mountain bicycles using high-tech lightweight materials. Joe Breeze is normally credited with introducing the first purpose-built mountain bike in 1978. Tom Ritchey then went on to make frames for a company called MountainBikes which was a partnership between Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelley and Tom Ritchey. Tom Ritchey, with his skills in frame building, also built the original bikes. The company’s 3 partners ran into rough times and finally fell apart at the 1983 trade show[citation needed]. The designs were basically road bicycle frames (with heavier tubing and different geometry) with a wider frame and fork to allow for a wider tire. The handlebars were also different in that they were a straight, transverse-mounted handlebar, rather than the dropped, curved handlebars that are typically installed on road racing bicycles. Also, some of the parts on early production mountain bicycles were taken from the BMX bicycle. The first mass-produced mountain bikes were produced by Specialized in 1983 and were copies of Tom Ritchey’s frames, but they were not fillet-brazed, and were made in Japan. They were configured with 15 gears.

Movement

Movement History: Created in 1999, the brand has been marketed in 2002, after 3 years of research and development. It was adopted very quickly in the marketplace and it now offers, a complete range of skis that respond to all the skiing disciplines of the skier of today.

Our mission
Our mission is clear. The aim of Movement skis is to create very high quality products customers that are extraordinary skiers as well as demanding athletes. Everything has been made with this customer in mind. This difficult and technical work has been done by skiers for skiers. As you will see when discovering our new catalogue, our obsession and commitment to the R & D of our products has been total. This same commitment and obsession determined the choices of the materials and for the application of our proprietary new technologies. We will never hesitate to offer the best of the best for our friends.

We have new categories of skis this year. We have a new line dedicated to women-freeskiers, we have a complete line with 4 programs that match perfectly all the sectors of the freeskiing movement. Lastly, the new and revolutionary Core Line MVMT, totally freestyle oriented.

It’s time now for you to dive into this new world, discover what Movement Skis is all about. Equipped with these marvelous sliding engines, you will, without a doubt, be amazed at what you can do and what you can ski. Most of all, we want to share our passion and our love for mountains, and we really want to give you the best tools to be the best Rider. RIDE THE POWER…

Our Objectives
Core product: Movement first is a freestyle and freeride brand.The products have therefore been conceived in a traditional way with tested methods, using the best raw materials available on the market. On the other hand, the shapes have been adapted to the type of skiing of today while always evolving in design.

Freeride/Freestyle oriented: The spirit of Movement has truly been engraved in the new trends of the ski athletes that have stood out at the end of the 90’s. The freeride and freestyle skis make up the central pillar of the products of Movement. These athletes are dramatically affecting the sport as a whole. They have captured the interest of a more youthful demographic unlike any other period in skiing’s history with the exception of the early 70’s (which coincidentally also had radical freestyle as the core of the new school). Yet the freeride style of powder on big mountain faces is also perhaps one of the most, if not the most traditional form of skiing and appeals to all skiers as the aspirational peak of the sport.

Remain in control of our development / not a “marketing only” brand: Although we had success surpassing all our hopes from the very beginning, Movement wants to keep the control of its development and insure sane, sustainable and long lasting growth. The brand doesn’t want to become only an image. It will always build a close and real link between the image and its performance, its quality and its production.

Philosophy / Brand Spirit
Image: Movement wishes to keep the image it has developed: a quality brand, diversified, but staying faithful to its ethics, its core, this being freestyle and freeride ski.

Placement on the market: irreparably inspired by the renewal that skiing has known in the late 90’s, Movement ranks as an exclusive quality brand, working with focus on some specific tribes like freestyle, freeride, telemark and touring.

Strategy “small but strong”: the strategy of Movement is based on three essential concepts: Diversity Quality Exclusivity.

Diversity: Movement has made a choice to have distinctive products made, specific to small promising markets. The diversity is essential to insure stability to the brand.

The Exclusivity is directly bound to Quality. The choice of these small promising markets that have to be coherent when united. This means that the production will be limited in quantity, this will guarantee quality, not only in production but also in image. This allows the positioning amongst the best and most exclusive retailers and distribution channels. Based in Switzerland, in Vevey, on the shore of the Geneva Lake and surrounded by mountains, the brand also claims its Swiss identity, synonymous with quality and performance in the mountains.

Never Summer

Never Summer’s reputation of quality and durability began in the early years of snowboarding. Designing and building snowboards since 1983 has given us years of experience in testing and perfecting our snowboard designs and construction methods. We continue to work very closely with the world’s leading raw materials manufacturers and engineers to make sure every Never Summer snowboard is the most durable, high performance board on the planet! Each snowboard is carefully handcrafted in our Denver, Colorado factory to precision tolerances. As a result, only the world’s best snowboard shops proudly sell our products. Focusing less on excessive promotion and hype, and more on using the highest quality materials, craftsmanship and customer service has made Never Summer the world’s premier independent snowboard company.

Nidecker

From the creation of its first snowboard in 1984, Nidecker, in the true spirit of a pioneer has had only one goal; to make the perfect snowboard. Always listening to its professional riders, Nidecker has revolutionized the world of snowboarding with new scientific materials, technical projections and development agreements with the EPFL and DuPont. Today our engineers and riders are proud to tell you about our novelties that are going to take snowboarding to the next level. An all new binding and two patents have been created due to the efforts and the creativity of our engineers. The highback
is fixed in a cunning way to allow a rapid and precise adjustment.

A new snowboard that has enthused us through out its construction…The NANO board
has a concept: new, young and adventurous. A must for any freestyle rider. The ultimate grip® a new way to sharpen and profile the edges. The ultimate grip gives you unbelievable security on hard packed and icy snow.

The Megalight and the Proto have also revolutionized the new Nidecker collection.
A sure and solid value; unique and ready to ride.

Nitro Snowboards

Nitro snowboards was born in 1990 in Seattle, Washington when two snowboarders wanted to make quality gear because there weren’t a lot of good choices out there. Snowboarding was their passion and focus and it still is today. We remain true to snowboarding, and we thank you all for the support so we can continue to do so.

Our goal has always been to progress the sport with products that are innovative in technology, design, and materials, always pushing the limits. We have a history of bringing innovations to the snowboard market including the first asymmetrical twin-tip, first women’s pro model, progressive sidecuts, and the first three-piece adjustable freestyle binding to name just a few.

All of our products start with U.S. Designs at our design office in Seattle. Our dedicated design and development team has been with the company from day one – not a lot of snowboard companies can say that! Then european engineering and craftsmanship takes it to the next level. Our products are manufactured worldwide and all our products are throughly tested by our team around the world. Nitro snowboards is distributed internationally by an equally dedicated crew.

Nordica Ski

In 1939, after years of experience as traders in hides, the brothers Adriano and Oddone Vaccari founded “Nordica” in Montebelluna, making casual footwear. In the after-war years Nordica specialised in ski boots, although continuing to supply the market with cross-country ski shoes and climbing boots. Work was still seasonal and the equipment manual.

In 1950 Zeno Colò gave his name to a Nordica ski boot and to a revolutionary lining designed by Colmar.

Zeno became World Champion with Nordica both in the downhill and the giant slalom of the 1950 World Championships in Aspen, Colorado and gave his name to a ski boot made by the company in Trevignano. The sixties saw radical transformations: 1963 marked the introduction of the buckle, a fastening system conceived in Austria and applied for the first time in Italy by Nordica.

1968 was a crucial year with regard to company technical decisions, which would affect the future and the size of Nordica: the leather upper of the traditional models was plastic-coated externally using polyurethane or pvc and the cuff was raised.

The great innovation of that year, however, was the all-polyurethane ski boot; specific moulds (one for the right boot and one for the left) and injection presses were developed. Nordica set up its first affiliate in the United States, which was the result of an agreement between Nordica and Rossignol.
Other affiliates were opened in Austria, Japan, Switzerland, France and Germany.
Nordica at that time covered 30% of the world production, with an output of 2,000,000 pairs of boots/shoes a year. In 2003 the Nordica brand was purchased by the Tecnica group. The new corporate strategy is aimed at the ski sector with particular attention being paid to the racing product and to the competition sector.
The feeling between some celebrated names in skiing and the Nordica brand is confirmed once again by the great performances in the world cup and by the recent world championships in St. Moritz. Further confirmation of Nordica competitive spirit and the great desire to be number one again.

Obertauern

Obertauern is a famous tourist destination which is located in the “Radstädter Tauern” in the “Salzburger Land” of Austria.[citation needed] The very famous winter sports resort is separated in two communities: Tweng and Untertauern. Obertauern is one of the Radstädter Tauern situated in the south east of the Austrian Bundesland of Salzburg between 1,630 and 2,526 meter above the sea level. The village is located around the highest point of the “Tauern pass” where the “Katschberg Street” (B99) runs. Obertauern belongs to the two districts: St. Johann/Pongau and Tamsweg. Therefore the community is separated into the two townships Untertauern (Pongau) and Tweng (Lungau). Obertauern has got a quite long history, which goes back to the era of the Celts (4th – 1st century before Christ). Also the Roman road went along the “Tauern pass” (in Alpe) to Juvavum (Salzburg). On this street even tracks of old Roman wagons were recovered. Relicts of old milestones attest to the Romans who moved around. The improvement of the road probably goes back to Emperor Claudius (41-54). In 1965, Obertauern was the site used by The Beatles in their film, “HELP!”. The first definite mention of the “Radstädter Tauern” was in the year 1207. In 1224 a small church was already noted at the top of the pass. In 1517 somebody gave an account of two hosts on the “Tauern”, wherewith the houses “Schaidberg” and “Wisenegg” were meant. These two accommodations are still nowadays in a good condition. In 1519 the enlargement of the street took place. In 1764 the archbishop Sigismund of Schrattenbach opened up the post station Untertauern and the post rides went two-times weekly, in 1870 four-times weekly and in 1895 they went two-times per day. In 1902 the first skiers were mentioned. After the 1st World War, in 1920 the first skiers came to Obertauern – on foot. The baggage was transported by sleighs. From 1925 till 1927 the so called “Tauern” races took place which attracted many visitors. The inhabitants of Obertauern dated the “birthday” of the village on the 8th of December 1929, because on that day the regular winter traffic of the “Tauern” pass took place for the first time. In 1948 the first lift was installed at the Seekarhaus. From 1948 till 1960 the slope was stepped by the skiers. For one hour “slope stepping” they got 3 free rides. The streets and the avalanche protection were extended in 1950 and the first platter lifts were built. The beginning to develop the hotel-village Obertauern occurred in 1952. Between 1952 and 1961 a multiplicity of modern cableways and tow lifts were installed.

Further progresses

In 1961 the ultra-modern cableway to the Zehnerkar started . In 1962 “Obertauern” became the official place name. One year later, the first motorized snow cat for Austria was used in Obertauern. The “elementary skiing school” was famous too, because the children learned skiing in the afternoon – and this was part of the regular timetable. In 1965 the Beatles produced a part of their legendary film “Help” in Obertauern. In 1967 slope construction began. In the process some drastic area changes had been taken because they had to improve the slopes for the snow cats and the needs of tourists from around the world.

From the eighties till today

In 1985 the first snow gun was installed. Between 1991 and 1998 many modernization works were completed – for example the flood lit slope or the entering of the contactless ski pass system. In December 1999 Christian Flühr set the world record of marathon skiing in Obertauern – he had been skiing for 3 days nonstop (68 hours and 23 minutes). This is the distance between America and Europe. One season later, in February 2001, the German Christian Flühr set the world record again with more than 4 days (103 hours and 21 minutes) nonstop on skis. Afterwards Christian Flühr improved his world record a few times elsewhere.

Cemetery of the nameless

The cemetery of the nameless is situated at the highest place of the “Tauern” pass. The name originates from the times when people tried to pass the “Tauern” on foot. Often they were ill equipped for the bad whether and died while trying to make the journey. More often than not, they could not be identified and were therefore buried in unmarked graves. Nowadays it is the cemetery for the inhabitants of the developed ski resort Obertauern.

Winter sport in Obertauern

Skiing and snowboarding

Skiing is certainly the most popular sports activity in Obertauern. Besides skiing, snowboarding is quite popular too. The ski area covers around 100 kilometers of slopes and 26 ski lifts, which transport 46,058 persons per hour. The transfer of non-skiers is only possible at the Zehnerkarbahn and at the Günwaldkopfbahn. Restaurants are at the top of both of these lifts. Skiers kiers who only come for a daytrip have got the possibility of parking their cars at the 24,000 square meters parking place. They are all directly next to the slopes. The lift company Obertauern is responsible for the ski lifts.

The Tauern round

In Obertauern you have got the possibility of making a whole round – the so called Tauern round, because the ski lifts are situated around the village. It runs clockwise and anticlockwise. The ski bridges make it possible to pass over the main street safely. You can start the Tauern round at every lift and it will end at the starting point. It’s also possible to use the slopes which are not included in the Tauern round because the signage is very good. The slopes are marked with colours, which show the degree of difficulty. Blue (60%) for easy slopes, red (36%) for intermediate and black (4%) for difficult slope sections.

Cross country

Besides skiing and snowboarding, there are 26km of cross county trails for cross country skiing and also for walking tours.

Olympic Center Obertauern

Obertauern has an official Olympic Center where all visitors can practise various sports. Among many other things, there are 2 tennis courts (indoor), 3 squash boxes, 1 badminton court, 3 fully automatic bowling alleys, a bodybuilding and fitness room with a cadio sphere, a multipurpose hall as well as the possibility to play billiard. There is also a big vitality centre(600 square meters) and a sports medical mentoring available. In former times famous sportsmen like Hermann Maier and Michael Walchhofer trained in this training-center between their races. Heinz Schilchegger, another visitor, is from Obertauern and was a world-class skier too.

Flora and fauna

Obertauern is also popular with scientists and friends of nature. In this region you can find the rare “Rotsternige Blaukelchen”, which is a particular type of bird.”

Option Snowboards

Option Snowboards speaks the international language of quality from Canada to the UK and over to Switzerland. Mountains all over the world are being totally thrashed by riders sporting the Option logo.

Palmer, Palmer Ski, Palmer Snowboard, Palmer Project

Palmer Ski develops and produces snowboards, snowboard-bindings and accessories as well as Palmer Ski – a brand new ski concept – via Internet and the classic sports dealer channels. Palmer has offices in every important ski nation of Europe and the United States. The brand was built together with Shaun Palmer, one of the Snowboard-Pioneers. Palmer has its headquarters in Switzerland. Innovations of Palmer Skis are the Boardercross-Snowboards and the Power-Link-System PLS. Since 2006, Palmer develops and produces Ski. Hansjürg Kessler Snowboards”>Kessler as the worldwide known producer of the fastest alpine snowboards shaped the new Palmer Ski and designed a revolutionary skiconcept that allows to ski easy like a bird with less power, lower carving-speeds and pressure. Thanks to the new shape, to drive Palmer Ski feels-like-flying.

Park Ski

Park skis are especially designed for so called “funparks”.

Park Snowboards, Park Snowboarding

Park Snowboards are especially designed for so called “funparks”

Park, Funpark

How to Ride the Snowboard Park – Everything a Snowboarder should know

Before you drop into a snowboard park, there are some rules you need to follow. These aren’t the ski resorts rules, or any written rules, but the Rules of the Snowboard, Park that every snowboarder should know.

I. If you and another person go at a jump at the same time, let the person going faster hit it. Or if you here someone yell “My turn” “I’m going”” or anything like that, don’t go until you know its clear and someone isn’t coming in from behind you. It really sucks when someone isn’t paying attention and cuts off your turn.

II. If you fall, get up! Snowboarders don’t have X-ray vision. They can’t see if you cleared the jump or if your laying in a pile of snow. Once you fall, get out of the way as soon as you can. Most people don’t waite that long after you before they come flying over the jump themselves.

III. Be courteous. Nothing sucks more than a cocky, rude snowboarder with a lot of attitude. Come on, we know you’re not Terje, so stop acting like you own the park. We’re all here to have fun!

Jumps you’ll see in a snowboard park:

I. Spine: This isn’t a conventional jump, but one that usually extends down a good part of the park. Its almost like a really big speed bump. It would go vertically down the middle. Its a fun way to do a quick 180, 360 or method while you go from one side of the park to the other.

II. Gap Jump: This is a more challenging jump. Its like two small jumps combined into one big one. Their is a “gap” on the middle top that you have to clear, while doing a trick.

III. Table Top: This is a fun jump, as long as you clear the “table.” Its like a regular jump with the top flattened out. On jumps, you always want to land on the down slope. Its better for your knees and you’ll land better. This is especially true on table tops. If you land on the top, flat part its not good.

IV. Half Pipe or Quarter Pipe: Doing tricks in the halfpipe is very different than the above jumps. As you go up the wall of the pipe, bend your knees, and when you reach the lip, spring up and do the best you can to do a trick and land. A Quarter Pipe is built out of the ground (halfpipes are dug into the ground). Its just one wall of a halfpipe, usually placed at the end of the park.

V. Hills: Some jumps look more like hills than regular jumps. They’re more pointed at the top. These are best for going off the sides. Expect to come down pretty fast if you go over the top.”

Planet Sports

Planet Sports is online shop with a wide range of winter products and outerwear.

Ride Snowboards

Rome SDS Snowboards

Rome SDS is a snowboard brand. Rome SDS produces not only snowboards, but also bindings, gloves, boots, bags and accessories. They distribute their products through the traditional sport dealer shops and also through the internet.

Rossignol, Rossignol Skis, Rossignol Snowboards

Skis Rossignol S.A., or simply Rossignol, is a French manufacturer of ski and snowboarding equipment, located in Isère, France.

The company was founded in 1907 as a textile- and ski manufacturer. When Nils Boix Vives bought the company in the 1950’s, the company only focused on skiing equipment. Rossignol had a breakthrough during the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, USA, and from then on the company grew.

Rossignol was one of the first companies to produce plastic skis. The company also owns the brand Dynastar as well as LOOK. In 2005, Rossignol was bought by the boardsport equipment manufacturer Quiksilver.

Roxy Snowboards

Quiksilver, Inc., based in Huntington Beach, California, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of surfwear and other boardsport-related equipment. Its logo, inspired by Hokusai’s woodcut The Great Wave off Kanagawa, consists of a large wave with a mountain on a red background.

The company also markets a line of apparel for young girls and women, under the brand Roxy, named after the daughter of one of the founders.[citation needed] Its logo consists of two copies of the Quiksilver logo, one reflected, forming a heart. Quiksilver owns Skis Rossignol, but is pursuing a sale of the ski business. It owned golf-equipment maker Cleveland Golf up until October 31, 2007, when it sold the company to a Japanese sporting goods company.[2]

The company’s DC and Hawk brands are also synonymous with the heritage and culture of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, and its beach- and water-oriented swimwear brands include Raisins, Radio Fiji and Leilani. The Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, and LOOK brands are leaders in the alpine ski market, and the Company makes snowboarding equipment under its Rossignol, Dynastar, DC, Roxy, Lib Technologies, Gnu and Bent Metal labels.

Quiksilver also carries a line of high-end apparel and accessories under its QuiksilverEdition brand. In the fall of 2008, Quiksilver will introduce its newest brand, Quiksilver Women’s, aimed at the 18 to 24-year-old demographic.

Quiksilver also supports the worldwide boardriding community through its self-titled foundation launched in 2005. The Quiksilver Foundation works to provide environmental, educational, health and youth-related projects to worthy boardriding communities around the globe.

Quiksilver Travel also offers snow and surf travel packages to exotic locations such as Samoa, Peru and Costa Rica.

Saalbach Hinterglemm

Saalbach-Hinterglemm is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is well-known for its skiing and other winter sports. A three piste network consisting of Saalbach, Hinterglemm and Leogang is located in the municipality.

Geography

Saalbach-Hinterglemm is located in the Pinzgau region, in the Saalbach Valley, which is oriented east-west. The region is a part of the Kitzbüheler Alpen. The highest point is Spielberghorn (2,044 m) in the north and Hochkogel (2,249 m) in the south.

The nearest large city is Zell am See, located about 20km away. The municipality consists of two small towns: Saalbach and Hinterglemm, which each make up several Katastralgemeinden.

History

The oldest evidence of settlements in the municipality stems from 1222. The name Salpach first showed up in 1350. Before 1410 there was a church in the town. In 1489 archbishop Johann Beckensloer gave the town market rights.
Spielberghorn.
Spielberghorn.

In spite of this, Saalbach remained, for the most part, a poor agrarian community up into the 20th century. A lasting increase in prosperity did not occur until after World War I, but started primarily after the tourists began arriving in 1945.

In 1987 Saalbach’s name was changed to Saalbach-Hinterglemm.

Alpine Ski World Championships 1991

From the 22nd of January to February 1991 the Alpine Ski World Championships took place in Saalbach Hinterglemm. It was the biggest international event ever seen by the region with excellent weather conditions helping to make the event a huge success.

Coat of Arms

The municipality’s coat of arms is described as A red shield with two diagonally-crossed golden skis. They are accompanied by a silver snowflake above them and three silver balls resting on top of each other at the bottom. On top of all this is an undulating silver bar.

Tourism

The town of Saalbach is primarily orientated towards tourism, without which it could arguably not survive. Most of the inhabitants’ jobs are either directly or indirectly dependent on this industry.

Skiing

Saalbach is one of Austria’s premier ski resorts, offering a wide range of runs, extensive off piste, and an excellent snow record. Skiing can be found on both sides of the valley. The runs on the north side of the valley (south-facing side) tend to be preferred by visitors due to their sunny weather. The pistes on the south side of the valley (north-facing side) are normally in the shade, so have better snow cover, particularly in late season, as well as more trees. Much of the off piste skiing is found on the north side, where thigh-deep, untouched powder can be found only metres from many of the pistes. There is a small snowpark in Hinterglemm, but experienced snowboarders and skiers prefer to head to the snowpark in the adjacent valley in Leogang, which boasts superior kickers, as well as rails and jibs. Saalbach-Hinterglemm also features 6 and 8-man chairlifts with heated seats and retractable covers for use in bad weather.

Saas-Fee

Saas-Fee is the main village in the Saastal or the Saas Valley and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The villages in its neighborhood are Saas-Almagell, Saas-Grund and Saas-Balen.

Its location close to the glaciers of the Dom and the Allalinhorn provides winter sport opportunities throughout the year, and neighbouring peaks such as the Weissmies, the Nadelhorn and the Lenzspitze are popular climbs in the summer season. The community is considered to be a very attractive winter sport destination in the Swiss Alps. Typical activities include skiing, carving, snowshoe trekking, canyon climbing and ice climbing.

Saas-Fee offers 22 lifts, including 3 cable cars, 1 funicular railway, 5 gondolas (1 dedicated to walkers), 2 chairlifts, the remainder being surface lifts (draglifts). The ski run has a vertical drop of 1,800 m (5,906 ft), a top elevation of 3,550 m (11,647 ft) and covers 100 km (30 km beginner, 45 km intermediate, 25 km advanced). Other activities include snowboarding (halfpipe and park), paragliding, hang gliding, and tobogganing.

Saas-Fee can be reached by car or bus—postal buses run during much of the day half-hourly from Brig and Visp, though none provides a service beyond the bus terminal through the length of the town during the winter. No cars are allowed to enter the city (they have to be parked in special car parks outside); only small electric vehicles operate on the streets (and some petrol-driven garbage trucks).

The resort offers many culture, sports and off-slope activities, including classical music, a sports and leisure complex, restaurants, and nightclubs. The resort features the highest underground funicular railway in the world up to the skiing area and the highest revolving restaurant in the world at 3,500 m (11,500 feet). The touristic slogan of Saas-Fee is “”Die Perle der Alpen”” (The pearl of the Alps). The campus of the European Graduate School, a graduate school, is located in Saas-Fee.

Houses are required to be forty percent wood, which is why the city often seems to blend in nicely with its surroundings.

Salomon, Salomon Ski, Salomon Snowboards

The Salomon Group (also just known as “Salomon”) is a sports equipment manufacturing company that originated in Annecy, France. The company was started in 1947 by François Salomon and his wife and child. In 1997 it became part of the Adidas group. On 2 May 2005, Adidas-Salomon announced that it had agreed to sell the Salomon Group for €485 million to Amer Sports of Finland. The transaction was completed on October 20, 2005.

Salzburger Sportwelt – explained in PalmerProject-Ski- and Snowboard-Lexicon

“Nature, sports, recreation – the “”Salzburg Sportwelt”” offers holidays for young and old, for families and individualists.
Eight holiday resorts (Flachau, Wagrain, St. Johann-Alpendorf, Radstadt, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Kleinarl, Eben, Filzmoos), embedded in the valleys of the Dachstein and Tauern mountains, are prepared to offer their guests varied and exciting holidays all year long!

Samnaun

Samnaun (Romansh: Samignun) is a municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

In the 19th century, Samnaun could only be reached by road from Spiss in Austria. Thus Samnaun was excluded from the Swiss customs territory. The exception was maintained even after a road was built in 1905 linking Samnaun to Martina in the Inn valley.

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz also known as SCS is the name of a U.S. sports equipment and outfit company based in Santa Cruz, California. It was started in 1973. Santa Cruz is owned by Richard Novak, and is part of the NHS Inc family.

In 2006, Novak threatened to move NHS and Santa Cruz Skateboards out of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz Skateboard Decks are now made in China.

Santa Cruz’ main products are skateboard decks and wheels. Santa Cruz also produces snowboarding and surfing equipment under their own specific companies.

Sapient Snowboards

Sapient is a snowboard producer, who is as well producing bindings and boots and distributes worldwide. The headquarter is located in Vancouver Canada.

Schnalstal

The Ötztal is a 65-kilometer long alpine valley in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The Ötztaler Ache river flows through the valley in a northern direction. The Ötztal separates the Stubai Alps in the east from the Ötztal Alps in the west. The northern end of the valley is at the confluence of the Ötztaler Ache and Inn rivers, 8 kilometers east of Imst and 50 kilometers west of Innsbruck. The southern end of the valley terminates at the border with Italy, formed by the main chain of the Alps, with many glaciers and high peaks, including the Weißkugel and the Similaun. The village of Obergurgl at the southern end of the Ötztal Gurglertal valley is the highest parish in Austria.

In 1991, Ötzi the Iceman, a well-preserved natural mummy from about 3300 BC, was found in the nearby Schnalstal glacier near the Finielsptize and the Similaun. The Ötzi monument is located about an hour’s walk from the Similaun Hut.

The Ötztal valley is comprised of five municipalities (from north to south): Sautens, Oetz, Umhausen, Längenfeld and Sölden. The main industry in the valley is tourism: the mountains around the Ötztal valley are popular with mountaineers and skiers. There are ski resorts in the upper part of the valley at Sölden, Hochsölden, and Hochgurgl. The Timmelsjoch (Passo del Rombo) mountain pass connects the Ötztal valley with the Passeiertal valley and Merano in the province of Bolzano-Bozen, Italy.

Scott Ski

The Swiss company Scott (formerly Scott USA) is a producer of bicycles and sportswear.

In 1958, engineer and skier Ed Scott from Sun Valley, Idaho invented a ski pole made of aluminium, which compared favorably to those made of bamboo or steel. On the basis of this success, the company started to produce many kinds of sports goods. In 1970, Scott sold their first protection goggles for motocross riders; further motocross wear followed.

Scott expanded to Europe in 1978, settling their headquarters in Fribourg, Switzerland.

The first mountain bike was produced in 1986, but more important was the invention of an aerodynamic handlebar, with which cyclist Greg LeMond won the Tour de France, only eight seconds ahead of Laurent Fignon. Today, this form of handlebar is obligatory for most time trial races and is also used in triathlons.

In 1991, Scott produced the first suspended fork named “”Unishock”” and a year later, the first full suspended mountain bike was showed to the public. The racing bicycle sector expanded continuously and in 2002, stage 10 of the Tour de France was won by Patrice Halgand riding for the Jean Delatour team, which was at that time supported by Scott.Today, Scott supplies Team Saunier Duval-Scott with equipment.

The name ‘Scott USA’ was changed to ‘Scott’, representing a shift in emphasis to the European market.

Serfaus

Serfaus is a municipality in the district of Landeck in Tyrol, Austria. It is located at [show location on an interactive map] 47°1′N, 10°35′E, with a population of 1,091 (2001).

Serfaus best known for its tiny subway system, the Dorfbahn Serfaus. With four stations and a length of 1280 m it allows for a complete ban of cars within the town, while at the same time maintaining the village’s attractiveness to tourists, particularly skiers. The municipality teamed up with the two nearby municipalities of Fiss and Ladis to form the ski resort of Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis.”

Silvretta Nova

In the west of Austria lies Vorarlberg, the perfect location for hiking, skiing, and discovery. “The countryside is a wonderfully unique feast for the eyes,” say our guests, admiring the clear and comfortable area.

Sims

Tom Sims is a pioneer and world champion of snowboarding, originally from Haddonfield, New Jersey. In 1963, he made what he called a the “skiboard,” an early version of the snowboard, in the Haddonfield Middle School’s shop room after failing to complete his intended project, a custom skateboard.[1] Sims was the snowboarding stunt double for “007” (Roger Moore) in the 1984 James Bond release, A View to a Kill.[2] He did not patent his invention and there is dispute as to whether or not he is the inventor of the snowboard. In 2006, the Sims Snowboards brand was licensed by Collective Licensing International, though Tom Sims is still very involved in the operation on all levels.

Ski accident

An accident is a specific, identifiable, unexpected, unusual and unintended external event which occurs in a particular time and place, without apparent or deliberate cause but with marked effects. It implies a generally negative probabilistic outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence.

Narrowly defined, the designation may refer only to the event, while not including the circumstances (facts surrounding) or results of the event; i.e., ‘accident’ is constrained to an immediate incident, the occurrence of which results in an unplanned outcome. In common use, however, ‘accident’ may include the entire interacting circumstantial framework (chance, pre-existing, or uncontrolled dynamically developing conditions; commonplace actions; random time and place; participants; etc.) leading up to, including, and resulting from, the accident’s immediate occurrence. Experts in the field of injury prevention avoid use of the term “”accident”” because they look at these incidents from the perspective of epidemiology – predictable and preventable.

Accidents of particularly common types (auto, fire, etc.) are investigated to identify how to avoid them in the future. This is sometimes called root cause analysis, but does not generally apply to accidents that cannot be deterministically predicted. For example, a root cause of an uncommon and purely random accident may never be identified, and thus future similar accidents remain “accidental.”

Physical examples include, e.g., unintended collisions or falls, being injured by touching something sharp, hot, or electrical, or ingesting poison. Non-physical examples are, e.g, unintentionally revealing a secret or otherwise saying something incorrectly, forgetting an appointment, etc.

The informal term “”freak accident”” typically refers to an unfortunate and improbable event that seems exceedingly unlikely to happen by chance. In extreme contexts, the term may also imply doubt, ambiguity or suspicion about an accident event’s cause.

Colloquially considered negative, ‘happy’ accidents with positive results are also possible.

The injury prevention community strongly discourages use of the word “”accident”” to describe events that cause injury in attempt to highlight the predictable and preventable nature of most injuries. Preferred words are more descriptive of the event itself rather than of its unintentional nature (e.g., crash, collision, incident, drowning, fall, etc.)

Skiwelt Wilder Kaiser Brixental

The “”SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser Brixental”” is the largest contiguous ski region in Austria:

250 km of pistes
180 km of pistes with artificial snow
89 lifts and cable cars
70 ski huts

Anyone spending their holidays in one of the charming Brixental villages is at the epicentre of a fascinating winter experience. The opportunities to enjoy the winter here are simply enormous. Aside from the most modern ski facilities and the sweeping XXL downhill runs, the numerous regional celebrations await guests including a broad programme of entertainment, which sets the soul free and almost wedel.

Slopestyle

Slope-style is a snowboard competition style, where jumps and tricks are evaluated through a big park with a lot of obsticles.

Snow sport accident

Colloquially considered negative, ‘happy’ accidents with positive results are also possible.

Snow24.com

Snow24 manages information on all the world’s ski centres. Our central resource is a database of 5,700 ski centres in 80 countries, first established in 1991 and now grown to include up to 500 comparable stats on each ski area, detailed descriptive texts of the world’s top 250 resorts and maps and images from the top 1,000 resorts.

We license our content, which includes a year-round weekly world ski news service, to online and paper publishers, tour operators, cartographic publishers, the ski industry and other interested parties.

We also provide a consultancy and marketing service based on our long established worldwide contact network and unrivalled information resources.

Snow and rock

Snow + Rock was the brainchild of skiing and climbing enthusiast Mike Browne. Opening the first store on London’s Kensington High Street in October 1982, Snow+Rock was run by a group of passionate skiers and climbers, and only offered the best gear and the best customer service. With time, the small team of staff built a reputation for their enthusiasm and their product knowledge, and Snow+Rock soon became the no.1 choice for London’s skiers and climbers.
As success grew so did the number of shops, reaching 11 units when Mike Browne retired in 2004. Andrew Brownsword, a keen skier and successful entrepreneur, then bought the brand retaining many of the original Directors who staffed the original Kensington store. Twenty-five years on and the business has grown to be the leading specialist winter sports and outdoor retailer in the UK with 16 stores, a successful website and mail order service.

Snowboard-Asylum

Snowboard Asylum is a wide range online shop with a huge choice on winter sport products and outerwear. The Snowboard-Asylum entails snowboards, bindings, boots, outerwear, bags and protective gear.

Sölden

Sölden is a municipality in the Ötztal valley of Tyrol, Austria. With c. 467 km², it is the largest municipality in the country. The population of 3,449 (as of 2003) is outnumbered by tourists of which 15,000 can be accommodated. With tourist bed nights running at over two million per year, the municipality is second only to Vienna as an Austrian tourist destination: inevitably Sölden’s has lost some its former villagey charm, but other attractions have been enhanced in recent years.

The main village of Sölden is at 1,368 m above sea level. The highest peak is the Wildspitze which is at 3,768 m the second highest mountain in Austria after the Großglockner.

Sölden is also a popular ski resort. The first Alpine Skiing World Cup race of the year usually takes place there. However, the scheduled race for 2006 was cancelled due to weather.

Sport Scheck

The company SportScheck GmbH based in Munich was taken over by the Otto Group in part in 1988 and completely in 1991.

SportScheck is one of the largest sporting goods providers in Germany and a multi-channel business specializing in equipment and apparel for almost any sport. The range of products is available via distance selling in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It is presented in 16 branch shops with a total selling space of nearly 45,000 sq. m and, as Germany’s Nr. 1 in sports online trading, on www.sportscheck.com. The competence of SportScheck is emphasized by numerous events that turn grassroots sports into an emotional adventure.

The company headquarters are located in Unterhaching near Munich. The SportScheck staff currently totals approx. 1,300. “

St. Anton am Arlberg

Sankt Anton am Arlberg is a village in Tyrol, western Austria, with a population of c. 2,800. It is a prominent ski resort situated at 1,304 m above sea level in the Tyrolean Alps with dozens of Aerial tramways, chair lifts and ski-lifts up to 2,811 m. It is well known around the world as the host of the Alpine World Skiing Championships in 2001 and as one of the world’s most famous international winter sports and a summer resort. Skiing has a long history in this village: even before World War I, the first skiing teachers were employed at St. Anton. It is located in the Stanzertal and belongs to the district of Landeck.

The resort

A town of 2,500 permanent inhabitants, St. Anton offers the best expert skiing in the Arlberg region, and the most lively apres-ski scene. St. Anton lies on the Rosanna River, and is on the main east-west rail line between Austria and Switzerland. It is part of the Arlberg alliance of ski resorts—a region that includes more 82 cable cars and ski lifts, 260 km (160 miles) of groomed pistes and 184 km (114 miles) of deep-snow runs.

A pedestrian zone forms the center of the town. On the western edge of village is the “Galzigbahn” which has been replaced by a Funitel gondola. The new gondola also includes the first ever ferris wheel, which enables passengers to board the gondolas on ground level. The Funitel accesses the Galzig slopes and connects to Schindler and Valluga peaks. On the eastern edge of town, the Nassereinerbahn rises to the Nasserien area with links to Kapall peak. Kapall, Valluga, and Schindler peaks provide skiers with close to 1,500 vertical metres skiing. Slope-side apres-ski bars, such as Krazy Kanguruh and Mooserwirt, can be found on the Steissbachtal trail just above St. Anton. A more subdued apres-ski scene exists in the numerous pubs and cafes in town.

Expert terrain includes less frequently groomed ski routes such as Schindlerkar and Mattun, and the backside of Valluga (2,811 m) down to Zürs, which is for experts only if accompanied by a guide. There are also a large number of off-piste routes in the area that experts can explore with the help of a guide. Rendl, a separate area on the other side of town, is more suitable for intermediates. It also gets the late afternoon sun. Many people end the day at the Rendl Beach–a lively outside bar with a sun terrace and daily tea dances.

Other ski areas are Lech, Stuben and St. Christoph, a hamlet that became famous in the 14th century when the shepherd Heinrich Findelkind built a hospice as a shelter for traveler crossing the Arlberg pass to the Vorarlberg province. Alpe Rauz, near St. Christoph, has one of the finest cruising trails in the region, an 820 m vertical slope that takes one all the way from Ulmer Hutte to Stuben.

St. Moritz

St. Moritz (German: Sankt Moritz, Romansh: San Murezzan) is an exclusive resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. St. Moritz is considered the oldest and one of the most famous winter resorts in the world. Due to its favorable location residents enjoy over 300 days of sunshine a year. Every winter this alpine village hosts the “”White Turf”” horse race on the frozen Lake St. Moritz attended by the international Upper class. The official languages are Romansh and German.

Popular pastimes include skiing and hiking, and nearby there is also the world famous Cresta Run toboggan course.

The year-round population is 5600, with some 3000 seasonal employees supporting hotels and rental units with a total of 13,000 beds.

Since the registration of a new trademark by the tourist office in 1987, St. Moritz is also known as Top of the World.

Stöckli, Stöckli Ski

Foundation of the Stöckli AG Ski Factory

In the middle of the 1930s, Josef Stöckli was producing wooden skis for his own use and also for his colleagues. As the demand became even greater, he decided to open the Stöckli AG ski works in 1936. At this time, in Switzerland alone, about 30 ski producing factories had been founded. A few other larger ski factories such as Schwendener, Attenhofer and Authier flourished.

Marketing Policy
With the exception of Stöckli, all ski manufacturers in Switzerland were under pressure from competitive companies, even from abroad, offering their equipment at more favourable prices. In 1967, had Stöckli not chosen to adopt direct marketing policy, the company would have probably shared the same fate. Today, with our own 11 branches and 31 partner companies, Stöckli guarantees complete customer-orientation.

Production
In 1986, with the building of the new factory in Malters, it was possible to increase sales up to the present level of 50,000 pairs. Through the expansion of the production plant in 2002, the whole development department was centralised to counteract the short-lived nature of product life cycles and to increase the level of innovation.

Ski Racing
At first, Stöckli’s involvement was limited mainly to the regional ski racing scene. It was mainly athletes from Central Switzerland that put their trust in Stöckli skis. Through regional successes, in 1984 after many attempts, Stöckli was finally added to the Swiss Ski Pool. The result of this was that the vice world champion Urs Kälin, the first Swiss world champion, changed sponsor to Stöckli and took several podium positions in his first season alone. Stöckli customers can also benefit from the innovative equipment used in the world championships: the exact skis (special laser models) as used by elite athletes are to be found on the shelves in Stöckli outlets.

Expansion of the Ski Sales Channels
With Stöckli’s entry into the ski world championships, it was decided to keep up with demand by opening a further sales channel. On this basis, a chosen network of dealers, consisting of 31 renowned sports shops in the most important ski areas of Switzerland, came into being. Stöckli remains true to its policy “”quality before quantity””. This assures customers that they can get the necessary advice at partner outlets which is so important when purchasing skis. Since the opening of the Hire and Service Centres at Sörenberg, Melchsee-Frutt, Hoch-Ybrig and Engelberg, skis can be hired or purchased in 4 further locations.

International Trade
Stöckli also pursues a selective marketing strategy on an international level. At this time 40% of the annual production is exported to 32 countries and surprisingly, Austria, as the leading ski-producing nation, belongs to one of the best markets. This is due to mainly to the excellent quality and performance of Stöckli products.

Stöckli Bikes
In the year 1996, Stöckli launched its own range of bikes. Since then, bikes have been designed and made to specification by the company’s own engineers and assembled in Switzerland. Through the use of excellent components, the range was soon established on the bike scene (including racing). Stöckli’s first big success in bike racing (with the Team Stöckli-Craft) was to win the Long Distance European Championship in 2002 and further top-class results followed soon after.

Outdoor Sports
The name Stöckli is now well known, not only for skis but also for a unique selection of goods in the sphere of ski wear, ski boots, snowboards, cross-country skiing and a multitude of associated accessories.

Stöckli offers a variety of products for biking, trekking, walking, running and inline-skating, not only in winter but in summer too. Its department “”Teamsport”” (printing of tracksuits, t-shirts, sports jerseys etc.), which allows groups or sports clubs to profit from attractive prices, has also grown to be a very important part of the company.
On the strength of the long-term extension of the product range and know-how in the outdoor sector, which has been acquired over decades, Skifabrik Stöckli AG has now become Stöckli Swiss Sports AG with the supplement “”outdoor sports”” and will present its new logo on 1 October 2007.

Sulden

Sulden (Italian: Solda) is a mountain village in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of northern Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Stilfs (Stelvio), in the province of Bolzano-Bozen.

Geography

Sulden lies at the foot of the Ortler, in the Vinschgau valley east of the Stelvio Pass. It is 1900 m above sea level, with a population of 400.

History

Due to its remote location, in AD 1802, the Austrian newspaper “”Innsbrucker Wochenblatt”” compared it to “”Siberia of Tyrol””, “”where farmers dine with bears and kids ride on wolves””.

Tourism changed this, as Sulden now has 2000 beds and eleven ski lifts, part of Ortler Ski arena.

Famous residents

Reinhold Messner owns a herd of Yaks there, and also the “Messner Mountain Museum Ortles”.

Surfing

Surfing is a surface water sport in which the participant is carried along the face of a breaking wave, most commonly using a surfboard, although wave-riders may make use of kneeboards, body boards (aka boogie boards), kayaks, surf skis, and their own bodies. Surfing-related sports such as paddleboarding and sea kayaking do not require waves, and other derivative sports such as kitesurfing and windsurfing rely primarily on wind for power, yet all of these tools may as well be used to ride waves.

Two major subdivisions within contemporary stand-up surfing are reflected by the differences in surfboard design and riding style of longboarding and shortboarding.

In tow-in surfing (most often, but not exclusively, associated with big wave surfing), a surfer is towed into the wave by a motorized water vehicle, such as a jetski, generally because standard paddling is often ineffective when trying to match a large wave’s higher speed.

Verbier

Verbier is a ski resort in the Swiss Alps, in the canton of Valais. It is part of the “Four Valleys” ski area, which includes the ski resorts of Verbier, Nendaz, Veysonnaz, La Tzoumaz, and Thyon. Verbier is recognized as one of the premiere “off-piste” resorts worldwide. Many top skiers have settled in the resort in order to take advantage of the steep slopes, varied conditions and vibrant nightlife. Verbier is also a popular holiday destination for celebrities, including Sarah Ferguson, Diana Ross, James Blunt and The Crown Prince Couple of Denmark: Frederik and Mary. It caters to many British customers, but it receives a lot of German, Swedish, Dutch, Italian, Belgian, French, Austrian and American visitors too.

Volant Ski

Volant is a brand of ski equipment, currently owned by Amer Sports. It was founded as an independent company in the USA, by brothers Hank and Bucky Kashiwa in 1989. The brothers developed the stainless steel “”cap”” ski, and founded the company with the belief that stainless steel skis would provide better performance than skis made from other materials.

By 1998, Volant was the fourth best-selling ski supplier in the United States, with industry-leading owner loyalty at or above 80%.[citation needed] In 2001, Volant production was moved from Wheat Ridge, Colorado to Atomic’s Altenmarkt factory in Austria on an OEM basis.[1] In 2003, the Volant brand was acquired by Amer Group, LLC, the parent company of Atomic, and several other brands of sporting equipment.”

Völkl, Völkl Ski, Völkl Snowboards

Völkl is a sports equipment manufacturer based in Germany. It is a subsidiary of the Jarden Corporation. Initially it manufactured skis, but has extended its line to snowboards, outerwear, and tennis gear. The American branch is located in West Lebanon, New Hampshire along with its exclusive binding manufacturer, Marker.

Völkl skis

Since 1923, Völkl has manufactured skis in Straubing, Germany. Straubing is a Bavarian town about an hour’s drive north of Munich. Though they recently built a state-of-the-art production facility in Straubing, the original factory is still in use as the Völkl World Logistics Center.

Völkl in professional tennis

Völkl tennis racquets were used by players such as Boris Becker and Petr Korda. The list of current players includes Felix Mantilla, Radek Stepanek, Jiri Novak, Dominika Cibulkova and Martin Damm.

Völkl Sport America

Located in New Hampshire, Völkl Sport America is the importer and distributor of Völkl products in the United States. Völkl is a subsidiary of Völkl International. K2 Corporation of Carlsbad, California owns both Völkl Sport America and Völkl International. K2 was acquired by the Jarden Corporation in 2007.”

Wakeboarding

Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water behind a boat. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques.

The rider is towed behind a boat; typically at speeds of 18-24 miles per hour depending on water conditions, rider’s weight, board size, and most importantly, the riders personal preference. But wakeboarding can also be performed on a variety of media including closed-course cables, winches, PWCs, and ATVs.

Wakeboarding can be done pulled by a motor boat and recently more often by Cable skiing as well.

Weather, Weather Conditions

Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since at least the nineteenth century. Weather forecasts are made by collecting quantitative data about the current state of the atmosphere and using scientific understanding of atmospheric processes to project how the atmosphere will evolve.

Once an all human endeavor based mainly upon changes in barometric pressure, current weather conditions, and sky condition, forecast models are used to determine future conditions. Human input is still required to pick the best possible forecast model to base the forecast upon, which involves pattern recognition skills, teleconnections, knowledge of model performance, and knowledge of model biases. The chaotic nature of the atmosphere, the massive computational power required to solve the equations that describe the atmosphere, error involved in measuring the initial conditions, and an incomplete understanding of atmospheric processes mean that forecasts become less accurate as the difference in current time and the time for which the forecast is being made (the range of the forecast) increases. The use of ensembles and model consenses help narrow the error and pick the most likely outcome.

There are a variety of end users to weather forecasts. The most important of the forecasts, weather warnings, are used to protect life and property. Forecasts based on temperature and precipitation are important to agriculture, and therefore to commodity traders within stock markets. Temperature forecasts are used by utility companies to estimate demand over coming days. On an everyday basis, people use weather forecasts to determine what to wear on a given day and what activities are possible to perform on certain days. Since outdoor activities are severely curtailed by heavy rain and snow, forecasts can be used to plan activities around these events, and more importantly, to plan ahead and survive them.

Winter sport accidents

Colloquially considered negative, ‘happy’ accidents with positive results are also possible.

X Games

The X Games is an annual event with a focus on extreme action sports. The Winter X Games are held in January or February and the Summer X Games are usually held in August. Competitors perform as best as they can trying to win bronze, silver and gold medals, and prize money. The competition often features new tricks such as Tony Hawk’s “900” in skateboarding, and Travis Pastrana’s double backflip in Motocross. Concurrent with competition is the so-named X Fest—ultimate action sports and music festival, which offers live music, athlete autograph sessions, interactive elements. The location of the Winter X Games is in Aspen, Colorado through 2010, while the location for the Summer X Games is in Los Angeles through 2009. The X Games also has international competitions and demos around the world that are held at varying times throughout the year. The games are shown live on ESPN and ABC television.

Zai

Stone is usually a material that we associate with very heavy floors, or simply big lumps of rock scattered about in nature. It is not something we link to high-performance, light-weight and flexible skis. But, this may be about to change.

Zai Skis in Switzerland has made the “zai Spada” ski, which is made of carbon fiber and stone – specifically it is made of special Grisons granite from the Calancatal valley – and they look spectacular.

Zermatt

Zermatt (French: Praborgne) is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

It is located at the northern base of the Matterhorn in the German-speaking and predominantly Roman Catholic section of the canton. It is 62 km southeast of Gstaad, and only about 10 km from the border with Italy. Although the official language is German, most inhabitants also speak French and some English[citation needed].

Zermatt has a permanent population of around 5,500 people, although the actual population varies considerably through the seasons as tourists come and go. The village is situated at the end of a north-facing valley, at an altitude of 1,620m (5,315ft). The valley is a dead end; although the border with Italy is close, it cannot be crossed by road, as it traverses a glacier at an altitude of over 3,000m.

Zugspitze

The Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany. It is located at the Austrian border in the town of Grainau of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria. On the Austrian side is the town of Ehrwald in the district of Reutte, Tyrol. There is a cog railway (Zugspitzbahn ) leading from the tourist resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the peak. There are also two cable cars that go to the peak from the base: one ascends from the German side of the mountain at the Eibsee (Eibsee Aerial Tramway), and the other ascends from Austria (Tiroler Zugspitzbahn ). The peak is regularly crowded with tourists.

For those wishing to reach the summit under their own power, various hiking and ski trails can also be followed to the top. Hiking to the top from the base takes between one and two days. Food and lodging is available on some trails. In winter the Zugspitze is a popular skiing destination, with several slopes on both sides. The Zugspitzplatt is the highest ski resort of Germany and thus has enough snow all winter.

The border between Germany and Austria goes right through the mountain. There used to be a border checkpoint at the summit. But since Germany and Austria are now both part of the Schengen zone, the border crossing is no longer staffed.

The Zugspitze belongs to the Wetterstein range in the northern Kalkalpen. It gets its name from the many avalanches (Lawinenzüge in German) on its steep north slopes.

At the Zugspitze’s summit is the Münchner Haus, an Alpenvereinshütte, a facility built by the Deutscher Alpenverein. For more than a hundred years now, the summit has also had a weather station, which nowadays also gathers data for the Global Atmosphere Watch.

Shortly after WW II the USA military took over the Schneefernerhaus (as the hotel at the top was then called) for the exclusive use of USA military and civilian employees. Room rates, including meals, were US$1/day. Ski lessons were available, taught by Austrians and Germans, at a cost of USD$ 0.25 (25 cents) per hour.

The first recorded ascent to the summit was accomplished by a team of land surveyors on 27 August 1820. The team was led by Lieutenant Josef Naus, who was accompanied by two men named Maier and G. Deutschl. However, local people had conquered the peak over 50 years earlier, according to a 1770 map discovered by the Alpenverein.

On 7 January 1882 the first successful winter assault on the Zugspitze was accomplished by F. Kilger, H. and J. Zametzer and H. Schwaiger.

Climbing up the Zugspitze can involve several routes. The difference in elevation between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the summit is 2 200 m, making the climb a challenge even for trained mountaineers.

On the German side, from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, climbers go either through the Höllental (“Valley of Hell”) or the Reintal. The way through the Reintal is the easiest, but also the longest and takes 8 to 10 hours. This path goes through the Partnachklamm, a scenic gorge, then through the Reintal up to the Zugspitzplatt, a barren plateau. from there up to the summit. Climbers can stay for the night at two alpine huts, the “Reintalangerhütte” or the “Knorrhütte”.

The more popular, but harder route is through the Höllental. It starts at Hammersbach near Garmisch, goes through the Höllentalklamm, a similar gorge up to the “Höllentalangerhütte”, where one can take a meal or stay for the night. It then crosses the Höllentalferner, the remnants of a small glacier. After that it traverses a wall with the help of iron ladders and steps. Via ferrata equipment is recommended for that part. Over the Irmerscharte (a gap) it reaches the summit. This path should take 7 to 8 hours.

From the Austrian village of Ehrwald, there are also two variants. One goes straight through the Western Flank, which is the shortest route overall, but rather hard. It includes a via ferrata, and there is a hut called “”Wiener Neustädter Hütte”” by the Austrian Alpine Club. An easier path leads via the Ehrwalder Alm, across a small pass called “Gatterl”, joining the Reintal path at the Knorrhütte.

The Zugspitze’s exact height was a matter of debate for quite a while. Given figures ranged from 2 960 m to 2 970 m, but it is now generally accepted that the peak is 2 962 m above sea level as a result of a survey carried out by the Bavarian land survey office. The lounge at the new café is named “2962” for this reason.