Free Republic

What was supposed to be a thrilling ride down a ski slope inside a giant inflatable ball ended in tragedy for the two Russian men inside. The transparent plastic ball -- called a zorb -- veered off course and sailed over a precipice in the rugged Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia. The man who died, 27-year-old Denis Burakov, was with friends at the Dombai ski resort, where they frequently went snowboarding, on Jan. 3 when he decided to take a ride in a zorb being operated next to a beginners' slope. His friend Vladimir Shcherbakov joined him. An eight-minute video...

Mount Snow Vermont, Hunter Mountain Win Top Awards for Ski Conditions, SafetyBoth Mount Snow and Hunter Mountain have made large investments in new, safe equipment.By Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyNew York, NY --- March 3, 2012 .... When selecting a ski area in New England or New York to spend both your hours and money at, by what criteria do we go by? First off, as a ski professional for more than three decades, I look at ski conditions. Ski conditions, snow making, grooming and honesty in reporting ski trail conditions determine whether I will be skiing on snow or...

No one was reported hurt, so you can relax and watch these crazy videos of a ginormous, late-afternoon, wet avalanche at St. Francois-Longchamps, France, in the Savoie, destroying a quad chairlift. Some 70 people were on the lift and, incredibly, not one was injured and all were evacuated within two and a half hours.

VANCOUVER — Concerns about the financial burden on the family of freestyle skier Sarah Burke quickly dissipated Friday and talk turned to how best to honour the legacy of the halfpipe pioneer. Donations to a fund set up by her agent, Mike Spencer, had, by late afternoon, reached nearly $200,000, which was the “clarified” figure for the medical expenses incurred during the X Games star’s nine days of care at the University of Utah hospital. Burke, a 29-year-old resident of Squamish, B.C., passed away Thursday after sustaining irreversible brain damage as a result of a fall in training on a...

(12-29) 11:21 PST Las Vegas, NV (AP) -- A police chief in northern Nevada said Thursday he decided to use the discovery of marijuana on five Utah-bound buses carrying 250 underage skiers from Northern California as a teaching moment instead of an enforcement headache. Elko Police Chief Don Zumwalt said he offered a choice to the mostly teenage passengers from the Bay Area: They could spend their three-day ski and snowboard trip in juvenile detention in northeast Nevada, or they could turn over the illegal drugs voluntarily. The kids gave up the pot. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/29/state/n093604S31.DTL#ixzz1i2tWo6Gr

Wolf Creek is in southwestern Colorado on U.S. Highway 160 about 250 miles from Denver. Operators had previously planned to open November 4, but the storm that blew Wednesday and Thursday changed all that. Wolf Creek says it has 36" of snow and it plans to operate three lifts and offer 600 acres of skiing ... The storm allowed Front Range ski resorts including Copper Mountain, Loveland and Arapahoe Basin to fire up their snowmaking equipment.

ou’ve probably already heard about the various threats caused by global warming: melting glaciers, extreme weather disturbances and endangering the habitat of the polar bear. Tomorrow, the Natural Resources Defense Council will add another concern to the list: the endangered winter sports fan. As the NRDC put it in a press release yesterday: Some of the top names in winter sports are going to the U.S. Capitol Thursday to ask lawmakers to stop efforts in Congress to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

September 7, 2011 Helmet bill veto: 'Not every human problem deserves a law' Legislation mandating helmets for minors hitting the slopes has been vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown. The Democratic governor said in a veto message that his decision to reject Senate Bill 105 was driven by concerns about the "continuing and seemingly inexorable transfer of authority from parents to the state." "Not every human problem deserves a law," Brown wrote. Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/09/helmet-bill-veto-jerry-brown.html#ixzz1XIbt5Y2S

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Olympic silver medalist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson was found dead in a remote canyon in Utah in what police are calling a suicide. One of the world's most risk-taking and innovative freestyle skiers, the creator of the one-of-a-kind "Hurricane" called 911 before shooting himself, police said. The 29-year-old had been cited for drunken driving Friday in Hailey, Idaho and had pleaded not guilty. Officers found Peterson late Monday night between Salt Lake City and Park City in Lambs Canyon. Police said a suicide note was found near Peterson's car; they declined to reveal what it said....

FRISCO, Colo. (AP) -- Colorado authorities say a paraplegic skier was killed after taking a hard fall at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area. The Summit County Coroner's office says 51-year-old Jack Wade of Golden, Colo., used a "sit ski" device that allowed him to sit while going down the slopes. The office says witnesses report that the edges of Wade's skis caught on the snow and he crashed "very hard" Thursday afternoon.

First Lady Michelle Obama is on “a private family trip” in Colorado where she is skiing with daughters Sasha and Malia, according to an administration official.“The First Lady and several close friends are chaperoning their children on a ski trip,” the official told the press pool reporter who is following President Obama today.Reports coming out of Colorado say she arrived Friday night and is staying at the Sebastian Hotel on Vail Mountain. Rooms start at $605 per night for a room with two queen beds and head north of $2,000 for multi-bedroom suites.Here’s a description from the hotel’s website: For...

Full title: Obama accused of 'double standards' as family go skiing just days after telling Americans to sacrifice their own holidays (shortenend to fit within word limit) President Obama has been accused of having double standards after appealing for Americans to sacrifice their holidays just days before his wife and children went on a costly skiing trip. First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha are said to be on a 'private family trip' to Colorado for Presidents' Day Weekend... Although the Obamas will pay for a portion of the skiing trip, taxpayers will still shoulder many of the...

First Lady Michelle Obama and the first children, Malia and Sasha, enjoyed a weekend of skiing and celebrating in Vail, Colorado, and ET has exclusive details! The First Lady and the girls stayed at the Sebastian Hotel, where they requested an early morning call every day so they could hit the slopes -- spending about 5-7 hours each day on the mountain! The First Lady and her friends hit the spa, but the fun wasn't reserved for the adults -- Sasha, Malia and their friends had a sleepover where they played Wii and watched videos, and the girls also enjoyed...

Development group backs out of ski resort proposal on Biscayne LandingDreams of snow in South Florida quickly melted away as the developer who proposed to build a ski resort in North Miami has decided to pack it in. Solar Mountain Management Group had pitched building a winter-themed mega complex on the 193-acre Biscayne Landing site, but problems with financing seems to have nixed the deal. In May, North Miami commissioners had ranked the proposal the best they heard for the abandoned site located at 151st Street and Biscayne to 143rd Street. Solar Mountain would be a one-of-a-kind attraction in the...

When most skiers think of slopes to try come July, Chile and Argentina come to mind. But this year, a couple of ski resorts that don’t require a passport are taking advantage of the buckets of snow that fell this winter to extend their seasons through July 4 weekend. Mammoth resort in California is making a virtue of the snow and sun by offering a ski, bike and golf package — yes, all in one day — for $99. Or, if three activities in one day is too much for you, Mammoth is offering a ski and golf package for...

John Kenneth Galbraith, the Harvard economist who died last week in his 98th year, has been justly celebrated for his wit, fluency, public-spiritedness and public service, which extended from New Deal Washington to India, where he served as U.S. ambassador. Like two Harvard colleagues -- historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and Sen. Pat Moynihan, another ambassador to India -- Galbraith was among liberalism's leading public intellectuals, yet he was a friend and skiing partner of William F. Buckley. After one slalom down a Swiss mountain, inelegantly executed by the 6-foot-8-inch Galbraith, Buckley asked how long Galbraith had been skiing. Thirty years,...

ALTA, Utah – Europeans are bringing expertise on avalanche safety to Utah. A Swiss engineer and leading avalanche-safety expert Manuel Genswein was at a Wasatch ski resort east of Salt Lake City this weekend to show off a device meant for surviving a deadly snow slide — a set of air bags designed into a backpack for floating atop avalanche debris. Skiers hit a rip cord to activate the air bags. Genswein said the $1,000 air bag system is making its introduction in North America after years of use around Europe, where he says it has proven 98 percent effective....

A TOP skier was left in tears when her Olympic dream ended in just FIVE seconds after she spectacularly tumbled over. French woman Marion Rolland crashed yards from the start as she began her bid for gold at the Winter Games in Vancouver. The 27-year-old left the starting gate and within a blink of an eye lost her balance. She toppled over and landed in the snow in front of stunned spectators

Lindsey Vonn is hoping the Sports Illustrated cover jinx doesn't cross international borders. America's great Winter Olympic hope is featured on the front of SI's Winter Olympic preview issue, which hit newsstands Wednesday. Vonn's semi-provocative pose has drawn the predictable ire from those who claim that it objectifies her. She's an athlete, not a sex symbol, the chorus inevitably reminds us. They have a point in taking issue with SI; the magazine rarely features women athletes on the cover and its annual swimsuit issue has been a focus of protests for decades. But Vonn's cover is different.

Chechnya is to market itself as "a Swiss-style" ski resort in an improbable bid to attract Russian and foreign tourists. If the plan succeeds, it will be one of the most radical makeovers in the history of global tourism. The southern Russian republic is better known for suicide bombings, kidnappings and two brutal wars than for apres ski parties and designers ski wear. Ramzan Kadyrov, the former warlord turned Kremlin-backed president of the troubled region, believes the small mountainous republic has huge tourism potential. "We have a good climate and wonderful scenery," he said. "We have places that when equipped...