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| Avalanche at Val d?Isère | 04/04/2009 16:09 |
| A family group with a ski instructor have been caught by an avalanche off piste in Val d?Isère. One of the group, a 21 year old man, was taken by helicopter to Grenoble in a critical conditions. | |
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| Major pounding for the Southern Alps | 02/04/2009 15:45 |
| The Southern Alps, or more particularly the border region with Italy, is once again getting pounded by a major storm centered over the Mediterranean. The weather system has brought 80-100cm of fresh snow to the mountains above 2000m and increased the avalanche risk to maximum today. | |
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| Corsica shatters snow records | 01/04/2009 8:43 |
| Corsica is known as the ?island of beauty?. Although a part of France it is a fiercely independent backwater lapped by the warm seas of the Mediterranean. The Island is best known for shapely supermodel Laetitia Casta and songbird Alizee, not somewhere you associate with serious snow. Laetitia Casta amongst Corsica?s many attractions | |
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| Dynastar redundancies | 30/03/2009 14:04 |
| According to a Dynastar representative who spoke at a meeting of Evolution 2 ski instructors today, an announcement was made on Friday that 90 employees would be laid off at Dynastar in Sallanches. Additionally management announced that Marketing, Fabrication and several other services such the pro shop are being moved to the Rossignol factory at Moirans in the Isere. | |
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| Review of the 2008/9 Winter | 29/03/2009 17:34 |
| Nothing is better than a bit of snow to get journalists and the ski bizz breaking out their dictionaries of superlatives. Already 2008/9 has been dubbed ?The Winter without end? with the ?best snow for 30 years?. We?ve taken a look at the facts to see whether the headlines match up to reality. | |
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| Rossignol fires 30% of workforce | 27/03/2009 15:31 |
| Restructuring continues apace at Rossignol group. Hit hard by a drop in sales (or a serious miscalculation in demand according to the trade unions) the group plans to fire 450 staff, 275 of them in France. | |
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| Shane McConkey dies in the Dolomites | 27/03/2009 7:17 |
| Freeskier Shane McConkey has been killed in the Dolomites after a ski/BASE jump stunt he was performing went horribly wrong. It appears that one of his skis failed to release and he was unable to deploy his chute. McConkey is survived by his wife and young daughter. | |
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| Extreme skier killed on the rampe de Chauchefoin | 22/03/2009 2:54 |
| A 28 year old ski mountaineer has been killed yesterday falling on the ?rampe de Chauchefoin? on the Pointe de Blonnière (2369 meters) in the Aravis range near the ski resort of La Giettaz. A group of four skiers had completed the route and were descending around 10am on the 45 degree slope. One of the skiers missed a turn and fell 400 meters over cliffs. The victim was local from the Maurienne. | |
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| Increase in avalanche deaths for Winter 2009 | 19/03/2009 15:12 |
| This winter (1st December to 1st March) 19 people died in avalanche accidents in France. This is close to the average established since 2000 but 3 more than the median figure for the period reflecting the unstable conditions, particularly during January. | |
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| La Grave - trouble in paradise | 18/03/2009 18:00 |
| La Grave is the stuff of legends. A cable car and 2000 meters of unpisted vertical. It is an entirely unique concept but are its days numbered? The area appears threatened by a mix of risk aversion and commercial impediments. | |
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