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The Skier & Snowboarder is the UK’s longest running independent magazine for ski and snowboard enthusiasts.
Every issue is packed with news, equipment and fashion reviews, holiday destination reports, racing reports, plus lots, lots more.
All the news sections and features are backed up by stunning mountain photography.
The Skier & Snowboarder magazine is widely available free through ski and snowboard shows, ski and snowboard stores, artificial slopes, travel agents, ski clubs, film tours, special promotions and selected bars and chalets throughout the Alps.
NEWS
Boris gets Italian vote
LONDON mayor Boris Johnson gained another fan in Italy recently – but only after he skied into the man’s young son.
Johnson, who has skied for more than 30 years, was enjoying the slopes in the Italian resort of Champoluc in January when he collided with eight-year-old Luigi Zucchi causing him to burst into tears.
Reports emerged that the London mayor admitted he was probably at fault and stayed to help comfort the boy and ensure that he wasn’t injured in any way.
Details of the collision were only revealed because the father wrote a letter to an Italian newspaper saying how impressed he was by Johnson’s politeness and English manners.
Mr Zucci later said in an interview with the press that he didn’t think the collision was anybody’s fault as it was very foggy and difficult to see anything.
RBS boss gets given a £1m ski chalet as a gift
RBS boss Stephen Hester, who eventually turned down his a £963,000 performance bonus after public and media pressure, has now come under fire over reports that he accepted a million pound ski chalet in Verbier as a ‘gift’.
Hester took over as chief executive of RBS from Fred Goodwin after the bank had to be bailed out using £45billion of public money.
The Swiss holiday home was given to the multi-millionaire banker by his parents in 2007. There is no suggestion that this was in any way illegal and tax experts believe Hester’s mother and father made the move so he would not have to pay inheritance tax on the property. The land registry has it listed as a ‘donation’.
Ronald and Bridget Hester purchased the home in 2002 and gave it to their son four years later. Financial specialists estimate that his parents would have been liable to pay UK capital gains tax on the rise in the chalet’s value, from an estimated £670,000 to more than £1million.
Brit band to rock French pistes
BRITISH group Archive have been confirmed as one of the act for this year’s Rock the Pistes Festival in the French/Swiss Portes du Soleil ski region.
Archive, who have been playing together since 1994 and who have released eight albums, will be on the outdoor stage at Avoriaz on Wednesday 28 March at 1.30pm in Avoriaz.
The festival, which launched last year as the ‘Festival des Concerts Sauvages’ (Wild Music Festival) runs from the 24 to 28 of March and promises the 2012 event will be, ‘more international, more fun and more rock!’
The five days of gigs on the ski slopes are all free for all skiers and snowboarders in the 12 Franco-Swiss resorts of the Portes du Soleil.
More outlets offer two for
price of one equipment hire
FIFTEEN new ski and snowboard hire outlets, each offering two sets of ski or snowboard equipment for the price of one, have opened for winter 2011 / 12 by Ski Republic.
The new stores are in the French Alps and in the Pyrenees (including Andorra), and brings the number of stores the company has opened since launching four years ago to 45.
The new stores are at: Alpe d’Huez; Chamonix; Flaine; Font Romeu; Le Corbier; Les Arcs 1800; les Gets; Meribel-Mottaret; Morzine; Orcieres 1850; Pas de le Casa; Peyragudes; Risoul 1850; Saint Lary; Saint Sorlin Darves.
Each of the 45 Ski Republic stores is offering two sets of equipment hire for the price of one this winter. The offer is in addition to a seven days ski hire for the price of six, allowing skiers to pick up their equipment the day prior to starting skiing and return it the morning after the last ski outing. All equipment hire includes free ski helmets and children’s ski hire also includes free insurance.
Fuel stop
THE SKIER & Snowboarder often hears stories that it wants to believe are true but makes you wonder if they are actually true.
Staff members at Val d’Isère chalet specialists YSE assure us that this one came from the horse’s mouth.
On seeing the lines of snow making pumps lining some of the pistes, a British visitor to the world famous French resort was heard to remark: “Those piste bashers must use loads of fuel to need so many petrol pumps on the slopes.”
* More news and ski oddities can be found in the latest issue of the Skier & Snowboarder magazine. Look out for your FREE copy at your local artificial slope or ski store. Alternatively sign up for a digital copy of the magazine which is delivered straight to your email.
