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Mountain jazz festival keeps skiers on a double high
Skiers in the Italian Dolomites were treated to plenty of lovely jazz music in mid-March, with shows both out on the mountains and in indoor venues back in town.
The 29th edition of the Dolomiti Ski Jazz festival had heads bobbing and ski boots stepping as the smooth sounds stretched over a nine-day period, welcoming 100 musicians over 25 different concerts.
Skiers in the Val di Fassa were the big winners, with free entry to shows at the mountain huts. Performances in theatres in town usually had an entrance fee.
The festival takes place every year in March - keep your eyes peeled for the 2026 dates!
UK’s longest ski slope plans approved by councillors
Plans for a new indoor ski centre in the Welsh Valleys have been given a major boost after they were approved by the planning committee of the local Merthyr Tydfil Council.
With a mind-boggling length of somewhere between 400m to 424m, the £300m project would more than double the length of the UK’s current largest indoor slope - Manchester’s 180m-long Chill Factore.
Most other UK indoor slopes are between 150m and 170m (including Tamworth, Hemel Hempstead, and Milton Keynes).
The CEO of the Rhydycar West development, Ali Tyebkhan, says it will be “the home and training HQ of the Welsh and GB National, Paralympic and Olympic teams”.
Brand new black run opened in La Clusaz
The pretty French resort of La Clusaz has unveiled the new Candide Thovex black run, which is described as a challenge to even the most advanced skiers.
It has a mixture of “steep sections and technical obstacles” and is dedicated to one of freestyle skiing’s greatest representatives who learned to ski on the mountain - Candide Thovex himself.
The slope is a welcome addition to La Clusaz, which now has 9 black runs, as well as 31 red, 31 blue and 16 greens, spanning 125km overall.
Iconic summit in Mürren reopens to public after works
The highest point of the Swiss resort of Mürren is now open again, after lengthy efforts to refresh the cable car linking it with Stechelberg on the valley floor.
The new Schilthornbahn 20XX cable car means the public can get to the Schilthorn summit once again, with access available 365 days a year. A 360° restaurant is also located at the summit station.
It means that the overall travel time from Stechelberg to the summit is just 22 minutes, down from 32 minutes previously, while the passenger capacity will increase massively from 400 people per hour, to 800 per hour.
