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Latest in Valais
Fatal Explosion at Crans-Montana Claims Multiple Lives on New Year's Morning
A fatal explosion at a bar in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana has killed multiple people and injured others in the early hours of New Year's Day. The cause of the blast at Le Constellation bar remains under investigation, with authorities yet to determine whether it was accidental or deliberate.
Zermatt Replaces Gifthittli Six-Seater with Eight-Seater Chairlift
Zermatt has opened a new eight-seater chairlift to replace the 21-year-old Gifthittli six-seater. The CHF 25 million upgrade brings incremental capacity improvements and modern features to a critical mid-mountain connector, though the investment raises questions about priorities in an increasingly competitive Swiss market.
Verbier Opens Early for 2025-26 Season Following November Snowfall
Verbier has opened for the 2025-26 season on 1 November after receiving 40cm of snow at higher elevations. The early opening is notable for a non-glacier resort in the Alps, though questions remain about terrain coverage and snow depth sustainability.
Crans-Montana's Mountain Biking Expansion: A New Chapter for Alpine Tourism
Crans-Montana is set to transform its summer tourism with a major focus on mountain biking, including new trails, gravel routes, and hosting the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
Climate Change and Mountain Instability in Swiss Alps
Recent evacuations in Swiss Alpine villages highlight the increasing risks of landslides and debris flows. This article explores the complex factors behind mountain instability and the challenges of predicting such events in a changing climate.
Five Skiers Found Dead Near Zermatt After Avalanche
In a tragic incident near Zermatt, Switzerland, the bodies of five skiers were discovered in avalanche debris. The group went missing during an ascent of the Rimpfischhorn, prompting a search operation.
Landslide Risk Prompts Evacuation of Swiss Mountain Village
The village of Blatten in Switzerland's Valais canton has been evacuated due to significant landslide risk. Ongoing geological instability and recent rockfalls have forced authorities to take immediate action to ensure residents' safety.
Fatal Avalanche Claims Two Backcountry Skiers Near Saas-Fee
A tragic avalanche incident on the Alphubel peak in Switzerland's Valais region has resulted in the deaths of two backcountry skiers, highlighting the persistent dangers in high-altitude terrain.
Major Snowstorm Closes Ski Resorts and Transport Routes in Swiss Alps
A powerful late-season snowstorm has shut down ski areas and major transport routes in southern Switzerland and northern Italy, raising avalanche risks to maximum levels and isolating mountain communities.
Two Fatal Avalanches in Swiss Alps Highlight Evolving Danger Scale
Recent avalanche incidents in Switzerland's Valais Alps underscore the importance of the new three-tiered danger scale developed by the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.
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More from the SnowStash desk
Spain Moves to Ban Smoking at Ski Resorts Under New Tobacco Law
Spain's government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking across a wide range of outdoor spaces, including sports venues - a category Spanish winter sports media expect to cover ski resorts, potentially extending to slopes and lifts themselves. The rules would also apply to e-cigarettes and vaping devices, even nicotine-free ones. The bill still has to clear the Spanish parliament before any ban, signage, or fines can take effect.
South Tyrol Approves New 16-Person Ciampinoi Gondola in Val Gardena
South Tyrol has approved a full rebuild of the Ciampinoi cable car in Selva di Val Gardena, replacing the current 12-person gondola with a 16-person cabin and a new mountain-station restaurant. Capacity is capped at 3,200 people an hour rather than the 3,600 the operator wanted, and 250,000 euros must go toward compensatory measures. No construction or opening date has been set, though the upgrade is partly aimed at clearing bottlenecks before the 2031 Alpine Ski World Championships.
Resort Spotlight: Hoshino Tomamu - Corporate Japan's Mountain Playground Revisited
Hoshino Tomamu is the ski resort equivalent of a conference hotel that happens to have excellent powder. Built for corporate retreats and package tourists, it offers genuine Hokkaido snow on surprisingly limited terrain - 29 runs spread across 585 vertical metres.
La Thuile's New Cable Car Replaces Two Ageing Chairlifts
La Thuile is spending 38.7 million US dollars on a new 10-person cable car linking Les Suches to Chaz Dura, replacing the La Combe and Chaz Dura chairlifts after nearly forty years of service. Built by Leitner, the new cable car runs 1,950 metres to a top station at 2,576 metres, carrying up to 3,000 people an hour with a six-minute ride. It also improves the connection to La Rosiere in France via the Petit-Saint-Bernard Pass, and is on track to open for the 2026/27 season.
The Remarkables Adds Scarpa Bowl to Its Inbounds Terrain
The Remarkables is adding new inbounds terrain for winter, bringing the Scarpa Bowl - known locally as the Toilet Bowl - into its lift-accessed network after years as backcountry-only ground. The roughly 500 metre run is reached by bootpacking from the top of the Sugar Bowl chairlift, with a shuttle picking skiers up from the road at the bottom. It's a smaller, faster addition than the resort's planned Doolans expansion, though the new terrain hasn't opened yet due to a lack of snow this season.
Ski Portillo Cut Off After Storm Dumps More Than 4.5 Metres of Snow
Ski Portillo remains isolated after an extended storm buried the Chilean resort under more than 4.5 metres of snow, with both ground and air access suspended since Tuesday while crews monitor avalanche hazards and worsening weather. Resort officials say further snowfall is expected in the coming days and haven't set a timeline for reopening the mountain road. Once access resumes, the scale of the snowpack could set up a strong season at one of the Southern Hemisphere's most historic ski resorts.
Resort Spotlight: Lotte Arai - Japan's Corporate Ski Anomaly With 22 Metres of Annual Snowfall
Lotte Arai receives 22 metres of annual snowfall - exceptional even by Japanese standards - but its corporate ownership model and limited terrain create an unusual cost-benefit equation. Here's what the numbers actually mean on the ground.
Resort Spotlight: Banff Sunshine Village - Nine Metres of Snow and a Season That Runs Until May
Banff Sunshine Village sits at 1,660m base and receives 9.27m of snow annually. Inside Banff National Park, it offers a six-month season and terrain split that skews heavily advanced - though the crowds and lift infrastructure tell their own story.