Thursday, November 18, 2021

Nov 18 2021 - A Peak at Peaks

 

Snow is coming to Niagara. It is time for lake-effect snow in our region. There must be snow in lots of places in Ontario already - particularly north.  Ontario goes far north - up to Hudson Bay.

I wondered about skiing and winter festivals.  I don't think of London Ontario as having a mountain - but there it is -  Boler Mountain located in London Ontario.   It is 265 metres tall with a 63 metre vertical drop.  

In comparison Devil's Glen is the highest ski resort in Ontario at 522 metres with 4 ski lifts.  Then there is Osler Bluff Ski Club at 226 metres with 4 ski lifts.
There are lots of ski resorts listed in Ontario.

Then jump into the thousands of metres to the tallest in the world. It is Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in China and is listed at over 4000 metres tall.  But that one doesn't show up in regular lists - e.g. CNN travel lists Les 3 Vallees, France as the top resort.  Here's what it says - an alluring description to tempt travellers:

"Good for: Mileage hunters, velvety slopes, guaranteed snow, gourmets, luxury, Europe's highest resort.

The titanic 3 Vallees is the top dog, the world's biggest ski area with 600 kilometers of runs spread between the three main resorts of Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens.  There's even a fourth valley -- above Orelle -- leading to the region's highest lift-accessed point at 3,230 meters below the summit of Pointe du Bouchet.  The area covers 105 square kilometers -- that's as big as Paris, France -- with 328 runs, 166 high-performance lifts and 2,200 snowmaking machines covering 49% of the pistes."


These vast sorts of ski slopes are in France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy.  Then at #11 we come to Whistler Blackcomb in BC. And #12 is Park City, Utah.  

Looking at other articles, Whistler shows up as #1. So many points of view, and it is fun looking through the listings - beautiful scenery of mountains with blue skis, white peaks and a skier swooshing along.   I seem to be a picture tourist when it comes to winter activities like skiing. 

November is considered early season skiing - that would be in the Northern Hemisphere.  Couldn't one ski all year long if one wanted to?  New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and Australia.  The lonely planet.com has a ski resort for every month of the year HERE


Here are two versions of an abstract titled "The Ladder".
 
Purcha

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