 |
|
Interview with Oliver Kern
Skiresort Service International |
DISCUSS THIS FEATURE
HERE
|
Please tell us a
bit about yourself....
I was born in November 1973 in Munich/Germany and
started to learn skiing when I was three years old. As I lived in Munich,
very close to the Alps and a lot of ski resorts, it was very easy for me to
go skiing very often. I can reach the first ski resorts within 45 minutes
from my home and the first baby lift within only 15 minutes from my home.
In 1980 I became a skiing fan and also really
liked the lifts – I choose the ski resorts where they had the most modern
lifts.
In 1994 I became a ski instructor where I taught
children until I founded my company, Skiresort Service International, in
June 1998.
I have now skied in more than 560 ski resorts
worldwide, including USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile,
Japan, the Alps and including private Ski Clubs, e.g. the exclusive
Yellowstone Club resort.
In Winter 1999/2000 I went to Banff (Alberta)
where I worked as a ski guide. By the end of 2000 I had started an
international snow database where we now deliver snow reports to more than a
million users every day and to BMW navigation systems.
It’s hard to live on skiing alone, so I also
started consulting services and exhibition services from 2001. In order to
gain publicity and increase traffic to my sites I planned and made 3 world
records in 2007 and 2008. One or two more are planned for 2008 or 2009…
After several ski trips I started with the Website
www.skiresort.de in
June 1998. It was a very basic website with only limited information but
within the next few years I added information about an increasing number of
ski resorts worldwide. Now I have listed more than 4000 ski resorts and I
plan to visit many more worldwide.
So how many countries have you skied in?
I have skied in 25 different countries and about
567 different ski resorts. The countries are Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
Liechtenstein, Italy, Slovenia, France, Spain, Andorra, Netherlands, Poland,
Czech Republic, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, Sweden,
United Arab Emirates, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina
and Chile.
What kind of
terrain do you prefer?
I like every kind of terrain. On powder days I
like to ski advanced double diamond runs if possible and if the sun is
shining and there is no fresh powder I like well-groomed intermediate runs…
But I always want a fast run and a steep run between ;-)
Do you go backcountry? And how did you feel about
“backcountry” policy in Japan?
Normally I like backcountry and fresh powder runs,
but only with a cat or heli ;-) As I have to write a lot about the basic
facilities at ski resorts, I do not always have the time to do backcountry
skiing. Sometimes within a season I go catskiing or heliskiing… However I am
not familiar with the backcountry policy in Japan.
What gear do you use?
I wear
Schöffel and Odlo ski wear and Nordica boots and skis… for sunglasses I am
looking for a new sponsor at the moment ;-)
How many times have you visited Japan and what
did you know before you came?
Last season was
my first trip to Japan and it was very exciting for me to get
the chance. Previously I had only saw some short tv films (e.g. Warren
Miller) about Japan and visited websites like snowjapan.com to get more
information about Japan before I went. Japan was so nice that we plan to
come in the coming winter again.
Why did you choose the Yuzawa area when you
decided to come to Japan?
W e
decided to check out the Yuzawa area as it is very easy to reach from Tokyo
and Narita with the Shinkansen and there are also a lot of ski resorts
within only a few kilometers of the main station.
D id
your record attempt have anything to do with this decision as well?
Yes, as Yuzawa is relatively close to Narita
Airport it made it possible to attempt the world record. If you have to
travel the whole day from the ski resort to Narita then the world record
would not have been possible.
What was your initial impression of the area
when you arrived?
C oming
out of the tunnel and seeing all the snow and the lifts! That was a
good experience!
Did you like it - how did you rate the terrain?
The terrain was actually very nice and while the
lifts were not all modern, there were only chair lifts or gondolas – so you
don’t have to take a t-bar to reach the runs and that is very good thing!
Overall I felt that the ski resorts in and around Yuzawa were good.
You have a lot of easy runs and there weren’t that many steep runs, but it
was okay…
How did you find each of the resorts you went
to?
The Yuzawa tourism office helped us with
transportation and information a lot and they also organized the
transportation and gave us maps and contacts in each of the resorts.
Overall, very helpful!
How do the resorts and infrastructure compare
to other countries?
T he
infrastructure is very good – free shuttle buses, lots of different lifts
and restaurants and the like. The restaurants were sometimes typical
Japanese style. For foreign people it might be a bit hard to find and order
food, but you can use sign language and point to explain what you like ;-)
How
did the snow compare?
When we were there, the snow was fairly similar to
that in Europe I think. We had fresh powder when were arrived and it firmed
up when the sun was there. I got the impression though that the snow is
wetter than in Europe.
The lifts were a bit older than in the Alps -
except perhaps Naeba with the high speed bubble lifts - but you have no
t-bars. The runs were generally very nice and easy down to the village
- in the Alps sometimes they have only steep and narrow runs back to the
village, so the people take the gondola down.
As we skied in Yuzawa there was no waiting times
at the lifts. We only had to wait for lifts at Naeba, but if you avoid
the lifts direct in from of the hotel complex you have no lines at the
lifts.
Please tell us some more about your record
attempts? It seems you have tried a few….!
1st World Record (31st March 2007)
3 ski resorts on 2 continents on both sides of the Atlantic on 1 day
(Austria and USA)
2nd World Record (8th December 2007)
SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser - Brixental 52 different ski
lifts in 1 day
3rd World Record (6th February 2008)
3 ski resorts on 2 continents on both sides of the Pacific on 1 day (Japan,
USA, Canada)
Did you manage to get your record completed?
Yes, all three planned world records were
successful and I am hoping to make further attempts in the near future.
Where do you want to ski next that you haven’t
yet been to?
I’d like to ski more in the Eastern parts of
Europe, for example Slovakia, Russia and also in Africa…
For
more informatiuon about Oliver and his activities,
check
out his website:
Thanks to Oliver and SnowJapan wishes him all
the best in the future.
|
|
