Olamana Eleogram of Hana competes during the second round of the Vans World Cup of Surfing on Monday at Sunset Beach on Oahu’s North Shore. In clean barreling conditions, Eleogram posted a two-wave score of 12.37 to place second in his heat behind Oahu’s Pancho Sullivan (12.90) and advance to the round of 64. Also moving on to the third round were Kuau’s Ian Walsh (13.50) and Paia’s Ian Gentil (10.47), who both won their heats. Among those eliminated in the round of 96 were Valley Isle surfers Billy Kemper, Kai Barger, Tanner Hendrickson and Granger Larsen. Honolulu’s Carissa Moore, the Association of Surfing Professionals women’s world champion, placed third in her heat with a 7.83 and was eliminated. Moore had received wildcard entries into the first two events of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing but failed to advance out of a heat both at Sunset and at last week’s Reef Hawaiian Pro.

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”As we walked up to the animal we saw something on the ground a bit further away, behind the elk,” the woman said when questioned by police, according to daily Aftonbladet. The 32-year-old woman had been a licensed hunter for six years, but has waited ten years to fell her first elk, a victory that soon turned into tragedy as she realised something horrific had happened.

On the ground, behind the felled animal, lay a 71-year-old cross country skier, who had been killed instantly by a stray bullet in the incident which took place in December of last year, outside of Ljungby in southern Sweden.

It turned out that the bullet that hit the elk in the neck, went straight through and continued another 60 metres before hitting the skier, killing him instantly. At first the woman and her companions had thought the skier had been struck down by illness while skiing, and as he was still warm they attempted to perform CPR to save his life.

It wasn't until they saw that he was bleeding from the chest, that they realized that the bullet which had killed the elk had continued and hit the skier too. ”We tried to resuscitate him, but it was impossible,” said the woman to the police. .

A forensic analyst wrote in his report that ” bullets travelling through felled animals are probably not that uncommon but the chances of something like this happening are extremely slim, ” reported Aftonbladet.

However, prosecutor Marcus Ostrander believes the female hunter neglected to take proper precautions before firing the fatal shot.

"It's important to test where the boundary for carelessness lies and the court need to look at all the circumstances," Sjöstrand told the local Smålandsposten newspaper when the woman was charged in April. On Monday, almost a year after the incident, the woman will stand trial on mansluaghter charges.

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Taiwan’s first surfing competition! Taking after Malaysia and Thailand, Taiwan has become the latest location for the Asia Surfing Championship, earning its status as one of Asia’s best surfing spots, an excellent distinction for Taiwan’s surfing scene. The Taitung County 2011 International Surf Challenge, the first ASC sanctioned event held in Taiwan, attracted contestants from around a hundred different countries, including Japan, the U.S., Indonesia, Australia, France, and Canada.

Also included was this year’s Australian surfing champion Jackson Close, who has helped transform Taitung into Asia’s Hawaii. The competition, taking place on the 26th and 27th of November at Taitung’s Donghe Village, separated into different categories with five different judges from countries such as Australia and Indonesia. The environment of Taitung, including geography, waves, and climate, has been recognized by the ASC as “four-star” out of a maximum rating of six stars.

The Taitung County Government has been working in tandem with the Department of Tourism, the Department of Education, the East Coast National Scenic Administration, and other government departments to make the 2011 Asian Surfing Championships happen. Taitung County Governor Justin Chang expressed his affirmation that the selection of Taitung as the location for this competition, earning recognition from competitors all over the world for its geography, waves, and scenic value, solidifies the county’s reputation as one of Asia’s top surfing spots.

Aside from the competition on the 26th and 27th, there was a welcome night party on the night of the 26th, which was open to participants and guests alike for a night of song and dance. The awards ceremony took place from 16:00 to 17:30 on the 27th. The organizers also offered transportation service that took commuters back and forth to ensure maximum convenience throughout the day at the event.

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A 33-year-old British adventurer set out on skis Friday to attempt a historic solo crossing of Antarctica. Felicity Aston aims to become the first woman to make it across the frozen continent alone. She expects the journey of more than 1,000 miles (1,700 kilometers) will take about 70 days. She announced on Twitter that she was setting out from her starting point at the Ross Ice Shelf.

"Having breakfast looking at the mountains. The quiet will take some getting used to," she said in one message. Later, she wrote: "With the first step of my journey I start the long road home."She is pulling a sled with supplies and first will be headed up the Leverett Glacier. Boerge Ousland of Norway previously made a 64-day trip across the continent in 1997. But he harnessed the wind when it blew in his favor by strapping himself to a parachute-like sail.

If successful, Aston would become the first person using only muscle power to cross Antarctica alone. She would also set a record for the longest solo polar expedition by a woman. As she progresses toward the South Pole, she will be climbing solo through the Transantarctic Mountains and onto the continent's vast central plateau. Aston previously spent nearly three years as a meteorologist with the British Antarctic Survey, and in 2009 led an all-woman group from the coast to the South Pole.

Her travel adventures also have included skiing across the Canadian Arctic and crossing the Greenland ice sheet. But this is her first solo expedition. She flew from a base camp to the starting point of the expedition on Thursday, and then posted a simple message on Twitter: "Alone."

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Jubilant skiers and snowboarders flocked to Girdwood this week for the opening of Alyeska Ski Resort, which has benefitted from cold, early-winter temperatures and a good amount of snow so far this year. The mountain opened for season-pass holders on Tuesday. Wednesday was the opening for everyone else, and saw at least a foot of fluffy powder in some spots and, by all accounts, much better visibility.

Several high-school-age kids camped out at the tram house and cooked eggs and bacon on a camp stove Tuesday so they could be first to the top. Some die-hard skiers waited at Alyeska's tram house for more than two hours Wednesday, starting at 8 a.m., to get the first tram.

How important is it to make opening day? Just ask West High School teacher and football coach Tim Davis, who put in for a personal day back in August in the hopes of riding powder Wednesday.

"It's huge," Davis said while standing in the tram terminal. The early wake-up calls and anticipation were all for one thing: first tracks in more than 135 inches of snow that's fallen on the mountain since the beginning of October. Nearly half of that has come in November, the resort says. For the first 60 skiers and snowboarders Wednesday, the chance to ride it came a little after 10:30 a.m. "Now it's time to shred!" shouted Garrett Balen as the tram's doors opened for its first offload of the day's snow riders.

The skiers and boarders clamored up a set of stairs and outside to strap on their gear before pointing downhill, whooping and hollering. That moment was the culmination of months of planning and work for staff in all areas of the resort's operations, according to the ski area's general manager, Di Hiibner. That includes snow-making crews, groomers, lift operators, tram operators, vehicle maintenance, ticket office workers, rental shop workers, the Mountain Learning Center, mountain hosts, events and terrain park crews, grounds keepers, housekeepers, food and beverage workers, and lift maintenance, Hiibner said in an e-mail.

"They all impact each other and it has to be one cohesive unit as every department has a specific duty to perform and accomplish," Hiibner said. One major accomplishment, Hiibner said, was replacing Chair 6's bullwheel, the massive disc inside the lift's terminal that holds the cable, to which chairs are attached. Hiibner said Alyeska spent about $100,000 this year to replace the old bullwheel. "It's a relief to have it in and the lift back up and running for winter operations," Hiibner said.

To get ready for the new season, the mountain's 30 paid ski patrollers and 80 volunteers also conducted CPR and medical training, disaster preparedness drills, lift and tram evacuation practice, avalanche beacon drills and other avalanche training, Hiibner said.

It's all to keep visitors safe on the mountain and to deal with unforeseen circumstances that might arise, said Jim Kennedy, Alyeska's snow safety director, in an e-mail. But the word "safe" is a relative term, Kennedy said.

"Folks need to remember that we can't eliminate all the hazards," he said. "We do the best we can, but all we can do is reduce the hazards and try and educate folks to the hazards. The rest is up to them to use good judgment and ski within their ability."Those skiers and snowboarders can now put their ability to the test on more gladed tree runs, said Amy Quesenberry, Alyeska's marketing manager.

Over the summer, crews working on mountain bike trails thinned trees in a couple areas of the mountain, opening treed areas that had previously been more difficult to get to, she said. "A lot of people have been skiing Alyeska for a long time, so any new terrain is really exciting," Quesenberry said. But the first thing Quesenberry says she still tells potential winter visitors has been Alyeska's mainstay since the beginning: excellent snow.

"We average 650 inches, which is a great amount of snowfall. Some seasons we've had over a thousand. Some season's we've had close to 300 in one month," Quesenberry said. "So that's huge."

Man-made snow is also used to fill-in bare spots on the lower mountain, Quesenberry said, and ahead of the Tuesday-Wednesday openings, weeks of temperatures below 26 degrees made it possible for crews to run snow-makers around the clock on the lower mountain, Quesenberry said. That also allowed jump- and halfpipe-builders to get an early start this year, she said.

Though the mountain's terrain park was still closed Wednesday, people were still hucking themselves off small, natural jumps and cliffs. The howling and laughter that followed the earlier tram loads could be heard well into midday across the mountain, as sun peeked over Max's Mountain and lit up the top of Alyeska.

Nathan Anderson said it was well worth waking about 5 a.m. to work a couple hours in Anchorage before driving down to Girdwood with his friends.

"Nothing to do tomorrow but rest and eat turkey," Anderson said.

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Since the mid-1980s, Idaho’s Schweitzer Mountain Resort has not opened this early, but last weekend its lifts loaded skiers and riders for their first turns of the season. The resort joins several other Idaho ski areas that will officially launch the skiing and riding season this week.

It's one of the earliest openings at Schweitzer, and the resort credits snowmaking mixed with two feet of natural snowfall in the days prior to opening for making it possible. Last weekend, the resort ran the Basin Express and Musical Chairs. Some of the area’s Nordic trails were groomed for skate and classic skiing. Schweitzer closed after last weekend, but plans to re-open for the official season start on Friday, Nov. 25.

Sun Valley Resort began covering lower elevation runs on Bald Mountain with machine-made snow in early November. The snowmaking plus natural snowfall will allow skiing and riding on both sides of Bald Mountain when the resort opens on Nov. 24. Snowmaking also went into top gear on Dollar Mountain to prep it for the season.

On Thanksgiving Day, Sun Valley plans to run four high-speed quads and a conveyor carpet on Bald Mountain and the Quarter Dollar high-speed quad as well as the Accelerator moving carpet on Dollar Mountain. Rail parks on Dollar Mountain and Baldy's Lower River Run will let jibbers get back into showing their tricks. Thanksgiving Day heralds the beginning of daily operations for the season.

Opening day coincides with Thanksgiving feasts at Sun Valley. Thanksgiving buffets and dinners are scheduled in the Sun Valley Lodge dining room, Sun Valley Inn Limelight Ballroom and the Ram Restaurant. Call 208-622-2800 for reservations.

Lookout Pass opened over last weekend to a feast of powder. The resort closed for the early part of Thanksgiving week, but will re-open on its regular Thursday through Monday schedule, starting Thanksgiving Day. More snow is in the forecast, so Thanksgiving weekend skiers may get to eat their fill of powder. Daily operations commence Dec. 17-Jan. 2.

Silver Mountain got the same snowstorm and opened Monday, Nov. 21 for a one-day season preview in powder conditions. The mountain aims to re-open Nov. 25-27 for skiing, riding and tubing. The resort plans to operate the lifts, tubing hill and waterpark Fridays through Sundays through Dec. 11. Daily operations will commence Dec. 16-Jan. 2 for the holidays. During the regular season, lifts will operate Thursday through Monday.

Pomerelle Mountain plans to open Wednesday, Nov. 23 for the season. First chair launches at 9 a.m., and the resort operates daily. Night skiing, which starts Dec. 27, runs Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Need more info from these resorts? Check for their operation plans here: Schweitzer, Sun Valley, Lookout Pass, Silver Mountain, Pomerelle Mountain.

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Hugo Pinheiro and Rita Pires have opened the Azores Bodyboarding Festival 2011, held in world class wave conditions, at Santa Catarina, Ilha Terceira, Azores, in great style. The riders won the Portuguese leg of the National Bodyboard Circuit and showed the entire world the quality of "The Queen", the infamous wave of Santa Catarina.

Manuel Centeno, Filipe "Cabrela" Raposo, Hugo Pinheiro, Jaime Jesus and Gastão Entrudo will be battling for the Portuguese title. Rita Pires, who is also competing in the Women's World Tour, may secure the national title, in Carcavelos.

The world's best bodyboarders will be stoked to check the waves of the Azores Bodyboarding Festival 2011. Santa Catarina is also being named as the "European Hawaii". There are eight-to-ten super heavy barrelling waves breaking in the shallow reef. Comparisons with Fronton or Arica where heard backstage amongst some of the Portuguese riders who follow the world tour and it was not too much.

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Southern Steel's 2012 campaign got off to a gnarly start with the team embarking on a surfing safari at Curio Bay at the weekend. The elite athletes were relegated to novice status when it came to the art of catching waves, but Catlins Surf School director Nick Smart was impressed with the players' skills.

"They did exceptionally well. It was just so cool to come in and see all their faces. You can tell when people are having a good time by the size of the grin," he said.

"They were very agile, even the taller girls. They were jumping up really smart and quick. I was blown away. Fitness is a big thing with surfing, and these girls have a huge head start with being so fit."Steel co-coach Janine Southby said the surfing component of the camp certainly "pushed everyone out of their comfort zone".

"It's been really exciting, and the enthusiasm and the way the girls have embraced the challenges we've set in front of them has been really heartening," she said. The weekend's agenda also featured fitness testing and establishing the team's vision and values as Steel prepare for the ANZ Championship.

"They've all made an effort to get involved in the discussions around our team values and vision, which has been fantastic," Southby said. "We've had a really good start and you can see everyone get some commonality and get some knowledge about each other, which is what we need."

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You won't find Annecy in any British ski brochures this year. In fact, for most British skiers, Annecy is that place you zoom through on the transfer from Geneva airport to Les Trois Vallées. It's not exactly ski hotlist material – which is an absolute travesty if culture and romance are as integral to your winter trip as the skiing.

Much of the old town dates back to the 10th century, and the hunched lanes and leaning walls left by those ancient builders now hide quaint cafes, patisseries and cool bars, all intersected by a network of crystal-clear canals. Having a post-ski beer at the Brasserie Le Munich as swans glide past is not something you can do in most resorts. Sit outside and you'll enjoy the best view of the Palais de l'Isle, an 11th-century prison that sits on its own island and trumps all other medieval buildings around the lake.

Rustic-charm advocate Jean Jacques Rousseau formed much of his philosophy in Annecy, and wrote how he wished to "surround this happy place with a gold baluster". Two centuries later artists came to paint scenes of 1920s motorboat racing and swimmers frolicking in the lake. Many original oil-paintings-turned-posters – including some famous Chamonix advertisements – are housed in the museum wing of the imposing Château d'Annecy above the old town (€4.80 entry, musees.agglo-annecy.fr), and Rousseau fans can visit the "gold baluster" he so wished for in the graveyard of Annecy cathedral. It was erected in his honour in 1978.

After exploring the old town, we crossed the Pont des Amours (admiring the pretty boats on the way) to L'Impérial Palace (hotel-imperial-palace.com), a Buckingham Palace-sized hotel that shares an outcrop with La Plage d'Annecy and its art deco diving platform. I (and baby Harry) bought mum Rachel a kir royale there for Mother's Day last year – a gloriously warm day in early spring.

With its deep colour, mountainous backdrop, and almost permanent haze, Lake Annecy has stunned plenty of visitors. Winston Churchill reckoned the lake held "the most beautiful view on earth", and when Mark Twain visited in 1891, he flatly refused to believe that he could do justice to the scenery in writing.

But does the skiing match up to the town? La Clusaz (laclusaz.com) is the big resort near Annecy, and you're likely to meet some Brits as it's featured by tour operators such as Crystal Ski (0871 231 2256, crystalski.co.uk), Ski Arrangements (01773 300288, skiarrangements.com), and Inghams (020-8780 7733, inghams.co.uk).

With its "Famille Plus" status, La Clusaz is marketed in France as a perfect beginners' destination, but local boy Candide Thovex is one of the best freeride skiers on the planet and the resort's funpark is definitely up to his exacting demands.

Next door is Le Grand Bornand (legrandbornand.com). It's not a huge resort by French standards, but with 40 lifts you'd be hard pressed to see everything in a day. Again it's sold as a quiet, family place, but good skiers will enjoy the lack of competition for the more challenging terrain, and there are some awesome north-facing, steeper runs straight off the top chair. From Annecy you can make it to both resorts in under 45 minutes, passing the spectacular Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard (chateau-de-menthon.com) on the way. It's sadly closed during the winter, but worth a stop and a gander.

On the road from Annecy to La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand are the two smaller resorts of Manigod (manigod.com) and St Jean de Sixt (saintjeandesixt.com). They are virtually unheard of by the British crowd and, as such, perfect if you want to practise your French. St Jean de Sixt is also home to the world's only bungee ski jump (bun-j-ride.com), which is as crazy as it sounds. Get the Aravis ski pass (aravis.com) and you can ski all of the above resorts for €177 for an adult six-day pass.

But the best Annecy resort is also the closest – just 20 minutes' drive from the centre of town, Semnoz (semnoz.fr) is little more than a restaurant building and two chairlifts, but it accesses some luscious corduroy pistes and brilliant, hidden tree runs. Snowboard Semnoz in a snowstorm and you could be in Japan: short runs packed with great features and powder stashes. Semnoz also sells its lift-passes by the hour (€6 for two hours or €9 for a full day during the week), meaning, euro for euro, there's no better deal in the Alps.

Resorts like Val Thorens might offer fall-out-of-bed-on-to-the-pistes-convenience, but Annecy offers something much harder to define.

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Despite a tropical storm that canceled much of this year's event, the Quiksilver Pro New York surfing contest will be back in Long Beach next year. The Association of Surfing Professionals released its 2012 schedule this week, putting the competition on Long Island from Sept. 2-14. It will be one of 11 world title contests, along with those in Fiji, Hawaii, Brazil and other beach areas.

The schedule doesn't identify Long Beach, but ASP North America spokesman Bobby Shadley said the city will be the location for the contest with $1 million in prize money. "Long Beach is a new, exciting area to bring professional surfers to," Shadley said. "The feedback was very positive."

Representatives of Quiksilver, which has a three-year sponsorship contract with the surfing association to hold an East Coast event, didn't return calls and emails seeking comment. "I hope they do come next year," City Manager Charles Theofan said. Quiksilver, which manages the competition and associated festival, and coordinates with host cities, has not contacted Long Beach officials about the 2012 event, Theofan said.

The city hosted this year's event Sept. 4 to 9. It was scheduled to run nearly two weeks, with four days dedicated to the professional competition and the rest to include other surfing events, concerts and other entertainment. But damage from Tropical Storm Irene days earlier forced the cancellation of the festival and concerts.

Charles Christensen, owner of Duke Falcon's Global Grill in Long Beach, said he was satisfied with the short-lived economic boost from the contest, but was disappointed by the cancellation of the festival.
"Everyone is hoping that this time there aren't any glitches and the communication between all parties is better, and we can do the event in a larger scale," Christensen said. This year's event attracted more than 100,000 people, including repeat spectators, a spokeswoman for Quiksilver has said. "Having it here for the second time would show the city as the capital of surfing on the East Coast," Theofan said. "Hopefully this could lay the groundwork for it to be a yearly event."

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