07.
HOWTO
GROWA
SKIRESORT
THE
MANUAL
poor old wallace
. Being responsible
for her boyfriend’s abdicationandexile
must havebeenabit of a social drag. But,
judgingby twoof hermost flamboyant
piecesof jewellery, nowon showat
Christie’s inGeneva, it’sclear therewere
compensations for her pariah status.
ThisCartier tiger broochandbracelet,
decoratedwithdiamonds, onyxand
emeralds,werebought by theprince for
hisconsort in the late 1950s. Their current
owner, SarahBrightman, oneof Britain’s
topclassical singers and the formerwifeof
AndrewLloydWebber,will be selling them
aspart of a saleof 700piecesof jewellery
andwatches at theauction rooms.
Membersof thepublicare invited to view
the lotsbetween7-10November, before
thehammer comedownon the 11th, and
the tigers areexpected to raisemore than
$2m (€1.5m).Out of reach formost of
us,weasssume, unless you’rebankrolled
byanoligarch–or a formermonarch’s
current squeeze.
christies.com
08.
WHERETOSEE
THEULTIMATEBLING
Scotland’s top snowsportsareahas
announceda£6.2m investmentplan, but can
it really start tochallengeon theworld stage?
Get aneyeful ofWallisSimpson’s jewels, as theygoon show inGeneva
SKI BUNNIES
‘we’re off to the cairngorms’.
It’snot thekind
of statement thatmanyof us are likely tohaveheard
utteredall that often in relation toa ski trip (or any trip,
for thatmatter). But skiing inScotlandcouldbeabout to
takeoff inabigway thanks toafive-year, £6.2m (€7.9m)
investment plan forCairngormSkiCentre that’s intended
to transform theUK’sbiggest snowsportshub (120,000
already visit annually) intoa serious international player.
“WewantCairngormMountain tocompetewith
Mont BlancandChamonix,” revealedMattSpence,CEO
ofNatural Retreats, theholidaycompanybehind the
project, recently. Theambition, he said,was tobecome
“theadventurecapital of Europe”, home to the “biggest
terrainpark in theworld” andhost theXGames.
So, should thecompetitionbequaking in their ski
boots?Not yet, according toAndrewDuthie, deputy
editor of snowboardingmagazine
Whitelines
. “Thereare
two things youcan’t change: the sizeof themountain
and theweather– that’s your enemy,” he says.
Still, heconcedes, “If they’re serious aboutwhat
they’redoingandcan just keepdoing it incrementally–
rather thana revolution– it’sgreat news forBritish
snowboarding.”
cairngormmountain.org
12
ski lifts
30km
of ski runs
9
blue runs
1,097m
ThePtarmigan, the
UK’shighest restaurant
120,000
snowsport vistorsayear
11
red runs
£6.2m
investment plan
60km
of crosscountry
1,245ft
Highest lift
2
black runs
537m
resort altitude
708m
Maxvertical
ILLUSTRATION
BEN THE ILLUSTRATOR
CAIRNGORM
MOUNTAIN
INNUMBERS
0 2 2
