 Poster: A snowHead
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 A first in a French ski resort? From this Thursday, between midday and 3 pm for three full weeks, your 3 Valleys pass will not give you access to the full domain.
How come? The 66 year old Chairman of the South Korean firm Samsung, Lee Kun-Hee, is visiting the resort for a company seminar. A recent convert to skiing, Lee Kun-Hee has persuaded the resort to set aside three pistes for his exclusive use.
Claude Faure, director of the 3 Valleys lift company S3V confirmed that the Korean was concerned for his security, and that they had agreed to cordon off areas of piste for his personal needs during part of the day. Mr Kun-Hee isn’t keen on using chairlifts either, so he’ll be ferried around in a specially provided snow scooter. The Samsung Chairman is paying between 1,200 and 1,500 euros per hour for the privilege.
Local paper the Dauphiné Libéré, concerned that a precedent is being set, has revealed that Lee Kun-Hee will have an entourage of 80 people looking after his personal needs, including 6 ski instructors recruited in the resort by his agent.
Faure suggests that the functioning of the resort will not be affected, with “only 2 hectares of the total 540 in the domain” being out of bounds to the standard pass holder. However he made it clear that the resort believes it can only help its promotional efforts, and points out that the South-East Asian market is one of their main targets.
According to Forbes, Lee Kun Hee is no. 122 on the 2005 list of the world's richest people, with a net worth of some $2.5 billion.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Any idea which pistes?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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All men are equal, but some are more equal than others?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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From memory, Samsung had interests in a mega snowdome project for Korea. Maybe he'll want a roof over these runs, too, with climatic control.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Alastair, he's a beginner and the French article mentions "greens and blues", but no piste names.
The resort is trying to argue that it's no different to cordoning off an area for a race, and I suppose there's something in that, but it's not really the same thing.
I'm just imagining a situation where Bill Gates, Abramovitch, the Saudi Crown Prince and a few others all decide to visit Courchevel at the same time....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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PG,
I take it you will be making similar arrangements for the end of season bash 
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and stay at the same luxury hotel....... 
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6 to 1 instruction - that's pretty serious
But this is a very sad development. Surely the resort realises that this will antagonise the loyal regular visitors?
As someone who is off to Courchevel this w/e I find this news very annoying. I imagine that the affected pistes will be above 1850 and may not be the ones that I would want to use, but i would love to know which ones - and how much of a discount they will give me on my lift-pass!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
6 to 1 instruction - that's pretty serious
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Understandable if you're from Samsung. Half these people will be helping him with the instruction manual.
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| Tony Lane wrote: |
| As someone who is off to Courchevel this w/e I find this news very annoying. |
Have you thought of staging a protest? You could set fire to one of their vacuum cleaners or microwaves, in the main street.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Careful - of his 80 'aides' a sizeable proportion will be "security" personnel.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Don't think we need worry about the Saudi Crown Prince - like most of the KSA ruling family he's getting on a bit and nobody's invented a skiing zimmer frame AFAIK.
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...now there's a gap in the market kuwait ian!
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You know it makes sense.
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As far as I can tell they are creating 3 strips, 30 to 40 meters wide that are served by a snow scooter because they are not part of the domain proper although the Samsung guy doesn't like drag lifts (maybe he's a darksider?). Unless someone has more accurate information it is not 3 pistes that will be closed although it is obviously 2 hectares out of the ski area as PG said.
It is certainly better than my local station where ski clubs can take over 2 or 3 of the best pistes in the resort for much of the season during the week.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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So what. market forces at work, no different from any transacation where someone asks for and pays for exclusive use.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I wonder what he'll do with his 6 ski instructors...I've not managed to wear one out! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The BBC report stated that he will be skiing between 12 and 3 . All of us who have attended the Advanced Lunch clinics will have no problem with that, we won't know he's there 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I think they should charge him alot more than 1500Euros per hour if hes got $2.5b hanging around
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| rich75 wrote: |
| I think they should charge him alot more than 1500Euros per hour if hes got $2.5b hanging around |
They guy is holding his conference for his top managers in resort so he will be spending a great deal of money. It was possibly difficult for Courchevel to say no given the sums involved and that it is low season. Lots of people get pistes reserved for their exclusive use, such as the British Forces in Val d'Isere in early January. No big deal really. Of course Courchevel 1850 long ago shunned French people of modest income, maybe this move to attract Russian mafia bosses and nouveau riche asians will squeeze the Brits out too.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Please buy this
Samsung excavator
and help this man ski in peace and quiet, free from the danger of piste collisions and assassins.
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Why would anybody, never mind a incredibly wealthy chap like Mr Kun-Hee, visit the Trois Vallee and restrict themselves to skiing an area not much bigger than an indoor snowdome? Seems barking mad to me.
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rob@rar.org.uk, do you think available snowHeads should offer to show him the area properly?
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Ian Hopkinson, if you do, just don't put your hand into your inside pocket to get out your piste map. His 'aides' might be a little jumpy.
[speaks from personal experience]
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I wonder how many Snowheads tshirts he wants.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just another reason not to go near the vile place. It's bad enough to have all the racing lanes here in summer - but it's not actually forbidden to ski in them (although you'd have to be a little mad). I don't suppose there's a risk of getting shot if you do either. I would insist on a reduction in my lift pass rate if not all the pistes are available. Don't we all ski at lunchtime? Best time, surely???
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| hyweljenkins wrote: |
| I wonder how many Snowheads tshirts he wants. |
For 80 South Koreans, 10 extra large T-shirts should cover the lot of 'em.
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What you're forgetting (er hem....cough cough....somewhat biased stereotypes coming out here, you have been warned) is that South Koreans are not so....er hem..... um..... concerned with being seen as polite about the display of accumulated wealth as, say, the Japanese are. An arrogant display of what one's wealth can buy is positively embraced by many South Koreans and once the South Korean economy took off this kind of posturing by wealthy South Koreans started happening quite a bit (well, it did in NZ when I was there).
Lets see. He can't ski, he only wants to ski 3 slopes, for 3 hours, and he thinks he needs 6 instructors to help him.
Oh woopdedo. I'm...... not impressed.
BTW does the Brit Royal family block off the slopes when they go skiing???
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You know it makes sense.
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PG, who's pocket did you try sliding your hand into?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
BTW does the Brit Royal family block off the slopes when they go skiing???
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No, but if they bought enough Korean washing machines from this man I'm sure he'd put a word in.
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Poster: A snowHead
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*uppdate* courtesy of natives
the publicity s too mcuh and the trip may not go ahead!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Eh? quote from Natives: "Since chairman Lee enjoys skiing" Wot the? Earlier descriptions indicated not someone who could ski, they indicated someone who desperately wanted to learn to. Incidentally my washing machine's a Bosch.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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David Goldsmith, looks like the resort put their words in the pre-wash cycle and "mangled" the whole shebang
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Despite having reserved the beginners' area since Thursday, still no sign of Mr. Lee Kun-Hee as yet. "All the unfavourable press reporting may have put him off," according to a town hall spokesman. The Annapurna Hotel refused to comment on whether the booking had been cancelled. The Natives report (mentioned above) claims the trip has been abandoned, but resort officials remain tight-lipped.
True, the French have been up in arms. Covered by the national press, from Le Monde to national radio and tv stations, condemnation has been pretty universal.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Fri 18-03-05 18:51; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Any attendant publicity for this company on the internet should hereafter be referred to as Spamsung.
Indeed, maybe the whole thing was an ingenious spam, sung to the international media.
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I think it's all a bit sad. I'm sure that 99% of snowHeads, going to the 3V at the same time as Mr Lee, would have much more fun on their 99.9% of the terrain than he would on his 0.1%. The super-rich seem to make life a misery for themselves sometimes. I'd give it all away. Perhaps.
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Ian Hopkinson, you can get the boot service in some hotels in Aspen.
If I had the money, I'd reserve a slope just for myself. Possibly a ski resort if I could afford it.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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PG, can you sort this out for us for the EOSB. I will pay the costs etc - no problem.
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Let's see.... 1,500 euros per hour plus my commission (20%)... no problem!
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FAQ
