. "Every time somebody gets close and you say,

KLOSTERS, Switzerland -- Its easy to find a beautiful small town hidden away high in the Swiss Alps, one with fine food, challenging slopes and a welcoming, fireside atmosphere.Its not so easy, however, to find one favored by British royals, a place where you might find yourself sharing a cable car with the future king of England, Prince Charles, or one of his dashing offspring, Prince William and Prince Harry, who first learned to ski here.The royal connection -- one of the cable cars is even named after Charles -- has shaped the publics perception of the tiny town of Klosters in Switzerland, but its only one of many reasons to visit. Its actually traditional, not flashy, and offers skiers, hikers and those simply seeking rest and relaxation a quiet sense of tranquility not found in many glitzier, more crowded Alpine resorts.That may be what has drawn Charles, with his well-documented distaste for impersonal, high-rise modern architecture, a scourge that afflicts some of the newer ski havens in France and Italy. Klosters has remained largely unchanged over the decades, effortlessly maintaining its small town charm. Its fun after skiing just to walk the back streets and admire the beautifully carved doors and other wood decorations that adorn many of its older houses. The town has a sense of unhurried history -- tourists started coming some 150 years ago, centuries after the first monastery was built here -- and its so snow-oriented that inexpensive wood sleds are stacked high outside the main grocery story.Klosters is connected to the larger, more built up town of Davos, known for the annual World Economic Forum -- and for its excellent mountaintop restaurants. In skiing terms, the two towns comprise one huge resort. The combined skiing is magnificent, and the slopes are often uncrowded. The mix of terrain focuses on mid-level skiers, with an emphasis on neatly groomed slopes, and its always exhilarating to ski to a new village or find a new restaurant tucked away on the lesser known runs. The high altitude hiking is phenomenal.Part of what sets Klosters apart from resorts in other countries is the unmatched Swiss railways, which make getting to Klosters a true pleasure. Its a joy to arrive at Zurich Airport, catch a train that skirts two beautiful lakes, then, after a simple switch, arrive in Klosters roughly two hours later. Its the best way to acclimate, to enjoy the mountain views and the rushing rivers without the hassle of renting a car and managing new roads.Its a perfect example of what makes European travel so alluring: Instead of sitting isolated in a car trying to decipher road signs in an unfamiliar language, you spend time in a train often filled with other skiers, including, inevitably, some English-speaking locals with well-informed opinions about the best place to ski, eat and drink. Its also very easy to use the trains to travel to nearby towns at the start of the ski day, providing convenient access to new terrain. The scenery along the way can be astonishing, and its hard not to admire the audacious engineering that went into the construction process. Needless to say, the trains run on time.The easy run from Zurich makes Klosters an attractive day trip for youthful skiers eager to get in a days skiing without having to pay for lodging. Passengers on the early morning trains tend to be wearing ski gear and munching energy bars as the trains climb toward Klosters and other nearby ski towns. Klosters also has an excellent bus system to take skiers from their hotel, or the rail station, to several chairlifts -- and one of the main lifts is actually just around the corner from the train station.Klosters has played a discreet role in royal romance. It was here in 2006 that Prince William was first photographed kissing Kate Middleton, who was then his girlfriend. The public kiss was interpreted -- correctly -- by royal observers as a clear indication that their relationship was serious and deemed to have a future.The university sweethearts briefly broke up after that, but when Kate returned to Klosters with William in 2008 -- and they were photographed on the slopes together -- it was taken as affirmation that they were very much a couple again. They married a few years later and now have two children.The royal link has also been marked by tragedy. In 1988 Charles was skiing with a close friend, Major Hugh Lindsay, when an avalanche struck as they were skiing off-piste high above Klosters. Charles was unhurt, but Lindsay was killed.It was also here that Charles in 2005 dropped his typically very correct public persona and let slip his true feelings about a reporter assigned to the royal beat, describing the BBCs Nicholas Witchell as so awful during a brief, uncomfortable meeting with the press at the start of the royal holiday.---If You Go...KLOSTERS, SWITZERLAND: http://www.davos.ch and http://www.klosters.ch . Two-hour train ride from Zurich. Magic Jerseys From China . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Aaron Gordon Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. http://www.cheapmagicjerseyschina.com/tracy-mcgrady-jersey/ . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. Authentic Magic Jerseys . LOUIS -- St. D.J. Augustin Jersey . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets.LONDON -- Dick Pound has written a report for the World Anti-Doping Agency assessing the current state of drug-testing. It doesnt paint a pretty picture. Despite increased testing and scientific advances to detect more sophisticated substances, Pound said anti-doping programs are failing and drug cheats are getting away scot-free because of a lack of will among sports organizations, governments and athletes. In his report to WADA and in an interview with The Associated Press, Pound blamed the failings on "human and political factors" and called out sports federations, the IOC and WADA itself for not doing enough to catch serial dopers like Lance Armstrong. The whole system, he said, is undermined by bickering among different groups, political interference, conflicts of interest and lack of incentives for nabbing drug offenders. "There are clearly many systemic, organizational and human reasons why the drug-testing programs have been generally unsuccessful in detecting dopers/cheats," Pound wrote in the report submitted to the WADA executive committee and foundation board in Montreal last weekend. "There is no general appetite to undertake the effort and expense of a successful effort to deliver doping-free sport," the report adds. Pound chaired a five-person working group which produced the 26-page report entitled "Lack of Effectiveness of Testing Programs." It carries weight considering that Pound served as WADAs first chairman from 1999-2008. The Canadian is also a senior member of the International Olympic Committee. "It ought to be a wakeup call," Pound told the AP. "It ought to be a call to arms. Well see what kind of response we get from the stakeholders. It will be on their heads if they dont respond properly." The report, which includes numerous recommendations, is being sent to all the client groups and will be up for consideration at WADAs meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in September -- two months before the world doping conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pound singled out the Armstrong case as a prime example of how the system isnt working. The American cyclist escaped detection for years before finally admitting that he doped while winning the Tour de France seven times. "Armstrong is tested north of 300 times while taking all this stuff and never tested positive," Pound said by telephone from Montreal. "How is that possible?" The report points out that the number of doping controls carried out around the world has increased significantly over the years and testing methods have improved -- yet, that has not resulted in more cheats being caught. The report cites statistics showing that, of 250,000 drug tests per year, less than 1 per cent produce positive findings for serious doping substances. Thats despite intelligence suggesting the rate of cheating is much higher. "If youre conservative and believe that 10 per cent are doping, four out of every five athletes who are doping are not getting picked up by these tests," Pound said in the interview. "Why is that?" "The elephant in the room is the human factor, not the science, not the system," he said. "The fact is, there is no concerted will on the part of virtually all the stakeholders to do what is necessary." Pound complained that athletes dont speak out against doping, national and international federations are weak on the issue, national agencies are under the influence of governments, and governments have no incentive to catch their own nationals. "The wwhole system is perpetuated that way," he said.dddddddddddd According to the report, anti-doping organizations focus too much on the quantity of tests, rather than the quality and effectiveness. It said sports bodies, including the IOC, "take public, but false, comfort" from the large number of tests, which are predictable. "Its like the IOC suddenly announcing its going to do 5,000 tests before London," Pound said. "So nobodys under any particular element of surprise and you can miss two tests simply by not answering the door if youre on something." The report also cites a "lack of inclination on the part of WADA to name and shame" sports federations which dont comply with anti-doping rules; a lack of widespread testing for EPO, insulin and growth hormone; opposition to testing programs by players unions; different rules for team and individual sports; and doping control officers being threatened and bribed. Disputes over WADAs role are also hindering the ant-doping effort, with the agency "viewed as an irritant, surrounded by stakeholders, some of which are self-interested or conflicted organizations," the report said. "The international federations still think WADA is a service organization for their benefit," Pound said. "It was never intended to be that at all. The international federations think its WADAs responsibility to do their work, except they dont want WADA to do the work." Governments, which provide 50 per cent of WADAs funding, have shown waning interest, with many sending civil servants instead of ministers to the meetings, the report said. The report said WADA must be the "designated leader, co-ordinator and monitor" of the anti-doping movement. To do that, it should reduce its research and education programs and focus on testing and compliance. WADAs main thrust should be monitoring compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code, which came into force in 2004 and sets out rules for all athletes, sports and countries, the report said. "Weve got compliance standards that are completely meaningless," Pound said. "They dont measure effectiveness. They only measure quantity." The report said WADA should be able to impose interim sanctions on a sport which is found to be non-compliant with the code. If the sport remains non-compliant, "appropriate action" should be taken. Under IOC rules, compliance with the code is mandatory for sports in the Olympics. Pound said the IOC should live up to the rules and kick out any sport which falls short. "If youre not compliant, then there should be consequences," he said. "Every time somebody gets close and you say, Maybe we should take road (cycling) racing off the program for a while, out comes the IOC wringing their hands and saying, Oh dear, we cant punish innocent athletes for the failure of a few. "You need some tough love here. You need some peer pressure." The report recommends mandatory use of the biological passport program, which monitors an athletes blood profile over time to look for signs of cheating. Track and field, swimming and cycling are among sports using the system. Other recommendations include: encouraging "whistle-blowing" so athletes and others can come forward with information without fearing harsh punishments; ensuring that doping samples can be removed from a country without interference or tampering; EPO tests should be included in all testing programs; and pre-emptive target testing should be allowed in team sports. ' ' '