100 Search Results for ""ski areas""

• Hokkaido Drift - Japan Pow! Hokkaido Drift - Japan Pow!

  • From: robintlee
  • Description:

    Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/58027692

    After last year, coming back to Japan was a no brainer and this year was even better. After last year we did a bit more exploring and found some new zones and areas that we had never been before. We were in Niseko for just under 3 weeks and apart from one day when it rained, we got 15-25 cm of new snow everyday... it just didn't stop. I think we must of seen the sun no more than a handfull of times with only one bluebird day.

    As well as scoping new zones, we hopped on Black Diamond Tours' famous Mushroom tour twice where we drove around in a van finding avi barriers, pillows, steep lines (which are hard to find in Japan) and snow almost as deep as we are tall. Thanks to Gordy, Colin, Mitch, Hayden and Jordy from Back Diamond Tours for taking us out. 
    blackdiamondtours.com/

    As usual it was hard to find a balance between skiing and filming but we managed it and had an awesome time during our short trip.

    Hope you enjoy!

  • 3 weeks ago
  • Views: 16

• News: Arapahoe Basin Ski Area News: Arapahoe Basin Ski Area Backcountry Avalanche Training And Annual Beacon Bowl

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

     

    
    (A-Basin) will host two days of backcountry and avalanche rescue training and education. A-Basin’s Backcountry Preparedness Days will take place February 8 and 9, 2013, and feature the Companion Rescue Workshop and the 11th Annual Beacon Bowl. All proceeds from both days benefit the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC).
     
    “Although our daily focus is on our in-bounds terrain, we’re aware of the growing popularity of backcountry touring,” said Alan Henceroth, A-Basin’s Chief Operating Officer. “We want to provide our guests with the resources to ski and ride safely. It is important for people to understand the differences between in-bounds and backcountry skiing.”
    
    
    Save big on A-Basin lift tickets through Liftopia.com
    The Companion Rescue Workshop, a day-long seminar on search and rescue techniques, will be held Friday, February 8, 2013 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Facilitated by local experts from the CAIC, Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol and patrollers from neighboring ski areas, the workshop features both classroom instruction and on-mountain scenarios including tutorials on modern search and rescue technologies, emergency care, and extraction and evacuation. The workshop costs $50 and is limited to 50 participants with previous backcountry experience.
     
    Following the workshop, A-Basin will host a spaghetti dinner starting at 5:00 p.m. with beer courtesy of New Belgium. The cost is $15 and the dinner is open to the public.
     
    On Saturday, February 9, 2013, A-Basin will host the 11th Annual Beacon Bowl and Après Ski Party to benefit the CAIC. During the Beacon Bowl, participants race on-mountain to find beacons buried in the snow, simulating an avalanche search and rescue. The contest is divided into two divisions – recreational and professional – and features prizes from Spyder. Registration and check-in begin at 8:00 a.m. in the A-Frame. The $25 Beacon Bowl registration fee includes entry to the competition, a raffle entry, a slice of pizza and a beer during the Après Ski Party. There is a discounted Beacon Bowl entry fee for those who participate in the Companion Rescue Workshop.
     
    Open to both the public as well as Beacon Bowl competitors is the Après Ski Party, starting at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Après Ski Party includes a raffle, silent auction and live auction with prizes from brands like Black Diamond, BCA, Dakine, SkiLogik and more, with all proceeds going toward the CAIC.
     
    Online registration for all events is recommended; you can also register by calling 888-ARAPAHOE (272-7246) or onsite, day-of if spaces remain. Further information about the Companion Rescue Workshop and the Beacon Bowl can be found at ArapahoeBasin.com.
    
    Save big on A-Basin lift tickets through Liftopia.com

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  • 3 months ago
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• TGR Begins Filming In Austria TGR Begins Filming In Austria

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    Colter Hinchliffe at Ski-Arlberg, Austria.
    
    Well, here we are in St. Anton Austria! But it doesn't stop there. St. Anton is just our base at a network of ski lifts, gondolas, and trams known as Ski-Arlberg. Included in this network are the villages of Lech, Zurz, Stuben, St. Christoph, and St. Anton, just to name a few. We have spent the majority of our days at Stuben, which is a couple lift rides and a few valleys away from our pad. It offers a bit more backcountry than the other areas via its three older chairlifts. In the past two days we have ended up skiing out two different long valleys to the roads, leaving us nowhere near where we started. Pure adventure skiing with a great crew.
    
    I knew no one at the beginning of this trip one week ago, but I already feel comfortable enough to talk with them about things I can't discuss here. Our posse of nine including Dylan Hood, Tim Durtchi, and Sage Cattabriga-Alosa have all really been soaking in Austria. Biers have been drunk, meat has been eaten, lines have been skied and Deutsch has been attempted to be spoken. It's sunny and were headed to the hill! Over and out, stay tuned.
    
    - Colter and crew
    
    Colter shredding zee pulverschnee.
    
    Skiing spine lines.
    
    Hitting booters.
    
    On to the next line.

    Shop for TGR films online at Amazon.com
    

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  • 4 months ago
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• So, You Want To Go To A Backco So, You Want To Go To A Backcountry Lodge In BC, Eh?

  • From: jeremybenson
  • Description:

    If you were at a lodge in BC, you would be crushing it.
    
    “All you focus on is waking up, skiing all day and getting ready to do it again the next day,” says James Heim, “With the skiing being so close to the lodge you literally roll out the door and can be skiing amazing lines in no time.” Heim, a BC resident and star of numerous films by MSP and Sherpa’s Cinema, has been on three film trips and numerous personal trips to backcountry lodges around BC. Matchstick Productions has filmed several segments at Golden Alpine Holidays’ Meadow Lodge with the likes of Heim, Eric Hjorleifson, and Mark Abma. Other film companies have followed suit, Candide Thovex and Sweetgrass Productions both made trips to Icefall Lodge to film last winter. Filming at a backcountry lodge is great because, “The whole crew is already out in the mountains and so close to great filming terrain,” says Heim, “You can't get caught up in day to day life, instead you focus solely on getting out there and shooting.”
    
    Sure, backcountry lodges are a great place to film a sick segment, but they are an equally great place to go shred with your friends for exactly the same reason. Here’s the basic idea: Get a group of like-minded friends together and rent a lodge for a week. Jump in a helicopter, get dropped off at the lodge. Wake up, eat, go skiing, eat, go skiing, eat, sauna, drink beer, sleep, repeat for one week (in roughly that order). Stephane Reindeau, a Revelstoke resident and owner of Tough Guy Productions, has spent time at various lodges around BC and says, “The backcountry lodge environment allows you to enjoy gourmet cuisine and fine camaraderie, in the middle of beautiful mountains, and the powder skiing is unparalleled. This is the dream, and the experience is unprecedented.” That’s weird, I’m pretty sure I’ve had that same dream…
    
    Look, it's BC powder!
    
    The Canadian Province of British Columbia is home to some of the most dramatic and remote mountains in North America. In addition to countless cat and heli-skiing operations, BC is home to roughly 30 commercial backcountry lodges. Backcountry lodges have played a part in BC’s rich mountain history and they continue to evolve with our modern backcountry skiing boom. From the Coast Range to the Rockies, there are lodges and huts littered throughout western Canada’s mountains.
    
    The Backcountry Lodges of British Columbia Association’s (BLBCA) website lists 27 commercial lodges that offer skiing. Most are privately owned and operated while the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) manages some. Countless other hike-to or sled-to lodges exist throughout the mountains of BC, but that’s another story entirely. Generally situated at or near treeline, these lodges provide an ideal base for mountain exploration. When it’s storming you can ski the trees and lower elevation terrain around the lodge. If it’s clear you can head up high and access alpine peaks, chutes, and glaciers. Most lodges are so remote that they are accessed exclusively by helicopter. Icefall Lodge, for example, is a 20-minute heli-ride away from the nearest heli-staging near Golden, BC. Twenty minutes in a helicopter is a damn long time, prohibitively far to walk, so you can rest assured that no one else will be out in your zone.
    
    The Icefall Lodge in British Columbia.
    
    Larry Dolecki, owner and head-guide of Icefall, started his lodge because, “there is so much terrain in BC, but you are limited by road access. The helicopter gets you out there, then there is no one else around.” With groups ranging between 12-16 people, depending on the lodge, there is plenty of snow and terrain for everyone. “You show up and ski right out the door, no driving, no racing for first tracks,” says Dolecki, “Atmosphere is a big reason lodges are becoming more popular, sharing powder with a group of friends.”
    
    Lodges are typically rustic, they are located in the middle of nowhere after all, but they do offer many of the creature comforts we’ve all become used to. Electricity is standard at pretty much every backcountry lodge, and in BC style this is usually from some sort of “green” energy source. Most lodges use hydroelectric or solar power to charge their batteries and when all else fails, they have a gas powered back-up generator. Wood stoves provide heat for the living areas and drying out skins, boots, and other soggy ski gear. Some lodges also feature a designated drying room where all the stinky ski gear can dry by propane heat and fester in its’ own stench. A few modern backcountry lodges have indoor toilets, but many still utilize the good ol’ frosty outhouse. Most lodges pull their drinking water from nearby fresh water sources, many have holding tanks and running water, while others rely on human power to bring water in buckets, either way it’s some of the best tasting water you’ll ever have. Wood fired saunas are common, and when coupled with a watering-can hot shower is the perfect way to wind down after a long day hiking for face shots. Some lodges even have satellite internet so you can maintain your status and give your friends the F.O.M.O.
    
    You could be skiing powder in Canada right now.
    
    All lodges are different, but most offer both guided and self-guided skiing. Some lodges require you to have a guide, and with avalanche paths longer than most ski areas it can be nice to have someone with terrain familiarity showing you around. Guides are often included in the price, or they typically run around 300-400 bucks a day, when divided among a group ends up being pretty cheap to have someone break trail for you all week. Depending on your group’s level of backcountry savvy you may be able to opt for guiding yourselves, a slightly less expensive option.
    
    As for food, the full spectrum of options is generally available, from catered gourmet to do-it-yourself. I love eating mac-n-cheese and quesadillas all week with my bros, but having someone cook for you is undoubtedly easier and way better, albeit slightly more expensive. Waking up to hot coffee and breakfast, and coming home to soup and snacks before a delicious dinner everyday is worth a couple hundred bucks in my book. There are catering companies in BC who specialize in lodge trips and will prepare your week’s worth of food, boxed up and with recipes, to take with you on a self-catered trip to save you the hassle of figuring it out for yourself.
    
    Skinning with your friends is the best.
    
    Plan ahead, lodges tend to book out early nowadays, so making your reservation up to a year in advance may be necessary. In fact, a couple of the ACC lodges, like Fairy Meadows and Kokanee Galcier, are so popular that they work on a lottery program for reservations. Group leaders can usually book an entire lodge, then fill it with their favorite shredding partners. Booking the whole lodge is the most cost effective approach and brings the price per person down significantly. You can often book just part of the lodge, or help to fill a partially booked week, in which case you’ll be sharing with other folks who are there for the same reasons you are, so they’re probably pretty damn cool. Expect a catered and guided week to cost around $1,800-$2,200, far cheaper than a week of heli skiing, and arguably as much or more fun.
    
    If you’re planning a trip to a backcountry lodge in BC, here’s a few helpful tips. Canada is not part of the United States, you’ll need identification to enter, I suggest a passport. Flying to Canada is expensive, and getting around once you’ve landed can be a pain. I recommend driving whenever possible, this saves on airport transfers, car rentals, baggage fees, and you can bring groceries and a small amount of alcoholic beverages with you.
    
    Things are more expensive in Canada, so bring the maximum amount of alcohol allowed, a case of beer, or 3 bottles of wine, or a 750 ml of liquor per person, they will probably check at the border. If you’ve had a DUI in the last 5 years, don’t even try to cross the border.
    
    Bring earplugs, one loud snorer can keep you up all night, every night, and the better you sleep the harder you can charge.
    
    Avalanche training and experience traveling and skiing in avalanche terrain are a must; hire a guide if you are the least bit uncertain of your skills. Know your gear and how to use it. A backcountry lodge trip isn’t the right place to try out your new backcountry boots for the first time because, as James Heim says, “There’s nothing worse than being in an amazing location for a short time and spending most of that time either fixing your gear or practicing avalanche rescue when you could have done that before hand.”
    
    Do some online research or talk with friends who’ve been to a lodge to find the one that best suits your needs, there are lots of options. Lodge operators are extremely helpful for planning and can assist with finding guides, catering, and details like lodging before and after and your trip.
    
    My backcountry lodge experiences have resulted in the best ski trips that I’ve ever been on. The stress free environment, comfortable lodging, and access to incredible terrain are without equal. In my opinion, there isn’t a better a way to spend your money on skiing and spend time in the backcountry.
    
    A few helpful online resources:
    http://www.backcountrylodgesofbc.com
    http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca
    
    Catering:
    http://www.mosmountaincuisine.com
    

    Going on a backcountry hut trip, be sure to load up on Avalanche Safety gear available at: backcountry.com

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  • 4 months ago
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• Video: An Important Public Ser Video: An Important Public Service Announcement For Skiers And Snowboarders

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    
    
    There is a problem facing ski areas across the US, and it's not global warming. Some think it's worse. It's time to get involved... and make a change.
    
    Learn more at downhillthreads.com

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  • 4 months ago
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• Leah Evans Keeps The Spirit Al Leah Evans Keeps The Spirit Alive

  • From: mollybaker
  • Description:

    Leah Evans. Photo by Zoya Lynch.
    
    “You’re Leah, right? I am signed up for your camp this weekend,” says the store clerk. “A friend of mine and I have been wanting to do it for years.”
    
    I am in Revelstoke buying groceries with Leah Evans, founder of Girls Do Ski, a creative and supportive platform for building a more confident presence of women in skiing—and the world. After a day of touring up logging roads and finding a few laps of pillow mashing and steep trees, I’ve gotten a glimpse into Leah’s Revelstoke reality—a recipe of incredible skiing and an even more incredible impact on the women who ski. Walking around town, many women, from the ladies at the ski hill, to the town’s acupuncturist, to the woman bagging your groceries, know Leah. And they’ve either attended a Girls Day Out Camp or they want to.
    
    On January 19-20, some of these women, hailing from Calgary, Edmonton, Ontario, and Revelstoke joined Leah and her coaches for a weekend of skiing, inspiration, and cliff sending. For some of them, it would be the first and only cliff they would ever jump, but lifelong shredder skills aren’t the only purpose of the camp. Girls Do Ski is more about joy.
    
    “I want these women to have this weekend as a point of reference for happiness,” says Leah from her home in Revelstoke just before she runs out the door to ski a few days before the next camp on January 26-27 at Kicking Horse. “I want these women to think ‘I was out there this weekend doing things that I didn’t think I could do.’  I hope they can come away from the weekend knowing this place and time where they didn’t watch their lives go by from a desk, but where they allowed themselves to experience something and hopefully they can go back to that no matter where they are or what they’re doing.”
    
    Leah Evans skiing in Revelstoke. Photo by Grant Gunderson.
    
    Evans, who is consistently the most cerebral woman I know in skiing, doesn’t stop at women’s specific ski equipment or floral, pink graphics because her purpose isn’t really to just include more women in skiing. Instead, Leah, who grew up shredding the winter wonderland of Red Mountain every day all winter, is using skiing as a catalyst for growth and change. It doesn’t matter if her campers start sending back flips or never ski again. The lessons they take away from her two-day camps are meant to be symbolic for other experiences in life.
    
    “In these camps you see women dealing with all of their fears, standing on top of drops, using all their strength and power to do it,” says Leah. “By the end of it, every roller and bump is being hit, the girls are out just sending and they are elevated to a level to ski hard.”
    
    
    
    Fear is a tricky emotion, but if you’ve felt what happens when you’re afraid, but you decide to jump that cliff anyway, maybe you can simulate that feeling in other areas of your life. Any woman can utilize this skill, from the young, aspiring pro skier to an engineer who plays outside on the weekends. Leah and her coaches have made this connection and they’ve decided to share it with others.
    
    “Share the spirit,” says Leah as our conversation ends. “We are all doing something out there that we love. I just want to share it.”
     
    Get informed at girlsdoski.com and make sure to peek the Sarah Burke “Inspire” project.

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  • 4 months ago
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• Interview: Hayden Price's Alta Interview: Hayden Price's Alta Life

  • From: brodyleven
  • Description:

    Hayden Price crushing in Alta. Photo by Adam Clark.
    
    Skiing around Alta with Hayden Price is like riding with the best skier you know, your best friend, and the best tour guide ever. Except he’s the guide skiing up to a cliff zone, throwing a huge 180 into pow, and only waiting for you because he wants to watch and give you a high five. You don't actually ski with Hayden at Alta as much as you follow him, graciously. The 26-year-old has had an Alta season pass for 24 seasons. He has a distinct style on skis—seemingly disinterested with passing trends, though invariably on the cutting edge. Hayden was the first skier I remember really watching—like, taking notes and emulating—when I moved to SLC seven years ago. He can't ski Alta without people following him, and you'd be intimidated by that fact if he weren’t the happiest, mellowest, and friendliest icon on the mountain. Everyone knows him and he knows the mountain from behind a set of powder-surfing eyes like none other. He's that popular local shredder at your little hometown hill…except he’s that guy at freaking Alta.
    
    
    
    

    BRODY: Hey dude. Where are you and what's been happening?
    
    HAYDEN: Hey Brody! I have been enjoying a better snow year here in Utah’s Wasatch mountains and am currently packing up my gear to head to Canada on a film trip.
    
    BRODY: Where did you grow up? How often did you ski?
    
    HAYDEN: I grew up at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. I skied mainly on the weekends.
    
    BRODY: Although you were frequently at Alta, your home was actually down Little Cottonwood Canyon’s Highway 210, in Salt Lake City. What differentiates you from a skier who has grown up living right in the Town of Alta?
    
    HAYDEN: Growing up in Salt Lake City was a true blessing. I had the oasis of Alta only a stone’s throw away and yet grew up in a metropolitan city. I believe this kept me open to the diversity that may not otherwise be found if I grew up in the bubble that is Alta. Seriously, it is a different world up there, and you feel it the moment you arrive.  SLC has a great music, art, and food scene that I really enjoy. Variety is the spice of life.
    
    BRODY: Speaking of variety, please describe your ski style and what influences it.
    
    HAYDEN: My style is a cornucopia. I spent years dedicated to the idea that I if I can ski it forward, I should be able to ski it backward. As that motivation evolved, I looked to other sports for inspiration because I felt skiing was a little dried up. I saw the way other action sports were using their apparatuses and wanted to emulate the moves they were doing on my skis. Skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing and mountain biking had a lot to offer my thirst for different skiing. Growing up at Alta, surrounded by loads of “classic” skiers, I strived to differentiate myself from the masses. I skied a whole season of resort riding without poles in hopes of cultivating a unique relationship with my edges and the way my skis flexed. Watching all the possibilities a skater has for doing tricks, I felt there must be more I can do on my skis. I am currently focused on butters, presses, scrapes and strange transitions. If there is snow, I’ll slide on it and find something that makes it interesting to me.
    
    BRODY: You ski huge cliffs, backcountry tours, park, natural jumps, and super deep pow. People don't understand what kind of equipment you use for such an array of pursuits. Do you have an arsenal of gear, or what? What is one piece of gear you couldn't live without?

    Hayden Price dropping into a line. Photo by Brody Leven.

    HAYDEN: I definitely have an arsenal. Skiing is so particular now that I choose my skis specifically for what I’m doing that day. I have a lightweight tech binding setup for long tours and soul pow turns, and multiple sidecountry setups consisting of Marker Dukes or Alpine Trekkers for hitting jumps and drops out of the resort. My inbounds bindings are Rossignol FKS. All of my skis are 110mm under foot or wider, and all have some type of rocker technology. I couldn’t live without my Full Tilt boots.
    
    BRODY: Surface employed your snow-snorkel expertise in designing a new ski. Please explain.
    
    HAYDEN: The Lab001. I look to other sports for inspiration not only for ski sliding techniques but also for the technologies they are using. The new Lab ski has a front-to-back “3 stage rocker” as well as “Deep Dish” technology. This idea comes from our desire to have a really surfy powder ski that has a catch-free feeling.  The “Deep Dish” is a left-to-right convexity on the base of the skis. Essentially, the ski is base-high by a few centimeters.  This really allows the ski to be tossed around at will and opens up the world of trickery in powder snow.
    
    BRODY: Do you film with anyone? Where can people see and follow you (besides as fast as they can at Alta)?
    
    HAYDEN: I filmed with Sweetgrass Productions last year in Nelson, BC. This season I have been focused on working with local [Little Cottonwood Canyon] boys, Dubsatch Collective. We have a great season lined up with some really fun ideas. Stay tuned, as webisodes are dropping frequently on dubsatch.com
    
    BRODY: Why Alta?
    
    HAYDEN: It is the birthplace of powder skiing. The quality and quantity of powder that falls at the end of Little Cottonwood Canyon is unmatched worldwide. You can’t beat the access, the people, and the terrain. Alta and the surrounding areas are pure magic!
    
    BRODY: Your skillset is not only strong but also uniquely diverse, how did it develop?
    
    HAYDEN: I watched my home hill heroes, like Sage, and wanted to do what they were doing while adding my own flavor to the mix. [As a teenager,] I would ride Chip’s Run at Snowbird with all of my snowboard homies, copying the style of tricks they were doing off the cat tracks and gaps. I ran a terrain park at Alta with my friend Jordan for a few years. We always pushed each other to do more creative tricks and to be able to do them in many ways and on different terrain. I am really into climbing and mountaineering, too. Combine the jib aspects and long distance pursuits for fresh snow and you get me, HP.
    
    BRODY: Who do you love to ski with? Do you like everyone following you?
    
    HAYDEN: I love to ski with friends and family. Skiing with any of the Dubsatch crew is always great and I don’t mind anyone following us around. Join in on the fun!
    Regardless of whether he grew up in the Town of Alta or twenty minutes down the road, Hayden is most at home on that mountain. His skillset reaches from one end of skiing’s spectrum to the other while being one of those skiers who you recognize through unique skiing style, not through his outerwear or the bottom half of his face in the liftline. Since that season seven years ago, when I first realized how capable he was in the mountains, I’ve watched Hayden’s mentorships and friendships develop within the Little Cottonwood Canyon ski community. Not only does everyone know HP, but they only have compliments to offer. Forthcoming video parts will finally expose HP to the world, showcasing his talents as not a park skier, backcountry skier or Alta skier, but as a mountain skier.
    
    Hayden Price on cover of Backcountry Magazine.

    Want to ski like Hayden, book your next Alta ski vacation online through http://mountainreservations.com
    

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• News: Learn To Ski Month Offer News: Learn To Ski Month Offers Free Skiing in Vermont

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

     

    

    To kick off National Learn to Ski Month of January, The Woodstock Inn & Resort is celebrating with a Ski Free Program for resort guests throughout the ski season. Adults ski free Monday through Friday and kids ski free all week at the resort’s Suicide Six Ski Area, which features two chair lifts with a J-bar service to 23 trails, or at the Nordic Center with more than 30 kilometers of groomed cross country skiing. 
    
    The Ski Free Program includes:

    ·         Complimentary lift tickets to Suicide Six Family Ski Area

    ·        Free Pass to the Nordic Center offering more than 30 kilometers of groomed cross country skiing and snowshoeing

    ·        Complimentary use of The Resort's Racquet & Fitness Club including training equipment, indoor pool, steam room, sauna, and hot tub

    ·        Morning coffee and afternoon tea

    ·        Discounted equipment rentals at ski shops

    
    The Ski Free program is available to guests when booking any room rate or package. Suicide Six features 30 percent beginner, 40 percent intermediate and 30 percent advanced slope ratings and one of the most family-friendly ski areas in Vermont. The base Lodge features a ski school, ski shop, cafeteria, and lounge/restaurant – perfectly located with a full view of the Face and the lower ends of all the trails. Offer not available holiday weekends and holiday weeks.
    
    For twice the fun, skiers can also experience Killington, the largest ski area in the East, only twenty minutes from Woodstock Inn & Resort. A special Killington Express Package includes a Killington all-day ski pass for two, one night luxurious accommodations at The Resort and country breakfast for two along with all the benefits of the Ski Free Program. Rates start at $369 per night, not including tax, gratuity or resort fee. Some nights require a minimum length of stay.  For information and to make reservations, visit www.woodstockinn.com or call (888)-481-8802.
    
    Discover some of the most scenic cross country and snowshoeing trails anywhere at the Woodstock Inn Nordic Center. The Nordic Center features miles of trails surrounding the picturesque village of Woodstock, VT all mapped out for convenience. Highlights include the trails on Mt. Tom in the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and woodland trails on Mt. Peg. The Center offers rental and retail ski and snowshoe equipment, clothing and both private and semi-private lessons.
    
    Throughout the winter season Woodstock Inn & Resort provides guests with a number of dining and recreational options to enhance their stay. The Red Rooster, the resort’s award-winning fine dining restaurant emphasizes a menu using fresh, local ingredients sourced from the best purveyors in New England.  Richardson’s Tavern offers a cozy old-world atmosphere with a full bar and live music.  Resort activities include a 41,000 square foot Racquet & Fitness Club, which includes indoor tennis courts, indoor racquetball courts, a 30-by-60 foot indoor lap pool, a whirlpool, workout equipment and a steam room and a sauna. The 10,000 square-foot LEED-certified spa offers a nature-inspired ambiance and treatments including the signature winter selection, Deep Forest, which features a gentle exfoliation of the body and is followed by a massage.

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• News: Two for One Airline Tick News: Two for One Airline Tickets to Crested Butte and Telluride

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    MT. CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. – Jan. 3 – Skiers and riders in Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area can now take advantage of the best travel deals imaginable in ski country, two-for-one airline tickets straight to the slopes of Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
    
    The Telluride Montrose Regional Air Organization (TMRAO), Telluride Ski Resort (TSG) and Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) put the deal together with Allegiant Air to offer two-for-one airline tickets from Phoenix-Mesa airport (IWA) and Oakland International Airport (OAK) non-stop to the Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ). This is a special that brings incredible value to a skiing vacation.
    
    “To my knowledge, there is no program in the industry where travelers can get two for one airline tickets and skiing opportunities at two of the country’s top resorts,” said Michael Martelon, President & CEO of the Telluride Tourism Board. “It’s unheard of to have this kind of option, and we’re excited to be able to offer it.”
    
    This winter, Allegiant is offering fares from Phoenix starting as low as $46.99 one-way ($93.98 round-trip)*. Flights from Oakland start at $49.99 one-way ($99.98 round-trip)*. The flights into MTJ began December 15 and conclude April 3. Two-for-one tickets must be purchased on or before January 31, 2013 for travel by April 3, 2013. This offer is based upon availability. For a complete flight schedule, visit www.allegiantair.com.
    
    With the collaboration of Telluride Ski Resort and Crested Butte Mountain Resort launching the Ultimate 6 Pass, a 6-day pass that is good for 3 days of skiing and riding at each resort, guests can now use the centrally located airport for their travel arrangements and have the opportunity to ski both areas in one vacation. The T-CB Ultimate 6 Pass is available at Liftopia.com at the unbeatable rate of $439 through January 31.
    
    "With the Allegiant Two-for-One offer, and the new Telluride-Crested Butte Ultimate 6 Pass lift ticket option, skiers and winter enthusiasts living in Phoenix and in the San Francisco Bay Area now have a very compelling reason to discover Crested Butte and Telluride mountain resorts,” adds Scott Clarkson, vice president of sales and marketing for CBMR.
    
    For more information and to book Two-for-One airline winter vacations, please call 866-237-5341.
    
    FLIGHT SCHEDULE
    Wednesdays
    Depart Oakland 8 a.m. arrive Montrose 11 a.m.
    Depart Montrose 11:45 a.m. arrive Oakland 1:15 p.m.
    Depart Phoenix-Mesa 8 a.m. arrive Montrose 9:20 a.m.
    Depart Montrose 10 a.m. arrive Phoenix-Mesa 11:30 a.m.
    
    Saturdays
    Depart Oakland 7 a.m. arrive Montrose 10 a.m.
    Depart Montrose 10:45 a.m. arrive Oakland 12:15 p.m.
    Depart Phoenix-Mesa 1 p.m. arrive Montrose 2:20 p.m.
    Depart Montrose 3:05 p.m. arrive Phoenix- Mesa 4:15 p.m.

     

     

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  • 4 months ago
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• News: NWT3K Introduces New Lev News: NWT3K Introduces New Level of Customization to Outerwear

  • From: nwt3kouterwear
  • Description:

    

    Northwest Technical Outerwear Allows for Individuality in Snow Sports Apparel
    
    New company allows skiers and snowboarders to build & customize Jackets.
    
    Seattle, WA December 18th, 2012 – Last week, Northwest Technical Outerwear (NWT3K) began a new era in the
    winter outerwear market by introducing the first high-quality, affordable, and customizable jacket available to
    the public.
    
    NWT3K recognizes that skiers and snowboarders love individuality almost as much as they hate seeing their
    name brand jacket sitting mirrored next to them on the chairlift every season. NWT3K aims to shake up the
    industry by utilizing new website technology that offers a simple interface for consumers to pick colors they
    love and the features they need. Customization aligns with high-quality technical jacket features, designed
    specifically to combat common problems riders face on the slopes. From wide cuffs that easily fit around your
    gloves to durable, color schemed velcro, Northwest Technical Outwear caters to the distinct, die-hard snowbird.
    
    Founder and CEO, Nick Marvik, strongly believes that you should be able to express your personality through
    not only your riding style, but also your outerwear style. “Most companies release only a few jacket options
    per season, so it’s inevitable that you’ll see some look-alikes on the mountain. Our brand means that you
    are able to represent yourself through a jacket design that is timeless. With NWT3K, your gear will never be
    considered ‘last season’s jacket’.”
    
    NWT3K is also a passionate advocate for keeping their products USA-made. The company has ensured that
    production remain in its home city of Seattle, WA – without passing the cost on to customers. This supports
    local businesses and allows for riders to receive their custom jacket directly from the factory, resulting in a
    much faster time to delivery.
    
    NWT3K’s custom jacket builder allows riders to:
    
    -Choose from 12 different colors for the body, arms, and hood areas of the jacket

    -Choose from 10 different zipper colors

    -Choose from 10 different velcro colors

    -Choose from 16 different zipper layouts

    -Add additional features such as pits zips
    
    Custom Jackets start at $289. Visit www.NWT3k.com for more information.
    
    About Northwest Technical Outerwear
    
    Northwest Technical Outerwear, LLC is a start-up outerwear company that streamlines their ski and snowboard
    jackets around customer personalization, satisfaction, and experience. The company’s design allows snow
    addicts to customize the colors and technical features featured on their jacket, while stile providing the durable,
    high quality elements enthusiasts expect from big-name brands. As a new player in the snow sports apparel
    industry, NWT3K hopes to shake up the standards for product technology, design, and innovation. Founded
    and scaled by a full-time college student and ski junkie, NWT3K jacket features are developed with the avid
    skier and practical functionality in mind. They are also advocates for “USA Made,” and have managed to keep all
    production based directly out of their headquarters’ city of Seattle, Washington.

  • Blog post
  • 5 months ago
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• The Last Frontier - S6 E06 - S The Last Frontier - S6 E06 - Salomon Freeski TV

  • From: salomonfreeski
  • Description:

    Marking America's only unguarded border, the Portland Canal is the 4th longest fjord in the world. At the head of it, lay the towns of Stewart, BC and Hyder, Alaska - and the base for Last Frontier Heliskiing. Cody Townsend & Chris Rubens use a helicopter and their skis to explore one of the last great wilderness areas left on earth.
    
    Music:
    'Arcane'
    by SuperVision
    Free Download @PLMusic.pl/SV
    Courtesy of Red Light
    
    'Neptune'
    by Ronald Jenkees
    www.ronaldjenkees.com
    Courtesy of Ronald Jenkees

    Click To Watch More Salomon Freeski TV Videos

     

  • 5 months ago
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• Deadly Winter - A Look At A Ye Deadly Winter - A Look At A Yearlong Avalanche Cycle In Montana

  • From: patclayton
  • Description:

    The prevailing southwesterly winds begin to load The Barrels during the 2011-'12 winter in Montana.
    
    Words and photos by Pat Clayton
    
    Standing at the bottom, eyes gazing upward, mouth position - donut hole. It was the state many of us found ourselves in more than once during the 2011-12 winter, as the snowpack around southwest Montana seemed to be in the valley floor rather than on the mountainsides. An impressive display of anger from an utterly upside-down snowpack, like wet scabs, these deep slabs slipped off their precarious perches roaring again and again to the end of their historical run outs. The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center did yeoman's work to inform the public that this was no ordinary snowpack, while the Bridger Bowl Ski Patrol worked it hard to keep the mountain safe. 
    
    Forest service avalanche scientist Karl Birkeland summed it up this way:
    
    “The 2011-12 season started with a thin snowpack. In fact, in the Bridger Range the snowpack was less than two feet deep for more than two and a half months. This resulted in an extremely weak base that was loaded up by snowfall in February and March. The big excitement came as we shifted from dry-snow to wet-snow avalanches toward the end of March. Warm weather saturated the snowpack with melt water, and then a storm dropped almost two inches of snow water equivalent. This set the stage for numerous full depth wet slab avalanches both inside and outside the ski area. The ski area did an excellent job of managing the hazard and keeping people out of the way of these monster slides.”
    
    Eric Knoff, full time forecaster for the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center adds:
    
    “During 2011-12 season, the GNFAC saw the second highest number of avalanche incidents in its 22 years of operation. A total of 51 incidents were reported throughout the season, three resulting in fatalities. This number represents southwest Montana; the total number of avalanche incidents throughout the state was much higher. In fact, Montana (tied with Colorado) had the highest number of fatalities out of any state in the nation with seven fatalities. This high number of incidents can be directly attributed to a shallow and weak snowpack that plagued our area the entire winter. Early season snow followed by prolonged periods of cold, dry weather formed a thick layer of depth hoar near the ground. This layer remained weak throughout the season, producing avalanches from November to April. Whether it was half-mile long crowns in Teepee Basin or unprecedented wet slabs in the Bridgers, the season of 2011-2012 was one to remember."
    
    The first one, it peeked through the clouds one morning. A shallow snowpack and a 1- to 3-foot fracture. The instability clearly evident on the ground, the canary in the mine to what would end up an impressive yearlong avalanche cycle.
    
    Patrol worked this one loose in Mundy's bowl.

    Bridger Peak went as well, it was nearly a mile long fracture, wrapping around to the unseen south face as well. Photo: Richard Griffen.

    Saddle went fairly early, triggering off it's wind loaded northeast shoulder along the sugary rock band.

    More snow resulted in deeper slabs, the ground rot neither crushed nor flushed.

    
    Just beyond the boundaries, the football field erases many tracks.

    Patrol working it hard to keep the in bounds safe.

    Deep hard slab. This one was skied on thousands of times before an overnight load tipped the scales.

    Erik Knoff investigating an impressive crown line. Lucky high marker. Photo: GNFAC
    
    

    South saddle was kind on this day. Photo: T Thesing
    
    Doug Chabot displaying what the areas snow pits were showing. He pulled that 6-foot column out in one piece, all of it sitting on sugar.
    
    The morning it all came down. B gully to the ground.

    
    
    Powerful slides filled numerous gullies. Photo: GNAFC
    
    
    A dicey situation managed expertly by the patrol.
    
    An icy mogul field is rooted out by weight from above.
    
    Early season is when conditions like this can form. Every season and snowpack is different. Take only what she gives and always ride it with a smile!

    Thanks.
    
    Co-snow safety director at Bridger Bowl, Richard Griffen, was on the front lines and in closing adds:
    
    "This was the worst snowpack year in my 17 years patrolling Bridger Bowl. Some years you just say, 'No - it isn't worth it.' If basic knowledge states signs of local activity, stay off avalanche terrain. Honor the storm; respect the mountains, live to ski another year."

  • Blog post
  • 6 months ago
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• News: Craig Kelly, Wayne Wong News: Craig Kelly, Wayne Wong And More To Join Ski And Snowboard Hall of Fame

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    Wayne Wong showing off his signature "Wong Banger."
    
    ISHPEMING, MI - Freestyle skiing pioneer Wayne Wong and world champion freestyle moguls skier Jeremy Bloom lead an outstanding class of six inductees elected to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Joining them will be Alpine World Championship medalist Kirsten Clark, world champion and snowboarding pioneer Craig Kelly, acclaimed international ski instructor and leader Horst Abraham and ski resort developer Hans Geier. U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame Chairman Bernie Weichsel made the announcement.
    
    Wayne Wong is regarded by many as a living legend. He was the leading and most popular skier of his day when hotdog or freestyle skiing was emerging on the scene. The inventor of the famous “Wong Banger” and a star of countless skiing movies, Wong packaged his fame into being a true ambassador for skiing and continues to this day to convey his passion and enjoyment for the benefit of ski sports across the country. Both SKI and Powder magazines have named him among the most influential skiers in the 20th century.
    
    Jeremy Bloom was also a star of freestyle skiing who won two World Cup titles and a World Championship and was one of America’s most visible skiing stars in the mid-2000’s. In 2003 he won gold in the dual moguls event at the World Championships and a silver in the individual moguls. Two years later he won his third World Championship medal as well as earning the moguls and overall World Cup titles. His six straight wins in World Cup competition set a record that stood for seven years. Bloom was also a football star at the University of Colorado and played for two years for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.
    
    Kirsten Clark started racing at the age of seven, developing her skiing skills at Maine’s Sugarloaf Mountain. During her 13 year career on the U.S. Ski Team she won 12 U.S. titles and reached the World Cup podium eight times. In 2003 she won a World Championship silver medal in the super G. From 1998 to 2002 she strung together five straight U.S. downhill titles. A three time Olympian, Clark was respected for her quiet leadership and the high standards she set preparing for competition. Lindsey Vonn said of her, “Clarkie was always someone I looked up to.”
    
    Craig Kelly is the third snowboarding honoree to be elected to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. A winner of four world titles in the early days of the sport, Kelly was one of its most influential pioneers working with Jake Burton Carpenter to open countless ski areas to the sport in the 1980s. He also played a key role during the early years of Burton Snowboards. The holder of an honors degree in chemical engineering, he starred in numerous skiing and snowboarding films over 20 years. The first true professional snowboarder, he was awarded TransWorld Snowboarding’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. He died a year later in an avalanche while seeking to become the first fully certified Canadian Mountain Guide as a snowboarder.
    
    Horst Abraham is an Austrian native who rewrote the script for American ski instruction that had a significant impact internationally. Through his work America’s ski instructors emerged as world leaders in their field. Starting with the Aspen Ski School and later the technical director for the Vail Ski School, he eventually became the education vice president for the Professional Ski Instructors of America. As the developer of what became known as the American Teaching Method in 1980, focusing on teaching skiing skills instead of skiing turns, he led the U.S. to become the world leader in snow sports education.
    
    Hans Geier was a leading manager and developer of ski areas across the United States for nearly 30 years. From the time he completed Pennsylvania’s Ski Round Top in 1971 until his retirement in 1998, he had a large impact on the growth of the sport. Most notably he was the general manager of Steamboat Springs resort in Colorado from 1981 to 1990 when he led it through a $43 million expansion, growing annual skier visits from 360,000 to over a million and putting the resort’s finances in the black. In 1994 he was hired as president of Doppelmayr Corporation for North America, a position he held until his retirement in 1998. He also served on numerous ski association boards including the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) and chairman of Colorado Ski Country. In 1988 the NSAA presented to him its Lifetime Achievement Award.
    
    The induction of the Class of 2012 will take place at the Marriott Vail Resort in Vail, CO on April 13, 2013 as the concluding event for Skiing Heritage Week celebrating Vail’s 50th anniversary.
    
    The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame provides highly respected perpetual national recognition to athletes competing in skiing and snowboarding and of the builders of these sports who have made the highest level of national and/or international achievement and contribution to American skiing and snowboarding. It is located in Ishpeming, MI, the birthplace of organized skiing in America, where it also serves as the headquarters for the International Skiing History Association.

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  • 6 months ago
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• News: Black Diamond Leads Grow News: Black Diamond Leads Growing Opposition To Utah SkiLink

  • From: TetonGravityResearch
  • Description:

    

    Black Diamond is at the center of growing opposition to the proposed SkiLink that would connect the upper part of the Canyons Resort in Park City to Solitude Mountain Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon via gondola. The proposal would allow developers to bypass existing jurisdictional and environmental protections and require the United States Forest Service to sell 30 acres of public land.
    
    “What is being publicly sold as a solution to traffic is a private interest land grab of some of the most pristine and heavily used recreational public land in the Wasatch for the benefit of a single real estate developer,” says Peter Metcalf, president and CEO of Black Diamond, Inc. “SkiLink threatens our precious watershed, and shuts out the interests of the multitude of existing stakeholders involved. The industry is against SkiLink but in favor of more sustainable and true Wasatch-wide transportation solutions that benefit all ski areas and the entire community.”
    
    Over 80 of America’s and Utah’s leading outdoor and snow sports brands, along with leading local, regional and national conservation groups, have signed a petition that opposes SkiLink. National businesses and advocacy groups include Armada Skis, EMS, Gregory Mountain Products, Jones Snowboards, Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear, Petzl, POC, PrAna, Voile, Protect Our Winters, The Conversation Alliance, The Wilderness Society and Winter Wildlands Alliance. Supporting local businesses and non-profit groups include: the Alta Lodge, Friends of Alta, International Mountain Equipment (IME), Pagan Mountaineering, Save Our Canyons, Utah Rivers Council and Wasatch Touring.
    
    Salt Lake City Mayor Becker, Salt Lake County Mayor Corroon and a number of state legislators representing the impacted area and officials running for election signed the petition outlining their opposition to SkiLink as well. Additionally, the US Forest Service came out against SkiLink before the House Subcommittee on Forests, Parks and Public Lands.
    
    Carl Fisher, executive director of Save Our Canyons explains, “SkiLink has garnered national interest because the public and business leaders understand that our local recreation economy is bigger than just linking ski areas; it is about protecting the many other multiple uses of our public lands, the values people have of them, the experiences they seek and unique landscapes that foster them. Beyond this, we remain concerned about the implications to the Salt Lake City watershed and the short sighted and seasonal approach to “transportation” which resulted without public input on an issue concerning public lands. There is much irony in the fact that snow sports companies are speaking out against what is being sold to the public as a pro-snow proposition – a proposition that is definitely not for the ski community at large. SkiLink is simply a vehicle to enrich a Canadian real estate developer at the expense of all outdoor enthusiasts.”
    
    For More Click Here

     

  • Blog post
  • 7 months ago
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• Game On: Tahoe Goes Off In Oct Game On: Tahoe Goes Off In October

  • From: sethlightcap
  • Description:

    72 hours into winter, Allison Lightcap slashes a deep drift on Donner Summit.
    
    Story and Photos by Seth Lightcap
    
    More than a few Lake Tahoe folk got the lights turned out on their summer lifestyle last week. After a mild fall with very little rain, Old Man Winter flipped the switch with authority. A potent storm blew into the Sierra on October 21 and dumped nearly four feet of snow on the crest over the next three days. There was no window of tacky singletrack for the mountain bikes and motos this year. Tahoe went from dusty, powdery trails to straight-up pow turns in 24 hours!
    
    It’s not the first time the Sierra ski season has opened with an overnight pummeling, but the last week of October 2012 will go down as something special. The combination of immediate coverage and cold pow made for unbelievably good skiing conditions within a day of the first flakes falling. But don’t take my word for it. I know seeing is believing. Here’s a gallery of shots from last week celebrating the epic start to winter in the Sierra:
    
    The storm track favored North Tahoe. Donner Summit and the neighboring peaks of Sugar Bowl ski resort got especially creamed. 
    
    Earning your turns is the only option if you want to shred the Sierra crest in October. Squaw Valley opened one base level chairlift for four hours on Thursday and Boreal did the same Friday to Sunday, but no upper mountain lifts have cracked in California yet. Allison Lightcap started her season on her splitboard.
    
    The storm came in gusty on Sunday but the winds died Monday night. Tuesday and Wednesday it snowed steadily. Terrain at 8,000 feet was left with a couple feet of cream atop a couple feet of dense windpack - a perfect insta-base.
    
    Moss Halladay lights up a turn testing the depths of a loaded gully dropping off the crest.
    
    Allison Lightcap threads a line into one of the ‘Sisters’ chutes at Sugar Bowl.

    You can bet Sugar Bowl ambassador Daron Rahlves has been out charging laps around his home turf.

    Even speed racer Rahlves has kept his turns relatively mellow. Despite the thick blanket of fresh snow, lurking rocks still abound.
    
    Ryland Bell left his home in Alaska just in time. He drove into Tahoe and wallowed into waist deep snow the next day.
    
    Field of fall foliage turned field of dreams for Ryland Bell.
    
    Matt Clark barrels into the white room while the storm was still pounding.
    
    All of the Tahoe Basin got some snow but only select areas got enough to safely ski. Brennan Lagasse swam through a shark tank skiing this pitch.
    
    These first tours were the perfect shakedown to remind you what you forgot about backcountry skiing over the summer. Brennan Lagasse won’t leave home without his skin wax next mission. 

    From a mild fall to dead winter overnight - Chris Galvin lives the Tahoe dream tearing into an October pow turn.

  • Blog post
  • 7 months ago
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• More Snow - Aspen/Snowmass More Snow - Aspen/Snowmass

  • From: aspensnowmass
  • Description:

    Over 8 inches of snow has fallen at the top of the ski areas in Aspen/Snowmass in the last 24 hours and the storm continues! Fresh snow paired with cold temperatures has created the perfect storm – allowing for snowmaking to begin on Aspen Mountain. In just 28 days – on Thanksgiving day, November 22 – Snowmass and Aspen Mountain will open for the 2012-2013 season. The same weekend, November 24-25, the world fastest women ski racers will compete in the Audi FIS Ski World Cup under Lift 1A on Aspen Mountain.

    Click Here To Watch More Aspen/Snowmass Videos

     

  • 7 months ago
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• News: Minnesota's Wild Mountai News: Minnesota's Wild Mountain First US Ski Area To Open For 2012-13 Season

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    On Oct. 7, 2012, Wild Mountain in Minnesota, was the first ski area to open in the nation. Snow covered a majority of the Bunny Hill and stayed open the whole day.

    Wild Mountain is located seven miles north of Taylors Falls, Minnesota, along the banks of the serene St. Croix River. Less than an hour’s drive north of the Twin Cities takes you ‘Just North Enough’ to a winter playground where family and friends are able to enjoy a day of fun together. With 26 runs traversing 100 acres of snow covered terrain, skiers and snowboarders of all ages and abilities enjoy the great outdoors in Minnesota.
    
    This season Wild Mountain celebrates 40 years of bringing winter fun to the area. In 1972 Dennis and Cam Raedeke purchased what had been known as the Val Croix Ski Area and began its transformation to Wild Mountain/Taylors Falls Recreation, a year round family recreation area. Wild Mountain is now operated by two of their children, Dan Raedeke and Amy Frischmon, continuing the proud tradition of family ownership and operation.
    
    Being ‘Just North Enough’ has allowed Wild Mountain to establish another tradition, the title as the first Midwest area to open for the past 35 years! Midwest snowfall is neither sufficient nor dependable enough to support a season of skiing and riding. To make up for this shortfall of natural snow, ski areas in the Midwest (as well as other areas in the country) rely on manmade; or manufactured snow. Just the right mix of cold, dry air (remember Just North Enough!) and water with the right equipment allows for ample snow coverage at the area – even if there is no snow in your backyard.
    
    Being ‘Just North Enough’ has allowed Wild Mountain to maintain not only its tradition of being first to open in the Midwest, but it also has allowed Wild Mountain to be the first to be 100% open, typically by Thanksgiving weekend, and to sustain one of the longest Midwest seasons! In 10 of the past 25 years Wild Mountain has opened in October, and typically closes for the season the last weekend in March.
    
    Fun Dates:

    October 18th, 1992 Wild Mountain was the first ski area to open in North America.

    November 27, 2010, Wild Mountain was the first ski area in North America to be 100% open!

    www.wildmountain.com

  • Blog post
  • 7 months ago
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• Mentor Jacket Mentor Jacket

  • From: outdoorresearch102344
  • Description:

    Outdoor Research® Climbing Ambassador Shingo Ohkawa talks about the waterproof Mentor Jacket™. Ruggedly designed, tested and built for ultimate storm-worthy protection in remote, big-mountain environments, the Mentor Jacket™ is a staple of the alpinist's quiver. The Fall '12 revision of the Mentor™ retains the widely imitated blend of rugged, waterproof/breathable 40D and 70D three-layer GORE-TEX® Pro. But our updated design more precisely targets high-wear areas for use of the more durable material, like the hips and shoulders - places where a harness or pack often abrades the fabric — allowing for a further streamlining of an already minimal alpine shell. The result is a racehorse with a workhorse pedigree; a lightweight, minimal and ruggedly durable jacket offering reliable protection and technical performance in extreme conditions. See the Men's Mentor Jacket here http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/or-gear/jackets/mens-mentor-jacket.html See the Men's Mentor Pants here http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/or-gear/mens-mentor-pants.html

  • 7 months ago
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• News: Opponents Of SkiLink Tak News: Opponents Of SkiLink Take To The Hills To Fight Proposal

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    A group led by Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, hikes Saturday through a meadow near where the proposed SkiLink gondola project would go through. Save Our Canyons and other environmental groups held a press conference to denounce the SkiLink proposal and tout what they contend is growing opposition to the idea. Photo by Scott Sommerdorf / The Salt Lake Tribune.
    
    Conservation groups hike to areas that would be impacted by Canyons-to-Solitude gondola.
    
    By Mike Gorrell | The Salt Lake Tribune
    
    SkiLink opponents took a hike Saturday to show what they don’t like about the idea of running a gondola from Canyons Resort in Park City to Solitude Mountain Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
    
    The expedition began at the Willow Heights Trailhead, just below the Solitude parking lot where SkiLink would hook into that resort. It was there that Save Our Canyons, the Sierra Club and the Wasatch Mountain Club, with support from a couple of Democratic politicians, announced the launch of a campaign to muster growing public and business opposition to SkiLink.
    
    Then the group headed three-quarters of a mile up a dirt trail to Willow Lake, an elevation gain of 600 feet that offered views of where the gondola would enter Big Cottonwood, passing through aspen and conifer trees that would be split by its 70-foot-wide lift corridor.
    
    “Clearly, people are very disturbed, not just about the project but the process,” Save Our Canyons Executive Director Carl Fisher said, citing 1,600 signatures collected so far on petitions against the gondola, which Rep. Rob Bishop and other Republican members of Utah’s congressional delegation are pushing with federal legislation requiring the U.S. Forest Service to sell 30.3 acres of its hillside lands to Talisker Inc., the Canadian company that owns Canyons Resort.
    
    That sale would remove the Forest Service from the regulatory process overseeing SkiLink, leaving decisions up to Salt Lake and Summit counties, which govern use of private lands on both sides of the ridgeline, and Salt Lake City, which is charged with protecting the watershed in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Conservation groups want the Forest Service to have some say-so, too, because its master plan for the central Wasatch Mountains prohibits ski-resort expansion on public lands.
    
    “It’s important to protect the integrity of public lands, the heart of the watershed and open space,” said Mark Clemens, manager of the Sierra Club’s Utah chapter.
    
    The bill before Congress, added Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, “subverts the democratic process — and process matters. It sets an awful precedent for other public lands in Utah.”
    
    Contacted later, Canyons Resort Managing Director Mike Goar characterized these arguments about the process as “misinformation. This is not an end-run around the public process. The federal legislation does not approve SkiLink, by any measure.”
    
    “It just allows us to make application to the local jurisdictions,” he said, which wouldn’t be possible if the Forest Service is involved. “It makes the process local. Local citizens will have a chance to comment. Local elected officials will decide whether SkiLink goes forward.”
    
    Will McCarvill, the Wasatch Mountain Club’s conservation director, objected to the ski resorts’ continuing encroachment onto prime backcountry terrain. The resorts picked off the best slopes decades ago and make it easy for people to access out-of-bounds areas, he added. SkiLink only will enhance that.
    
    “SkiLink will enable skiers from The Canyons to expand their access to central Wasatch powder,” McCarvill said, noting that even if the gondola does not have an unloading station on the ridge, it will provide a way back to Canyons Resort from Solitude.
    
    “These vacationers will not care about impacts on our wildlife, our water or that they have taken another chunk of preferred snow terrain,” he added. “They will not give a damn about those who live here and will have to deal with these negative outcomes.”
    
    Goar doubted SkiLink would generate additional backcountry skiing competition. He said the ridgeline unloading station was removed from the plan to be sensitive to those concerns. While the gondola could provide a ride back, Goar doesn’t feel that would compel many people to ski into Big Cottonwood from Canyons’ Ninety-Nine 90 lift.
    
    “I don’t believe for a minute, because of the length of the hike, that it will introduce new people. It’s a long haul,” he said, adding that Canyons would strive to minimize the gondola’s visual impact.
    
    Fisher said the petition drive’s first signer was Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and has received support from businesses such as Black Diamond Equipment Ltd., Voile, KP2 Architects, Western Investment LLC and John Johnson Financial Advisors. The effort also received verbal endorsements Saturday from several cyclists pedaling up Big Cottonwood past the news conference and, on the trail, from a camouflage-clad bow hunter.

  • Blog post
  • 9 months ago
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• News: The North Face Chilean F News: The North Face Chilean Freeskiing Championships Canceled

  • From: media-75233
  • Description:

    
    Salt Lake City, Utah - The North Face Chilean Freeskiing Championships hosted by Ski Arpa, previously scheduled August 22-26, 2012, has been canceled due to unsuitable snow conditions at the designated venue. As a substitute, The North Face Chile will host athletes and competition officials for “Los Andes Down South,” a weeklong experience in Patagonia including ski-touring volcanoes, soaking in hot springs and enjoying Chilean culture.
    
    
“We are really bummed Mother Nature is not cooperating this season by providing the conditions we need to host a safe Freeride World Tour (FWT) four-star event at Ski Arpa,” said Ski Arpa Marketing Director Brian Pearson. “We look forward to a continued partnership with FWT and hosting a tour event in 2013.”
     
    The North Face Chile, in partnership with Mountain Sports International, Inc. (MSI), will continue to support top freeriders' pursuits of endless winter by hosting a week of skiing in Chile. Athletes will travel to Antillanca in southern Chile for backcountry skiing around the Puyehue Volcano Zone. The region is one of the snowiest areas of the country and is expecting as much as 40 centimeters (15.75 inches) of snow in the coming days.
     
    "This new plan focuses on the camaraderie and passion for winter that are such key elements of our sport," said FWT Event Director Bryan Barlow of Mountain Sports International. "We are disappointed by the cancellation but sometimes that's how the winter plays out. We need to provide covered venues for the athletes and the central Andes just did not produce in time."
     
    Athletes are urged to contact Julia Jimmerson Mountain Sports International marketing coordinator at jjimmerson@mtsports.com for more information on The North Face Chilean Freeskiing Championships cancellation and secondary plan.
     

  • Blog post
  • 9 months ago
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