Skiing
I love the latest trend of going back to natural fibers. It conjures up memories of wearing old Army surplus pants and shirts on cold-weather outings in the Cascades as a kid. What worked well then, still works. The trend is to mix natural wool fibers with some of the latest technology to create the ultimate warmth, comfort and durability.
Enter the upcoming Varitherm Dri-Release wool base layer from Duofold. The Varitherm tops and bottoms are made of a mixture of merino wool, polyester and spandex to maintain a 360-degree stretch and have just the right amount of comfort next to the skin. The fabric mixture is dubbed Dri-Release wool and is rounded out...
Continue reading...
It’s a new year and it’s time for everyone to spend some introspective time thinking about self-improvement. Let me suggest one thing that will change your outlook on life… ski at Alta more often. The place is money. Yeah, it gets tracked out the day after a storm, yeah it can be crowded at times (though today we only waited 7 minutes max in any lift line), but the terrain is flat out awesome.
We got a late start today, but got to the backside traverse to East Greely by 11am–just after it opened. Sloppy seconds mixed with untracked goodies here and...
Continue reading...
Holy smokes, Batman! More like, holy Benjamins actually. Vail’s day lift pass for 2007-2008 will cost you $92. With that kind of pricing, fewer and fewer kids will be learning to ski unless they have a trust fund and last names like Hilton, Gates, Buffet or Moneybags. The next most expensive resorts are Aspen ($87) and Deer Valley ($81).
I have a hard time believing that the majority of skeirs can realistically afford to ski at those prices. Yeah, fixed resort costs increase every year like the price of gas, but at some point you end up hurting the local...
Continue reading...
There are a lot of places that are only for “those in the know.” For example if you are visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico all the tourists eat at some restaurant on the Condado strip. But the locals know that a place off the strip called Compostella is THE place. If you are a tourist in Colorado, you know about Vail and Aspen. If you are wiser than a tourist, you go to Silverton. And if you are reading this article, you know about the big-name Utah resorts. If you are a Utah skier worth his salt, you “know” about Solitude Resort.
Solitude Resort is celebrating its 50 year anniversary, and the resort’...
Continue reading...
Smith has long been the market-leader in ski goggles. Their simple goggle designs have been classics for years. In fact, the Smith Cascade is likely the most popular goggle of all time–I happen to have three pairs in my closet. You likely have or have had a pair or two in your lifetime. They are great goggles for the money.
Over time, Smith has developed more progressive goggle designs to provide better vision, ventilation and overall fit with helmets. The popularity of helmets and widespread adoption by most skiers and boarders has created some challenges for some goggle manufacturers. The aforementioned Smith Cascade goggles worked perfectly with most helmets because the goggle design...
Continue reading...
Burton launched their poaching contest, “Sabotage Stupidity” earlier this month, garnering media and resort attention. Afraid of the onslaught of poachers, Taos buckled (well, not just because of poachers, read more here) and others will now be more vigilant to one-planker knuckle-draggers on their slopes. Utah’s Alta and Deer Valley resorts will be on high-alert, I’m sure.
Whatever Burton wants to do is fine with me, but I hope people don’t go to jail for this. Give it up already… Alta and Deer Valley will not allow snowboarders in my lifetime. They have thousands of loyal skier...
Continue reading...
To be honest, Deer Valley is one of my favorite places to ski in Utah. What?!?! Me, a pow-seeking, backcountry-loving skier like skiing at Deer Valley? Yessir… the place is near the top of my list if given the choice on any day of the week. Here’s why: the grooming is impeccable, the service is as good as it gets, but most importantly, nobody does tree skiing quite like Deer Valley.
And, tree skiing is exactly the reason why the all-new Lady Morgan Express chairlift was put in. Its 1150 vertical feet gives skiers access to 200 more skiable acres. Not just an impeccably-groomed 200 acres, we’re talking about 200...
Continue reading...
For those of you who haven’t been fortunate enough to ski at Silverton Mountain, now is your chance! They have just announced an extra day per week of skiing/riding through December and some of the most epic riding conditions to date. The place is awesome and you will definitely have the time of your life on the mountain thanks to the cool crew, amazing mountains and bottomless powder.
Here’s the word from Silverton:
Silverton Mountain is now also open on Fridays for the rest of December. Starting in January the schedule goes to the regular Thursday through Sunday schedule. This is just in time for The Best Skiing in the History of Silverton Mountain. Silverton...
Continue reading...
“Ohhh, the weather outside is delightful…” Yea, I wish it were the other way around but it will be soon. It’s the “warm before the storm” right now but temps are forecasted to drop with a 60% chance of snow on tonight and into Wednesday. They are saying up to a foot of new will fall.
Since wallets are getting lighter this time of the year Brighton Resort is offering a deal. On Wednesday, December 19 (that’s tomorrow kids) skiers and snowboarders can purchase a Brighton Day pass for only $14.00 when they bring a full bag of non-perishable to the...
Continue reading...
Though everyone knew it would happen sooner or later, snowboarders can now mark off one of the last 4 US ski resorts who still don’t allow snowboarders on their slopes. Not effective immediately (likely to let the old-timers rally for a couple more months), as of March 19, 2008, Taos Ski Valley will allow snowboarders on their slopes.
What do I think about this?
Really, I’m not shocked at this announcement. Taos is the only real ski resort in the desert southwest. They have a limited local draw and their destination skier totals have dwindled recently. However, Taos is one of those cool family-owned...
Continue reading...