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Newsletter Articles - Alpine Skiing
Employee Gear Closet - Katie Gold
Summer Ski Camps
Break your piggy bank open and head for the snow. If there’s not enough in the piggy bank to get you to the southern hemisphere, get in your beater car and head for British Columbia. Going to a summer ski camp will take your skiing to the next level.
Interview with CR Johnson
On December 8, 2005 CR Johnson suffered severe head trauma in a freak accident at Brighton Resort in Utah. Within 10 days, Johnson had woken up from his coma, and by the end of March, Johnson was back on the snow at Squaw. See how he’s doing in this interview…
Pray-for-Snow 101: The Age-Old Ritual
Every fall, boarders and skiers around the world engage in sacred Pray for Snow rituals, heralded by beer kegs, bonfires, and Mad Pow Disease. Let us guide you through the carnage.
Park City Powder Cats
Thousand Peaks Ranch, located in the Uinta Mountains near Park City, Utah, offers up 30,000 acres of pristine dry powder and terrain for all abilities. Whether you’re into steep chutes, cliff drops, trees, wide open bowls or intermediate cruising, Powder Cats has exactly what you’re craving.
Ski the Southern Hemisphere
Summer doesn’t bode well for the old powder jones. Luckily, it’s always winter somewhere. So pack you bags and wax your skis. We’ll show you where to make turns in the dead of the summer.
New School Ski Review 2007
Park, Pipe, & BC Booter Planks: The Bottom Line.
What’s Hot for Winter 2006
Want to experience a spectacular season while making all of your friends jealous of your exceptionally good taste? Check this stuff out.
Employee Gear Closet: Josh Rhea, Direct Marketing Manager
He’s a gear-loving powderhound who’s mastered the art of the written word.
Employee Gear Closet - Jackie Baker
Employee Gear Closet - Jackie Baker, Marketing Copy Editor
Powder Mountain Resort Report
You’ve probably never heard of Utah’s Powder Mountain, but it’s the resort with the most skiable acres in the United States—and most of them are empty.
Solitude Resort Report
Solitude: where lift-lines are unheard of, powder days are the norm, and cold-smoke is only twelve miles from Salt Lake City.
Athlete Interview: Brandon Wilkinson
Usually Utah’s Brandon Wilkinson would be ripping the slopes at The Canyons Resort, but this time of year you’ll only see him a couple of days every other week at The Canyons.
Tanner Hall Contemplates the Meaning of Life
No other contemporary skier continuously incites so much debate. Why? The Kalispell, MT native spent his teenage years pushing the limits of freeskiing under the watchful eyes of a skeptical industry—and he took full advantage it.
Roundtop Riders Bio
RoundtopRiders.com Video Crew Bio
Spring Skiing, Snow, and Sun
As much as I love it, winter makes me uptight. Your body shivers to stay warm;
you hunch against biting winds; your entire being braces against the harshness
of the season. I noticed it this week, because after months of darkness and cold,
my body relaxed. The sun warmed my skin, and blue skies embraced my soul. The
mountains did the same, letting out a sigh marked by trickling melt water and
the tumble of ice-freed rock.
Catch a Ride with Pantheon Helisports
Pantheon Helisports drops touring addicts deep in the BC backcountry—it’s heli skiing at its most rugged and ski touring at its finest.
Resort Report, Snowbird
Snowbird’s last season was a 201-day-long powder-filled blur with the total snowfall stacking up to 632 inches. Snowbird’s projected opening date for the 2005-2006 season is late November, and some exciting improvements await Bird-loving powderhounds.
Resort Report, Alta
Alta, renowned as North America’s powder mecca, is rich with ski history, bottomless powder days, and locals whose devotion is as strong as the snow is deep
Resort Report, Brighton
After the deafening roar of the avalanche fades away, you search the slide path for signs of your two friends. Seeing no wide-eyed partners and hearing no cries for help, you take out your beacon, turn it to ‘search’, and begin what will likely be the most stressful half hour of your life.
Backcountry Ski Set-Up
From one plank inbounds to two in the backcountry
Riding Jay’s Glades
In the trees of Jay Peak, Vermont, you won't share your stash with anyone.
Study A-Board in Utah
Westminster College’s Winter at Westminster program lets you experience Utah’s Wasatch Mountains—and learn something while you’re there.
Wendy Fisher Interview
As one of the best skiers in North America, Wendy Fisher is the star of several Matchstick Productions and Warren Miller films. With the recent birth of her son, Wendy Fisher is still skiing hard and teaching the joy of skiing.
What's New in Alpine Ski Gear for 2002
Alpine skiing is finally cool again and we have the gear to prove it.
Spring Skiing Is Here--Snowbird is Still Open
...Bulky bibs are traded in for stylish ski pants. Ball caps, colored wigs and even Hawaiian leis appear on the hill. Camelbaks no longer carry water--they mostly carry beer."
Fritschi Freeride Blends Big Mountain Freeride Skiing With Backcountry Soul
The Freeride came out mid-season and revolutionized AT bindings. Unfortunately Fritschi didn't make enough and the backcountry gurus have been busting down the door looking for them. The wait is over.
No Train, No Gain: Tips for Fall Conditioning
With winter fast approaching, many of us are starting to feel the itch to ski. You can picture yourself making brilliant turns, but if you were on skis at this very instant, how would you really perform? Sedentary summer legs dragging your performance down a bit? Here are some excellent guidelines for getting into skier shape by John Aalberg, Two-time Olympian.
Skiing the Southern ’Sphere
Christian Gennerman gives a mouthwatering account of skiing Portillo, Chile in the middle of North American summer. Open bowls and tight chutes, 2 feet of fresh snow, and Chileans that rarely venture off-piste make for an epic session of summer powder skiing.
A Day Skiing at The Canyons
The Canyons is quickly ascending the ranks of destination resorts. But such growth doesn't change the core reasons this place rules - powder aplenty and easy access to the backcountry
What Length Should Your New Skis Be?
The view out the Tram in the early 90's was obstructed by a colorful forest of thin boards soaring high above their owners' heads. Now those boards barely brush their owners' brows. Skis have fattened up nicely over the years, affecting our choices in length. Here's the low down on how to decide.
Ski Trends
Everyone has an opinion. SKI Magazine hands out Gold Medals to carving skis, and POWDER Magazine treasures the all-mountain fat, scoffing at anything so subjective as a ranking. We won’t tell you what to buy—we’ll let the magazines do that. Instead, we’ve compiled a run-down of the best new technologies and trends that will make your ’03-04 season better than the last.
North to Wyoming: Skiing in Jackson Hole
Jackson, Wyoming and the Teton Mountain Lodge played host recently to the inauguration of the ski and snowboard season. Pros, photographers, writers, reps, wannabes, and a raging hip-hop show made Teton Gravity Research’s premier of High Life an undeniable success.
What's in the Ice? Skiing in the Midwest
The Midwest has spawned legions of talented skiers, including many professionals. 30-something’s like pro freeskiers Gordy Peifer and Brant Moles took race technique to big mountains, while jibbers like Matt Sterbenz and Jamie Pierre continue to push the new school envelope. We asked these guys, "Just what's in the ice up there?"
Halloween Powder at The Canyons
Utah's warm Indian Summer ended abruptly just before Halloween with a massive series of snowstorms, to the dismay of mountain bikers and hikers taking full advantage of an extended season. As much as the BackcountryStore.com staff loves summer, all we have to say about that is: "Nyah-nah!"
Skiing Depends on Them
Line, Orage, and Siver Cartel are three successful companies with unique stories and a common mission: improving products available to young skiers and encouraging skiing's evolution. Each brand is rider owned, skier driven, and fills a gap in new school ski culture with innovation and sick style.
Last Call, Three Resorts You Need to Ski This Season
The Ritz Carlton; valets unloading skis from H2's and X5's; mocha frappaccinos with light whip. The base area at Aspen Highlands is everything most people expect of Aspen. But in my mind, and in those of the people who knew it as it once was, I'll always think of Highlands as the white trash cousin of the Roaring Fork Valley—dirty, slow, cheap, and scrappy as hell.
The Adventure Story Contest
We spent countless hours poring over some of the most (and least) interesting adventure stories sent in by our readers. Divining inspiration to pick a winner from the submissions was a tough job: it required flogging interns with computer power cords (not to mention our CEO), playing countless hours of ping-pong, and generally skiing our butts off.
Gurus to Gonzos: the Utah Event Round-Up
Think there's nothing to do in the Beehive State other than ski and snowboard bottomless powder snow? Guess again. From quiet journeys of self-discovery (Ski to Live) to misguided meat-hucking (U.S. Freeskiing Nationals), our lovely state plays host to some of the most eclectic, fun, educational, and occasionally stupid events in the outdoor world. Come check 'em out, a bunch are just around the corner.
Waxing Skis for the Best Lines
Some people lavish hours of labor, love, and science over their ski and snowboard bases—grinding, waxing, corking, brushing, and scraping them to perfection. This article isn't for them.
Cannon Ski Resort's Conundrum
The steep, scrappy rise of soil and stone known as Cannon Mountain has a lot in common with one of its most dedicated skiers: Royce McIntosh. He wears black Carhartt work pants and a Carhartt vest over a plaid button-down shirt. He skis on flame-orange P-30's he bought used for a hundred bucks with bindings, and wears flame-orange Technica boots. He smells of stale alcohol, and does not wear a helmet.
Ski Racing with an Edge: The Subaru Rocky Mountain Skiercross Classic
Racers ready! Four skiers pull back on the start gates, ready to push off the instant the command is given. They concentrate on the upcoming battle for the hole shot. The countdown is given and in a flurry of colored bibs, racers immediately work to edge each other for the lead.
Summertime, and the Skiin' Ain't Easy
Get in line or fall behind. Pro skier and summer camp coach Skogen Sprang talks about the skiers of tomorrow and the glacier-based camps that change the face of a sport each and every year.
Friends of Berthoud Pass
The toilet was infamous, the stairs treacherous, and the lifts were slow. The mountain was, and is, absolutely sick. After the ski area disappeared, one group fights to preserve the legacy of Berthoud Pass.
First Turns
The snow guns are fired up and the race to be the first North American ski resort open for the 2004-2005 season has begun. Find out where to get your earliest snow fix in the country.
Snowbird University
Higher education takes on a new meaning this winter as Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort launches a comprehensive new mountain education camp: Snowbird University.
SteepAndCheap.com Will Rock Your Socks Off
SteepAndCheap.com is the newest site in the Backcountry.com family. It's a place for us to unload great gear at unbelievable prices. These deals are totally sick, but often get buried in our main site...