Schuss-fest

by Erik Olsen on

It’s just not as easy to pull helicopters anymore when skiiing.
The knees are a bit weaker, hitting the snow seems to hurt a lot more, and well, you just don’t want to die a bit more.
And so comes along an assortment of smaller, more intimate ski resorts where you can schuss without worrying about
hordes of skate rats taking you out.

The LA Times runs a piece today about
a lodge called Tamarack, an all-season resort in west-central Idaho
that opened in December. It is one of the newest among a handful of public U.S. ski resorts to be developed since
1981.

Gotboard?

by Erik Olsen on

Looking for a snowboarding buddy this year?
Here’s an interesting new community website who’s stated goal is to provide
snowboarders and skiiers with a central gathering place to find other snow-fanatics hurl carcasses with.

You can search by country or use the forum (which, I have
to confess seemed rather unpopular), and it might be worth it if you’re heading out somewhere solo this
winter.

A Journalist’s Skate Skiing Story

by Nino Marchetti on

There’s something to be said for a journalist who can make light of themselves in a story. Case in point:
Naomi Havlen from the Aspen Times Weekly and
her recent experience with skate skiing. As the accompanying picture shows, things didn’t always go well for her.
In the act of skate skiing, she describes, it is
“gliding (or waddling) toward grace”. Well done Naomi – we look forward to the follow up article on your next lesson
:)

Snow Kayaking

by Nino Marchetti on

Yes folks, this guy is
snow kayaking. There is apparently a race related to this “sport” which goes on each year as part of
Durango’s Superhero Snowdown Festival. As the Rocky Mountain News points out,
speeds going downhill can reach 20 miles an hour. A berm at the bottom of the 150 yard course stops racers, which is
apparently a great improvement from the barbed-wire fence which used to greet them instead. I guess that is a step up
indeed.

Snowbombing 2005

by Cosimo Leipold on

I went to one of these a couple years back – it’s basically a week long dirt cheap (relatively speaking) all
inclusive ski/snowboard/nightclub/food trip. Lots of people from the UK, mostly 20 somethings, and pretty darn fun.
This year it’s at Mayrhofen from the 4th to 10th of April. If you are itching to ski somewhere other than the US and
don’t mind cheap food (You get a bottle of wine per person at dinner. When I went it was literally a
$2 bottle of wine) and basic accomodations – you’ll be hard pressed to find a better deal. Some pictures from 2002
here.