New Ski Book: The Story of Modern Skiing

by Erik Olsen on

Here’s a book I’ve always wanted to write. It would also make a fine documentary film a la Dog Town and Z Boys and Riding Giants (two epic and wonderful films by Stacy Peralta). The book takes on a sprawling concept: the history of skiing. The Story of Modern Skiing by John Fry is being billed as the definitive history of the sport, and I for one, am interested in getting my hands on it.

From wooden skis and leather boots to the metal and Fiberglas skis and plastic boots we know so well today (what’s next?) as well as the story of the first chairlifts, and the rise and fall of various resorts, the book examines how skiing has evolved. It also looks at how resorts, once backwoodsy cozy cabins, have exploded into mega-billion dollar enterprises run by monster corporations…for better for worse…well, for worse.

Yacht + Helicopter = Skiing

by Iva Skoch on

Still mad that Europeans are greeting the New Year without snow, I think I’ve found an answer.

You can charter a boat called the Absinthe, to take you and 11 of your friends skiing in British Columbia. Billed as the world’s only yacht-based ski-lodge, this $36,000 per day (not including meals and fuel), 201-foot yacht will cruise you along the BC coast until you near an appropriate mountain. Then you’re fully equipped with skis and board their helicopter, which takes off from a heli-pad on the yacht, carries you up to the slopes with a ski-guide, and picks you up later.

And, if not all of your friends are skiers, they can take advantage of local hot springs, sea fishing, fly fishing, visits to Indian villages, kayaking, or a host of other activities offered from the yacht. Absinthe-drinking comes to mind.

Photo of the Day (1/2/2006)

by Erik Olsen on

Here we are in the dead of winter and it is fine time to post a nice Photo of the Day featuring snow. This shot comes from BluePeak and shows a killer snow fall near Vancouver and Whstler, British, Clumbia, arguably the best ski area in North America. Many of us who live in places where Mother Nature has not been so snow-kind, meanwhle, await a snow fall as lovely as this.

Nothing Says iGlove You Like This Gift

by Iva Skoch on

So the gift you bought a loved one didn’t go over well? Maybe this will be, er, more warmly received.

iPod lovers are rejoicing at Marmot’s new iGlove gloves and glove liners. Not only do they keep your hands warm and dry, but touch pads on the fingers of these glove liners allow you to operate your iPod click-wheel, without completely exposing your hands every time you want to skip past that last summer’s hit tune, which is not as appropriate to listen to while on the slopes.

The patent-pending fabric lets the electrical charge from your finger pass through the liner. And, of course, the liners work with any glove, or can be used on their own.

Not that some of us will be enjoying much skiing this year (there’s no snow in Europe!), but it’s good to know that somebody figured out how to make winter sports more compatable with the iPod.

Fullmoon Snow Shoeing at Tamarack

by Erik Olsen on

Having just returned from Mammoth Mountain and a fine, but not glorious few days of skiing, I was very pleased to be puttering around the Web and to find this great little piece at the Independent about an adventure snow-shoeing at Tamarack Lodge near Mammoth Lakes.

While I love downhill skiing and snowboarding, I also enjoy getting out every so often and cross-country skiing or snow shoeing, and Tamarack is one of the finest places in California to do this. They’ve got 19 miles of freshly groomed track that meanders around Twin Lakes and the Mammoth Lakes Basin.

And this article takes things even further by doing the trip around Tamarack at night. The writer takes one of the lodge’s full moon cross country trips where the moon casts such an abiding glow on the snow that you never need lights.