Your skis might still come in handy

by Iva Skoch on

It has been a great year for skiing. In the US at least. In Europe, it has actually been terrible.

US ski reports are predicting it will be a great spring skiing season as well. According to USA Today, a bunch of resorts are extending their seasons:

In Colorado, three resorts –Purgatory, Monarch and Wolf Creek– have extended their seasons into April, and Arapahoe Basin probably won’t close until early June. Oregon’s Mount Bachelor is supposed to have the best skiing in years this year and will be open through mid-May. In California, Lake Tahoe has had a lot of snow this year and Alpine Meadows, which stays open well into May, January snowfall was almost double the norm. Great conditions are reported from New Hampshire’s Wildcat Mountain Ski Area, as well. The resort won’t close until early May.

Photo of the Day (3-11-2008)

by Martha Edwards on

Aside from a 2-week bout of the nastiest weather imaginable, winter in my cold little nook of the world has been pretty mild. In fact, the temperature today was in the mid-60s, while our neighbors to the east are experiencing severe winter weather warnings.

So it’s in honour of them that I choose to feature this photo of Toronto by PDPhotography today. I love the framing, I love the bleakness of the image, and most of all, I love that I’m not there.

Want to share how the weather is where you live? Submit your photo to our Gadling Flickr Pool.

Weird weather around the world

by Jerry Guo on

In the middle of the desert, snowflakes are falling. Of all places, it was snowing this morning in Baghdad, which made headlines in publications like the New York Times and TIME Magazine. Some people interviewed said they’ve never heard of snow in Baghdad while others say it’s been at least forty years.

That alone is a strange enough incident. But get this. It’s spring-time in New York City. How’s that for topsy turvy. This week, when New Yorkers should have been bundled up in their wool scarves and rubber boots, they’ve been walking around in t-shirts.

Is this another ominous sign of global warming? As someone who’s grown up in snowy states, I seem to remember winters a decade ago being much colder–and snowier (hope that’s a word)–than what’s been going on the last couple years. Or is this just my already fuzzy memory?

Poach, snowboard, video and win $5000

by Abha Malpani on

There are four resorts in North America that still prohibit snowboarding: Mad River Glen, Vermont; Deer Valley, Utah; Alta Ski Area, Utah; and Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico.

Encouraging a “peaceful protest” against the ban, famous snowboarding equipment company Burton is sponsoring a contest where you must to go to one or all of these resorts, snowboard, and submit a video of it. The best video in each resort will win $5000.

Contests are not meant to be easy, but I don’t think this would even be possible! It’s hard to hide your snowboard so I don’t see you getting past the entrance; if you do manage that, how would you go up the ski-lift without being asked to leave your snowboard behind? The only “ski-resort” I have been to is the one at a mall in Dubai, so I’m the last person qualified to even think about smart ways to enter a snowboarding prohibited center, but if any of you can enlighten, I’d be curious to know.

Also, other than the fact that snowboarding packs the snow in a way not very suitable for skiing, and the general complaints from traditional skiiers, what are the other reasons that justify the banning of snowboarding?

It seems like the competition was launched end of November 2007, and there are no videos up yet. For those who are excited by events that make you eat forbidden fruit, the deadline for this one is March 1, 2008. Videos should be 5-minutes long and in *.flv format.

Make sure you read the “Poaching Commandments”; full details on how to enter can be found here.

Photo of the Day (12/31/07)

by Iva Skoch on

Allow me to indulge myself by posting my own photo as the last photo of 2007. I took this picture last week in the central highlands of the Czech Republic right before I escaped to sunny Portugal to ring in the new year. It summarizes my year pretty well: sad. Goodbye, not-so-good ’07. Glad you are almost gone. Hello, 2008!

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr site and post it.***