Think of it as skiing's equivalent of a backstage pass: This March, Chugach Powder Guides will host a special heli-ski trip with pro skiers Cody Townsend and Elyse Saugstad in Alaska's Chugach Range. Let's just say that these two know what they're doing. Saugstad won the 2009 World Freeride Tour, and Townsend has appeared in flicks by TGR, Warren Miller, and Matchstick Productions. March 14-20 or March 13-21. Check it out on Townsend's blog, Cherry Pow or on Chugach Powder Guides' website.
More sad news to report: A slide killed at least 17 soldiers when it hit a military training camp near Gulmarg, a popular Indian ski resort, today. This border with Pakistan has long been disputed in one of the world's highest-altitude wars. The Christian Science Monitor has an excellent report, and years ago in this magazine, Kevin Fedarko wrote a first-hand account called The Coldest War.
The east coast is getting hammered with snow but human-triggered slide action in the U.S. mountain West is relatively quiet at the moment. Let's keep it that way.
We've been waiting for this.The New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust has successfully recovered the whiskey left behind by Shackleton's 1908-1909 expedition to the continent, according to the Daily Mail. We anticipated the find in a December article.
The expedition recovered the cases in almost perfect condition, considering their age. And as a bonus, they also recovered some brandy left behind by Shackleton. Want a sip of century-old whiskey that's been on ice for the past 100 years? You may be out of luck. The Daily Mail says the Mackinley Old Scotch Whiskey must be kept according to conservation guidelines.
I shamelessly swiped this VholdR helmet-cam video from my friends over at Skiing magazine. Check out these pretty (ahem) sweet-looking lines from Chamonix, courtesy of athletes Tim Dutton, Jackie Paaso and JT Holmes.
Check out Lindsey Vonn in The New York Times's 2010 Vancover Olympics video series, above. No American alpine skier, male or female, has ever won more than two medals at the Games, but Vonn is favored in three races and is a medal contender in two more. Follow her, along with other Olympians, on our Top 10 Twitter list.
