Snow Sports
ArchiveElyse Saugstad, 31, is one of the top women freeskiers on the planet, and The Levitation Project recently released a solo video of her footage. (Check it out below. Pretty badass.) I caught up with her this evening…
Lindsey Vonn, called the “Best Skier in the World” by Outside in 2008, was just .03 seconds off from sweeping the speed events at the first World Cup event of the season, reports the Los Angeles Examiner. Vonn won downhill events at the Lake Louise…
Chris Davenport, the pro who skied all 54 of Colorado's fourteeners in a year, is on to the next big project: Antarctica. At the moment, he and a team of skiers are cruising around the icy continent in a 75-foot boat with enough muscle to navigate through icebergs. Along the…
In the December issue, we looked at the “Most Underrated Ski Resorts” in Vermont. On the other side of the continent, Whistler Blackcomb is getting buried in snow. The resort reported 18 ft. of snow through the month of November. The previous one month record? A…
Photos and videos from New Zealand's premier winter sport and lifestyle event.
Imagine this: You live in Summit County, Colorado and a local sheriff's deputy calls to ask if your ski-bum son is having a sex change. Um, what? That is precisely what happened when police busted a woman using a guy's ski pass at Keystone, according to the…
Are you a girl looking to get away? The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is giving away a weekend for you and three friends, worth $1,200, to ski the Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley, NC. The package includes two nights at the Boyd Mountain Log Cabins, two days of…
Errol Kerr, 23, will be the only member of Jamaica's ski team for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Sponsored by Spyder, Kerr is predicted to be a medal contender in the skiercross event. Kerr moved to Tahoe when he was ten but has duel citizenship…
Professional snowboarder or indie skateboarder? We're not sure. But, it doesn't matter because we like it! The Burton uniform for the U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team to compete in at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, that is. Can't you just picture…
Where would we be without the down jacket, high-altitude sunscreen, and some of the first waterproof/breathable fabrics? Luckily, we don't have to think about that, because we've got Klaus. The founder of ski/snowboard outfitter Obermeyer turned 90 this week, reports Skiing magazine, and it doesn't…
Powder days have already been flying in the Pacific Northwest, and they're not far behind in the rest of the country (hopefully). That means backcountry skiers and snowboarders across the land are dusting off the helmets, waxing up the old planks and… brushing up on their avy safety. I shall…
It’s hard to call an Olympic silver medal a defeat, but that’s what Gretchen Bleiler’s 2006 halfpipe loss to Vermont native Hannah Teter seemed like. Bleiler, the 28-year-old from Aspen, Colorado, has been the dominant woman in snowboarding for the past half-decade, but she’s entering this Olympic year as an…
The National Ski Patrol is holding an online auction through December 9. Proceeds will go to the emergency care and safety service programs. You can bid on gear, ski passes, vacation packages, and collector's items. Check out nsp.auctionfrogs.org for…
Lange has teamed up with Freeskier Magazine for the Local Lange Girl Contest, a regional and national competition whose goal is to find strong, sexy women who can really rip on the slopes. Regional…
The first “Girls Can Shred Too” event will take place January 23, 2009 on ski slopes all over the world. Promoted internationally, “Girls Can Shred Too” is an entire day dedicated to getting girls out on the slopes and into snowboarding. Head organizer Kassandra Cassily, a certified snowboard instructor, started…
A study by the University of Rochester cited in Scientific American has reinforced what some of us might have already suspected: Spending time in nature not only helps our moods, it helps us become less self-centered and adopt more intrinsic values (relationships, experiences like powder days) as opposed to extrinsic…
The first of five World Cup events for American alpine snowboarders was canceled yesterday due to poor snow conditions. The events, held in Limone Piemonte, Italy, will also be used as Olympic qualifiers. The U.S. Olympic team…
Canadian downhill skier John Kucera may miss the Vancouver Olympics, thanks to a high-speed fall on Sunday, reports Reuters. Kucera, 25, was considered one of Canada's top medal hopefuls. The accident occurred during the season-opening World Cup super-G,…
Pro skier Matthias Giraud, 26, was the the first to ski B.A.S.E jump off Mt. Hood, Telluride's Ajax, and southwestern Colorado's Engineer Mountain. With his trademark charm-your-pants-off French accent, he dishes about managing fear, losing his mentor Shane McConkey, and how to take the leap…
It's Black Friday, a time to avoid stores if there ever was one. To aid you in this effort, we here at the Powder Feed put together a cheat sheet of items you can buy online for the ripper that holds a special place in your heart. After polling dozens…
My friend Steve Casimiro, former editor of Powder magazine, writer and photographer extraordinaire, and the brain behind The Adventure Life blog just reminded me of this insane video of Frenchie Antoine Montant skiing out of an enormous slide with…
There may not be much powder skiing in Antarctica. Nonetheless a team of eight women from Commonwealth countries set off on skis toward the South Pole yesterday. Hailing from Cyprus, Ghana, Singapore, India, Brunei, New Zealand, Britain, and Jamaica, they are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth with the…
Expert-only Silverton Mountain in southwestern Colorado has its fair share of die-hard followers—with good reason. It gets stupid amounts of snow, it has steep and alarmingly (in a good way) wild terrain, and the atmosphere is, well, let's just describe it as laid-back. This mom-and-popper for the adventurous…
If there’s one item of winter clothing to put on the wishlist this year, it’s Patagonia’s new Nano Puff Pullover. Here are three reasonswhy: 1. It has easily one of the best weight-to-warmth ratios of any syntheticjacket I’ve tried. 2. It packs down smaller than an orange (in the…
Just in case you have a cool million or two lying around in your bank account (or really good credit), we here at the Powder Feed have divined a good* way for you to use it: Buy Elk Meadows Ski Resort in southwestern Utah. The non-operational ski resort is up…
The Subaru Freeskiing World Tour is on. Now in its 12th year, the tour kicked off this summer in La Parva, Chile, with Chopo Diaz and Jacqui Edgerly taking the victories. There are five more stops in the FWT,…
Lame news: The group of elite women ski jumpers looking to British Columbia's courts to help instate women's ski jumping events at the Olympics lost their appeal. Read the whole story…
Last year, ski jumping phenom Lindsey Van won the firstinternational-level ski-jump medal for the U.S. since 1924 and set the ski-jump recordfor both men and women at the Vancouver Olympic facility. But you won’t see herat the Olympic Games.
Win the chance to snowboard with Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White byparticipating in an ebay auction benefiting the charity Right to Play. Right to Play is an organization focused on using sports and playprograms to improve health,…
'Tis the season of video contests, and the most entertaining one we've found so far is the Colorado Snow at First Sight Contest. The prize is three months of all-expense-paid skiing, snowboarding, sledding, ski-bar carousing, snowball-throwing, and hot tubbing in Colorado, but it's only open to complete snow newbies. Know any Samoans…
Snowboarder Shaun White knows something you don’t, and thatis: foam. Lots of it. In a huge landing bin. Learn the flying tomato’s new trickshere. …
In the name of giving ass-kicking skier Lindsey Vonn as much play as possible in the pages of Outside magazine and on this website, may I present to you a window into her workouts. Ok, boys, now you try to balance in a tuck on an exercise ball… –Kate…
Breckenridge overwhelmingly passed a measure todecriminalize marijuana this week, which means it will be legal for folks 21 and up to carry an ounce or less in the high-(ahem)-altitude ski town. The measureis largely symbolic, since possession of pot is still an offense according tothe state. But it’s a…
Nissan and Japan's Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have put their heads together to try to come up with a pair of ski-less skis, SKI magazine reports. The design features boards that are short and have wheels as well as sensors to detect a…
Watch the full video of Straightline Productions's All or Nothing snowboarding film, above. And if you're stoked to try your own moves, check out what gear we recommend in our Winter Buyer's Guide videos here.
It's like Travelocity but for lift tickets… This year, Liftopia added a bunch of new resorts to its roster, including Winter Park, Keystone, and Killington. Now you can buy discounted lift tickets for 120 resorts across the country. A screaming deal we spotted…
Powder people, check this out: a contest in search of the ultimate ski bum (or snowboard bum). The prize: 15 days of heli skiing and cat skiing in British Columbia, season's passes to a slew of really awesome resorts like Kicking Horse and Revelstoke, accommodations, and transportation. All you have…
A recent survey released by the Ski Channel says that 41% of skiers admitted to skiing and texting at the same time. –Dave Costello…
According to Transworld, Wisconsin's Granite Peak Ski Area has designated six runs in the park for skiers only. Owner Charles Skinner says there has been an increase in requests from skiers on the mountain to have skier only trails. Check out the…
In our November issue, on newsstands now, we list the 16 Best Ski Resorts in North America, categorizing them into the ultimate powder, partying, and off-piste destinations. We had local experts give us the lowdown, so you'll know exactly where to…
REI and Arbor have released a “call for artists” to submit designs for their 2010 snowboard design contest. The competition is open to anyone who likes to draw, and the winning design will be featured in Arbor's 2010-2011 snowboard lineup and sold exclusively…
Two years ago at Kitzbühel, American downhiller Scott Macartney survived a high-speed crash that would've ended most skiing careers. He immediately began plotting a comeback, drawing on deep stores of willpower and courage to overcome a unique kind of terror that every racer knows. They even have a name for it: the Fear.
Endless Powder! Rowdy Bars! Screaming Deals! Secret Stashes! Huge Steeps!
Whatever your riding style, we've got the board for you. Use our Terrain Meter to choose a pair based on the conditions you ski the most.
A robot the size of a small child has been designed by the Slovenian scientist Bojan Nemec to downhill ski, according to Telegraph. Just watch the video. The little guy uses cameras to plot a course down the hill and a couple gyroscopes and force sensors…
Two years ago at Kitzbuhel, American downhiller Scott Macartney survived a high-speed crash (“FLAT,” Outside Magazine, November 2009) that would've ended most skiing careers. He immediately began plotting a comeback, drawing on deep stores of willpower and courage to overcome a unique kind of terror that every racer knows.
I’m convinced Audi’s Q7 TDI was designed by German powder junkies. What else could explain the combination of features only a ski addict would appreciate? The all-wheel drive that lets you beat the snowplows up the hill on icy mornings. The heated leather seats for you and four buddies, plus…
According to Backpacker.com, the two year battle over lifetime passes at Keystone has finally come to an end after pass holders agreed to drop the lawsuit and settle for court costs. Lifetime pass owners at Keystone had sued for the rights to continue…
Loveland Ski Area opened one run at 9am this morning, making it the first ski resort in North America to open its slopes to skiing this year. The run has about 1000 feet of vertical. Lift tickets are $44. –Dave Costello…
The winners of the 2009 Banff Mountain Photography Competition have been announced. The judges in this year's competition received over 4000 images from 600 photographers from 41 different countries. You can check out the best in this years mountain photography here, at The Banff…
By Mary Catherine O'Connor Last month, we sang the praises of ski swaps as a great way to give new life to old skis and snowboards. But events such as swaps will never divert all old ski sticks and boots from…
If you thought the battle over the slopes was bad, wait until snowboarders hit the trails en masse. Will that ever happen? Watch some pioneers in the video above and decide for yourself. –Aileen Torres…
Bode Miller announced this past Thursday that he will be rejoining the US Ski Team this coming season with the goal of reaching the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. The former Olympic and World Cup Champ has been skiing independently…
I need a good, fairly cheap walkie-talkie. My main use will probably be skiing, so where can I get one that will guarantee reception in the forest? Thanks! Mark Brooklyn, NY
In April, after 55 days on a mostly frozen Arctic Ocean, John Huston, 32, and Tyler Fish, 36, became the first Americans to ski unsupported to the North Pole. The duo dragged 300-pound sleds, donned drysuits to swim across open water, and consumed roughly 8,000 calories a day—mostly in the form of pemmican. In the end, they made a 66-hour dash to reach the
Shane McConkey was already one of the most influential skiers in the world, changing everything from the shape of our boards to the way we ski powder. But when he learned to fly—combining skiing, BASE jumping, and wingsuits with spectacular results—he found his true obsession. Then one jump went horribly wrong.
I going on an eight-day ski touring trip in Patagonia requiring a pack with at least 65 liters. Which packs are designed for this use? Devin San Francisco, CA
For almost 70 years, former ski patroller and local legend Jim Blanning rode Aspen’s evolution from broken mining outpost to chic mountain playground. But when his hometown spit him out, he came back with a vengeance. And bombs.
What kind of masochist does it take to swim alongside the man who conquered the Arctic in a Speedo? Our kind.
I want to take up cross-country skiing again after a 20-year layoff. What's the latest in gear, not necessarily top of the line but not entry level, that will get me back there again? I'm a classic skier with a passing interest in skate skiing. Can both be done with two sets of skis and the se boots and poles? I remember waxing as something tedious to be avoided at all costs but the waxless skis back then were useless in some conditions—have they improved? Mike Wheaton, IL
Each winter, more than 2,500 teams from across Japan compete for one of 155 coveted slots in the annual Showa-Shinzan International Yukigassen, the world's de facto snowball Super Bowl. The February 21–22 tournament, on the northern island of Hokkaido, is also open to international teams, but don't think you can just round up some softball buddies
I searching for a light, packable garment to be layered under a shell when I take a break from high-output winter sport like cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. I planning a hut-to-hut ski in Quebec’s Gaspesie and would like to have some "warmth insurance" in case it's necessary (e.g. accident, lunch break, etc.). I considering a light-weight down or synthetic jacket instead of more fleece. David Wesmount, Quebec
I spent last Saturday at REI looking at ski gear and got a bit overwhelmed. I was told until I really want to invest in all the "stuff" for skiing, that all I should buy right now is a good hat, gloves and ski pants. What are your thoughts? Joan Redmond, WA
British Columbia has tried to secure the Winter Olympics no fewer than six times. In fact, the town of Whistler was built for this very purpose: In 1960, four Vancouver businessmen began developing the ski resort 75 miles to the north, hoping to win the 1968 event. They failed. Four…
A veteran ice-boater takes a shot at the world record for wind-powered speed
For 25 years, Shaun Palmer has dominated everything from the snowboard halfpipe to mountain-bike downhills—and earned his reputation as action sports' foul-mouthed bad boy. Now 40, he's cleaned up his act for a run at Olympic gold. Will he find redemption, or die trying?
You could mope about the economy. Or you could go play in the snow, and then thaw out in comfort. Our guide to the best winter adventure lodges in North America. Nita Lake Lodge Nita Lake Lodge Nordic Pine Flagstaff Lake Hut, Carrabassett Valley, Maine Winter…
An X Gamer tries to make it in ski racing. But as a two-sport athlete, will Jon Olsson end up more Deion Sanders or Jeremy Bloom?
The king of big air talks about overcoming fear, setting records, and his ideal ski partner.
I'm going skiing this month, and with all of the advancements in ski apparel, I need suggestions for the best mid-layer jacket or fleece. Do you have a recommendation? Jeff Rogers, Arkansas
Welcome to the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, where the game is pure, the ice is dangerously uneven, and the beer is very, very cold
