Gavarnie, France – What can you say about a day when you summit the highest peak in the French Pyrenees under the bluest, most cloudless sky that you have ever seen, and then afterwards, following a short rappel, you have a nearly 5,000 vertical-foot ski descent on soft spring snow on a giant mountain all … Continue reading Pyrenees Haute Route: Venturing with Vultures
June Lake, CA – Less than a thirty-minute drive from gigantic Mammoth Mountain lies June Mountain. June is a small resort that falls squarely in the category of “hidden gems.” June’s terrain is ideal for families who want to ski together, especially if the group includes some boarders. Groups with a number of beginner and intermediate snow sliders will … Continue reading June Mountain: A True Alternative
Stoneham (QC), Canada – “If you don’t slow down, you’re going to give me frostbite!” Such was Rob’s concern as we speed down perfectly groomed corduroy at Québec’s Stoneham Mountain Resort. It was the American Thanksgiving weekend, and we had escaped the crowds by heading north of the border. When you want to get away … Continue reading Stoneham: Destination Resort or Suburban Delight?
Crested Butte, CO – Crested Butte is in many respects the “anti-Colorado resort,” bearing little resemblance to the bustling areas along I-70. Its isolation by road, over four hours from any significant population center, has preserved a small town ambience. The terrain is also like nothing else in the state. Its centerpiece, the North Face, is almost indecipherable by trail … Continue reading Crested Butte: The Anti-Colorado Resort
Haines, AK – On March 29, 2002, the wan, afternoon light flooding the main intersection of Haines, Alaska, illuminated a Feliniesque diorama of art imitating life, life imitating art, and a cast of international athletes and image-makers imitating … well, themselves. n Powder magazine’s David Reddick lined up a shot of a shaggy, somnolent mutt … Continue reading Freeskiing: The Final Frontier – The 2002 Red Bull Snowthrill Alaska
Snoqualmie Pass, WA (October 2002 ) – The first time I crossed the Cascade Mountains was in November 1999. I was moving from Dallas to Seattle for a work opportunity. My German shepherd Max was along for the journey, riding shotgun in our white convertible. We were about 2,100 miles away from home by the … Continue reading The Summit at Snoqualmie: There’s No Place Like Home
McCall, ID – I popped out of the woods and found myself on yet another deserted cruising run in the middle of nowhere. It was time to test out the snow again, time to see if I would find that perfect carve I’d been seeking all day. This time, my skis cut effortlessly through the … Continue reading Brundage Mountain: An Idaho Powder Paradise