It’s a rite of spring for skiers everywhere. Long after the lifts have shut down for the season, even as the valleys fill with summer haze, we look for sheltered fingers of sun-cupped snow high up near some shady crag. We hike, sometimes for hours, for one last run. n Finally, atop a remote ridgeline … Continue reading The Perfect Last Run
This lesson will improve the finish of your ski turns. Your feet will come closer together, the stance ski (the downhill ski) will carve and grip more, and you’ll be able to ski on steeper terrain or firmer snow without sliding sideways or picking up speed. Starting in a shallow to medium traverse allows you … Continue reading Improve Your Carving, Edge Grip, and Speed Control
If you’d like to get rid of the wedge or snowplow, and finish your turns with your skis parallel, this lesson is for you. nIn ski turns, each of your feet plays a different role. One foot is the stance foot – you balance primarily on this foot, and it supports most of your weight. … Continue reading No More Plow: Learn a Strong, Parallel Turn Finish
Often referred to as “the poor man’s heli-skiing,” snowcat tours are by no means the neglected stepchildren of the backcountry skiing experience. Whether managed by ski areas or operated independently, cat outfits offer powder-hungry snow riders a heli-like backcountry experience—for as little as one-tenth the cost (anywhere from about $100 to $300 per day). Not … Continue reading Snowcat Tours Make Skiers Purr
Glenshee, Scotland – When hiking in Switzerland several years ago, we had the unusual experience of our Swiss guide, Ruidi, giving all affirmative answers as “Aye” rather than “Yes” or the German “Ja.” It turned out that he had been married to a Scottish woman and had been a ski instructor in Scotland for several … Continue reading Skiing Scotland
Burn. Heaven & hell are one; in beautiful white hot flaming forests. Waste no time in contemplation. Leap into the dream. n Author Matt Duffy feels the force in the Vermont woods of Smugglers’ Notch (photo Gary Duffy) Rush the glitter. Blow it up & out and send it swirling behind. Don’t look back. Charge … Continue reading Feel the Force
Panorama (BC), Canada – There might be prettier vistas than the ones we had of Invermere, the 20+mile-long valley lake, nestled between the Rockies and the Purcells, the one Panorama’s literature calls “charming.” Perhaps lakeside splendor was just down the road, around a bend; or perhaps we were jaded. Several hours before, we’d been clamboring … Continue reading Panorama: Intrawest’s Other B.C. Ski Giant