Both days delivered clear skies and cold temperatures, with hardly a cloud overhead and almost no wind. Despite the strong alpine sun, temperatures remained below freezing, keeping the snow in excellent shape across the mountain.
The Black Lantern Inn was a familiar place where I ate with my kids, sometimes once a week. My room was well beyond my expectations for a last-minute booking: a king-sized bed, separate living area, jacuzzi bath, and many thoughtful details, including several back issues of Skiing History Magazine to flip through.
Kirkwood has had a pretty solid past few days, seeing 42 inches of snow through the past 7 days, 31 of which fell in the past 48 hours. As of April 13th, Kirkwood has 5 lifts spinning with 45 of 84 trails open to skiers and snowboarders.
Picture yourself standing on a small platform in the middle of a Quebec forest, balancing on what feels like an oversized bird perch. The moment your weight settles, something magical happens. A bird call rings out, blending seamlessly into an ethereal soundtrack that seems to rise from the forest itself. Welcome to Human Perches, the latest installation from Montreal design studio Daily tous les jours that's making us rethink how we experience nature.
Owl's Head has officially joined the Indy Pass, a fantastic news for Townships locals and travelers alike. It remains fiercely independent since Fred Korman opened it in 1965 with just three lifts.
Les Deux Alpes keeps unfolding lap after lap, zone after zone, until you realize you've spent the entire day chasing terrain that never really ends.
We are proud to announce that we will be writing the eighth and final chapter of the epic, ten year Snowboy x Sunshine Village collaboration with Dusk of The Village. Banff Sunshine describes the event as both a celebration of snowboarding and a showcase of community, with riders invited to test the course alongside some of the strongest freestyle talent in Western Canada.
The sport originated thousands of years ago in Europe by necessity when hunters used long skis to travel and explore over mountain passes, placing animal skins on the bottoms of their skis for traction when climbing. Military units used similar gear to patrol the Alps in the late 1800s, sometimes engaging in speed competitions, which were likely the prototypes for the format of the Olympic skimo debut this February.
If you've never driven into Banff, it's a sensory overload. Razor-edged peaks reminiscent of the Italian Dolomites, glacier-carved valleys that echo Yosemite, and a constant play of light and shadow that shifts with every bend in the road. Photos don't do it justice.
Mt. Baker is the PNW's snow vacuum. It's close enough to the Pacific to get storm after storm, and the North Cascades do what they do best: force moist air straight up, wring it out, and bury everything in sight. Maritime storms roll in wet and heavy, then pile up fast when they hit terrain.
While most are familiar with the world-class Mont Tremblant, the route there is dotted with independent resorts-each with a distinct vibe-that light up the Laurentians ( Les Laurentides ) like constellations against an ancient sky. These ranges offer something different than towering peaks: intimate terrain steeped in character. They tease the eye, spark the imagination, and possess a certain magic for producing champion skiers and snowboarders. Their ancient geology creates a singular landscape of rolling, forested hills and tight tree runs that feel worlds away from the mega-resorts.
Whether you love it, hate it, or are just hearing about it for the first time, Alterra's Reserve Pass is likely here to stay. But if you don't know what the Reserve Pass is, it takes a slightly different appearance at a variety of Alterra ski resorts, generally encompassing a dedicated priority lift line and exclusive amenities. It's an intriguing concept, and one that makes sense in an ever-growing segmented ski resort product lineup.
We loaded the chair around 10:30 a.m. and followed a new local friend, Luke, into a wild pillow-stacked gully. That first run showed us exactly how deep and perfect the snow really was. I lapped the chair twice more before noticing a sign saying another, higher chair would open at noon. It was 11:24 a.m. Perfect timing. I headed over to wait for the Marquise chair, which rises above treeline into mellow, rolling alpine terrain.
