Arctic Valley Ski Area, AK: Serving the Community 1 Powder Day at a Time Alaska in the winter evokes dreams of the 600+ inches of annual snowfall at Alyeska Resort, endless touring lines up various mountain ranges for backcountry connoisseurs, and heli-guided operations whisking wealthy customers or famous extreme athletes up steep peaks and untouched powder fields. While all these objectives can certainly be pursued in Alaska, they are generally expensive, require days/weeks/months of […] Brains Jared Roberts | March 13, 2024 0 Comments
[INFOGRAPHIC] Comparing Historic Renewal Price Increases Between Ikon, Epic, and Indy Passes Multi-resort passes are now becoming the norm in the ski industry. One pass that is priced around the same cost as a singular ski area pass can now grant access to dozens of mountains across the world. Ikon, Epic, and Indy Pass are to name a few. The infographic above compares the historic pass renewal price increases across the three […] Industry News SnowBrains | March 7, 2024 2 Comments
What Separates a Double Black Diamond from a Black Diamond? In North America, the common metric for displaying terrain difficulty is by using a combination of colors and shapes. From easiest to most difficult the system goes green circle, blue square, black diamond, and double black diamond. Although there is a “common” method for trail rating, it’s important to note that there is no underlying organization that determines what each […] Brains Luke Guilford | March 7, 2024 1 Comment
Big Snow Can Also Bring Big Problems: Snow Immersion Suffocation Brought to you by Ski California Powder days are great, one of the many reasons we ski and ride. Whether it’s 6” or 16”, cutting fresh tracks and taking face shots make everything worthwhile. The rare storms, where we count snowfall in feet, not inches, will have us talking about it for years. Remember that storm in Feb 2023… Related: VIDEO: […] Brains SnowBrains | February 29, 2024 3 Comments
What is Sluff — A Look at the Small Yet Dangerous Type of Avalanche You have more than likely seen it and maybe even experienced it, whether in a ski movie or photograph, in person from a distance, or right below your own two skis, sluff is quite a common occurrence while on the mountain. That layer of fluffy snow that glides beside you as you turn when conditions are steep and deep. The […] Brains John Cunningham | February 28, 2024 0 Comments
Mt. Hood (Wy’East) vs Crater Lake (Giiwas), OR, Historic Snowfall Comparison When it comes to big snowfall totals in the state of Oregon, two sites remain supreme for their heavy annual snowfall and greatest snow depth recorded at one time. These sites are Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon and Timberline on Mt. Hood in northern Oregon. You might be asking why I chose these specific sites in Oregon. I […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | February 26, 2024 0 Comments
Investigating The Ski Town Housing Shortage It’s no secret: one of the ski industry’s biggest concerns is affordable workforce housing. It’s an epidemic that has plagued mountain towns since their inception. Although locals remain grateful to live in a place where vacationers flock and the wealthy come to play, mountain communities have faced their fair share of challenges over the years. Whether it be economic inequality, […] Brains Nick DeRiso | February 23, 2024 9 Comments
An Insider’s Look into Marketing and Influencer Culture Within the Ski Industry The Cambridge English Dictionary defines “marketing” as a job that involves encouraging people to buy a product or service. It comes from the derivation of the Latin word “Mercatus,” meaning marketplace or merchant. There are many different types of positions and jobs within the marketing profession ranging from specialists to directors. Their job duties can consist of constructing newsletters, email correspondence, […] Industry News Gregg Frantz | February 23, 2024 0 Comments