Japanese Army Builds Epic Star Wars Snow Sculpture The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces’ 11th Brigade crafted an epic monument to the Dark Side at a Japanese Snow Festival. The sculpture was built in the span of a month, using bulldozers to move over 3,500 tons of snow. The Sapporo Snow Festival, which attracts over two million visitors, is celebrating it’s 66th year. The Japanese military has been participating in the festival for over 60 years, as a team-building exercise. The 75 ft wide […] ameliatraynor | February 9, 2015 3 Comments
VT Backcountry Report: East Coast Powder The past month has been fantastic in New England, as storm after storm after lake effect snow after up slope pow event has blanketed the region. Here in Vermont we have received more than 80 inches since the beginning of January, and it’s been cold nearly every day. For those scoring at home, that’s more than six feet. As I type this it’s snowing again, with a foot or more forecast for the Green Mountains between now and Tuesday. This should get us close to 100 inches in the space of more or less a month (!). A few days ago somebody commented that we almost have more snow than spots in Utah. Not sure if that’s […] Conditions Report ameliatraynor | February 8, 2015 1 Comment
Lake Tahoe Storm Totals & Photo Tour | 26″ at Mt. Rose, NV Mt. Rose ski resort in Nevada was the big winner from this storm and it’s no surprise. Forecasts were saying that below 8,000-feet, this storm was going to drop only rain. Luckily, the storm ended up colder than forecasted and we got some snow all the way down to lake level yesterday. Then, temperatures rose and we got rain on top of that snow at lake level and higher… Mt. Rose never say any rain with their above 8,000-foot base and they’re reveling in 26″ of new snow this morning and it’s still snowing. […] Weather ameliatraynor | February 7, 2015 0 Comments
Detroit Street Skier Gets Busted on Live Newscast A skier being towed on the snowy roads of metro Detroit was pulled over after inadvertently appearing on a live local newscast, following the Superbowl on Sunday night. A winter storm has dumped over 1 and 1/2 feet on parts of Michigan, the most snow Detroit has seen since 1974. “When I first turned onto 10 Mile, I was like, ‘OK, we’re doing this’,” said Jacob Lachowski, the skier. Lachowski and two friends, all students at Lawrence Tech […] ameliatraynor | February 6, 2015 3 Comments
Three Caught in Avalanche Near Kicking Horse, BC Three Saskatchewan men are lucky to be alive after being caught an avalanche near Golden, British Columbia. The size 1.5 avalanche was triggered on Tuesday afternoon around 3 pm MST, on a backcountry run near Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. The trio, all in their 20’s, was skiing out of bounds in an area known as Terminator 2 (T2) around 2 p.m. when they triggered the avalanche. They were carried over 3,200 feet down the mountainous terrain, but luckily all three managed to stay above the snow. One of the men was […] Avalanche ameliatraynor | February 5, 2015 0 Comments
Magic Mountain, VT: New “Hike One, Ride One” Uphill Policy Magic Mountain in Londonderry, VT just announced an incredible new uphill ski policy: skiers and riders who hike Magic to the summit will be given a “free turns token”, good for a second run on the house. Press Release from Magic Mountain: Magic Mountain Announces Hike One Ride One Uphill Skiing Policy February 2, 2015 Londonderry, VT: The best uphill policy in the ski business just got better! Magic Mountain is excited to announce a first of its kind- an expansion of our uphill skiing policy […] ameliatraynor | February 5, 2015 3 Comments
Industry Expert: 32% of Ski Resorts Won’t Last Ski industry executives met this week at The Assembly 2015, a one-day forum that took place on the first day of the SIA Snow Show held at the Colorado Convention Center. They discussed challenges facing the industry, including climate change, an aging customer base and aging infrastructure. The most shocking news came from Bill Jensen, former Vail Resorts exec and CEO of Intrawest. Jensen astounded the crowd when he said he believes 150 ski areas are in “the sunset […] Industry News ameliatraynor | February 3, 2015 6 Comments
Why Do So Many People Die Shoveling Snow? When you think of dangerous winter activities, you probably wouldn’t consider shoveling snow to be on the list — but over 100 people die shoveling each year in the US. A study at the US Nationwide Children’s Hospital recorded 1,647 fatalities from cardiac-related injuries associated with shoveling snow from 1990 to 2006 . Cardiologist Barry Franklin, director of preventative cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at William Beaumont Hospital, Michigan, lead a team of researchers to study the effects of shoveling. They found that when healthy young men shoveled snow, their heart rate and blood pressure increased more than when they […] ameliatraynor | February 2, 2015 0 Comments
Amelia Traynor
Amelia Traynor
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