Andy Hays, Author at SnowBrains

Is Skiing in the Rain Fun?

The car sat idling as a steady rain pattered against the windshield. It’s not as if I didn’t have any clue that this was going to happen. The forecast had been pessimistic. Still, it seemed as if there was hope. The rain held out, until… really until the access road. Then it came down. As I got closer to the parking lot the wind had picked up. The car sat idling. I turned off the ignition. Well… I drove here damn it. What was I really going to do? Turn around and drive home? The idea seemed preposterous, but staring out the rain soaked windshield at the foggy slopes above, so did the idea that this was going to be any kind of […]

Andy Hays | April 7, 2022

5 Comments

70 Reasons You Shouldn’t Go To South America This Summer:

Another summer is upon us and another summer is here that despite my best intentions I will not be going to South America for the ski season. Why? I’m a loser, that’s why. Why should you go? Because, you are a winner, and that’s what winners do. In fact I have become so adept over the years at not going to South America that I have chosen to utilize the depth of my experience to compile a comprehensive list of UNACCEPTABLE excuses for not making the trip this year. 70 reasons you shouldn’t shouldn’t go to South America […]

Andy Hays | March 25, 2022

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The Top 9 East Coast Ski Resorts & Why You Must “SKI THE EAST”

So you’ve finally tucked the skis away, the jacket has been hung up, or at least thrown into a heap in the corner and it’s time to think about the joys of summer. The lake and the hiking and the biking and the golf and the fishing and all of the other wonderful activities that you’ve been waiting for. Right? Wrong. You’re still thinking of skiing aren’t you. Well, you’re in luck, it’s time to start planning on where you will be taking a trip to next season. You’ve thought of all the usual suspects, Jackson, Snowbird, Whistler. Maybe you’d like to get off the beaten path. Big Sky? Revelstoke? Is this the year to head across the pond? Is this the year you […]

Industry News

Andy Hays | May 2, 2020

53 Comments

The Science of the “Yard Sale!!!”

No doubt the day had been marvelous. So far it had all come together. The snow, the sun, the snow. It was epic, it was sick, it was radtastic, it was probably the best you’ve ever skied. That was until… Yard Sale!!! The yard sale is libel to strike at any time. In the back country. (preferable: less people around to see it.) In the park. (moderately undesirable: not really shameful but everyone has to wait and gets annoyed.) On a groomer under the lift (highly undesirable: maximum shame and certainty of heckling) There is something to the presence of a lift that seems to push skiers to their limits. To ride the fine line that resides between control and a massive explosion of limbs and […]

Brains

Andy Hays | March 5, 2020

7 Comments

Ode to the White Ribbon of Death

It’s early season and I’m thinking of the last day of last season. It was sunnier and warmer. The snow was better and there was more of it. It wasn’t this crowded either. Nor did it get dark at 3 o’clock. Not to create the impression that this isn’t fun. It’s fun alright. Skiing will always win out over not skiing. That said, it’s time for some snow and an end to this white ribbon of death as the people like to call it. It’s narrow, it’s scraped off, it’s crowded, and if you are back east there is probably a snow gun blasting every ten yards or so. It’s also all that’s open. Lap after lap. Lap… after…lap… My more […]

Boreal, CA Opening Day Report: 1st Top-to-Bottom Skiing on Opening Day Since 2004

Ski season in Tahoe has officially kicked off. (yeah, I know Mt. Rose opened on Wednesday, but despite the implications of its name, magic carpet stretches my definition of lift serviced.) For the first time in over ten years Boreal opened today from top to bottom via the Accelerator chair. They will be on a 9am to 9pm schedule for […]

Conditions Report

Andy Hays | November 6, 2015

3 Comments

Tuckerman: Quest for the the Unknown

The story doesn’t begin here, but many years ago. For as long as can remember the photograph hung on the living room wall. For a time I believe it resided over the fish tank. Then perhaps it was beside the door that nobody used. For close to three decades it hung without fail in my parents house. Then it moved. To our family camp, where it now remains. The point is not where, however, the point is what. The year was 1937, the month April, I believe. Not believe, know, being […]

“Glory Road” | The Zen of Driving to the Mountain

The headlights rapidly descending the hill behind me at first failed to catch my attention. It was growing late and it had been some time since I had last seen another car on this lonely road. It was then that they became noticeable and the pace at which they approached became concerning. As they reached me and shone brightly through my rear window the profile became recognizably familiar. It was the Highway Patrol. F*ck! I flipped the cruise control off and conspicuously slowed to the posted speed limit. I mean sure, I was speeding, but I wasn’t really speeding. […]