Martin Kuprianowicz

Skier, storyteller, and Senior Writer at SnowBrains.

Trip Report: A Weird Solo Mission to Ski the 8,000-Vertical-Foot East Face of 12,388′ Lanín Volcano in the Badlands of Argentina

Trip Report from Tuesday, September 29, 2026 In local Mapuche myth, Lanín Volcano (Pillañzegüñ) is a sacred site guarded by a powerful god called Pillán — a spirit of fire, thunder, and ancestors. As legend has it, when a local tribe angered the spirit by hunting the sacred huemul deer on its slopes, the volcano erupted with devastating lava and […]
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The Story of Freeskiing’s Most Visionary Event Ever: The Candide Invitational

High above the French mountain village of La Clusaz, where the sharp limestone ridges of Haute-Savoie break through a sea of clouds, the Balme sector sits like a frozen sanctuary. In the early 2000s, before viral internet clips redefined freeskiing, this valley belonged to Candide Thovex and his friends. Then between 2003 and 2007, the French rider organized the Candide […]
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German Climber Dies After Fatal Fall on Llaima Volcano in Southern Chile

llaima volcano Chile

Emergency response teams in southern Chile’s La Araucanía Region have recovered the body of a 65-year-old German tourist who died during a ski descent on the eastern slope of the Llaima volcano in Conguillío National Park. As reported by Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, the victim, identified as Uwe Diederichs, was descending the massif alongside two other European tourists and an […]
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French Mountain Bike Freerider Killian Bron Bikes 6,000-Meter Glaciated Peak in Bolivia

mountain bike Peru

Mountain biking on a glacier at over 6,000 meters in elevation — it shouldn’t be possible, right? Well, apparently French mountain bike freerider Kilian Bron didn’t get the memo. Near the rime ice-crusted summit of Huayna Potosí in Bolivia, Bron prepared to ride down a mountain that headline writers would later describe as “conquered.” But Bron — who started mountain […]
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[VIDEO] Meteorologist Chris Tomer’s Mountain Weather Update for Mid-September: Welcome Snow

Bridget bowl snow

Meteorologist Chris Tomer is one of the most accurate weather forecasters out there. Being an avid skier himself, Tomer’s forecasts are unique in the sense that they tailor specifically for skiers and snowboarders and focus heavily on snowfall predictions. Today, in light of a recent snowstorm that deposited fresh flakes across portions of the western United States, Tomer has released a […]
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Why a Louisiana Skier is Attempting to Ski All 7 Continents in Less Than 1 Year

Bariloche argentina

This post is brought to you by ALPINR Mountain Travel If you spot a skier on a snow-choked summit in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco or a wind-whipped ridge in Patagonia holding a faded purple-and-gold LSU window flag, chances are you’ve run into Michael Mathews. At 43, the Baton Rouge native doesn’t fit the traditional mold of an alpine […]
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That One Time a Utah Department of Transportation Avalanche Cannon Misfired and Blew Up a Family’s House 3 Miles Away

In March 2005, Lori and Scott Connors’ 3-year-old son was lying on their living room floor watching television when a howitzer shell exploded in their backyard. Deadly flying shrapnel penetrated their home and flew right over his little head. He was covered in broken glass and extremely frightened — had he been standing up it would have been a completely […]
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How a Young Norwegian Couple Who Live in a Van is Changing the Way We Look at Steep Skiing

norway van life Jesper Gustafsson mia hugin

“If I ask, ‘Can I join you skiing tomorrow?’ the answer will almost always be ‘yes.’ But when Mia asks, the assumption that she’s a girl makes people hesitant. If we program to ski with someone, I usually send the message like, ‘Can I bring a friend?’ instead of ‘my girlfriend,’ because people get hesitant,” Jesper Gustafsson told SnowBrains over […]
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U.S. Ski & Snowboard Names First-Ever Freeride Team Nominations Ahead of 2030 Olympics

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has officially unveiled its inaugural team nominations for freeride skiing and snowboarding as the big-mountain discipline builds toward its Olympic debut at the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps. The roster announcement on social media follows the governing body’s decision earlier this summer to formally integrate freeride into its national program, providing top American big-mountain […]
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Forest Service Issues Official Notice of Intent Opening 30-Day Comment Period on Roadless Rule Rewrite — Where and How to Submit a Comment to Protect Public Lands

protect our winters roadless rule nature wilderness

The U.S. Forest Service published an official Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on August 24, 2026, launching an urgent 30-day public comment window on a proposed rewrite of the Travel Management Rule (36 CFR 212). While conservation organizations like The Wilderness Society have framed the policy revision alongside ongoing attempts to dismantle the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule […]
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Remembering Lupe Baltazar, the Unspoken Rockstar of the Iconic Mobile Mart Gas Station in Lee Vining, CA

lupe mobile mart

The “center of the universe,” as I’ve heard it called. “They,” being the backcountry skiers, climbers, and travelers who have made a pit stop at one time or another at the Mobile Mart outside of Lee Vining along Highway 395 that curves along the east side of California’s Eastern Sierra Mountains. And for each of them who walked in through […]
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American Ski Guide from Utah Dies in Fall Near Osorno Volcano, Chile

Todd Passey

Renowned American mountain guide Todd Passey, an internationally decorated IFMGA-certified guide based in Utah, has died following a fatal fall while skiing near Osorno Volcano in southern Chile’s Los Lagos region. According to initial reporting from Chilean news station T13 and radio network Cooperativa, the accident occurred at approximately 3:00 p.m. on Friday, August 21, 2026, as a guided group […]
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[VIDEO] Chris Tomer’s Winter 2026-2027 Forecast: Super El Niño Inbound, Here’s What That Could Mean For Ski Areas

Meteorologist Chris Tomer is one of the most accurate weather forecasters out there. Being an avid skier himself, Tomer’s forecasts are unique in the sense that they tailor specifically for skiers and snowboarders and focus heavily on snowfall predictions. Now, Tomer has released his Winter Forecast for the 2026-27 winter. Let’s break it down. North and South America are currently experiencing […]
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Corralco, Chile, Report: Skiing Down, Around, and Inside the 11th Most Active Volcano in Chile

Report from Friday-Saturday, August 21-22, 2026 Corralco is not like most ski areas. Most ski areas don’t put their lifts on the side of an active volcano with great skiing.  It was sunny and windless on Lonquimay, the 11th most active volcano in Chile. On Friday morning, a friendly couple from Temuco picked me up hitchhiking and gave me a […]
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