Landslide Closes U.S. Highway 6 Indefinitely Over Loveland Pass, CO A landslide has forced the closure of U.S. Highway 6 between Loveland Ski Area and Arapahoe Basin, a high-alpine route popular with travelers and recreationists in Colorado’s central Rockies. The Colorado Department of Transportation closed the road early Sunday morning around 5:30 a.m. after a section of mountain slope gave way near mile marker 226 on Loveland Pass. The debris […] Martin Kuprianowicz | June 17, 2025 0 Comments
National Weather Service Issues First-Ever Heat Advisory in Alaska For the first time in state history, the National Weather Service has issued an official heat advisory for Alaska, signaling a shift in how hot weather is communicated to residents in one of the nation’s coldest regions. The advisory, issued for the Fairbanks area, is in effect for Sunday, when temperatures are expected to climb above 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 […] Weather Martin Kuprianowicz | June 16, 2025 2 Comments
Veteran Mountain Guide Becomes First Person to Summit Mount Rainier, WA, 600 Times in New World Record Mountain guide Brent Okita reached the summit of Mount Rainier for the 600th time on Friday, setting a new world record for the most ascents of Washington’s highest peak, according to RMI Expeditions. At 64 years old, Okita is now the only person known to have climbed the 14,410-foot mountain that many times. A professional guide since 1986, he completed […] Climbing Martin Kuprianowicz | June 16, 2025 0 Comments
7 Ways to Up Your Game as a Resort Skier Resort skiing is awesome, no matter how you look at it. Chairlifts that float you up the mountainside, hot laps with friends, ski patrol doing all the work so you don’t have to worry about avalanches—skiing inbounds is a vibe, and if you’re like me, you might do it a lot. But if you’re also like me, then you’re constantly […] Brains Martin Kuprianowicz | June 15, 2025 6 Comments
Beartooth Basin Ski Area, MT, to Wrap Up Season This Sunday, June 15 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Beartooth Basin Ski Area (@beartoothbasin) One of North America’s most unique summer ski areas is preparing to call it a season. Beartooth Basin Ski Area, perched at 10,900 feet on the Montana-Wyoming border, will close for the year this Sunday, June 15. The high-elevation, lift-served ski area has been spinning chairs […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | June 13, 2025 0 Comments
Facing Housing Crisis, Lake Tahoe Regional Housing Survey Deadline Extended to June 30 to Capture Urgent Community Input In an effort to better understand and address housing challenges across the greater Lake Tahoe region, the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF) and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) have extended the deadline for their regional housing needs survey to June 30, 2025. The online survey, available in English and Spanish, is part of an updated housing needs assessment that […] Martin Kuprianowicz | June 12, 2025 0 Comments
Aviation Report: Pilot Lacked Key Training and Lead Ski Guide Had Elevated Cocaine Levels in Fatal Alaska Helicopter Crash That Killed 5, Including Czech Billionaire On March 27, 2021, under the bright, deceptive calm of a blue sky, an AStar helicopter carrying six people—three Czech nationals, two American guides, and a pilot—lifted off from Wasilla Lake, heading for the remote, untouched powder of Alaska’s Chugach Mountains. It never returned. By the end of the day, Petr Kellner, Czechia’s richest man, was dead. So were four others. […] Deep Dive Martin Kuprianowicz | June 11, 2025 0 Comments
Glass Mansion in Jackson Hole, WY, Hits Market for $60 Million A striking glass-walled estate nestled along the Snake River in Wyoming has hit the market for $60 million, making it the most expensive home publicly listed for sale in the U.S. this week, according to Realtor.com. The contemporary residence belongs to renowned cardiologist Dr. Gerald Dorros, who commissioned the home after his previous property on the site was destroyed by […] Martin Kuprianowicz | June 10, 2025 0 Comments
National Park Service No Longer Pursuing Legal Action Against Trail Runner Over Grand Teton Shortcut While U.S. Attorney’s Office Continues Prosecution The National Park Service has rescinded its support for the federal prosecution of ultrarunner Michelino Sunseri, who is facing charges after cutting a switchback during a speed record attempt on the Grand Teton last year. Sunseri, 32, of Idaho, had completed the demanding 13.2-mile round-trip route from Lupine Meadows to the 13,775-foot summit of the Grand Teton in 2 hours, […] National Parks Martin Kuprianowicz | June 9, 2025 0 Comments
France’s Outdoormix Festival Returns in June With Extreme Sports, Live Music, and a Fresh 2025 Lineup One of Europe’s most unique outdoor events, the Outdoormix Festival, is set to return this June with a weeklong celebration of high-adrenaline sports and live music in the heart of the French Alps. Held each spring in the mountain town of Embrun, the Outdoormix Festival combines elite outdoor sports competitions with nightly concerts, drawing athletes, artists, and fans from across […] Martin Kuprianowicz | May 30, 2025 0 Comments
New Speed Records Set on Mont Blanc by French Athletes Benjamin Vedrines and Elise Poncet In a historic week for high-speed alpine ascents, two French athletes have claimed new Fastest Known Times (FKTs) for skiing ascents and descents of Mont Blanc, Western Europe’s highest peak. On May 24, 32-year-old French mountaineer Benjamin Vedrines completed a blistering round-trip from Chamonix to the 4,809-meter (15,777-foot) summit of Mont Blanc and back in 4 hours, 54 minutes, and […] Climbing Martin Kuprianowicz | May 30, 2025 0 Comments
Former Vail Resorts CEO Kirsten Lynch to Receive More Than $2.2 Million in Severance Pay Former Vail Resorts Chief Executive Officer Kirsten Lynch will receive over $2.2 million in severance and other benefits as part of her departure agreement with the company, according to recently filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Lynch officially stepped down from her role as CEO on May 22 after more than three years in the position. She […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | May 30, 2025 0 Comments
Mammoth Mountain, CA, Announces June 15 Closing Day Mammoth Mountain will officially close for the winter season on June 15, capping off an extended season marked by persistent snow coverage and strong skier turnout. The announcement, shared by the resort on Tuesday, comes as most ski areas across the Western United States have already shut down their operations for the season. Mammoth, however, continues to capitalize on its […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | May 30, 2025 0 Comments
How to Stay Alive in Steep Terrain: Lessons From a Life in Chamonix Ross Hewitt has been skiing steep lines in Chamonix for nearly 30 years. He has not just survived, but endured. In a place where mistakes often prove fatal, he’s found a way to consistently keep the most important aspect of free skiing intact: himself. By all accounts, the odds aren’t in your favor. The slopes of the Mont Blanc Massif, […] Deep Dive Martin Kuprianowicz | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
Professional Freeskier and Filmmaker Chris Benchetler Honors Hall of Fame Basketball Player Bill Walton with New Episode of Ship of Fools Series Professional freeskier and filmmaker Chris Benchetler has released a new episode of his behind-the-scenes docuseries Ship of Fools, paying tribute to the late Bill Walton on the one-year anniversary of the NBA Hall of Famer’s death. Episode 16, titled “Making of ‘Fire on the Mountain’ w/ Bill Walton – The Wheel Keeps Turning,” revisits the acclaimed 2020 ESPN special Fire […] Martin Kuprianowicz | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
Female Backcountry Skier Dies in Nearly 2,000-Foot Fall in Banff National Park, Alberta A 34-year-old Lake Louise woman died Tuesday morning after falling roughly 600 meters (1,968 feet) while skiing in a remote area of Banff National Park near Moraine Lake, according to Parks Canada, a federal agency responsible for protecting and managing national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas across Canada. The skier was part of a group of […] Martin Kuprianowicz | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
How Chris Benchetler Turns Skiing into Art The dozens of canvases cluttered in Chris Benchetler’s art studio at his Mammoth Lakes home give an impression as if you had just walked inside a small temple where the walls were melting, oozing every possible mixture of color imaginable. The canvases are all sorts of different shapes and sizes; some are hanging up on the wall, tilted or upside […] Martin Kuprianowicz | May 29, 2025 1 Comment
Park City, UT, Sets Tourism Record Last Season Despite Historic Ski Patrol Strike Park City, Utah, wrapped up its 2024-25 ski season with the highest tourism revenue in town history, despite a winter marked by modest snowfall and a high-profile ski patrol strike. Preliminary numbers from the Park City Chamber of Commerce show a new record for transient room tax collections—a key metric that tracks both nightly rates and lodging occupancy. Related: Why […] Martin Kuprianowicz | May 28, 2025 0 Comments
[VIDEO] 8-Year-Old Snowboarder Rides 105 days Last Season at Vail Mountain, CO An eight-year-old second grader named John John LaConte capped off winter 2024-25 with 105 days on the slopes to earn a coveted 100-day pin from Vail Mountain—an impressive feat chronicled by his father, Vail Daily reporter John LaConte. Martin Kuprianowicz | May 28, 2025 0 Comments
Black Mountain, NH, Sells to Community Co-op in $2.6M Deal Black Mountain, one of New Hampshire’s oldest ski areas, has been sold to a newly formed community cooperative following a $2.6 million transaction finalized on May 24. The sale marks a new chapter for the historic ski hill, which opened with lift-served skiing in 1935 and most recently operated under the Fichera family for nearly three decades. The new owner, […] Martin Kuprianowicz | May 28, 2025 0 Comments