The Battle Over The Future of Palisades Tahoe Olympic Valley, in addition to being home to Palisades Tahoe, a world-class ski resort, has been the site of a fierce development battle between residents of the region and Alterra. The Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan is a sweeping 25-year vision for development in Olympic Valley. Its primary stated goal is to transform Palisades Tahoe into a year-round vacation […] Zach Armstrong | September 24, 2024 0 Comments
French Favorites or Swiss Speed? An Inside Look at the Paris Olympics Women’s Mountain Bike Race This Sunday, 36 of the fastest women in the world will line up at Elancourt Hill outside of Paris for the Olympic Mountain Bike race. With the UCI World Cup well underway, a few favorites have emerged, but the Olympics can bring chaos and uncertainty, leading to huge upsets. Will French favorites pull off medals in front of the home […] Olympics Zach Armstrong | July 26, 2024 0 Comments
Sending It to the Legislature: Ski Mountaineer Caroline Gleich’s Campaign for U.S. Senate This November, Utah voters will be faced with a unique opportunity: to elect the first professional skier to the U.S. Senate. Caroline Gleich, a 38-year-old professional ski mountaineer and Park City resident, is running for Mitt Romney’s seat after he said in a speech that it was “time for a new generation” of leaders. Gleich hopes to continue to fight […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | July 23, 2024 0 Comments
Inside the Ski Industry’s Post-Pandemic Boom In March 2020, the future of the ski industry seemed uncertain. With resorts shut down across the country and questions about how extreme and prolonged the response to the coronavirus would have to be, a winter of skiing no longer seemed like a sure thing. In the years since, skiing has appeared to bounce back even stronger than […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | July 22, 2024 0 Comments
The Boise Trails Challenge: A Month-Long, 200-Mile Celebration of Mountain Biking in Boise, ID It’s around 6 in the evening. The sun is just showing signs of starting to drop in the sky but is still beaming down an unrelenting heat. Ryan Hager stands with his bike at a trail junction in the Table Rock area with sweat dripping onto his phone screen, trying to figure out which fork he has to take […] Biking Zach Armstrong | June 18, 2024 0 Comments
How Eldora, CO, Ski Patrollers Finally Got Their Union On March 28 and 30, ski patrollers from Eldora, Colorado, finally had a chance to vote on forming a union in their workplace. The patrollers from Eldora have faced fierce anti-union activity from resort management and Powdr, Eldora’s parent company, but have diligently continued to work towards better compensation and better working conditions. While the union vote was not the […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | June 5, 2024 0 Comments
How the Fatal GS Bowl Avalanche at Palisades Tahoe, CA, Happened and Why it Could Happen Again On January 10, 2024, around 9:30 a.m., a massive avalanche occurred in the GS Bowl off the KT-22 chairlift at Palisades Tahoe, California. A search of the debris pile, estimated at 10 feet deep in some places, was conducted by over 100 people, including ski patrollers, resort employees, and members of the public. This tragic accident resulted in one fatality […] Avalanche Zach Armstrong | May 16, 2024 1 Comment
Sierra Backcountry Conditions: Late Spring Skiing in the Sierra Report from May 11-12, 2024 Ah, spring in the Sierra. A time when you can get soft turns in on the high elevation peaks, then dip your tired feet in Lake Tahoe when you’re finished. This weekend we found a few soft turns on Rubicon Peak, Mount Judah, and Donner Peak. The sun was shining and the corn was ready […] Conditions Report Zach Armstrong | May 13, 2024 0 Comments
Tamarack, ID, Report: Sleeper Spring Pow Day Report from Thursday, March 28, 2024 After a couple of weeks of warm spring skiing, I thought Idaho had seen its last powder days for the season. A friend of mine had planned a trip out to Tamarack, Idaho, for the end of March, and I expected to be packing my Hawaiian shirt and my jorts. Turns out, winter had […] Conditions Report Zach Armstrong | April 1, 2024 0 Comments
Sugar Bowl, CA, Report: Slarvey in the Sunshine Report from Sunday, March 17, 2024 High tide spring skiing at Sugar Bowl, California, there’s nothing like it. We started our day with coffee by the river while we let things thaw out, then headed up the pass to get the day started. After a few scouting laps we found some fun stuff on the east facing terrain off of […] Conditions Report Zach Armstrong | March 27, 2024 0 Comments
Palisades Tahoe, CA, Report: Crush the Steep Slush Report from Monday, March 18, 2024 I recently made the trek from Boise, Idaho, down to Palisades Tahoe, California, with two buddies to see what this legendary resort had to offer. Turns out, there was plenty! With perfect spring conditions and minimal people, the day was sure to bring us some memorable skiing. Upon our arrival, we were astounded at […] Conditions Report Zach Armstrong | March 27, 2024 0 Comments
Public Money Gets Funneled into Massive Deer Valley, UT, Expansion Deer Valley Ski Resort, a New York real estate developer, and a state development authority with ties to the military walk into a bar…heard this one before? Probably not. Murky details about what is being built, who is involved, and who is paying for it have led to many rumors about what is happening at Deer Valley. Because of this, […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | March 26, 2024 1 Comment
Grand Targhee Resort, WY, Report: Ski The Ghee with Friends Report from Sunday February 25, 2024 On the edge of the Wyoming-Idaho border, in a region known to locals as ‘Wydaho’, sits Grand Targhee ski resort. I recently made the trip there with a few friends who used to live in Teton Valley to have them show me around. The good news was that we avoided the low visibility conditions […] Conditions Report Zach Armstrong | February 28, 2024 0 Comments
Mt. Bachelor, OR, Report: Soft Snow and Incredible Trees Report from Sunday February 18, 2024 Mt. Bachelor, Oregon sits just 22 miles outside of Bend, OR at an elevation of 5,700 feet. The ski area is among the snowiest in Oregon, receiving upwards of 400 inches every year. This deep snowpack is serviced by 12 chairlifts and boasts more than 4,300 acres of skiable terrain. Growing up in Portland, […] Conditions Report Zach Armstrong | February 27, 2024 0 Comments
Ski Industry Unions Across America Fight For Experienced Staff Retention and Training Incentives This past year the ski industry saw a continued rise in labor organization. Ski patrollers at Loveland, Colorado, voted to unionize, lift mechanics at Park City, Utah, recently approved their first contract, and ski patrollers at Eldora, Colorado, are waiting to schedule their own union election. This recent momentum in the labor movement has also led to lift mechanics unionizing […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | January 30, 2024 0 Comments
Idaho Supreme Court Sends Sun Valley Resort Wrongful Death Case To Trial The Idaho Supreme Court recently overturned the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against Sun Valley Resort, Idaho, for negligence in the death of 65-year-old Stewart ‘Stu’ Milus, who died in 2019 after colliding with a snowgun on Lower River Run. The Court’s ruling sends the lawsuit to trial, where a jury will decide whether or not Sun Valley was responsible […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | January 8, 2024 0 Comments
Mount Bohemia, MI, Announces Mid-January Opening Mount Bohemia, Michigan, has announced it will open for the 2023-2024 season on Wednesday, January 17. The resort has reported 23 inches of snow this winter, with more expected in the forecast. USA Today recently named Mount Bohemia the best ski resort in the U.S. Related: Mount Bohemia, MI, Announces Terrain Expansion and Night Skiing for Upcoming Season Though January […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | January 5, 2024 0 Comments
The State of the Snowpack: Hope For More Snow in 2024 This winter has brought a slow start to the ski season for ski resorts across North America. With few storms delivering a mix of rain and snow, many ski areas are struggling to open terrain. On top of little base snow, many resorts have also suffered from warm temperatures, precluding the use of snow-making systems to make up for the […] Weather Zach Armstrong | December 31, 2023 0 Comments
How To Make Your Own Snow Forecast We’ve all been there. Your friend told you the resort was supposed to get over a foot of snow overnight. You check your phone, and your weather app shows a little snow icon. It must be true! Your skis are all waxed up and ready to go, and you wake up well before sunrise to be one of the first […] Brains Zach Armstrong | December 7, 2023 0 Comments
Lawsuit Filed Against Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT Gondola: What Does It Say and What Does It Mean? The fight over the Little Cottonwood Canyon Gondola Project in Utah has reached Federal Court. On Monday (12/4), a coalition of several non-profit groups and private citizens filed a lawsuit challenging the Utah Department of Transportation (‘UDOT’) decision to approve a development plan for State Route 210 (Little Cottonwood Canyon) that would eventually include the construction of an 8-mile long […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | December 7, 2023 3 Comments
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