Protect Yourself From Spring Skiing Sun Spring break is the ideal time for you and your family to take an unforgettable ski trip. With tickets booked, chances are you’re dreaming of epic lines and deep powder. However, what many people don’t consider are the dangers of sun exposure in snowy environments. Due to the extreme mountain climates, the risk of dehydration, sunburn, and snow blindness is […] Brains Emily Crofton | May 16, 2022 0 Comments
The Very Dark History of Friday the 13th The Knights of the Templar were a military group founded in the year 1118 in Jerusalem that lasted for 2 centuries. They were charged with protecting pilgrims along the road from Europe to Jerusalem. These knights created a revolutionary banking system that protected pilgrim’s finances. This banking system was successful and eventually expanded throughout Europe. King Philip IV of France ended up owing a huge sum to the Knights, got pissed off and jealous about his debt and the Templar’s success. Thusly motivated, he devised a plan to exterminate all the Knights of the […] Brains SnowBrains | May 13, 2022 4 Comments
The Science That Explains Why Skiing is So Enjoyable When you are first learning to ski, part of the initial instruction typically includes “french fry to go, pizza to slow.” Those pizzas progress into slow turns, then soon you are linking parallel turns. Functionally you realize that turning is used to steer your direction and control your speed. Then, as you advance further, you become enlightened that the rhythm […] Brains Brent Thomas | May 11, 2022 1 Comment
More Passes, More Potholes: Colorado’s Damaged Roads Colorado roads are known as some of the worst stretches of highway. After all the traffic Interstate 70 — the Gateway to the Rockies and many Colorado ski resorts — has faced this past season, the damage is being exposed. Colorado’s mountain roads have been put through the wringer this past season. With higher traffic rates due to increased tourism […] Brains Aunika Skogen | May 9, 2022 0 Comments
Brain Post: Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexican Independence Day It’s often thought that’s Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day. It’s not. Mexican Independence Day is on Sept. 16th. The reason behind the celebration is the unlikely victory of the Mexican army over the French Army (at the time the most powerful in the world) in the city of Puebla, Mexico on May 5th 1862 when 4,000 Mexican soldiers were able to defeat 8,000 French soldiers at the […] Brains Miles Clark | May 5, 2022 6 Comments
Why Do Ski Resorts Close When Their Snowpack is Still So Deep? At the beginning of the ski season, it is a race to see what resort will open first. Pent-up demand from not skiing during the summer and fall drives skiers to clamor for their first tracks of the season. Sometimes this is only on one lift and a measly 12-inch base, most of which might be man-made snow. Then, at […] Brains Brent Thomas | May 4, 2022 10 Comments
Mammoth Mountain, CA “Snow Farming:” A Dutiful Art on an Absolutely Massive Scale Give Michaelangelo some marble and you’ll probably get a sculpture. Give him some late-Spring snow and a snowcat and he might just be Mammoth Mountain’s Director of Slope Maintenance and the Unbound Terrain Parks, Scott Cherry. Cherry organizes the resort crews that keep Mammoth and its terrain parks open long after other ski areas have already shut down and transitioned […] Brains Martin Kuprianowicz | May 3, 2022 7 Comments
Why Reindeer in Finland Have Glowing Antlers While most reindeer don’t don a bright red nose, these Finnish reindeer do have glowing antlers. However, instead of using them to guide a sleigh through a blizzard, they alert drivers when they’re crossing the road. Finland is home to a massive population of over 200,000 reindeer. According to the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, at least 4,000 reindeer […] Brains Aunika Skogen | April 29, 2022 2 Comments