The Growth of Skiable Terrain in the Western U.S. Has Been Far Greater Than You Might Think What if I told you that, over the past 30 years, the Western U.S. has effectively added the equivalent of 22 ski areas the size of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort? For most skiers and snowboarders, that would sound like an impossible dream — or at least a wildly optimistic projection. And yet, that’s exactly what has happened across the 11 […] Brains Brent Thomas | May 18, 2025 0 Comments
Is Early Season Snow a Harbinger of Good or Bad News—A Statistical Analysis for Australia With the first snow of the season hitting Australian resorts such as Perisher and Thredbo, excitement for the 2025 season is starting to build. The idea that an early dusting portends a stellar winter has deep roots in ski lore, bolstered by the thrill of advanced openings and first turns on untouched snow. While early-season snowfall certainly generates enthusiasm, some […] Brains Julia Schneemann | May 18, 2025 0 Comments
The Global Ski Industry Leaders: Top 9 Countries by Skier Visits Each winter, millions of skiers and snowboarders flock to mountains across the globe in search of powder, adventure, and alpine charm—but some countries draw significantly larger crowds than others. The global ski industry is powered by less than a handful of nations that consistently dominate in terms of annual skier visits. Only three countries attract more than 50 million skier […] Brains Julia Schneemann | May 15, 2025 1 Comment
Brain Post: Why is Fall Hotter Than Spring? A funny thing happens every September. You pull your hoodie out of summer storage, expecting crisp mornings, but then find yourself peeling it off by noon, as the sun feels closer to July than January. The calendar says we are sliding toward winter, yet the air insists on replaying summer’s greatest hits. The flip side of the story shows up […] Brains Clay Malott | May 15, 2025 0 Comments
The Benefits of Yoga and Pilates for Skiers and Snowboarders For skiers and snowboarders, incorporating dryland training both mid-season and off-season is crucial to your success on the slopes. The sport requires a unique combination of strength, mobility, balance, and core stability. When it comes to exercises typically geared toward skiers and snowboarders, many people think of those that develop leg strength and power, such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, and […] Brains Brent Thomas | May 15, 2025 0 Comments
How Tracking Apps Have Changed the Way People Ski This article was first published on August 24, 2024, and has been updated to reflect recent achievements and records. In the age of digital innovation, tracking apps have reshaped the skiing experience by transforming how skiers and snowboarders engage with the sport. These apps, often equipped with advanced GPS and data analytics, provide skiers with detailed insights into their performance, such […] Brains Brent Thomas | May 2, 2025 0 Comments
How To Build Your Ultimate Ski Quiver When you first get hooked on skiing, you probably only own one pair of skis or even rent them. As you progress, you eventually buy something more advanced. You quickly notice how completely different one ski can feel from another. Related: You Have A Ski Quiver, Should You Have A Boot Quiver Too? This is why many advanced skiers build […] Brains Brent Thomas | May 1, 2025 7 Comments
The Effects of High Altitude on Your Body’s Largest Organ: The Skin High altitudes in alpine regions are challenging environments for anyone and anything. Not just fauna and flora had to adapt over thousands of years, but humans—whose bodies were not designed for living at altitude—struggle with the specific attributes of alpine environments and have to take special precautions when venturing into alpine regions. High altitudes have lower air pressure, resulting in […] Brains Julia Schneemann | April 26, 2025 0 Comments
Top 7 Sunniest Ski Resorts in America As much as the skier community craves deep, jaw-dropping powder days, it’s hard to deny the pure joy of bluebird days. There are few feelings that match cresting the top of a ski lift on a gorgeous blue sky day and seeing mountainous views surrounding you. Although, skiing down the run in that same setting may top it. That’s why […] Brains Riley McDonald | April 21, 2025 2 Comments
How Backcountry Ski Guidebooks Get Written Lou Dawson, the first person in history to ski down all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks, published his first backcountry ski guidebook in 1985 when he was healing from an injury he sustained in an avalanche. It was titled “Colorado High Routes” and covered backcountry skiing in the Vail, Aspen, and Crested Butte areas. It was well-received. The guidebook was […] Brains Martin Kuprianowicz | April 20, 2025 2 Comments
End of Season Checklist: Care for Your Gear Sadly, the ski season is coming to an end, or for some it already has. Soon your focus may turn toward warmer weather activities, but before you do, it is wise to give your gear some TLC before storing it away for the season. Doing so will ensure you are ready to hit the slopes again when the snow returns, […] Brains Brent Thomas | April 20, 2025 0 Comments
Why is Avalanche Safety Gear So Expensive? This post was first published in August 2021. The gold standard of avalanche rescue gear is a beacon, a shovel, and a probe—three products you hope you never have to use outside of a beacon park. A standard-issue kit like this will almost always set you back at least a few hundred dollars—$333 is the cheapest one I found on […] Brains Martin Kuprianowicz | April 19, 2025 4 Comments
Every State’s Record Snow Year According to Their Ski Areas 2023 will go down as one of the overall snowiest ski seasons ever. An incredible 18 resorts set snowfall records. But what year and at what resort holds the record for each state? See below for the answer. The list is sorted in ascending order by total snowfall. States not included are lacking records. West Virginia – 1981 Snowshoe Ski […] Brains Brent Thomas | April 19, 2025 5 Comments
9 Best Places to Ski and Climb in North America If you’re the kind of person who racks up ski days all winter and scales granite when the snow melts, there’s no need to choose between the two. These nine North American destinations serve up the best of both vertical worlds: world-class skiing and rock climbing, often in the same weekend—or even the same day. Whether you’re a powder hound, […] Brains Martin Kuprianowicz | April 15, 2025 0 Comments
Explained: The Mountain Ranges of Colorado Colorado has arguably the most diverse mountains in the American West. Known to most people as just the Colorado Rockies, so many individual mountain ranges and subranges round out what makes the mountains of Colorado special. The complexity of all the mountain ranges is fascinating and a cool little tidbit to know the next time you are driving through the […] Brains Michael Pitts | April 13, 2025 1 Comment
What Are Your Chances of Dying While Skiing or Snowboarding? Everything we do in life involves a risk. Some risks are greater than others. Even simple daily activities, like getting out of bed, walking down a set of stairs, or driving, expose us to personal harm. Related: Risk Taking in Extreme Sports | Why Do We Do Things That Could Kill or Injure Us? There are many ways we could die […] Brains Brent Thomas | April 12, 2025 1 Comment
Quit Your Day Job: These 5 Gigs Will Pay You to Live the Ski Bum Dream Most people work full-time during the week and hit the slopes on the weekends or on weeknights. They might ski two times a week at most, but, according to statistics from the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), most do not go more than 20 to 30 times a season. The combination of balancing life, work, and leisure activities gets too […] Industry News Gregg Frantz | April 11, 2025 0 Comments
Researchers Discover “Best-Preserved” Pair of 1,300-Year-Old Skis Ever Recovered on Norway Glacier A pair of prehistoric skis, more than 1,300 years old, has been reunited on a remote Norwegian mountainside after one ski was discovered this year just five meters (15 feet) from where the first was found in 2016. The discovery was made at Digervarden in September 2021, a site in Innlandet County, central Norway, by glacial archaeologists working with the […] Brains Martin Kuprianowicz | April 10, 2025 0 Comments
5 Multi-Resort Passes That Offer Access to Ride the Southern Hemisphere [UPDATED: 4/10/25 at 9:00 a.m. PST] As the winter ski season winds down in North America, many people will turn to more seasonal activities like biking, hiking, golf, or spending time at the lake. It makes sense as the weather turns warmer and ski resorts close. It can be a sad time of year for many as most ski resorts […] Brains Brent Thomas | April 10, 2025 0 Comments
North America’s 11 Most Influential Ski Resorts That Have Shaped the Industry Today Although North America was not the birthplace of skiing, many of its resorts have had significant influence on the sport. From the rugged peaks of the Rockies to the powder-filled bowls of British Columbia and the icy slopes of the East Coast, North America’s ski resorts have done far more than offer a place to carve turns—they’ve helped shape the entire […] Brains Brent Thomas | April 9, 2025 0 Comments