Hakuba, Japan Conditions Report: 3 Feet of Fresh Snow Today Happo-One ski resort in Hakuba, Japan got around 3 feet of new snow last night which made today another damn fine powder day. The day started off grey with some light snow floating down before clearing up some and getting very windy. At opening bell, there wasn’t much groomed resulting in skiers and riders wallowing up to their necks in snow all over the piste. Many people were absolutely stuck in the snow the first run of the day. We started off the day on the upper mountain playing with the avy fences before moving onto some open faces and eventually into the […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | January 2, 2014 1 Comment
Good Skiing in Sugar Bowl Backcountry | Dec. 31st, 2013 A couple of the local North Lake Tahoe boys got out and gave some of their “secret” backcountry spots a go near Sugar Bowl ski resort. They found some surprisingly great conditions given what most of us are skiing each day in Tahoe. Most of us are skiing crazy icy man-made snow runs with very limited space. Compared to that, what these guys ski in this video is unreal. […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | January 2, 2014 2 Comments
New Year’s Powder Day at Jackson Hole | Photo Tour: Jackson Hole got 9″ of new snow during the past two days. Jackson now has gotten over 13 feet of snow this year. These photos are of New Years Day and they make it look pretty darned good. We’ve done New Years in Jackson Hole before and it’s a helluva good time. Fireworks, torchlight parade, and a party at mid-mountain make Jax a great place on New Years. […] Conditions Report SnowBrains | January 2, 2014 0 Comments
Alta & Snowbird, UT at 50% of Average Precipitation Right Now “If it feels like we were gyped of snow in November and December, the numbers concur – map above is % of average precipitation for the last 60 days.” – Utah Avalanche Center It’s not a great sign that Utah is way below average for precipitation the past 60 days. The Cottonwood Canyons are some of the most consistent snow producing zones on Earth. This year, the Cottonwood Canyons are at around 50% of normal precipitation for the past 60 days. The Cottonwood Canyons hold some of the best ski resorts on Earth: Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, & Solitude. Hopefully things are going to turn around soon, but for now, we’re looking at more sunny skies in Utah. […] Weather SnowBrains | January 2, 2014 1 Comment
Why is the West Coast So Dry Right Now? Ok, it’s been long enough without snow on the West Coast of the USA. California in particular is really getting the shaft from the snow gods this year so far. We understand that it hasn’t snowed, but why? NOAA gives us a glimpse into why the West Coast is staying dry right now and they allow a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel. This background image (above image) is a screenshot of water vapor satellite imagery. The warmer colors indicate dry air while the cooler blues to grey show areas of upper level moisture. Overlaid on the image are […] SnowBrains | January 2, 2014 4 Comments
Developing Accident Pattern in North America: Avalanche forecaster Karl Klassen is seeing a developing pattern in recent avalanche accidents in North America. He articulates what he’s been seeing in the article below written for the Canadian Avalanche Center. I hope I’m wrong but I think I’m seeing a bit of a pattern developing. On December 20 there was a fatal accident near Golden […] Avalanche SnowBrains | January 2, 2014 0 Comments
1st Avalanche Death in Colorado On New Year’s Eve Colorado experienced its first avalanche death of the season. The avalanche danger for the area of the accident was at “CONSIDERABLE” at the time of the avalanche. Here are the details from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center: One backcountry traveler was killed in an avalanche on December 31, 2013. The avalanche was near Parkview Mountain, west of Willow Creek Pass (Steamboat Zone). A […] Avalanche SnowBrains | January 2, 2014 0 Comments
Hestra Seth Morrison Pro Glove Review Hestra has been making leather gloves for a long, long time. In 1936 Martin Magnusson founded the company in Sweden, where the gloves are still made to this day. For perspective Vail Resort spun their first chairlifts in 1962. Along the way they have learned a few tricks to make durable and insanely dexterous gloves. Tricks like inverted and double stitched seams help make these gloves insanely durable. The Seth Morrison Pro model glove lives up to the Hestra name and is designed for warmth and durability. The Seth Morrison Pro Glove is made from Hestra’s most durable leather, army goatskin, intended for use and abuse in harsh conditions. […] Gear Chaz Diamond | January 2, 2014 0 Comments
$h*t F*#k Conditions: Johan Jonsson Crushing the Crud If you haven’t already seen this video floating around the internets, stop what you’re doing and watch it now. Johan Jonsson is not a human. He is a $h*t F*#k conditions shredding machine. Watch as he crushes lines that would make anyone pucker, and does so in some horrendous conditions. This is some of the strongest skiing we’ve seen in a long while…if not ever. […] SnowBrains | January 1, 2014 4 Comments
Japan Yesterday = Tight Trees, Pow, Monkeys, & Avy Fences Happo-One ski resort in Hakuba, Japan got about a foot of new snow yesterday and the skiing was sweet. Happo is doing very well this early season as they already have a 230cm base at mid-mountain and the storms continue to March. Actually, it doesn’t matter about storms in Japan. A cold northwest wind comes off of Asia, crosses the Sea of Japan, picks up moisture, then slams […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | January 1, 2014 1 Comment
A Day in the Life of a Snow Starved Ski Bum With the snow conditions in Tahoe being sub-par at best, we took it upon ourselves the other day to have fun with it. With the holiday crowds out, and the upper mountain at Squaw shut down due to stinky conditions, we pulled out the ole jeans and Salomon Force 9’s to show everyone that even with the horrible conditions and snowpack, skiing is fun no matter what. There were a lot of dirty looks, a lot of smiles, and a whole bunch of people who were indifferent, and looked at us like we fit right in with em. The moral of the story is, the conditions in Tahoe are less than desirable, and it doesn’t look like it’s gonna get a whole lot better […] Jesse Cassidy | December 31, 2013 6 Comments
Ski Stoke | New Edit From The Panda Tribe As much as we in the ski community like to think we are all friends and all get along, (Which we are and do) the snow world is like high school all over again. With so many variations and styles there are bound to be cliques. Jibbers, park rats, skittles, weekend warriors, bro-brahs, tele skiers and the list goes on. However when you bring all these together there are the haves and the have-nots. What is this have I speak of? Panda Poles. The Panda Tribe is […] Kyler Roush | December 31, 2013 0 Comments
High Altitude Skiing in Mexico Holly Walker, a friend and fellow ski mountaineer, approached me this summer with the idea of skiing in Mexico. I immediately said: “That is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard… When do we leave?” So in November I found myself in Mexico with a huge ski bag and a harebrained scheme to ski the 3rd highest peak in North America, Pico De Orizaba. Most people looked at me quizzically when I explained this plan to them…”you can ski in Mexico?”. The answer is yes!…sort of. […] SnowBrains | December 31, 2013 6 Comments
VIDEO: Must-See Roof Avalanche All snow humans know about roof-alanches. You have to make damn sure that you don’t end up under them when they happen. It’s good to make sure your car isn’t under them either. They can be destructive and they can be cute. This video shows us one that is just plain bizarre. The square chucks of snow coming off the roof here in Grapevine, Texas seem perfectly uniform and […] SnowBrains | December 31, 2013 0 Comments
Can You Buy Marijuana Legally in Stores in Colorado Tomorrow? Yep, you’ll be able to legally buy marijuana in stores in Colorado on New Year’s Day, 2014. The ski industry in Colorado will be changed forever. Think of all the college kids who ski in Colorado. In case you didn’t know it: college kids on vacation at ski resorts smoke weed. Now, they aren’t going to have to worry about getting the stuff. […] SnowBrains | December 31, 2013 5 Comments
Winter Storm Advisory for Northern Rockies: 6-12″ Forecasted by New Year’s Idaho & Montana are about to get some good snow amounts. 6-12 inches of snow are forecast between now and 5am on New Year’s Day. Montana has been chosen to win the January game by NOAA. NOAA is forecasting above average precipitation and below average temperatures for Montana in January. This is hopefully the start to a very good new year in Montana. […] Weather SnowBrains | December 31, 2013 0 Comments
Happy Birthday Shane McConkey! Shane McConkey was born on December 30th, 1969. After that, he simply changed the ski industry forever bringing us rockered skis, intelligent humor, naked skiing, ski BASE jumping, next level skiing, and Saucer Boy. Shane dominated the skiing world achieving high level success in moguls, race courses, big mountain, park, skier cross, big air, all of it. Shane called Squaw Valley, USA home and he exported the infamous “Squaw Attitude” to the masses while thoroughly making fun […] SnowBrains | December 30, 2013 1 Comment
Shaun White’s Newest Trick = Frontside Double Cork 1440 Shaun White has another new trick, a Frontside Double Cork 1440. This guy won’t stop pushing the sport. The GoPro footage of the trick is simply dizzying. Kinda funny to watch Shaun get mobbed by his entourage as soon as he landed this new trick, the Double Cork 1440. GoPro built a private pipe for Shaun White in October, to help him train for his 2014 season. […] SnowBrains | December 30, 2013 0 Comments
Crash Of the Week: First Ever Shoulder to Head Box Slide? Rails and boxes are some of the best places to wreck yourself on skis, whether you’re a beginner or Tom Wallisch himself. At some point, things aren’t going to go according to plan and when flesh strikes metal rail the results can never be good, but fortunately it can sometimes be quite […] Eric Bryant | December 30, 2013 0 Comments
Avalanche Death in Snake River Range, ID on Dec. 26th The same day that an avalanche took a skier’s life on Jackson Hole’s Pucker Face, another avalanche took another life in the Snake River Range. The day was December 26th, 2013.There was also a natural avalanche that occurred on Taylor Mountain, WY on Christmas day that involved no humans (see photo above). The Snake River Range avalanche occurred at 2:45pm on December 26th and involved […] Avalanche SnowBrains | December 30, 2013 0 Comments
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