Should Helmets Be Mandatory at Ski Resorts? It wasn’t very long ago that ski helmets were more of an obscurity then the norm like they are today. Though ski helmets were initially invented in the 1950s with the use of technology from World War II, they didn’t really began to see wide spread use until the early to mid 2000’s. A study from ScholarBlogs found that in the […] Industry News Joseph Kaufmann | July 10, 2025 2 Comments
Top 7 Most Unexpected Animals Seen on the Slopes Like any outdoor activity humans participle in, from time to time we tend to come in contact with the original inhabitants of the area we choose to make our playground. Many ski resorts are on national forests, and in those dense, often remote areas one can run into some pretty striking wildlife. In fact, Colorado’s White River National Forest is […] Brains Joseph Kaufmann | July 9, 2025 0 Comments
Eaglecrest Ski Area, AK, Closes Aging Black Bear Lift Permanently Eaglecrest Ski Area, Southeast Alaska’s largest ski area and the only in-bounds resort in the region, has announced the indefinite closure of its aging Black Bear chairlift. Owned and operated by the city of Juneau, Alaska’s capital, Eaglecrest Ski Area was established in 1975, and features four double chairlifts accessing 640 acres, with 36 marked alpine runs, two Nordic skiing […] Industry News Joseph Kaufmann | July 4, 2025 0 Comments
Colombian Woman Quietly Summits Earth’s 7 Highest Summits Meet Margarita Moreno, a 39-year-old underground climber from Bogotá, Colombia. Moreno summited Earth’s Seven Summits, achieving this feat without major sponsorship, an extremely rare accomplishment that demonstrates her raw passion, love, and dedication to the sport. Ever since 2018, Moreno has been silently climbing the seven highest mountains on the planet, starting with Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and most recently completing […] Climbing Sam Fishman | June 23, 2025 0 Comments
Millions of Acres of Public Land at Stake if Reconciliation Bill Gets Passed, Prompting Backlash Across Western States A controversial new proposal from Senate Republicans has sparked fierce opposition after revealing plans to force the sale of up to 3.3 million acres of federally owned public land across 11 Western states, including Colorado, Utah, and California. Introduced as part of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s FY25 Budget Reconciliation bill, the plan would direct the Bureau of […] Julia Schneemann | June 16, 2025 0 Comments
Skier Killed in Soft Slab Avalanche on Denali, AK A skier was confirmed dead after being caught in a soft slab avalanche from below the Rescue Gully above Camp 14 on Denali, Alaska. The slide occurred on the West Buttress Route at approximately 6:15 p.m. on June 10. Nicholas Vizzini, age 29 of Washington State, and his climbing partner, a snowboarder, triggered the avalanche while descending the slope. According […] Avalanche SnowBrains | June 12, 2025 0 Comments
Body of Skier Killed in 3,000-Foot Fall on Denali, AK, Has Been Recovered [UPDATED: 01:50 a.m. PST, June 5, 2025] The body of a deceased ski mountaineer was recovered on the morning of Wednesday, June 4. Alex Chiu, aged 41 of Seattle, Washington, died as a result of a 3,000-foot fall from the Denali (Mount McKinley) West Buttress climbing route onto the Peters Glacier. After recovery, rangers returned to Denali National Park and […] Climbing SnowBrains | June 5, 2025 0 Comments
Brain Post: Denali, AK, Not Everest, is the Tallest Mountain on Land in the World Denali is the World’s tallest mountain, according to Denali National Park and Preserve. Yep, you read that right. The peak of Mt. Everest is 29,035 feet (8,850 meters) above sea level, making it the mountain with the highest elevation. However, the base of Mount Everest is estimated to be 17,000 feet (5,200 meters), making the vertical rise of the mountain roughly 12,000 […] SnowBrains | May 26, 2025 4 Comments
Valdez, AK, Heli-Skiing Report: 14 Glorious Runs on the Best Day of the Season & Mom’s Birthday Report from April 25, 2025 Friday was my Mom’s birthday. She left us in 2023. We’ve had a difficult weather month here in Valdez this year but on Mom’s birthday, it went blue… We started early on Friday with Pulseline Adventure. Legendary guide Jessica Baker was our lead guide on this day and she crushed it. Powder, steeps, long runs, […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | April 28, 2025 0 Comments
Valdez, AK, Heli-Skiing Report: Evening Light Steep Skiing Until Pumpkin Hour Report from April 24, 2025 We’ve had rough weather this month in Valdez, AK. But we did sneak out for one powder run with Pulseline Adventure on April 23rd, and it was glorious just to get out. Then, on a sunny evening on April 24th, we got back out and skied a warm-up and then two deliciously steep runs. This […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | April 27, 2025 0 Comments
What’s in the Pack? | Alaska Heli-Ski Guide Backpack Why do heli-ski guides complain about their backpacks? What’s in a helicopter ski guide’s backpack? What’s in their pockets? A lot… My heliski guiding backpack weighs 30+ pounds. I’m carrying about 60 pounds of gear overall when I drop in. Check out this video to see exactly what I carry on a day out heliski guiding in Alaska. I guide […] Miles Clark | April 21, 2025 3 Comments
Valdez, AK, Heli-Skiing Report: Sluffy Steeps & Powder Snow In A New Zone Report from April 15, 2025 Yesterday we got out there early knowing the clouds would be building in the afternoon. We tip-toed as we have quite a few avalanche problems on the board and our reconnisance flight yesterday morning revealed hundreds of avalanches that occured mid-storm. We started on very mellow terrain. Then bumped up the angle slowly and tenitively. […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | April 20, 2025 0 Comments
Valdez, AK, Report: 9 Runs of Airs, Mini-Spines, & Wide-Open Powder Report from April 15, 2025 On Tuesday, we got there early with Pulseline Adventure in Valdez, AK. We knew the clouds were coming in later in the day. We found good snow in a gorgeous zone off the Valdez Glacier right away. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SnowBrains (@snowbrains) We lapped it and laughed at the […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | April 20, 2025 0 Comments
Valdez, AK, Report: Vicious Views Skiing Fresh Powder In Sunset Light Report from April 14, 2025 Monday morning started out snowing hard at sea level. Then, the clouds started to part around noon. By 1 pm, we were airborne. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SnowBrains (@snowbrains) We started in an old favorite zone and found good snow. As the day wore on, we bumped over to a […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | April 17, 2025 0 Comments
Valdez, AK, Report: Chasing Blue Holes, Buzzing Over Glaciers, & Skiing Powder Snow Report from April 12, 2025 Saturday was the last day of my buddy’s week here in Valdez. It had been a rough week with brutal weather. We needed a win. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SnowBrains (@snowbrains) Mother Nature gave us the nod on day 7 and gave us a lingering blue hole. It wasn’t much, […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | April 17, 2025 0 Comments
Alyeska Resort, AK, Just Broke 700″ of Snowfall This Season No stranger to receiving the most snow in North America, Alyeska Resort, Alaska, is at it again. Just 10 days after smashing through the 600″ mark, the most recent storm has taken it past 700. The resort has seen 721″ of fresh snow this season and has a 201″ base. Related: The 500 Club: 5 Resorts Have Received More Than […] Industry News SnowBrains | April 15, 2025 0 Comments
Valdez, AK, Report: All-You-Can-Eat “Sushi Bar” Buffet Report from April 3, 2025 On Thursday, we had our last sunny day of the week with Pulseline Adventure. We wasted it not. Lynn took us straight out to Sushi Bar, and we gorged. Our first two runs revealed creamy, recrystallized snow on sprawling, mellow terrain. Then, she turned it up a notch. Or two. Our 3rd and 4th runs […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | April 10, 2025 0 Comments
SnowBrains Forecast: 3 Feet of Powder Expected For Alyeska, AK, This Week A potent late-week storm is delivering heavy snowfall to Southcentral Alaska’s mountains, with additional waves lined up through mid-next week. Overall, this pattern will bring periodic bursts of moderate snow, slightly varying snow levels, and predominantly fair to moderate snow quality across higher elevations, setting up a decent stretch for spring turns. Alyeska should pick up 2-3 feet of new […] Weather WeatherBrains | April 10, 2025 0 Comments
Valdez, AK, Report: Heli-Assisted Backcountry Touring Some Classic Alaska Ramps Report from April 2, 2025 On Wednesday, I was assigned to Standby Guide here at Pulseline Adventure in Valdez, AK. This means I spend the day at the airport, ready to assist in a rescue if one goes down. Plans changed when a group of heli-skiers decided to go heli-touring. Boom! I was picked to take them for a walk. […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | April 6, 2025 0 Comments
Valdez, AK, Report: 9 Runs of April Fools’ Day Fun in Some of the Most Gorgeous Terrain Imaginable Report from April 1, 2025 On April Fools’ Day, 2025, we skied 9 runs in good, recrystallized powder snow. “Alaskan Velvet,” if you will. We started the day on the Pencil Glacier, bumped over to the Woodworth, and ended on the Tasnuna. I liked all the runs. I liked all the snow. We skied some steeper stuff like Kozak off […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | April 5, 2025 0 Comments
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