New Speed Records Set on Mont Blanc by French Athletes Benjamin Vedrines and Elise Poncet In a historic week for high-speed alpine ascents, two French athletes have claimed new Fastest Known Times (FKTs) for skiing ascents and descents of Mont Blanc, Western Europe’s highest peak. On May 24, 32-year-old French mountaineer Benjamin Vedrines completed a blistering round-trip from Chamonix to the 4,809-meter (15,777-foot) summit of Mont Blanc and back in 4 hours, 54 minutes, and […] Climbing Martin Kuprianowicz | May 30, 2025 0 Comments
Former Vail Resorts CEO Kirsten Lynch to Receive More Than $2.2 Million in Severance Pay Former Vail Resorts Chief Executive Officer Kirsten Lynch will receive over $2.2 million in severance and other benefits as part of her departure agreement with the company, according to recently filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Lynch officially stepped down from her role as CEO on May 22 after more than three years in the position. She […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | May 30, 2025 0 Comments
Mammoth Mountain, CA, Announces June 15 Closing Day Mammoth Mountain will officially close for the winter season on June 15, capping off an extended season marked by persistent snow coverage and strong skier turnout. The announcement, shared by the resort on Tuesday, comes as most ski areas across the Western United States have already shut down their operations for the season. Mammoth, however, continues to capitalize on its […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | May 30, 2025 0 Comments
Austrian Winter Tourism Grows Despite Global Economic Uncertainty Despite a backdrop of global economic turbulence and geopolitical tension, Austria’s winter tourism sector has delivered a resilient performance—nearing all-time highs in both guest numbers and overnight stays. According to preliminary data released Friday, May 30, by Statistik Austria, the 2024–25 winter season (November through April) saw 72.25 million overnight stays, up 1.6% from the previous year, and just shy […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | May 30, 2025 0 Comments
Vermont Snowboard Manufacturer Halts Snowboard Production Due to Trump’s Tariffs In a heartfelt announcement on Instagram, Vermont-based snowboard brand Goon Gear revealed it will not produce snowboards for the upcoming 2025–26 season. Citing “unpredictable tariffs and rising costs,” the company said the financial risks have simply become too great for a small operation. Despite the setback, Goon Gear emphasized that it’s not closing down—apparel drops and community events like Goonfest […] Julia Schneemann | May 30, 2025 0 Comments
Your Season, Unpacked: New Stats Feature at Powder Mountain, UT, Levels Up the Stoke Every seasoned skier has their end-of-season checklist. Storage wax? Check. Batteries pulled from all the avalanche gear? Check. Boot liners drying after that closing-day pond skim? Check. A slick season recap of vertical feet, total days skied, and a leaderboard to see how you stacked up? If you’re riding at Powder Mountain, Utah—check. “Unpacked” is Powder Mountain’s season stats feature […] Miles Nagel | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
IOC Reaffirms Ban on Russian Teams for 2026 Winter Olympics The International Olympic Committee (IOC) reaffirmed this week that Russian national teams will remain barred from participating at the next Winter Games, continuing sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That means teams in iconic winter sports—including Russia’s powerhouse men’s ice hockey program—are excluded from Olympic contention. However, Russian athletes may technically be eligible to […] Julia Schneemann | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
Mammoth Mountain, CA, Report: Memorial Day Weekend Radness! Report from May 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 2025 The past week at Mammoth has been fire. Groomers are good. Wiggles are good, and new ones are forming all the time. Bumps are good. Off-piste skiing is exceptional—especially on Cornice & Chair 23. I’ve been riding my new e-dirt bike to the mountain each day, and it makes every […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic Wins Prestigious Matteo Baumgarten Award for Excellence in Sport and Scholarship Zrinka Ljutic, Croatia’s rising Alpine ski star and a dedicated kinesiology student, has been named the 28th recipient of the International Matteo Baumgarten Award, an honor recognizing young athletes who balance academic excellence with elite athletic performance. The award, created in memory of Italian skier Matteo Baumgarten—a promising student-athlete who tragically died in a car crash in October 1995 while […] Julia Schneemann | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
Epic Expansion: Exploring the 6 New Austrian Ski Destinations Added to the 2025-26 Epic Pass Vail Resorts has significantly broadened its European footprint by incorporating six renowned Austrian ski resorts into the 2025-26 Epic Pass. This strategic move enhances the pass’s appeal to international skiers and snowboarders seeking diverse alpine experiences. Related: Vail Resorts Adds a Total of 6 New Austrian Ski Resorts to Epic Pass Offering—1Day Ahead of Price Hike While the expansion of […] Julia Schneemann | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
How to Stay Alive in Steep Terrain: Lessons From a Life in Chamonix Ross Hewitt has been skiing steep lines in Chamonix for nearly 30 years. He has not just survived, but endured. In a place where mistakes often prove fatal, he’s found a way to consistently keep the most important aspect of free skiing intact: himself. By all accounts, the odds aren’t in your favor. The slopes of the Mont Blanc Massif, […] Deep Dive Martin Kuprianowicz | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
How an Oncology Nurse is Redefining Backcountry Skiing Limits By Completing Utah’s Legendary ‘Chuting Gallery’ in Only 47 Days Through the windows of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Mali Noyes looks out past cars with license plates tagged with the motto “Ski Utah” and “Life Elevated,” toward the towering Wasatch Range. An oncology nurse and Salomon-sponsored skier, Noyes just skied all 93 lines in the Chuting Gallery in less than 2 months. “Life Elevated” isn’t just a slogan. It’s the […] Deep Dive Miles Berman | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
Professional Freeskier and Filmmaker Chris Benchetler Honors Hall of Fame Basketball Player Bill Walton with New Episode of Ship of Fools Series Professional freeskier and filmmaker Chris Benchetler has released a new episode of his behind-the-scenes docuseries Ship of Fools, paying tribute to the late Bill Walton on the one-year anniversary of the NBA Hall of Famer’s death. Episode 16, titled “Making of ‘Fire on the Mountain’ w/ Bill Walton – The Wheel Keeps Turning,” revisits the acclaimed 2020 ESPN special Fire […] Martin Kuprianowicz | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
AZ Snow Zone Brings Year-Round Indoor Skiing and Snowboarding to Phoenix, AZ A new kind of snow sport experience has landed in the desert of Arizona, and it is completely indoors. AZ Snow Zone, the nation’s first indoor dry slope facility of its kind, has opened its doors, offering skiers and snowboarders a place to ride throughout the year without needing snow or mountain elevation. Founded by local snowboard enthusiast Joshua Sinclair, […] Industry News Brent Thomas | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
Female Backcountry Skier Dies in Nearly 2,000-Foot Fall in Banff National Park, Alberta A 34-year-old Lake Louise woman died Tuesday morning after falling roughly 600 meters (1,968 feet) while skiing in a remote area of Banff National Park near Moraine Lake, according to Parks Canada, a federal agency responsible for protecting and managing national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas across Canada. The skier was part of a group of […] Martin Kuprianowicz | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
How Chris Benchetler Turns Skiing into Art The dozens of canvases cluttered in Chris Benchetler’s art studio at his Mammoth Lakes home give an impression as if you had just walked inside a small temple where the walls were melting, oozing every possible mixture of color imaginable. The canvases are all sorts of different shapes and sizes; some are hanging up on the wall, tilted or upside […] Martin Kuprianowicz | May 29, 2025 1 Comment
Legendary Sherpa Breaks His Own Previous World Record by Summiting Mount Everest for 31st Time With many expeditions receiving the “green light” to summit, Mount Everest is popping up on headlines all over the internet. In the latest Everest news, the Nepali Sherpa known as “Everest Man,” Kami Rita, summited Everest for his 31st time. At the age of 55, Rita extended his own previous world record by guiding a group of Indian army officials to […] Climbing Luke Guilford | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
Utah Tourist Economy to Take $132 Million Annual Blow from Sundance Film Festival Moving to Colorado After more than four decades of calling Park City home, the Sundance Film Festival is officially packing up and moving to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027. The announcement came two months ago and marks a significant cultural shift for Utah, as well as a potentially devastating economic one. Related: Sundance Film Festival to Relocate to Boulder, CO, in 2027 Organizers from […] Brent Thomas | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
History with SnowBrains: How a Legendary Rescue Inspired the Birkebeiner Cross-Country Race In the depths of a Norwegian winter in the year 1206, two warriors strapped wooden skis to their feet and raced across snow-covered mountains for miles, a precious cargo in their arms: the infant crown prince. Their heroic journey from safely from Lillehammer to Østerdalen and from there to Trondheim, is commemorated to this day eight centuries later for the […] Julia Schneemann | May 28, 2025 0 Comments
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