Truckee, CA, Resident Recovering From Life Changing Injuries Following Tahoe Avalanche Rylan Cordova, a Truckee, California, resident, general manager at Alibi Truckee, and a good friend of SnowBrains, is recovering from serious injuries after being caught in a skier-triggered avalanche on April 2 while skiing with friends in the Tahoe backcountry. The avalanche, which occurred on a northeast-facing slope near Peak 9269′ at about 8,500 feet, swept Cordova approximately 300 vertical […] Avalanche AvyBrains | April 22, 2025 0 Comments
Utah Man on Pace to Ski 10 Million Vertical Feet this Year to Break His Own World Record Last year, SnowBrains reported on the incredible story of Tom Hart, also known as “Racer Tom,” who set the world record for most vertical feet skied in a year when he logged 8,513,340 vertical feet. The record was certified by the Guinness World Records after Hart meticulously met all the requirements to prove his accomplishment. Now, during the 2024-25 season, […] Industry News Brent Thomas | April 21, 2025 0 Comments
Boyne Resorts Introduces New Unlimited Season Pass for 2025-26 Season, Ikon Base Pass Add-on Priced at $299 April 21, 2025 – Boyne Resorts, North America’s largest family-owned, independent mountain resort company, today announced the launch of a new season pass lineup that provides skiers and riders with unprecedented access across all Boyne Resorts destinations for the 2025-26 winter season. Related: The Best Multi-Resort Pass You’ve Never Heard Of? A $200 Season Pass at Steeplechase, MN, Gets You […] Industry News Press Release | April 21, 2025 0 Comments
[VIDEO] “Eternal Solo”—A Story of Courage on the Nameless Tower One of the most daring solo ascents in recent memory will come to life on the big screen as Eternal Solo, a new documentary from Italian mountaineering brand Grivel, makes its world premiere at the 73rd edition of the Trento Film Festival in Italy on April 27. The film chronicles Stefano Ragazzo’s bold solo climb of the Nameless Tower via […] Climbing Martin Kuprianowicz | April 21, 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
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
5 U.S. Athletes Qualify for 2026 Freeride World Tour After Arapahoe Basin, CO, Challenger Five U.S. athletes have secured their spots on the 2026 Freeride World Tour (FWT) following standout performances at the final Challenger Series event held at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado. The competition, which concluded on April 16, marked the culmination of the Region 2 (Americas) qualifying circuit. Related: Historic Day for Skiing as Massive Tricks Meet the Planet’s Most Dynamic Terrain at […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | April 21, 2025 0 Comments
Arizona Snowbowl Extends 2024–25 Ski Season With Bonus Weekend, May 2–5 The extension follows extensive early-season snowmaking, grooming, and strong snowfall throughout March. Arizona Snowbowl has extended its 2024–25 ski and snowboard season by four days, operating from Friday, May 2, through Monday, May 5. The resort is extending its season thanks to favorable spring conditions, including strong March snowfall and early-season snowmaking and grooming. Related: These Are the 40+ Ski […] Industry News Press Release | April 21, 2025 0 Comments
Alpine Meadows, CA, Hosts 39th Annual Snow Golf Tournament Under Perfect Spring Skies Under a cloudless sky and with sweeping views of Lake Tahoe, more than 300 golf-loving skiers traded poles for putters at the 39th Annual Snow Golf Tournament at Alpine Meadows on Saturday. The springtime classic delivered perfect weather and all the fun fans have come to expect from one of Tahoe’s quirkiest and most beloved events. Related: 5 Places Where […] Martin Kuprianowicz | April 21, 2025 0 Comments
Where Will it Be Deep This Week? These are North America’s Top 5 Forecasted Open Resorts for the 10 Days of April 21-May 1, 2025 It’s always snowing somewhere, and fresh snow is the essence of skiing and snowboarding. Whether you are chasing the deepest conditions or love seeing where the snow is piling up so you can live vicariously through others, this list of open resorts will be the deepest over the next week and beyond. Related: Alyeska Resort, AK, Just Broke 700″ of Snowfall […] Weather WeatherBrains | April 21, 2025 0 Comments
Top 9 Snowiest Resorts in North America This Season Spring is officially upon us, winter is over, and the resorts below lead with the most snow in North America. All these resorts have surpassed 400″ for the season, five have more than 500″, and one of the snowiest resorts has surpassed 700″. There is even an East Coast resort in the top nine, ahead of all Colorado, California, and […] SnowBrains | April 21, 2025 1 Comment
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
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
The Biggest Snow Events Ever Recorded in the Andes Mountains and the Best Places to Ski It’s ski season in the Andes Mountains, and things are finally starting to fill in. The Southern half is a great way to get some powder turns in during your offseason! Related: How To Do a Season in Bariloche, Argentina Right | Tips From a Patagonian Ski Bum The snowpack in the Andes is as inconsistent as it gets. Some […] Kiley Chrisman | April 20, 2025 0 Comments
The 9 Best ‘Small’ Snowsports Brands Everyone knows big snowsport brands like K2, Burton, or Salomon. So let us introduce you to some small but incredible snowsports brands, the garage band of the bunch. We looked at the best small brands and compiled a ‘top nine’ list. To qualify for our “small” category, revenues had to be <$5 million, and the product launched less than 30 […] Gear Julia Schneemann | April 19, 2025 6 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 4 Comments
Today’s Deepest Resorts—North America’s Top 5 Snowfalls on April 18 Spring is here, which means winter is over already, and resorts across the country have started closing. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to stop snowing. All these resorts are open and celebrating powder days this morning. Related: Top 9 Snowiest Resorts in North America This Season When writing, these resorts across North America had the most snow in the last […] SnowBrains | April 18, 2025 0 Comments