Freeskiing

Movie Trailer: Pro Skiers Eva Walkner & Jackie Paaso Enter The Extreme World Of Ski Mountaineering

Pro skiers Jackie Paaso and Eva Walkner have excelled at many aspects of the ski industry. They have competed in racing as well as big mountain competitions, making it all the way to the Freeride World Tour. Their successes and disappointments have led them to their new goal of experiencing the extreme and challenging world of ski mountaineering. “PRESENTED by […]
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LadyBrains |
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Box Canyon Bliss in the San Juans @ Telluride

With now 19 years of annual visits to Telluride under my belt, it still feels just as special as that first decent down Palmyra Peak many moons ago. Flash forward to February 2017 and my wife and I have assembled our own crew to wreak havoc on the mountain. Alright, so the 9 month old did not make any turns but the 5 and 8 year old groms had a blast venturing all over the hill.

With six days of skiing ahead of us, the weather gods granted a few inches of fluff on the first day, That was followed by two days of gorgeous Spring-like weather, a day of wind, followed by around a foot of cold smoke with cool air to finish up the trip.Ultimately, it was the perfect mix of conditions to find some powder, hike in the sun, rail some groomers, teach the kids some powder techniques and have a few nice meals in the sun.
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Casey Cane |
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Savoring the Super Snowpack @ Kirkwood

With over 500 inches of year to date snowfall on the upper mountain of Kirkwood, I was curious to see how my usual stomping grounds fared with all this snow. Would my usual ski line even be there? Upon arrival, the weather had stunningly blue skies and yet a consistent Eastern wind that was visible on the ridges.

After the ‘getting the kids gear on struggle’ at the car and a few warmup laps with y daughter, I began my day on Chair 6, headed straight to the Funnel but found windstripped bulletproof on the steepest aspect. However, after a hundred feet or so below the ridge, the wind was absent and the snow was more mid-winter packed powder. The Fingers were fun but they are so small now…as in buried. Shortly thereafter, I notice that Chair 10 was finally loading so ran over to there to check out the coverage. I found that the wind was ripping up top and over Eagle Bowl into the Buttress. I normally roll into the Wall via the steep pitch above the usual traverse track but found that most of the upper steep pitches entertained the bulletproof layer that the winds created. Of course, I wanted to hit Once Is Enough but figured the snow was variable and I didn’t need a high speed crash, so I passed up the line (made the same decision for Upper Chamoix on Chair 6 earlier.)
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Casey Cane |
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Scratching the Technical Itch @ Kirkwood

The series of storms that have hammered the Sierra over the month of January recently calmed down and in their absence, a ridge of high pressure gave California a chance to dry out. With Kirkwood receiving over 400 inches of total snowfall on their upper mountain so far this year, the calm weather provided a perfect opportunity to examine my usual fun spots and to see…well…if they were even still there.

With my daughter in tow, we arrived early in response to the reports of crowds and full parking lots the last few weeks. Her Mini-JETS (Junior Expedition Team) begins at 9:30am, so with an early start, we managed to grab a few untracked corduroy laps on Chair 5 and sneak in a lap into the Ditch of Doom before dropping her off.
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Casey Cane |
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Three Weeks Left for First 2017 Freeride World Tour Stop | Full Calendar & Riders

5 events. 50 riders. Only three weeks left and Freeride World Tour riders will be hiking up in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc again, battling for the first win of the season. “The FWT is the worldwide circuit of freeride snowboarding and skiing with the best riders in the world competing on the most legendary and challenging alpine faces and the most renowned ski resorts across the world”. Freeride […]
Matias Ricci |
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Before the Storm – Early Season Radness @ Kirkwood

Early season at kirkwood mountain is quite unique. The mountain is littered with deep volcanic chutes and cliffs that skis quite differently at the end of the season with a deeper snowpack.

On a normal year, these same chutes and cliffs disappear and may even turn into a open bowl later on in the year. Therefore, this early part of the season yields some radical mini-golf action in the classic Fingers, Wagon Wheel Bowl, Oops & Poops, Lightning, All the Way and of course all of Thunder Saddle.
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Casey Cane |
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Thrashing with the Tribe…a week in Telluride!

So here we are…another year, another ‘ski week’ in Telluride. With six days of skiing on the docket, the big difference this year is that the kids can actually ski with us! Hell, my 7 year old decided to pick off ‘double blacks’ all over the mountain. Call this dad impressed…

Telluride is our staple ski destination outside of California for many reasons. One, and most importantly, there’s great hike-to steep terrain like the Gold Hill Chutes, Mountain Quail and Palmyra. Secondly, they have some amazing beginning and intermediate terrain for the little rippers in your family. Finally, it was a town before a ski resort and that character shines through as you walk down main street. I guess you argue that the views are pretty spectacular, restaurants are amazing, and the sunsets are to die for, but I only have some much time to editorialize.

With over 240 inches of snowfall before our visit and spring time temps throughout the week, we couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather to ski bell to bell everyday. Groomers such as Henry’s, Milk Run, Bushwacker and The Plunge had that ‘every so perfect’ Rocky Mountain chalky consistency. Coverage in the steeps was better than years past, and outdoor lunching at Bon Vivant or Giuseppe’s could not have been more sublime.

My only dilemma was trying to fit in some dad time lapping Dihedral face and at least one hike up to Palmyra Peak. I managed to bag those lines and a few others but had just as much fun cruising the mountain with the 4 and 7 year old groms. To be honest, it is pretty rewarding to see your kids having a blast on the hill but its even more rewarding when they crash to bed earlier than usual after a big day.
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Casey Cane |
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VIDEO: Competitor Send It Huge with HIGH Consquences in Hard Pack Snow at Crested Butte Extreme Comp 2016

The competition scene these days is going through the roof.  Athletes are pushing it harder, faster, and bigger than ever before.  This video of Murray Elliott is truly nuts.  Competitions force skiers and riders to go big in conditions that may not exactly be ideal.   On one side of the coin, huge props to Murray for taking this line, […]
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Keenan Grady |
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Las Lenas, Argentina Conditions Report: 1 Big Air & Two 360ºs

Catalonian freeskier Adria Millan is the freeride king of Las Lenas. He’s spent 6 seasons down there, knows the gnarliest lines by heart, and isn’t afraid of skiing too fast. Did we mention 360ºs? Yeah, the guy has big 360ºs off natural terrain on lock. Here is Adria’s first Las Lenas conditions report of the 2015 season: “Bad conditions right now. Never seen before the mountain brown like now. Worst start of the season in my 6 years here. In the video we walk 40 min after taking the Marte lift to find a kind of south face & found fresh snow at over 3000m.
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Alyeska Conditions Report: April Pow Days!

“Better late than never”, was the phrase most used, as today was easily Alyeska’s best powder day of the season. So far the last part of March and almost everyday in April has been the best powder days of the season till today. Today was the most substantial with over a foot of “Alaskan low density snow” that fell on the upper mountain. It was not the day to miss out on! And just in time for the spring carnival this weekend!
It was a classic weekday storm day at Alyeska, which means nobody on the hill and plenty of fresh snow till closing at 6pm. There was about 20 people standing in line at chair four […]
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Scott Rich |
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Kirkwood, CA Conditions Report: Killin’ Time in 17″ of Powder

Yeah, yeah, yeah…”should have been here yesterday bro!”

The last ‘biggest storm of the decade’ seemed to miss most of Tahoe by sliding South, but it did manage to clip Kirkwood and lay down a few feet of the goods. With Cornice Chair opening up mid-day Friday, I had to go up on Sunday and test it out for myself. The coverage ended up being way better than expected allowing a skier to open it up with confidence. With a 6 year old in tow, the runs on Chair 6 were few yet fantastic in this skier’s mind. Ultimately, I didn’t get a ton of fresh lines […]

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Casey Cane |
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Slashin’ into the 75th Season @ Sugar Bowl – 12/06/14

The time is finally here…off-trail skiing and celebrating the opening day for Sugar Bowl’s 75th season. Opening day access was through the village via the awesome old school gondola. However, the meat of the skiing was on Mt. Lincoln. With light rain and a thick cloud layer it definitely was not the most ideal day in the weather department but fun prevailed. The terrain included anything from the Rahlve’s Run to Lake View for about halfway down the chair, and at that point, the groomer was the call as the off-trail snow was a wee bit sticky. The top half of Mt. Lincoln was smooth and fast yielding[…]
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Casey Cane |
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Freeskiing & Mental Fitness | A Guide to Better Performance:

freeskiing and mental fitness

How many times have you tomahawked down a line you know you could have stuck or went around a cliff you should have sent? If you’re anything like me, the answer is a lot. That is because skiing is 90% mental. You can spend all summer lifting weights and all winter working on your technique, but if your mental fitness isn’t on point, those tree trunk quads you spent all that time pumping aren’t going to realize their full potential. Getting mentally fit isn’t as easy as getting physically fit, after all […]
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Liza Sarychev |
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Bluebird Blitzkreig @ Kirkwood – 02/23/14

I’ve been waiting for a day like this since November of 2013. The stars aligned and delivered bluebird skies, no wind, wintery snowpack, and every one of my favorite lines accessible. Its this early season snowpack (I know its late February) that really gives Kirkwood its raw feel and exhume its fun factor. Lines like Oops n Poops, Chamoix, Dan’s Cliffs, Thunder Saddle, Soul Searcher, Broadway Chute […]
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Casey Cane |
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Tasting the Topography @ Telluride – 02/15/14

Yes, another Tahoe exodus for five days to find winter…of course, by the time of departure, the higher elevations of Tahoe received 8 feet of snow (Kirkwood) but ski trips get booked and you deal with it. So, off we went from SFO to Denver to Montrose with my 2 year old and buddy Dan to shred. Telluride is known for its funky town, box canyon vistas, Chair 9 bumps, steep piste, and a superb Ski School for the youngsters. But over the years, they’ve added some gnarly hike-to terrain into the mix. Of course, hiking to Palmyra Peak is the pinnacle of this in-bounds adventure but there’s also shorter hikes, to the left and right […]
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Casey Cane |
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