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The 9 Best ‘Small’ Snowsports Brands

Community Skis

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 […]

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Julia Schneemann | April 19, 2025
6 Comments

[GEAR REVIEW] Moment Wildcat 108: The One Quiver Solution

Gear Review by Connor Frazier; Salt Lake City, Utah Reviewer Stats: Days skied on the 2024 Moment Wildcat 108 Skis: 20 Height: 5’9” Weight: 240lbs Skiing Level: Advanced Boots Used: Salomon Shift Pro 230 Bindings Used: Look Pivot 12 GW Ski Bindings Testing Location: Wasatch Mountains, Utah Technical specifications: Dimensions: 134-108-127mm Radius: 21.5m @ 179cm Weight: 8.6lbs/3.9kg @ 179cm Lengths available: 164, 174, […]

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Connor Frazier | April 5, 2024
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Memorial Day Memoir @ Mammoth Mountain, CA – 2018

Even on the driest of years, Mammoth Mountain consistently remains open until ‘at least’ Memorial Day (late May.) On massive years, they run the upper lifts until August…yes, a non-glaciated mountain that runs lifts until August. If I recall correctly, the years of August 1995 & 2017 to name a few. On a normal year, the goal is run lifts through the July 4th weekend.

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Casey Cane | May 23, 2019
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Tackling the Transcendent Terrain @ Telluride Ski Resort, CO – Winter 2019

When this ski family descended upon Telluride Ski Resort during the middle of February 2019, we were greeted by an above-normal snowpack, daily fresh snow and ridiculously fun conditions. Almost everyday throughout the week, we received at least a few inches of new snow and combined with cold temperatures it yielded some stellar conditions.

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Casey Cane | May 3, 2019
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Its Snowing! Last Season’s Shred Stoke @ Squawalpine

2017/18 was definitely a weird season for Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows but by being creative, snow enthusiasts can have a wicked time on the hill. The season started slowly with ‘just enough’ coverage around the mountain. That made perfect opportunities to ski with the kids and get their technique in order. It wasn’t until March when the typical heavy Sierra snowfalls blanketed the region.

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Casey Cane | November 29, 2018
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One Quintessential Day @ Cardrona, New Zealand – 2018

Cardrona New Zealand

In mid-August 2018, a family from California descended upon a lovely ski field on the South Island of New Zealand. Cardrona, in a nutshell, is a ski resort with impeccable views, cruising piste runs, mammoth terrain parks, steeps, open bowls and so, quite literally, terrain for the entire family.

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Casey Cane | October 19, 2018
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Riding Around the Range @ Remarkables, New Zealand

New Zealand, remarkable,

Back in Mid-August of 2016, a father and son team descended upon a Southern Hemisphere gem…The Remarkables ski field near Queenstown, New Zealand. Located on the southern part of the South Island, the Remarkables is a mini mountain range by its own right. Running in a true North to South fashion and separated by the rest of the Southern Alps, not only does it have impeccable scenery but it also holds some absolutely radical terrain.

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Casey Cane | August 11, 2018
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Reminiscing the Radness @ Cardrona – New Zealand

During a visit in mid-August of 2016, a father and son team had the opportunity to explore the fine terrain at Cardrona ski field. Even with pesky clouds blocking out the sun for the first half of the day, this team was able to enjoy wintery snow in varied terrain.

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Casey Cane | August 4, 2018
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Ski Week Slayin’ @ Telluride – 2018

Its that time of year again! It was no secret that the San Juans were having a less than stellar winter for the 17/18 season but as luck would have it, upon arrival in Telluride, we were met with cold temps and daily accumulations of Colorado’s finest white gold.

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Casey Cane | April 2, 2018
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August Aggression Session on The Sisters – Tahoe, CA

How big was winter 2016/17 in the Tahoe region? The answer: we’re skiing non-glaciated terrain at the end of August!

At around 6AM of August 24th, Joe Stewart and I ventured out on HWY 88 from South Lake Tahoe en route to Woods Lake. By just before 7AM, we were on the trail up towards The Sisters to find some late August turns. The Sisters are a few tall peaks (just above 10,000 feet) located due East of Kirkwood that hold north facing pockets of snow well into late Summer.

We knew there would be snow, however, the big question for late Summer skiing is the state of the suncups. Massive suncups equate to the worst possible skiing surface known to man. Luckily, with the sun shining and a relatively easy hike up to the ski boot transition zone, we were greeted by a long steep slope with minimal suncups. Yippie!

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Casey Cane | November 7, 2017
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Telluridiculous Hiking & Chuting – Summer 2017

Summer gives us skiing’s second season…hiking and exploring those solidified slivers of snow in the backcountry of America’s largest mountains. Telluride, Colorado has some sweet high altitude north facing skiing in and around Alta Lakes and Imogene Pass. Most of the skiing in early July occurs between 12,000 and 13,500 feet.

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Casey Cane | October 17, 2017
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Recounting the Late Season Radness @ Squaw Valley, CA

From skiing the Chimney Sweep in early May, closing out KT-22 over Memorial Day weekend, skiing Siberia with the family on Father’s Day, to a closing date of July 15th, the 16/17 season was quite memorable at Squaw Valley, California

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Casey Cane | September 12, 2017
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Heli Hunting for Pow in Haines, Alaska with SEABA

After an easy flight up to Haines, we rolled over to SEABA to check in with the crew and get settled. Stoke level was extremely high until we checked the weather. With a forecast showing heavy snow in the mountains the next few days, we had to start planning for the daily wait and see scenario. Luckily for us, SEABA just installed a new bar for the perfect hangout zone on down days and a night cap…or three.

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Casey Cane | June 28, 2017
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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 | March 23, 2017
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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 | February 17, 2017
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All Your Base Are Belong to Us @ Sugar Bowl

Sugar Ski Resort located on the summit of Donner Pass, CA has measured 536″ of snowfall on the upper mountain for the season. Yes, that is over 46 FEET (13 meters) of snow!

On Monday, February 6th, 2017 Bevan Waite and I braved some stormy conditions to see all the snow with our own eyes. Given that most of the resorts around Lake Tahoe were closed for the day, Sugar Bowl ended up being the right call in order to make some turns. Unfortunately, extremely high winds shut down the chairs to the summit but we definitely were able to make the best of it.

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Casey Cane | February 10, 2017
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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 | February 2, 2017
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Sunny Sessions between Super Storms @ Squaw

During the month of January 2017, over 23 feet of snow fell around the Tahoe region. After the first 10 feet, a few days of reprieve occurred over the MLK holiday. This gave time for the resorts to dig out and open more terrain…just in time for an old kid like myself to have some fun.

I’m creating this blog to give some reference on how much snow has fallen SINCE this report…the result is pure craziness for the end of January when compared to the last few years.

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Casey Cane | January 26, 2017
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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 | January 6, 2017
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Firming up a Solid Base @ Kirkwood – 12/11/16

Just like that another ski season around the South Side of Lake Tahoe is up on us. With strong wet storms providing much needed drought reducing rains since mid October, all signs are pointing to a solid year…my unscientific opinion of course.

After a busy Thanksgiving, I finally was able to grab the kids and head to Kirkwood for our first day to ‘Ski at a Higher Level.’ While most resorts were reporting top to bottom rain the previous day, Kirkwood was reporting snow…albeit in the wet variety. In any case, since my daughter had a mini-Jets evaluation, we were going to ride regardless of rain or snow.

As we pulled into the lot, the upper mountain ‘looked’ liked creamy goodness. However, after we took a few runs on Chair 7, it was obvious that rain fell on the mountain overnight. The groomers were in decent shape but a bit frozen and ideal for cleaning off your rusty edges. We headed over to the Village at 10am and ran into Coop who said straight up ‘it is FIRM up top but the positive is that we know have a solid base.’ With a massive crowd on Chair 11 due to some de-icing on Chairs 5 & 6, I headed over to Timber Creek to rail the groomers on Chair 7 until I was informed of the opening of Chair 6.

Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report
Casey Cane | December 13, 2016
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