Cultivating the Cornice Chair @ Kirkwood – one awesome chairlift! I have a special place in my heart for a chairlift better known as Chair 6 aka ‘Cornice’ at Kirkwood Mountain Resort. Why you may ask? Well, for starters, the lift starts at the base and tops out on a ridge line full of cornices (hence the name.)[…] Conditions Report Casey Cane | December 25, 2014 2 Comments
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[…] Conditions Report Casey Cane | December 9, 2014 0 Comments
Jackson Hole Gets 527″ of Snow in 2013/14 | Owen Leeper Video Documents Every Inch: Freeskier Magainze has called this video “a POV edit for the ages.” Everyone else and their mother agrees. Owen’s edit is bomber. This edit also shows what an insane year Jackson Hole had. Jackson Hole got over 520″ inches of snow this past winer. Wow. About Own Leeper from Ski Retriever: Owen Leeper was born in Aspen, and has lived in Colorado his whole life. He started skiing when he was four, and couldn’t get enough of it. He averaged over 100 days of skiing while a full time student at the University of Colorado. He graduated with a […] SnowBrains | August 11, 2014 2 Comments
VIDEO: Las Lenas, Argentina is Already GOING OFF This video is our good friend Adria Millan Pla getting crazy in Las Lenas last week. Yeah, this video is from now. Las Lenas is already full of snow, open, and going off. Adria isn’t afraid of a little air, which is good for POV videos. Adria and our Las Lenas crew will be bringing you plenty of conditions reports and videos this summer. Things are already happening and happening in a real way. This […] Conditions Report SnowBrains | July 1, 2014 1 Comment
Triumph of Tahoe Turns @ Carson Pass, CA – 06/15/14 After one of the driest years on record and in midst of a drought…would my June turns even come to fruition? It has almost become a yearly ritual in my household. Come mid-June, to climb and ski around the Carson Pass area off of Round Top Peak at 10,381 ft and then continue up and the down the chutes of all the Sisters Peaks (10,153 ft) down to Round Top Lake[…] Backcountry Casey Cane | June 24, 2014 6 Comments
POV of Skiing the Grand Teton, WY Skiing the Grand Teton in Wyoming is the holy grail of Lower 48 ski mountaineering. If you’ve skied the Grand, you’re a true ski mountaineer. On May 2nd, 2014, Joel Bettner and Josh Smith did just that. Their video shines some light on a feat that most of us will only dream of. “My friend Josh Smith and I climbed and skied The Grand Teton on May 2, 2014. We were hoping to ski the Otter Body route, but conditions did not allow. We skied the […] SnowBrains | May 7, 2014 1 Comment
Chasing Californian Couloirs @ Kirkwood, Sonora & Tioga Pass – 04/20/14 Given the low total snowfall for the season in California, the ski season is surely going to come to an abrupt ending, yet one positive aspects are mountain passes opening early for your ski touring pleasure. Sonora Pass opened to through traffic on Friday April 18th around noon while Tioga Pass was open from the East up to the Yosemite Park gate[…] Backcountry Casey Cane | April 29, 2014 3 Comments
VIDEO: Faceshots @ Squaw Valley on April 25th, 2014 Last Friday, Lake Tahoe received its inevitable annual late season powder storm. We seem to get one of these every year and every year it seems like an impossibility. Nevertheless, the temperatures in Tahoe plummet from the 70s into the 20s, the wind kicks up, and the flakes start falling. Those flakes quickly added up to 16″ of new snow at Squaw Valley USA by the end of Friday, April 25th. Skiing Squaw on Friday and having to endure the sound […] SnowBrains | April 27, 2014 0 Comments
Shootin’ Some Chutin’ @ Kirkwood – 04/05/14 The last week of March and the first week of April 2014 have provided some of the best skiing of the year in the Tahoe region. With a glorious Spring day scheduled, we headed to Kirkwood to session up some of the infamous high altitude slackcountry zones before the powder turned to mush. With snow quality on our mind, we waited for first chair on The Wall, and then headed straight to the backside to get a few laps out in West Shore […] Conditions Report Casey Cane | April 10, 2014 2 Comments
The Master of POV Returns with Dub Tales 8 | Nutty Jackson Hole Footage “December and January were highlighted by persistent layers in our snowpack, but as things began to stabilize the storms started rolling in and the skiing was great. I spent a lot of days shooting photos with Jay Goodrich and video with KGB Productions, but managed a few relaxing solo days, or just shredding with friends. As […] SnowBrains | April 9, 2014 0 Comments
What Happened at Alta in March | Video Report: This video is all Alta, Utah and all Luke Perin. Obviously, Alta had a good March. Alta got 68″ of snow in the month of March ending the month at 371″ of total snowfall. Since April Fools Day Alta has gotten an additional 24″ of snow putting them up to 395″ of snow this season. Even on a ‘bad’ year, Alta is gonna break 400″ this season. Not bad. […] SnowBrains | April 8, 2014 0 Comments
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 […] Conditions Report Casey Cane | February 27, 2014 2 Comments
The POV Master Andrew Whiteford | Retallack, B.C. Late March 2013, I had the great opportunity to visit the famed Retallack Lodge with other members of the Orage family. Banks Gilberti, Charley Ager, Tatum Monod, and I shot with Felix Rioux and Jake Strassman as Mike Nick orchestrated everything. Retallack is over the top- a delicious hearty breakfast and packed lunches allows for a full day of lapping deep, pillow filled forests before a daily Chinese Downhill […] SnowBrains | February 25, 2014 0 Comments
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 […] Conditions Report Casey Cane | February 24, 2014 1 Comment
Bridger Bowl Video from Yesterday | 26″ of Blower Powder This video will make you very jealous. Bridger Bowl ski area in Montana experienced 26″ of new, blower powder yesterday and sunny skies. Conditions looked “fairy tale” yesterday at Bridger. NOAA forecasted Montana to get above average precipitation this winter and so far it’s true. Bridger Bowl is 100% open with a snowpack of 48″. They’ve gotten 79″ of snow this season. […] Conditions Report SnowBrains | December 12, 2013 0 Comments
20-Seconds of Big Boy Pillows with Eric Pollard This video gives us a good glimpse of what it’s like to ski big boy pillows. Eric Pollard drops in and, as always, makes it look easy. Eric broke his leg last year in Russia on his 4th day of the season. Despite that, he got a pretty fun edit out of those 4 days. Eric Pollard is an American snow freeskier and film editor from Welches, Oregon and currently resides in the Hood River […] SnowBrains | October 21, 2013 2 Comments
Colorado Route 40 Conditions Report | Perfect Pow on October 16th, 2013 Dawn Patrol is a special thing. Leave at 4am, skinning by 6, as the sun rises and skiing till responsibility call. This morning I was lucky enough to be able to take the morning off work and get a few turns in. It was flurrying most of the way there. Once I was skinning it looked like things were gonna clear up, the sun started rising and poking through the low clouds. As I gained the ridge […] Conditions Report SnowBrains | October 18, 2013 1 Comment
7 Ways to Sunday – A POV view into a classic work week with John Wells We all have our runs, our lines, and our favorite way to ski something. This is a celebration of redundant variations of the same lines and airs that I love to ski. 7 different ways […] Guest Author | September 24, 2013 1 Comment
How Good Was Las Leñas, Argentina Last Week? This Good: Our good buddy Matthias Weishcelbaumer has been in Las Leñas all season. It’s been a trying experience. Especially since Matthias knows exactly how good it can be. Until last week, Leñas was looking bad. There was talk of closing early. The bottom lifts had completely melted out and weren’t useable. Then, a miracle happened. 60 inches of blower powder fell […] SnowBrains | August 12, 2013 4 Comments
The Best POV Edit Ever? Andrew Whiteford 600” at Jackson Hole in 2011 Andrew is a friend of ours, one helluva skier (Jackson Hole Freeride Team), and we haven’t had this edit on our site, yet. We decided it’s time. This edit is from 2011 when Jackson Hole got 557” of snow as of early April when the resort closed. We’re confident that they got over 600 inches that year. This was a […] SnowBrains | May 23, 2013 4 Comments
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Backcountry
