Brain Post: How Snow Guns Work The idea behind snowmaking is simple: you spray water into cold air, and it freezes into snow as it falls to the ground. But there’s more to it than that. Engineers have spent nearly 70 years developing snow machines, so modern snowmaking is really good. Let’s take a look at what goes into it. Related: Has Summertime Use of Snow […] Brains Tanner Blake | October 10, 2024 3 Comments
Alcohol at Altitude: Does 1 Beer in the Mountains Equal 3 Beers at Sea-Level? While living at an elevation of a mile-high or more for over a decade, I have frequently told my Flatlander visitors: “Be careful when you go out to the bars tonight… one drink at elevation equals two or three at sea level!” This urban myth, passed down to and by yours truly and countless others over the years, was established […] Brains Jared Roberts | November 7, 2023 0 Comments
The Economics Behind the Success of Multi-Resort Passes Have you ever looked at the multi-resort season passes like Epic or Ikon and wondered how these deals make financial sense to Vail Resorts or Alterra Corporation? After all, at a day pass price of $225-245 for Vail, the $841 season pass breaks even after just four days. You’d be forgiven to think that most people who buy these multi-resort […] Brains Julia Schneemann | May 1, 2023 7 Comments
Could Reviving the Woolly Mammoth Protect the Arctic Permafrost? Colossal Biosciences plans to heal the Earth in a nonconventional way. Their mission is to utilize bioscience to jumpstart nature’s ancestral heartbeat and create a healthier planet and human populace. Colossal is working on several projects, but one stands out the most: the Woolly Mammoth’s de-extinction. Related: Worms Frozen in Permafrost 42,000-Years Ago when Woolly Mammoths Roamed the Planet have been […] Brains Luke Guilford | February 1, 2023 0 Comments
Snow Fleas: Another Pesky Pest or the Key to a Scientific Breakthrough? Several Michiganders have spotted what appeared to be dirt sitting on top of the snow this winter. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the specks were not dirt at all. The specks were found to be alive and jumping; they were snow fleas. Before reaching for the phone to call exterminators, we must first understand the snow flea. The […] Brains Riley McDonald | January 10, 2023 0 Comments
Brain Post: Why Do Leaves Change Color in the Fall? It was officially the first day of fall this week, which can only mean one thing; winter’s coming! And as the temperatures drop and the seasons change, we get to revel in the beauty of the fall colors. The mixtures of red, purple, orange and yellow are the result of processes that take place in the tree as the seasons […] Brains The Brains | September 22, 2022 2 Comments
The Brain Science Behind Flow States If you’ve ever skied powder or pushed your athletic ability in an action sport – or even played on a sports team – you’ve more than likely experienced a flow state. A flow state is only accessed when you are completely focused and in the zone, often when risk or consequence is involved. It produces a feeling that conquers all […] Brains Martin Kuprianowicz | July 1, 2022 7 Comments
Study Finds Avalanche Victims With Long Burial Times (≥60 Min) Have Only 19% Chance of Survival Surviving an avalanche burial is completely correlated with burial time. As a rule of thumb, the longer someone’s been buried the lower the chance of survival. A recent study has been published where researchers looked at all completely buried avalanche victims with a burial duration of ≥60 min between 1997 and 2018 in Switzerland, and drew conclusions from the retrospective data. […] Avalanche AvyBrains | June 11, 2021 0 Comments
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