Indy Pass Offering Free Season Pass to Anyone With a ‘Ski Indy’ License Plate For fans of the Indy Pass and the growing movement toward independent ski resorts, there’s now a new way to show your support and get rewarded for it. Say hello to the Indy License Plate Club, an offbeat, fun initiative that gives you a chance to earn a free Indy+ Pass just by sporting the right vanity plate on your […] Industry News Brent Thomas | June 17, 2025 0 Comments
The 7 Biggest Threats to the Future of Skiing and Snowboarding Skiing and snowboarding have long been beloved winter traditions, drawing people to the mountains for both adrenaline and escape. But behind the lifts and powder days, the industry faces serious challenges. Based on community discussions and expert concerns, the future of snow sports depends on how the industry responds to a range of emerging threats, including climate change and cultural […] Industry News Brent Thomas | June 17, 2025 0 Comments
Where Will it Be Deep This Week? These are the Southern Hemisphere’s Top 5 Forecasted Resorts for the Next 10 Days 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, these resorts will receive the most over the next week and beyond, hopefully setting them up for a successful winter. It is still early season […] Weather WeatherBrains | June 14, 2025 0 Comments
The Snowiest Resort From Each U.S. State During the 2024-25 Season As lovers of the sport, we obsess over snowfall totals, and every ski season brings a new set of snowfall stats, with the 2024-25 winter being no exception. While the usual heavy hitters mostly lived up to their reputations, a few unexpected contenders racked up big totals too. We took a look at the snowiest ski resort in each U.S. […] Industry News Brent Thomas | June 11, 2025 0 Comments
The Income Needed to Own a Home in Top U.S. Cities Close to Skiing Skiing and affordable are two words that aren’t generally used in the same sentence. While ski towns across the U.S. are famously expensive, such as Aspen, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, these types of towns generally don’t offer the same career opportunities that larger metro areas do. As a result, many professionals prefer to move to larger cities that offer […] Brains Joseph Kaufmann | June 9, 2025 1 Comment
[PHOTOS] Southern Alps, New Zealand: Major Snow Swipes South Island Pictures from 6 June, 2025 Old Man Winter is struttin’ his stuff along large sections of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Overnight reports tally feet of snow falling at base area elevations, with healthy dollops exciting the locals (plus corking traffic) on the streets of Tekapo and Mt. Cook Village. This is just the beginning. Temps are expected to remain […] Paulie | June 6, 2025 0 Comments
No Poles, No Problems: The Joy of Skiing Like a Snowboarder In January 2019, something ordinary happened that changed how I slide over snow: I forgot my poles. I wasn’t about to rent poles from Mt. Bachelor, so I opted for a poles-free day, thinking I might learn something from the park rats. I never picked up poles again. As it turned out, skiing without poles, I had no problems (and […] Nicky Blumm | June 2, 2025 0 Comments
11 Top Ski Brands and Their Equivalent Automobile Brand Skis can feel a lot like cars, where some brands are built for speed and precision, others for comfort and versatility, and a few are just plain flashy. If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite ski brand would be if it were a car company or what it says about you, you’re not alone. Whether you’re a weekend cruiser or […] Laughs Brent Thomas | June 2, 2025 0 Comments
Eastern Sierra, CA, Report: Steep, Well-Walled, & Short | The Lower Lamarck Lake Chutes Report from May 27, 2025 My last day of backcountry skiing for the season was in the Lower Lamarck Lake Chutes. Lee and I set off at a casual 7:00 a.m. from Mammoth, and we were hiking by around 8:30 a.m. We walked the trail to the lake, then had to route-find around the lake, where we finally encountered snow […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | June 1, 2025 0 Comments
Mammoth Mountain, CA, Report: Memorial Day Weekend Radness! Report from May 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 2025 The past week at Mammoth has been fire. Groomers are good. Wiggles are good, and new ones are forming all the time. Bumps are good. Off-piste skiing is exceptional—especially on Cornice & Chair 23. I’ve been riding my new e-dirt bike to the mountain each day, and it makes every […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
AZ Snow Zone Brings Year-Round Indoor Skiing and Snowboarding to Phoenix, AZ A new kind of snow sport experience has landed in the desert of Arizona, and it is completely indoors. AZ Snow Zone, the nation’s first indoor dry slope facility of its kind, has opened its doors, offering skiers and snowboarders a place to ride throughout the year without needing snow or mountain elevation. Founded by local snowboard enthusiast Joshua Sinclair, […] Industry News Brent Thomas | May 29, 2025 0 Comments
Palisades Tahoe, CA, Report: Going for the D-Spin 720º at 47-Years-Old View this post on Instagram A post shared by SnowBrains (@snowbrains) Report from May 25, 2025 I woke up at 1 am last night and everything was so clear. I’d wake up at 5:45 am, drive to Palisades Tahoe, land the D-Spin 720, and roll back down to Mammoth for Tall Carl’s party. Tahoe had been off the table because […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | May 26, 2025 0 Comments
The Joy of Skiing & Snowboarding with Your Kids For many of us, our passion for skiing and snowboarding began at an early age. Maybe it was when we were a young kid or picked it up in High School or college. Either way, if you have kids or plan to have them, it can dramatically change how you experience and enjoy the mountains. And I’m here to say that […] Brains Brent Thomas | May 26, 2025 0 Comments
Trip Report: 13,994′ Mt. Humphreys, CA | “Northeast Couloir” With A Crew of 9 Report from May 23, 2025 Mt. Humphreys is one of 4 Eastern Sierra peaks on my wedding ring. I’d skied one of the east chutes last year. It was time to go back for the classic Northeast Chute. But I wasn’t alone. We were a huge crew of 9 marauding uphill. 13,996′ Mt. Humphreys “Northeast Couloir” Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | May 26, 2025 0 Comments
The History of the Legendary 10th Mountain Division, The Men Who Started USA’s Ski Industry The 10th Mountain Division in WWII: – Arrived in Italy on January 6th, 1945 & immediately entered combat – Fought in the roughest terrain of Italy during WWII – Saw combat in Cutigliano, Battle of Monte Castello, Monte Della Torraccia-Mount Belvedere, Canolle, Mongiorgio, Torbole and Nago. – 992 killed in action – 4,154 wounded in action […] Brains SnowBrains | May 26, 2025 158 Comments
This ‘Ski Lift Graveyard’ Is More Like a Museum With an Abundance of Alpine History Nestled in the French Alps along a quiet roadside near the town of Taninges lies a strange and beautiful sight: row after row of decommissioned ski lifts. Chairlifts, gondolas, bubbles, and cable cars rest quietly in what looks like an outdoor museum. To the passerby, it is known informally as the ski lift graveyard. But this is no junkyard. It […] Industry News Brent Thomas | May 23, 2025 0 Comments
Sundance Resort, UT, Announces Pivotal Terrain Expansion and New High-Speed Lift In a bold move to elevate its standing in Utah’s competitive ski market, Sundance Resort has confirmed it will add a new high-speed quad lift and significantly expand terrain by the 2026-27 ski season, as reported by The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast. This much-anticipated project, which is centered on Sundance’s highest and best “back mountain” terrain, will add 165 […] Industry News Brent Thomas | May 21, 2025 0 Comments
Trip Report: “South Fork Bowl” – Skiing 3,400-Vertical-Feet on Peak 13,103 in Big Pine, California Report from May 19, 2025 Garrett told us we had to go down to Big Pine and ski Peak 13,103 next to Kid Mountain. He said it was only a 2-mile dirt walk, then snow all the way. What I didn’t realize is that it would be a 3,300-vertical-foot bootpack… Peak 13,103, CA – South Fork Bowl Details Summit (actually […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | May 20, 2025 0 Comments
[PHOTOS] More Snow for New Zealand as Resorts Fire Up Snow Guns Six weeks after the season’s first snow dusted slopes in New Zealand, followed by a dump on May 1, Mother Nature has delivered again, allowing some resorts to begin snowmaking. Opening days are just a couple of weeks away, with Mt. Hutt planning to open on May 31, its earliest opening in 16 years. Related: Mt. Hutt, New Zealand, Announces […] Kiwi Brains | May 19, 2025 0 Comments
The Growth of Skiable Terrain in the Western U.S. Has Been Far Greater Than You Might Think What if I told you that, over the past 30 years, the Western U.S. has effectively added the equivalent of 22 ski areas the size of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort? For most skiers and snowboarders, that would sound like an impossible dream — or at least a wildly optimistic projection. And yet, that’s exactly what has happened across the 11 […] Brains Brent Thomas | May 18, 2025 0 Comments