For 25 years, backcountry skiers and the First Nations tribes of Invermere, British Columbia have fought against the development of the 1,500-acre Jumbo Glacier Resort. Now, Patagonia and Sweetgrass Productions are releasing a documentary—titled Jumbo Wild—that tells the story of this ongoing fight in British Columbia’s Purcell Mountains.
Living, Breathing Mountain
In early summer, Aspen-based skiers TJ David and Adam Moszynski hightailed it from the Rockies to the Andes to ski some of Ecuador’s largest—and currently active—volcanoes. In partnership with ASEGIUM, the country’s national guiding program, David and Moszynski took on high altitudes, uncompromising weather and sulfuric acid in their endless pursuit of winter.
Remembering Bela Vadasz: Skier, Guide, Groundbreaker
Ski mountaineer and guide Bela Vadasz died last Tuesday. Outside of California’s Sierra Nevada, many may not know his name, but his impact on the backcountry community stretched far across the world. Vadasz was cofounder of Truckee, Calif.-based Alpine Skills International and was among the first internationally certified American mountain guides. He is survived by his wife, Mimi, and two sons.
Snow Shooter: Fredrik Marmsater
Photography is not Fredrik Marmsater’s first trade. He started out his professional career as a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry researching cancer drugs, but six years ago he left his well-paid position to become a photographer. The transition to photography has entailed a lot of hard work and dedication for Marmsater, but he embraces the challenge of capturing steep lines and difficult angles, knowing that his efforts will pay in beautiful images.
Venture Snowboards Ceases Operations
Silverton, Colo.-based Venture Snowboards has announced it is ceasing operations. On September 3, the company issued a press release about its rocky outlook for the 2015-16 season, explaining that no boards will be delivered to market.
Tides of Change: The snow-sports industry makes plea for climate aid
On Tuesday morning, three big names in the ski industry released a letter to President Obama. In it, Snowsports Industries America, The National Ski Areas Association and Protect Our Winters urged the President to advocate for the reduction in global temperatures at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
Competition or community builder? Chile’s Flux Veho film festival strives for both
At 21 years old, Rafael Pease has already started an international film festival. Pease, who grew up in Farellones, Chile, a small town in the mountains near Santiago, saw a community not capitalizing on its natural and cultural resources. And when he traveled to Boulder to attend the University of Colorado for college it hit him that the ski scene in Chile could share these resources through a grassroots, crowdsourced video contest.
Bruce Tremper retires as longtime Director of the Utah Avalanche Center: Mark Staples to Fill Role
Things are changing at the Utah Avalanche Center (UAC) as Bruce Tremper retires as longtime director. Tremper has been with the UAC since 1986 and is moving on to take time for travel with his wife and focus on helping the nonprofit side of the UAC, Friends of Utah Avalanche Center. Mark Staples will fill the role of director, joining the UAC team from Montana’s Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.
Summer Stashes: HINESBURG SANDPIT, HINESBURG, VERMONT
By this point in the summer, photographs of steep South American couloirs and idyllic New Zealand peaks are probably filtering through your Instagram feed. With sweltering summer heat, you’ve probably admitted defeat, tossed your skis into the closet and traded them in for your mountain bike. But rest assured—there’s still plenty of summer skiing to […]
Old Farmer’s Almanac makes unbelievable predictions: A reliable outlook or wishful thinking?
“Winter will be cold again,” the 2016 Old Farmer’s Almanac, released Monday, boldly claims. This beloved book of astronomy and agriculture forecasts “below-normal temperatures along most of the Atlantic seaboard and in the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest, and southwestern states” in the months to come. If this is true, it’s a welcome foretelling for skiers, but many scientists warn that the Almanac’s forecast must be taken with reservations.
