If you want to understand what makes Atomic such a unique and innovative force in the ski world, you have to go to where it all started. So, this past winter, that鈥檚 what we did.

As part of its 70th anniversary celebration, Atomic invited ski-industry friends and partners to Altenmarkt鈥攖he small Austrian town where the brand was born. There were factory tours and late-night parties and, by day, endless turns at Flachau and Zauchensee, just above town. After a few days, the celebration moved up the valley to Saalbach for the World Cup races. But before the festivities were through, media and ski shop dealers had come to see Atomic鈥檚 story in sharper relief: a company rooted in place, passion, and precision. To understand how it all began, we have to go back to 1955.

That was the year Alois Rohrmoser began handcrafting wooden skis in a small workshop in his Austrian village鈥攖he start of what would become Atomic. He had a simple goal: make better skis. He and his family were passionate skiers, and Rohrmoser鈥檚 training as a wheelwright gave him essential woodworking expertise for the challenge. It was a humble beginning that first year. He produced 40 pairs of skis, but word quickly spread that these skis were different. Better.

As the legend grew, demand for Rohrmoser鈥檚 skis increased, but he kept production local to ensure he could make more and more skis without sacrificing craftsmanship. Seventy years later, is now the world鈥檚 largest ski manufacturer, making 400,000 pairs of skis annually. Remarkably, it still does so in the Austrian Alps, just five kilometers from that original workshop.

Today, Atomic鈥檚 global headquarters in Altenmarkt does way more than just make skis. It鈥檚 the center of the entire company鈥檚 operations. Design, engineering, R&D, and manufacturing all occur in the same building, enabling ideas to transition from the CAD screen to the factory floor for testing within days. The headquarters sits in the Pongau region of Salzburg, and those resorts just above town are home to iconic World Cup venues that have shaped Austrian skiing for decades. For Atomic鈥檚 engineers, testing conditions aren鈥檛 a flight away鈥攖hey鈥檙e right outside the door. 鈥淚f we make a prototype in the morning, we can be testing it on snow that afternoon,鈥� one Atomic engineer in Altenmarkt told us during a visit to Austria this past winter.

Atomic鈥檚 commitment to innovation at the highest level is legendary. Countless Atomic skiers have podiumed at the World Cup, the X Games, the Freeride World Tour, and more. It鈥檚 why legendary pros like Mikaela Shiffrin have partnered with the brand for virtually their entire careers. Of course, all those performance-driven designs are then deployed across Atomic鈥檚 line, which is a point of pride for the brand: It cares just as much about making high-performing all-mountain skis as it does GS boards.

This kind of sustained innovation is rare, because so many brands get distracted as they grow. Not Atomic. Its singular focus is skiing. Alpine, touring, cross-country. Skis, boots, accessories. That鈥檚 it. The company employs 1,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in the Pongau region, and they鈥檙e all obsessed with skiing.

厂耻蝉迟补颈苍补产颈濒颈迟测听

As a skier, you understand that the sport is inextricably connected to the environment: the mountains, the weather, the snowpack. You can鈥檛 care about the sport and not care about protecting the planet. That鈥檚 why Atomic has reassessed every aspect of the manufacturing process to reduce its environmental impact. Using a science-based approach, the brand scrutinizes materials, design, building process, and life cycle. At Atomic鈥檚 annual Climate Summit, the company brings competitors together to tackle shared challenges. The result is a pragmatic environmentalism that elevates best practices across the industry, reshaping the way ski companies do business.

As we learned during one of our tours, the Altenmarkt headquarters runs entirely on renewable energy. Excess heat from ski production is recycled to warm the facility itself鈥攁 closed-loop system that reflects Atomic鈥檚 science-driven approach to sustainability.

This commitment shows up in their products in other measurable ways, too. Take the new , for example. To make these freeride skis, Atomic blends more wood and metal with less fiberglass and resin, reducing materials-based CO2-equivalent emissions by up to 24 percent.

Next Gen

A brand does not remain an industry leader for 70 years by sticking with the status quo. Atomic has always looked to the future, and that includes collaborating with the most exciting young athletes. Exhibit A: Atomic鈥檚 . The program supports junior athletes through monthly calls with pro skiers, gear support, and mentorship鈥攃reating a direct line between the next generation and today鈥檚 leaders.

The Pipeline Project also collects product feedback from these junior athletes, which helps Atomic refine and improve its youth ski designs. That means young skiers are using gear that truly meets their needs, and Atomic鈥檚 designers always have a finger on the pulse of the sport and a more authentic connection to skiing鈥檚 evolving needs. If you鈥檙e wondering what the future of the sport actually looks like鈥攁nd what their favorite snacks are鈥攁ll you have to do is spend a few minutes scrolling through the Pipeline Project鈥檚 team bios.

滨苍苍辞惫补迟颈辞苍听

Inside Altenmarkt HQ, one thing that immediately struck us: The atmosphere feels more workshop than corporate. Technicians debate flex profiles over espresso before heading down the road to take a few ski runs. From designers to machinists, everyone spends time on snow, keeping product ideas grounded in real skiing. That connection extends across continents. Three product managers from North America now call Austria home, bringing valuable market insight directly into HQ. They cover women鈥檚 all-mountain, alpine, and touring ski boots, as well as the overall boot business unit, helping ensure products resonate with skiers on both sides of the Atlantic. As one product manager told us, 鈥淲hen we create something new, there are things we want to improve. But we also have to keep what鈥檚 working and not [mess] it up.鈥�

Many of Atomic鈥檚 World Cup athletes stop by Altenmarkt between race weekends for fittings and feedback sessions. With design, race service, and production under one roof, adjustments can be made overnight鈥攁 direct link between the racecourse and the skis heading to consumers. 鈥淓ven with all the machines, every ski still passes through human hands,鈥� a technician on the production line proudly told us.

The results speak for themselves. From designing the world鈥檚 first powder ski to the first automatically adjusting ski binding, Atomic has a proven track record of innovation. Most recently, that legacy has produced the aforementioned Maverick and Maven line of freeride skis, which embody all of Atomic鈥檚 core values: sustainability, authenticity, and innovation.

For its women-specific Maven line, Atomic relied on testing and feedback from women across North America. The groups were managed by Val Kechian, now the global product manager for women鈥檚 alpine ski in Altenmarkt. In the process, she helped identify a need for a slightly narrower all-mountain waist-width than the previous industry standard. Thus, the was born. The unisex is slightly wider, but it shares the same basic construction and attributes.

In both models, a poplar and ash wood core makes it responsive and intuitive. Layers of titanal dampen vibration and give it that stuck-to-the-snow feeling, and carbon adds strength without excess weight. The result is a ski that is balanced and stable, with enough backbone for the experts yet enough forgiveness for intermediates. All of this comes in a waist-width that can suck up bumps, carve on groomers, and thanks to a unique tip that increases surface area for improved float, surf through a bit of boot-top fluff.

For women who live in places where soft snow is the norm (lucky you), Atomic created the 94 CTI鈥檚 bigger sister, the , which brings the same balance to a wider platform. This ski is an ideal one-ski quiver for western resorts that boast big annual snowfalls, and yet when high pressure prevails, it happily trenches the corduroy. It鈥檚 a hard-charger for those who really know how to drive 鈥檈m, but its freeride spirit makes it happy to cruise around and take in the views, too. It鈥檚 as dynamic as it is energetic, making it incredibly versatile for a wide range of abilities.

And then there鈥檚 the widest ski in either line, the unisex , which brings Freeride World Tour鈥損roven performance to those ready to push their boundaries. The latest iteration earned a award from SKI magazine, and freeride phenom Craig Murray used the Maverick 115 while winning last season鈥檚 Natural Selection. Again, metal and carbon work together here to create a ski with a rounder, more consistent flex pattern, while a wood core makes it stable, responsive, and balanced. Yep, the 115 is the go-to when the faucet鈥檚 turned on and the trees are begging for tracks.

The Next 70 Years

As Atomic celebrates 70 years, it remains laser-focused on the next chapter. From its Austrian headquarters to its North American base in Ogden, Utah, the company continues to evolve while staying true to its values: craftsmanship, innovation, and a deep love of skiing.

Walking through the Altenmarkt factory, it鈥檚 easy to see how those values endure. Engineers talk about flex patterns the way artists talk about light; machinists know the lineage of every mold and ski by heart. Even after seven decades, Atomic鈥檚 work still feels like a conversation with the mountains just outside its doors.

In an industry driven by trends, Atomic has carved a different path鈥攊nnovation informed by heritage, sustainability driven by science, and products built to last. Seventy years later, just down the road from where it all began, the company still holds fast to a simple idea: Atomic is skiing.

Headquartered in Altenmarkt, Austria, Atomic is the largest ski manufacturer in the world. In the heart of the Alps, the company has been developing and producing technologies for alpine, racing, ski touring, and cross-country skiing for more than 70 years. ATOMIC Austria GmbH is part of the Amer Group and employs around 750 people. As a market leader in quality and technological innovation, the company sells its products worldwide in 49 countries. With its passion for skiing, the brand aims to create a better experience for skiers of all skill levels. For more information visit .

The post Inside the Austrian Factory That鈥檚 Been Perfecting Skis for 70 Years appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Before moving to France from California in 2023, my ski style could have best been described as 鈥渁ggressive American,鈥� an unfortunate byproduct of early performance-based coaching, later shaped by a preoccupation with vertical tracking. Even at five years old, snowplowing between my dad鈥檚 skis down the lightest blues at Utah’s聽 Ski Resort, I understood that, in the U.S., skiing was a sport, and mountains were for conquering.

I鈥檝e since skied with instructors across the country鈥攁nd in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, where the goal was also to get down as quickly as possible just to do it all again. But it wasn鈥檛 until I got my first taste of skiing 脿 la fran莽aise that I realized I may have been going about things all wrong.

I arrived solo in the south part of France’s Les Trois Vall茅es鈥攖he world鈥檚 largest interconnected ski area鈥攋ust a few months after settling my family in Paris. Here,聽I hired a guide from 脡cole du Ski Fran莽ais (ESF), a French ski school that operates in ski resorts across the country, to help me navigate the seven resorts.

What I didn鈥檛 anticipate was how that 68-year-old Frenchman would soon change nearly everything about how鈥攁nd why鈥擨 ski.

I met Gilles at the base of the resort Les Menuires, my bindings locked in and ready to go. Gilles, on the other hand, hadn鈥檛 finished his bonjours. In schools and offices throughout France, the day doesn鈥檛 begin until every person has been greeted individually; a head nod won鈥檛 suffice. Gilles had just entered his “office” and apparently knew everyone. He introduced me to colleagues he鈥檇 known for decades, and we waved to his son on his way to a ski competition. Immediately, the mountain felt more like a community than any resort I had skied before, and, instead of frustration toward the late start, I felt鈥et in.

The conditions worsened as we rode higher in the enclosed gondola, and, despite my innate American urge to mention the weather or ask about his boots, Gilles鈥� interest in me and what brought me to Les Trois Vall茅es drove the conversation. A few more bonjours at the top, and we were off, my mental checklist in motion as I made sure I looked the part while he observed my skiing from behind. Arms positioned. Check. Ankles flexed. Check. Chest squared. Check.

I raced down to our meeting point, hoping he鈥檇 see I was a strong enough skier to take on lesser-known runs, but instead he just smiled and offered me a small piece of chocolate he鈥檇 been storing in his jacket.

No talk of form.

No critiques.

No tweaks.

鈥淚n America, we ski with protein bars,鈥� I laughed and popped the chocolate into my mouth. 鈥淭hen we don鈥檛 have to stop for lunch.鈥�

鈥淲hy don鈥檛 you eat lunch?鈥� Gilles asked, genuinely concerned that anyone would miss out on the pleasure of a long meal.

I tried to explain how some people stop for a quick burger or chowder, but most American skiers I knew go hard for as long as possible, and then go just as hard for just as long during apr猫s. I changed the subject and asked if he had any pointers for me, remembering he had skied competitively and taught lessons.

鈥淚 would say, try not to be so stiff,鈥� he offered. 鈥淟ower your arms and relax a bit, then just feel the mountain beneath you. Enjoy its spirit.鈥�

My surprise was visible. I was used to words like 鈥渆ngage,鈥� 鈥渢ighten,鈥� and 鈥渇lex,鈥� but鈥︹�渞elax?鈥� 鈥淪pirit?!鈥�

He introduced me to , where just the tiniest pressure from my foot could change my direction if I let myself move with the snow and not force myself through it.

I accepted another piece of chocolate and let it melt in my mouth while he launched first for the next run. His style was striking. His turns were tight, but he moved with a natural confidence that just made it all seem so effortless. Also, he genuinely seemed to be having a blast.

鈥淔eel the mountain,鈥� I replayed in my head, deciding to give his advice a shot. I lowered my arms and let the packed snow beneath me determine my turns. Then an amazing thing happened. It worked. I felt relaxed yet completely in control. I let my skis guide me as I took in the mountain instead of rushing down it, breathing in the sweet smell of spruce as I wound through the trees and smiling as I landed side hits with an uncanny softness.

We paused to take in the scenery or talk with other skiers, and the more I relaxed and tried to feel the snow beneath me, the better I skied. I used to believe that my form would get me where I needed to go, and, after just a short morning with Gilles, I realized it was a joint effort: form and mountain.

鈥�Quel plaisir!鈥� [What a pleasure!] Gilles sighed as we popped our bindings off and made our way to the nearby Au Tor猫 restaurant in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville for lunch.

And that鈥檚 when it hit me. In France, skiing isn鈥檛 just a sport; it鈥檚 the entire mountain experience. The snow, the relationships, the scenery, the wine, the chocolate, the 鈥渟pirit of the mountain.鈥� All of it, a plaisir.

The post What We Can Learn About Skiing from the French appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Ski mountaineer Christina Lustenberger has completed some of the most harrowing descents in history: Pakistan’s Trango Towers, Mount Cook/Aoraki in New Zealand, and the south face of Mount Robson in British Columbia, among others. Lustenberger, 41, describes what it’s like to ski a slope with deadly steepness.听

I was skiing a classic freeride line on Cheops Mountain in Rogers Pass, British Columbia. It had a series of steep ramps above a tight and constricted area between rocks.

I did a few giant slalom turns at the top to control my speed, and then skied through the constriction. The snow at the bottom of it was much deeper than the snow at the top, and the change in depth caught me by surprise. My tips immediately dug into the deeper snow, and I did two full somersaults. The whole time I was crashing, I was thinking about the cliff band below me, and whether or not I’d fall over it. Luckily, I stopped. That was probably the closest call I’ve ever had.

The “No Fall Zone” as I define it, is terrain where the steepness and exposure is so dangerous that falling will either be fatal, or cause life-changing injuries. When you are skiing this type of terrain, you have to be extremely calculated with your decision-making and even every movement of your body. You have to analyze a wide range of external factors that can harm you, such as the surface of the snow and the potential for avalanches. When you’re in the No Fall Zone, you’re always trying to stay ahead of danger.

There’s a lot of preparation that goes into skiing these lines, and my partner, Gee Pierrel, and I do a lot of homework. We track the snowpack and weather conditions for sometimes years, months, and then days leading up to a trip. We climb the line and assess the snow, and make mental notes about where it changes. We analyze our gear.

I do a lot of preemptive mental preparation to visualize the terrain and the conditions so that I don’t get surprised. I ask myself: What time will I be skiing? What will the conditions feel like? The scariest moments are when I am shocked by something I hadn’t thought through. When things start to go sideways, you can feel the loss of control very quickly.

What I focus on during the actual skiing depends a lot on the snow. The line we skied on Mount Cook/Aoraki in New Zealand had an extremely firm snow surface. It was basically ice. All of my mental engagement went into my ski edges, one turn to the next. There was no room for mental distractions. But because the snow was so firm, it eliminated the need to think about other hazards like a . Instead, I was just focusing on making sure every turn was exactly where it needed to be on the mountain. Then, I focused on the rappel points.

When we are skiing terrain with softer snow, my focus goes into the stability of the snow and whether or not there is surface movement. When you ski soft snow, you can kick up a sluff avalanche, and when it gets going down the mountain, it can hit you. It doesn’t take much force for sluff to buck you off of your feet. When I’m skiing these lines, I’m always asking myself, Where聽is the sluff? Am I to the right or the left of it? Where will it run?聽You can’t afford to get pushed around by falling snow when you are skiing terrain with extremely steep exposure.

When you’re skiing in the No Fall Zone, you’re essentially trying to stay in control in an uncontrollable environment. You can only do the best of your ability, given your training and equipment selection, and preparation. At the end of the day, there is still a huge amount of risk that you accept, and the consequences you are nudging up against. And if this suits your personality, then it is fair game.

The more time you ski this type of terrain, the more chances that something bad will happen. You lose friends. You witness accidents. I’m not ignorant of聽the risks I’m taking on. It weighs on me, but I still feel the drive and purpose to ski these lines and engage with the risk.

There is also fun and a feeling of thrill. I loved the feeling on Mount Cook of the mountain testing every skill that I’ve accumulated throughout my career. I could engage with the mountain and push back on it. When you come out on the other side of an experience like that, it is thrilling and extremely fulfilling.

There is also a rhythmic dance during the skiing that is part of a special mind-body connection. Even when you’re just skiing at the resort your mind is so engaged with where the next turn is going to be. You are thinking, Am I going too fast? Too slow?聽The dance between your thoughts and your body, no matter where you are skiing, is the same.

My crash on Rogers Pass was in 2015. After I crashed, I got back up and skied to the side of the cliff. I took a few minutes and got my composure, and finished the line. I don’t take near-misses lightly. I debriefed with the skiers I was with, and also with myself. I asked myself, How would I have done things differently?聽

It’s been ten years, but I’ve continued to reflect on that moment. It was a line I had already skied five or six times. It was familiar. When you start to have positive engagement with a line, you start to feel more comfortable. You spend that much time on a knife edge, you get accustomed to the exposure. I’ve realized that is when you can become complacent.

Skiing in the No Fall Zone over and over, you can feel this confidence grow. But I truly believe that there is no place for too much confidence or too much ego in this type of terrain. You always have to enter it being humble, knowing that you can always lose control.

As told to Frederick Dreier. This interview was edited for length and clarity.听

The post What It鈥檚 Like to Ski in the No Fall Zone appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

When life gives you poop, make鈥now? At least, that鈥檚 what one ski resort in Montana is planning to do.

, with over 5,800 skiable acres, announced that it will be the first public ski area in the state to convert treated water into skiable snow. The Ikon Pass mountain follows a similar sustainable snowmaking initiative put forth by the Yellowstone Club, a private, invitation-only ski community in Big Sky whose guest list includes the likes of Bill Gates, Justine Timberlake, and Jessica Alba.

According to Big Sky Resort, there are more than a dozen other ski areas across eight states that use recycled water for snowmaking. Ski resorts in Canada, Switzerland, and Australia are doing the same.

Big Sky Resort told 国产吃瓜黑料 that the project will be built out in two phases, the first of which will use up to 23 million gallons of recycled water each year from Big Sky鈥檚 new state-of-the-art water treatment facility, which produces the highest reclaimed water classification recognized by the State of Montana.鈥� The Spanish Peaks Mountain Club, a private residential club at the resort, will create a base layer of snow on the Spirit and Andesite Mountains. Passholders can access these areas through two public lifts, Southern Comfort and Sacajawea. During the second phase, up to 44 million gallons of water will be used each year from the broader Big Sky community.

Supporters of the initiative say the move will help聽fill in the gaps where natural snow is not available.

鈥淲e are seeing less snowpack each year, and I have heard from several ski areas across Montana that are also interested in this technology. I am hopeful recycled snowmaking will become the standard practice someday in our headwater state,鈥� said Rich Chandler, vice president of Environmental Operations for Lone Mountain Land Company, which owns Spanish Peaks Mountain Club, in a statement emailed to 国产吃瓜黑料.听

Other environmental groups, including Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, have also written letters in support of the project.

Daniel Roditis (Lil鈥� Dan, to his friends) is a lift maintenance technician at Big Sky with ten years of experience in the industry. He says that the transition is a 鈥渨ell-timed, sincere initiative that finds common ground.鈥�

鈥淎 cumulative 65 million gallons of water isn鈥檛 just water under the bridge, even for America鈥檚 most skiable acreage,鈥� said Roditis. 鈥淚鈥檝e personally worked in the reclaimed snow here at the club as a snowmaker鈥攖here is no perceivable difference in snow quality whatsoever.鈥�

鈥淚t passes everything but the taste test,鈥� said Roditis. All jokes aside, the water doesn鈥檛 actually taste or smell like poop.

That鈥檚 because the used water undergoes an extensive reclaimation process. Since 2012, snowmaking has been an approved use of reclaimed water, according to a statement Big Sky Resort sent to聽国产吃瓜黑料. The state regulates the snowmaking process using recycled water to a higher standard than traditional snowmaking processes.

And if you鈥檙e wondering whether this means it鈥檚 OK to do your dirty business off-trail, the answer is: No.

“We’re skiing blues and blacks here, not browns. Help us keep it that way,” said Roditis.

The post This Montana Ski Resort Just Joined a List of Other Mountains Making Snow From Reclaimed Wastewater appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

A snowboarder in Rollins Pass outside of Denver, Colorado, snapped his ankle after a 100-foot fall down a steep snowfield. First responders safely evacuated the 27-year-old in what the聽Grand County Search and Rescue (GCSAR) described as a “dangerous and difficult rescue鈥� on September 8.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) wrote in an that a distress call came in at 2:25 P.M. notifying first responders that an individual had suffered serious injuries on Skyscraper, a permanent snowfield in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, north of Rollins Pass. Located on the Continental Divide, this feature has an elevation of around 12,000 feet.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

鈥淭he patient, a 27-year-old male, was initiating a snowboard descent of the glacier when he fell, sliding and tumbling approximately 100 feet down the snowfield,鈥� said the BSCO. He eventually came to rest in a bergschrund, a deep crevasse that forms at the head of a glacier.

Professional and volunteer rescuers from a variety of local organizations mobilized to assist the fallen snowboarder. That afternoon, a helicopter inserted a team of rescuers onto a ridgeline above the snowfield. By 5:45 P.M., members of the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group聽had reached the patient and provided medical care.

Using a pulley system, personnel performed a technical rescue at approximately 150 feet up the 45- to 50-degree snow slope, GCSAR wrote in a . The team then hauled the snowboarder up a short, steep section of loose rock to a landing zone. Here, a MedEvac helicopter flying with night vision goggles airlifted the snowboarder off the mountain. Responding organizations reported that the mission was concluded shortly after midnight.

“This mission demonstrates comprehensive collaboration between Boulder and Grand first responders to complete a dangerous and difficult rescue. As always, there is no charge for search and rescue in Colorado,” wrote GCSAR.

In most of the United States, search and rescue services are provided by volunteers free of charge. But some counties are exploring ways to penalize outdoors enthusiasts who require rescue if their behavior is deemed negligent or irresponsible.

Some social media users questioned the validity of free rescue聽policies in scenarios that could have been avoided. In response, GCSAR from the Colorado Search and聽Rescue Organization that explains the sources of funding for the state鈥檚 volunteer backcountry search and rescue teams, and links to another page focusing on the philosophy behind .

鈥淟aw enforcement organizations don鈥檛 charge when a child goes missing in a city. The Coast Guard doesn鈥檛 charge when they respond to a boat accident. FEMA doesn鈥檛 charge when a building collapses. Why should backcountry search and rescue be any different?鈥� wrote the Colorado Search and Rescue Association in its blog post.

The National Association for Search and Rescue echoed this sentiment, “to eliminate the fear of being unable to pay for having one鈥檚 life saved, SAR services should be rendered to persons in danger or distress without subsequent cost recovery from the person(s) assisted unless prior arrangements have been made.”

Recreationalists in Colorado can also purchase a state , which donates a portion of funds to volunteer teams.

The post Responders Rescue Pre-Season Snowboarder Who Fell 100 Feet Down a Colorado Mountain appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

In a ski industry era dominated by acquisitions and the slow-but-steady march of conglomerates like Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company, it鈥檚 easy to assume the next resort to change hands will be swept into another megapass portfolio. But today鈥檚 news? It flips the script. The town of Nederland, Colorado鈥攑opulation 1,500鈥攊s buying Eldora Mountain from POWDR.

Watch: This Is What Makes Eldora Mountain Special

Yes, you read that right.

This isn鈥檛 a buyout by billionaires or an expansion move by the big guys. It鈥檚 a tiny mountain town, just 30 minutes outside Boulder, purchasing a beloved local hill from one of the biggest players in the U.S. ski game. Eldora will soon be owned and operated by the people who call the mountain home. It will also be the first Colorado ski area sold from a conglomerate to an independent entity since the mid-鈥�90s.

Here鈥檚 what we know:

The Deal

The purchase, which was announced on July 8, is expected to be finalized by early October. POWDR, which has owned Eldora since 2016, will stick around to support operations for the next two seasons, while the town transitions into ownership with help from 303 Ski, a team of seasoned Colorado ski industry veterans.

Current Eldora staff, around 700 people, will remain employed under new management (the town itself). And most important for locals? The purchase won鈥檛 cost taxpayers a dime鈥擭ederland is financing the deal through municipal revenue bonds backed solely by the resort鈥檚 own earnings. 鈥淭he revenue bonds will not be backed by local tax dollars. This avoids risk to the taxpayers,鈥� the release stated, later noting that, 鈥淩evenue bonds tied to Eldora鈥檚 earnings (lift tickets, Ikon payments, food, rentals) will cover the cost.鈥�

The purchase price is confidential and was not disclosed in the release.

The Ikon Connection

Eldora will stay on the Ikon Pass indefinitely, with the town release noting that 鈥淚kon sales provide a stable revenue stream and keeping that as a part of the funding is essential to the financing plan.鈥�

(Eldora was one of the original mountains on the Ikon Pass when the pass first launched in 2018.)

What鈥檚 Next?

The big buzz on forums like the r/Boulder subreddit on Reddit is that the town will turn the ski slopes into a summer bike park, adding another source of revenue. The July 8 press release hinted as much, stating that 鈥淲e hope to add summer programming in the near future,鈥� and noting that they plan 鈥渢o turn Eldora into a year-round, community-driven asset-expanding recreation, sparking local jobs and outdoor industries.鈥�

Nederland鈥檚 purchase of Eldora isn鈥檛 just a local headline鈥攊t鈥檚 a bold, defiant move for the soul of skiing, arriving at a moment when many skiers are growing weary of the corporate grip on the industry. One Redditor, u/These_Drama4494, summed it up well, calling the news a 鈥渇irst ski resort W for the people I鈥檝e heard of in a while.鈥�

Public meetings and Eldora employee town halls will be held regularly, and questions can be directed to townadmin@nederlandco.org.

The post This Colorado Town Just Bought Its Ski Area From Corporate Ownership appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Apparently, one of the trickiest parts of negotiating the ski slopes on a large dose of psychedelic mushrooms is 鈥渒nowing which end of the lift the mountain part is on.鈥�

鈥淚 was so confused about when to get off the 鈥榝lying seat鈥�,鈥� explained the snowboarder regaling his buddy about a recent six-gram day.

聽 聽 聽 聽Also Read: Jim Harris Was Paralyzed. Then He Ate Magic Mushrooms.

From what I heard of the rest of the story (before the three of us had to get off the 鈥渇lying seat鈥� ourselves), his trip greatly improved once he felt safe in the trees where he 鈥渂ecame the snow鈥� and met a squirrel who bore a striking resemblance to his dead grandpa. 鈥漈hey had the exact same eyebrows!鈥�

As I watched him strap on his board at the top, I was distracted by the question of whether or not squirrels have eyebrows. But by the time he slid away, the big question hit me: Wait, people are on the slopes while tripping on six grams?

With Colorado voters approving psilocybin (the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms) for personal use in 2022, I should have expected people to try adding a shroom trip to their ski trip. But although psychedelics and skiing have proven to be the two most helpful ways to manage my PTSD, I would never combine the two鈥攁nd certainly not at a six-gram dosage. By comparison, during a therapeutic trip of that magnitude, I wasn鈥檛 able to get even an arm out of my sleeping bag to reach my water bottle for three hours.

Some extoll the joy and beauty of taking a smaller amount of 鈥渕ushies鈥� (anywhere from .1 to 2 grams) and 鈥渕icroshredding.鈥� While I鈥檓 not your mother, I鈥檓 about to do a pretty good impression. When it comes to psychedelics on the slopes, make good choices. I would advise against shroomskiing not just because you could get in trouble and it鈥檚 not safe (both of which are true), but because there is a pretty good chance it won鈥檛 be all that much fun.

Let鈥檚 start with the small print. Yes, magic mushrooms are legal in my home state. In fact, growing, possessing, and sharing psilocybin are all allowed if you are 21 or older. However, ski resorts operate on federal land, where shrooms (and weed for that matter) are still illegal.

Operating under a 鈥淗ealers, Not Dealers鈥� model, Colorado prohibits the selling or buying of mushrooms. So if you don鈥檛 have a generous friend growing fungi under a heat-lamp in her closet (and I don鈥檛, so please don鈥檛 fill my inbox with requests), then things get more complicated.

That said, there is a provision in the law that allows administration of psilocybin for 鈥渉arm reduction services.鈥� Entrepreneurs are pushing the boundaries of the new law like skiers scouting the sidecountry for lines on a powder day. At a mushroom 鈥渃o-op鈥� or 鈥渃lub,鈥� people can pay as little as $30 for a consultation session and leave with four grams of blue-veined psychedelic fungi.

In other words, a motivated individual could likely get their mittens on some shrooms and hit the slopes. But should they?

鈥淵ou鈥檒l always have some wildly irresponsible people,鈥� said Sean McAllister, a Denver attorney specializing in psychedelic law. 鈥淏ut the majority of people know this [psilocybin] has a serious level of impairment. It鈥檚 not like cannabis or alcohol, where with a low dose you can do some activities. You don鈥檛 want to be out in the real world walking around, or God forbid skiing.鈥�

Although Colorado resorts aren鈥檛 reporting any shroom-related incidents, they are leary of the possibility.

鈥淲hen you think about it, the possible negative outcomes are endless,鈥� said Sarah Beatty, a spokesperson for Colorado Ski Country USA, the non-profit trade association representing 21 Colorado resorts. 鈥淣ot only could you hurt yourself, but there are other people out there on the mountain who didn鈥檛 agree to be a part of the experience you鈥檙e having.鈥�

聽 聽 聽 聽Related: I Was Traumatized After an Accident. Then I Tried Ketamine Therapy.

Because of the myriad of variables in the mushrooms + skiing equation, you yourself might not have signed up for the experience you end up having. Unlike beer, with its regulated level of alcohol content, the potency of shrooms varies in different strains and even different batches.

Psilocybin also picks up on your mindset and setting, and amplifies what鈥檚 going on in your head, the vibe of the people around you, and your environment.

Think of your favorite run and how dramatically different it is depending on the temperature, time of day, snow conditions, whether the sun鈥檚 out, how many people are on it鈥攊t can feel like a different run every time.

It鈥檚 the same with psilocybin. On a macrodose (vaguely defined as one gram and up), you will likely have several different trips within the same trip. I know I do. My PTSD comes from when he was 15 and I was 12. I take mushrooms in a reverential way with experienced guides to help me deal with what comes up. I鈥檓 blindfolded to keep my focus inward and safely tucked in a sleeping bag.

It鈥檚 in the liminal space mushrooms create where I find my brother. Psilocybin doesn鈥檛 make you see things that aren鈥檛 there as much as it lets you feel things that no longer are. One minute, Mark and I are lying on our backs in a sunny meadow of wildflowers while he tells me how proud he is of me, and seconds later, we are back in the hallway outside our bedrooms where he said goodbye to me. I still feel the warmth of his hug and think this time I can stop him. When I realize it鈥檚 too late, the grief is so strong I couldn鈥檛 stand if I wanted to.

So, no, macrodosing is not something I want to experience on my skis.

As for the difference between a macro and a micro dose, I think it was best summed up by Carter Antebi, a Mammoth skier who gets in about 75 days a season.

鈥�10/10 would do again,鈥� the 22-year-old wrote in a forum addressing the topic on Newschoolers.com. 鈥淒efinitely a micro tho, I鈥檓 not tryna have an ego death or temporary psychosis on the mountain. Gotta save that stuff for home.鈥�

When I reached out to him for this story, Antebi cautioned that anyone considering skiing on shrooms best be an experienced skier and know how they react on mushrooms.

鈥淚 make sure that I鈥檓 feeling good about myself and that the environment is right,鈥� Antebi said. 鈥淚t makes the day more fun, more meaningful. I feel a strong connection to the mountain and my skiing.鈥�

After all, microdosing is a steroid for nature appreciation. It can make a single tree, or even a single leaf on that tree, the most beautiful thing you鈥檝e ever seen. And while losing yourself in nature is a lovely experience, I don鈥檛 want to do it while the lifts are running.

The good news is you can tap into the magic of natural medicine without being on anything but snow. Next ski day, go in the trees, sit still and simply receive whatever nature has to offer. And if you happen to notice whether or not squirrels have eyebrows, let us know.

The post Psilocybin Helps My PTSD鈥擝ut I Won鈥檛 Mix Mushrooms With Skiing appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

When Mali Noyes got on the phone with me on April 17, she was spent. Her exhaustion, miraculously, wasn鈥檛 from the physical effort of her latest project: skiing every line in the famous Utah backcountry聽skiing guidebook The Chuting Gallery, by Andrew Mclean, as fast as possible; she was frazzled by the mental toll of exposing herself to hazards and dangerous terrain day in and day out.

“The mental fatigue is so intense that it鈥檚 hard to wrap my head around,” Noyes told聽国产吃瓜黑料.

Noyes, 35, works as a pro re nata nurse (an on-call schedule) at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. After clocking out of a shift on Tuesday, March 11, she began her skiing objective鈥攚hich she calls “Project Rapid Fire”鈥攅arly the next morning.

Noyes skinned up Broad Fork in Big Cottonwood Canyon and skied down the east face of Twin Peak, followed by the Stairs Gulch. The standout lines were highlights due to the beautiful exposed skiing, and massive vertical drop down the gulch. She immediately began ticking off technical, steep, and hazardous ski descents up and down the Wasatch mountain range. When we spoke, she had skied 77 lines in 37 days, including just seven rest days.

鈥淭he crux for me hasn鈥檛 been the vert,鈥� Noyes told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淢y brain has been doing so much decision making day after day, skiing objective hazards. I feel a little trapped in the process.鈥�

The Chuting Gallery was published in 1998 while McLean was working as an engineer at Black Diamond. The book has become the quintessential document of the Utah backcountry skiing scene, and anyone who skis every descent in the book cements their name in ski history. Caroline Gleich was catapulted into the spotlight after becoming the first woman to ski every line in the book. The book details 90 of the hardest backcountry ski lines in the Wasatch Mountains that loom over Salt Lake City. Many skiers argue over the final number of chutes, since the book often describes areas that are home to multiple couloirs. Noyes has determined her number to be 93.

“Andrew McLean鈥檚 writing and book captured my imagination,鈥� Gleich told Backcountry magazine. 鈥淚t gave me a roadmap to becoming a ski mountaineer. His quirky book became a shaping force in my career, and I鈥檓 grateful for his leadership and vision in writing The Chuting Gallery.鈥�

Noyes’ idea to ski all 93 lines in succession was born during the 2023 winter, when Utah received over 900 inches of snow. 鈥淚 was having so much fun skiing big objectives, and I started linking up more and more of them at once,鈥� Noyes said. Also a professional big mountain skier, Noyes began her athletic career as a Nordic ski racer. 鈥淚 just love long days, and the logistical and strategic challenge of skiing all 93 couloirs in The Chuting Gallery in record time excited me.鈥�

Prior to launching her project, Noyes shared the idea聽with fellow professional backcountry skier聽Cody Townsend, who is her mentor and teammate on the Salomon backcountry team. She told Townsend she was waiting for the right year for this project. Noyes wanted all the snow conditions to align perfectly. Some of the聽Chuting Gallery ski lines descend rocky and exposed terrain, and require a deep snowpack to be skiable.

But Townsend told her she鈥檇 never find the perfect year, and that she should take on the challenge as soon as possible. 鈥淚t鈥檚 through the suffering and bad snow conditions that you make the experience your own,鈥� he said to Noyes.

The March 12 start date was less than ideal. Noyes started so late in the season because she was waiting for avalanche danger in the Wasatch to subside. The late start didn鈥檛 hamper her early in her mission, but as she kept ticking off chutes and March rolled into April, the remaining ski descents melted quickly.

Many of these ski lines are clustered in the same drainages, but while in years past Noyes has been able to complete multiple descents in a day, this year, the hot April sun shortened the windows during which those couloirs would be safe from wet avalanches. This means that Noyes has only been able to ski one or two of those chutes in a day. She has had to repeatedly bushwack and hike far into gullies that on a different year she鈥檇 only have to visit once.

鈥淎 week ago I slipped in a creek on the way to the Y-Couloir in Little Cottonwood Canyon. I broke down and began to cry,鈥� Noyes said. 鈥淚 wondered if I still loved skiing, and why I was skiing this shitty snow over here instead of great snow elsewhere because of this list.鈥�

But Noyes has a new strategy to deal with the mental crux. 鈥淓very time I scream and tell myself 鈥業 fucking hate this,鈥� I鈥檝e tricked my brain into saying 鈥業鈥檓 really fucking good at this.鈥欌�� And she is. Noah Howell, a legendary Wasatch skier, took 13 years to complete the guidebook. Caroline Gleich skied every line in The Chuting Gallery over the course of four years. Noyes is on track to finish out the book in less than two months.

She鈥檚 had great days, like when she linked three lines on Kesler Peak in Big Cottonwood Canyon in stable powder. 鈥淚t was a 10,000-foot day with a good crew and great snow,鈥� Noyes said. She owns a home nestled聽in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and hasn鈥檛 explored the neighboring canyon enough. She told 国产吃瓜黑料 that this project has been an amazing way to branch out of her skiing bubble. Noyes also skied the Great White Icicle鈥攁 popular ice climb that is in the book as a novelty and is often skied on rappel鈥攐n snowblades at night. Noyes jokingly called that a first descent of its kind.

But it hasn鈥檛 been all bluebird powder days. 鈥淚 had a week where I had three close calls in four days,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat felt like it broke my brain a little, like 鈥業 have to keep going back into these mountains that are trying to kill me.鈥欌��

Her least favorite day of the project so far was when she skied Lisa Falls with New Zealand pro skier Sam Smoothy. The ski line is at a relatively low elevation, and the very top of it commonly avalanches and collects windblown snow. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a complicated 5,000-foot approach, and the second the sun hits the face it can shed,鈥� she said. Noyes and Smoothy began at 2 A.M., planning to climb the line, ski it, and climb it again to link up with faces on the other side of the peak. But Smoothy didn鈥檛 feel well that day and they were moving slower than they wanted. Sunlight hit the face when they were climbing and the couloir heated up quickly. 鈥淚t was way more danger than I ever wanted to put myself in,鈥� she said. The skiers were able to descend safely, but they saw many natural avalanches on their way out of the canyon.

Her latest lines have looked the hardest, as a melting snowpack has revealed multiple rappels with sketchy-looking anchors in the middle of the couloirs that are sometimes fully skiable. 鈥淩opes slow things down, and they can create other hazards鈥� Noyes told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淭wo days after Lisa Falls, I went into Hogum Fork to ski a line called Montgomery, which had a rappel at the bottom. But we couldn鈥檛 find an anchor, and it took so long that the snow heated up and started shedding.鈥�

Noyes lamented that if she hadn鈥檛 been chasing this project, she would never have been in that spot. But she said days like that provide good teachable moments. She鈥檚 been getting up even earlier, often at 1 A.M. to beat the heat.

Risk to life and limb is just one aspect of her stress. Noyes told 国产吃瓜黑料 that her cat, Beater, has been a source of concern. After a coyote ate a neighbor鈥檚 cat, Beater hasn鈥檛 been allowed out at night. But at 1 A.M., Noyes isn鈥檛 always alert enough to stop him from slipping out of the door. 鈥淗e鈥檇 snuck out the night we left for Lisa Falls, and I鈥檇 be lying if I said he wasn鈥檛 adding to the pure stress I felt that day,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 saw him dashing into the woods, and all I could do was tell him, 鈥楳ake good choices, bud.鈥欌��

When asked about how she鈥檚 been able to maintain her motivation throughout the challenge, Noyes is quick to credit the large group of friends, most of whom are professional skiers, who have rallied to ski these couloirs with her. 鈥淪kiing is not an individual sport,鈥� Noyes told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a Mali project, it鈥檚 a community project.鈥�

Noyes has to work a minimum of two days a month at the Huntsman Institute to fulfill her contract. She鈥檚 hoping to finish Project Rapid Fire with enough time to clock back in for two days in April.

Update: Mali Noyes completed her 93rd and final line on April 27, completing聽The Chuting Gallery聽in just 47 days.

The post This Nurse Just Skied Utah鈥檚 Hardest Descents in Record Time appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

To those who have already hung up their skis for the season now that winter is officially over鈥攜ou鈥檙e missing the good stuff. April is a great time to hit the resort and enjoy soft turns in spring corn, short lift lines, and end-of-season closing festivities.

Watch: How to Choose a Line in the Bumps

That said, hitting the sweet spot with springtime conditions can be a challenge when the snowpack enters a melt-freeze cycle. Too early in the day, and those slushy bumps are glazed over and filled with death cookies. Too late, and you might as well be skiing through real mashed potatoes. When it comes to spring skiing, timing is everything.

Luke Toritto, a fully-certified PSIA ski instructor at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, is well acquainted with the mixed bag of snow conditions that spring skiing can hold. 鈥淏ut when you can time it right and ski soft groomers in the morning and slushy, playful bumps in the afternoon, that鈥檚 the best,鈥� he says.

Working as a ski instructor for over a decade, Toritto has fine-tuned his strategy for optimizing soft, forgiving turns in the spring. Here, he shares his tips for how to make the most out of the end of the season.

Come in with a different mindset

While winter resort days are usually about sniffing out the best powder stashes on the hill, springtime is a good time to be more strategic. According to Toritto, step one of spring resort skiing is changing your mindset. 鈥淢idwinter, you can sometimes come to the resort and bank on getting good skiing the whole day in cold snow. But in the spring you have to look for a window here and a window there,鈥� he says. 鈥淪pring skiing is less about charging hard all day and more about having fun and celebrating the season.鈥� For Toritto, spring turns are like a bonus, icing on the cake to a successful season. It鈥檚 a time to relax, enjoy a sunny lunch on the deck, and wrap up the day with live music.

Know your aspects

Slope aspect is everything with spring skiing, and getting familiar with the aspects of some of your favorite runs will help you time them. In the northern hemisphere, north-facing slopes are the most shaded, often holding dry, cold snow when the rest of the solar aspects are heating up. South and east aspects get the most sun, and will be most susceptible to big temperature fluctuations. Toritto says in the spring he鈥檒l often stick to north-facing aspects earlier in the day, until the sun softens the south and east aspects. Midday, south and east slopes can ski really well, until they鈥檝e gotten too blasted by the sun by late afternoon.

Related:

Work your way up the mountain

Elevation can play another key role in choosing terrain. At most resorts, where temperatures are higher at the base and colder up high, starting low and working up higher throughout the day as it warms can be a good strategy. When the corn gets slushy and grabby down low, head to the upper mountain for cooler temps. It鈥檚 worth checking your local resort for temperatures at different elevation bands (often the resort website will list a base and summit temperature) to check if that鈥檚 the case. Resorts like Jackson Hole often have temperature inversions, so some days it pays to start up high where it鈥檚 warmer.

Check the grooming report

Many resorts put out a daily grooming report, a trick that Toritto uses to determine where to start his day in the morning. 鈥淚t鈥檚 worth checking what got groomed overnight and what was groomed in the morning,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nything groomed in the morning tends to be softer and smoother than the snow that was groomed overnight, which can set up to be weird and chunky.鈥�

Quit early

Yeah, you read that right. When temps are rising into the 40s throughout the day, don鈥檛 get lured into skiing until last chair. Grabby and sloppy conditions at the end of the day can be challenging, but also dangerous. Toritto says he鈥檒l often call it at 2 p.m. if it鈥檚 getting too warm. 鈥淎 lot of injuries happen late in the day in sloppy, heavy snow. Keeping an eye on the snow and how your body feels can keep you from getting hurt,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat might be the best time to enjoy some beers in the sun and catch live music at the base.鈥�

Ski the East

Again, you read that right. While it鈥檚 hard to compare the midwinter skiing in the Rockies to anything out east, Toritto firmly believes the East Coast corn skiing rivals the West. Toritto has noticed that man-made snow, which is prevalent at , corns up more easily and he鈥檚 found East Coast corn snow to be more smooth and consistent compared to the West鈥檚 more complex snow conditions. 鈥淒on鈥檛 underestimate the East Coast, especially in the spring,鈥� Toritto concludes.

The post 6 Tips For Finding and Skiing the Best Spring Snow appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The sun had set by the time I reached the top of the skin track on Earthquake Dome, a popular backcountry skiing zone near my home in Mammoth Lakes, California, and I hadn鈥檛 packed a headlamp. It was a February evening and I鈥檇 driven ten minutes from my home in town to ski an after-work lap. I鈥檇 overestimated my speed and underestimated the low winter sun, and now I was transitioning a pair of uniquely shaped skis鈥攕o rockered they looked like a banana鈥攆or their first ever lap downhill. I couldn鈥檛 see a thing and just prayed I wouldn’t slip and take a pratfall like in a cartoon.

A few weeks earlier I sat on a Zoom call with Xan Marshland, the co-founder of WNDR Alpine. Marshland had wanted me to test the Intention 108, the Salt Lake City-based brand鈥檚 flagship ski made partially with stringers of an algae-derived plastic. Very few ski manufacturers put polyurethane (i.e. plastic) in skis right now, typically opting for combinations of wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and aluminum alloys. But polyurethane is an engineered material, meaning ski makers can tune its stiffness, rebound, and vibration damping properties to make the ski do exactly what they want. And only WNDR’s plastic is fully renewable. Marshland believes that not only does the algae make WNDR’s skis eco-friendlier, but it also makes them perform better. 鈥淚n the mountains, materials matter,鈥� he told me.

I鈥檝e tested skis for a living for the last five years, and I have long been skeptical of space-age and eco-friendly materials being responsible for marked increases in performance. But as I’ve spent more and more time on the WNDR Intention 108, it has turned into my favorite ski ever made.

Unfortunately, the future of WNDR Alpine is unknown at this time. The company recently put all of their skis and snowboards on clearance and seem to have sold the entirety of their backstock. Marshland told me that the brand has some prospective buyers in the wings, but did not offer specifics. It seems that, without a fresh infusion of cash, WNDR Alpine may fold entirely. I, for one, hope the brand finds a new home and continues to be a driving force of innovation and sustainability in skiing.

How Does WNDR’s Algae-Based Plastic Affect Ski Performance?

Standing atop Earthquake Dome that night and clicking into the skis, it was time for the algae-based plastic to hit the snow. (People say that, right?) I let my headlamp-equipped fianc茅e lead, figuring I could follow her light through the maze of tight trees back to the car. I followed, skiing by the faint, quickly-receding glow of white鈥攎y only guide. After getting used to the ample rocker (e.g. after a few tumbles in the dark) I began to increase my speed and feel what Marshland had described on our call in the ski鈥檚 construction. The Intention 108 was remarkably damp, the polyurethane in its core muting the vibrations that should have been transmitted to my body from the firm and choppy snow that had been sitting for a few weeks since the last storm.

As I began to ski the WNDR Intention 108 more and more in the coming weeks, I realized that the plastic was the secret sauce鈥攖hat it was sustainably sourced was just icing on the cake. Think of it like a ski boot. Heavier ski boots designed for expert skiers, and ski racers in particular, are made from a heavy polyurethane that is formulated to produce a smooth, progressive flex when a skier drives their shins into it. That flex then rebounds, popping a skier into their next turn. This ski had the exact same feeling鈥攖he dampness, the stability, and, when pushed, the return of energy that drew me across the fall line.

Why I Love Skiing the WNDR Intention 108

Since that first tour, I鈥檝e been skiing the WNDR Intention 108 whenever I can. Though I mounted them with a lightweight pin binding for backcountry skiing, I often ski them at the resort when the snow is soft. I鈥檝e traveled with the Intention 108 to Canada for my bachelor party at RED Mountain Resort, I鈥檝e skied waist-deep powder, bulletproof wind-crusted snow, and even rappelled with them into a 55-degree couloir with dubious sun-crusted ice. With its substantial weight, I could see putting a hybrid binding like the or ATK Hy Free on it and skiing it both in and out of bounds.

I鈥檝e skied many hundreds of different pairs of skis in my life, but the Intention 108 is hands-down my favorite. I trust it high in the mountains, deep in the backcountry, and in a variety of snow conditions. I ski more bad snow than good, and these skis are not just dependable鈥攖hey鈥檙e so much fun.

You can tame the loose, unlocked feel of the Intention 108’s full rocker shape聽by putting the ski on edge, or聽聽fully embrace it by skiing it on a flat base.听In steep terrain with firm snow鈥攖he conditions many experts will tell you necessitate having camber under your feet鈥攖he Intention 108 can pivot and slide, making it easy to hop turn down sketchy stuff.听The full rocker profile also makes the Intention 108 is easy to ski in moguls and聽air off the slightest bump or takeoff. It even carves surprisingly well for its width and lack of traditional camber. I鈥檝e never ridden a ski that possessed such mind-boggling versatility.

An obvious sticking point for a lot of skiers will be the Intention 108’s weight. In a 188 centimeter length, this ski weighs 2,000 grams. That’s a lot for most skiers to lug uphill, but WNDR doesn’t bill the Intention 108 as a dedicated backcountry ski. If your average day in the mountains has you clocking more than 3,000 to 4,000 feet of elevation gain, you may want to consider a lighter ski.

But for me, with a lightweight tech binding (a ) and a medium-weight AT boot (the ), I find that I don’t start to drag below 4,000 vertical feet. Even on huge days in the backcountry, the ski’s weight can be advantageous鈥攐n long tours in the high alpine you often encounter all sorts of weird and difficult snow textures; the Intention’s weight can help mellow out rough conditions.

I wish more ski manufacturers would consider putting polyurethane in their products. Regardless of the sustainability, which is awesome, they鈥檙e just more predictable than twitchy, carbon-filled backcountry skis, or even solid-wood core alpine skis. WNDR’s algae-based plastics and resins replace toxic glues and petroleum products in their skis, leading to a ski that’s both easier to recycle and less harmful if it ever does end up in a landfill.

Granted, skiers who prioritize edge hold in nasty snow will want to opt for a cambered ski. Those skiers are in luck: the Intention 108 also comes in a cambered shape.

Making Skis More Sustainably

WNDR made a move last year to make their Intention 108 in the Sideways Sports (SWS) factory in Dubai. The idea was to bring their algae oil technology, developed by WNDR’s parent company, Checkerspot, to a facility that also makes snowboards for Arbor, Jones, and Liquid Force. Once the factory knows how to use the microalgae-oil plastic, they can use it in other brands’ products.

I have mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand, making their product in a facility that uses 100-percent green energy is a huge win. And I’m hugely supportive of the sharing of ideas that could make the snowsports industry less harmful to the environment. The SWS factory also has the capability to produce a binding plate made from the factory’s own reclaimed waste that is 35 percent stronger than the industry standard. That means fewer bindings rip out of skis, and fewer skis end up in the dumpster.

That said, making skis in Dubai鈥攆ar away from the snowsports world鈥攙astly increases product shipping distances, requiring more fuel and energy. Dubai also has a suspect history with labor rights and safety standards that shouldn鈥檛 be overlooked. My greenwashing (and ) antennae tend to prick up when I hear of sustainability and the United Arab Emirates, but I leave that for the reader to parse.

That said, I am certain that WNDR Alpine is good for the ski industry. Though its future is uncertain, I hope the company finds a competent buyer and continues to push skiing forward. In the meantime, you can find me high in the alpine through the summer months with the Intention 108 under my feet.

The post I’ve Tested Hundreds of Skis, But this Ski Made from Algae Is My All-Time Favorite appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.