A-Basin names lift-to-be, and it’s not Quadzilla

As announced in December, Arapahoe Basin is replacing the 32-year-old Exhibition triple chair in its first high-speed quad this summer. The resort decided to name it with a contest and got some interesting ideas from the peanut gallery. We have a winner…

Silverton: Land of the endless vertical

Cross one off. At the beginning of the year, I wrote a five things to do this year list. The number one thing to do was ski Silverton, and that goal has finally been achieved. Let me just say, it’s all it’s been promised to be and more…

Colorado Head-to-Toe: Smartwool snowboard socks, layers

In my mission to piece together head-to-toe snowboarding gear sourced from Colorado companies showing their wares at the SIA Snow Show, one stop was a no-brainer: Steamboat Springs-based Smartwool is my pick for socks, base layers, and mid-layers. The Merino wool in these products comes from New Zealand, mostly, so…

There’s Crested Butte, and everywhere else

On Day two of my “Follow the snow tour,” I traveled to Crested Butte. This was the second time I skied at the Butte, and the same feeling struck me: The Butte is a skier’s mountain. Other places may try to claim it, but the Butte is the real deal…

Skiing vs. Snowboarding: A history

This guy Mike Douglas throws down the gauntlet in favor of skiing in the old skiing vs. snowboarding debate. (Wasn’t that settled at the Tahoe Accords back in ought-three?) He does it by throwing a bunch of skiing history in people’s faces, claiming it’s “the original adrenaline sport.”There’s the requisite…

Shaun White bashes brain, wins third title anyway

Nobody ever said snowboarders need brains to win, but Shaun White gives us new, compelling scientific evidence to back this up. On a practice run Friday in Aspen, he mistimed his most difficult trick (a 1260 Double McTwist — anybody want to translate that from Riderese?) and smacked his skull…

Backcountry skier falls into hole in earth

More Ski >> We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this video of a backcountry skier exhibiting some of the worst luck and some of the best in the very same death-defying jump…

What’s safer: Skiing or snowboarding?

Would you rather hurt your knee or your wrist on the slopes? If you’re still undecided on whether you want to spend the rest of your life as a skier or snowboarder, you might want to ask yourself that question. Just as you might think, skiers tend to have more…

Gear you want but don’t need: Top five at SIA edition

The Snow Show has traded the Colorado Convention Center for the slopes at Winter Park, and the demo orgy is now in full swing. On the convention floor, unnecessary but super-sweet gear was in bountiful supply, including the Zipfy sled profiled in this space a few weeks back. (I bought…

SIA Show roundup: What moved us

Saturday brought snowsports fans out in force to the Colorado Convention Center for Day 3 of the SIA show, while Sunday had a much more relaxed atmosphere. Plenty of cool toys were on display, and buzzwords abounded throughout the weekend…

Turning 80, Frisco super-skier still tearing up the corduroy

Summit Daily News columnist Miles F. Porter IV opened with a shout-out to Jay Brossman for his 80th birthday on Sunday, and I wanted to second the notion.I briefly met Jay after getting onto his chair on the Lift 2 reload at Loveland last spring and our conversation sticks out…

Sneaker Treats: Shoe Shine 4.0 Exhibit

Lo and behold: The blessed union between sneaker geeks and snow sports aficionados has finally hit the honeymoon hotness in Saturday’s Shoe Shine 4.0 Winter Sports Edition exhibit at Andenken Gallery. Since the snow boot is Colorado’s winter sneaker of choice, the shindig (hosted by PULSEarts) is going down as…

SIA Show: Braving the booths on Opening Day

Braving the downtown parking prices, I hit opening of the Snowsports Industries of America show at the Colorado Convention Center. Hordes and hordes of exhibitors were on the main floor of the show, including several local Colorado companies.While the après-ski show parties haven’t really gotten into full swing yet, drink…