Latest posts on skiing, snowboarding, and snow science
Wolfpack: your posse on a powder day
A wolfpack is a group of friends, usually guys, who ski or ride together, similar to a posse.
What is sastrugi (aka zastrugi)?
Sastrugi is a wind-sculpted snow formation with irregular grooves and/or ridges.
Snow cornice: beautiful but potentially deadly
A mass of overhanging ice or snow, typically found on a ridgetop or edge of a cirque.
Face shot: powder nirvana and a staple of ski porn
What is a face shot? A face shot occurs when snow sprays a skier or snowboarder’s face on a powder day. The snow must be deep and light enough (e.g., blower, Champagne Powder®) and the rider must have sufficient speed to elevate the snow to face level. I took the shot above with a GoPro camera attached to the end of my ski pole. I was skiing the Mine Dump trail at Copper Mountain and found the tops of the moguls to be
Powder fever meets poo-phoria: “I love big dumps”
“I love big dumps” is a slang saying among skiers and snowboarders who think a massive snowfall is as pleasurable as taking a big poop.
Balaclava: essential winter gear since the Crimean War
The balaclava face mask is essential gear if you ski or snowboard and the origin of the word has nothing to do with a Greek dessert.