Latest posts on skiing, snowboarding, and snow science
Sick day, as in ski sickness (aka Häusler’s disease)
Ski sickness is a form of motion sickness that can strike skiers when visibility is poor in fog, whiteout, blizzards, and flat light conditions.
Snow cornice: beautiful but potentially deadly
A mass of overhanging ice or snow, typically found on a ridgetop or edge of a cirque.
Avalanche probe: gear you hope to never use for real
An avalanche probe is a rod that’s used to poke through avalanche debris in order to find a buried victim.
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
What is sastrugi (aka zastrugi)?
Sastrugi is a wind-sculpted snow formation with irregular grooves and/or ridges.
Ski trail ratings: green circles, blue squares, and black diamonds
The green circles, blue squares, and black diamonds that illustrate ski trail ratings were informed by Disney’s work on a proposed ski resort.
