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Latest posts on skiing, snowboarding, and snow science

A is for Albedo
Albedo is a measure of the fraction of solar energy that is reflected from a surface.

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.

No friends on a powder day
Forget the posse and ditch your bros: if it’s nuking and you want first tracks, you better remember there are no friends on powder days.

Alpenglow: fire on the mountain
Learn the origin, meaning, and cause of alpenglow, a rosy hue seen on mountains around sunrise and sunset.

Snow cornice: beautiful but potentially deadly
A mass of overhanging ice or snow, typically found on a ridgetop or edge of a cirque.

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.