Last week the California State Senate passed a bill that would require ski resorts document their safety plan and then make those reports publically available on their websites. A similar bill was vetoed last year, the only difference was that the prior bill also required ski resorts to put padding on lift towers. Ski resorts [ more... ]

At the base of the tallest mountain in Europe, Russia’s 18,510-foot Mt. Elbrus, there are scores of empty lifts, half-built hotels, security cameras, and panic buttons. You’ll also encounter police checkpoints, pot-holed roads, and a billboard that shows the earth in flames and warns “Terrorism is a threat to humanity.” What, this doesn’t sound like [ more... ]

At the World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler one prize is reserved for a film shot within seven days, featuring at least one skier and snowboarder, and combining video from different regions of Whistler. This year Leo Zuckerman won with Restless, it features a voiceover we’ve heard a few other times on popular videos this year. A great short video, and a genius marketing move for Whistler; they get to add some fantastic footage to the video/marketing library in exchange for a cash prize.

via Ski Journal

Heavenly Valley Ski Resort in California recently paid a $120,000 fine for waste violations mostly related to used oil. It seems they failed to have their used oil tank inspected, maintain a secondary tank, train people on what to do in the event of an emergency, and lacked the means to prevent spillage on their [ more... ]

The bulk of in-bounds ski deaths in Colorado occur on blue runs after the skier loses control and hits a tree. The Denver Post audit looks at the last 59 ski resort deaths and found that of them 80% were skiers while the remainder made up snowboarders. Of the 59 who died in the last [ more... ]

It’s tough to get a better seat to near disaster. A duo was climbing the Canale Holzer, a classic step line in the Dolomites favored by adventurous skiers. These two happened to be sitting at the top getting ready to drop in when it broke, and they caught it on film and had a nice laugh. At least now they know it’s clear to ski.

Frenchman Antoine Boisselier shuttles to some difficult-to-reach slopes in St. Hilaire du Touvet using his paraglider, the poor man’s version of heli skiing when touring’s not an option. It takes three hours of flying with a somewhat sketchy flight plan, but they made it. The latest installment of Salomon Freeski TV in the Belledonne Mountains.

Next ski season you’ll be able to pay $350 to get two lift tickets at each of the mountains in the Mountain Collective: Aspen, Jackson Hole, Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows, and now Whistler, Mammoth, and Alta/Snowbird. Beyond the two passes at each resort, you get 50% off lift tickets with no blackout days (drinking 6 Uinta [ more... ]

A massive stretch of more than 1,000 acres in Vermont’s Green Mountain are for sale, and the Vermont Land Trust is trying to raise $1,850,000 to ensure it stays protected and free to use for backcountry skiers. The stretch shares a boarder with the Mount Mansfield State Forest and includes a 300-mile ski trail that [ more... ]

It’s hard to tell who’s really at fault in this video since you can’t see the ski patroller until he blasts in from outside of the frame. You can tell the ‘troller is running on some serious adrenaline. “You want to ski here the rest of the day? You sure about that?” In either case, the ski patrol guy comes off as a bit of a dick to the very apologetic guy he hi, though he does thank this veteran for his service when he walks away. Also…the video is over at about 1:30…not worth watching after that.