News Stories and Features

Castle Mountain: A Hidden Rhombus

October 2, 2011 11:00 am
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Looking north from Castle Mountain's summit on Gravenstafel Mountain. (photo: FTO/Kevin Gawenus)

Pincher Creek (AB), Canada – The most common form of a rhombus is of course referred to as a diamond, and Castle Mountain is a diamond in so many forms. Unlike the ski resorts located inside the National Parks of Alberta, Castle is instead in a remote narrow valley well south of Calgary and approaching…

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Mount Norquay: The Local’s Hideaway

October 1, 2011 11:00 am
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Looking back toward the Mount Norquay base lodge and the town of Banff. (photo: FTO/Kevin Gawenus)

Banff (AB), Canada – Mount Norquay is not at all what it seems. You look at the trail map and the ski area looks kind of small. You read the stats and see only 190 acres of terrain. I am here to tell you that all of it is just an illusion. This place skis…

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Sunshine Village: Surrounded By The Rockies

September 30, 2011 11:00 am
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The Wawa slopes rise above the Sunshine Mountain Lodge and Sunshine Village ski area's day lodge. (photo: FTO/Kevin Gawenus)

Banff (AB), Canada – Sunshine Village’s base is ever so slightly off the beaten path in a narrow valley just big enough for parking. Beginning there, you board a gondola lift to take you up the mountain to where the skiing is really located. It’s not until you board the upper mountain lifts that you…

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Lake Louise: The Canadian Rockies Alp

September 29, 2011 11:00 am
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Lake Louise Ski Area (photo: Henry Georgi)

Lake Louise (AB), Canada – There are only a few truly huge ski resorts in North America, and Lake Louise is a member of that select crowd. It spans the front south-facing and back north-facing sides of a large mountain as well as a decent portion of a second mountain. Somewhat uniquely, in spite of…

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Banff: Heart of the Canadian Rockies

September 28, 2011 11:00 am
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Evening in downtown Banff (photo: FTO/Kevin Gawenus)

Banff (AB), Canada – Banff. Most folks have heard of it, but it’s also true that the vast majority of people visit here in summer. This makes Banff a good choice for a winter destination during the Canadian Rockies resort town’s relatively slow season. Of all the places to stay in the National Parks of…

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Marmot Basin and Jasper: Growing Into Its Own

September 27, 2011 11:00 am
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Marmot Basin's highest lift, the Knob Chair. (photo: FTO/Kevin Gawenus)

Jasper (AB), Canada – With its location within a National Park, Jasper has a distinct lack of unused mansions in town and a distinct abundance of snowy, jagged peaks surrounding it. And while Marmot basin is a 20-minute drive from town, the commute is actually quite easy as shuttle buses ferry visitors to the slopes…

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Skiing Alberta

September 26, 2011 11:00 am
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The Via Rail station in Jasper. (photo: FTO/Kevin Gawenus)

“And in a Big Country, dreams stay with you” Edmonton (AB), Canada – It’s already the fourth day of my trip to Alberta, and as we drive down the Icefields Parkway through a nearly unimaginable landscape of rugged beauty, my traveling companion is telling me about some crazy dreams he’s been having. The story, in…

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Visiting the U.S. National Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame

July 10, 2011 11:09 am
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A display of old skis on the second floor of the U.S. National Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame in Ishpeming, Mich. (photo: FTO/Kevin Gawenus)

Ishpeming, MI - Located on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the U.S. National Ski & Snowboard Hall of fame is pretty far from just about anywhere. With parameters set on my recent trip to the region that included holidays and family reunions, the prospects of visiting the Museum and Hall of Fame looked rather bleak. But then…

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Paralympic Ski Racers Are Every Bit the Athletes as Their Able-Bodied Counterparts

March 3, 2010 11:22 pm
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Paralympic Ski Racers Are Every Bit the Athletes as Their Able-Bodied Counterparts

Aspen, CO - An odd sounding whirrrrr goes past, and I snap my head around to look. I had just repositioned myself on the race course and was still fiddling with my camera, when out of the corner of my eye I see an athlete whip past me on his way down the course. I…

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