Banff (AB), Canada – During my salad days as a bachelor, well-meaning friends would occasionally set me up on blind dates with “someone you’ll really like.” You know the drill; they tell you that she’s beautiful, smart, funny, loves the outdoors, cooks like Mario Batali, has a great career, etc. In fact, their descriptions are … Continue reading Sunshine Village: No One’s Second Fiddle
Pincher Creek (AB), Canada – Prior to 1998-99, only local skiers from the southern Alberta towns of Lethbridge and Pincher Creek patronized Castle Mountain, formerly known as Westcastle Park with its 1,700 vertical feet and 400 acres. In the summer of 1998 Castle purchased a double chair from Sunshine Village and expanded the mountain upward … Continue reading Castle Mountain Revisited, and Other Alberta Skiing
Breckenridge, CO – I was wearing shorts, looking out my home office window at palm trees, when I made the call. “Breckenridge, last weekend of the season,” was all I had to say. I could already picture the scene at the opposite end of the phone line — a guy in business casual, sitting at … Continue reading There’s Something About Breckenridge
Sun Valley, ID – El Niño made for a late start to winter in both the East and many parts of the West in 2006-07. As usual we had our ski trip planned months in advance, and some worry set in as travel dates drew near. Without any bounteous snowfall on the horizon by February, … Continue reading Skiing and Opulence Combine at Sun Valley
Golden (BC), Canada – I really remember just a few snapshots from the collision… a sharp voice shouting from behind me… something big moving from left to right in front of me…and my friend Greg’s hands protecting his face as he watched the spectacle from the passenger seat. It seemed as though we’d tagged the … Continue reading Kicking Horse: Skiing Adventure in the Canadian Rockies
Girdwood, AK – Since the early 1990s, Alaska’s Chugach range has become legendary for long and steep helicopter ski runs in a deep maritime snowpack. Most operators are based in Valdez, and the risk of poor weather and limited visibility leading to repeated no-fly days is well known. I was therefore attracted to Alyeska Resort, … Continue reading North by Northwest: Skiing Alaska’s Alyeska Resort & Chugach Powder Guides
Eden, UT – We stopped at the bottom of the bowl to look back up the hill. Four tracks, just four, stretching skyward for over 1,000 vertical feet…and only four of us standing there to witness our handiwork. That, folks, is the essence of Powder Mountain, a little known deep snow nirvana perched high above … Continue reading Powder Mountain: Skiing Below the Radar