I pull the igniter out of the zippered pocket of my parka and remove the metal clip with my thumb. Glancing at my partner, I see that she’s watching me, tucked behind the safety of a tree on the ridge. She just threw her first shot as a ski patroller—a 2lb. cover shot thrown onto the slope that allowed me the safety to traverse out here with a larger one. I’d feel better if her shot had done the job, but instead there’s only a dark crater below where I now stand on the steepest part of the slidepath. Explosive residue coats the fresh snow, giving me a little definition in the flat light.
At least there’s that.
The wind has picked up again, and I zip up my open pocket to keep the remainder of my igniters dry. I place the stick of bamboo with two shots taped to it in the snow below me and pull off the rubber nipple at the end of the fuse. Next I place the igniter over the open end. When using explosives to control avalanches, we must follow a precise protocol. These regulations have become routine to me, and my hands perform the duties without much mental input. I just traversed onto this slope and now I must light the fuse and ski to the far side of the path before it goes off. This is tricky business and I am completely focused on the task.
After several weeks of sun and high-pressure the snow has finally returned. Last night’s snowfall has tested the strength of the bonds underneath, and I worry that today might not be a good day to place a large shot by hand. After all, I’m here because I’m expecting to see avalanches. And now I’ve traversed out onto the biggest slidepath on this route. I consider this briefly as my hands pull the string on the igniter.
I pull it off to inspect the fuse. In windy conditions it can be hard to know if the fuse is lit. The igniter itself smokes, but I watch for a second longer, just to be sure. The fuse sputters loudly and more smoke pours out the end.
Ignition
Grabbing my ski poles in the self-arrest position I leave the shot and ski towards the other edge of the bowl, where a shallow cornice separates this slidepath from the next one. Getting caught in an avalanche would be bad enough, but sliding down with a light bomb nearby would be even worse. I’m careful not to disturb the snow too much, willing my body to float across the deep snow to safety.
When I reach the other side, I propel myself over the cornice and back onto the ridge; I look up to see my partner still watching me. We both nod and back ourselves further towards the trees, turning our faces away from the explosive and into the wind. I tuck my chin into the collar of my parka, plug my ears and open my mouth.
The explosive concussion can rupture your eardrums if you’re too close and your mouth is closed. I taped the shot to a stick of bamboo so the explosion happened in the air, not I’m up here today doing avalanche control in order to open this roped-off terrain. We bomb the snow before dropping the gates, hoping to mitigate the avalanche hazard by causing the slides to happen now before the first skier drops in.
My breath echoes in my ears and I wait for the shot to go off. I’m sure it was lit; but it seems longer than the 90-second length of the fuse. I glance at my watch, removing one finger and quickly replace it under my hood. A few more seconds.
A muffled call comes over the radio. Dispatch wants to know when Southback will open. The hard part of my route—the hike up the King—is over, but I’ve only just thrown my first shot. I have eleven more to go.
The shot goes off, pressing a little on my sternum like a thumping finger. I turn toward the slope and slide my skis towards the edge to watch the powder cloud hit the trees below. Impressive results. I shouldn’t let my mind go to there, but it isn’t easy. I had just traversed across that slope, my skis cutting into the snow and weakening the slab.
Today is going to be a busy day. Guests have already started lining up at the chairlift at the bottom of this run, ready to hike out as soon as we drop the ropes. Much of the West has suffered a poor start to the ski season, and guests are ready for fresh snow.
Tightening the straps on my backpack I head towards our next shot and watch my partner ski down to me. We will need to work efficiently along the ridge, dropping shots in all the suspect zones before traversing two more times across the slopes below. Soon, just before the crowds arrive, we will finish our route with a glorious run to the bottom. The snow is sparkling now and patches of blue have opened in the sky. It’s going to be a good day.
They call Finland the “the land of ice and snow”, but I just can’t agree. Right now skiers and snowboarders are riding knee deep powder in several North American resorts, but how is it here in Finland? Well, it has been raining cats and dogs except above Polar Circle. Few resorts are already open, but if you check their webcams you can see just a little bit of snow. Ski season over here begins later due to our climate.
Now what’s the point?
Even though the climate here in nordic countries is not perfect for skiing, I still recommend skiing and traveling in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland. Winter nights above the Polar Circle can be prettty awesome as the northern lights light up the skies.
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere.
In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the northern lights). Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from farther away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the Sun were rising from an unusual direction.
I lived my first 20 years above the Polar Circle, and I’ve seen pretty amazing northern lights. I believe this is one good reason to travel and ski in nordic coutries. Check the videos below and get yourself over here!
“Injuries are part of life. At least they’ve certainly been a part of mine. No one enjoys them, but if you avoided everything that might hurt you, you’d never get out of bed. What you need to do after an injury depends on the injury. Often it is best to work through it, but obviously for a big trauma that’s not the case – you’ve got to do whatever is necessary to heal. Coping with pain, wounds, or other physical setbacks also requires mental strenght. Keeping positive attitude is critical…” – Laird Hamilton, “Force of Nature”
If you do sports you are going to have injuries
Every dedicate outdoor enthusiast (skier, surfer, snowboarder, mountainbiker, climber etc…) will face injuries at some point or many points in their active career. Some may even be very serious ones. You won’t be able to avoid it – it’s a fact. Dislocated shoulders, bent knees, “skier’s thumb”, concussions, muscle/ligament tears, frost bites…you name it, they’re out there just waiting for you. The legendary Laird Hamilton, quoted above, is as good an example as any – this guy has suffered dozens of seriously gnarly crashes and miraculously has recovered from all injuries sustained.
I’ve been lucky with sports accidents so far. One broken ankle, a semi-serious neck “whiplash” from an MTB accident, numerous muscle tears, dodgy right patella (from my mogul skiing days), and many good bruises (again from bike stuff)…a pretty benign list if you were to be making comparisons with a pro athlete.
My injury list may also be somewhat less detailed than others due to my nature: I’ve always considered myself to be relatively risk averse when it comes to action sports, or at least to be calculated or analytical in my approach. All and all I’ve always tried to avoid the most “extreme” stuff. Instead, I kind of like to focus more on the skill side of the sports. You know, pulling that technical move with your bike on the trails, nailing that grab on your 360, fine tuning your tele turn…For me it has never been about the stuff like “wow, did you hear we skied [insert gnarly route's name here]?” but more about the stoke how some turns feel and how somehow (or myself) stomped that floaty cliff jump with a nice move or something similar. No wonder I like things like Nimbus Independent – stuff that’s more about the flow and feel, not just the “difficult level” or pure craziness of the lines, jumps, moves and so on.
Oh the modern day rush to achieve things “right here, right now”
Having said all this, I still need to take care of my physical level to achieve all the things that I like to do, and those that I dream of. As life trundles on and annoyingly I seem to be getting older, I’m increasingly aware that I have to stay in the best possible shape that I can to enable me to continue to play in the outdoors. In the last few years I guess I have become kind of a training freak. I’ve been trying to pack it all in – a family with two young children (and lots of lost sleep), building a business, and trying to keep up with my younger/fitter/those with more free time friends. And I still want to do new stuff – this year I’ve really got into surfing and have managed to surf about 15 times this year – two trips abroad and even one trip here in Finland. Let’s just say that one involved a furious onshore storm, a 6mm wet suit, gloves and boots, and absolutely zero clean rides……not the best!
The physical and mental demands of trying to juggle all of this has probably been a bit too much for my body and mind. Last week I realized that my right arm had become really sore and it seemed that I had some kind of RSI in my right bicep. Eventually the whole arm began to swell, and I started to get seriously concerned about it.
A doctor friend sent me for an ultra sound scan at a local hospital. It turns out I’ve got venous thrombosis near my left clavicle. Damn. I’ve always been terrified of one day really doing myself some damage – tearing a knee, shoulder, ankle, having a head trauma or even a broken back…but something to do with internal diseases? Hell no (not at this age, again….. hell no!)
As it turned out, operating on the thrombosis itself was actually not such a big deal. The whole operation took about an hour – modern medicine really can do wonders. However, I now have to eat so called “blood thinning” pills for about three months, just to make sure that the symptoms doesn’t recur. And most significantly, I can’t do any ‘dangerous’ sports for at least three months. This is because the medicine makes my system more vulnerable to bleeding, bruises, even internal bleeding or serious head trauma. I think I can go skiing with my daughters, teach them at a slow pace but no jumps, serious off-piste skiing, climbing/bouldering, mountain biking or any other activity where there is a high risk of crashes/bruises.
Noone seems to have any idea why this has happened. The doctors were very tentative to make any speculations before the lab test results. It could be genes, body structure and/or maybe other external factors – well, paddling in very cold water with a thick wet suit probably didn’t really help…but it is not by any means the only explanatory factor. Stress, dehydration and (very) tight/stuck muscles in the shoulder area might also be contributory factors (so to all of you skiers, climbers, bikers etc. out there – remember to stretch, seriously!) The irony of all of this is that despite possible genetic factors in my blood or structural problems, all other factors were more than fine (blood pressure, hemoglobin, pulse, cholesterol etc.)
The effect of all of this might somehow restrict my future activities (e.g. long flights might need special care) or might not do any harm at all. The biggest effect of all is that it has stopped me in my tracks and made me think. I’ve questioned just exactly what the hell I was rushing around all over the place for. A start-up business, one small kid that doesn’t sleep and this weird burn to e.g. learn how to surf as quickly as possible. Looking back it’s clear that I was all over the shop, putting far too much pressure on myself and I don’t really know why. So easy with the benefit of hindsight to see that I just needed to chill and give myself some time. Ah hindsight – useful but inherently useless as it doesn’t really change anything right now.
Stay positive dude!
I consider myself to be a relatively sensitive guy and I definitely tend to freak out when contemplating issues like “thinning blood” or “an increased risk of internal bleeding”. But I’m not really freaking out too much. And I’ve at least managed to pull out vaccinating myself everyday (with Klexane medine, first help for thrombosis). I also tend to have this (probably quite naive) theory of using the negative energy and turning it into something more positive. For example, you’re hungover and pissed off…clean the house or do something that you’ve been meaning to do for ages and somehow the negative energy goes away.
The same goes with this freak illness/injury – I’m trying to turn the whole situation into a possibility rather than a hindrance. I mean, now I will have more time to spend with the kids and teach them skiing (it’s fine for me to do easy blue run skiing) or go to do mellow cross country skiing for a change. I am also willing to try things I’ve never done: yoga, pilates or other kinds of core training activities. Long walks (on the beach, heh heh heh) might not be so bad either. I might even (gasp!!) try that “nordic walking” thing. It’s time to enjoy family and friends and take life at a calmer pace. By immersing myself in the small and simple things in life I hope to learn some big and significant lessons and am determined to move forward from this in a positive way. Still bloody annoying though……
When it snows it reigns. But when it doesn’t, well, it’s a bummer. As a ski patroller, my livelihood revolves around the weather, and we rely upon new snow to freshen the slopes and keep the paychecks coming. My home area, Crystal Mountain, while already receiving over 100″ of snow this season, has seen only a flurry of snow in the past 7 days. We have our eyes on a weak storm coming in later this week, keeping our fingers crossed that it covers over the rocks now starting to emerge and the firm bits of old avalanche debris at the bottom of the steeper portions of the runs. But if that storm doesn’t pan out, maybe we all just need to change our perspective.
We have great conditions if you’re a ski racer, or have narrow-waisted skis or just love the groomers. And for this time of year, by all accounts it’s still pretty good.
But we need more snow.
And yet I know I shouldn’t complain. Most ski areas across the States are begging for snow of any kind. Their fingers are crossed for snowmaking temperatures, dreaming of the hard crystalline manmade snow to cover over the rocks and turn the slopes white again. At Crystal have a great base of Mother Nature’s finest. The groomers are fast and the rocks are covered.
So what am I complaining about?
Well, the lack of skiers, for one thing. Reduced guests mean reduced staff, so when the conditions are less than optimal layoffs aren’t too far behind.
Maybe it’s the new ski technology, but ski visits seem to have changed in the past few years. It used to be that regardless of the snow conditions, sunny days were gold. In the winter in Seattle, a day without clouds and mist should be celebrated. Lately, the city has been suffering under low fog while the mountains have enjoyed the inversion with sun and warm temps. So where are all the skiers and riders?
Waiting for powder.
With fat skis and fatter snowboards, all everyone wants these days is deep snow and face shots. While I love fresh snow as much as the next girl, I also enjoy sunny groomer days. I’ll admit it; I like to ski fast.
Granted not when others are around, and not when I’m wearing my ski patrol uniform (that is unless I can confirm rule #1). Put me on an open slope with fresh corduroy and watch me rip. There’s nothing quite as thrilling as letting your skis hook up, riding that edge across the slope, and feeling the crisp, cold air fill your lungs.
Last week I rode the gondola up early for First Tracks breakfast at the Summit House Restaurant. Even with the beautiful sunrise and deeply grooved corduroy, the place was pretty quiet. So after a delicious meal of house-made granola and wild mushroom frittata, I took a run to the other side of the mountain, where I was stationed for the day. Middle Ferks Run, a steep groomer, hadn’t been touched. I reveled in the long radius turns, the early morning light and the sound of fresh corduroy collapsing beneath my skis. It would be a good day.
With everyone waiting for snow deep enough to plow through with their new 110cm-underfoot-reverse-camber-powder-only-skis, the slopes are free for those with a bigger quiver. I was surprised. The slopes remained free of crowds and we ski patrollers worried about our hours. No customers means no hours, and with the make-it-or-break-it holiday weeks arriving soon, we all said a little silent prayer for a change in conditions.
And now we look again at the approaching weather prediction with fingers crossed and hearts tight. If it doesn’t snow this week, well, I don’t want to think about that. We still have plenty of snow, that’s not the problem. It’s the perception of conditions that keep the crowds away.
So do us working folks a favor, find a little joy on the slopes before the holiday crowds arrive. You never know. You just might like it.
Despite the upcoming ski season I’d like to post a few surfing pictures from a recent surf (/family beach holiday) trip to Fuerteventura, Canary Islands.
I think every skier/snowboarder should try surfing at least once in their life. The old saying “snow is only frozen water” just holds so well. Even though the elements differ (ocean&water vs. mountains&snow) the feeling of riding the wave reminds so much powder that it makes you laugh! And the good thing in surfing is once you score perfect conditions there is “powder” to be had in a very continuous manner. The waves just keep coming in perfect sets! Ok, in reality it is not often that easy: there are huge crowds in the line-up, currents, tides, waves closing out, scary reefs, sea urchins and millions of other details that might get you worried. But those things kind of make the whole experience even more appealing – surfing is probably one of the hardest sports to master?
I am a total newbie (“kook” in surf lingo) but here are few pictures from our trip, and couple of words/tips about the spots we surfed. Most of the riders in the pics are local, unknown rippers. For more info check also the linked spot descriptions from Wannasurf.com.
Fuerteventura is a good place to surf if you know what you are doing. Canary Islands in general have the reputation of being the “Hawaii of the Atlantic”. In Fuerteventura this holds especially well. In wintertime powerful north-western swells break into shallow reefs quite near to the shore, often in beautiful crystal clear waters.
For a beginner surfer the above mentioned fact is not necessarily that comforting. Swell size can be large and reefs and rocky points are not that easily approached if you have only surfed couple of mellow beach breaks in your life. The east cost of Island offers better options for less experienced wave riders but are certainly more inconsistent. (It requires couple of days of right NE winds for waves to start breaking or really huge N-NW swell wrapping around the Island’s northernmost tip)
El Cotillo
When we arrived to the Island (Corralejo, in the northernmost part of the Island) the nearby east coast beaches appeared almost flat. We spent one day just swimming and sunbathing there though. I tried some Stand-Up paddle boarding in the mini waves too. Fun experience and what a killer work out!
Anyway we wanted to surf “for real” and got some advice to go check “El Cotillo” beach break on the western shore. So, we rented a car (recommended while on the Island if you want to find the waves) and hit the road…
Wow. I have to say that on the first day on the spot, I didn’t even consider going to the water. Almost a “shore break”, overhead, fast barreling wave, lots of power.The wave breaks so fast that I guess on some days you can describe it the so called “close-out” (meaning the whole wave break at once all the way through the whole beach, making it impossible to surf properly).
Well, it was still very enjoyable to watch this amazing scenery and the “show” of local, talented and experienced surfers. Guys, and a few girls too, were pulling short tubing rides, super fast turns & cut-backs, “lipslides” and even a couple of small airs. Below you find a couple of pictures I managed to shoot.
The East Coast of Fuerteventura
From the village of Corralejo there is a short drive (or long walk) to the beautiful dune beaches. Flag Beach is the first one on the way south. You recognize this beach from the surf school building and the flag poles next to it. Flag beach is only said to be good for SUP and kite/windsurfing. I guess if there is really big winter NW swell wrapping around the northern part of the Island, you might score decent waves even here?
From Flag Beach, just a kilometer or so to the south is the spot called Los Hoteles, which should be ideal for longboards and/or beginners (still some rocks on the bottom though). This spot didn’t break properly during our trip.
After beating ourselves pretty good in El Cotillo for a few days we scored nice, mushy wind swell waves in a beach called “Playa del Morro” (or “Moro“, you saw both spellings). Probably nothing special for an experienced surfer but for us this was a really fun experience. After the tubing or almost closing out waves in Cotillo, I was really stoked to get some clean drop-ins and much longer rides, even some turns, and generally feeling much more relaxed in the water. The wave breaks in a rock reef but it is just so deep (about 180cm or around six feet) that it should worry no-one. After the reef the ride itself is above some sand bottom all the way to the beach. Nice and relatively safe. If you look for more challenge, I guess the point break “El Burro” just to the north of Morro Beach is better option.
Below is a few pictures from Play del Morro. You notice the huge difference in wave shape compared to the above ones!
The North Shore reef breaks
Traveling with family (and friends’ family), it was quite impossible to go exploring the reef breaks. You know, kids like beaches. Barren rocky shores, not that much. The north shore of the Island also lives up to its name – it is definitely not the optimal place for a newbie anyway. However I got few good tips from the locals for the easier reefs/points.
Rocky Point just outside of Corralejo might be ok in some conditions even for relatively inexperienced riders. Boots are recommended though! “Hierro” might be another option but we heard mixed opinions about that. Again, bring boots and respect the locals and local conditions. I guess if you want to really learn, one day you have to check your first real reef or point break anyway? In this trip this didn’t happen to me but I hope maybe some day in the near future…
I just heard to news that Lindsey Vonn is going to divorce. Lindsey and her husband Thomas Vonn have announced that they have begun divorce proceedings. They have been married since 2007. Thomas Vonn, who is a former World Cup racer too, has acted as Lindsey’s chief advisor and assistant in coaching her. According to her statement Lindsey will continue to be coached by the U.S. Ski Team and look forward to competing the rest of the season.
Lindsey Caroline Vonn (1984) is an American alpine ski racer with the U.S. Ski Team. She has won three consecutive overall World Cup and downhill championships (2008, 2009, 2010), the first American woman and third woman ever to accomplish this. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first ever in the event for an American woman. Vonn also won three consecutive World Cup season titles in Super G (the first American woman to do so), and two consecutive titles in the combined.
Vonn is one of five women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing – Downhill, Super G, Giant slalom, Slalom, and Super combined – and, as of October 2011, has won 42 races in her career. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 / 2011), and three overall World Cup titles, Vonn has become the most successful American skier in ski racing history.
Lindsey started skiing at age two. They say that her father Alan Kildow, who had been a national junior skiing champion before a knee injury at 18, “pushed” her very hard. Her hobbies include cycling, tennis and reading.
Oh, and did you know that Lindsey Vonn has a number of merits such as making #59 on Maxim’s Hot 100 list?
Becoming a ski bum was probably my number one goal back in the late 1990s. All I wanted to do was to pack my shit and head to the “European skiing Mecca” – Chamonix. It was in my mind days and nights, and I could just think about doing something else. I didn’t want to spend my youth just like 98% of the youngsters, which means go to work, go shopping, go home, and keep on repeating the cycle every day…
So, back in 1997 I finally landed in Chamonix, and couple of weeks later I found myself skiing some of the classic runs like Glacier Rond. Some guys went even bigger like the north face of L’Aiguille du Midi. I met a lot of fantastic people like Skipe Oivo, Jarkko Henttonen and many others. Together we killed the mountains day after day, we skied chest deep powder, we climbed beautiful mountain faces, and when the weather was bad we drank a ton of beer. It was all perfect, or may be even better.
Today it’s different. As a father and entrepreneur I can’t ski +100 days a year anymore. I just don’t have time enough, and I must prioritize my time. Sometimes I find myself thinking about moving to the mountains just like some of my fellow ski bums, but I made my decision to build my own business, so I stick to my guns. Anyhow, I will always fucking love the ski bum lifestyle.
Talking about ski bumming check the video below. Isn’t that pretty cool? These guys are in their seventies or something, and they keep riding year after year. They ski +100 days a year, which in my mind sounds unbelievable. How many people you know how are older than 60 years and ski +100 days a year? I love these guys. They don’t get bored at home, watch TV and drink beer. They ski until they die. That does not suck. Respect!
When one thinks of extreme skiing there are generally two places that come to mind – Chamonix and Jackson Hole. I am incredibly fortunate to live just 45 minutes from the former but until recently have never been to the jewel in Wyoming’s Stetson, Jackson Hole. I’ve always wanted to of course, what real skier wouldn’t? Like Chamonix, JH is synonymous with legends of the white crystals and therefore kind of symbolises a right of passage for any lover of the steep and deep stuff. As a result when the opportunity to get over there finally came around earlier this year, well let’s just say I was literally linedancing on the spot with excitement.
I’d love to do the British thing and tell you that it didn’t live up to expectations. It’d be typically UK style to build it up then knock it down with nonsense like ‘it doesn’t have the ‘charm’ of the Alps’, that ‘the American enthusiasm is insincere’, that ‘the mountains just don’t compare to Chamonix’, or that ‘that the size of portions are far too big…….blah blah blah. As I said, nonsense.
Skiing in North America and in particular Jackson Hole is truly one of the greatest opportunities that you can ever hope to experience in your mountain life. It’s not about comparisons, whose snow is deeper, whose peaks are higher, whose lifts are faster, whose beer is more expensive etc etc…….It’s about embracing something completely different and that is exactly what Jackson Hole is. It’s a fusion of old and new, it’s progressive as well as rooted in history, it’s the birthplace of extreme ski legends and the current terrain and playground of legends in the making like Sage Cattabriga Alosa and Tanner Hall. It’s real. One minute you can be riding the legendary JH tram standing next to one of the fathers of big mountain skiing, the JH Air Force, and the next you can find yourself inadvertently featuring in the latest edit by the world famous action sports filmmakers Teton Gravity Research. And all you were doing was just having a beer in the Mangy Moose – the après-bar of choice and TGR’s base for beer induced creative brain storming.
We had 2 superb weeks over in Wyoming and from a skiing perspective the overriding memory that I will take with me of the resort itself was just exactly how harsh the terrain actually is. I’m not talking about what lies beyond the ropes which is obviously extreme, but rather the inbound stuff which is also incredibly serious terrain. With hidden cliffs and chutes everywhere, if you know where you’re going it really is extreme recreation, if you don’t……well…..you’d better find out.
There were numerous occasions when shouts of ‘I’m going down here’ were almost immediately followed by ‘don’t go this way’. Unless you’re on a similar skill level to world famous pro riders such as Jeremy Jones or Seth Morrison, let’s just say it’s not really a place to ‘play’. In fact, any amateurish behaviour on the hill and JH will chew you up and spit you out like an angry buffalo. And rightly so, this is the Wild West after all……
These days ski trips about taking a punt – will the snow conditions be good, in fact, will there actually be any snow at all? Will the weather hold out, will the chalet/hotel live up to its trip advisor rating….and so it goes on. For sure if you decide to go to Jackson Hole the stake is even higher. Without doubt it’s one hell of a long journey from the UK and it’s clearly going to cost you a lot more to fly to the West Coast of the States than it is to jump on the orange bun fight express. Having said that though, I honestly think that it’s worth it……and then some.
I’m done with the unpredictable conditions of the Alps, am over the disinterested approach to customer service, and quite frankly hearts, crossed skis, and plates of bubbling cheese are well……a tad cheesy at times. After this trip, I for one would be more than prepared to make Jackson Hole my regular ski destination of choice. In fact I’d go as far as to admit that I’d be totally cool to put hand on heart and swear permanent ski allegiance to the powder gods of North America. Gawd bless Jackson Hole and all her ski in her. I’m off to get a pair of cowboy boots……
Usually we don’t post that much second hand content.
But once in a while you have to make exceptions. I did it last time with 2010 Nipwitz episodes. This time I’ll post two videos. Totally different but both also showing the “fun side” of skiing in a very nice way.
The Earlyups clip totally got me with the cosacs, daffies…and wait, did I see a twister-spread too?
Nipwitz on the other hand is all about very progressive, very high skill-level urban jibs. But still they seem to have that nice “tongue in cheek” mode on all the time. That is a really refreshing take on the ski movies in general…which often can be (I hate to say this) almost boring in their seriousness!
Åre is Scandinavian’s biggest ski resort. For many Swedes it is the holiday destination to go instead of the Alps. One can pretty much state Åre has everything a good resort should have: long season, variable terrain, well maintained slopes for both beginners and expert skiers, several different terrain parks, cozy village and busy, trendy nightlife. Even the vertical drop is not bad – 890m (over 2900 feet). And there is also pretty good off-piste skiing if you know where to look and if the weather happens to be favorable.
Åre also has deep-rooted ski culture. Annual World Cup tour race here is a tradition. One of the world’s best freeskiers, Henrik Windstedt, is born in the nearby small village, Ullådal. Åre is the home mountain for the likes of Sebastian Garhammer, Reine Barkered and Henrik Harlaut to name a few. The mountain and its skiing had also brought us major brands like Peak Performance clothing. In a way, we Finns could admit Åre has everything skiing-wise that Finland doesn’t have…(hate to say that but it is pretty much the truth)
Pics in the article: Petri Kurkiand Antte Lauhamaa (Black Diamond sponsored telemark skier) – thank you guys!
Åre Ski Resort – general resort information
Åre village has a history of tourism and skiing since the 17th century. The first funicular up to the Åreskutan was built in 1910 and first FIS Worldcup race was held in 1969. The Åre village centre has an atmosphere you can compare e.g. to the classic Alp towns like St.Moritz. The village has some 60 restaurants, cafes and nightclubs, and there is no shortage of entertaining nightlife. There are also a wide selection of specalized shops ranging from skiing and outdoors to fancy design stores.
Åre is located in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. There are about 650 kilometers drive from Stockholm to Åre. Taking railway instead of driving is another comfy option. Nearby Östersund town has an airport and straight flights come from at least Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Manchester (read more here). Åre is far away from pretty much everywhere by central European standards but if you are e.g. visiting Sweden for a longer period, the drive isn’t that bad (Note: but if you have kids – prepare to reserve enough time…)
The resort itself is diveded into four different areas: Åre Björnen, Åre, Tegefjäll and Duved. There are about 120 different pistes and over 40 lifts, serving pretty much everything a skier or snowboarder can hope, excluding only very steep alpine style couloir descents. Åre village is the place to stay if you want to be close to all the services,restaurants, cafes, shops and people around. Another option is to rent a cabin/cottage somewhere nearby. Some of the cottages are located very close to the lifts/slopes – in the morning just click into the bindings and you are skiing. Having your own car (or rented car) is a good option but not obligatory if you stay near the lifts.
Skiing in Åre
For a dedicated skier Åre ski resort offer a bit of everything. Only the most hard core steep skiers and seasoned powder hounds may disappoint. There are no huge continuous steeps. And the snow is usually hard and wind-blown. The term “Scandinavian concrete” is often used to describe the typical snowpack in Åre. On the other hand, many Åre based freeskiers state that the variable and cruddy snow is one of the key to their success. Anyway the fact is that low pressures coming from North Atlantic make the wind blow hard from western direction and due to the closeness of the ocean the weather varies a lot, meaning large temperature changes through the season.
If you like to carve well maintained slopes Åre is definately for you. In the high season thousands of skiers hit the same slopes though – be prepared for some moguls and occasional bare / icy / rocky patches. Generally the further you go from the main lifts (just above Åre village) the less crowdy it gets.
For families with children I can highly recommend Åre Björnen on the east side of the area. Cabins and hotels are located basically on the slopes – it is a real “ski in, ski out”. There are tens of slopes and routes designed solely for kids, ranging from “magic carpet ride” for grommets to “mini terrain park” aimed at more skillful kids around 10 years of age. You also have shelters, fire places, child care rooms, restaurants with resting places (for eating your own picnic inside if the weather is bad), children play grounds etc. everywhere. It is not a huge overstatement to say that that the whole Björnen section is designed with families and kids in mind, really good work! Cross country skiing possibilities seemed very nice too and a trend seem to be skiing xc and pulling a kid’s sledge behind you…not bad for a work out and I guess kids enjoyed that too.
The resort has many different parks. The Bräckeparken in the main Åre area is the most famous. If you go to the black line be prepared for some serious airtime…or just to watch a line of very skilled kids hurling from the booters to all possible (spin) directions. Beat watching ski flicks on your sofa for sure! The red line is not bad either (and suits better for a middle aged office rat like me).
When the conditions are on, the off-piste skiing in Åre is not bad at all. There are very nice tree runs all over. For longer routes check out e.g. lines: backside of “Åreskutan” or “Östra Ravinen“, and be outfitted with normal avy gear and knowledge, or hire a guide, which is always recommended. If you happen to be on Facebook, check our Åre’s page and their update of March 24th. The pictures on this article show pretty ok conditions too, these shots are from exceptionally good 2005-2006 season when it snowed steadily through the whole winter.
