It’s easy to get distracted and let your attention shift away from skiing in March and April, but you’d be dead wrong to do that. Personally, spring is my favorite time of year to get out on the snow – it’s like a sweet reward for all of those painfully cold days we suffered through in December and January.

March and April are two of the best skiing months in both the Northeast and West, hands down. The holiday crowds are all but gone, the prices are far lower, and while you shouldn’t count on a big dump at the end of March, skiing in nothing but a base layer on a decent day isn’t a bad tradeoff. But what to wear? Here’s a roundup of our favorite spring skiing pieces in 2010.

Spring Skiing: Shells & Tops

The North Face Men’s Firewatch Jacket
$74 at Moosejaw.com
One of the best things about spring skiing is the liberating feeling of leaving your insulated jacket behind. Even on cooler days in the spring, you can often get by with just a baselayer and a light, water-resistant shell like the TNF Firewatch Jacket. This ultra-light, 100% polyester shell features a tough DWR coating to keep moisture out, and is just enough wind protection when the sun isn’t shining, but temps are still mild.

Arc’Teryx Gamma LT Pullover
$99 at Moosejaw.com
This is the hallmark spring skiing piece – an ultra lightweight, quasi-softshell top that’s really a baselayer in disguise. The Arc’Teryx Gamma LT is comprised of a technical, weather resistant face fabric that can shed a few raindrops and provides some wind protection, but is highly breathable and form fitting.

Spring Ski Gloves

REI Minimalist Gloves
$34, REI.com
Gloves are a tough call on a spring day – when it’s really warm out, they can feel restrictive, but it’s scary to head out without a pair. The REI minimalist gloves are the solution to this problem. This ultralight shell glove is completely uninsulated, meaning that it protects against wind & precipitation, but doesn’t get hot very easily and packs down small enough to fit in a pocket when you don’t need them. At $34, they are a steal too.

Marmot Evolution Gloves
$40, REI.com
The Marmot Evolution gloves are the thinnest, most technically advanced ultralight gloves on the market. With just enough insulating power and DWR to combat wind and drizzle (not rain and snow, though) the Evolution glove sacrifices almost nothing in terms of dexterity, and is also thin enough to easily stow in a pocket. Highly recommended.

Considering a trip for spring break? If you are only looking at the usual lineup of beach towns in Mexico, you are missing out on some of the best weeks of the year for students to ski on the cheap.

From Aspen to Tremblant, North American resorts are rolling out the red carpet and trying to get their hands on some of your coveted spring break cash by offering up great deals and all-inclusive trip packages that even a destitute college student can afford. While Panama City, Cancun, and other southern destinations attract the volume of students to be able to offer very low prices, many ski resorts can offer competitive (or even lower) all-inclusive prices because they are within driving distance.

And while the party scene won’t be quite as big, there are usually more than enough people for it to be a good time. Tremblant, the definitive choice for most east coast students who choose a ski spring break trip, attracted between upwards of 2,000 students during each of the major spring break weeks in 2009. While things are a bit more dispersed out west, Aspen pulls in similar numbers.

Where to go on the east coast // Tremblant Spring Break
The proximity to Montreal, a major spring break destination in itself, and the drinking age being 18 make Tremblant far and away the biggest spring break destination on the east coast. Tremblant is roughly 6 hours from Boston and 7.5 from New York – but many tour operators include bus transportation from major cities and large schools in the Northeast, and reasonably priced airfare is available at an additional cost.

Packages range in price, but are for the most part a lot cheaper than comparable trips to Florida or Mexico – the largest operator, Ski Travel Unlimited, has five day packages over your choice of six weeks starting at $399.

Where to go in the west
With so many great destinations to choose from, the answer isn’t quite as clear cut as it is in the east. Vail, Breckenridge, and Crested Butte all topped the list as student destinations during spring break in 2009, but all are a bit more low-key than what you’ll find in Florida or Quebec. For deals during break weeks, look to the resorts themselves – while there aren’t many major tour operators coordinating spring break trips in the rockies, there are still deals to be found and special events planned.

Even skiers & riders who usually couldn’t care less about the Olympics shouldn’t miss out on the excitement surrounding the games in Vancouver and Whistler this year. Turin, Salt Lake City, and Nagano were all great venues – but never before have the games come to a place that so truly embodies skiing. Whistler Canada is a skiers’ town, and for the next two weeks it is on the world stage.

Assuming you are like us and need a little refresher on which skiing events are which, we have put together a quick guide to what’s what so you can know what you are talking about when non-skiing friends test you with questions over the next two weeks. If you need to know more about Whistler, check out our comprehensive Whistler Visitors’ Guide. Find the Olympics TV schedule at NBC.com.

Alpine Skiing

This one is exactly what it sounds like – seconds or minutes of blistering speed, as competitors maneuver around gates and through a course as quickly as possible. Why watch? It’s fast, exciting, and there’s always a good chance of a major crash. The alpine events will be held at Whistler Creekside.

• Downhill is the longest and fastest of the five unique alpine events. It’s an easy one to understand – as long as athletes hit each gate on a single course, they are judged purely on speed.
• Super-G is similar to downhill but on a shorter course. The turns are tighter and skiers need to be a lot more precise to hit each gate. Again, speed is all it’s about.
• Slalom is the shortest course, requiring the tightest turns. It consists of two separate runs which don’t necessarily occur right in succession (the rules dictate only that they happen on the same day.) The times are added together, fastest wins.
• Giant Slalom is similar to slalom – two runs on two courses in one day with the times totaled. The GS course is longer and wider than the slalom course.
• Super Combined is what it sounds like – one downhill run, then one run on a short slalom course. The times are summed and the fastest wins.

Ski Jumping

While alpine skiing is obvious, ski jumping is more of an unknown. It’s worth watching, because it’s something you may not get another chance to see live until the next olympics. The objective, as you may have guessed, is mainly distance, but points are also assigned for style. The olympic course is designated as a “large hill” competition, where skiers can be expected to jump 390 – 430 feet. The ski jumping track is at the Whistler Canada Olympic Park.

Freestyle

A medal discipline since only 1992, freestyle skiing is one of the most popular events at any winter games. Freestyle consists of three events – aerials, moguls, and ski cross. Freestyle events are scheduled to take place – weather permitting – at Cypress Mountain, just outside of downtown Vancouver.

• Aerials are an unusual olympic event in how unstructured they are. Skiers choose their inrun location (where they take off from) depending on the features they want to hit, and are judged objectively on the quality of their takeoff, the height they gain, form, and balance upon landing. There are two rounds in the aerials competition, with the first “qualification” round consisting of two jumps. Skiers with the most points move forward.
• Moguls are just what they sound like – skiers choose from four different lines as quickly as possible. There are two parts along the course where skiers are required to perform two different jumps. In the final round, two sets of judges assign points based on the skiers’ jumps and their turns / technical ability in skiing bumps. Highest score wins.
• Ski Cross is new to the olympics, and it looks like it could be a lot of fun to watch. Think of it as a massive alpine obstacle course, where skiers start in groups of four and fight their way to the finish line – fastest time wins.

Over the past couple of years, Google has been working dilligently to expand the coverage of its popular street view service across the globe. Thanks to the Olympics coming to town, Whistler is getting a bit more attention than most ski resorts. While the proper roads in Whistler have been covered for some time and the pedestrian ways were mapped by the Google Trike last summer, Google’s street view camera recently paid the resort another visit – this time, on the back of a snowmobile.

That’s right – you can now cruise some of the larger trails on Whistler and Blackcomb from the comfort of your browser.

View Larger Map

According to the people responsible for the project at Google, the idea came together over the course of a few weekends with a little help from the resort and some supplies you would more expect from a startup running out of a garage than a multi-billion dollar corporation – duct tape and 2×4s.

Accessing street view on Whistler isn’t the most intuitive thing if you don’t follow the link above. In order to see the trails on the street view map, you’ll need to drag the little person over the blank space on the map to the east of Whistler Village before the trails will appear – otherwise, only roads and walkways charted by street view show up.

Seeing what’s on tap for the upcoming season is one of the best parts of SIA, and 2010 was no exception.

Ski Trends in 2011: Reverse camber is here to stay
Skiers can expect to find reverse camber and rockered skis just about everywhere in 2011. Reverse camber technology, originally designed for big mountain powder skis, has found its way into every manufacturers’ 2011 line. More aggressive and all mountain models are finding that just a bit of early rise makes for a fun, easy turning ski, while serious powder boards benefit from the flotation that a full reverse camber design offers.

Ski Trends in 2011: Wider is still better
It’s almost comical to see how much wider skis get each year. There’s always a few manufacturers pushing the envelope in terms of width, while everything else just seems to gain a few millimeters each season. This year, those on the forefront of wider stances were Liberty Skis with their “Genome” which sported a 141 waist, with Fatypus, an independent local manufacturer with its 140 waist “A-Lotta” coming in a close second. A 140 waist is approaching mono-ski width, just to put things in perspective.

]]> http://www.theaccessroad.com/02/2011-ski-trends-sia/feed 0 http://www.theaccessroad.com/02/truth-in-motion http://www.theaccessroad.com/02/truth-in-motion#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:12:57 +0000 ar31587 http://www.theaccessroad.com/?p=1639

It’s tough to imagine the pressure olympic athletes must be under with the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics only a few days away. Truth in Motion, a feature length documentary on the US Olympic Ski Team’s preparations for the games, is a fascinating window into this world, and it’s free in iTunes right now.

The road to the Olympics is often a lifetime in the making, and each person’s story is as fascinating as the next. Truth in Motion features sweeping vistas of high mountains interlaced with displays of insane training routines and individuals at peak athletic performance. It’s a short 43 minutes and definitely worth watching.

We’re fresh off the six day trade show marathon that is SIA, the annual snowsports industry trade show which stretched from the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver to Winter Park, and it was quite the show. In case you weren’t able to follow our copious twitter updates and photostream, we’ve put together this comprehensive recap of everything we saw and did over the last week. If you are more interested in the gear, check out our SIA 2010 ski recap.

For the uninitiated, SIA is a gathering of thousands of retailers, industry reps, brands and media outlets that happens once a year. After nearly four decades in Vegas, 2010 was the shows’ first year in Denver. While there was initially some grumbling about the move, the consensus seems to be that it was a good thing. While Vegas has a lot of distractions and is a really cheap city to visit, Denver is where the heart and soul of the ski industry lives. There are several big mountains within a couple hours drive, and an on-snow demo meant that there was actually the opportunity to try some of the 2011 lines. Below: Colorado Convention Center, downtown Denver.

The mood was definitely different. In Vegas, the locals don’t really have much of a vested interest in the snowsports show coming to town – Denver seemed a lot more excited to see us. The mayor cut the ribbon on the first day of the show, and a series of events throughout the city complemented the fact that almost 17,000 SIA visitors were in town. It was hard to miss the SIA banners on the streets, over the highways and in the windows of countless local businesses. Regardless, the Vegas / casino set was a popular theme on the show floor (Burton takes the cake on this one – see below.)

SIA is always set up in several distinct “neighborhoods” of booths, some far more over the top than others. Skullcandy, as usual, had a particularly busy booth (below at left), while Ride Snowboards’ booth was styled like a convenience store inside and out (below at right).

As in years past, there was a full complement of services at the show. The Yard, an open area dotted by ping pong tables and love sacs (below at left), was a great spot to take some time out and catch an episode of the popular FuelTV show “The Adventures of Danny & the Dingo.” At right, the Underground Concierge booth featured regularly updates on snow conditions, swag giveaways, and events around the show.

On the business side of things, all signs point to this being a really positive show. While 2009 wasn’t as terrible a year for snowsports as it was for many other industries, all of the manufacturers I spoke with said that things were really on the upswing again. There was some concern that the higher cost of travel to Denver kept small retailers and coastal buyers from attending the show, but stock levels are low and orders are up, signaling a strong 2009/2010 season and optimism for 2011.

For days four and five of SIA, it seemed like just about every major hardgoods manufacturer packed up and made the trek up highway 40 to Winter Park for the demo portion of the show. The opportunity to try these 2011 lines out on the snow was a major advantage of the shows’ new location closer to the mountains.

Day one of the on-snow demo was overcast and cold, with steady snow toward the end of the day, while an afternoon industry party and swag giveaway was happening right at the base of the mountain. Tuesday, day two, was a bluebird day with bright sunshine and big crowds staying until late in the day.

In all, SIA is still the show it always was – just in a new town, and in my opinion, a town that suits it much better. Moving further away from the slot machines and cheap drinks will probably turn out to have been a good business decision, too.

It’s here! SIA 2010 is underway, and we are ready to bring it all back to you on our SIA live update page. If you are new to SIA, attending the show, or just want  a little background on what it’s like, this handy guide of pre-show tips is just what you need.

2010 is a big year for the show – it’s the big debut in Denver after nearly 40 years in Vegas. It only makes sense to be closer to the heart and soul of skiing, and I’ve heard that the locals in Denver are excited to have the industry in town. An added benefit is that there will be some actual skiing this year.

Our format has changed slightly in 2010 – throughout each day of the SIA trade show, we will be posting copious updates of anything worth seeing to Twitter, so make sure you are following @accessroadblog or watching our SIA live update page. Each night, we’ll post an in-depth recap of the days’ gear, events and announcements.

Now for the big question – What do YOU want to see at SIA? Be sure to let us know.

The snowsports industry trade show is an experience like no other, and Denver is expected to put forth a good showing. Here’s a few things we suggest not missing.

• Be sure to get the SIA Smartphone app. I’ve been playing with it for a couple of weeks and it’s a great resource to have on hand – you’ll have access to a stream of SIA related twitter updates, an interactive map of the show, a handy calendar and contact information for every exhibitor.
• SIA will open in its usual fashion on Wednesday night (1/27) – the SIA fashion show, that is. It’s always a good time and a great way to kick off the show.
• The city is sponsoring what it’s calling the worlds’ largest Apres Ski Party, a series of restaurants, bars and local businesses sponsoring special events in honor of SIA coming to town.
• A visit to Denver would be remiss if it didn’t include some skiing – and guess what? It’s free for show attendees.
• Oh, yeah – you may also want to brush up on Denver’s open container laws.

Love it or hate it, Twitter will be a big part of the show this year. Get involved by using the official hashtag – #SIA10 – or just watch things unfold as the industry converges on the Colorado Convention Center. A few twitterers we recommend following -

• Us, of course! We’ll be posting live from the floor of the show and from the on-snow demo at Winter Park every day.
• @siasnowsports, the official twitter account of the SIA trade show
• @iknowdenver, coordinators of the Apres Ski Party in downtown Denver during the show

It seems like every couple of years it’s a different manufacturer trying and eventually giving up on heated outerwear. The idea makes perfect sense, particularly for snowsports enthusiasts. Skiers and riders aren’t as sensitive to weight as backpackers and mountaineers are (making reasonaby sized batteries less of an issue), need more warmth during periods of inactivity (like on the chairlift), and aren’t typically away from an outlet for more than a full day at a time (charging it isn’t a problem).

So why hasn’t this caught on? The technology behind these jackets, gloves, and baselayers has improved dramatically in the last few years. Newer models are light, comfortable, and have wires that are barely (if at all) noticeable, with long lasting lightweight batteries that last a couple of days in some cases. Unfortunately, high prices and the lack of options have kept these out of the mainstream.

Take the North Face MET5 (pictured above) for example. This $599 garment had a good run, but it’s no longer – at such a high price point, it never really got the mainstream traction it needed to survive and was discontinued. While the North Face sold quite a few of these to guides and other outdoor professionals, the price was just too much to justify for the occasional user whose jackets have a shelf life of a few seasons.

Enter the next player in the heated outerwear market – in 09/10, Mountain Hardwear is taking a stab with the men’s Refugium (below, at right) and women’s Radiance jacket (below, at left.) Aside from only offering one very basic style, Mountain Hardwear was very much on the verge of doing this right – before they sort of blew it. The jackets (both $230 from select retailers only) require a separate battery pack and converter be purchased, which comes in around $195. Do the math – that’s $425 for the complete package, and out of the realm for most casual and semi-casual wearers.

So, how could this work, and just how did Mountain Hardwear fail to deliver? If the heating system was separate from the jacket and fully transferable from one garment to the other (it’s not) then I’d think that Mountain Hardwear was taking this seriously. The slight sacrifice in complexity and bulk would be made up for by the fact that when you are done with the jacket, the heat could come with you – keeping the cost of a new heated garment significantly lower once you’ve made the initial investment. Maybe next time.

Yelp's iPhone app points to nearby restaurants & businesses.

In case you don’t keep up with tech news quite the way I do, I’ll let you in on a little secret – “augmented reality” is poised to be the next big thing on mobile phones and devices – and it poses some really neat possibilities for skiers & riders.

Augmented reality is exactly what it sounds like – an extension of the world that’s actually around you on a smartphone screen. A number of iPhone applications are already doing this quite well – “Layar”, for example, uses the iPhone’s GPS, compass and camera to label places, structures and objects in the physical world on the screen in front of you. It’s pretty amazing stuff.

What does this mean for snowsports? Quite a bit. A number of useful augmented reality apps aimed at skiers and riders are already available for the iPhone, and more are certainly on the way.

Realski, for instance, is an augmented reality trail map built for the iPhone. Load it up and head out to one of more than 80 covered resorts, and you’ll have instant access to a virtual trail map that follows you where ever you go. What’s it like? Download it and try some of the simulations, it’s pretty neat. Imagine a trail sign on every corner pointing you in exactly the right direction.

In addition to trail map apps, a number of mountain identifying apps are currently available that are pretty useful. Imagine a label hanging in the sky over every peak – an app called “Look Around” does just that.

Does this make it too easy, or is all fair in the search for great runs in the backcountry? I say the latter.

I’ll admit that I enjoy a lot of the mindless “ski porn” trotted out each winter. The sweeping panoramas and montages of big mountains, helicopters and deep powder are a great way to get psyched up for the season. But there are so many great stories in skiing that have simply never been told – like the true tale of the Jackson Hole Air Force. Swift Silent Deep, now available on DVD, tells that story in excellent form.

The Jackson Hole Air Force was a tight knit group of extreme skiers who attracted national attention during the 80s and 90s for their fearless attack of extreme terrain in pursuit of deep powder. At the time, ducking the rope was an unthinkable and arrestable offense, and a line that nobody had skirted. But this groups’ relentless need for new challenges and new snow led them outside of the boundaries of Jackson Hole proper, and deep into the backcountry surrounding the resort.

As you might imagine, they quickly drew the ire of the local ski patrol, and unintentionally ignited a debate that raged on for close to a decade about open access and responsible backcountry skiing. While some patrollers spent their days and nights in an arms race to stop the members of the Jackson Hole Air Force from going out of bounds, others joined them. It was only after years of strife, petitions, lost jobs and lost lives that the current open boundary policy at Jackson Hole was adopted.

Swift Silent Deep is more than an entertaining film, it’s the back story to modern skiing as we know it. These guys are the fathers of the modern extreme skiing movement, and the ones that ultimately made lift served backcountry skiing possible in North America. In addition to some great interviews with Air Force skiers and Jackson Hole patrollers, there’s some fantastic footage of the insane lines and deep snow they made a name skiing.

Find some friends to watch this with and grab a copy – it’s definitely worth it.

swift silent deep rebowe

During my years on the demo circuit, I’ve had the pleasure of calculating thousands of DIN settings with skiers looking over my shoulder, oftentimes asking questions or insisting I’m doing it wrong. While there is a lot of information online about DIN settings, a lot of it is incorrect and there isn’t any one good primer on DINs and release settings in general. This is my attempt to set the record straight.Whether you are curious how the DIN system works (it’s complicated), or think your settings may be incorrect (there’s a good chance they are), read on and learn more. Just be forewarned – this isn’t a license to adjust your own skis.

Intro to DIN Settings  - Why Releasable Bindings are Necessary
DIN – (short for Deutsches Institut für Normung, the name of the German regulatory body that oversees the standardization of the settings) – is a standardized setting on your ski binding that determines the amount of force required for the binding to release the boot in the event of a serious fall or other situation where an unusual amount of force is being applied to the binding in an unusual way.

Why is this necessary? It’s simple – when you are on the verge of a bad fall or a fall that’s likely to cause injury, you want your skis – several pounds of sharp metal, wood and foam, to tumble out of your way rather than remain attached. These gigantic levers can apply a huge amount of force to your joints, ripping apart your knees, ankles and hips. Not a good scenario.

Nonetheless, I hear the same line from people all the time – “crank those up, I don’t want to come out of them.” That’s just a  bad idea all around. A properly adjusted binding should only release when you would want it to, and never when you don’t. If popping out prematurely is a problem you have, you may want to have your settings re-evaluated and your bindings checked for problems – don’t just blindly set them at their max.

DIN settings are a function of 6+ variables
So just how are DIN settings calculated? It’s a pretty complex system that doesn’t always make a ton of sense, but it essentially comes down to one thing – the more force you could potentially apply to a ski, the higher your correct DIN setting. Technicians generally rely upon a chart that is provided by the binding’s manufacturer, because settings do vary from company to company.

Your DIN setting is generally a function of 6 different factors:

• Your weight – heavier = more force = higher setting (up to a point)
• Your height – less important than weight, but more height = higher setting
• Your boot sole length – larger boots can apply more force to the binding, so larger boots = higher setting
• Your skier type (ability level) – more aggressive skiers apply more force under normal conditions, so better skiers = higher settings
• Your bindings’ manufacturer – bindings & appropriate DINs vary from ski to ski
• Your age – Skiers over 50 are moved down the chart 1 grade level, as are young & very light skiers under certain circumstances

1: Start with the weight & height at left.
A 155lb. skier’s skier code is K. If the height & weight are in different rows, we use the skier code closer to the top of the chart (on this adjustment chart – this varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.)

2: Move up or down according to ability level.
The original skier code is based on a type 1 skier. Because our person is a type 2 skier, we will move him down 1 line to skier code L.

3. Age a factor?
Our skier is under 50, so this doesn’t come into play. If he were 50 or older, we would move up 1 skier code toward the top of the chart.

4. Move over to the appropriate sole length column.
Find the skiers’ boot sole length (typically printed in tiny letters along the heel or sole of the boot in millimeters) and match it to the appropriate column.

Where the skier code row & sole length column cross is the correct DIN setting.
In our example, the correct setting is 6.5.

DANGER WILL ROBINSON!
The DIN settings on your bindings are a life safety system that only trained professionals should attempt to adjust or change. While the aim of this post is to give you full and accurate information on the release systems of ski bindings, it isn’t anything near what you would need to know to change them yourself, and there’s always a possibility that some of this information is  incorrect, outdated, or doesn’t apply to your particular equipment. Just don’t do it.

You knew it would happen – with the explosion in popularity of helmet cameras, we would be seeing some amazing first person footage of people encountering some really bad situations in the backcountry.

Case in point – this POV footage of a skier triggering, being swept away in, and rescued from a fast moving avalanche in Haines, Alaska. Immediately after dropping in on an unstable slope, we see a web of fracture lines unfold, and a cloud of white as the skier is swept into a fast moving avalanche that carries him 1,500 feet in just under 20 seconds. Luckily for him articles of his clothing that fell off in the slide marked where he was buried, making for a quick rescue in just under 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Haines, Alaska Skier Burial & Rescue

As of November 24, Liftopia.com has been offering a first of its kind ski gift certificate. While this may not seem like news at first glance, it’s been incredibly hard to give the gift of a day on the hill until now. Even some larger resorts still don’t offer gift certificates of any kind; and many of those who do have some pretty shady terms restricting how they can be redeemed (for full priced tickets only, on certain days and at certain times, etc.)

But this move changes all that – and it’s a worthy addition to our 2010 holiday gift guide. Available in denominations from $25 to $500, it gives the giftee full reign over when and how they use it. It’s valid at hundreds of North American skiing & riding resorts, never expires, and means that he or she will be assured to get a great deal on their lift tickets.

While they don’t offer to ship a ski gift certificate on your behalf, you have the option of delivering one via email (making this a great last minute skiing gift), or printing and giving yourself.

If you aren’t familiar with Liftopia, it’s worth a look. It’s a sort of marketplace with more than 120 affiliated resorts. By committing to a date ahead of time, you are opened up to some very competitive rates on lift tickets, which are set on a day to day basis by resorts depending on the traffic they are anticipating.

To give you an idea of what the savings can be like on a given day – it isn’t unusual to find adult single day lift passes at 2nd tier ski areas for 40-50% off. It’s always worth checking, and if you are at all flexible with dates and resorts, saving some real money is possible. Many ski resorts also offer up lesson and rental packages in addition to tickets, which adds on to the already significant savings.

Buying a thoughtful gift isn’t easy – that’s why we have come up with a list of some great new items that any skier would appreciate, with items at every price point. Everything below is new in 2010 and has received top ratings from actual consumer reviewers. Be sure to also check out our 2010 gear guide for in depth reviews of skis and more.

Smith Variant Helmet
$160 at evogear.com
It’s been proven – 4 out of 5 parents think the best skier gifts are somehow safety related. When it’s the Smith Variant, that just might be true. The Variant is destined to become one of 2010’s hottest gift items, incorporating the brim design popularized by helmet manufacturer Bern last year with a more athletic, lightweight and ventilated shell. In short – it looks great and is comfortable to boot.

Dakine Heli Pro Pack
$85.00 at evogear.com
The Dakine Heli Pro pack gets a complete makeover every year (last year, it was all white) – but it remains the most solid midsized daypack for skiing. It’s got just the right number of compartments, loops and straps where you need them, but remains light and simple. The excellent fit means you don’t feel it while skiing and it doesn’t get in the way on the lift. Highly recommended.

Mountain Hardwear Men’s Onza Glove
$75.00 at ems.com
The Mountain Hardwear Men’s Onza Glove is just what I’d want in a skiing glove – it’s simple, not overly bulky, but as warm as they come. The Thermic Micro insulation and Conduit waterproof breathable liner (amongst the best non-goretex WB membranes on the market) means your hands stay warm and dry, but maintain excellent dexterity. The leather palm provides a durable and sure grip.

Yakima SkyBox LoPro Titanium
$699.00 at REI.com
Nobody likes storing skis in their car – they are covered in snow, take up a ton of space, and are easily stolen. The solution? A rooftop box. The Yakima SkyBox features solar powered lights inside and comes in the most aerodynamic shape on the market. It opens from either side (a real plus if you have ever used one) and is made from more than 50% recycled materials. A real treat if you have the money to burn.

swift.silent.deep DVD // Best gift for the skier who has everything
$24.95 at evogear.com
swift silent deep isn’t your typical skiing film – it’s a documentary film that tells one of the truly great stories in skiing, a gritty group of ski bums who unknowingly became the fathers of the modern extreme skiing movement. The story of the Jackson Hole Air Force, as they call themselves, is truly a must see.

skullcandy Skullcrushers Headphones
$59.95 at evogear.com
The skiing & snowboarding community is lucky to have its own headphone manufacturer – especially one that makes such great stuff. Skullcandy headphones are light, durable, and they look great. There are several patterns to choose from, so be sure to take a look.

Line Skis Love Line Tee
$23.99 at evogear.com
In case you haven’t heard – graphic tees aren’t going anywhere. The Line skis love line tee is a great looking shirt with a clever design that will fit well in any skiers’ stocking. If you aren’t all that fond of the design, evogear has dozens upon dozens from top manufacturers you can choose from.

Dakine Concourse Single Ski Bag // Best skier gift for the traveler
$89.95 at evogear.com
Too many ski bags are designed to hold several pairs of skis, which is pretty impractical for most people. The Dakine Concourse Single ski bag is small, light and well padded to protect your most important piece of gear from baggage attendants, bus drivers and just about everything else.

Dakine Deluxe Tune Tuning Kit
$44.99 at evogear.com
Knowing how to tune your own skis and having the right equipment to do so is a real rite of passage for professional skiers – the Dakine Deluxe tuning kit has everything you need to learn in  a well organized package (except for the iron.) An excellent gift for every skier.

Given the state of the national economy, it isn’t much of a surprise that ski areas across the country were apprehensive about making  multi-million dollar upgrades over the summer. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t exciting things happening if you know where to look – here’s our list of the biggest capital improvements of 2009/2010 across the Northeastern United States.

Jay Peak, Vermont // Best Base Upgrades
Jay Peak takes the cake for biggest improvements to its base area. The February opening of the Tram Haus Lodge at Jay Peak will mark the end of a $20 million dollar base area expansion project that has been in the works for several seasons.

Adjacent to the current lodge and tram building, the Tram Haus Lodge will boast a 57 room hotel, brand new coffee shop, restaurant, rental and demo center, and a fitness center.
Part of the charm of Jay Peak for me has always been its intimate base area centered right around the lifts. Driving up to it at night is almost like approaching a space station – the only lights against a very dark sky deep in the woods near the Canadian border. But enough reminiscing – it seems like the folks at Jay Peak have taken this to heart, and are really working hard to maintain the character of the resort while bringing it some of the needed upgrades.

Okemo, Vermont
Okemo has a handful of small improvements planned for the coming season, including upgrades to the 450ft Ross Powers Superpipe. When all is said and done, its vertical pitch will be increased by 13 feet, upping the grade from its current 11 degrees to just over 16 degrees.

Stratton, Vermont
Most of the changes happening at Stratton this season will be taking place at the remote Sunbowl area – a beginners’ base that’s somewhat distant from the main village and lifts. The list of non-skiing activities will be growing a bit longer – construction has begun on a 750ft long, four lane tubing park at Sunbowl. A number of new freestyle terrain parks will be opening across the mountain, including an advanced park also at Sunbowl.

Killington / Pico, Vermont
Most of the changes happening at Killington this season are under the hood, so to speak. The resort is pumping $2.5 million dollars into snowmaking system improvements, a new warming hut on Killington Peak, and some re-grading at the unloading area for the Skye Peak Express.

Sugarbush, Vermont
There’s been a lot of work going on at Sugarbush over the summer – 75 acres of new wooded terrain on Mt. Ellen and Lincoln Peak are set to open when the snow starts coming down. According to resort officials, the new terrain will aim to make glade skiing less intimidating for those unfamiliar with it, with shallower grades and wider spacing between trees in some sections.

Saddleback, Maine
Saddleback is making considerable improvements to what is already an underrated hidden gem of a resort. One new trail and more than 44 acres of glades were cut over the summer, and three new Pisten Bully groomers (including one winch equipped cat) mean substantive upgrades to the resorts’ snowmaking capabilities. Expect to hear more from us about Saddleback over the season.

Sugarloaf, Maine
Saddleback’s neighbor to the south Sugarloaf has invested in the usual round of snowmaking upgrades, and put $600,000 towards much needed renovations of the base hotel, improving the comfort level at the only full service on-mountain hotel.

Sunday River, Maine
Both grand hotels (at the White Cap and Jordan base areas) have seen $1.4 million in upgrades, in addition to extensive snowmaking improvements across the mountain.

Gunstock, New Hampshire
In the second year of its ongoing $3.25 million dollar expansion project, Gunstock is touting a new fixed grip quad chairlift, 2 new trails, several trail extensions, and significant snowmaking upgrades.

Cannon, New Hampshire // Best Terrain Upgrades

Cannon’s Peabody Base Lodge is seeing some major upgrades and expansions this season, as the usual round of

snowmaking upgrades are happening out on the mountain. But what’s most exciting at Cannon this season is what’s going on just to the West, on an overgrown peak known as Mittersill that was served by a couple of lifts until the late 1980s.
Locals have been hiking and skiing Mittersill ever since – albeit illegally – and doing some amateur trail maintenance under the cover of darkness. But last year, an exchange of land allowed Mittersill to come under the ownership of the State of New Hampshire, which plans to reopen what’s left of Mittersill’s trails in the coming years.
For the upcoming season, Mittersill will be open as a “lift served backcountry area” – no snowmaking, very minimal trail maintenance, and extended rescue times mean the difficult lines here will remain for experts only. Cannon says that only minimal clearing of brush has been undertaken on the peak, and that all terrain on Mittersill carries the designation of “extra hazardous”.

The required uphill slog means it will probably stay relatively quiet until a proposed double chair opens in December of 2010 – so now is definitely the time to take advantage of what is something of a semi lift-served backcountry experience.