Resorts Archives - Mountain Magazine

The Rise of the Local Hill

It’s not bold to say that the mega passes and mega crowds of the big resorts are undermining the mountain experience. Here’s how the mid-tier areas can help remedy that.

Bike

Fat Tire Stimulus

When the Mountain team conceived this special recovery issue, the idea was to safely promote in-state and regional tourism in an age of COVID-19.

Resorts

Make That Pass Count

The mega passes, which let you ski multiple destinations and local ski areas off one (or two or more) comprehensive passport, have fundamentally changed skiing and snowboarding.

Resorts

New Test. New Venue.

After ten winters in Utah, the annual Mountain Magazine test traveled to Colorado’s Steamboat Ski Resort this past February. (You might have heard that Steamboat had good snowfall—let’s just say we didn’t hit any rocks.) A tricked-out test venue and lots of high speed lifts helped us put a few hundred pair of skis for winter 2019/20 through the paces over three days of shredding. Want specifics? Staging out of the Thunderhead zone, our 18-person (50/50 male to female) test team had to burn through 264 pairs in three days. That worked out to roughly 35,000 vertical feet per tester per day.…...

Resorts

Gotta Get up to Get Down

The first ever Red Bull Raid rewards uphill speed and downhill prowess By Dave Zook photo Ben Arnst Competitors at the inaugural Red Bull Raid were treated to sparkling spring conditions on April 13, after a week of rain, snow, and wind. Hot California sun hit the snow early and softened surface conditions of Squaw’s goliath 200-plus inch base, shifting it from concrete to corn to deep slush throughout the day. They were the perfect conditions for this unique contest. Like an enduro style mountain bike race, the Raid combined uphill endurance with freeride descending skills in Squaw’s Silverado Canyon—a…...

Resorts

MIKAELA SHIFFRIN + IKON PASS

Mikaela Shiffrin, the reigning World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist, is an icon in her own right. She was the youngest woman in U.S. history to win a World Championship and the youngest athlete in history to win an Olympic slalom gold medal. To date, she has two Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and five FIS World Ski Championship gold medals. Mikaela is a native of Colorado and has spent years training and racing at Ikon Pass destinations such as Aspen Mountain and Copper Mountain in Colorado, Mammoth Mountain and Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows in California, and…...