So, ski season is winding down around the country. Spring skiing is in full swing at those areas still operating and minds have turned to lawnmowers, golf clubs, and bikes, among other off-season pursuits. The folks at Crystal have a different view of things, though. They will be operating on weekends until mid-June. At least that's the plan and, why not? With coverage and new storms still rolling in, there's plenty of time to feed the addiction. Check this out from last weekend. » read more

The Summit at Snoqualmie is one of those easy access areas that many look at while driving by on Interstate 90. Located just an hour east of downtown Seattle, Snoqualmie is as convenient a ski area as anyone could imagine. Managed by Boyne Resorts, they know how to appeal to skiers and boarders! Now that we're in April and approaching the end of the season, it's a great time to get up and soak up some sun and spring snow, as our crew found out this past weekend. » read more

Finishing the 2013 tour with yet another day of powder seems so appropriate. We skied the last day at Brundage with probably 4" of new falling in the morning over the top of the 15" received in the 72 hours prior (see Day 9 for that!). This is how we finished our trip, bringing proper closure to 8 resorts, 10 days of skiing, 1,810 miles of driving, countless interviews, and another great time! Having this last day did one thing; it made me yearn to do it all again, soon!  » read more

Brundage is just outside McCall, Idaho which is located on Payette Lake. This is beautiful country, especially on days you can actually see it between storms. Known for the best snow in Idaho, we got to sample exactly what they mean. We spent two days there and, as you can see in the daily video, we got the 'chef's special'. With 15" of new the prior two days, we got to check out the best snow of the trip. My compliments to the chef! » read more

Is that a smile on my face in that picture? Hmmm....I wonder why.... When I think of Magic Mountain Ski Resort, I think of the origins of the phrase, "Your Own Private Idaho". This place is cool! While it's small, it's a day of untracked with some really fun shots! We literally were the only people hitting some of the steeper and more interesting terrain through/off the cliffs and chutes that are available to ride. Add it some nice, steeper lines just under the chair and we had all we needed to get our daily powder fix. About an hour south of Twin Falls, Magic is a nice distraction when you're in the area. Look for their upcoming expansion as they hope to add another chair over the summer, permits permitting, and an expanded terrain... » read more

Located about 1 1/2 hours southeast of Twin Falls, Pomerelle is known as "Where Idaho Learns to Ski". While that may be true as Pomerelle has the biggest beginner ski run I've ever seen, The Milk Run, I have found it to be 'Where GoldMember Goes to Ski Untracked Treelines'. We hit it with a new storm that dropped about a foot of new in two days. We weren't disappointed! There are so many lines in the trees, not to mention in the bowl off to the right of the upper chair, that I've been happily amazed the times I've skied there. This is a smaller, fun hill with very little competition for tracks. Peaking out at 9,000 feet, the snow quality is light, dry powder. Catering to families and people just learning to ski, they also have the snow... » read more

Soldier Mountain is located about halfway between Boise and Sun Valley. Most people bypass Soldier on their way between the two but a stop for a day is well worth it. Bruce Willis gifted the area to a local non-profit group who are doing a tremendous job of keeping their ski dreams alive. This is a fun mountain with excellent grooming and really fun, rolling terrain. In addition, above the main area, they have 17,000 acres of catskiing and back country terrain that, although we didn't get the chance to ski it, looks awesome! Next year, we hope to give a report on that, as well. Stop by and check Soldier Mountain out; it's worth an extra day when you're in the area! » read more

Ah...Sun Valley. The mere mention of the name harkens dreams of skiing as it has been for most of the last century. It's the Grand Dame of skiing and still holds many pleasant perceptions of how skiing can be as a sport for the wealthy and few. What's not necessarily talked about is how good skiing there can be! We had just a little bit of fresh snow that just refreshed it enough to really make it ski well. We were joined for two days by local Patrol supervisor Bryant Dunn and pro telemark rider, Conor Davis. Reggie Crist hooked up with us for a couple of runs as well so we really got to experience where the locals like to ride. Take a look at what we experienced! » read more

Lost Trail, barely in Idaho as it sits right on the border between Idaho and Montana, is a pretty large area and fairly high. Chair Four peaks out at 8,175' so the snow there is cold and dry. On top of holding great snow, the sun shines there a lot. There is a wide variety of terrain and no crowds. This is always a great stop and one worth making when you're in the vicinity. This was our day. » read more

Bald Mountain, just outside of Pierce, Idaho is a small hill run by volunteers. It's pretty fun with a bit of varied terrain including some small cliff drops hidden in the trees that some local kids showed us. They had a bit of new snow that helped give us some stuff to play with. Definitely a fun place to explore and a bunch of great people keeping their dream to ski alive. Check it out! » read more

We started our Idaho Tour on February 16th at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, my home mountain. We didn't get the best conditions that we could have hoped for but we found a way to have a good time. This is the first day of our ten day - eight resort road trip that will take us around the state. We've got a good crew and more snow in the long range forecast so things promise to get better as the week goes on.  » read more

This has to be one of the best laid out and planned ski areas in the country. We stayed at the Hotel Madeline in the Mountain Village and had easy access to not just everything on the mountain but to everything in the surrounding area, including the town of Telluride itself. But on to the skiing!

We got lucky and managed to hit Revelation Bowl on its opening day of the season. Following over 2' of new snow, we were hitting untracked powder our first two runs there then toured around the rest of the mountain through a variety of steep bumps, groomers, and cut up crud. Having Scott Kennett with us to show us the ropes was a huge benefit. Thanks, Scott!  Here's what we found. » read more

First, in spite of how this picture looks, Robby pulled this out. I thought it was worth putting up so you can see his recovery in the video. Nice to be young...

Wolf Creek was an awesome addition to our trip. The area is really almost like two areas in that there is some incredible terrain with just a little bit of hiking while also catering to 300 school kids in lessons when we were there. We hit the in-bounds 'back country' in the morning then migrated onto the groomers for our afternoon session. This is down-home skiing at its finest! We had a memorable time there and will plan to return. Really fun! » read more

Following an epic day of skiing at Durango Mountain Resort, we put a day in with a cat. Conditions were pretty tricky since their having received somewhere around 35" of new on top of a weak base. Still, Bob and his crew were able to get us into some fun zones in aspen groves and some old growth forest that held well. Any day in a cat is a good day so we made sure we had a great time! Check them out at http://sanjuanski.com/ Here's our day. » read more

Our tour of Colorado started on January 29th at DMR Purgatory just outside of Durango. Following about three feet of new in the past three days, we hit it with a ton of fresh, cold temps, and blue sky. We followed that day up with a day of cat skiing, then back to DMR for a day of cruising the groomed and some soft bump skiing. I'll go back! Here's what we found. » read more

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We're on a brief hiatus for a couple of weeks as a couple of our main participants are on the beach in Hawaii for a few days and I'm actually at work, trying to maintain some appearance of earning a paycheck. In the meantime, take a look at our show from 2011. This is a somewhat typical example of the television shows we produce that can be viewed around the country. This probably is still showing in several markets as they tend to be repeated numerous times. This is the kind of show that we will feature the EpicSki Gathering in, mixed in with two or three other stories. I hope you enjoy it! » read more

We spent a couple of days, Jan 9 & 10 with Big Red Cats and we had a great time! They had received about 30 cm of new in the 24 hours before we got there. However, they had some wind affect on some aspects so the conditions were a bit variable. Kieren knows his area, though and got us into some really fun gladed skiing with features and steeps and plenty of powder to assure that we would have a lot of fun. With us was Andy Mahre and two of his cousins, Adam and Robby who are both solid skiers. Robby also skis for USA Ski Cross and loves to air! We had a great time skiing with the next generation of America's skiing family.  » read more

Crystal Mountain, within shouting distance of Mt. Rainier in Western Washington state, is home to some of the better total snowpack totals in the lower 48. It's also the home mountain to many Puget Sound residents, making it the quintessential Seattle 'cool' mountain to ski. Now owned by Boyne Mountain Resorts, it's seen tremendous growth and improvements over the years with more to come. Take a look at the history of the region and of the area itself. And be sure to check out The Snorting Elk if you're there.  Fun times! » read more

One of the legends we got to ski with last year was Scott Kennett, likely most notably of "Blizzard of Ahhhhs..." fame as well as being Zudnik's human.  What's not as well known about Scott is that he skied in numerous ski films including the Stump films, Aspen Extreme, and a number of Warren Miller movies.   Additionally, Scott continues to rip and has much more recently won some Masters Extreme Skiing competions and is still as addicted to challenging himself and skiing powder as he ever was.  Check out his story, I think you'll agree that he's winning at life. » read more

Just to the west of Revelstoke is Mustang Powder Cats.  We had the opportunity to ski there last January with Scott Kennett, Eric Pehota, Logan Pehota, John Witt and the rest of our crew.  Some of the best terrain I've skied anywhere, Mustang is in the Monashee Range and has plenty to keep everyone entertained.  Nick and his group focus on getting lots of vertical in and you definitely get your money's worth!  We had a great time, lots of really good food, and a wonderful lodge to depart from in the mornings in the cat.  Check them out at http://www.mustangpowder.com/ to get a better idea of what they have to offer. » read more

First day of our 2012-13 filming season.  And it was AWESOME!  SnowWater is one of our favorite haunts.  This year is one of the best starts we've ever had; tons of snow, stable, and a great crew.  Check out SnowWater at www.snowwater.com for more information and stay tuned to our page for more real-time reports. » read more

Check out our scheduled shooting trips for the 2012-13 winter season.  We'll be posting up edits from each of our locations this year, including the EpicSki Gathering at Big Sky, MT in March.  Follow along as we show what we're able to find with each new adventure.  Hope to see you all soon! » read more

Located northwest of Golden, B.C., east of Roger's Pass, guests take a 10 minute helicopter ride to get in.  We drove in over about 42 miles of forest service road to a pickup point where we rode another 20 miles or so on snowmobiles.  It is remote but with remoteness comes the natural beauty of the area.  Sitting on the western flank of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, it reminded me of the Alps.  It was gorgeous.  We were able to ski above treeline nearly the entire trip with the cat taking us to 10,000 feet.  The hand-built lodge was warm and inviting with plenty of apres-ski activity and incredible food. Be advised though, try not to do the Chatter Splatter lest you look good wearing a pink purse. » read more

The interior of British Columbia is known world-wide for its incredibly dependable snowfall and "Cold Smoke" powder.  Nowhere shows it off any better than Monashee Powder Snowcats.  Boasting over 700" of annual snowfall, the odds of hitting it deep are pretty strong.  Add in some very entertaining terrain and extremely hospitable hosts at their lodges, and you will be in for a real treat. Here's a sampling of what any true pow-dog will likely find once arriving at Monashee. » read more

49 Degrees North has a long (see the '75 Years' video) history of providing excellent skiing to northeastern Washington families.  Located just about an hour north of Spokane, just to the east of Chewelah, WA, 49N has been voted a favorite family ski area by multiple media outlets in the Inland Northwest region for years.  Having placed a fixed quad lift in the East Basin about 4 years ago, they've also expanded to the west with the addition of the Angel Peak chair.  Check out this story for a look at the expanded zone and more of what makes 49N a favorite among the locals in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. » read more

Among other projects that Peak Media is involved with, we're doing history pieces on Washington ski areas.  This story is among the areas highlighted and puts some interesting backdrops to the development of the sport over time in the state.  John Eminger, the owner of 49 has been the catalyst for this series.  Take a look and see how a small community like Chewelah came together to build what is now considered one of the best kept secrets in the Northwest.  You can visit their website at http://www.ski49n.com/ for more information. » read more

Grand Targhee Resort is one of the stops we make on our Idaho Tour. Targhee is well known for its awesome powder dumps on the western side of the Teton Mountains. This is one of our daily edits, just before the next storm hit. Check it out and check out Grand Targhee when you get the chance!  Also, check out their cat skiing while you're there.  Here is a sampler:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fialUzfhR4o » read more

Although I already posted an earlier version of SWS, this is the story segment for our Mountain Top Series show.  This shows the history of SWS much better and includes some old-school powder skiing with Alan Drury, who founded SWS in 1975 as well as an interview with his wife, Brenda, that is an interesting piece. It shows the lodging and gives a better context and background of the operation. If you're looking for more information on SWS, check out their website at http://www.selkirkwilderness.com/  » read more

Bogus Basin is a fun ski area located just outside Boise.  Although it's located in a typically dry region, they get their share of snow, at least enough to keep the locals happy. Bogus is actually a fairly large area with 2,600 acres of day skiing and 165 acres lit for night skiing.  With seven chairs, good pitches and pretty decent snow quality, you can find something fun for everyone.  If you find yourself making a trip to Boise, drag along your skis and maybe hit it for a day or maybe night skiing after a day's work.  It's fun!  And it generally beats spending a night out of town, on the road, in a bar!  Check them out at http://www.bogusbasin.org/ » read more

FWA is located about 20 minutes south of the town of Fernie, B.C.  FWA doubles as a fishing lodge in the summer and a cat skiing operation in the winter.  Featuring a rustic lodge with incredible down-home hospitality, it's a wilderness experience located only 20 minutes from town.  Whether it's skiing really fun pillow lines during the day or sitting in the wood-fired hot tub listening to howling wolves in the not-so-distant night, it's a real treat and easily accessed. This pieces is a segment out of our show, "Powder Posse" where we traveled to a number of B.C. operations, looking for new adventures. Enjoy! » read more

White Grizzly is a quaint, comfortable cat skiing operation located about 1:30 north of Nelson.  This is an interesting place in that the wind doesn't blow there.  I know, sounds weird, right?  But it's true, due to the geography right around it.  Consequently, the snow isn't wind slabbed and is super soft.  Most of their terrain is 40 degrees plus and pretty consistent in the pitch.  They cater mostly to expert skiers because of that.  Brad and Carol took good care of us and made sure we didn't go hungry!  Here's our story and their website.  http://www.whitegrizzly.com/ » read more

This is a segment from this year's show that's airing around the country right now.  Check out the image from the current issue of Powder tagged to this story then check out the video.  This was just a little bit goofy but fun anyway.  Check out Big Red Cats for your next B.C. trip at http://www.bigredcatskiing.com/ » read more

North Cascade Heli-Ski is located the Wilson Ranch in Mazama, Washington. The North Cascades of Washington state, also known as "The American Alps," are the most glaciated peaks in the continental U.S. In the northeast corner of this range is a unique combination of longitude, latitude and altitude, giving NCHS some of the finest snow for heli-riding available anywhere. Within the 300,000-acre permit area on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest resides a vast number of runs starting at altitudes between 7,000 to 9,000 feet. The terrain is an amazing variety of open bowls, steep glades and excellent tree skiing surrounded by immense granite cliffs and spires. http://www.heli-ski.com/blog/ » read more

Another really good and challenging cat operation is Retallack.  Just a little over an hour north of Nelson, B.C., Retallack is easily accessed and worth the while.  It's steep, has a lot of features, and gets tons of snow.  We skied with Phil, the owner/manager who is there because he loooooves to ski powder!  Originally from Toronto, Phil was a huge fan of "Hot Dog, The Movie" and when he learned that some of our crew actually skied in that film, he was like a kid in a candy store.  So, of course, we had to recreate the 'Chinese Downhill' as you will see.  This is a spot that, if you're planning a trip to the area, is a must-ski.  Check them out at http://www.retallack.com/ .  See for yourself. » read more

Last winter was lacking snow in a lot of North America but our crew was lucky to find some of what was.  To add a little stoke coming into this winter, I thought it might be worth showing some scenes from a little of what we sampled.  The crew hit it pretty timely. This is what they found.   For more information on SWS, visit their website at http://www.selkirkwilderness.com/ » read more

I don't know about you but my face is getting warm...I feel the need to cool it down....with face shots!  I can't think of anyplace better to do it than with Selkirk Tangiers outside of Revelstoke.  This last winter was dry in most of North America but we managed to find something to cool ourselves with.  Skiing with legends Scott Kennett, Eric Pehota, seven-time World Cup winner, freestyle skier John Witt, and up-and-comer, Logan Pehota, we caught the goods last January.  With Winter 2012/13 just around the corner, I thought this might help everyone get in the mood.  Enjoy!  (And count the days 'til we start!!) » read more