Powder Skiing

The state of the current Tahoe backcountry is fresh pow! The present conditions are the best they’ve been all season with blower powder covering exactly where you want to be … Read More

One may not think 7″ is considered a pow weekend, but this season we will take what we can get.  The new snow came in pretty thick and mended the firm base into some soft turns.  The south facing aspects are still fairly firm underneath and the base can still be felt.  As long as the base layer is smooth, the riding is great.  It is a good idea to watch out for the wet piles that formed in the high temps over the weekend.  They could be a little firm.

The best riding is on the north facing shots that were riding soft even before the snow.  It is possible to still find some really deep turns if you look hard enough.  The forecast is calling for continuing snow throughout the week. Nice.

Last Monday and Tuesday (Feb 6 and 7) brought a larger rain event to Hakuba for the first time this season. The rain was followed by a few days of snow. Despite rumors that this has created dust on crust conditions, the skiing has actually been pretty good.

The crust seems to have formed very differently on different aspects, elevations, and places in the valley. Some areas it is very firm, others much more forgiving. The same can be said of the snow, with different snow totals and wind loading creating different depths and consistencies.

In the right places, the skiing has been down right good. In others, it is down right dangerous, with very serious avalanche hazard. Be careful out there!

High pressure is in the cards moving forward, so hopefully in a couple days bigger lines will be stable and skiable.

One of the more satisfying trends in the ski and snowboard industry in recent years has been the growth of local, boutique ski manufacturers. These brands allow you to support … Read More

Somewhere between Tokyo and the Sea of Japan lies a land of virgin pillows the likes of which only a select few have laid eyes upon.

These lines are tucked away from the prying eyes of Australian snowboarders, where only the die-hardiest of locals may find them. But, if you search long enough (or maybe just turn your head slightly to the right while skiing Happo’s north faces), perhaps one day the mountains will deem you worthy to ride them.

This video features a couple of tries on a couple of the lines in this area, a few days apart. Once (today) in more settled snow and good light, once (a few days ago) with new snow falling and sluffing heavily.

Skip to 2:40 for the pillows!

Here’s a quick edit from Oskar Enander of Sweetgrass Productions. Riders include: Eliel Hindert, Piers Solomon, Jesse Hoffman, Ryan Bell and Ben Sturgulewski. After watching this we got extremely jealous then really excited!  It looks like fun.  FUN POW TIME! Pillows!

Check out Oskar’s website at www.oskarenander.com

The second installment of MSP’s web series, Circa Hiberna. Remember the deepness from last year and peep the La Niña shredding that occurred in British Columbia. Now-a-days Powder skiing all looks the same, fat skis pillows and shifty’s.  But don’t get me wrong  it looks fun as sh#t, I’m just jealous.

MSP will have episodes published on the interweb on a regular basis this whole winter. Check out Episode One HERE

Winter is finally back and the conditions are pretty damn good … pretty damn good lads! 80cm has fallen in the last week. So the crusty bottom layer is nowhere to be found. You’re favorite cliff is probably good to go and your secret line in million dollar is probably already tracked.  Another foot is excepted for to fall for tomorrow so the conditions should only get better! See you on the hill

SHRED FOR SARAH

The first appreciable storm of the 2011/2012 season hits the Tahoe area!  A foot at 6,500′ – stop reading this article now and get your ski boots on!     … Read More

Pow slicing (and some dicing) is what we did today. We arrived at base two around 8:30am to find hundreds of people in line because the Blackcomb gondola had closed in the village. An hour later we were on the lift and our day began. CBC =  fun but was tracked out by about noon-o’clock. After a few laps in the trees we made our way back to our apple computers where a heavy mac-off session went down. Let’s just say that Gangsta Wraps from Samurai Sushi (chicken teriyaki wrap) and WordPress keep the Unofficial site online.

SHRED FOR SARAH