If you’re serious about big mountain riding, you need a legit camera. No, not so you can post pictures of how rad you are to Facebook. Rather, so once you’re on top of something you can actually figure out where you are and what your landmarks are. I know what you’re thinking “but Dexter, I already have an iphone so I can see where I am and show my friends how rad I’m about to get via Facebook.” This may be so, but if you’re getting into gnarlier, more technical lines you’re going to want something that has a zoom, takes high definition photos, and has a durable screen to review photos on.
Enter the Canon G11. This is my go to camera for freeskiing. It’s fairly tough, takes amazing photos, and has a tough LCD screen from which you can view how rad you’re about to get on. Not to mention its amazing features outside of the ski world (photography/video). The one drawback is the price. At over $550 it’s not (by far) the cheapest point-n-shoot you can buy. However, check out refurbished G10 and G9 cameras to save a buck or two without loosing too much quality. When you just greased that “all-time” line that’s going to make your career because you knew exactly where you were going, you’ll thank me.