Last winter, Samm Sheperd took another stab at skiing with a propeller backpack (his first try overheated). The first four minutes show the build for those who want to jump to the testing. Read the rest
With snowpack disappearing and desertification expanding globally, the Global Warming Riders are making the best of a bad situation and shredding some challenging dunes. Read the rest
Pats of Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova was covered with orange snow this weekend. The odd hue was caused by sand blown into the atmosphere from the Sahara Desert that mixed with snow and rain. The same Saharan dust also resulted in a very orange tint to the Greek island of Crete, seen below.
"African Dust Turns Snow Orange in Eastern Europe" (Weather.com)
Heraklion, Crete in thick Saharan dust right now! Report: Ποπη Κοκοσαλακη pic.twitter.com/4m3ZVY6jap
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) March 22, 2018
This point-of-view footage from NBC Sports offers an exhilarating, terrifying glimpse into what it’s like to be an Olympic downhill skier. Read the rest
Heart-pounding snowboard footage set to the original version of "Major Tom"? Yes please! Read the rest
Musical theatre student Evan W. Gadda has heard stories about Burning Man but hasn't made the journey himself. He is asthmatic. and because of cerebral palsy, paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, so making the trip to Black Rock City has been deemed impossible, until now. Through a HTC Vive VR headset, he has been able to attend the desert event virtually.
His response? "Oh my God."
The team at University of Nevada, Reno who created the experience for Gadda, also sent him to Squaw Valley to (virtually) ski, something he hasn't done since he was 15 years old. It brought him to tears.
Here are the two videos he watched:
Thanks, Andie! Read the rest
Stefan Kraft beat the world record on this attempt, 253.5 meters, which is over 831 feet. There was some discussion about whether he landed it legally, but he prevailed. Regardless, it's a mind-blowing feat. Read the rest
Devin Stratton, 25, was backcountry skiing in Utah's Wasatch Range when he accidentally glided right off a 150-foot cliff. It was unmarked. Above, his Instagram post with the video evidence. Read the rest
LiveLeaker w4chi posted a video of what it's like to survive an avalanche while wearing a special inflatable backpack. Read the rest
Tree wells are a natural phenomenon in deep mountain snow. Evergreens basically act as flour sifters, causing snow around the trees to have less density than surrounding snowpack. Backcountry snowsport enthusiasts on ungroomed courses who get too close to these trees drop in (usually head-first) and can't extricate themselves. Read the rest
Skier Mathieu Bijasson didn't think it was insane enough to ski down the steepest faces of the French Alps during the day, so he rigged up some skis and poles with LED lighting and did it at night. The result is visually beautiful and teeth-clenchingly terrifying all at once. Read the rest
This famed 5,000-year-old rock carving on the island of Tro, near Nordland, Norway, depicting a figure on skis, is one of the most important historical sites in the country. Two teenagers may be prosecuted for scratching into the stone to make the artwork clearer. (Above: image at left is before, right is after.)
The boys came forward last week, and apologized for their actions.
“It was done out of good intentions," said local mayor Bård Anders Langø. "They were trying to make it more visible actually, and I don’t think they understood how serious it was."
According to The Telegraph, the teens may still face prosecution under Norway’s Cultural Heritage Act.
“It’s a sad, sad story,” Nordland Country archaeologist Tor-Kristian Storvik said. “The new lines are both in and outside where the old marks had been. We will never again be able to experience these carvings again the way we have for the last 5,000 years.”
I'm not a hardcore skiier, but growing up in Canada I did learn, and my family and I go skiing about once a year. Read the rest
This Emilio Pucci ski mask was high fashion on the slopes in 1962. From a spread in the December 7, 1962 issue of LIFE magazine. Read the rest
Here's a "street skiing" video that crosses street-skating with parkour, driving a long-suffering pair of skis over a series of urban obstacles from stone stairs to snowy hills. Just watching this daredevil makes my heart pound in sympathy.
(via Kottke) Read the rest
