fresh air

Fresh AirDecember, 2012 | Volume 1, Issue 1

Don’t Get Lost in the

Backcountry

Heavenly Ski Destinations

Your Guide to Kayak Polo

How to Camp Like a Pro

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Contents

From us to You

Overview and IntroductionFrom Us to YouAuthor BiographiesPhoto of the Month

TrailsA Cold Desert Winter Riding AdventuresSanta Cruz Big Top ReviewWhy to ride with a guide

WaterFull Guide to KayakingAustin Aquabats Rise to FameUp the Creek With a PaddleTips to Master the Roll

SnowDestinations: Find the Best PowderReview: Skis that can do it allThe 10 Steepest Slopes in North America

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Hello, from the Fresh Air Staff! We

endeavour with this magazine, to enrich your mind about the great outdoors. Every-one here enjoys outdoor recreation to the fullest extent, whether it is ski-ing, kayaking, or moun-tain biking. We enjoy

competitive athletic sports, but we always fall back on our outdoor hobbies. Our passion is to be outside all day, everyday. We review and test the newest gear that progress the our sports, and have fun doing what we love.

If you are an outdoor

enthusiast, or would simply like to get a sneak peak of the various out-door activities we cover, then you picked up the right magazine. Contact Us

Questions or Concerns? Email us at [email protected] or send us a letter at 826 Pearl Street, Boulder, Colorado

2| December 2012 Cover Photo Provided by jacksonkayak.com

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Photo Provided by Jackson Kayak

Photo used under Creative Commons licensing



December 2012 | 3


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James enjoys biking, basketball, ultimate

frisbee, and especially kayaking. He plays

Kayak Polo downtown with his dad, and his

main ambition is to go to Worlds for Kayak Polo

on the US team.

Taiga likes to read books in his backyard. He also

loves trying out different types of ramen noodles. In the winter, you’ll find

him in the ski slopes, at Steamboat Springs,

Colo., and Heavenly Val-ley, Calif.

Will is what we would call, with lack of better

words, a user of the brown pow. If he is happy, you will find him on a bike, up in

the mountains skiing, or just lost outside. He races cross country in mountain biking and

running. 4 | December 2012

December 2012 | 5

Left, James rehydrating after an intense game of Kayak polo under the Mopac Boulevard bridge. The water in Town Lake is sometimes murky and there are pesticides in the mud still, so drink-ing is to be avoided.

Below, Taiga embraces his heritage and acts like a ninja.

Picture of the Month

Become dazzled by the picturisque land-scape as the morning sun rises in the east.

Covering over 800,000 acres of land, Big Bend National Park located in western Texas covers more area than

the state of Rhode Is-land. However, it is one of the least visited as a result of its extremely remote location.

For committed camp-ers, hikers and back-packers, Big Bend offers countless attractions

that cannot be found anywhere else. From trails that visit rock for-mations in the Chihua-huan Desert, to narrow paths in the fertile river valley, this is a dream for many experienced outdoorsmen.

by Will Johnson

Santa Cruz High Ball Carbon

Review:

“You can ride this bike all day, and all day comfortably”

to distribute loads and absorb impact energy. The builders also say, “This makes our frames incredibly strong and able to absorb impact better than any other frames we’ve tested.” The components that Santa Cruz equips the bike with are light, but strong like the Fox fork and Enve wheels. When you get a great build like we did, the price is high, but the ride is incredible.

ComponentsThe High Ball is a well specked bike. All of the parts help to bring out the bike’s person-ality, and the frame

races, short track and longer endurance rides.

Once you jump one the Big top, you will im-mediately feel its speed and nimbleness, but an-other thing that shines is its versatility. If you are more of a trail rider,

you can run a 120mm fork and slacken the head to have a low slung fell to plow through the rough stuff. If you are a

racer, you already have the nimble geometry and the chain stays work with single speed. You can ride this bike all day, and all day comfortably.

TechnologySanta Cruz has declined

Santa Cruz has always been a no bull company, and

this is why we were so interested when they re-leased their first carbon 29er hard tail. With the most successful down-hill team in the world racing their bikes, there had always been a blank spot for cross country racing. That blank spot was filled when the Big Top Carbon was re-leased. This bike is a rac-ing beast, and can plow up and down the steeps with ease. The pedaling efficiency is amazing, and the days of a slow 29er are now gone. In

just a few pedal strokes, the bike can race up to full speed. You could, and would definitely dominate cross-country

using an acronym to ex-plain their carbon fiber process, and explains that instead of stuff-ing marketing down your throat, they would rather just tell people their manufacturing process. The Big Top’s frame is built using a one piece lay-up, so excess material waste is limited because there is not material used in joining of separate pieces. This means increased stiffness, and lower weight, and a star-tling increase in cost per frame. Around the tube junctions, there are con-tinuing fibers that help

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2.46

December 2012 | 9

Frame weigth (size medium)

Kit

Pounds

almost perfection.

VerdictSanta Cruz is doing everything right. As the company’s first foray into the competi-tive XC racing world, the company has made a complete success. The bike is extremely versatile, comfortable, and built with qual-ity to last. The ride is tuned to perfection, and you can shred this bike up or down. Highly recommended? Yes. Performance increasing? Yes. Almost Cheating? Definitely.

You need this bike.

9116$Total

Price

Fork

Color

XTR xc 29 ENVE

32 Float 29 CTD Adjust FIT 100

Matte Carbon21.51

Total Bike Weight

Pounds

Shimano XTR w/ 160mm Ice Tech rotorsBrakes

Bars and Stem Easton EC 70 685mmEaston EA 90 70mm

SEAT POST Thomson Masterpiece

WTB Silverado SLTSADDLE

is definitely in good company along with the Fox fork, full xtr race, and enve carbon wheels. The new Fox CTD fork is equipped with the Climb-Trail-Descend technology that allows you to tune your suspen-sion on the fly.

Riding our local Aus-tin trails, I could bomb down a rough section of the trail with the fork in full travel, and then fly straight into a climb with a locked out fork. This new technol-ogy works well, makes you faster and opens up great versatility for trail riders. The full xtr

race drivetrain works almost too well, and the lightweight derailleurs provide a smooth and tactile shifting experi-ence. On one note, it would have been nice to see a 1 by 11 drivetrain on a bike of this cost, but the 2 by 10 works well. The Enve carbon wheels are a work of art, and at sub fourteen hundred grams, the bike has incredible accelera-tion thanks to the low rotational weight.

You will prob-ably have to replace the cockpit with wider bars, but that is just a small complaint. This bike is

Why to Ride with a Guide(and a dog)

Getting lost sucks. The thrill of adventure and

discovery creates an ex-citement one in its own, a high like nothing else. As thrill seekers, this lust for excitement still drives people to explore, but in the real wilderness, there have always been real consequences. The truth still stands that in the backcountry, there is always a risk of getting lost.

Ever since the first riders pedaled into the backcountry, people have been discovering how much fun backcountry trails can be. The trails were amazing, fun to ride, and hundreds of miles long, but their use was limited simply because of their location.

Riders wanted to ride the best trails but obviously didn’t want to get lost, so Mountain Bike Guide Companies were born.

Somehow, the indus-

try thrived, and local companies were founded by the dozens. Guides focused their business in early Mountain Bike meccas like Moab, and you can still find some of the best riding and guide companies like Rim Tours or Hermosa Tours in Moab.

Right in the middle of the scene is Western Spirit Cycles, a company

built by riders. The idea is simple but effective; you pay for a guide, and in turn don’t get lost, ride amazing trails, and relax. This service comes at a

“These epic adventures have the potential to be very dangerous, and don’t worry, they can be.”

price, but they now run over 1200 riders a year. Western Spirit offers a huge variety of trips, ranging all the way from single-track to road, multi day or single day, and spread from coast to coast in the lower 48. These epic adventures have the potential to be very dangerous, and don’t worry, they can be. From Moab to Glacier

National Park, the trips can be have a variety that can attract anyone. All you need to do is ride a bike.

As the sport has become more popular in the last years, new guid-ing companies have been founded that offer more specific adventures. H and I Adventures is Brit-ish Columbian company that focuses specifically on trips in Yukon, where the mountain trails fall into breathtaking views. There is now more than ever a real industry in Mountain Bike Guiding, and the availability is better than ever.

While this protected environment and extra service might seem like a load of useless nonsense, it is not, and every trip is

10 | December 2012

serious fun. The guides won’t hold your hand when the trail gets rough, and the trips still heavily emphasize riding. In fact, every helping hand that the guides offer is to help . According to Western Spirit, “you will be riding the best trails an area has to offer, not ever having to worry about getting lost, improving your bik-ing skills, eating delicious meals and camping in the backcountry in style and comfort.”

As far as a dog goes, they really do make great riding buddies, and your little buddy might sur-prise you with his speed.

By Will Johnson

Truvativ XO CranksIt’s a new year, and Sram’s trustworthy

XO set is back and better than ever. The new cranks are burly carbon fiber ready for the all-mountain adventure, and built to last. Sram’s acclaimed 2 by 10 system is featured on these cranks, and the system limits cross-chaining, supports simplicity, and keeps weight minimal. The cranks are offered in many different BB options, so you should be able to hook them up to just about any bike.

msrp-400$

FreshA new 2013 kit from Sram excites

Avid XO Brakes As Avid says, “sneaky strong,” the new

Sram trail brakes pack a punch. Designed to offer superior stopping power without the fade out that avid brakes a notorious for, these brakes will seriously pimp your ride. We experienced good performance out of box, but once we had tweaked the modulation and blead them, the perfor-mance was simply unmatchable.

msrp-310$

Sram XO GripShift

Grip Shifts are a relatively new tec-nology to high end Mountain Biking, but they have im-portant advantages. You can keep your hands on the grips at all times, and there is a lower total weight from not having a seperate shifter mechanism.

msrp-225$

December 2012 | 11

There is nothing like the perfect mix, and Fruita has found it. With big rocks, rolling hills, and perfect dirt, this small town city has recently exploded with a huge mountain biking scene.

Focused on fast, flowy trails, just about anybody could come to Fruita with no experi-ence at all, and leave as a hard charging experi-enced rider.

Through the expan-sion of great new trails and thriving community, the city of Fruita can expect more tourism in the coming years.Trails

Check out the 18rd Trail System for its

Bend, Oregon

One word; Endless. The only description that Bend, Oregon needs. Tucked away in a small valley of the Cas-cade Range, this classic mountain town is where the mountains meet the desert.Trails

A hidden network of amazing trails are hidden in these sandy hills, and with over five hundred miles of sandy singletrack, there is a massive amount of va-riety in the trails, from all day epics, dirt jumps, and north shore style.

cold desert The best desert riding for this winter.

Winter is here. Since the start of

summer, you have been dreading the day when the temperatures drop, and the sun goes down. As the snow starts to fall, many trails will become unrideable and cold, but this doesn’t mean you can’t ride.

Luckily, there are des-erts on our planet, and an increasing number of people are escaping to them each winter.

Unlike your snowed out trails at home, places like Fruita and Moab start to get really nice in the coming months.

Take out that trail bike and go ride great trails this winter, but in warm weather.

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Fruita, Coloradomassive network of well marked, and fun, trails. To keep the pucker fac-tor high, ride the Troy Built trail which is built by the locals, so you are guaranteed to have fun.Vibe

Over the Edge sports carries endless amounts of highend rentals from Santa Cruz to ibis and trek. Co-owned by local ripper Ross Schnell and George Gatseos, the store recently changed hands. Many people were doubtful that the new owners wouldn’t continue the great legacy of the store, but the public has only been surprised as the store is now thriving more than ever.

Used under creative commons licensing



A link to free moab trailmap

cold desert The best desert riding for this winter.

Moab, UtahAs the desert classic

that forged the love of mountain biking into a small mountain town, Moab resides deep in the hearts of all moun-tain bikers. Many words come to mind when rid-ers are asked to describe moab. Some people say “hot” or “epic,” but the truth is that Moab is undescribable.

A rider simply has to see the massive arches and never ending slick rock to truly know and feel the most famous biking city in the world.

As far as bike rentals go, you simply cannot

go wrong. Everything comes to personal choice, and the rid-ing states that clearly enough. Trails

Moab might just be the largest trail network on earth. The riding is very visual, and some-times very scary. As you admire the breath taking views of red rock cliffs, you might start to notice the hundred foot drop a couple of feet from the trail. Yes, it is true that the trails often run parrallel to rather large cliffs. On the other hand, if you

are not afraid of hights, the trails should offer an experience so dialed you will just have to come back.

A contributing factor to moab’s rise to fame is the slick rock. The area is like a rideable ocean, with massive hills and neverending options for where to ride. Your tires stick to the rock like sandpaper, and the neverending flow lasts for miles. This trail can be busy, as it is the most famous biking trail in the world, but this trail is garanteed must ride.

December 2012 | 13





I hope you’re not afraid of waterFor some people, kayaking is not just a sport or hobby. It is a way of life. Paddling has many subgroups, from kayaking to canoeing, and more recently Stand Up Paddleborading. Enjoying a 4,000+ year old activity just proves how useful of a skill it is. From whatever group you come, we can all enjoy it.

Kayak Polo: A complete guideLeft: An member of the Belgium national team tackling a polish player. Poland won, coming away with a 8-7 victory. Poland came in 11th overall in the tourna-ment, and Belgium finished just behind in 12th.

Photos used under creative commons Licensing

Right: An unknown player starts a the play. After a goal is scored, the other team will go to the center of the pitch and present the ball, signaling the beginning of play.

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Basic rundownKayak polo is a sport that is played with two teams on the pitch at once. Each team can have 5 players in the field of play at any one time. There are many rules put in place to protect players, and make the game very safe. Kayak polo is a very aggressive sport, and the team that wants the ball more will definitely do better. Kayak polo is interesting because un-like most other sports, how you move around is half the sport. This is just based on actual movement, not posi-tioning. Most people can make it up and down a basketball court without any training, however, someone with no experi-ence in kayaking would have a lot of difficulty making it anywhere.

RulesThere are some basic rules that are fairly ma-jor in the game---Paddle foul: when a player’s paddle comes close to another persons body intentionally. This includes going for the ball, where you try with your paddle and they go for it with their hand.---Grabbing someone else’s gear: When some-one grabs your boat, paddle, or person.

Below: Agressive D: A german player battles for the ball. Polo can be very agressive when two good teams play

The gear-The Kayak: a typical kayak polo boat is about eight feet long, and one and a half feet wide. Colors should be coordi-nated between teams in international competi-tion, but not color is specific for all kayaks. The main materials used for the kayak body is fiberglass or carbon fi-ber. This makes the boat strong, yet light.-The Paddle: Paddles are usually about six feet long, with different play-ers having different pref-fered lengths. A longer paddle may allow you to move more water with each stroke, but your stroke rate will go down. Goalies will usually have longer paddles so they can reach the top of the goal easier.-Protective gear(Helmet, life vest): Helmets should cover the head like any standard helmet. The face mask should cover the full face, including the chin. The holes should not allow paddles, fingers, or boats through.

What beginners should knowWhenever you are pad-dling, you should never paddle on your own. When starting out, make sure you are around experienced paddlers so you stay safe. It is also important that you do your own research and know the basic rules. That will help you keep up with the game.

Photos courtesy of Norm Kirchner

James DuBose blocks an attempted shot from the Fowl Owls.

Get Your Nationals OnHow the Aquabats rose to victory

at their own tournament This was their year. The year they would fi-nally do it. All their hard work and training was leading up to now. It’s go time. The Austin Aquabats B-team(Aquabats B) had been at the losing end of tournaments for way too long. Last year, at the US kayak polo nationals in Omaha, Neb. the Aqua-bats B came in fourth overall in their division. Their fourth place finish was due to, accord-ing to Norm Kirchner an aquabats B-team player, “the lack of ball handling and experi-ence in their team”. The Aquabat B-team picked up some team members at the tournament, making this their first kayak polo game. This meant that there was a lack of team symmetry. The other team saw that the Aquabats B had very little ball handling skill, “and the other teams took advantage of that” Kirchner said. The main teams the Aquabats B had to face were the San Fran-cisco Bandits, the North Carolina Shipwrecks, and Omaha’s team. At the previous tournament last year, the Canadian Bombsquad came in first, but because they are not a national team, every-one was bumped up one place. The official stand-ings were Omaha taking the gold, North Carolina taking the silver, and then the Aquabats B tak-ing the bronze. “We[Aquabats B] were a much more experienced

team,” We had been practicing together for at least 4 months, which meant we played as a much more tightly knit group. During our twice a week practices, we had been playing against the A-team, which trained us to handle the ball better and play at a faster level. Also, we got a better goalie than what we had last year. That meant that we were not going to be scored on. Overall we were just more pre-pared for this tourna-ment.” The changes to the Aquabats B made a drastic difference in how they did other the course of this year’s tourna-ment. In the first day of the tournament, the Aquabats B went 2-0-1, with two victories and onew tie. The last games of qualifying, they went 4-0. This record meant that they would go to the final and face the San Francisco Bandits, who they tied 4-4 in qualifying. The final was a close game up until the second half, when it was 2-1 with the Aquabats ahead. The Aquabats made a late game push, and continued their inpenetratable defense, which lead them to 3 more points, while holding the Bandits to 0 points in the second half. They came out on top with a 5-1 victory. The Aquabats B were all very happy at the medals ceremony, finally being able to hold their gold trophies high.

The Aquabats B recieving their trophies for 1st place

December 2012 |17

James DuBose gets the ball while Dj DuBose(19) points out passing options. The Aquabats maintainded good ball control, which helped them on the offensive ends.

Norm Kirchner throws the ball in for an easy goal after a fast break. Steals were a major com-ponent for the Aquabats scoring.

By James DuBose

Up the creek with a paddle

How to RollStep 1: Roll over. Here, the kayak is off balance and about to tip.

Step 2: Set up under water, with your paddle parallel to the boat, putting your dominant hand in front

Step 3: Sweep the paddle blade over the top of the water. While doing this, snap your hips to push the kayak right side up. Here, as you can see, it is important to lean back as far as possibleso you will come up faster. This uses the exact same principle as a figure skater pulling their legs in.

Everyone has heard the expression “up the creek without a paddle,” but lets try it with one. The majority of the population has had little instruction on how to paddle properly. Most people use common sense and figure out an instinctive way on how to go forward, but sometimes it can be comedy gold to watch. While kayaking I have seen many people weav-ing through the water and holding the paddle backwards.Kayaking is a sport that you really have to work at to even be able to move around effectively. Unlike other sports, like basketball, you are thrown into the deep end if you do not have experience kayaking. With basket-ball, other sports and activities can carry over well. If you have played football, you will be able to play basketball well even if your skill is lim-ited. Kayaking is a whole different ball game. I was first really introduced and taught to kayak at the age of 10, when my dad and I went to a kayak polo club called the Austin Aquabats. Adrian Nye was a player for the Aus-tin Aquabats, so he told my dad we should come play, and thats how we

ended up there. The main route for my kayaking comes from my dad. My dad is an avid kayaker, and ran many rivers in Australia. He enjoyed paddling a lot of whitewater, doing river running and play-boating. He competed in many playboating competitions, actu-ally coming 72nd in an international kayaking competition. His roots in competition meant that he was invited to be on the 2000 olympic whitewater rescue team. Having a parent that went to the Olympics to do something is cool. This is where he met Adrian Nye, our current connection to kayak polo. We played for about 6 months, until my dad started college and he wanted to focus on that, so we stopped. I was dis-sapointed that we were not going every week, but I was not terribly sad because every other player was so much better than me, so it was unfair. When I was 10 and playing against adult that had been play-ing 15+ years, it came seem kind of pointless at times. At the time that we stopped, I had a

Step 4: You can finish off the roll by doing a low brace if you are having trouble finishing off the roll

ByJames DuBose


Above photos by James DuBose

My journey on learning to roll

Commentary

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incredibly inconsistent roll. In no way was I comfortable going over. I despised it every time I went over. I could make it on occasion, but mostly I would stay underwater and have to wait for a bow rescue. We came back about 8 months ago in March. I was excited to come

back, but I thought it was going to be difficult to learn how to paddle again. The first day we went, we arrived early so we could work on my roll. I had anxiety about rolling again, because I had remembered how stressful it had been when I went over when I was The first time I tried

Important note: Your head should be one of the last things to come out of the water. This person is trying to come up for air as fast as possible, so they are sitting straight up. They are almost all the way through their stroke, but they are still wildly off balance. Keeping your cool under water will help infinitely. Below, an example of keeping your head underwater. Once you flip to start to flip of actually relax, you can say you have become good at rolling.


Photo by James DuBose

a paddle roll, I came up, but just barely. All that time I had spent in my neighbors pool finally paid off. I had received a kayak when I was 10, for the specific purpose of teaching me how to roll. Getting my paddle roll down very quickly was nice for me. Between halves, it can be nice to roll over and cool down. The next big step for me was learn-ing to hand roll. I had previously tried hand rolls, but it was always something I would try at the end to see if I could do it, and I never took it seri-ously. That definitely changed. A hand roll is one of the most impor-tant rolls you can have in kayak polo. You may be holding the ball, be tackled, lose the ball and then you have to quickly come back up without a paddle. Hand Rolling is easi-er than a paddle roll to learn, but it is mentally daunting those first few times because you are flipping underwa-ter with no assistance from any gear like a paddle. Also, you can’t muscle your way to the surface like when you have a paddle. Once you get your technique for hand rolling down, it becomes an easy task. The technique is quite simple, once your have it committed to memory. I was not allowed to be tackled for the first 2 months when we came back. The club will keep people who are new and inexperi-

The code above will take you to a video that high-lights some errors that newer kayakers tend to make while rolling. December 2012 |19

enced, who cannot roll, above water until they learn. While I was work-ing on my roll, I was inadvertently flipped without my paddle. Now, the club members will paddle up next to you, with their bow next to you. This is called a bow rescue, and it allows you to pull yourself up, which is much easier to do for beginners. After I was rolled, I tried and failed 2 hand rolls. I panicked underwater, gasping for air when I barely got my head above water. I managed to calm down and wait for a bow rescue after I remembered my training and realized panick-ing would not help me get back up. I see this as the major turning point for my roll. I was able to fight back the panic I experienced, and ultimately keep my cool which helped me get back up. Learning to be relaxed when flipped not on your own terms will help keep you in the game. When rolling, If you can stay chilled while underwater, you are halfway up. As soon as you remember what you have to do to roll, you are above water again. The physical technique can be easily to com-mited to memory, but your mind may get in the way. Being able to roll pro-ficiently was one of my major goals of this year, and I definitely accom-plished it. Now I look forward to improving my technique in every-thing, and just continue to get better.

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December 2012 | 29

Skiing is an art. See the world of peace and tranquility, and the world’s timeless beauty from the slopes. There’s nothing like flying through the air, bathing in the bright sunlight.


DownhillAll The Way

Best Of The WestBy: Taiga Shirai

22 | December 2012

Best Expert Runs:Jackson Hole

Expert skiers will find themselves at home, with double black diamond runs all over the mountain, includ-ing Corbet’s Couloir, which has been ranked the number one scari-est ski slope in America, by forbes.com. After a two-story drop onto a 55-degree slope, skiiers must make a sharp turn to avoid crashing into a wall. This is a run where even expert skiiers must conquer their fears be-fore attempting to ski it. In addition, 50 percent of the terrain is is expert terrain.

Jackson Hole began allowing skiiers into the

backcountry in 1991. Jackson Hole offers a daily guided backcoun-try tour, with rates start-

per full-day session, and safety instructions and equipment are provided. Skiiers that venture out

ing at $420 per person. Clients of these tours ski an average of a whop-ping 12,000 vertical feet

into the backcountry are rewarded with thou-sands of acres of extra terrain to ski.

Backcountry terrain at Jackson Hole Ski Resort.

Best Powder: Revelstoke

This Canadian ski resort located in British Columbia offers some of the lightest powder snow in the world.

Receiving about 450 inches of fluffy snow a year, this is the perfect destination for powder-hounds looking to get sprayed in the face.

There are plenty of powder stashes all over the mountain, which has the longest vertical drop in North America, with 5,260 feet.

Revelstoke Powder.


A guide of the top western ski resorts in North America

Photo provided by Revelstoke Mountain Resort

Best Class: VailLooking for the

classiest ski resort in the west? You found it.

Roaming around Vail Village, you will find yourself surrounded by dozens of unique shops, including western clothing stores, outdoor gear shops and countless fancy gift shops.

A big attraction is the Gorsuch store in Vail Village, which sells the classiest ski wear, as well as other accessories including jewelry and footwear.

Let’s not forget to mention the amazing Après Ski experience that you will never forget. With karaoke, clubs, five bars and over 20 restaurants that are easily accessible by the convenient bus routes, you are guaranteed the highest quality nightlife

skis are best suited for. This world class

resort has a place for everyone, of all ages.

With a good 20 percent of the terrain allotted to beginners, there are plenty of

Vail Village in the morning.

of any ski resort in the west.

Take some time to stop by the Alpine Tav-ern located in eastern Vail, known for their delicious lamb chops. Up on the ski hill, you are guaranteed to be satisfied with the ter-rific on mountain dining the resort offers. With restaurants such as The 10th, Game Creek and Bistro Fourteen, you have plenty of choices of restaurants, and enough to eat at a different place every day during your ski trip.

Start your adventure by renting skis from shops that will give you some of the best deals in the country. Vista Bahn Ski Rentals rent Ros-signol, Nordica, Liberty, and Dynastar skis for a price between $16 and $43 per day, depending on the level of skill the

slopes for kids. Over 40 percent of the terrain is for advanced and expert skiiers, and they’ll find themselves at the powder stashes in the hidden back bowls. Vail also has some of the best

tree skiing in the nation, in the Blue Sky Basin area of the ski resort.

Skiing, nightlife, this resort has it all, mak-ing it one of the most visited ski resorts in the United States.

Photo provided by Colorado Tourism Office

Best Scenery: Heavenly Valley

Most ski resorts don’t have a 180-degree view of one of the most beau-tiful lakes in the world.

With the lake being visible from 95 percent of the runs at Heavenly Valley this is a great des-tination no matter who you are - whether you are on your honeymoon, or on a family trip.

In addition, there is 4,800 acres of skiable terrain, and 3,500 feet in vertical drop, which makes Heavenly Valley the largest Lake Tahoe resort.

If you are aiming for a great view, then Heav-enly Valley may be your next destination.

December 2012 | 23Heavenly Valley Ski Resort overlooking South Lake Tahoe. Photo used under Creative Commons licensing

1. Rossignol Experience 98 2013Ever feel those skis chittering away from your body, while unprofessionally sliding sideways down the mountain on an icy slope? Expert testers agree these are the top Rossignol skis to come out this year. These skis with super wide tips carve the snow with ease, sticking to the surface throughout the turns. Mostly designed for agressive, expert skiiers, these skis tire the users out quickly at first, but is a gem once some practice is thrown in with these skis. These skis perform equally well on all types of snow, such as packed powder, hard pack and spring corn. After skiing for several hours a day, chances are high for encountering an icy patch on a steep run, and temporarily lose control over your skis. The Ros-signol Experience will grip the icy surface, and help you keep your balance. These skis, which are rated high for maneuverability and crud performance will cut you some slack on those icy slopes. On top of that, these skis have metal reinforcements, which gives it gorgeous stability at high speeds, so you can enjoy some of that wind slapping your face as you speed down the hill. They also allow effortless float-ing through powder, and is an overall highly rated ski that you can take just about anywhere, and enjoy a great experience.

Ski

2. Nordica Helldorado 2013People call this ski the Black Death, after looking at its intimidating graphics. This ski completely dominates the deep snow rankings, and lives up to its expectations. The rounded tips and metal rein-forcements allow skiiers to plow effortlessly through the deep snow. The full wood core keeps the vibra-tion of the skis on hard pack snow to a minimum. Although mostly designed for high performance in light powder conditions you get in the west, these skis have no problem on crud snow.This slight extra weight on these skis allow for an amazing stability at high speeds. Although these skis don’t have the hard gripping edges that the Rossignol Experience 98 has, it’s powder performance, stablity and flotation make up for it. Take these skis with you to ski the back-country terrain at Jackson Hole in Wyoming, or the exceptional powder at Revelstoke in British Colum-bia, you are guaranteed excellent performance from these superb skis.

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3. Blizzard Black Pearl 2013The Black Pearl is the highest rated women’s ski overall. The highlight performance of these skis is carving on groomed surfaces. At 88 mm underfoot, these skis have a very effective, snappy response on hard surfaces, such as crud and ice. The snappy response also helps to make shorter radius turns on steep hills, or when skiing through trees. The Blizzard Black Pearl skis excel off the beaten path, but they’ll also lay down fast turns on the corduroy of a groomed run if given the chance. The fiberglass reinforcements laid in four separate directions help it decrease the floppiness which often trouble other skis at high speeds. Rocker in the tips of these skis help you turn easier, and enhance skiiers’ ability to float through powder snow. The front rockers are there to absorb unnecessary vibration when skiing bumpy terrain, making it super dependable on most runs. Also, the new Flipcore Technology is used, which helps women attack any ski hill naturally. It’s super skiable and good looking with a nice design. These are debatably the best women’s skis that have been produced to date, and not many skis can match the Black Pearl’s new technology features.

4. Kastle LX82The wide array of snow conditions this ski can with-stand makes this the most successful Kastle brand ski to date. These skis are designed to be some of the most flexible and lightweight skis in the market, having only two sheets of metal built into the flanks of the skis. They are designed for skiers that don’t weigh very much, and women. For people having issues bending their regular skis on their edge and therefore can’t get a clean carve in the snow, these skis are perfect. Also, it features Kastle’s signature Hollowtech Ovals, which are large kkklkkkkwegg shaped sections on the ski where there is nothing but a thin layer of yellow glass. This helps lighten the front tips of the ski dramatically, by 15%. This extremely flexible, smooth, lightweight beast is very easy to control. Bottom line is, you don’t have to be an expert to enjoy the Kastle LX82. Even though these skis tend to not overpower like the Rossi-gnol Experience, or the Nordica Heldorado, they are known for their great stability, versatility, and elegance.

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Photos used under Creative Commons licensing

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FearConquering the toughest of slopes on the continent By: Taiga Shirai

5. Outer Limits - Killington Resort, Vt.Executive editor of Ski magazine Gregory Di-

trinco once said, “It’s long and relentless, and steep, so it physically beats you up”.

Sure enough, this 2,241.5 foot long run has an angle of 30 degrees, for virtually the whole run, liv-ing up to its expectations. Being one of the steepest mogul runs in the world, this tests even expert ski-ers’ endurance and persistence.

4. Two Smokes - Silverton Mountain, Colo.This super steep chute narrows down to a skimpy

6 feet in width at one point. The run is so steep that the snow has trouble sticking to the surface of the mountain, which results in the creation of one of the rockiest runs in North America.

Rocks and other obstacles pose a huge threat to skiiers, so this chute is a guide-only run.

Guide or no guide, Two Smokes is simply one of the toughest to conquer.

Outer Limits at Killington Resort, VT.3. Al’s Run - Taos Ski Valley, N.M.

Mogul skiiers will fall in love with the mammoth bumps here, that can get up to four feet tall.

On top of that, this run is located right beneath the main lift, so be prepared to get some serious smack talk from your new friends up in the lift when you have a massive yard sale.

A combination of length (1,800 vertical drop), steepness and the unforgiving moguls put this run on the bucket list of most expert skiiers.

2. The Black Hole - Smugglers’ Notch, Vt.This insane tree run is the only tripple black dia-

mond run in eastern United States. The chute is a 53 degree slope at one point, and requires expert ski-iers and snowboarders to have the quickest reflexes, to dodge trees left and right.

Although this is a run clearly marked on the trail map, it can be very hard to find.

On the positive side, this run is not regularly skiied on, so fresh snow lasts for a long time.

The trees protect the snow on The Black Hole from melting, which guarantees perfect winter con-ditions throughout the spring months of March and April. This gladed run is an east coast favorite for many tree skiiers.

View of Al’s Run from the main lift. Photo used under Creative Commons licensing


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1. Delirium Dive - Sunshine Village, Alberta

A classic steep, and arguably the most chal-lenging slope in Canada, Delirium Dive takes ex-treme skiing to another level.

This off-piste free-ride zone has various unmarked hazards including 20 meter cor-nices, frozen waterfalls and 25 meter cliffs.

The avalanche danger is carefully monitored on this run, and it may

Looking up at the steep face of Delirium Dive.

suddenly close with short notice.

However, all skiiers that enter The Dive must do so with a partner, and have proper preperation for possible accidents.

Skiiers must carry a shovel and an avalanche beacon for safety.

Delirium Dive makes us feel weak to our knees with its 1,600 foot length and a 40 to 50 degree slope that lasts through the majority of the run, not to mention the hazardous obstacles.

The tamer approach is to climb down some steps, and avoiding the rocks.

When the run is com-pleted, there are several ways to exit the run, including a short hike back to the lifts, or a run through the beautiful powder bowls.

Nevertheless, De-lirium Dive is one of the most intimidating steep runs in the world, a run that every extreme skiier must conquer before they die.

Additionally, Sun-shine Village has a day long program called Delirium Sunday.

Knowledgable guides and ski instructors take the brave willing skiiers to the extreme, and ski the nerve wrecking double black diamond steep.

There are multiple ways to tackle the initial entry to the run.

The more intimidat-ing path is through a very narrow gap be-tween sharp rocks.

Even though this slope is in-bounds, it is always normal for ava-lanches to occur sporadi-cally.

In-bounds off piste terrain holds plenty of dangers, so skiiers should always scout the path they are going to take before hand, and lay off the dangerous experimenting, to avoid deadly accidents.

Tackling this run requires both experi-ence, and a backcountry mentality at all times.


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