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Articles by John Stifter
The Yearlong American Road Trip That Didn't Kill Us
Spending 13 months circling North America in a 2009 Dodge Sprinter van will tell you a thing or two about yourself—and whoever you’re traveling with. Janna Irons and John Stiftermet and started dating while working as editors at Surfer and Powder, respectively. (Both magazines are owned by the same company and share offices.) They soon began fantasizing about adventuring together and pulled the trigger in the summer of 2015.
The Fastest Way Down the Mountain is the Best Line
Check out the four nominees for the Best Line category of the 19th Annual Powder Awards. Top to bottom, this award goes to the skier with the most direct, aesthetic line down the mountain. Buy tickets here to find out who wins.
VIDEO: The Deepest Powder Skiing of 2018
Check out the four nominees for the Best Powder category of the 19th Annual Powder Awards. From pillow mania in BC, to Japan blower among birch trees, and beautiful cinematography of the greatest thing in the world, these four nominee clips will have you watching the weather and ensuring you score the deepest powder of your life. Buy tickets here to find out who wins.
WATCH: The Nominees for Best Air Go Huge
Check out the four nominees for the Best Air category of the 19th Annual Powder Awards. From manmade money booters to natural takeoffs deep into the mountains, this category represents the evolution of tricks. Who will take home the coveted trophy? Buy tickets here to find out who wins. As the longest-running awards show in skiing, the Powder Awards commences on the evening of December 13, 2018, at the Riverwalk Center just off Breck’s Main Street.
Crafted Episode 1: The Nordica Enforcer Project
When Nordica elected to manufacture skis 20-plus years ago, it was a significant ship for the Italian ski boot manufacturer. Yet now, in the company’s 80th year of existence, a line of skis, called the Enforcer project, changed the perception of this brand as not just a boot company but one of the best ski brands on the market.
Washington's Crystal Mountain is a Must Visit for Skiers in the PNW
Considered Washington’s most “resorty” resort, Crystal Mountain is actually one of the best ski areas in North America you need to include on your bucket list. Two and a half hours from Seattle, Crystal Mountain features 2,600 acres of terrain, a base at 4,400 feet, and 462 annual inches of snow that’s drier than any other Washington ski areas. Plus, that view of 14,411-foot Mount Rainier is like no other.
Can You Ski on the U.S./Canada Border?
Longtime POWDER Features Editor Porter Fox set out on a 4,000-mile journey two years ago to tell the story of the oft-forgotten northern border of the U.S. His travels and findings can be found in his latest book, Northland. In traversing the border lands, he passed through ski country in New England, Michigan, Montana, Idaho, and Washington state.
Italy Sees Heavy Snow in August Amid Record Heat Wave
With Europe experiencing record-hot temperatures, ranging from 116 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit the last few days, it snowed a foot on the Italian island of Sardinia last Thursday. There, 90-plus degree temperatures plummeted causing a “snow blanket” that covered roads and buried cars. Meanwhile, the Southern Hemisphere winter is off to a relatively decent start, with Portillo, Chile, reporting up to 8 new inches adding to the 122-inch year-to-date snowfall.
WATCH: Hot Springs Soak to Pillow Skiing Stoke
Mark Abma and co. explore the natural wonders of the Canadian Kootenays Leave it up to a group of Canadians to find the link between thermal hot springs and pillow skiing.
The Edit Will Make You Hungry to Ski Groomers
Over 10 days last winter, former high-level ski racer Marcus Caston and POWDER Senior Photographer Adam Clark headed up to Snowbird with a simple mission: shoot resort skiing when the conditions weren’t good. “Marcus loves skiing Snowbird, he’s cracked out on it…addicted to it,” says Clark, a Salt Lake City native and local. “He loves the crappy days as much as the powder days.” Vote for Caston and other leading skiers in the annual Powder Poll.
WATCH: Rainforest to Glacier to Sunset Ski | POWDER
Skiing in national parks, let alone Washington’s Olympic National Park, requires commitment and comfort with suffering. It is masochistic suffering to ski one of the most memorable descents of your life after you’ve hiked 18 miles through a rainforest so green and lush and full of the biggest trees and ferns you’ll wish your middle name was Mossy or Lichen. That’s what you get when you mission out to Washington’s Olympic Peninsula to ski in Olympic National Park.
WATCH: Yellowstone Shredding
From "Monumental: Skiing Our National Parks" comes the best mini-golf skiing of the winter It’s not often skiers shred this hard in a U.S. national park. Then again, it’s not often a perfect mini-golf terrain zone sits directly above your tent at basecamp followed by ideal cold weather and safe avalanche conditions. From the multimedia digital feature Monumental: Skiing Our National Parks, presented by REI Co-Op, we bring you the above video edit from Yellowstone that lives within the story.
WATCH: Skiing in Yosemite
How many videos have you seen of quality skiers passing through, ascending, and descending famed climbing routes in Yosemite National Park? On the 100-year anniversary of the National Park Service, we bring you the digital feature, Monumental: Skiing Our National Parks, presented by REI Co-Op. Subsequent chapters featuring Yellowstone, Olympic, Glacier, and Grand Teton National Parks will launch the next two weeks.
All Time: Big Sky Backcountry, Montana
With nearly every ski area in North America closed for the 2015-16 season, it’s fair to think, heck even say, ’twas a great ski season. But in the venerable words of college football’s media mascot Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friends!” On Wednesday, May 11, a crew of Big Sky locals headed out to the backcountry zone of Beehive Basin, just north of the ski area, and found 30-plus inches of fresh snow from a day and a half of storms.
All Time: Whistler, BC
El Niño roared back to life, slamming the Pacific coast and BC's Coast Range with over three feet of snow Magic March revealed itself, once again, to Whistler locals, delivering 70-plus centimeters (that’s a lot of snow, U.S. folks) over a three-day cycle. And in true spring fashion, the storm came in the midst of 180 km/hr winds, closing Whistler/Blackcomb for a time. Starting Wednesday, March 9, through this past Tuesday, the resort recorded 52 inches of new snow.
All Time—Mammoth Mountain | POWDER Magazine
Before the current spring swoon hit the Sierra, a storm totaling anywhere from 36 to 51 inches hammered Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in early February. This storm started off quintessential Sierra--wet with a high snow-line--before temperatures dropped, changing the powder conditions from swampy soup to fluffy flourless chocolate cake (sorry, I still have my Valentine’s dinner in mind). According to local Cody Tuttle, “This storm really set Mammoth up for the rest of the season.
Why You Should Live in Spokane
If you'd asked me a few years ago what the chances were I'd move back to my hometown in the inland Northwest, I would have said zero. Last year, my wife and I did the millennial thing and drove our van around North America for 13 months. We visited small ski towns like Crested Butte and Jackson, foodie epicenters like Charleston and Austin, progressive hotbeds like Burlington and both Portlands. We were not only looking for fun and outdoor adventure, but also, potentially, our next hometown.
The Next American Ski Towns
The ski town as we know it is dead. The cause? A toxic combination of all-time national wealth inequalities, wage stagnation, the proliferation of short-term rentals, and too many damn tourists. Unless you got in early, have a family inheritance, or somehow snagged one of the few affordable rentals in town, living in a traditional ski town is a less viable option than it has ever been.
First Look: Atomic Bent Chetler | POWDER Magazine
Typically, when a professional skier is fortunate enough to earn his or her own pro model ski, the ski’s shelf life doesn’t last more than a few years. In other words, in theory, it’s a fun idea, but the skier and brand lose interest pretty quickly due to competing ideas and motivations. But Chris Benchetler and his Atomic Bent Chetler pro model are reversing the stereotype.
Alaskan Road Trip
Nearly every day at POWDER HQ, Director of Photography David Reddick calls me into his office to look at photos from around the globe. He seeks input in order to narrow down selections from contributing photographers. And, unfortunately, several quality images get passed over for a variety of reasons—most notably, space. Only so many photos can run in the magazine or be featured properly online. Simultaneously, we receive several different story pitches and submissions throughout the year.
POWDER Launches The Safe Zone and Avalanche Clinic - Sign Up Now | POWDER Magazine
Microsite on Powder.com dedicated to avalanche education and backcountry resources. The Safe Zone Clinic is open to the public with 50 spots. SAN CLEMENTE, CA (November 27, 2013) – POWDER is proud to announce the official launch of The Safe Zone, a new microsite dedicated to avalanche education and backcountry resources.
Why Do We Ski? For the Family.
Mom and Dad and Big Sisters Two years old, cold, and wearing weird red-and-white plastic ski boots, I clutched her leg like I snuggled my teddy bear. I wouldn't let go. But, according to the dusty four-by-six-inch photos in the "Christmas 1985" album, my sisters pried me away from mom's leg to the domain of the hatless daycare ski instructor. Mom and Dad went on to ski by themselves, stealing a few hours away from us kids and sneaking in a few whiskey hot toddies (so remembers Mom).
How A Filmmaker Found Love Despite Tragic Loss
One of the world’s best high-alpine cinematographers, Bjarne Salén's most tragic loss led to the love of his life Cows graze in muddy fields. Windswept juniper bushes call for Hank Williams to ease the solitude. A low-lying winter dew suppresses the smell of cow dung. Clouds cling to the rolling rust-colored hills and shroud 14,180-foot Mount Shasta's ivory massif. A long gravel road leads to a farmhouse, where a porch light in the distance suggests life.
This Colorado Town Should Be on Your Bucket List
From the Latitudes travel department, Powder Productions introduces the Passing Through video series. Passing Through offers a quick perspective on stashes to ski, chairs to lap, bars to après, food, and accommodations. In the fourth episode of the series, we profile Colorado’s Crested Butte. This end-of-the-road outpost at 9,000 feet features, arguably, the steepest inbounds terrain in North America.
WATCH: Winter Ain't Over in Whistler | POWDER Magazine
Whistler has had a strong season made stronger after 50 inches fell in the first 10 days of March. From March 5-7, filmer Peter Wojnar and skiers Essex Prescott and Jeremy Acland cruised out to the Whistler backcountry to indulge in Ullr’s continuous bounty this season. And with more snow forecasted, April is setting up to be another quality month of snow-sliding north of border.
Why Whistler Is One of the Best Ski Towns in the World
Watch where to ski, where to eat, and where to party at one of the best ski towns in the world From the Latitudes travel department, Powder Productions introduces the Passing Through video series. Passing Through offers a quick perspective on stashes to ski, chairs to lap, bars to après, food, and accommodations.
Snowbird is a Must-Visit for Every Skier
Watch why you should ski Utah blower powder before the end of the season From the Latitudes travel department, Powder Productions introduces the Passing Through video series. Passing Through offers a quick perspective on stashes to ski, chairs to lap, bars to après, food, and accommodations. In late February 2017, another classic Utah storm pummeled Little Cottonwood Canyon and Snowbird, with 44 inches over a three-day span.
This Spot in Montana is What Ski Dreams Are Made Of
From the Latitudes travel department, Powder Productions introduces the Passing Through video series. Passing Through offers a quick perspective on stashes to ski, chairs to lap, bars to après, food, and accommodations. In February 2017, filmer Chris Kamman and friends traveled to Whitefish, Montana, to find out why this outpost in Northwest Montana receives so many rave reviews from those who make the trek.
Nor'eastah Slams Sugarloaf | POWDER Magazine
All Time, produced by Powder Productions, is brought to you by Abom. Filmer Taylor Walker still can’t get over how light and deep it was. Over a 10-day period, starting in early to mid-February, five feet of snow fell in the Northeast—specifically, Sugarloaf, Maine. But on the morning of February 13, Walker and his crew woke to 25 new inches of some of the lightest and driest snow they’ve ever skied. For photos of the storm, check out Jamie Walter’s Storm Dispatch gallery.
All Time—West Shore, Lake Tahoe | POWDER Magazine
A snowy winter for the Sierra has allowed one of Tahoe's favorite backcountry zones to come back into play Life seems normal again in Lake Tahoe. Snow is falling, all lifts are running, and the surrounding backcountry actually holds a layered snowpack. Which means, after four years of awful drought, skiers have returned to a Tahoe classic: the West Shore backcountry.
Super Deep, Super All Time Footage from Alta
The queen of powder skiing, Dolores LaChapelle, once wrote in her iconic book, Deep Powder Snow, the following passage: “…powder skiing is a special gift because of the relationship between earth and sky. It only comes in sufficient amounts in particular places, at certain times on this earth; it lasts only a limited amount of time before sun and wind changes it.
Climate Clarity | Snowlander | The Pacific Northwest Inlander | News, Politics, Music, Calendar, Events in Spokane, Coeur d'Alene and the Inland Northwest
We're screwed. While thinking of what to say on stage to a theater full of skiers and outdoor adventure seekers the day after the most contentious election in modern American history, I couldn't resist that negative sentiment. My colleagues and I at Powder were on tour for a ski film celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the National Park Service. We hiked, slept, skied and reveled in the silent beauty in Glacier, Grand Teton, Olympic, Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks.
Download Monumental Now | POWDER Magazine
Skiing our national parks film is available to download on iTunes, Amazon, Xbox, Google Play, Vimeo On Demand, and more Monumental: Skiing Our National Parks, a Powder Productions Original presented by REI Co-Op and filmed and edited by KGB Productions, is now available to download on several digital platforms for only $9.99.
POWDER Magazine - The Human Factor
On February 19, 2012, I sat on cement-like snow next to two dead bodies. A space blanket covering one of them flapped in the wind. A coat covered the other—my friend who I drank beers with less than 24 hours earlier. The avalanche debris, chunks the size of massive boulders, fanned out below my ski boots. I looked across the valley to the snow-covered trees veiled in rolling fog.
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