Q&A with Winter Dew Tour’s Simon Dumont

We’re just now getting the full scope of everything Simon Dumont got up to last year, now that his footage for Riley Poor’s Transitions, Poor Boyz Productions’ Every Day Is Saturday, and Matchstick Productions’ In Deep has been unleashed on the world (as if winning the Winter Dew Tour event…

More local boards for locavores: Silverton’s Venture Snowboards

This week, Silverton Mountain announced new early season mid-week dates, effective for today’s December 2 opening date, to help meet demand on the Western Slope now that Purgatory has gone to a weekend-only (Friday-Sunday) schedule. If you’re heading to the San Juan Mountains for some of the sickest powder Colorado…

Top Five: Evergreen town parks

Not far outside of Denver lies the town of Evergreen, a quaint little hamlet probably best known as the place where your parents go to drink when Morrison’s too busy. But Evergreen has more than overpriced Chiantis: Thanks to the excellent stewardship of Jefferson County Open Space Parks and Denver…

Skiing drunk and/or high is still illegal in Breckenridge

This story in Saturday’s Summit Daily News makes it clear: Aggressive skiers and riders are a higher-priority law-enforcement target in Breckenridge this year, and the Colorado Ski Safety Act will be enforced. But the story also notes that the Breckenridge police department’s jurisdiction ends 150 yards up the mountain, and…

Classic Descent: North Maroon

Part of the fun of alpinism comes from knowing its history. Climbing and skiing are both very well-documented, and the stories create a timeline in sport that might be unrivaled by anything except baseball, with its legions of devoted statisticians. The year 1971 proved to be a landmark year for ski…

Beyond Midnight trailer whets appetite for more

The above trailer for Beyond Midnight: The Grand Traverse, a documentary covering the most recent Elk Mountains Grand Traverse, the annual backcountry ski race from Crested Butte to Aspen, makes me want to see more. Based on mining-era mail routes, the race’s course covers forty miles with plenty of elevation…

Mind-blowing Thanksgiving video: Parachuting away from an avalanche

This year, instead of bringing some crappy side of green bean casserole to Thanksgiving, I’m just going to just show people this video, which is way more tasty. Herein, French speed rider (that’s skiing with a parachute on) Antoine Montant avoids a massive avalanche by taking to the skies. It’s…

Mayor says Snodgrass expansion controversy in Crested Butte “not over”

Earlier this month, the U.S. Forest Service killed Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s plan to enter the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process to expand onto Snodgrass Mountain with an additional 276 acres of predominately intermediate terrain that has been pegged for skiing in Forest Service plans since 1978. The denial…

Thanksjibbing: 8th Annual Leftover Yam Jam at Copper on Friday

Go easy on the Thanksgiving feast this year, skip the Black Friday shopping melee, and head for the hills instead: Copper Mountain is tentatively scheduled to open its Superpipe later this week, in advance of the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, December 9-12, and is also hosting its 8th Annual Leftover…

The Ski Journal: Ski porn for the rich

They’re only three volumes in, but The Ski Journal has already distinguished itself as the type of publication that takes a deep-think approach to the sport. Like The Alpinist for mountaineering, it ditches copious ads in favor of luxurious paper stock, drool-inducing photography, and thoughtful articles that reflect on the…

Level 1’s Refresh: 10 years in the making

Level 1 – Refresh Teaser from Level 1 on Vimeo. Level 1 Productions’ new flick Refresh is a celebration of the Denver-based production company’s decade of badass freeskiing filmmaking, a simultaneous look back and glimpse of the future. Native New Yorker Josh Berman, Level 1’s mastermind, started shooting his buddies…

The best tree skiing in Colorado

While glossy ski-resort brochures often show pictures of wide open bowls and endless powder, many dedicated skiers know that the trees are where it’s at. Tight, technical, often magical, tree skiing can be a place where there’s powder to be found days after a storm. On bad light days, trees…

Photos: The Backyard Bang Rail Jam

We stopped by the Art Institute’s Rail Jam on Saturday, and it was pretty sweet: Lots of people, lots of rail-jamming, and a festive atmosphere, as evidenced by the photo above. For more such photos, check out Aaron Thackeray’s slideshow…

Awesome Monday video: “Vertical Limit” climbing school

If Hollywood determined proper climbing technique, everybody would walk around with backpacks full of nitroglycerin and believe they could clear just about any jump as long as they yelled hard enough. You can witness this sensibility in the hilariously annotated video, “The Vertical Limit Guide To Climbing”: Note to self:…

Three to Ski: Eldora, Vail and Lincoln Avenue

Every week On the Edge is giving you the skinny on where you should be hitting the slopes, as if our humble opinion will somehow make you reconsider your riding loyalties despite having sold your soul for that season pass.Just in case, you know?…

Tomorrow: Pro-Ams Rail Jamming in Denver’s backyard

The first-annual Denver Backyard Bang Rail Jam is a good reason to stay off the slopes and in the city tomorrow while still getting a healthy dose of tasty shred. Salomon Snowboards and The Art Institute of Colorado have teamed up to host the event that will bring top pro…

Purgatory revokes skier’s season pass after critical comments

Apparently, the first rule for season pass holders at Durango Mountain Resort is “you do NOT talk about Durango Mountain Resorts.” Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort canceled Lauren Slaff’s season pass after she publicly criticized the resort in the Durango Herald for changes in this year’s operating schedule.At the beginning…

The cure for apres-ski aches and pains: cherry juice?

After breaking the seal on my Loveland pass yesterday, I woke up this morning feeling like I’d been run down by a truck, or at least a compact SUV. I can’t be alone in having a few early-season aches and pains in certain cranky muscles that weren’t in high demand…