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Powder is toskiing
whatwhippedcream is toasundae
— itmakessomethingyoualready loveevenbetter.
Over thepast twodecades I’vebeen luckyenough to
catchmy fairshareof “epic”powderdays: kneedeep in
Telluride, thighdeep inJackson,waistdeep inAlta. I
say luckybecausesnow isunpredictable, andeven in
high-snowfall places it comesmoreoften in inches
than feet, andon theaverageweeklongski vacation
thechancesof catching thebigonearepoor.Even if
youdo, itnever lastsbecause localswaitall year for
storms like thatand theyhit ithardand fast.Everyone
wants toski powder, anduntracked resort snowmeans
long lift linesandskipped lunches. It rarely lastsout
theday, even thoughyoucanseeplentymoreoutside
theski areaboundaries, all theway to thehorizon,
tauntingyouonevery lift ride. If onlyyoucould leave
the thousandsof otherskiersbehindandhaveall that
unbrokenpowder toyourself, thatwouldbeskiing (or
snowboarding)heaven.
Nowyoucan. Fordecadesski resortshavebeen
adding luxuryhotels, gourmet restaurants, andend-
lessoff-slopeactivities, frombowlingalleys tozip
lines, dogsledding tospas.But suddenly, avidskiers
and ridersare looking forsomethingelsewhen they
planwintervacations: evenmoreskiingandsnow-
boarding.Andmoresnow.
Theout-of-boundspowderskiingseen incountless
ski videosandaccessedbyhelicoptersorsnowcatshas
longbeen thesport’sultimate fantasy, skiing’sHoly
Grail.But twobarriers toentrystoppedmost skiers
and riders from trying these. First, theyweresuited
only to trueexperts, andsecondly,manyhistorically
operatedasweeklong itinerariesoutof remotewilder-
ness lodges innorthwesternCanadaandAlaska,
requiringa long tripand leapof faith.A lodge-based
tripwasa real commitment—and intimidating—
especially forsomeonewhohadnever tried it.They
are typicallynot family friendly, not too luxurious, and
areall about theskiing,minus theothercharms that
makeski resort townsgreatvacationdestinations.
Thishaschanged rapidly thanks tomassive techno-
logical advances inskis, leading to farmoreby-the-day
opportunitiesatdestination resorts.Thebigdiffer-
ence? Insteadof aheli-skiingorsnowcat, orcat-skiing,
vacation, youcannow takeyour“normal”ski orsnow-
boardvacation—andstill goheli- orcat-skiing.
WINTER 2012
celebratedliving.com
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