SNOW Magazine Winter 2018/19 by SNOW

A L BR E D A :THE WORLD’S MOS T E XCLUSIVE HELI-SKI LODGE

Julia

Mancuso’s AUSTRIAN HOT SPOTS

POURING PORTUGUESE CHAMONIX À LA MODE LOST IN SNOW WINTER 18/19 TWELVE DOLLARS

S PO RTS WE A R W IN T E R 18/19

b o g n e r. co m

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P: Matt Power A: Monique Mitchell

UP FOR FIRST CHAIR. DOWN FOR DEBATE.

Vote like your very soul depends on it. Because as a skier or snowboarder, it does. You’ve seen firsthand that the world is changing. Winters are shorter and temperatures are warming. Being a snowsports enthusiast now means being part of the fight against climate change. So this November, make climate the defining issue on the ballot and support candidates who Give A Flake.

#GIVEAFLAKE

It’s The Aspen Way

LEARN MORE AND TAKE ACTION AT GIVEAFLAKE.COM

W W W . B O M B E R S K I . C O M

WINTER 2018

CONTENTS 86 ADVENTURES IN AUSTRIA Where alpine meets urban. Follow Julia Mancuso’s journey as she shares hip hot spots and insider secrets. #Insta-good.

92 TIGER TALES Olympian, fitness advocate, and Canadian legend. Once the queen of ski racing, now Nancy Greene takes center stage in the Senate.

104 CHAMONIX À LA MODE The quintessential hub of le ski , Cham has it all: Glittering peaks, gold standard restaurants, and gorgeous refuges.

112 MASQUERADE Fabulous costumes and smokin’ ski couture make your fashion fantasies come true.

96 LOST IN SNOW

P H OTO B Y P O B Y

An old coal mining town with a ‘80s vibe, Fernie’s steep slopes and piles of powder are well worth the trek.

ON THE COVER Julia Mancuso, photo by Poby. Ski wear by Spyder Ski boots by Lange 16

LEVANTE. THE MASERATI OF SUVs.

Takes you to new destinations with Italian style, luxury and striking good looks. From $74,050.* @maseratiusa

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Maserati Levante MY2018 base MSRP $74,050; Maserati Levante S MY2018 base MSRP $85,250. Not including dealer prep and transportation. Actual selling price may vary. Taxes, title, license and registration fees not included. ÂŠ2017 Maserati North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Maserati and the Trident logo are registered trademarks of Maserati SpA. Maserati urges you to obey all posted speed limits.

WINTER 2018 SNOW FLURRIES 40

Mountain monopoly. Giving a flake. Gold-plated skis and hidden treehouses. The latest and greatest on the white circuit.

SNOW CULTURE 44

Books, stories, talks, and ideas are on the horizon. Aspen has a way with words.

SNOW STYLE 46

Go green! Eco-fashion to save our white.

APRÈS 50

Luxe learning at its peak. Gstaad’s mad chemist of mixology teaches tricks of the trade.

SNOW GEAR 53

What does your ski reveal about your personality?

SPA 54

Taking the waters at Talisa.

SKI TO LUNCH 58

Come with an appetite. Der Wolf’s regional, farm to fork dishes delight.

SUITES 60

Historic heritage marries five-star luxury at Lake Louise’s Fairmont Chateau.

FASHION 66

Walk on the wild side with the top trends of the season.

BOTTLE 70

Portuguese wines — Europe’s best kept secret?

BOUTIQUE 76

Bernard Orcel serves up stellar service and bespoke glam.

WELLNESS 78

Mindful skiing is more than a buzzword, mindfulness is all the rage. Go from adrenaline to zen.

HELI 80

Champagne flows and private helicopters are at your beck and call. The magic of Albreda Lodge.

LAST RUN 128

Chris Davenport’s revelation. 18

FRAUENSCHUH

COLE SPORT | park city . deer valley 435.649.4800 . colesport.com

website www.nils.us

sos_snowmag_spread_300dpi.pdf

CMY

05/09/2018

11.40

PUBLISHER Barbara Sanders EDITOR IN CHIEF Melissa Long Melissa@thesnowmag.com

C H I E F E D I T O R I A L A N D C R E AT I V E O F F I C E R Barbara Sanders barb@thesnowmag.com

ART DIRECTOR Julius M. Yoder III julius@thesnowmag.com

EUROPEAN EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

PRINT A ND DIGITA L C ONTRIBU TORS

Leslie Woit

Lori Knowles

Christian Alexander, Leslie Anthony, Antonio Cordero, Renato Del Valle, Daniela Federici, Andrew Findlay, Mattias Fredriksson, Shinan Govani, Louise Hudson, Carlos Johnson, Lori Knowles, Jen Laskey, Melissa Long, Micheal Mastarciyan, Audrey Mead, Diego Munita, Hilary Nangle, Steve Ogle, Peter ‘Poby’ Pobyjpicz, Everett Potter, Gerald Sanders, David Shribman, Rob Story, Leslie Woit

CRE ATI V E DIREC TOR

A S SOCI ATE FA SHION EDITOR

Julius M. Yoder III

Michael Mastarciyan

FASHION EDITOR

FASHION EDITORIAL TE AM

John Martinez

John Martinez, Becci Wilson

GEAR EDITOR

DIGITA L DIREC TOR

Austin Parker

Julius M. Yoder III

ADVERTISING SALES

EUROPEAN ADVERTISING SALES

Sales Director

Sales Manager

Barbara Sanders (970) 948-1840 barb@thesnowmag.com

Debbie Topp (905) 770-5959 debbiejtopp@hotmail.com

CESANA MEDIA Sales Manager

Sales Manager - UK

Martina Diez-Routh +44(0) 750 838-2781 Paolo Mongeri paolo.mongeri@cesanamedia.com martina@the-ski-guru.com

This issue is dedicated to Jodie Peters Pralong who was killed in an avalanche in Switzerland last winter. She will forever live in our hearts as a friend and lover of the sport. 32

rossignol.com

PUBLISHER’S LETTER

MOTHER

NATURE got the memo...

Cup finals in Aspen and though unassuming and down-to-earth, her inner tiger still purrs loudly. For Lost in Snow, writer Andrew Findlay and photographer Steve Ogle have spilled the beans on the Fernie Factor, or Canada’s Niseko. If this cool, authentic town isn’t on your radar, it will be once you read the story and see its flake-laden images. Be sure to pack your fat skis and a snorkel. Let it SNOW!

P H OTO B Y D I E G O M U N I TA D M C P H OTO .

he seasons have officially changed, Mother Nature got the memo that school started. Fall is here! Beyond loving the wonderful cool temps and being awestruck by the gorgeous changing colors, this is the time we shift gears and start thinking about all things winter. Time to buy that pass, start conditioning, discover new gear, yearn for the latest musthave fashion ski wear, and decide where to ski. This issue is packed full of fashion, fun, and fabulous Alpine stories and destinations. Chamonix à la Mode is an ode to the place where alpinism and fine dining intersect. If Chamonix were a religion, its practitioners would be obliged to summit peaks monthly and ski narrow couloirs to demonstrate their faith. They would also know the subtleties of each fromage and vins de la region that exist as their holy communion. Leslie Woit takes you inside as only a local can. Our fashion editorial was inspired by Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball — to this day still considered “The Party of the Century”. Receiving a coveted invitation was harder than skiing Hangman’s Hollow at Mammoth. Both secretive and suggestive, the art of disguise is as seductive as it is sassy. SNOW invited top European and North American fashion brands as well as a few brash newcomers to our Masquerade SNOW Ball and Spanish photographer Antonio Cordero and stylist John Martinez brought our vision to life at the palatial Villa Padierna in Marbella, Spain. Julia Mancuso’s Austrian Hip Tips & Tales story was the whirlwind trip of a lifetime. Adventure was the name of the game as we buzzed from Innsbruck to Sölden, St. Anton, and Lech/ Zürs. Julia makes everything fun and truly is the life of the party. Up for absolutely anything, she takes on dirndls, figln, climbing via ferratas, and sipping from steins. Seeing these places with this skiing legend was like cruising around world famous surf spots with Laird Hamilton — everyone took notice. Lori Knowles’ story, Tiger Tales is a tribute to lifelong champion Nancy Greene, who forever changed the sport of ski racing in Canada. Nearly 50 years after the start of her racing career, she continues to make changes in the world as a Senator in Canada’s Parliament. I had the opportunity to meet her during the World

TO RAISE YOUR GAME, ELEVATE YOUR PLAYGROUND Jackson Hole | Santa Fe | Vail | Whistler Discover four unique mountain resorts waiting to bring your winter passions to life. After a day of backcountry exploration, let our Ski Concierge teams put together the perfect aprĂŠs-ski itinerary to rejuvenate you and ready you for another day of conquering the mountains. Book today by contacting your Travel Professional, calling (800) 819-5053 or visiting fourseasons.com/mountainresorts

EDITOR’S LETTER

FINDING HAPPINESS

appiness. So often elusive when we try to pin it down and very difficult to define, we know it when we feel it. Experts list experiencing awe, enjoying exercise, photographing meaningful things, forming social connections, and spending time in nature as key factors in cultivating happiness. Skiing anyone? A day on the slopes covers that list and then some. Studies old and new tell us something skiers have known forever: Skiing promotes happiness. The social aspects of chairlift conversations and après antics contribute to well-being as much as schussing down the slopes. Call it eco-therapy if you will, but a day on the mountain pretty much cures all ails — waiting for the bowl to open, chatting on the chairlifts, standing at the top of a run enjoying the view, finding untracked terrain. Inspiring elation is at the heart of this edition: Fashion we covet, places we long to explore, and a bucket list of possibilities to capture joy. This latest issue – showcasing gorgeous new-season collections, serving up the latest après picks, and offering adrenaline junkies epic adventures – will give you as much pleasure to read as it gave us to create. Dipping into our considerable talent pool of writers and photographers, our team has put together a beautiful and meaningful package of words and images that brims with suggestions we believe might make our readers, you, happy. Enjoyment is far better shared than hoarded. Classic descents, heli adventures, and via ferratas may be added to your wish list after reading SNOW. We share destinations that will delight all types of skiers. And knowing that all great ski days are not complete without the sensual pleasures of eating, we share our secrets: From hole-in-the-wall dives to Michelin-starred delights. After all, après is essential. Fashion is one of the great pleasures in life and our gurus impart amazing advice for the season. Who doesn’t enjoy a little retail therapy? Our shoot was inspired by the gorgeous photos that captured the timeless elegance of Truman Capote’s grand black and white ball in 1966. Some things never change; the black and white palette is consistently modish. Whether you choose Chanel’s alluring ski collection or prefer to channel your inner hippie with ‘60s style, the latest haute couture is simply hot. Taking action is one more thing commonly linked to happiness. Yes, we love glam but the reality is that SNOW takes a wider view of the world. From mindful ski clinics to eco-fashion, our stories in this edition go deep. Aspen Skiing Company’s new campaign resonated and inspired us. Backing up beliefs with action, they 36

address climate change head on: Activism is an important company value. Senator Nancy Greene promotes change by working to establish Canada’s National Health and Fitness Foundation. These positive approaches are more important than ever in an era when anger and hostility often seem pervasive. As this edition came together I reflected on resetting my happiness barometer. If we remember to pause, we can find joy in so many little things: stomach-aching laughter with friends, freshies, good hugs, alpenglow, snow dances. I love planning a ski trip – from looking at trail maps to booking restaurants. Organizing adventures and anticipating weekend escapes absolutely reenergizes me and I look forward to both the trip and the lasting memories. Whether you plan a quick weekend heli-ski adventure, learn a new practice (meditation or mixology), tick off a bucket list piste, or indulge in some serious spa treatments, choose something this winter for you. Close your eyes, breathe, and visualize what makes you happy. Go ski! Melissa Long Editor in Chief

Feel the Difference DESCENTE.COM

CONTRIBUTORS

SNOW TALENT LESLIE WOIT

ANDREW FINDLAY

LOUISE HUDSON

Writer

WRITER

Writer

Louise Hudson is an expert skier with an inexhaustible supply of ski tips and tales. What she doesn’t know about the latest and greatest is not worth knowing! Originally trained as a journalist in Sussex, England, she worked in Europe as a ski tour rep and then Canada as a snappy ski writer. Despite moving to South Carolina in 2010, she skis more days than most, clocking in over 1600 ski days in the past 40 years! Most recent daydream: “While dining at the Chef’s Table at Heavenly’ s Twin Pines Lake & Ski House and watching the Lake Tahoe sunset from the comfort of the Julia Morgan-designed cabin — I imagined it was all mine!” Focused on finding her flow this year she shares her not-so-zen moment. “Before going heli-skiing for the first time with CMH, I wrote my will and letters to my kids and didn’t sleep for three nights.” But she discovered that skiing totally untouched pow — with forgiving fat floaters — “was a simple stress-free symphony of sensation!”

A s for mer ed it or of SNOW, L or i Knowles is no stranger to skiing and storytelling. Through his 93 years, her father — an inveterate storyteller and ski school director — led Lori on many a snow-filled adventure, instilling the art of exploring not just exotic ski locales, but the characters who render those locales so extraordinary. Mikaela Shiffrin, Nancy Greene, Lindsay Vonn, the 104-year-old geezer with spindly legs with whom Lori once rode a schlepplift on an icy piste in Kitzbühel — each one tells a gripping story. No surprise, Lori left SNOW to focus on writing fiction, a format she can use to bring characters to life more fully. While we await the results, she’s keen to divulge some of what she and her father learned as skiers and explorers: Ski Italy at least once. Ride a slingshot in Portillo. Eat rösti slopeside in Switzerland. And if an Aussie ski instructor breaks your heart, don’t throw his Rossignols out of a third-floor window.

Though she classifies her ski ability as “selectively expert”, contributor Leslie Woit knows a thing or three about skiing. And she knows about enjoying the best of the best after a day on the pistes: Bumping into skilebrities at the “it” clubs of St. Moritz and finding magnificent Michelinstarred restos. But skiing is what it is really all about. Despite it being a French word, Leslie is convinced no one does après like the Austrians. And she enjoys après. When asked what was in her wine cellar she laughed and said, “empties”! Best convo of the season? “Sliding onto the chair beside me at Lake Louise one morning was Aksel Svindal, and all his Viking loveliness. Most charming, nat ura l, chat t y, dead ly ha ndsome chairmate one could wish for. Then off he slid, straight into the start gate to a podium finish.” Lucky Leslie.

Andrew Findlay snowplowed his first turns as a four year old at Grandview Ski Acres, a long since mothballed one chair wonder on the outskirts of Kamloops, British Columbia. Based on Vancouver Island, this writer has skied with penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula, waited out at 12 day storm on Mount Fairweather while attempting a ski ascent of this remote 15,000 footer on the B.C.-Alaska border, and tested the boundaries of his psychological palate at Zen, an après favorite in Hakuba where he noshed on basashi, a carpaccio of thinly sliced horse meat (when in Japan?). His stoke for skiing around the planet is undiminished.

LORI KNOWLES

STEVE OGLE PHOTOGRAPHER

PETER POBYJPICZ PHOTOGRAPHER Photographer Peter Pobyjpicz is a former pro athlete who studied arts, design, and graphics. Combining the worlds of athleticism and art, his photos show the true soul and dedication of each athlete. Poby loves photographing extreme action shots from a helicopter while strapped and sitting outside. “It’s better than any drone as creatively there are more possibilities.” Some of Poby’s favorite moments are at Tordrillo Mountain Lodge’s Kings and Corn — often dubbed “big kid summer camp”. Heli-skiing on corn runs in T-shirts remains on the vacay wish list year after year. Sated by steeps, he savors sitting in a hot tub before jumping into ice cold lake. From adrenaline to zen.

For the last twenty years, photographer Steve Ogle has been based in Nelson, British Columbia. This equates to a couple of centuries in “Kootenay time” as the local time warp dictates. Whitewater is his local hill and his favorite run is whichever one his two young boys lead him down. Fortunate enough to arrive on assignment in nearby Fernie last year the day after a 20+ inch overnight dump, Steve earned some bragging rights, “I was able to ski down the aptly-named, out-ofbounds and entirely epic 2000’ bowl, top to bottom, in the deepest conditions of the year.” About 30 turns into it, he found inner peace. When asked about a fashion item he covets, he laughingly said, “Don’t look to me for fashion but I do love a good hoser toque.” You might find him wearing one at his favorite bar: Mike’s Pub in Nelson, B.C .

ANTONIO CORDERO PHOTOGRAPHER Madrid-based photographer Antonio Cordero loves to shoot fashion and ski in Austria. In that order. He gives the dish on his Kitzbühel favorites. Best run? “ Schwarzsee followed by well-earned hot chocolate.” His admitted adrenaline junkie fix is the Mausefalle section of the Streif in icy conditions right after the infamous downhill race. Following that daredevil fun, he enjoys checking out après antics at Club Take Five. Surrounded by fashion in his shoots, we ask what fab find he covets? The answer? “A Frauenschuh coat, of course.”

MICHAEL MASTARCIYAN Writer Michael Mastarciyan’s two passions are fashion and alpine skiing and his “it” town to enjoy both is Cortina d’Ampezzo. At SNOW, he blends both loves into some stellar stories. In the know for all ski wear hot and hip, his trend picks and tips will have you sashaying from slopes to après in serious style. Get the scoop on the latest additions to his habiliment. “My most amazing gear purchase of the season has to be my ruby red Rossignol HERO Elite ST Ti+ slalom skis... they are like Ferraris for your feet!” Rocking style and safety in one sharp aerodynamic package, he won’t hit the slopes without his beloved UVEX Race 3 carbon gold chrome helmet and goggle combo, tagged with the sobriquet, “Goldie”. Our fashion guru leaves us with one final fashion tip: “Never let anyone tell you white ski pants are a bad idea.”

1600 SKIS CAME BEFORE US. WE ARE NOT 1601.

renoun.com

P H O T O CO U R T E S Y O F V I S I T T R E N T I N O .

SNOW FLURRIES

P H OTO B Y S T E V E O G L E F E R N I E S K I R E S O R T.

FLURRIES

OOH LA LUXE Chanel is in love. After flirting with ski accessories, the house of Chanel has decided to get serious: The pinnacle of luxury fashion just married ski wear. Aptly named Coco Neige, Karl Lagerfeld recently launched Chanel’s first ever winter sports collection, an entire line dedicated to looking stylish on and après the slopes. Offering sophisticated, sartorial splendor, Chanel’s Coco Neige ready-to-wear pieces include quilted parkas, shearling jackets, ski suits, mountain shoes, bags, and sunglasses. Gorgeous photographs show a collection that retains the classic Chanel palette of black and white and includes key Chanel motifs such as the camellia flower and the CC logo. As always, the details of construction impress: perfect stitching, gorgeous embellishments, and intriguing material combinations. More, the clothes blend aesthetics and practicality perfectly. The campaign, shot by legendary Lagerfeld himself, features a cloudy background which you can imagine looks down over snow-covered ski towns. Lagerfeld knows how to excite a woman’s imagination and this collection brings a touch of Chanel’s timeless elegance to alpine allure. I’m falling in love too. — Melissa Long W W W.C H A N E L .C O M

Wintry One-Upmanship What do Jackson Hole and Vail have in common? A two-center powder package launched last season that ticks off most bucket list boxes. For a mere $100,000, a group of 14 friends descends on both ritzy resorts via Netjets’ private jet, bunking at the Four Seasons. After an elk-viewing sleigh ride, everyone is kitted out with custom-designed Sego skis, ready for the Jackson jaunt next day. Who needs a ski instructor when you have Olympian Tommy Moe in tow? But if Moe’s mountain mojo gets to be too much on Jackson’s steeps, there are some gentler options on offer: heli-snowmobiling, spotting wildlife on a private safari, or gemstone facials. Fueled with fancy fodder from the chef’s table at Westbank Grill, the privileged party jets off to Vail for hedonistic skiing, a mixology class at The Remedy Bar, and a final snowcat dinner. If this isn’t quite your cup of chai, you can customize it all to fit your fantasies. — Louise Hudson W W W.F O U R S E A S O N S .C O M / N E TJ E T S / S K I -A DV E N T U R E /

Boardwalk vs Park Place The game of Mountain Monopoly ramped up this year with 34 Ikon Pass resorts challenging EPIC’s 65 properties positioned strategically across the board. Amid this cut-throat competition, the winner could actually be the destination skier now that season passes are no longer just for lucky locals. Skiers all over North America have been watching their favorite resorts making moves for one side or another, hoping to cash in on this collective ski pass play-off. But, with indecipherable details, side benefits, buddy passes, and black-out dates, it’s not a simple spectator sport. Bottom line: at $899, six days of skiing at the ritziest resorts pretty much justifies either pass. So, it’s just a question of which line-up of properties you prefer — or make like a monopolizing mountain mogul yourself and buy both! — LH 42

FLURRIES

A Snow Bunny’s Dream Planning a girlie getaway, signature birthday bash, or multi-gen family frolic? Deer Valley is offering its swish Stein Eriksen Residences for rent for groups of 16 skiers. Your chance to emulate opulent ownership in a sprawling six-bedroom, 6,230-square-foot mountain modern mansion with smoothly-groomed skiing, dog-sledding, snowmobiling, and horsedrawn sleigh rides in the backyard. There’s an even smoother service culture courtesy of ski valets, concierge, and private dial-a-ride driver to access Park City celebrations. The $10,000-a-night price tag includes gym and aqua facilities, notably the indoor-outdoor infinity pool that seems to pour into the wonderful Wasatch wilderness. Have fun pushing the Forbes’ five-star service guarantee to new limits! — LH W W W.S T E I N E R I K S E N R E S I D E N C E S .C O M

Stand & DELIVER Fancy yourself an outlaw of the backcountry? If you stand in line for Sunlight Resort’s $700 a day ticket, your reward will be a pair of Doc Holliday-dubbed custom skis. Handmade by Meier, the men’s Sunny 700s are nicknamed “Docs” after the local gunslinger, immortalized nearby at the new Doc Holliday Museum, in Glenwood Springs. Ladies get the “Big Nose Kate” edition, honoring Doc’s partner-incrime, Mary Katherine Horony-Cummings. Both are built from 100 percent natural, sustainably-harvested, Colorado woods. It might be the world’s most expensive day ticket but it’s not quite daylight robbery —unlike one of Doc’s hold ups, you actually get to take something home with you. — LH W W W.S U N L I G H T M T N.C O M / S K I - BI K E -S H O P / W IN T E R / S U N N Y-70 0 S

Give a FLAKE

Aspen Ski Co. backs up beliefs with action— whether standing up for gay rights or defending the splendors of the natural world. Over 40 years ago, Aspen launched the first Gay Ski Week: It is now the longest standing annual gay ski week in the world. Open-minded and openhearted, ASC has long supported LGBTQ rights including lobbying to support gay marriage. Recognizing early on that sustainability was paramount to the future, ASC put their money where their mouth was. Certainly coal mining and climate change make strange bedfellows. Yet, five years ago, the partnership resulted in the first power plant in the U.S. to run on waste methane captured from a coal mine. The result? Eliminating three times the carbon-equivalent of all four Aspen Snowmass ski areas. Last year’s campaign tied Aspen Snowmass to four words: Love, Unity, Commit, and Respect. This year’s recently launched campaign will focus on climate change. The newest rallying cry is to make a difference where it counts. Hoping to shift policy, they are zeroing in on three swing vote senators and asking people to get educated. Postage paid, pre-addressed postcards will be available to spur action. Are there naysayers? Yes. But activism continues to be an important aspect of the company. They walk the talk, making us even more convinced that this values-driven company has both backbone and balls. — ML W W W.G I V E A F L A K E .C O M

FLURRIES

Storybook Chalets

Mountain Mama

Gail Lynne Goodwin believes life is too short to be ordinary. “The world needs whimsy and fun,” she says. That’s evident in the extraordinary ski-in/ski-out treehouses she built at Montana’s Whitefish Mountain Resort. “I wanted people to come and feel as if they’re on vacation from the minute they walked in the door,” she says. “I wanted it to bring out the inner child in all of us.” Impressed by the lot’s cedar, tamarack, and ponderosa trees, Goodwin decided to work with them by building up, rather than chopping down. With a fantasy treehouse design in mind, every decision she made had to meet one guideline: If Harry Potter teamed with Hansel and Gretel and built a chalet on a forested mountain, would this fit? The result: Three, playful ski-in/ski-out treehouses, each 25 feet above the forest floor. Elements designed to enhance the treehouse sensation include entry bridges, floor-to-ceiling windows, cathedral ceilings, lofts, balconies, turrets, and beds cantilevered into windows. “To my knowledge, these are the world’s first and only luxury treehouses at a ski resort,” Goodwin says. In each Snow Bear Chalet, a ship’s ladder accesses a circular, 8-foot-round, multi-windowed turret room, complete with an illuminated celestial mural in the domed ceiling. Flop on the 7-foot round microfiber cushion, wave to those passing by on the #3 chairlift and watch skiers and riders showboat in the Hope Slope terrain park. At night, flip a switch and the stars twinkle. No detail has been overlooked. The chef’s kitchens include Bosch appliances, Vitamix blenders, Riedel wine glasses, and Cambria quartz countertops. And the brilliant system of personalized cubby baskets to stash ski paraphernalia makes getting out the door each morning easy. The chalets sleep 6-10; housekeeping, massage, private chef, organic catering, and grocery shopping services are available. — Hilary Nangle

It’s no coincidence Vancouver soft furnishings designer Jane Osborne is making a name for herself as the Coco Chanel of mountain deco. Osborne grew up skiing in British Columbia, introduced her son Manuel OsborneParadis to the sport (he is one of the fastest World Cup alpine downhillers on the planet), and now she’s turning mountains into an eye-catching collection of couture throw cushions. “As the youngest of six kids, my parents had us all skiing at an early age, so it’s a natural choice for me to head to the mountains. Last year I was asked to create some mountain cushions for Camp Lifestyle & Coffee Co. in Whistler and they’ve been a huge success.“Osborne’s peak pillow collection includes renditions of well-known local peaks such as Whistler Blackcomb, Mount Garibaldi, and Sproat Mountain, and is currently on sale at Camp in Whistler. Her couture collection isan on-demand business that allows patrons to commission pillow renderings of their favorite peaks directly through her studio, Fibreworks Studio. “I had a lot of fun recreating Switzerland’s famed Eiger in cushion form recently,” Osborne confesses. “It’s a mountain that’s very special to me because my son has won silver and bronze medals just below the Eiger at the classic Wengen World Cup downhill race held there. I also just finished one representing the Lions in Vancouver, also an iconic landmark.” Email fibreworksstudio@gmail.com to order. — Michael Mastarciyan

W W W.S N O W B E A R C H A L E T S .C O M

The Midas Touch Talk about champagne problems – if you order a pair of customized Foil skis this season, you must choose between 14-Karat white or yellow gold plating for your bindings! That’s after agonizing over topsheet tints for your rare African Rosewood powder planks. Jackie Chan had no trouble going for gold to finish his pair, which feature an Ash/Paulownia woodcore, Bamboo sidewalls, and a Purpleheart patina. An avid skier, he is also a collector of rare and exotic woods. As Foil skis run at $42,000, probably not a good idea to use them early season or on trails marked as “marginal”. Heli-hounds might want to invest in a pair of old-fashioned powder straps. And, if you’re thinking of leaving them in the ski rack while bingeing on bubbly during après, bring your butler! — LH W W W.F O IL S K I S .C O M / P R O D U C T/ O R O _ A M A R A N T O 44

C U LT U R E

WINTERWORDS SKI TOWN, LITERARY HUB.

by MELISSA LONG & CAROLINE TORY

housands of miles from the publishing capital of New York City, Aspen might seem like an unlikely hub for literary culture. And yet, the mountain town has launched writing careers, hosted U.S. poets laureate, and is now the home base for one of the richest literary prizes in the country. Whether it’s something in the thin air that breeds creativity, the legacy of Aspen-based writers like Hunter S. Thompson and James Salter, or simply the peace and quiet that authors find amongst the mountains – Aspen has placed itself firmly on the literary map. Part of the town’s rich literary tradition comes by way of Aspen Words. In 1976, poet and bartender Kurt Brown cajoled local restaurant and lodge owners into donating food and housing, and launched the first Aspen Writers’ Conference. What originally focused entirely on poetry soon encompassed fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting. Aspen’s reputation for attracting the brightest stars on the international literary stage grew, and the world began to take notice. In 2009, Aspen Words merged with the Aspen Institute, vaulting the organization to new heights. Today, Aspen Words includes educational outreach programs, a summer 46

literary gathering, and a robust Writer in Residence program, “I’ve gotten more accomplished in two weeks than I have in two months at home,” wrote best-selling novelist Terry McMillan following her Aspen writing residency. Throughout the ski season, Winter Words celebrates some of America’s leading authors in a series of readings and talks. Join prominent writers in contemporary literature as they speak on topics that range from the creative process to the role of literature in today’s world. The 22nd Winter Words will take place between January and April 2019. Over three months, featured authors will present their works in intimate settings across Aspen. Colson Whitehead is one of the book world’s most in-demand speakers. He soared to the #1 spot on The New York Times bestseller list, and won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, The Underground Railroad, combines elements of fantasy with a painfully truthful depiction of American slavery in a suspenseful narrative of a young slave’s escape and pursuit. Investigative journalist and New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer, whose book Dark Money follows the billions of dollars pouring in to the American political

system will also speak. Adding some levity to the line-up is Curtis Sittenfeld, who will present her new story collection You Think It, I’ll Say It, in conversation with close friend and fellow novelist Emily Jeanne Miller. Rounding out the series is Tara Westover, author of Educated: A Memoir, who tells the story of growing up in an isolated, survivalist family before leaving to attend Harvard and Cambridge universities. The new Aspen Words Literary Prize is taking the world by storm. Awarded to a fictional work that grapples with difficult contemporary social issues, it is a prize with one of the biggest purses in the field. Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West, a novel about emigration and refugees, won the inaugural award. Presented at an event held at The Morgan Library in New York City this past spring, with National Public Radio as the media partner and movers and shakers from the publishing industry in attendance, the prize put Aspen firmly on the world map. As the prize’s aspen leafshaped medallion pops up on book jackets across the country, readers everywhere are reminded that Aspen is a ski town with a literary bent. W W W. A S P E N W O R D S .O R G

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Whether your gear itself is sustainable or your purchase supports a good cause, what’s in your gear bag can make a difference. More and more responsible companies are making it their mission to support efforts to recycle synthetic fibers, sequester carbon emissions, treat animals humanely, and conserve water. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite eco-friendly products so you can spend time looking, and feeling, great on the slopes.

N O R R ø N A LY N G E N DOWN JACKET

Genuinely concerned with animal welfa re, Norrøna only uses down that is Responsible Down Standard certified. Originally conceived by one of the biggest down producers in the world, A llied Feather & Down, the RDS certification ensures that down and feathers are sourced using strict standards. Norrøna safeguards the geese and ducks that provide down for our favorite go-to-pieces including our latest must-have: Norrøna’s Lyngen has clean design lines, and is the ultimate insulation garment when on the mountain.

ALEX BOTTLE

We love reusable water bottles, but washing a Nalgene or stainless steel bottle can be a pain. Alex’s Black Bottle has a unique design that changes that. The premium grade 304 Stainless Steel makes for easy cleaning, no matter how many times you leave your coffee in it overnight. With its easy twist off, easy clean set up, you’ll be happy to use this bottle repeatedly. As an added bonus, the strap is made from recycled materials. Let’s drink to that!

NICHE SNOWBOARDS THEME

Niche is a boutique snowboard company from Salt Lake City. Since their inception, they’ve been committed to sustainability. Their factory in Austria is hydropowered, zero-carbon certified and uses 98% local materials. This season’s all-mountain Theme board is the first zero-waste, fully recyclable snow b o a r d . T hei r g r ou nd br e a k i n g technology sacrifices neither quality nor performance. The Theme rips! This is eco-friendly snowboarding at its best.

D A L E O F N O R WAY F L O R A

Once a textile factory, in 1879 Dale of Norway was established in a beautiful area with easy access to wool, strong knitting traditions, and a great supply of natural power from the local waterfalls. With merino wool sourced from local sheep herds, the collections showcase highquality and unique knitwear. The Flora jacket is a lightweight merino cardigan – long and elegant and positively perfect for the après ski scene.

ZEAL OPTICS BENNETT SUNGLASSES

Zeal Optics is unique in the sunglass industry; it’s the only brand that i s pr o duci ng 10 0 % pl a ntbased poly mer fra mes a nd lenses. Protecting you f rom harmful U V rays and providing color, cla rit y, a nd contra st, the Bennett ’s Ellume Polarized lenses block significant blue light and glare. Environmentally friendly meets style: All eyes will be on you from street to slopes.

P ATA G O N I A POWDER BOWL KIT

Patagonia’s Powder Bowl pants and jackets are perennially some of the best pieces in terms of both performance and style. And they keep getting better about doing good. This year, the facefabric is 100% recycled GORE-TEX and each piece uses fibers from repurposed plastic bottles. Look like a pro and keep plastics out of the landfill? Sign us up.

DUCKWORTH M AV E R I C K T O W N S C A R F

Montana-based Duckworth is the only source-verified, single-origin, Merino wool, apparel company in the U.S. Locally g row n a nd c a ref u l ly ma naged f rom sheep to shelf, Duckworth also uses a proprietary, chlorine-free washing process which further reduces the environmental footprint of the company. The Maverick Town Scarf is one of our favorites for simple versatility and timelessness. Gorgeous.

Rediscover True Elegance

Welcome to Park City’s newest exclusive ski-out/ski-in property, where refined architectural distinction sets the standard in modern luxury. Every space is gracefully appointed with the finest lavish finishes, from romantic single suites to six-bedroom homes. Experience the splendor of flawless service, unparalleled amenities, indulgent spa services, and culinary excellence—all set to the majestic backdrop of Deer Valley’s stunning mountain vistas. For those who seek the best, there’s only Stein.

Reservations 844.494.4504 Concierge 435.940.6600 Park City, Utah STEIN ERIKSEN RESIDENCES | STEINRES.COM

Stein Eriksen Residences is a Luxury Property of Stein Collection

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LUXE Learning Shake up your winter with Gstaad’s five-star mixology class. b y L E S L I E W O I T

he opportunity to learn new things ought never to be shunned, especially where brazen opulence is married with an appreciation for high-quality booze. Gstaad, long famous for its elite boarding schools and aristocratic cognoscente, now offers the best of both in a new cocktail making class with a difference. Above the vigorous tinkle of his vermouth-filled silver cocktail shaker, Igor begins his life lesson. “Bartending is like carpentry: you have a master who teaches the younger ones.” Thankfully, Gstaad’s joyfully mad chemist favors the practical approach so aspiring mixologists are advised to arrive thirsty for more than knowledge. Over two hours, we will make — and sample — as many cocktails as we please. Now this is a classroom. Igor Mihalus – Dr. Igor, as he’s known to chic night owls across the Alps — is bartender extraordinaire at Le Grand Bellevue, Gstaad’s recently reimagined five-star-superior that is bedecked in eccentric London-style Soho House prints and standout modern art. When he’s not plying soigné clientele with nocturnal nectars, this Prague native delivers bespoke cocktail making workshops in the low-lit comfort of speakeasy-flavored Bouquet bar. With three decades of shaking, blending, and pouring that included stints with Wolfgang Puck and Gordon Ramsay, urbane Igor knows his bubbles from his muddles. Settling on comfy stools, students soon migrate to the business

side of the bar. Sampling as we swirl, we begin with a classic drink the mixology way — a sort of pimped gin and tonic. “More juniper than Hendrick’s”, take a healthy dose of Tanqueray, add organic Swiss tonic, and pour over ice that’s flavoured with lemon, basil, and cucumber-muddled infusion. The difference between a bartender and a mixologist, explains

“I created an antioxidant organic cocktail — Antioxidant Blueberry Gin Smash, with crystal sugar and fresh fruits — so people have fun and get healthy at same time.” Igor, is like a line cook versus a Michelin-star chef. At the mixology level, he’s incorporating handmade infusions and fresh fruits, veggies, herbs, and, most theatrically, the foams, gels, and smoking guns that feature in the molecular school favored by some of the hottest Michelin chefs. Our resident mad chemist duly produces a beech wood smoking gun (available from specialty shops for around $100) and together we create a crowd-wowing Smoking Old Fashioned, complete with sugar cubes soaked in bitters, organic oranges and cherries, and, as Igor stopped measuring years ago, a healthy whack of Jim Beam. The sign of a great barman? Client welfare, aka hangover avoidance. “I’m half doctor and three-quarters priest. People come in when they feel bad, and when they leave they are happy,” Igor explained. According to the doctor, drinking water is key, as is ice “because you can’t drink a warm cocktail”, but the real secret is quantity. “You should enjoy cocktails because of the taste,” Igor cautions. “And of course, the beauty of cocktails is that you can mix anything. It’s much more creative than opening a bottle of wine.” W W W.B E L L E V U E - G S TA A D.C H

GEAR

SK I TEST

The Proust Questionnaire ─ Literary Curio, Personality Test, Parlor Game, or the Answer to the Meaning of Life SNOW — style: Do YOUR Skis Reveal Your True Nature? During the 19th century, French essayist and novelist Marcel Proust popularized a parlor game which involved filling out a questionnaire meant to reveal a person’s true nature. Since then, thousands of people have answered this questionnaire. SNOW ’s questions go one step deeper: What is your true ski nature? Barb Sanders, the publisher of SNOW, who has skied and après-skied on five continents, discusses the perfect quiver, when to tell a white lie, and the anticipation of the first lift ride of the season. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Skiing powder so good I have to hoot and holler out loud. What is your greatest fear while skiing? That someone on the hill has my same fabulous outfit. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself while skiing? I can’t stop the ski instructor in me from analyzing every turn. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Making me wait on a powder day. What is your greatest skiing extravagance? My wardrobe. What is your current state of mind? Counting down the days to the start of the season. On what occasion do you lie? When I skive off to ski on a bluebird powder day. Which talent would you most like to have on the slopes? I wish I could channel Mikaela Shiffrin’s technique. If you could change one thing about how you ski, what would it be? I’d steer my inside leg so I don’t look as old school as I am. Where would you most like to live? In my home town - Aspen! What is your most treasured possession? My son Micah’s first pair of skis. What do you most value in your ski friends? That they can talk on the lift and ski on the hill.

AT O M I C R E D S T E R X 9 LENGTH 169 113/65.5/98.5

DIFFERENCES

LENGTH 155 12.5 RADIUS

PROUST SKI QUESTION: What is the quality you most admire? “Reliability.” Ex-Slovenian National Team member Anda Smalls describes the Differences as stiff, fun, and reliable. “You can put this ski on edge and it holds. This ski is great at speed, just stay forward.”

SKI PERSONALITY: This is a great on-piste ski for intermediate and advanced skiers that want to go fast. A few testers liked its performance in short turns. Most testers concurred that this ski holds well and is damp and solid at speed. Smalls said, “Don’t get into the backseat or they will take off without you!” THE REVEAL: “Surprisingly, these skis were good in the bumps, overall this ski performs in all types of terrain,” says Smalls. 54

PROUST SKI QUESTION: What will be your most treasured possession? “ The Atomic of course! ” “Loved the ski so much that I am planning on adding it to my quiver for next season,” says Ex-ski pro P.J. McGovern. SKI PERSONALITY: Aspen Mountain ski pro Claudio Margaride says this ski is perfect for recreational racers. “It’s responsive, quick edge to edge and holds on hard snow.” “It’s a freakin’ awesome carver,” agrees Aspen ski pro Anda Smalls. THE REVEAL: “Every recreational skier should have a pair, you get so much feedback from these skis that they teach you to ski better,” says 24 Hour Heli Skier Andrew Cader.

BOMBER PRO CARVE LENGTH 166 118/70/101 PROUST QUESTION: Where would you most like to live? “On frontside groomers.” “This ski was built to cruise,” says Gorsuch Manager Jared Ettlinger. “I knew right away I was on a 70mm waisted ski – wow!”

SKI PERSONALITY: “This ski is rock solid at speed even in variable spring snow. The Pro Carve ranks close to the top of this category amongst some elite Front side rippers,” says Ettlinger. David Stapleton, Director of the Stapleton Race Center adds, “It makes an easy entrance and exit into the turns.”

The Reveal: “Smooth is the perfect word to describe how this ski rides,” says Stapleton.

RENOUN ENDURANCE 98 LENGTH 169 127/98/121 PROUST QUESTION: What is your most marked characteristic? “HDT, or Hyper Dampening Technology. So the harder you ski, the quieter and more stable the ski becomes .” David Stapleton, former U.S. Ski Team member and SNOW Ski Test Director says, “The Renoun Endurance 98 is one of the most versatile skis we tested.” SKI PERSONALITY: Stapleton says, “I skied this ski in powder, crud, and at speed. This ski does it all. With the HDT technology built in, the ski performs to its highest level. I also found this ski to be one of the most stable skis I have ever skied. The ease of turn initiation was easy even in variable conditions.” THE REVEAL: “Responsive yet mellow and smooth,” says Mo Mitchell, Aspen Valley Ski Club race coach.

WA G N E R C U S T O M LENGTH 184 133/9/116 PROUST QUESTION: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? “ Since I’m a custom ski, I can change everything about myself to suit your tastes and desires. I’m the ultimate chameleon.” SKI PERSONALITY: “This ski makes a great medium to long radius turn,” says 100+ days-ayear skier Andrew Cader. “I also liked this ski in the bumps — it was fun, and the flex was even.” Niseko ski pro Nick Hill liked that it was easy to initiate the turn and had a damp feeling to it.

THE REVEAL: “Wow”, says Mo Mitchell, Aspen Valley Ski Club coach. “This ski is so sound and damp, but at the same time it is poppy. I feel like I can charge or cruise on this ski. Perfect one ski quiver, good on and off the piste.”

XO BY EXONDE V21 LENGTH 172 127/87/107 PROUST QUESTION: What is your most marked characteristic? “I would have to say, it’s the fact that I’m lightweight and designed to be skied without a binding plate, so this too keeps me light.”

SKI PERSONALITY: Dairinn Bowers, ex-ski racer turned model says: “The XO has a rockered tip and it makes it easy to start the turn. I liked cruising on this ski in soft snow on the groomers.” Joanie Valentine, Aspen ski pro adds, “This is a fun ski for an intermediate to advanced skier in soft snow.” THE REVEAL: “This ski is very light, but it has a solid firm feel. When I pressure the tips, the initiation is like butter,” says P.J. McGovern, 100+ days-a-season skier.

by MELISSA LONG

t’s no secret that there is a longstanding rivalry between Aspen and Vail. So on one quick weekend visiting Aspen, I felt more than a bit guilty for deserting my old home town to check out Vail’s latest addition: The Spa at the Hotel Talisa. As I drove towards the village of Vail, I asked myself, “was I cheating on Aspen?” The latest addition to the Marriott’s Luxury Collection, the hotel’s moniker, Talisa, is an Ute Indian girl’s name meaning “beautiful water”; as the resort spans threequarters of a mile along the Gore Creek, the name is most apropos. Cool alpine chic with a very Native American vibe: the use of symbols and patterns can be seen in the artwork and textiles. The sophisticated guest room included special touches: I longingly 56

eyed the black truffle sea salt pretzels, found comfort in knowing my early morning caffeine fix was a Keurig away, and luxuriated in an amazingly comfy bed. Yes, I wanted to steal it. No struggling into chilly boots, and no schlepping my skis. My warmed boots and hot chocolate awaited at the ski valet and my skis magically appeared at the lift which I could almost touch from my balcony. And I learned one of the local’s best kept secrets, the Cascade Lift (locals’ Chair 20) has no lines even on a pow day. Back from the slopes in time to be spoiled. Who wouldn’t be pleased with Moët Flutes and Frites during après? Later, sitting by the firepit, steps from the infinity pool and surrounded by mountain beauty, I even learned a new word: “s’morelier” (that’s s’more butler for those not in the know). I was totally content. Heading to the spa the next day, I sipped complimentary bubbles

P HOT O C OURT ESY OF HOT EL T ALISA LU X URY C OL L E C TI ON

S PA

Talisa’s Beautiful Waters

Visit us at SIA Snow Show 2019, Denver, Co.

S PA

“I asked the therapist about specific ingredients used and was surprised to hear that blueberries and chia seeds were just a few. As I was massaged and moisturized, I was rejuvenated inside and out. “

P HOT O C OURT ESY OF HOT EL T ALISA LUX URY C OLLEC T ION

as I lounged before the fire in the relaxation room. Calming colors were interspersed with tiles that piqued visual interest. Decisions. Decisions. Should I stimulate oxygen flow or rebalance the chakras with vigorous massage treatments? I choose the Himalayan Salt Stone Massage and followed it with a hydrating Alpine Rescue Facial guaranteed to make one’s skin luminous. Warm stones from the ancient seas far below the Himalayas were warmed and placed on my upper body. The therapeutic massage melted away the last vestiges of stress. Bliss. My facial was designed to help skin

adjust and recover from days of sun and skiing. I needed to rehydrate! The skincare products contained natural-origin ingredients, carefully chosen to ensure efficacy and the ultimate sensory experience — which began with a heavenly aromatherapy oil, infused with peppermint, ylangylang, tangerine, and fennel. I asked the therapist about specific ingredients used and was surprised to hear that blueberries and chia seeds were just a few. As I was massaged and moisturized, I was rejuvenated inside and out. Committed to Aspen, I decided occasionally “stepping out” to visit Vail was not something to feel guilty about. In fact, I felt pampered, sated, and ready to return. 58

LUX for Everyday

“I accept Chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me.” - Bob Dylan

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SKI TO LUNCH

DER WOLF by BARBARA SANDERS

and hotels and infrastructure snowballed. Grandpa Friedrich Wolf contracted with the lift company to build a mountain ski hut. During the permit process, the family changed course, veering away from the original plan and resulting in a tiny guest house in Zug called Haus Furka. Christian never forgot about his grandfatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream and decades later, he decided to apply for a permit to build that coveted ski hut. A building permit in Austria is not an easy thing to obtain. And it is definitely not a quick process. Changing zones from agricultural to commercial is very complicated and requires many considerations including environmental impact, size, and noise. As local governments often take eons to mull over plans, many permit seekers simply give up. Not Christian. His tenacity lasted

P H OTO B Y A D O L F B E R E U T E R

er Wolf opened its doors only three years ago, but it has been 15 years in the making, and more than 70 years since the idea was conceived. The owner, Christian Wolf, grew up in the tiny village of Zug, Austria, just above the world-famous ski village of Lech. Christian taught skiing at resorts around the world, trained ski instructors, and participated in the Interski in St. Anton as part of the Austrian Telemark Team. After living in far-flung ski resorts including Stratton, Vermont, Queenstown, New Zealand, and El Colorado, Chile, Christian returned to Lech to undertake a compelling project and a long-awaited vision finally came to fruition. Turn the clock back to post-World War II where ski lifts â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which first appeared in the late 1920s â&#x20AC;&#x201D; began to become de rigueur,

P H OTO B Y P O B Y

“You feel like you are walking into some sort of mountain chapel, a place to worship the breathtaking mountain peaks that surround the hut.”

P H OTO B Y A D O L F B E R E U T E R

nearly 10 years. Finally permission was granted by the local Vorarlberg region, and he was able to begin building. Architect Bernardo Bader worked closely with Christian to design key elements to showcase the surrounding landscape. Fast forward another four years to the opening of Der Wolf. The design is simple, yet elegant. Christian describes it as “honest”. The clean lines, light-colored wood, and huge windows serve to highlight the surroundings. I felt as though I had walked into some sort of mountain chapel, a place to worship nature as I faced the breathtaking mountain peaks. The cuisine is simple, yet delicious. Knowing that many guests staying in Lech or Oberlech dine on international cuisine at their hotels, Christian wanted to focus on artfully presented dishes with a regional focus. A true locavore, he sources the meats and cheeses from the valley, milk comes from the family cow, and many ingredients are farmed nearby. I recommend starting with a skiwasser or a Stiegl beer and the “Best of the Region, Served on a Board” which is a mélange of local cheeses, speck, sausage, and venison with bread and a crunchy Arlberg stangerl. Then choose from several highlights on the menu such as the “Der Wolf” BeefBurger with homemade red-onion jam, or Kas hörnli, a noodle dish made with cheese, bacon, and roasted onions. And after skiing so hard, you’ve definitely earned a Karamellisierter Topfen - Grießschmarrn or a Germknödel for dessert. Like the architecture, the food is “honest”. Christian says, “we follow our Vorarlberg roots in everything. As you can see with both the design and the cuisine, it is less ornate and decorative than you see in the Tirol.” Honoring his grandfather’s dream, the resulting ski hut restaurant is a lovely respite from skiing. Yet, after dining, the mountains call. Christian makes a point of skiing every day. It is this love of skiing, the mountains, and the region that make Der Wolf the perfect ski to lunch spot in Lech.

SUITES

Oh Canada! Lake Louise’s Guiding Light by LESLIE WOIT

photo: Aerial View of the Hotel in Winter.

High above the lobby of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, four gracious ladies and mountains, one and all. These gowned beauties are part chandelier, part Banff National Park heritage. They represent the wives of the area’s first mountain guides, Swiss immigrants who began exploring, summiting, and sharing the mountains with guests more than a century ago. By putting candles in their windows as guiding lights, the wives helped wayward parties find their ways home. Once a log cabin and today a landmark luxury property, a stay at this Rocky Mountain retreat is an homage to alpine history and mountain adventure.

PHOT OS COUR TESY OF F AI RM ONT L AKE L OUI S E

watch over all who pass through these portals — lovers of wilderness, forests,

SUITES

P H O T O S CO U R T E S Y O F S U N VA L L E Y R E S O R T

from top to bottom

1. Hotel Lobby. 2. Walliser Stube View.

ocated in Banff National Park, the splendid fivediamond Chateau is two hours from Calgary and just 10 minutes from Lake Louise Ski Resort. It’s the favored inn of all the national ski teams who come each December for North America’s opening World Cup races. Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal values the friendly atmosphere that allows him to reconnect with fellow racers, and Lindsey Vonn, accompanied by Lucy, her beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, appreciates the Chateau’s VIP – very important pooch — amenities, including dog-sitting, dog beds, bowls, and treats. More relaxed skiers — and by that we mean pretty much all of us — love to recharge and reset amidst the luxurious accommodations set in the crisp, clean mountain air for which Banff National Park, one of the seven Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks that make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site, is renowned. The more than 550 rooms and suites offer pillow menus and fluffy king beds. The Chateau “Suite Life”

is particularly appealing: a dedicated Suite Concierge arranges dining, activities, transportation, and other special touches for guests. The newly renovated, lavish one and two bedroom suites feature private bedrooms with luxurious ensuites as well as a separate living room. The Fairmont Gold Floor features private check-in and The Living Room, a recently renovated guest-only lounge. Guest rooms overlook the mountains and the glorious expanse of Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier. Six dining choices leave room for debate, discussion, and ultimate satisfaction regardless of your choice. Perhaps a fragrant fondue amidst authentic Swiss and Italian atmosphere in the wood-lined Walliser Stube? The elegant Fairview dining room provides a perfect vantage point for the panoramic splendor of Lake Louise through grand cathedral windows. Lago Italian Kitchen does superb modern Italian, and there is a wonderful tradition of Afternoon Tea — enjoy tea and finger sandwiches while enjoying the spectacular views. In these mountains, après-ski happens in the Chateau’s latest hot destination, Alpine Social, where mountain adventures and chitchat are inspired by the glory days of Canadian mountaineering. Craft beers, a fabulous wine list, and live music rub happily alongside alpine-inspired food — and it all tastes so much better at 5,200 feet. The 3,000 square foot spa is a tranquil oasis and offers more than 20 treatments — including the Mountain Hot Stone Massage, Lake Louise Soothing Lavender Dreams experience, and the Gentlemen’s Skin Workout Facial. A diverting shopping gallery includes precious jewelry, sportswear, and the not to be missed, 64

The people of Valbruna came together in 1998 to wish Valbruna Vail “buona fortuna.”

100 E. Meadow Drive | Vail Colorado 81657 | valbrunavail.com | 970.476.3444

valbruna italy

Celebrating 20 Years - 1998–2018

SUITES

What began in 1890 as “a hotel for the outdoor adventurer and alpinist” retains its spirit — and then some.

Qiviuk, the chic boutique specialising in fine garments made from hand-harvested Canadian Arctic Musk Ox wool — softer, lighter, and warmer than cashmere. What began in 1890 as “a hotel for the outdoor adventurer and alpinist” retains its spirit — and then some. The vision of Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, has evolved to delights of night-owl snowshoeing beneath the stars, to crackling campfires in the forest and cups of hot chocolate at the ice bar in between spins round the natural skating rink. Lake Louise’s legacy of sharing mountains with its guests began in the early 20th century, when Swiss guides hired by the Chateau introduced countless guests to the wonders of the Canadian Rockies. Guests now enjoy guided cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, and hiking with guides from the Mountain Adventure Program. For guests of every age and activity level, a wonderful winter adventure awaits. 66

clockwise from top

1. Boathouse View. 2. Hallway Chandeliers. 3. One Bedroom Mountain View Suite.

A SYMBOL FOR MODERN SKIING

Bec de Rosses Jacket and Pants

www.elevenate.com

FA S H I O N

Long Live This is the year of the rock star... and there’s a very good chance your new ski wardrobe will be mirroring your favorite playlist! b y M I C H A E L M A S TA R C I YA N

Beatles Afghan Chic Right around the time The Beatles began to dabble in psychedelic Indian sitar music and the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, they also discovered how incredibly cool long hair, beards, and beads looked when paired with shearling sheepskin or goatskin coats from Afghanistan. The classic Afghan coats worn by the Fab Four were decorated with colorful, embroidered patterns on the outside. While this season’s versions don’t have the raw, straight-off-the-Silk Road look of their ‘60s counterparts, they do have a distinct hippie vibe. PARAJUMPERS women’s hooded Megan Coat is not cut like a classic Afghan, but definitely has the vintage psychedelic feel. This slightly distressed, light brown 3/4 length shearling masterpiece is made from Merino wool, and is tastefully trimmed with fur top to bottom. Fashion icon Cher has been turning heads since the 1960s. In one memorable photo the raven-haired rock siren is posing with former partner and spouse Sonny, in the puffiest, fluffiest, fuchsia-colored Mongolian lamb sweater ever created! This winter, thanks to the good folks at SKEA, you can time travel back to the hippie era in the Colorado-based luxury brand’s dazzling navy blue Sloan Mongolian lamb jacket or vest.

BALLY’s red, white, and blue dyed inside-out shearling fur coat is a magnificent creation that will have heads turning on the après-ski circuit this year. This stunner has a Carnaby Street, London vintage shop aura with a cheeky whiff of Gwyneth Paltrow’s iconic coat in The Royal Tenenbaums that make it a standout piece this season. And finally, for fans of natural fur, M. MILLER’s sumptuous Electric Blue vest. This eye-catching waist-length fox fur vest is the absolute height of psychedelic fashion. Throw on a few hippie beads and this black and blue beauty will have you primed and ready for your very own magical mystery tour of snow country!

clockwise from top: 1. Parajumpers. 2. Bally. 3. SKEA. 4. M. Miller. 68

Rock

FA S H I O N

Walk on the Wild Side Lou Reed may have coined the phrase “Walk on the Wild Side” in 1972 with his hit song, but for Steven Tyler it’s been a lifetime wardrobe choice. The slinky, androgynous Aerosmith front man has been addicted to leopard print for eons, and if he goes skiing this winter he’ll have a ton of kitty cat prints from which to choose. From OBERMEYER’s chic Women’s Resort Collection, the body-hugging safari leopard print hooded Hadley and Devon Down ski jackets are pure feline eye candy. And for those of you inclined to go full-on Catwoman on the slopes, just match one of these beauties with Obermeyer’s safari leopard print Harlow Pant. Can you say meeeeeow?!!! French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s luxury Créateur Collection for ROSSIGNOL is also teeming with jungle cats this season. Cat lovers can choose from two types of feline ski wear. The first, a selection of black, beige, and white stylized cheetah spots print creations highlighted by the slimfit Airsyn PR Jacket, the boxy Yakima Bomber Jacket, and the form-fitting Yurock PR Pant. For fans of more realistic looking jungle prints, the Micmacs Soft BG Jacket, a magnificent black waist-length softshell, with contrasting faux fur leopard sleeves, and the multi-purpose faux fur leopard Mohawak Vest are fantastic choices. Complete your look with Bliss Gloves from LEVEL.

Pants: Obermeyer. Jacket & Vest: Rossignol. Gloves: Level.

Ride the Snake What would happen if you crossed Jim Morrison’s penchant for tight black leather clothing and Drake’s love of snakeskin print puffer jackets?

Jet Set Bogner

You’d get JET SET’s shiny, black, super-snug-fitting, Ghost Snake Fur/ Jet Rider Overall one-piece ski suit for women. Snakeskin print is a major theme at the luxury Swiss fashion house this winter and is available in silver, hot pink and white, in a wide assortment of slimfitting ski jackets and pants. Jet Set even has a pair of tight black snakeskin ski pants for guys (Mercruiser Snake Jet Rider Pant)... somewhere Jim Morrison is smiling for sure!

U2 Bomber No one has ever rocked a vintage WWII shearling bomber jacket better than Bono did in U2’s iconic 1983 Two Hearts Beat as One music video. You might be able to give the Irish legend a run for his money if you hit the slopes in ALPS & METERS’ men’s waterproof leather and shearling Patrol Bomber jacket. A throwback piece paying homage to the military backgrounds of some of the 20th-century’s first ski patrollers, this brown beauty is a timeless classic that will battle cold in high style both on and off the mountain. BOGNER’s sleek, olive-colored, shearling Raffi jacket just might be the answer for any female flyers scrambling to stay warm at altitude this winter. This incredibly sexy take on the U.S. military’s World War II B-3 bomber jacket is a true top gun! A waist-length bombshell, with a traditional double belted soaring shearling collar, this lush flight jacket is a high flying hottie you won’t be able to resist, especially when it’s -20 on the slopes! 70

Alps & Meters

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Pouring Portuguese A

PISTES

fter a decadent day cat-skiing, I was dining at Keystone’s historic Ski Tip Lodge when I heard the sommelier tell the tragic tale of Marta Soares, Portugal’s only female vintner. He was pouring Casal Figueira António which Soares dedicated to her beloved husband António Carvalho after he died treading grapes in his early 40s. This delicate white wine, made entirely from the rare Vital grape from the Lisboa wine region, is also delighting diners at Eleven Madison Park in New York City. It’s part of a new trend in Portuguese products which are pouring into the U.S., with wines in particular popping up in the poshest places. The spin-off from Portugal’s recent popularity as a tourist hotspot, Portuguese paraphernalia is now infiltrating wine lists, menus, and shops around ski resorts. Port has long been known as an after-dinner quaff – The Mariposa mid-mountain munchery in Deer Valley has served it for 30 years. But it’s newcomers to North America – Douro, Dão, Vinho Verde, and Madeira – that are really reflecting Portugal’s popularity on the pistes. The spotlight descended when big wave surfer Garrett McNamara decamped from Hawaii’s North Shore in favor of Portugal’s wild and wavy west coast. In 2011 GMAC conquered the world’s biggest wave at Praia do Norte, Nazaré. Breaking his own record two years later, he ensured that media attention was firmly focused on Portuguese surfing, beaches, tourism, and exports. Since then, a wave of wine has hit U.S. shores. Obrigado 72

by LOUISE HUDSON

above: Hotel Jackson FIGS Restaurant – Photo courtesy Hotel Jackson.

Vinhos’ founding partner Rui Abecassis introduced António to Ski Tip Lodge. Sommelier Megan Morgan says Ski Tip tipplers are fascinated by Portugal. “The history of wine-making there traces thousands of years, involving Phoenicians, Greeks, and especially the Romans,” Morgan explains. “The climate and soil of Portuguese regions are not homogenous, and there’s an amazing amount of indigenous varietals, many of which Americans have never heard of before. Our Ski Tip patrons are often quite adventurous – the ski connection – and want to follow a new trail each time they visit us.” Aged Colheita Port and D’Oliveira Madeira dating back to 1908 are adding Portuguese pep to Allred’s, Telluride. “We took the gamble and decided to pour them all by the glass,” says Wine Director Andrew Shaffner. “Guests go crazy for the opportunity to taste a wine that is 40, 50, or 60 years old, or older.” At the lower end is Vinho Verde – a refreshing slightly effervescent white: “I cannot tell you how much of the stuff we consume professionally and personally,” says Shaffner. “We bring it on the golf course, sip it for lunch, and I will not take a hike around here without a bottle in my pack!” In nearby Durango, white and rosé Vinho Verdes are just as popular at El Moro Tavern. In May 2017, Aspen’s Jimmy’s Advanced Sommelier Greg Van Wagner traveled to Portugal on a whimsical wine wander. Particularly partial to Madeira, he visited the island’s producers, discovering an affinity for the D’Oliveiras 1988 Terrantez and 1977 Sercial, which Jimmy’s now features. “We found that Madeira’s naturally high acidity makes a great component in cocktails,”

PHOTO COURTESY OF EDI SIMČIČ

ON THE

2:13 PM

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Photo by Reuben Krabbe courtesy of Banff & Lake Louise Tourism.

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“I traveled to Portugal for one very simple reason: to learn about their products.”

By day Zach’s Cabin at Beaver Creek is a private ski-in lunch location for The Bachelor Gulch Club; by night it’s open to everyone for sleigh ride dinners. As a result of Sommelier Sean Costa’s tastings at Alentejo, Lisboa, and Douro Valley wineries, diners are knocking back Nortico, a runner-up to a high-end Chardonnay, Costa contends: “It has a great crisp minerality and light fruitiness. At this point it has basically become the house wine… a true crowd pleaser.” His red picks are a light fruity DAC blend from Dão, appealing to Pinot Noir fans, and bold, dark Pinhal de Torre Quinta do Alqueve 2 Worlds Reserve. “I traveled to Portugal for one very simple reason: to learn about their products,” Costa admits. “Portuguese wines have gotten better and fortunately are absurdly affordable. Sommeliers are always looking for the next best thing, perhaps Portugal and its current appeal are creating the perfect storm for that next ‘it’ item.” Although many think of Utah as a newbie to oenology, it actually has a thriving wine, craft beer, and distillery culture centered around the ski resorts. Portuguese pours, such as Chryseia and Prazo de Roriz, reach wine lists via a state-controlled liquor system. Vinho Verde is popular at Park City’s The Eating Establishment and also pairs well with seafood at The Mariposa in Deer Valley. “Madeira and Vinho Verde do need server support,” says Wine Director Clint Strohl. “We plant the seeds of interest with our guests.” At Stein Eriksen Lodge, Jim Dahlgren has been dabbling in dessert drinks. “We’ve always had several choices of sweet 74

PH OTO CO URTE SY OF NORTI CO

says Van Wagner. “We mix the Barbeito Historical Series Malvasia with Taketsuru Pure Malt Japanese whisky and red grapes in our Hokkaido Rendezvous cocktail.”

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clockwise from top left

1. Cocktail at Jimmy’s, Aspen. 2. Hotel Terra Jackson Hole, Bar Enoteca – Photo courtesy Hotel Terra. 3. Fine dining Ski Tip Lodge, Keystone – Photo Courtesy Keystone Ski Resort.

wine from Portugal on our dessert menu. We’re also pouring a Rare Wine Company Madeira: Savannah Verdelho. For dry reds from Portugal, on our wine list is Churchill Estates Red from Douro. This is a popular red and we seem to be selling more lately. We definitely plan to increase the selections of dry reds going forward.” In Jackson Hole Carolina Grave is inspiring staff and guests to drink Portuguese wines at Bar Enoteca. “I come from Alentejo where my family has a farm,” she says, admitting to missing Portuguese food. She encouraged Jeremy Walker, Area Beverage Director and Private Wine Buyer for Jackson Hole’s Fine Dining Restaurant Group, to add Encostas do Lima Vinho Verde and Vinha da Malhada Trincadeira Blend to Bar Enoteca’s by the glass options. “We find that reds sell better than whites during winter,” says Walker. “I must have started with around 10 cases 76

of Trincadeira this winter and I’m about out of it.” He’s actually looking forward to finishing it, though, in order to try a Medieval de Ourem Encostas d’Aire. The Portuguese profile has spread to downtown Jackson, too, where FIGS is purveying a dry Dão, a fruity Douro, and an off — dry Vidigal Vinho Verde alongside its Lebanese mezze menu. This rustic — chic restaurant in boutiquebeautiful Hotel Jackson is fulfilling all the latest food fads of which Portuguese pours are one. Nearby, Bin22 has four Portuguese tipples, notably a romantic Romeu Rosé. Look out for persuasive Portuguese pours popping up all over the U.S. this winter as a result of Wines of Portugal’s promotions at industry events across the states. And, although nothing to do with wine — or Portugal for that matter — it can’t hurt Portugal’s popularity that the No. 1 hit Feel it Still by Alaskan band, Portugal. The Man, has been dominating the airwaves all this year and, coincidentally, headlined at Jackson Hole Rendezvous Festival last spring. As for the Portuguese palate — if wines are not enough to tease your taste buds — try some of the fare hitting the slopes. From the linguiça smoke-cured sausage at Drafts Burger Bar in Park City to Portugal’s classic creamy sausage soup, Caldo Verde, which Chef Javier Aguirre recently introduced to patrons of St. Bernard’s. “I’m a rebel, I think it’s fun to play around with different cuisine,” says Aguirre, who also makes cozido stew, and a rice dish with pancetta, prosciutto, and sausage.

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technicity, and fashion without compromise.” For women, the look will be kind of modern retro; very shaped ski outfits with a soft focus on the shoulders. Blue and orange are in. She expects Bogner, Toni Sailer, and Fendi to have strong designs, but confesses to having serious crushes on both the Aztech Mountain and Cordova collections. Cordova especially excites her as it is a new brand from a young designer: “It’s so cool, the things she does are crazy; so chic.” Ready-to-wear displays are matched by color and themes: casual, evening, and sportswear. “We create real stories for the perfect après-ski look,” she says, ticking off a few of the boutique’s brands: Dsquared2, Maison Ullens, and Stefano Ricci. Toubiania says this winter’s prêt-à-porter fashions are especially colorful, and she really likes the Ermenegildo Zegna, Burberry, and Missoni collections. Skiers will luxuriate in the utmost comfort with perfectly tailored footwear available from the boutique. “Le Silla shoes are chic and comfortable, and Santoni shoes will appeal to the gentlemen,” says Toubiania. The boutique’s shoes and accessories section also features Giuseppe Zanotti, Tod’s, and Burberry. A perfume corner showcasing Parfums de Marly and Memo Paris, and a jewelry window displaying pieces by refined designers such as Tess Van Ghert allow customers to complete

P HOT OS C OURT ESY OF BERN ARD ORC EL

by HIL ARY NANGLE

COURCHEV EL CHIC

SKI BOUTIQUE 76

ong the playground of A-list celebs, politicians, and royalty, tony Courchevel, sited in France’s Les Trois Vallées, is synonymous with fivestar hotels and Michelin-starred chefs. Guests come from around the world to ski this posh paradise, and they expect their boutiques (and their outfits) to match the surrounding glamour. For 45 years, the Bernard Orcel boutique has catered to their needs. And their whims. French alpine racer and two-time Olympian Bernard Orcel opened his eponymous boutique in 1975, after retiring from competition. Courchevel’s first multibrand store quickly earned a platinum reputation for catering to those demanding the best in products and service. Although ownership changed in 2013, that prestigious reputation continues today. The boutique stocks the most exclusive brands in clothing, accessories, and ski equipment: The chalet-style boutique, located in Courchevel 1850, carries everything one needs — from technical layers to evening wear — to ensure you always look in vogue. Equally importantly, the team is on hand to offer bespoke services, individual recommendations, and personalized experiences designed to augment your ski vacay in every way. “We come from the very high-end luxury industry, and from that point our main goal is to develop and extend the standards of high-end services and experiences for our clients,” says Claire Toubiana, who’s been involved in all aspects of operation since the acquisition. “We travel the world to find the best quality products and seek new trends that will please our customers.” Whether that’s on the slopes, strolling through the village, or at a glamorous evening soirée. Ski wear is displayed by brand: “Each collection tells a story,” Toubiana says. This season’s watchwords are “comfort,

SKI BOUTIQUE their ensemble. “Our clients expect us to be the most fashionable mou nt a in store,” Toubiana says. Bernard Orcel achieves that in part by working to create exclusive collaborations with famous brands each season. It partnered with a French ski company to create its own ski line comprising an all-terrain ski, a racing ski, and an off-piste ski, each with a jazzy design. Exclusive capsule collections show the height of alpine designer fashion. The company’s latest offering is a Chiara Ferragni x Bernard Orcel snow boot, Bordeaux limited edition. Toubiana aims to create contrast and make customers aware of the store’s many strengths with in-store displays. “We like to show unexpected matches between technical ski items and luxury fashionable clothing,” she says. A new window concept for December will be “something totally out of the box, where strong and highly technical items will meet crazy luxury pieces — imagine a mannequin wearing an impressive fur coat with ski boots.” Bernard Orcel may attract customers with its luxury lines, but personal service is what keeps them coming back. The boutique offers clients a place to escape, relax, and unwind in a place of beauty and comfort. “Of course we offer drinks to all our customers,” Toubiana says. Old friends are recognized and welcomed back; new ones are hand-delivered personalized gifts to their hotels: Perhaps a special gift bag with a personalized pocket-sized bottle of the local herbal liqueur, génépy, along with a welcome card and an invitation to ask questions. “As clients feel comfortable with us, they often ask us to help them with restaurant booking or other concierge requests,” Toubiana says. You wish it, Bernard Orcel makes it happen. The Bernard Orcel Ski Truck, a mobile ski room, brings products and services to customers where they’re needed, whether that’s a chalet or hotel or a ski trail. The truck carries a full range of winter sports equipment as well as

integrated boot dryers. “If a client is already on the slopes and wants to test a new ski, we will bring it to him,” Toubiana says. The store also brings the C ORDOVA ON E P IEC E boutique to customers who prefer shopping at home or in their hotel suite. The collections (ready-to-wear or ski wear) are presented by a personal shopper from the team. Seamstresses adjust and perfect outfits. Bernard Orcel also manages ski rooms in one palace and three five-star Courcheval hotels: Les Airelles, Hôtel Barrière Les Neiges, Aman Le Melezin, and Le Strato. These, Toubiana says, are Bernard Orcel’s ambassadors. No two are alike. Each was created in collaboration with interior designers, architects, and managers to fit not only with the hotel, but also to meet the preferences of that hotel’s clientele. For example, guests at the opulent Les Airelles return for afternoon tea with hot drinks and sweet snacks while those at the hip and modern Le Melezin enjoy a Champagne bar. What the ski rooms share is Bernard Orcel’s commitment to offering guests a premium experience and allowing them to hit the slopes nattily attired and in a relaxed and positive mood. “It is always a pleasure to help them to make their stay unforgettable,” Toubiana says. One of the season’s highlights is the annual Bernard Orcel Ski Cup. The boutique organizes the race and arranges for special guest racers. Last year Olympic gold medalists, Bode Miller and Antoine Dénériaz participated. “We do it to make our clients happy. We share the moment with them, take care of them, and party with them,” Toubiana says. The génépy flows, the good times roll, and the boutique’s staff ensure that each client is not only sharply outfitted to ski, but also to shimmer and shine. Whether daytime glamour or evening glitz, Bernard Orcel deftly works the magic that makes them sparkle.

“We like to show unexpected matches between technical ski items and luxury fashionable clothing.”

AZT ECH MO UNTAIN

techniques, massages, and mindful yoga,” she explains. “The skiing portion will be about two-thirds of the camp, with the remainder filled with multiple options for mindful activities.” Having recently attended a dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kemmerer is full of fascinating fervor about the value of mindfulness in winter sports: “Mindfulness and meditation, focus

Modern Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to a More Focused and Quiet Mind. He attributes today’s heightened interest to two main forces: “Mindfulness interventions have gone from healthcare — where they originated in the 1980s and ‘90s — to corporate, military, and education applications,” he says. “And celebrity endorsement: From Goldie Hawn and Nightline anchor Dan Harris, to Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio, mindfulness has gotten a lot of cultural exposure. With life’s stresses, the calming effects of mindfulness are much needed as a cognitive tonic. Last season mindful snowboarding was reinvented at Blue Mountain, Ontario where Emily Gaus, inspired by a mindful

your attention non-judgmentally, resetting the nervous system and calming you down.” Other health benefits include stress and fear reduction, relationship satisfaction, greater mental clarity, improved decision making, and appreciation of the present moment. Sleep improvement is particularly beneficial in ski resorts where high altitude can lead to disturbed rest and wakefulness, both of which can be combatted by meditation techniques. All of this, she contends, leads to a faster, more effective learning curve for skiers. One of the earliest mindful snowsports’ programs was piloted some 20 years ago by author Arnie Kozak at Smugglers’ Notch resort. “The world may not have been ready for mindfulness on the mountain then but it certainly is now,” says Kozak whose latest book is Timeless Truths for

PH OTO COUR TESY OF AS PE N SKI CO

ike the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz, I begged my Jackson Hole instructor, Christina Cartier, to teach me courage. A tough assignment, but with over 40 years of skiing experience, I had long decided that the main obstacle to my piste, powder, and perpendicular performance was anxiety. Among Cartier’s many tips were deep breathing before departing on difficult descents, looking ahead and around rather than fixating on snow right by my skis, and leaning head-to-navel downhill on terrifying terrain instead of instinctively holding back. These fear-fighting fundamentals were reinforced for Cartier during mindfulness staff training at Jackson Hole with John Travis, meditation teacher and former ski racer. Her top takeaways from this cutting-edge course were “hara”, focusing on center of balance, and “panoramic vision”. “Simply bringing awareness helps us, especially on low visibility days, feel whether or not we are skiing from a centered place,” Cartier maintains. “Panoramic vision is soft focus that I encourage in my skiers. Being aware of everything without getting visually locked into staring at one temporary place.” She promotes mindfulness during warm-up runs, encouraging students to greet snow, conditions, body, and senses without judgment. And she adopted the idea of flow from Travis’ training. “It’s the tai chi of skiing,” she says. “Think of turn to turn, edge to edge, gate to gate, in that same fluid, graceful way as tai chi masters.” This is “mindful skiing”, a new approach to snowsports’ instruction, harnessing the synergy between physical and mental skill development. The momentum behind mountain mindfulness at Jackson Hole is co-owner Connie Kemmerer who has designed a new ski camp debuting this season. “We’re calling it Mindful Ski Camp — snowboarders welcome too — running January 31 to February 3, 2019,” says Kemmerer. An advocate of both seated and active meditations, Kemmerer adds, “We’ll mix lectures, various meditation

by LOUISE HUDSON

P HOT O C OURT ESY OF JAYN E GOT T LIEB.

Fighting fear with focus and flow.

P HOT O C OURT ESY OF N ORT HST AR.

WELLNESS

MIN DFUL SK IING

clockwise left to right

1. Northstar GM & VP Nadia Guerriero. 2. Jayne Gottlieb, owner Aspen Shakti. 3. Yoga at the Sundeck, Aspen Mountain.

overcoming this is to develop a personal mantra, routine, and place of comfort. “This wasn’t an actual physical place but rather a mental place of strength and relaxation.” Telluride instructor and supervisor of training, Deb Willits uses mindfulness to teach classes as well as train other instructors. “If an instructor has the ability to quiet self-talk it allows them to be aware of all the elements of the environment including the weather, snow conditions, ability, and feelings of your student, others on the hill, and your own intuition about them.” With this mindful approach being introduced by trainers and pro athletes, there is a trickle-down effect

cheek style, goading them into exhaling a bellowing ‘ommmmm’ or bellowing om for them when I recognize them holding their breath in fear or frustration. Invariably they chuckle, and it serves to at least relax them a bit.” He contends mindfulness can lead to breakthroughs in skiing

WELLNESS

skiing initiative at Blue Mountain, led a program for Toronto-based High Park Ski Club. Focusing on breath, particularly before attempting challenging tricks, is vital in terrain parks, she explains: “One of the worst things we can do is to not breathe, which leads to tensing up and, usually, a less successful outcome.” Taking time to consider and map out a difficult trail, a jump, or a foray into a halfpipe can eradicate the reckless potential, reduce the possibility of crashing into another rider, help with identifying hazards, and thereby lead to enhanced stability throughout the

P HOT O C OURT ESY W AN DERLUST SQUAW VAL L E Y

left to right descent. 1. Balance in nature. Athletes have been 2. Winter flow. using mindfulness for 3. Double Olympic gold decades. Olympian medalist Jamie Anderson. Jamie Anderson grew up in a very “conscious” family, she says: “My mom is really mindful and inspired me a lot. In my late teens I started yoga and meditation and that also helped a lot with overall life and snowboarding.” Anderson believes that every snowboarder can benefit from having a calm, collected mind especially in such a high action sport. “I just think in general people are waking up and wanting to practice new things to feel more happy and grounded.” Steamboat ski racer Caroline Lalive incorporated both meditation and mindfulness into her thirteen-year World Cup and Olympic career. “We used many relaxation techniques including visualization as well as practicing being present in the moment,” Lalive explains. “The pressure of performance coupled with the ever-changing environment can be a huge drain on one’s psyche.” Key to

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P HOT O COUR T E S Y W AN D E R L U S T S Q U A W V A L L E Y

to winter sports’ instructors at every level. At Squaw Valley, instructors are increasingly utilizing mindfulness methods to dispel fears and enhance enjoyment. Danny Sullivan integrates Buddhism, ashtanga yoga, and ujjayi breathing into his ski lessons. “I have added it to teaching and guiding as a means of managing anxiety and mitigating the frustration of clients skiing in unfamiliar or intimidating terrain,” says Sullivan. “It also helps with focus, which is crucial when navigating advanced and expert terrain.” While seated meditation is not for him, he reaches what he calls a zen state of hyper-consciousness on the slopes. It’s easy to pass on these practices to guests with “new age bents”, he says, but harder to work with more cynical customers. “If they think the ideas of mindfulness and meditation or yoga are hokey, I will present it in a more tongue-in-

improvement. Resorts are combating female fears in tough terrain through women-only ski camps, many of which are incorporating yoga and meditation with gender-friendly teaching and camaraderie. “Her Mountain” retreat at Northstar is inspired by Vice President Nadia Guerriero who devised the camp to help women appreciate the Sierra setting and develop physical capabilities alongside mental focus. Increasingly, ski resorts are running pre-ski mountaintop yoga classes, juxtaposing mindful exercise with the beauty of the surrounding scenery. Aspen Shakti teacher Jayne Gottlieb says, “Yoga and mindfulness are some of the fastest practices to draw in the present moment, bring consciousness to everything we do, strengthen and allow us to control our bodies more meticulously so that we can perform in the way we want, when we want,” she maintains. Her high-altitude class is held once a month at Aspen’s Sundeck. So, in the spirit of “if you can’t beat them join them”, I’m taking mindful skiing seriously – just like UMass Medical School which has just set up a Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. Although as yet my ski style hasn’t changed much, I have improved my mental approach to steep terrain. With deep breathing, wider vision, and a more aggressive downhill stance, I now have my own mountain mantras for mitigating double diamond descents like T3 at Jackson Hole and KT-22 at Squaw Valley. 81

SUITES

Albreda, Albreda! Could this be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most lavish private heli-ski lodge?

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY MIKE WIEGELE HELI SKI

P H OTO S : A N D R E A S W I M M E R

by LESLIE WOIT

SUITES

Albreda is a tiny postcode where champagne flows and helicopters fly.

wirls of diamond dust come to rest as the powerful A-Star helicopter banks above our heads. As it recedes into the valley below, we stand in silvery silence atop an untracked glacier, one of dozens that speckle the largest single tranche of heli-skiing terrain in the world. With Mike Wiegele as our guide and a private helicopter at our beck and radio call, it feels like there’s all the time in the world — and the world, hundreds of powder turns’ worth, is at our feet. After nearly fifty years of pioneering and — many would say — perfecting the art of heli-skiing, I ask Mike what he considers his most special accomplishment. Thoughtfully, his eyes scan the peaky panorama. “Finding this place.” Since 1970, Mike Wiegele has been creating deep-powder dreams amid a swath of the Cariboo and Monashee mountains the size of 283 Vails combined. During peak season, up to 12 helicopters lift and land on some 1,000 named routes, pinning runs such as Steinbock, Most Magnificent, and Dixon Glacier onto the maps of the world’s heli-skiing elite. Last season, the operation’s tenure increased by 330,000 acres bringing it to 1.5 million acres, and the ever-expanding village of 22 luxurious chalets now accommodates more than 100 heli-skiers at a time. Big is undeniably beautiful here. Yet in recent years — quietly, discreetly — word has been spreading about an alternative, more exclusive experience. A tiny postcode where champagne flows and helicopters fly. A place that’s perfect for privacy-seeking types keen on their own helicopter, their own chalet, their own program. If this sounds appealing, Albreda Lodge is your perfect scenario. Some 30 miles up the road from Blue River, Albreda Lodge may constitute the ultimate private heli-ski retreat. With all the bells and whistles — handcrafted massive timbers, dining, bar, three-

from top to bottom

1. A long line through the powder. 2. Mike Wiegele in his office.

story great room, and 19 bedrooms — Albreda invokes the spirit of the great chalets of vieux Davos or century-old St. Anton. “Gone are the days when people would bunk up together,” Mike says, opening the door onto a massive outdoor patio that is dug out and decorated each week for a stylish ice bar party. “So now we give them what they want.” Clearly, Mike takes his clients’ desires to heart. His guest list has long featured a tony set of doctors, dentists, and dealmakers: Past non-bunkers at Blue River have included ski royalty icons Jake Burton and Marcel Hirscher, as well as more conventional crowned heads such as Princess Caroline of Monaco and the Aga Khan. While, like Blue River, Albreda Lodge is accessible by car, it’s not uncommon for guests to arrive by helicopter from Vancouver or Kamloops Airport. Once alighting at Albreda — the helipad is poised just steps from the door — everything is located under one snow83

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clockwise from left

1. Dinner is served. 2. The Great Room at the Lodge. 3. Your private helicopter awaits.

covered roof. Tended by a dozen employees, needs are met by a lodge manager, a full complement of bar and waitstaff, discrete housekeepers, an in-house massage therapist, and most importantly, a deeply talented private chef. Bespoke menus are designed to spec. What you want, when you want it — including the bounty of a thoughtfully curated wine cellar. From the cosseting coziness of the wood-lined dining room — a low, arched ceiling creates the sense of being on an elegant ship — to the crimson-cushioned long bar, the rich carpets, black slate, and fir flooring produce an alpine patina that far exceeds the building’s actual 14 year history. Indeed, Albreda’s reclaimed timbers were painstakingly transported from a disused Alberta prairie grain elevator, giving new life to beams that now frame the great room, visibly smoothed and shaped by decades of kernels washing over their girth. (An interesting historical aside: Wiegele’s grandfather worked as an Alberta prairie farmhand from 1928-30 and would have almost certainly hauled wheat to an elevator such as this, if not this very one.) The upper floor, reached by a striking saw-tooth iron staircase (or by elevator, for the truly powder-addled knees in the house) is home to a long corridor of bedrooms. Each ensuite room is 84

appointed with two queen beds and has windows with grand mountain vistas. A grand master suite features a large bedroom and sitting room with slate fireplace, as well as a small kitchen. Sepia photos showcasing a half-century of heli-history line the hallways, including a series of hand-painted ski prints by Warren Miller himself. For those with energy to burn after a day of heli-skiing, there’s a boutique, fitness room, sauna, steam room, hot tub, and a rather spectacular three-story, five-lane climbing wall that await. The ski shop has a wide variety of powder skis, as well as cross-country skis and snowshoes. The guides’ room is fully equipped with state of the art safety and weather equipment as well as a video link to the Blue River guides’ meeting room. Come sunset, the heli is put to bed and the lodge comes to life with the glow of crackling fires, the tinkle of drinks, and the sound of laughter of après heli-ski among friends. On this sacred land of the Simpcw First Nation, there’s more than a little magic to go round. As we dream about the next day, Mike says, “I’m just so happy we found this place.” So are we! W W W.W I E G E L E .C O M / P R O P E R T I E S / A L B R E DA- L O D G E

the most delicious destination in the Canadian Rockies

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A HEAD FOR

STYLE Sleek, chic, and high quality at the fairest of prices. Who can argue with that? HEAD’s new design team launches an exciting skiwear collection you’ll want to slip into.

ith three brilliant color schemes, HEAD’s classic, youthful, and eye-catching collection allows you to zip and go. Mix and match your style with pieces that work as easily in a Los Angeles gym or on an Austin bar crawl as they do on the bowls of Aspen or on the sunny groomers of Gstaad. High-performance Japanese fabrics perfectly cut. Premium quality and harmonious colours. This new collection moves seamlessly from urban streets to powder-filled slopes. From tea at the Kulm to Tirolean sing-alongs at the Hospiz Alm, the brilliant prints, versatile combinations, and high-performance designs are equally at home in the powdery heights of Telluride, the deep bowls of Vail, and jogging along our beloved afternoon run through Central Park. Try one on for size. Cuts feature sporty X-shapes for ladies and flattering V-shapes for gents. Jackets and pants are seam taped, with warming PrimaLoft® Black Insulation ThermoPlume® for a

mixture of water-repellent and silky tufts whose soft, compressible thermal fibers offer performance, even in wet conditions. Smart technology caters to women with 3D mesh at the shoulders to move heat from back to front, where it’s needed. Men’s garments feature the same four-way stretch PrimaLoft® body mapping insulation and detachable snow guard and hood to guarantee warmth and performance. The Racing Collection provides the perfect mix of performance and style to slice off the seconds. And there’s a range of performance-enhancing jackets and pants as well as vests, shirts, hoodies and beanies.

SNOW STORIES AUSTRIA’S HOT SPOTS TIGER TALES LOST IN SNOW CHAMONIX À LA MODE MASQUER ADE

JORGE Bib Pants DESCENTE $550 Jacket NOBIS $595 LIZA Jacket NILS $510 Pants NILS $325 Base Layer SKEA $138 Boots BRESSAN $427 P H OTO B Y A N TO N I O C O R D E R O .

HIP TIPS & TALES Follow Julia Mancuso #AdventuresInAustria photos by POBY

Travel like a champ. Julia Mancuso is a world-class skier, fitness guru, role model, model, philanthropist, brand ambassador, and overall free spirit. Combine them and you’ve got a Squaw Valley girl who finds herself exactly where she wants to be — doing what she loves. And she loves Austria! Follow her as she shares hip hot spots and insider secrets.

#ST. ANTON

juliamancusco Snow packed stairway to heaven.

juliamancusco New besties!

juliamancusco Austrian Idol.

juliamancusco Top of the world.

LOVING AUSTRIA — FROM A TO Z OVERNIGHT IN ST. ANTON: Location. Location. Location! Skiin/ski-out and with the pedestrian zone on the doorstep. Ski Hotel Galzig’s ultra-modern rooms are hip with perfect perks. EPICUREAN DELIGHT: The Museum Restaurant is seriously good. History meets modern mountain food. I cannot stop thinking about the Zwiebelrostbraten, (beef with onion sauce, creamy potato purée, bacon, and beans). Decadently delish. Find it and the St. Anton Ski and Local Heritage Museum in the Historic Arlberg Kandahar House.

THE ACME OF APRÈS: Nobody does it better than St. Anton. The MooserWirt and the Krazy Kanguruh are famous (or infamous). Be prepared to stand on tables dancing with your ski boots on. Antics, drinks, and music make for an après to remember. EXPERTS ONLY: St. Anton is one of the few places in the world to offer a winter via ferrata. Grab some touring gear and get roped in for a rock climbing adventure across craggy peaks. Untracked runs are your just reward. Exhilarating.

#LECH - ZÜRS

juliamancusco Rooftop sun seeker!

juliamancusco Shall we waltz?

juliamancusco Pimp daddy on top of the Rufibahn!

juliamancusco Lunchtime at Der Wolf.

LECH LIFE LODGE LIFE: Hotel Sandhof is steps from Lech’s iconic oniondomed church. Owners Martin and Ingrid Prodinger look after their guests like they are longtime friends. Secret: Find Martin at the end of the night and join him for some homemade schnapps. FOR FOODIES: I had one of the best dinners of my life at the five-star Burg Vital Resort prepared by award-winning Chef Thorsten Probost. Fine dining doesn’t begin to describe the combination of locally sourced products and herbs. Culinary masterpiece gets closer. SPA-ING: Loved the Sole Flotation Tank! The high salt content let me float all my worries away. Definitely book one of the Indian Ayurveda treatments at the Burg Vital Spa.

EXPERIENCE: Der Weisse Ring, or the White Ring, is a ski circuit that should be on your bucket list. Skiing through stunning scenery over 22 kilometers of piste and 5,439 meters of altitude, I was awed. COVET: Strolz’s beautiful boutique is the fashion forward cool fave for fashionistas and sports aficionados alike. Wait for your boot fitting at the in-house bar. Shopping and schnapps. Yes.

#INNSBRUCK

juliamancusco I am 16 going on 17!

juliamancusco A castle just for me?

juliamancusco #AlpineUrban

juliamancusco Kühtai carving.

THE INN-SIDE SCOOP!!

SLEEP: aDLERS Hotel. Only a ten minute stroll to medieval Old Town, this steel and glass contemporary showstopper has floor to ceiling windows everywhere. Panoramic mountain vistas guaranteed! SEE-AND-BE-SCENE: Watch the sun set while sipping a Weisse beer at aDLERS rooftop bar. Weary of the gorgeous view? It’s a fab perch for people watching! PLAY: Skiing steeps at Nordkette — hop on the cable car and go from city to slopes in 20! Austria’s highest ski resort, Kühtai, is not much farther afield. Live like a local and go Figln! It’s as Innsbruck as it gets. I dare you! EXPLORE: Yes, you can use the inclined elevator, but the sporty way to explore the Bergisel Ski Jump is to climb the 455 steps.

EAT & DRINK: Go traditional and sample the schnitzel at Ottoburg: Atmosphere abounds in this 900-year-old building. The Jagdschloss Kühtai, a 13th-century hunting lodge turned cozy hotel, is a must for lunch. Tip: seek out the cheese cave! Sweet tooth? Kroll’s sweet strudels will satisfy! FUN FACT: Scandal of the era. The 16th-century Ambras Castle was a present for Archduke Ferdinand II’s lover. She was untitled and not of royal blood. Shocking! Not only did he secretly marry her, he built her a castle where they lived happily ever after. Really! Don’t miss checking out the old world opulence of the Spanish Hall. SCORE: Fab frocks and designer dirndls! Next to the Goldenes Dach (Golden Roof), Sportalm offers seriously sexy outfits.

#SÖLDEN

juliamancusco Mountain om...

juliamancusco Prost!

juliamancusco ice Q view.

juliamancusco Bond girl.

BOND FOREVER. SHAKEN AND STIRRED STAY: The newly appointed, oh-so-central, and ultra-luxe Hotel Bergland. Owners Sigi and Elizabeth Grüner are your go to peeps for everything from the very first cocktail pour. Offbeat FF: don’t be surprised if you hear the sound of sheep bells and a few loud bleats from the Ötztal mountain sheep kept by Sigi! BONDING WITH BOND: Wannabe secret agents — ask for the Summit Suite. James Bond actor Daniel Craig made the Bergland his home away from home while filming Spectre. GOING GOURMAND: Chef Michael Eigl of the Bergland is a culinary genius! The dishes star local ingredients that tantalize the tastebuds. The Ötztal valley lamb is to die for. If you have a hankering for comfort food, try Restaurant Gusto. Warning! The Diavola pizza will have you emptying every water glass on the table. EXPERIENCE: The ice Q might be one of the coolest pieces of

architecture anywhere in the ski world. It is sexy and innovative, and the views are ridiculous. Enjoy it by day or go all out and book a summit dinner. Heaven! BACK TO BOND: Check out the new 007 ELEMENTS — a film installation at the summit of the Gaislachkogl Mountain. James Bond fans can journey through a series of high-tech, interactive galleries, all dedicated to the world of Bond. Oh, that eye candy! Craving more action? The Top Mountain Crosspoint Motorcycle Museum rocks the coolest motorbikes ever made. OUT AND ABOUT: The ski stations of Sölden and ObergurglHochgurgl are interconnected and offer adventure for any level. One pass = 55 lifts. Tear up the terrain! Tired? Restos galore. My favorite is the Hohe Mut Alm. Grab an XL beer and quench your thirst. Work on your biceps lifting that stein! 93

T IGE R TA LES Nancy Greene, Canada’s Go-Get-’Em Tiger. by LORI KNOWLES

THEY CALL HER TIGER. A powerful, pixie-haired Canadian skier with a small, sinuous build, quick, dexterous feet, and the spring of a jungle cat. She can pierce an opponent with the sharpness of her gaze and silence a room simply by walking into it. Across Canada her name is synonymous, not just with skiing, but with sport, tourism, and senatorial politics… all that at the age of 75. In her youth, in her Olympic prime, in the days she reigned as queen of ski racing, Nancy Greene she was fiercely magnificent. We meet Senator Nancy Greene Raine on Canada’s Parliament Hill. She’s just charged up the front steps of Centre Block, home of Canada’s House of Commons and its Senate — akin to the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives tied into one. Trailing behind her: a legion of pre-teen hockey players from small town Quebec. Greene spotted the team milling aimlessly on ‘The Hill’ touring Canada’s capital for the first time; the senator offered to “show them around”. Greene and her wide-eyed entourage advanced on Parliament’s front door. Security guards parted hastily to let them past — Greene is known, after all. She’s not just a politician, she’s a Canadian legend. If these kids weren’t familiar with the identity of this sprightly woman with the loud-speaker voice and the zeal of a brigade leader, their parents would be. Fame has tracked Nancy Greene through decades. She snatched world attention by winning skiing’s inaugural 1967 World Cup overall title, an act that broke the sport’s European domination. The image of Greene hoisting skiing’s first-ever Crystal Globe alongside France’s Jean-Claude Killy is imprinted on the minds of Canadian and international ski fans. She won Gold and Silver at the 1968 Olympic Winter Games in Grenoble, plus a second World Cup overall title — a feat unmatched by any female skier in the 20th century. In total, through ’67-’68, Greene scored a breathless 13 World Cup victories. There’s more. Like the U.S.-based Buddy Werner League, Canada’s Nancy Greene League for junior racers flourished in the 1970s. Nancy and her husband, former ski coach Al Raine, helped place Whistler on the map in the 1980s. They did the same for B.C.’s Sun Peaks Resort in the ‘90s. In 2000, she was voted Canada’s Female Athlete of the 20th Century. She lit the Olympic cauldron

to open the Vancouver Games in 2010 in the company of Wayne Gretzky. In the last decade, Greene’s prowess led her all the way to the Canadian Senate. It could be said Greene’s prolonged success has everything to do with a skill skiers covet: good balance. It’s a thing she learned early, as a child in Rossland, B.C., a small ski town tucked into the Monashees, just north of the U.S. border. Greene, one of six children, learned to ski at age three by following her mother, who led her brood down Red Mountain’s rough-hewn slopes like a hen guiding ducklings through danger. A disabled arm, the result of a childhood injury, meant her mother eschewed traditional styles of skiing. “In those days ski technique was all about turning the upper body,” Nancy explains. “Because of her disability, my mom couldn’t turn her upper body so she just stood on her skis, balanced, and turned her feet. I learned to ski by watching her. I learned to ski perfectly balanced.” That balance served Greene well. When the Canadian Junior Championships came to Rossland in 1958, Nancy, then 14, wasn’t on the roster, but she was in a perfect spot. Red’s fiendish downhill — steep, brutal, unrelenting — was behaving like a monster, chewing up and spitting out young racers. Says Greene: “Everyone was crashing.” The Canuck team was so decimated, Nancy was thrown in as a last-minute entry. “They came to me and said, ‘We need you to race, there’s nobody left!’ Next morning I side slipped the course but I already knew where it went. I knew what to do, so I did it.” Her older sister Elizabeth won that downhill and Nancy finished second. The following day Greene placed third in the slalom, even though, as she danced nimbly through the gates, she wiped out twice. “I was on my way,” she says, “from that moment.” Back on Canada’s Parliament Hill, Senator Greene Raine has guided her guests through a maze of impressive Gothic arches — a path Canada’s leaders have walked for a century next to foreign monarchs and presidents. She pointed out bullet marks on the wall, unsettling reminders of the 2014 terrorist attack inside Centre Block as Greene sat nearby in a caucus meeting with Canada’s Prime Minister. Pointedly, the bullet holes are left out of conventional tours, but Nancy Greene isn’t interested in convention. In her career as a ski racer, she was known for rubbing against the grain, taking new lines, and breaking down barriers to

“Twisting through the flags, her edges rasping on the icy snow. When she flashed through the finish in a low crouch, her time was 7/100ths of a second faster than Goitschel’s.”

win at any cost, much like Lindsey Vonn or Bode Miller. Her approach was so fierce, her coach, Verne Anderson, would shout “Go get ‘em, Tiger!”… and she would. In her scrappy climb toward World Cup and Olympic dominance, she suffered many a crash, including a body-slammer in Portillo, Chile, during the 1966 Alpine World Skiing Championships’ downhill. Greene hit the roll over a road tunnel too fast, flew into the air, and smacked into an ice wall. “I was sore all over and I still had giant slalom to race the next day. One of my hands was bruised so I got a shot in my knuckles. Turned out I also had a broken tailbone, but it only hurt to sit down and stand up so I kept going.” Greene frowns. “The next day I came fourth.” The following 1967 season — the first for the FIS World Cup circuit — Greene’s battle against rival Marielle Goitschel of France was just as feisty. Greene spent the off-season training like a fiend under the eye of an expert in military fitness. Better yet, Rossignol sent their star skier a revolutionary set of skis called Stratos and Greene was loving them. In the early season on slopes in Germany and Switzerland, the 23-year-old blasted out of starting gates like she’d been lit by rockets, winning races by massive gaps and racking up points toward overall victory. By the end of the season however, 96

Goitschel had caught up, and the sure slope beneath Tiger’s skis began to shake. By the season’s closing races in March at Jackson Hole, Goitschel and Greene were helmet to helmet. It came down to their second run in the slalom to decide the first ever female FIS World Cup overall winner. “Greene took every risk,” writes John Fry in The Story of Modern Skiing, “twisting through the flags, her edges rasping on the icy snow. When she flashed through the finish in a low crouch, her time was 7/100ths of a second faster than Goitschel’s.” In that single moment, Greene surpassed the Europeans and earned a top spot in ski racing history. Again, Tiger’s Olympic GS Gold in 1968 at Grenoble was gritty, yet for different reasons. Greene, the favorite, placed a devastating 10th place in the Olympic downhill. With tears of frustration fogging her goggles, she got back at it that very afternoon, driving herself through a slalom training course time and again to gain back confidence. The following day she rose from the ashes to place second in the slalom. Then, with the guts and grind Greene is known for, she trounced her competition in the Olympic giant slalom, beating Annie Famose in her native France by 2.65 seconds, a jaw-droppingly decisive margin. Her time didn’t show on the board immediately and rumors swirled that Greene skied so

fast she broke Omega’s timing mechanism. Not true. According to Greene, the delay in revealing her result was necessary as the astounding time was verified. “Of course, my heart almost stopped!” Greene said later. “People often ask what I felt like in the finish area and I tell them my biggest emotion was relief.” Post tour of Parliament Hill, Senator Greene Raine is seated at a broad, well polished table in her corner senatorial office, Canada’s iconic Peace Tower rising like an imposing obelisk just outside the window. Tiger’s stature is compact and lithe. Despite a recent cancer scare, her movements are snappy and athletic. She wears a shirt as white and as crisp as snow, and her eyes dance as she talks about her career’s third act: the Senate. Not surprisingly, Greene’s focus has been on promoting fitness and, yes, balance. She’s heading the Child Health Protection Act, proposing legislation to prohibit advertising of unhealthy foods to youth. She’s known among senators and parliamentarians for organizing weekly meetups to exercise — run, swim, ski — on The Hill. And Greene helped establish the National Health and Fitness Foundation. “Our goal,” she says, “is to make Canada the fittest nation in the world.” Now, at age 75, Greene is faced with mandatory senate retirement. She’s headed back to Sun Peaks, where she’s still Director of Skiing. She’s re-joining husband Al Raine, a hotel owner

and ski resort developer who’s now the local mayor. Say “Al and Nancy” to any soul in the Canadian ski industry and they’ll tell you a story of the power couple’s formidability. Al and Nancy were at the forefront of Whistler’s rise on the world ski stage, helping map out its village. Their move to Sun Peaks lit the obscure ski resort with the wattage of a mega spotlight. In 2010, their endorsements helped send the Olympic Winter Games back to Canada. The interview is done. Greene has shuttered her ample office and is charging back across The Hill at a pace that’s hard to match for a soul half her age. With Canada’s Parliament a striking backdrop, she’s asked to name a favorite aspect of the senate life she’s poised to leave behind. She thinks about it, stumbling for words — unusual for a talker like Tiger. “I can’t” she says, finally. “It’s like asking the name of my favorite ski run. They’re all interesting.” Greene disappears into a crowd of tourists. She’s gone, but not for long. She pops up moments later with another group of kids she has found wandering aimlessly on The Hill. With a Tiger’s grin, she offers to show them around…

LOSTIN

SNOW Welcome to Fernie Alpine Resort. A small town with big snow. b y A N D R E W F I N D L AY photos by STEVE OGLE

P H OTO B Y S T E V E O G L E

previous page Tim Konrad loving 20+ inches of powder.

clockwise from left to right 1. Andrew Findlay arrives in Fernie. 2. Mother Nature takes over the snowmaking. 3. Polar Peak is open.

circulating weather patterns. hey call it the “Fernie Factor”. A forecasted 5 foot snowfall miraculously quadruples overnight, and before Vancouver-born Siggers first rolled into Fernie in 1976 with a freshly-minted ski instructors’ certificate in the glove box of his beatyou’ve digested your omelet and hash browns you’re up car. Forty-four years later he clearly still has the stoke. “I did my gathered with other early birds beneath a bluebird certification at Sunshine Village Ski Resort and one of the examiners sky, listening to a fusillade of detonating bombs being dropped by offered me a job at Fernie. He told me they had two T-bars. I thought, avalanche techs onto the fat cornice that curls like a frozen wave high above Lizard Bowl. So it is today, as I wait with Robin Siggers, Fernie Alpine Resort’s operations manager, for a green light from the red coats to drop into Lizard, one of five bowls cradled by the limestone peaks of the Lizard Range at this legendary resort tucked deep into the southeast corner of British Columbia, less than 60 miles as the crow flies from the Montana border. Most mountain towns worship Ullr. In Fernie they pay homage to their own version of the snow god; the Griz. The legend stems from a sighting of a musket-carrying, grizzly-coat wearing mountain man dwelling in the Lizard Range. He fires his musket into the clouds to unleash powder and is often spotted skiing. Locals love this special powder snow. Today, with Siggers as my guide, we grabbed an early lift up Elk Chair, carved some tidily swept carpet down to the Great Bear Express, and now are chomping at a Lizard Bowl untracked, save for those of a few patrollers that are like signatures on a vast and crumpled parchment. With a nod from his staff, I follow Siggers and launch the traverse cat track, landing in the snorkel-deep fresh, each turn a mouthful of oxygenated fluff. Here snow often falls in coastal ‘I’m not going there - I’m from Whistler,’ Siggers says with a chuckle. Curiosity got the best of him. Car loaded with ski gear, he made the quantities, but with interior dryness, thanks to the Lizard Range, an anomalous string of peaks that runs perpendicular to the axis of long drive to Fernie, a coal mining town founded at the turn of the the Canadian Rockies, and seems to generate its own generously re- 19th century on the banks of the Elk River. On its doorstep was an 100

Most mountain towns worship Ullr. In Fernie they pay homage to their own version of the snow god; the Griz. obscure little ski hill called Fernie Snow Valley run by an independent-minded, hardworking German forester named Heiko Socher. The snow never seemed to stop falling and Siggers never left: It’s a pilgrimage that’s been repeated by many a skier since. “I sold my squatters shack in Whistler and went to Fernie. At the time there might have been a dozen of us getting after the powder and traversing into the bowls,” Siggers says, wistfully recalling those early days and pointing to one of the tree-lined couloirs that threads down from a ridge between Lizard and Currie bowls. “We used to boot pack up and ski the Cougar Glades, then have to bash our way through alders to get back to the ski area.” That was long before the ski area expanded its boundaries to incorporate Siberia, Currie, and Timber bowls. The Gilmar Trail is a tribute to one of Siggers’ old cohorts, Pat Gilmar, who mercifully hacked out a path in the alders to make the traverse back to the resort easier. Late in the morning, Siggers ruefully leaves me in the hands of his son Dylan. We meet at Lost Boys Café at the top of Timber Chair. Dylan is a cliff-hucking, park jibbing 24-year-old who rides for LINE skis and is a talented videographer. I quickly get a taste of the younger Siggers’ style; often backwards and ten feet off the deck, as we rip down Puff to the base of the White Pass Quad, on the hunt for steeps and freshies. We spend the remainder of the day mining the steep lines, salt and peppered with cliff bands and rocks, that spill off the ridge between Currie and Timber bowls. After the lifts stop turning, satiated from an all-you-can-eat day of powder skiing, Dylan and I reunite with Siggers the elder at the Griz Bar ─ an après skiing, slopeside watering hole. We sidle 101

up to a thick wooden table the length of two shuffleboards. Its surface has been polished by a curious, late night Fernie tradition, the thought of which causes me to reflexively remove my elbows from the table. The walls of the bar are papered with photos of skiers with moustaches in garishly colored stretchy pants, and others in various states of undress. When John Cusack and Director Steve Pink scouted ski resort locations to shoot scenes for Hot Tub Time Machine, their search ended at Fernie, which seems to have one ski boot perpetually lodged in the 1980s. If Pink needed to fill scenes with extras, locals dove into their retro tickle trunks and arrived on set en masse. Fernie may have the ‘80s in its DNA, but it is the spirit

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of Heiko Socher that looms large over Fernie’s ski culture. Socher, who passed away in 2016, was emblematic of a pre-corporate time in the ski industry when ski hills bore the stamp of a maverick owner’s individuality. Socher would wield a chainsaw to cut runs, wrench broken down snowcats, and often walk around the resort base picking up not only trash but also sticks that appeared out of place. Chalk it up it to German fastidiousness. But at the same time Socher had a slice of

cowboy spirit. “Heiko definitely wasn’t afraid to cut steep runs,” Siggers tells me, as the bar fills and the volume of chatter increases. Only after an inbounds avalanche knocked over a lift tower at the bottom of Lizard Bowl was he compelled by government regulators to establish an official avalanche control program, which

Siggers ended up joining. “Those were the days when the ski industry was really fun,” he says. It’s hard not to share some of Siggers’ nostalgia. In 1998 Socher sold the resort to Charlie Locke, a pioneering Albertan mountaineer-turned-ski resort entrepreneur and a maverick in his own right. At the time Locke was in expansion mode, growing an empire known as Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR). Locke realized Socher’s dream of building more lifts and greatly expanded the ski area south to include Siberia Bowl. However it wasn’t long before creditors came knocking, RCR went into receivership, and contractors were left hanging and unpaid.

The portfolio was scooped up by N. Murray Edwards, reclusive Forbes 500 Alberta financier, major oil sands investor, and co-owner of the Calgary Flames. Big business aside, thankfully, at its heart, Fernie remains a core skier’s resort. A large part of Fernie’s appeal is the town at its base. Mountain mining towns tend to foster cool ski communities. Fernie is no exception; founded on coal mining, it remains as much a resource town as it is a ski community. That afternoon I stroll 2nd Avenue, before hanging a left into The Valley Social to meet owner Dan Whillans. This is coffee nerd central, with new blends served each week. Whillans says he had fallen “in love with coffee culture” in Toronto before moving out to Fernie in 2014 with no

plan other than to ski as much as possible. In 2016, Whillans, opened The Valley Social and trusts in the conviction that great coffee in a welcoming environment breeds great community. These days there’s a buzz in Fernie’s boutique beverage scene, whether of the caffeine or alcohol variety. Back in 2003, long before hipsters with man buns and plaid shirts started twisting the taps at craft breweries across North America, Fernie Brewing Co. was launched out of the Pask family’s garage. Its beers, like Project 9 Pils (named after a popular local mountain biking trail) and

First Trax Brown Ale, reflect the brewer’s roots in Fernie’s outdoor adventure culture. And not one but two craft distilleries are in line to open for the 2018/19 ski season. “We’ve been tweaking our recipes for the past six

months,” says Trevor Semchuk, co-owner of Lost Boys Distilling Company located just a few blocks from downtown. Semchuk says Lost Boys will produce handcrafted Canadian whiskey, and as they age the first batch, they’ll also distill artisanal gin. I’ve penciled some pampering into my itinerary, so I show up early for my appointment at Spa 901 ─ my first ever facial. The Miner’s Special is more than a nostalgic nod to a forgotten time: It’s actually geared toward miners who work the underground coal shafts around Sparwood, and are in need of a good scrub to clean the pores of coal dust.

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Previous page Dylan Siggers in powder heaven. clockwise from top left 1. Nevados is the go-to taco place in town. 2. Downtown Fernie. 3. Nevados owner Storm Largue ready to pour. 4. Trapper Normand Gagné ready for Griz Fest. 5. Robin and son Dylan Siggers at the Griz Bar.

Though I haven’t been doing time underground, I prepare for some pampering, with, I admit, an unsettling sense of impending emasculation. “As soon as we changed the name to Miner’s Special, we started getting a lot of men for facials,” my esthetician, Jessica Riley, tells me when I ask how often males opt for a facial. Sometimes it really is all just in the name. After the facial, I head into Griz Fest ground zero. After the requisite axe throwing competition, revelers grasping cans of Fernie beer in mittened hands hoot and holler as fireworks fill the sky, then turn their attention to the outdoor stage, where local three-piece power trio Small Town Dirtbags jams. That’s my cue to head to Nevados to meet friends for dinner. Housed in a wide-windowed, one-story, brick-walled corner building, this popular restaurant has brought a spicy pan-Latin American menu to the wintry streets of Fernie. Renowned for its selection of more than 30 artisanal tequilas and mezcals, I take the bartender’s advice and order a mezcal that’s as smoky as a peat soaked highland whisky. I decide to pair the spirit with an appy of patacones. The restaurant slowly fills. I look 104

outside the window. Snowflakes flutter and sparkle in the street lights; just another overnight refresh. The next morning, I’m lined up once again with the Siggers and 30 others waiting for the patrollers to drop the rope on the cat track traverse that leads to Snake Ridge on the resort’s northern boundary. The rope drops, signaling a Le-Mans-style start, and we aim for the far end of the ridge. Two minutes later, I’m staring down a planar, 1200 foot vertical, 35 degree slope. I do some quick mental math ─ a half dozen tracks at the most slice an otherwise blank canvas. If it wasn’t for Fernie’s competent pro patrollers, who manage more than 120 avalanche paths that loom above or hang within the resort’s boundaries, I’d be intimidated dropping into such a steep slope blanketed with 30 inches of fresh. I point the boards downhill, gather some necessary momentum, then smear a turn, sinking up to my thighs in March bounty. The “Fernie Factor” has been my good fortune all week. Thanks Griz. 105

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PHOTO BY PHOTOGRAPHER NAME

CHAMONIX à la mode by LESLIE WOIT

P H OTO C O U R T E S Y O F T E R M I N A L N E I G E R E F U G E D U M O N T E N V E R S

The French have a reputation for so many things. Eating well. Making brilliant wine. Even soi-disant excellence in the dark arts of the bedroom. And when it comes to skiing, their contributions are equally legendary. From building the first planned ski resorts to outfitting us in smooth, sexy stretch pants to sashay around them, France is mad about le ski. And to discover the spiritual hub of it all, there’s one place to go — Chamonix.

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hamonix is the anointed queen of the Alps, glitteringly crowned by Western Europe’s tallest mountain. To ski here is to follow in the tracks of alpine history ─ from the dawn of alpine tourism in wool skirts to extreme skiing in one-piece neon. You need only look up, way up, to understand. Mont Blanc was first summited in 1786. Et voilà, legions of eccentrics began aiming for its 15,781 foot summit armed with porters, caged chickens, and crates of Bordeaux. Gradually skiing gained traction and in 1924, Chamonix played host to the first Winter Olympics of the modern era. It is at L’École Nationale de Ski et d’Alpinisme (ENSA), right in the middle of town, where every French moniteur de ski comes to earn their instructor diploma. And nearly 200 years after the birth of alpinism, local superman Patrick Vallençant started the craze for near-vertical ski descents of the region’s fearsome faces: the Italian Couloir, Y Couloir, Whymper Couloir ─ 50-plus degree walls previously considered unskiable. To this day, Chamonix jumps and the world follows. No need to panic though. While continuing to lure its share of the shovel-and-backpack brigade, Cham also beguiles us mortals. One of the premier attractions, ça vaut le détour, is Europe’s classic ski descent, the Vallée Blanche.One of the Alps’ long, illustrious off-piste routes, this all-day alpine expedition dishes up a parade of peaky panoramas in the Mont Blanc massif ─ the Dent du Géant, the Grand Capuchin, and Les Drus ─ through furling waves of glacial crevasses and icy seas of aquamarine seracs. The roughly 13 mile ungroomed route, while not without challenge, can be skied by most competent skiers with the assistance of a guide. And now, thanks to a lovingly chic restoration of the Grand Hôtel du Montenvers, at the glacier’s edge is the most romantic refuge in France. When Emperor Napoleon III first visited the icy magnificence that is the Mer de Glace, officials declared it an official site of beauty and promptly constructed a road linking Geneva to Chamonix. Soon after, in 1880, the high-alpine Grand Hôtel du Montenvers opened its doors to the nouvelle vague of mountain lovers ─ the likes of famed writers Lord Byron, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Victor Hugo, George Sand, and even the infamous Frankenstein took refuge here in “the glorious presence-chamber of imperial

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previous page View of la Mer de Glace from the terrasse of Refuge du Montenvers.

clockwise from left to right 1. Chamonix Mont Blanc railway station. 2. Les Vieilles Luges on-mountain restaurant 3. Edward Whymper statue pointing to the Mont Blanc summit.

nature”. Alas, even during our current era of unpredictable winters, the presence-chamber occasionally overfloweth. Last January, a period of winds over 125 miles per hour combined with record snowfalls, made access to the Vallée Blanche impossible. Ski patrol couldn’t set the fixed rope protecting its gateway and the 420 metal stairs leading from the glacier up to the hotel were buried in Dr. Zhivago-like drifts ─ so instead we ascended to the hotel by cog rail. The tiny red train snaked through dense forests and towering snow banks before eventually stopping in front of a solid granite façade dotted with small red-shuttered windows. Looming above, the craggy curtains of Chamonix’s granite theatre were doused in a stirring magenta sunset. Frankenstein would have been impressed. Unusual destinations and eclectic style: the Sibuet Group of Megève have made a huge success of classing up this century-anda-half-old refuge, now renamed Terminal Neige. With exemplary bon chic, bon genre touches, its 20 rooms, suites, and dormitories are elevated with crimson-carpeted staircases, vintage industrial lighting and retro fabrics, all complementing the weathered patina of its original dark wood and granite bones. A crackling fire warms the dining room and bar where, together with newly-made friends from across Europe, we devour shared plateaux of charcuterie with local wine, followed by choice of diots de Savoie et polenta, tartiflette, or fondue of tangy Beaufort, Gruyère, and Abondance. Sleep is deep beneath a starry black sky. No fewer than 11 ski areas dot the length of the Chamonix Valley. On the sunny side, Brévent-Flégère is handy to town; for panorama, it’s northward to nearly-Switzerland Balme Vallorcine; and at the opposite end of the long valley, tree-blessed Les Houches is the go-to destination on poor viz days. At the foot of Mont Blanc snow can fall hard and fast, making the low timbered beams of Les Vieilles Luges the lunch spot of choice. A working alpage since 1479, Claude and his Australian wife, Julie, have been serving Haute-Savoie specialties from their family’s converted barn for

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1. A Whitetooth craft brew. 2. Iconic Canada at sunset: Petro Canada, Tim Hortons, and the Rockies.

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clockwise from left

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Chamonix jumps and the world follows. Tall Scandies, goggle-tanned Americans, pack-hauling Brits, Aussies and yes, the French â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the boys are all here.

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OT VA L L É E D E C H A M O N I X S A LO M É A B R I E L

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In the shadow of Mont Blanc, Albert 1er is the ultimate refuge. previous page Busy day on the Arête des Cosmiques at the start of the Vallée Blanche. PHOTO BY M A X COQUARD-BESTJOBERS

left to right 1.Colorful macaron display at the pâtisserie. 2.Nighttime in Chamonix town center. 3. Decadent dessert. 4. Pierre Carrier and Pierre Maillet — Michelin-starred cooking at the Albert 1er.

only a slightly shorter length of time. Their signature Savoyard dish, le farçon poêle, is an ancient Sunday-after-church farmers’ staple, a hearty treat of grated potatoes, prunes, raisins, and home-smoked bacon steamed overnight in a bain-marie, then sliced and pan fried. Ideal for hard-skiing diners (or hard-dining skiers) any day of the week. For true appetite building, we head to Cham’s must-ski ─ Grands Montets above Argentière, the freeriding haunt of any self-respecting saisonnière. The 60-person gondola rises over two stages to a pinnacle of more than 10,000 feet ─ Chamonix’s most iconic lift ticket. And it actually is a ticket: to avoid the normal wait for the gondola’s second stage, riders purchase a timed reservation and must be present for boarding at the time printed on the card. Don’t be fooled by the underwhelming 112

marked trail stat of 18 miles, no one comes here for the grooming. GM is all about the powder. Tall Scandies, goggle-tanned Americans, pack-hauling Brits, Aussies and yes, the French ─ the boys are all here. And on a powder day, it is mostly boys ─ early and burly, standing in queues that are shuffling show-off zones for GORE-TEX and duct tape, fat skis and fatter skis. An immense freeride zone, much of it glacier, spreads wide and long ─ there’s a thighburning 6,500 foot vertical on the full descent down to the valley. At the end of the day, especially in springtime, Americanexpat skilebrity Gary Bigham and his band The Crevasse Holes can be heard playing at the bottom. If you miss the band, you can get the flavor of what a half century of Cham life is like by catching Gary’s online snow report: The measurements are achieved by

tossing his cat off his chalet balcony into a snowbank. Well skied, well earned. Before we leave this Savoyard siren, a serious last supper is in order. In Chamonix there’s a profusion of very fine restaurants that make the gold standard ─ Le Bistrot, L’Atmosphère, and Le Panier des 4 Saisons among them – but one earns universal thumbs up. In a town where alpinism is a way of life, dining at Albert 1er is religion. One century, two Michelin stars, and four generations of hospitality form an elegant crucible here: Perrine, greatgrand-daughter of the founder, is at front of house; her husband, Chef Pierre Maillet, is at the helm. In the calm of the linen-draped dining room, hushed conversation is muffled by fine cashmere sweaters and subtle cork pops. Delicate plates and glittering cutlery arrive and

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depart with flourishes worthy of a Moulin Rouge performance. A surprise from the kitchen, oysters with truffles, is delivered by a waitress in a sober, ink-black suit, a lick of scarlet lingerie peeking out…. This is beautiful, sophisticated dining: poulet de Bresse with truffle tucked under skin, foie gras with beetroot, balsamic, and green apple, then an unforgettable, irreproducible Chartreuse soufflé. In the shadow of Mont Blanc, Albert 1er is the ultimate refuge. Skiing, eating, and post-prandial comforts are taken seriously in this part of the world. The cozy Relais et Chateâux sanctity of Hameau Albert 1er is pure luxe: old pine beams contrast with Le Corbusier furnishings and antique decorations. At the opposite side of town, and offering a totally different feel, is the recently resurrected five-star

grandeur of Hôtel Mont-Blanc. Built in 1849, extended in 1905, and reopened in 2013 following a period of stewardship by the great Taittinger Champagne house, this imposing inn sparkles with Belle Époque panache. Proud white façade, blue shutters, black and white marble floors, and everywhere the clever punctuation of bright colors ─ the unmistakable touch of interior designer Sybille de Margerie. And each morning, the pleasure of waking facing Mont Blanc. The hotel’s glossy BMW 7 Series stands at the ready to ferry guests hither and yon, but Chamonix’s cobbled pedestrian streets are right at the doorstep. Lovely things line shelves at an array of shops that include Chanel, Ogier, Moncler, and the exquisite local fine wool producer Arpin. A raft of sporting goods stores await (though really Snell Sports has it all); and pâtisseries,

fromageries, and chocolatiers provide delectable delights as only the French can. Pause for a glass of wine or a café au lait at an Art Nouveau café overhanging the babbling River Arve. Browse antique prints and books and visit the bijou Alpine Museum, located inside a 1910 palace. As for nightlife, decades of Swedish ski bums can’t be wrong about sweaty hangouts like Chambre Neuf, off the lobby of the Scandochic Langley Hotel Gustavia. For more sophisticated evenings, take in the jazz at Maison des Artistes, housed in a 1926 Art Nouveau villa. There is a whiff of microParis about town, with an architectural history, an alpine history – a place in history – that’s unlike any other ski town on earth.

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Masquerade Photographer Antonio Cordero Stylist John Martinez Assistant Stylist Carol Gamarra Make up Yurema Villa (AnaPrado_Mgmt) Hair Moi Freire to Mön Icon / Graftobian Shot on location in Marbella, Spain at Villa Padierna

LIZA

Dress MONCLER price upon request Gloves HESTRA $152

MARK

Jacket HEAD $700 Pants HEAD $350 Watch HUBLOT $14,000 VA L ERI YA

Jacket BRENDRATTI $2,640 Skirt DALE OF NORWAY $249 Corset MAYA HANSEN $226 Shoes HANNIBAL LAGUNA $193

LIZA

Onesie SKEA $1,778 Neck Gaiter SKEA $49 Brooch GOMEZ & MOLINA JOYEROS $8,428 Ring LULU FIEDLER $1,500 Corset MAYA HANSEN $409 Gloves HESTRA $1,018

JORGE

Pants RH+ $450 Jacket RH+ $1,000 Goggles KASK $290 Watch FREDERIQUE CONSTANT $1,861

VA L ERI YA

Onesie SPORTALM $1,449 Gloves HESTRA $1,018 LIZA

Onesie DESCENTE $450 Jacket DESCENTE $750 Gloves HESTRA $152 Earrings GOMEZ & MOLINA JOYEROS $10,425

LIZA

Onesie GOLDBERGH $1,013 Gloves HESTRA $152 Boots BOGNER $500 JORGE

Pants DAINESE $584 Jacket DAINESE $1,053 Helmet BOLLÃ&#x2030; $249 VA L ERI YA

Onesie SOS $2,000 Earrings GOMEZ & MOLINA JOYEROS $38,672 Boots FRAUENSCHUH $498 MARK

Sweater ROSSIGNOL $395 Jacket ROSSIGNOL $595 Pants ROSSIGNOL $350

V A L E R I YA Onesie CORDOVA $2,380 Tiara MAR BALMON $205 Earrings GOMEZ & MOLINA JOYEROS $28,116 Boots BRESSAN $427 Watch BLANCPAIN $20,629

MARK

Pants FUSALP $545 Jacket FUSALP $1,390 Goggles INDIGO $232 JORGE

Jacket TONI SAILER $2,299 Pants AZTECH MOUNTAIN $695 Goggles KASK $290

JORGE

Jacket AZTECH MOUNTAIN $1,250 Pants AZTECH MOUNTAIN $695 VA L ERI YA

Onesie JET SET $702 Bum Bag JET SET $246 Shoes HANNIBAL LAGUNA $195 Fascinator MAR BALMÃ&#x201C;N $94

VALERIYA Onesie BOGNER $1,450 Boots BOGNER $500 Gloves BOGNER $220 Earrings GOMEZ & MOLINA JOYEROS $25,758 Fascinator MAR BALMÃ&#x201C;N $187

JORGE

Pants Z ZEGNA $695 Jacket Z ZEGNA $995 Sweater Z ZEGNA $345 Boots Z ZEGNA $595

VA L ERI YA

Onesie FRAUENSCHUH $1,698 Boots FRAUENSCHUH $498 Fur Collar FRAUENSCHUH $498 Gloves HESTRA $152 MARK

Jacket MOUNTAIN FORCE $349 Pants MOUNTAIN FORCE $649 Sweater NEWLAND $225

RESOURCES

Resources Pages 121

Cover & Contents Julia Mancuso shot on location at ice Q in Sölden, Austria. Photographer: Poby poby.net Bibs and Base Layer Spyder www.spyder.com Ski Boots: Lange www.lange.com

Skiing Green

Masquerade

Page 48

Pages 112-113

Norrøna Jacket www.norrona.com Alex Bottle www.alexbottle.com Niche Snowboards www.nichesnowboards.com Dale of Norway Cardigan www.daleofnorway.com Zeal Optics Sunglasses www.zealoptics.com Patagonia Jacket www.patagonia.com Duckworth Scarf www.duckworthco.com

On Liza Dress Moncler price on request www.moncler.com Gloves Hestra $152 www.hestragloves.com Page 114

Go Green

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On Valeriya Jacket Brendratti $2,640 www.brendratti.com Skirt Dale of Norway $249 www.daleofnorway.com Corset Maya Hansen $226 www.mayahansen.com Shoes Hannibal Laguna $193 www.shoeshanniballaguna.com Page 115

Page 46 Wagner Skis www.wagnerskis.com Chaos Hat www.chaoshats.com Ammann Boot www.ammann1917.ch RH+ Jacket www.zerorht.com Goldwin Jacket www.goldwin-sports.com Toni Sailer www.tonisailer.com Dainese www.dainese.com Moncler Jacket www.moncler.com Nobis Jacket www.nobis.ca Sportalm Coat www.sportalm.at Mountain Force Jacket www.mountainforce.com Goldbergh Jacket www.goldbergh.com

On Mark Jacket Head $700 Pants Head $350 www.head.com Watch Hublot $14,000 www.hublot.com

SNOW Stories Page 56

On Jorge Bib Pants Descente $550 www.descente.com Jacket Nobis $595 www.nobis.ca On Liza Jacket Nils $510 Pants Nils $325 www.nils.us Base Layer SKEA $138 www.skealimited.com Boots Bressan $425 www.bressanhandmade.it.

On Liza Onesie SKEA $1,778 Neck Gaiter SKEA $49 www.skealimited.com Brooch Gomez & Molina Joyeros $8,428 www.gomezymolina.com Ring Lulu Fiedler $1,500 www.lulufiedler.com Corset Maya Hansen $409 www.mayahansen.com Gloves Hestra $1,018 www.hestragloves.com Pages 116

On Jorge Pants RH+ $450 Jacket RH+ $1,000 www.zerorh.com Goggles Kask $290 www.kask.com Watch Frederique Constant $1,861 www.frederiqueconstant.com Pages 117

On Valeriya Onesie Sportalm $1,449 www.sportalm.at Gloves Hestra $152 www.hestragloves.com

On Liza Onesie Descente $450 Jacket Descente $750 www.descente.com Gloves Hestra $1018 www.hestragloves.com Earrings Gomez & Molina Joyeros $10,425 www.gomezymolina.com Pages 118-119

On Liza Onesie Goldbergh $1,013 www.goldbergh.com Gloves Hestra $1,375 www.hestragloves.com Boots Bogner $500 www.bogner.com On Jorge Pants Dainese $584 Jacket Dainese $1,053 www.dainese.com Helmet Bollé $28,000 www.bolle.com On Valeriya Onesie SOS Black Snow $2,000 www.sosblacksnow.com Earrings Gomez & Molina Joyeros $38,672 www.gomezymolina.com Boots Frauenschuh $498 www.frauenschuh.com On Mark Sweater Rossignol $395 Jacket Rossignol $595 Pants Rossignol $350 www.rossignol.com Pages 120

On Valeriya Onesie Cordova $2,380 www.cordova.co Tiara Mar Balmón $205 www.marbalmon.com Earrings Gomez & Molina Joyeros $28,116 www.gomezymolina.com Boots Bressan $427 www.bressanhandmade.it Watch Blancpain $20,629 www.blancpain.com

On Mark Pants Fusalp $545 Jacket Fusalp $1,390 www.fusalp.com Goggles Indigo $232 www.indigosnow.de On Jorge Jacket Toni Sailer $2,299 www.tonisailer.com Pants Aztech Mountain $695 www.aztechmountain.com Goggles Kask $290 www.kask.com Pages 122 On Jorge Jacket Aztech Mountain $1,250 Pants Aztech Mountain $695 www.aztechmountain.com On Valeriya Onesie Jet Set $702 Bum Bag Jet Set $246 www.jetset.ch Shoes Hannibal Laguna $193 www.shoeshanniballaguna.com Fascinator Mar Balmón $94 www.marbalmon.com Pages 123

On Valeriya Onesie Bogner $1,450 Boots Bogner $500 Gloves Bogner $220 www.bogner.com Earrings Gomez & Molina Joyeros $28,758 www.gomezymolina.com Fascinator Mar Balmón $94 www.marbalmon.com Pages 124 On Jorge Pants Z Zegna $695 Jacket Z Zegna $995 Sweater Z Zegna $345 Boots Z Zegna $595 www.zegna.com Pages 125 On Valeriya Onesie Frauenschuh $1,698 Boots Frauenschuh $498 Fur Collar Frauenschuh $498 www.frauenschuh.com Gloves Hestra $152 www.hestragloves.com On Mark Jacket Mountain Force $349 Pants Mountain Force $6499 www.mountainforce.com Sweater Newland $225 www.newlandfromitaly.com

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LAST RUN

Telluride’s REVELATION BOWL

he snow was coming down hard, even by San Juan standards. Although it was getting late in the day, my wife, Jesse, and I had a few more laps in our legs. We had been hearing bombs going off over the Gold Hill Ridge for at least a couple hours and we were hopeful that the outstanding Telluride ski patrol was having some success on the north side in an amazing terrain feature known as Revelation Bowl. As we skied up to load the Gold Hill chair for one last lap, I overheard the lift-ops radio as the ski patrol announced, “We are going to open

Revelation Bowl!” Jesse and I looked at each other with knowing smiles and up we went. At the top we skated cross the ridge to the newly dropped rope and let gravity do the rest. The snow was deep and untracked down the skier’s left, a zone known as Liberty Bell. We avoided a couple of avalanche bomb holes near the ridge, a good indication of how deep things were. As it was late in the day, aside from a few locals who know the drill and timed it right, we almost had the bowl to ourselves. For us, it was pure luck ─ but they do say you make your own luck in the mountains!

We managed to sneak in two more laps on the Revelation chair before closing time. With each ride up we could admire our tracks and enjoy the hoots and hollers of others sharing the same joy. Jesse and I took a moment to appreciate the incredible view from the 12,500 foot top terminal of the chair. Looking down into the intense terrain of Bear Creek and the incredible couloirs of the Little Wasatch zone across the valley was the perfect ending to a day of storm skiing at Telluride. And we still had that final cruiser run back to town.

Two-time World Champion skier Chris Davenport is one of the worlds’ premier big mountain skiers. Among his many ski mountaineering achievements, in 2007 Chris became the first person to ski all fifty-four of Colorado’s 14ers in less than one year. With numerous first descents of peaks around the globe under his belt, he knows his runs. 130

PHOTO BY BRETT SCHRECKENGOST

Davenport's Descents – An Epic Must Ski Bucket List

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SNOW Magazine Winter 2018/19

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