1. PREPARE THE PLASTIC
Black Friday is coming up quick, November 29, which means it’s time to start scouting the best deals of the pre-season. And in some cases, scoring them right now. MEC is already discounting select Atomic, Fischer and K2 gear at 50 percent off. Just about every retail store will join the party over the next couple weeks. On the day Montreal-based ski outerwear brand Orage is dropping discounts of 20 to 30 percent off on its online store. And Renoun Skis is throwing in free bindings for the first 200 ski orders on Thanksgiving.
2. TAKING YOUR HOME TO WORK
The King of Light, aka Paul Morrison, is one the most prolific ski photographers ever. Since he started shooting in the late 1970s, this magazine has published hundreds of his beautiful and FOMO inducing shots. In an extensive profile in the latest issue of Mountain Gazette he even credits Ski Canada Magazine for keeping him in the business. For the last decade his muse has been his son Ian. A short film, Co-Workers, documents the shared passion of father and son.
3. THE CIRCUS COMES TO SKIING
Swiss freestyler Fabian Bösch and Red Bull teamed up to turn a terrain park into Cirque du Soleil on snow. Bösch flips off a trapeze, spins off bouncy balls, slides a slackline and even manages an inverted double rail – easier to picture once you’ve watched it. In the same vein as Danny MacAskill on a bike, the resulting video is short, fun, mind blowing and full of crashes.
4. NEW RESORTS FOR ALBERTA?
The Alberta government wants its citizens to ski at home. “We have a real travel deficit with British Columbia where Albertans are spending about $2 billion more in B.C. than they’re spending in Alberta,” says Joseph Chow, the Alberta Minister of Tourism and Sport. He made the comments while announcing a bill that will make it easier to build a four season resort in Alberta, with the goal to boost tourism in the province. Sign up for our newsletter to read why we do not think it will work.
5. AIRBNB HATES BAD WINTERS TOO
The online business magazine The Logic reports that it is not just ski areas that will suffer as winters grow warmer and shorter. The owners of ski focused AirBnB’s are already experiencing falling demand. In 2023, a dry, warm winter, occupancy in Collingwood, near the base of Blue Mountain and several private ski hills, fell to an average of 37 percent, the lowest winter rate ever recorded.
6. INSTAGRAM
Replay of one of the best runs of last years Mogul WC with Kinsbury coming from behind to win. The top air is amazing, with the head to head competitions mirror each others trick.
