Photo: Curt Gwilliam
Everyone loves fresh powder and solitude, but not everybody loves hiking for hours to enjoy a sliver of untouched pow. This is why skiers started rigging up rope-tows powered by dilapidated tractors back in the day. But with chairlifts come crowds, and with crowds come antsy skiers and boarders looking for that next stash of pow. These days, passholders can often step just outside the resort boundaries into the “sidecountry” for pristine snow and untouched bliss, and then simply ride back to the lifts for another lap. With this easily accessible terrain just outside the gates, it seems that skiers and riders can have their cake and eat it too: fresh, unspoiled pow with little to no hiking. But at what risk? Read More …