Did the skis save me, or the was it the magazine?
I’ve been in the trenches. I’ll admit it. Since our server nukedown a few weeks ago I’ve been slaving on IT things in a new and very different hosting environment. Yet I’ve been skiing, and glisse has saved me from my own meltdown. We’ve been visiting our local backcountry with special friends, and we’ve been uphilling at the resorts as well. Mellow days of fun-in-the-sun. Even so, yes, sometimes the trenches get deep and they’re not carve marks on the ski hill, just something here in my office, made of bits and bytes. I was scratching my way through one of those digs last week when a glimmer of hope flew in by postal mail.
Latest issue of The Ski Journal. Joy. I’m not unfamiliar with skiing culture, having dabbled in everything from art to history as these things relate to sliding on snow. But the producers of The Journal seem to always bring it together in unique ways, mixing old and new, art and science, athletics and history.
In this case (Vol 9, Issue 4) we have an inspiring little tribute to the stunning fact that a “new” paper and ink publication has survived ten years. A GOOD ten years. Following the Editor’s celebration of a decade you’ll find Julia Mancuso. You’ve noticed that alpine ski racing is perhaps lately receiving more of the respect it has always deserved? Nice to see Julia getting her due in the best ski magazine. (I mean, we like Vonn but perhaps she’s a bit over-exposed?) Page back, and you’ll find all sorts of goodies. Like a rather fearsome trip in Bolivia, and a nicely written humor piece covering WildSnow progeny LouieLouie and his friends digging out their tent for nearly three weeks while stranded in a storm in Alaska. What did I say about bringing it together? World Cup ski racing and snow shoveling. Who knew?
Lots more, including a profile of Tony Sponar. Know who he is? Tony was born in 1934, founded the Ski Arpa cat skiing operation in Chile, has taught skiing most of his life, and is nothing less than a keystone pioneer of modern ski culture — especially when it comes to South American glisse. He’s the father of prolific ski alpinist Anton Sponar, who now runs the cat skiing operation during Southern Hemisphere winters and works out of Aspen the rest of the time. Anton has told me crazy stories about operating a snowcat skiing resort in Chile, some of that is in the mag, the outtakes could probably be a book.
Main point, Ski Journal continues to be worthy! Here be the link.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
