Closing Day

Kicking Horse - Mark Bridgwater

After 42 days on snow and dozens of ski articles, I can't believe this is my last blog of the season! I renewed blogging after last summer break at the end of October and I have faithfully posted every week since then, cataloging my adventures around spectacular ski hills in North America. What an amazing season: fluctuations in snowpack and weird weather to make hearts sink but precipitation and powder days to make them (and you) float again! 

 

I skied in nine Canadian resorts, five Utah resorts and two Colorado resorts and managed to get turns in every month of the season – despite living down south. Just goes to show, where there’s a will there’s a way.

 

Good news: I have two assignments already for early season with The Dallas Morning News, another with ABC parenting magazine in the South of England, and a new book contract with Goodfellow UK. This is a huge project focusing on Winter Sport Tourism through the eyes of the people who work in the ski industry – should be worth some entertaining anecdotes as well as informative perspectives, experiences, statistics and marketing tips. 

Please let me know (on louise.hudson2011@gmail.com) if you, or someone you know, has a great job at any level within the ski industry or in a ski town, which should be highlighted in this book. 

Along with all the articles I hope to get accepted in Canadian and US newspapers and magazines, this book will keep me busy ski researching and writing right up to Sept next year and will be published in Nov 2015 – just in time for you all to buy the book for all your ski mad, ski industry friends, colleagues and family! 

Ski Resorts Open in May:

Pic du Midi, France

Alta, Utah open for weekends April 25-27 and May 2-4 

Aspen, Colorado bonus weekends April 26/27 and May 2/3

Killington open into May (date to be decided) 

Nakiska, AB, Canada open for Fri-Sun bonus weekends until May 4 

Marmot Basin, AB, Canada until May 4 

Loveland Ski Area, Colorado until May 4 

Sugarbush, Vermont until May 4 (weather permitting)

Gstaad, Switzerland - glacier open until May 4 

Spring Fest at Whistler Blackcomb

Lake Louise, AB, Canada until Mother’s Day, May 11 

Jay Peak Resort, Vermont until May 11 (weather permitting) 

Snowbird, Utah open daily until May 11 and then Fri-Sun through May 26 (conditions permitting) 

Pic du Midi, France open until May 11

Sunshine, AB, Canada until May 19 (86^th annual Slush Cup) 

Mt Bachelor, Oregon until May 25 

Mammoth Mountain, California until May 26 

Whistler Blackcomb, BC, Canada until May 26 plus glacier skiing on Blackcomb from June 21-July 27 

Arapahoe Basin, Colorado until June 1 

Winter Park, Colorado

Here's a re-cap of most of my 2013/14 season published articles (I say most as they keep appearing elsewhere on various syndicated - and, increasingly, unsyndicated - networks so it's difficult to keep up):

Nov 2013 Big White Article http://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/index.cfm?v=Louise_Hudson_StarWriter&fkArticleID=370&fuseaction=pubDsp.dspStarWriter

Nov 2013 Lake Louise, Fernie and Breckenridge Article

http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/travel/ski-snow/20131108-lake-louise-breckenridge-will-host-many-olympic-hopefuls.ece

Dec 2013 Revelstoke Article

http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/travel/ski-snow/20131206-in-deep-powder-at-canadas-revelstoke-mountain.ece 

Dec 2013 Calgary Herald Ski Guide – What the Olympian Says

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/resort+guide+2013+runs+resorts+Banff+National+Park/9257126/story.html

Dec 2013 Ski Canada Magazine The British Invasion – Vol 42 Issue 3:

Nov 2013 and Dec 2013 Dan Egan Edging the Extreme Radio show:

Dec 2013 Calgary Herald Ski Property Article:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/hill+properties+open+those+willing+hunt/9312409/story.html

Dec 2013 Calgary Herald Passholders Article:

http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/travel/story.html?id=f777bd5f-3463-4884-bed1-483d2b2c8348&k=49459

What the Olympians Say – BC Resorts Dec 13 2013 Vancouver Sun Ski Guide (Kicking Horse, Panorama and Revelstoke)

http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/resort+guide+2013+resorts+pack+punch/9283616/story.html

Also in:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/resort+guide+2013+resorts+pack+punch/9283616/story.html

Jan 22 2014 Calgary Herald

http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Weather+weaker+loonie+have+Brits+flocking+Alberta+resorts/9414751/story.html

Jan 29 2014 Montreal Gazette (Marmot, Red, Whitefish, Whitewater)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/travel/Plan+your+western+winter+getaways+with+these+resorts/9305591/story.html

Jan 2014 Leader Post (COP and Nakiska)

http://www.leaderpost.com/travel/Close+Calgary+resorts+offer+treat/9310359/story.html

Fergus Hudson at Lake Louise: Cam Sadler

Jan 2014

Hopper Blog:

Nakiska - http://www.hopper.com/list/skiing-and-snowboarding/destinations/in/alberta-canada/1z0r-8407+8806

Jasper: http://hopperblog.com/small-town-spotlight-jasper-alberta/

Link to my content/profile on Hopper:

http://www.hopper.com/users/4579/experiences

Calgary Herald - What the Olympians Say (Kimberley, Fernie and Castle Mtn)

http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/resort+guide+2013+Resorts+south+offer+entry+Powder+Highway/9257565/story.html

Feb 2014 Food High Article on Kicking Horse in Eat, Drink, Travel

http://www.eatdrinktravelmag.com/foodhigh/

Feb 22 2014 Calgary Herald Mountain Getaway Options that are also good for you

http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Mountain+getaway+options+that+also+good/9536390/story.html

Links to What the Olympians Say articles on canada.com network:

Resorts to the south offer entry to the Powder Highway: Castle Mountain Resort, Fernie Mountain Resort and Kimberley Alpine Resort

Close-to-home resorts offer a treat: Canada Olympic Park and Nakiska

B.C. resorts pack a big punch: Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Panorama Mountain Village and Revelstoke Mountain Resort

Plan your weekend getaways: Marmot Basin, Red Mountain Resort, Whitefish Mountain Resort, Whitewater Ski Resort

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/resort+guide+2013+runs+resorts+Banff+National+Park/9257126/story.html

Feb 24 Houston Chronicle – Ski Gear Article

http://www.chron.com/life/travel/now-list/article/Ski-gear-that-will-help-you-stay-extra-warm-on-5252104.php

Feb 24 Houston Chronicle – Senior Skiing

http://www.chron.com/default/article/Top-places-for-seniors-to-ski-in-North-America-5252087.php

Feb 25 Dallas Morning News – Lake Louise Newborns

http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/travel/ski-snow/20140221-new-moms-can-hit-the-slopes-pronto-at-lake-louise.ece

March 3 ABC Magazine Sussex, UK – Parallel Play in Canadian Ski Resorts (pp. 114-115)

http://www.abcmag.co.uk/digital/default.asp

Eat Drink Travel – Four Elevated Eateries 4 March 2014 Four Elevated Eateries for Your Next Ski Vacation: http://www.eatdrinktravelmag.com/?s=Elevated+Eateries

Eat Drink Travel – Sunshine: http://www.eatdrinktravelmag.com/banffskisunshinemountain/ 11 March 2014 Dine In, Ski Out at Sunshine Mountain Lodge, Banff

Fergus Hudson at Lake Louise: Cam Sadler 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog this winter and also for any correspondence I have had with you. I love feedback! Look out for my first blog next season around the end of October. Remember to buy your season's passes at earlybird prices next month and also check out the sales for ski and snowboard bargains off-season. Have a great summer!

 

Colorado Capers

Struck Gold at Copper! Louise Hudson getting first tracks in the Enchanted Forest at Copper Mountain on April 14
Photo credit: Simon Hudson

I'm blogging from Denver right now, having just had five stupendous spring skiing days at Breckenridge and Copper Mountain. I'm in Colorado researching for ski stories for The Dallas Morning News and culinary travel tales for  Eat Drink Travel magazine. The Mile High City looks interesting, but right now I'm still high on my spring skiing experiences!

Day 1 and 2:

Staying at One Ski Hill Place in Breckenridge gave me a taste of cushy Colorado condo ownership, right on the ritzy hill. This is the ultimate ski in/out decadence with designer apartments, topnotch interior design, a zen-like spa area with a gorgeous indoor pool as well as outdoor hot tubs and all the steam room and massage facilities you would expect from a top resort. They like to surprise you there with extra touches such as free Starbucks or iced water at various junctures around the resort and eager-to-please ski valets who persuade you not to carry your own skis the few yards from the locker room to the snow.

One Ski Hill Place, Breckenridge

With a wide range of eateries and coffee bars, One Ski Hill Place borders the chairlift at the base of Peak 8 with views over the immense terrain parks. There are free shuttles as well as shuttle-on-command service to help you explore downtown Breck and the other satellite residential areas. Sevens at Peak 7 is close, a great place for lunch, apres ski or dinner. And downtown is really worth a visit with its beautiful buildings dating back to the 19th century gold rush.

Breckenridge: Bob Winsett

Although retaining their historic facades, these boom town buildings are now repurposed as upscale shops, trendy boutiques, restaurants, apres ski bars and services. They have been carefully restored and painted in pretty pastels or bright-coloured hues, making window shopping a kaleidoscope experience. And, of course, now there are several marijuana shops dotted around town to enhance the novelty of the picture postcard town. Although dining can be very upscale - and pricey - in Breck, happy hours offer great deals such as free nachos and salsa at Mi Casa and $10 mussels at Modis.

With an incredibly high altitude of 12,998 feet (3,963 metres), the skiing at Breck is vast and varied with 34 lifts serving its 2,908 acres. The towering peaks of the "Fourteeners" (surrounding mountains all over 14,000 feet high) ensure that Breckenridge has fabulous snow all season. And because of the huge accumulation this winter - 435 inches so far - Breck is extending its season until April 27. Over the next two weekends, the Spring Fever concert series combines skiing all day with live music and dancing in the late afternoon sunshine.

Glade skiing at Breckenridge: Carl Scofield

My favorite area to ski was The Burn off the Falcon chair where you can dip into exhilarating tree runs, find powder stashes long after snowfalls, and end up at the Ten Mile Station patio where you can relax on Adirondacks, watching the world whizz by. It's also great fun exploring the intermediate bowls and steeper hike-to areas at Peak 6 - with 550 new skiable acres, it is the biggest American ski hill expansion for a decade.

Day 3,4, and 5:

Whereas Breckenridge is well-known as part of Vail Resorts' portly portfolio, neighbouring Copper Mountain has a somewhat lower profile internationally. For those of you who have never skied there, I'm sharing a Colorado secret with you! I found out about it a few years back when Pete Seel, a professor at Colorado State University, told me that he chooses to ski there. "It's definitely the more affordable place to ski in Colorado, especially when you have the family in tow," he says. "It's our favorite area in Summit County and the good news is that the huge snow pack led Copper to plan to stay open for an extra week, so we'll get to ski there more this season."

Copper Mountain Village: Tripp Fay

This was my first visit and I stayed at Tucker Mountain Lodge, a virtually ski-in/out complex of rustically-furnished condos in the Center Village. Bordering on the main chair lifts, the village - much bigger than I expected - is intersected by a river and centered around a lake, surrounded by pathways and bridges and traversed by a zipline. The paved streets have underground heating and they are dotted with shops as well as apres ski bars and restaurants with heated patios - and, better still, very affordable happy hours.

Creating the half pipe at Copper Mountain: Tripp Fay

There are events all season long, including Sunsation which was on when I arrived - complete with pool party, Teenie Weenie Bikini contest and live bands. There are five different terrain parks/pipes plus an extensive tubing hill with four lanes, banked turns and jumps, zipline, ice-skating and the impressive Woodward Barn with its state-of-the-art indoor training facilities.

Copper's 23 lifts access really long, cruisy runs at lower mountain and challenging bowls, chutes and glades above - with less crowds than some of the big name resorts. In fact, in springtime it is just locals and workers who track out the snow. With 2,465 acres and a summit height of  12,313 feet, Copper Mountain was much bigger and higher than I expected.

Gorgeous Glades at Copper Mountain: Tripp Fay

Resorts these days don't offer much in the way of free activities beyond the usual guided mountain tours. But Copper has a free snowcat service into in-bounds backcountry-style terrain in Tucker Bowl. What a great opportunity to try out catskiing without the usual price tag! Disappointingly, it was closed when I was there. But it turned out it didn't matter: it snowed all day and night as I arrived and my first ski day was the ultimate powder day with surprisingly wintry temps keeping the pow cool and light all day long. Even the day-old powder next day was relatively light due to overnight cold.

Turns out my snow-dar was spot on, too, as I managed to head straight to the locals' caches for first tracks in the Enchanted Forest and also Union Meadows the first morning. These areas stayed soft and light for two days and on day three I woke up to pow-duroy: my word for a light layer of powder atop groomed corduroy snow. What a fabulous way to end the season!

I'll send you links to my Breck and Copper articles for The Dallas Morning News in early fall. By the way, I have now skied 42 days this season, which I think might be a record for someone living in South Carolina!

Copper Mountain: Tripp Fay

Ski Photography

Eric Hjorleifson at Chatter Creek by Dan Hudson

"Ski Photographer" must be high on the scale of the plumiest jobs on earth. World renowned ski and snowboard photo-journalists like Canadian, Dan Hudson not only get paid well for doing what they love, but they also get a kind of vocation vacation whenever they work, scouring the backcountry powder for poignant pictures.

With an art degree from Ontario’s York University, Hudson fell into photography by chance after moving to Banff for an artist residency program. A San Diego surfing background led him to cross over quite naturally to snowboarding at Lake Louise and Sunshine. “Once I started snowboarding, the next natural evolution of that for me was going into the backcountry,” says Hudson from his hometown of Canmore, Alberta.

Eric Hjorleifson at Lake Louise
by Dan Hudson

He started in snowsports’ journalism in the early days of snowboarding when competition for magazine-quality photos was scarce. “I started off trying to work with photographers but a lot of them couldn’t get to where I wanted to be, so I started taking photos myself,” he says. The transition was logical, after working with photography before on art-related projects. Throughout a year of backcountry forays, he waited until he had accumulated a panoramic portfolio of extreme ski/snowboard photos before submitting to magazines. “All the editors phoned for more, so it snowballed from there,” he explains. “They all said that what I was doing was very different from what they were getting.”

What followed was over 12 years of assignments, travelling, and increasingly extreme snowboarding for Hudson. One of his most radical trips was Russia where he preceeded Putin in identifying the ski hill at Krasnaya Polyana (used in the Sochi Olympics) as a top venue:  “It was a fantastic trip. I was among the first North American crews to go there. There’s a great ski hill at Krasnaya Polyana with old double chairs bought from various European ski hills. They stack up in a continuous row of four lifts which take you to the top of mountain, one after the other: a really long trip. There’s a bit of hiking, then you have 3000 vertical feet couloirs, scary, steep stuff. When you come out, you just traverse to the bottom chair and go up again.”

A Day in the Life of a Ski Photographer

Colin Puskas photographed by Dan Hudson
at Kicking Horse

“Taking photos is not a random kind of thing. People tend to think you go up the hill with a camera and take pictures of people passing by. To get a top quality photo of a pro athlete, doing the kinds of things people want to see in magazines, is not random,” Hudson warns wannabees.

A typical day starts before the shoot, when Hudson works with his pro athlete models, finalizing details and monitoring the weather. “The night before we’re on the phone back and forth, checking weather, which we would have been monitoring for weeks on end to get the right conditions. We’re looking for high pressure – if it looks like it’s good, we start to coordinate with the ski areas, planning where we’re going, what we’re doing, where we’re meeting.”

Backcountry near Sunshine,
Eric Hjorleifson by Dan Hudson

There is much consultation, too, with ski patrol regarding avalanche updates. “The key thing is we spend quite a bit of time talking to people and checking the internet for avalanche conditions. There has to be a certain stability before we even go,” said Hudson, whose crew always has basic or even advanced avalanche training. “If I’m going backcountry out of Sunshine, I go and talk to the snow safety guys there first. They know more about what’s going on than all the websites, all the specifics.” Snow Safety at any ski resort, he says, will always have additional and often important knowledge about the snowpack in the vicinity of the resort. "Their advice is invaluable and it is also an added layer of safety if they know where we are going."

With pre-shoot prep complete, and safety equipment packed, the day starts out early. “If you wait until the lifts open, by the time you set up the shot, maybe 10 people have already gone through the powder. But I don’t often take pictures on the ski hill: you have to go just off if you want powder shots,” says Hudson. 

Backcountry trips start before daybreak in order to reach the assigned area in optimum light. Early March to early May yields the most propitious weather, snow conditions, stability and light.

The shoot is a collaborative effort where Hudson works closely with his subject: the pro skier. “Say the pro says ‘I want to go off this cliff’, I then have to find the place to shoot, below or to the side, coordinate with radios and also throw a lot of snowballs to indicate the trajectory or the turn,” he explains. He must then line up the shot to include scenic landscape elements, mountains, and the steepness of the slope. “Then I let them come through my shot as opposed to me following them with the camera,” he says.

Dennis Bannock at Lake Louise by
Dan Hudson

Most of a typical day is spent trying out different stunts, various angles and diverse terrain and the crew rarely gets back before dark. But it’s all action, with little waiting around unless it’s for elusive sunny windows on a cloudy day. “For me it needs to be a fun day out for everyone,” says Hudson. “I really enjoy taking photos but also really enjoy the skiing. We’re doing a lot of cool stuff out there. It’s not quite the same amount of vertical as if we were not working, but we’re still getting really good quality skiing or snowboarding.” Although he also skis, Hudson prefers snowboards as the real powder tool, for playing with the terrain.

After the shoot, it’s time to edit the photography and present the best portion of it to editors. Because of his art background, Hudson is a stickler for standards in photography: “Some of the skiers, I drive mad because I’ll only release what I think is good. I edit pretty tight.” He reduces his shots to a selection of around 20 from which editors will pick maybe 10 of the best.

Hudson’s Photography Tips

-      

Andrew Hardingham at
Sunshine by Dan Hudson

Use Canon - it’s the leader in sports photography. Although lenses are expensive, you can replace the body as new technology comes out. Right now I really like the Canon 7D: I like minimal gear.

-       My style is on-slope photography, not across the valley. You need to shoot across the slope to get a sense of the steepness or gradient.

-       Never shoot up the slope.

-       Shoot the person in the sun and in colourful clothes such as red or yellow.

-       Go out with a crew of two skiers or snowboarders – any more can lead to waiting.

-       Cross lighting is really important on snow to show the landscape. If you have the sun right behind you, it is like using a flash, it flattens everything out. If the sun is behind and to one side of the photographer, then you get shadows and definition.

-       It is best to take little sections of landscape - if you try to capture everything you end up with nothing.

-       If using a ‘point and shoot’, set shutter speed priority to 1,000^th of a second and pre-focus.

-       Repetition is the best way to get good pictures.

Future Plans

With changes in technology, the rise of the internet and the recession wreaking havoc on the magazine world, Hudson says his photography career peaked around 2007. “Now is probably not a good time to become a photographer – everyone has a camera, it doesn’t cost anything to print photos anymore. Cameras themselves are cheaper, you just buy a memory card and there are no more costs. Video is cheaper, too, and good quality on regular cameras.” This has led to a plethora of video and photo contests, established by resorts and ski companies, to get free photographic marketing for their products.

Hudson says he sees a lot of good photography posted for free on photo-sharing sites and Facebook where photographers have happened to be at the right place, at the right time. The ever-improving photographic technology will encourage many amateurs into professional photography, he thinks, but “the downside is there is very little recourse for them to sell their photos.”

Karleen Jeffery at Klondike Heli, Atlin, BC
by Dan Hudson

Even a snowboarding sensation like Hudson has to know when to hang up his split board and telephoto zoom lens. “Doing this kind of photography working with top pro athletes, they seem to stay around the same age of 19-25 but I keep getting older and it’s becoming harder to keep up with them,” he laments. Now semi-retired, Hudson has reverted to the life of a full-time artist while keeping his hand in shooting and snowboarding at Sunshine and on catskiing trips.

Hudson’s Art

Elements of Hudson’s photography career have filtered into his art, where he now produces media-mixed works, combining painting, video and sculpture. His time-lapse video/sound installation, called The Quarry, won three international awards in the 2010 film festival circuit. “It’s in the Art Gallery of Calgary, an LED in a gold frame. It looks like a picture, except it moves,” he explains. Taken over a year, in the same spot but with seasonal changes, the video plays with different ideas of linear and cyclical time. In his usual untrammeled way, Hudson says “I never know if anyone will want to buy my art, but I want to do it anyway.”

Check out his art and photography at: www.danhudson.ca

Joey Vosburgh at Kicking Horse by Dan Hudson