Powder Photo Archives
Photos by Re Wikstrom
If anyone suspected that Mike Douglas, the godfather of freestyle skiing, was past his prime, think again. The 36-year-old Whistler native donned the winner’s gold jacket and took home the $20,000 first place check at the inaugural K2 Back 9 Mini-golf Invitational Awards Gala.
Once Jurassic 5 wrapped up their crowd-pleasing show outside in Whistler Plaza for the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Invitational, the much-anticipated Back 9 party was set to kick off at the Gariboldi Lift Company (GLC).
This message will be short and choppy—I've written and lost it three times so far. The keyboard is so dirty I can't see the keys and they're so sticky it's hard to type, but here goes...
16,400 feet, 1000 butterflies, four headaches, three Delhi Bellies (stomach bug) and two avalanches made for an adventurous three days of heli-skiing. But Alison Gannett put our minds at ease with her vast knowledge of the area and mountaineering and guiding expertise. Finding great spring snow with amazing backdrops (actual butterflies all the way up to 15,000 feet), it was easy to forget the pounding elevation headaches that I eventually adjusted to. A few accidental skier-triggered slabs kept us off of the steeper terrain but we ended up touring and skiing around 20,000 feet of unrivaled corn. I am truly humbled by the size and enormouty (is that a word) of these mountains. They could have easily eaten us up in avalanches or burned us up from overexposure, and they tried to do both. The Himalayas, meaning "world covered in snow" are truly majestic and powerful creatures in themselves. Attracting people by the thousands who travel for days enduring deadly road conditions (among other things) just to touch snow for the first time, these mountains are humbling. -Lynsey Dyer
In Alaska, skiing is only a part of the experience. Often a small part. Here are a few shots POWDER photographer Hank de Vre' shot while waiting for the weather to break at Points North Heli Adventures (alaskaheliski.com) in Cordova, AK.
After a couple weeks of high pressure and a melt/freeze corn cycle, Alyeska resort was hit with a nice late season storm on April 1st. Alyeska received approximately a foot of dense snow which couldn't have been better timing. With partly sunny skies and the majority of the mountain open, Simon Evans and I were able to find some big lines. Skiing was consistent and quality all day with the upper mountain staying soft and the lower mountain corning up by late afternoon. The Christmas Chute area and Chilkoot Ridge were stellar.
Alyeska is boasting a total snowfall this season of 588", and the upper mountain pack is still a healthy 158". It should be a solid spring season. The 29th annual Spring Carnival and famous Slush Cup is scheduled for April 21st-23rd. - Jason Scheben