The ski gear is officially collecting dust in the closet and the trail gear is making its seasonal return. Today we’re talking some bits + bobs plus a few fun summer apparel collections I’m excited about.

*Slopeside slows down in the off-season, but you can still expect a few reads sprinkled throughout the summer!

Chairlift Chatter

• Want to go heli-skiing with Chelsea Handler? The comedian (and skier!) is organizing a group trip next April in BC. Would be v entertaining.

• Rail advocates in Utah + Colorado are pushing for a regional ski train network ahead of the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, aiming to better connect major mountain destinations and ease growing winter traffic. If it moves forward, it could reshape how people actually get around ski country in the Rockies. Very into this.

• The North Face signed an 8 year partnership with US Ski & Snowboard, becoming their official performance apparel partner through 2034. This includes the Olympics in 2030 + 2034!

• A new ski pass has entered the villa. The Snow Pass is a new multi-mountain ski ticket product coming to the Northeast this season. Each pass offers 2 days of skiing/riding at each participating mountain, plus discounts on additional visits. Very curious to keep tabs on this.

• Olympic freeskier Hunter Hess found himself at the center of a cultural moment after making a comment about feeling conflicted representing Team USA which sparked political backlash and notably, a response from Trump, who called him a "real loser”(world's biggest eyeroll, truly). Hunter did what any amazing person would do and launched The Real Loser Project, selling “Real Loser” hats and tees, with 100% of proceeds going to Stoked, which gives underserved kids access to snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing. Iconic.

• Ever wonder how you can protect a glacier? Throw a blanket on it! This team successfully covered 13,000 square meters of surface to sustainably protect this glacier in the Swiss Alps during the off-season. Very cool.

• This is not a running newsletter (for that head over to ) but I was captivated by this. Arc’teryx partnered with a local confectioner to create a branded “yokan” (red bean paste jelly) which serves as a natural alternative to gels for trail runners in Japan.

Skiwear’s ~summer era~

There was a time when summer collections from ski brands felt a little… obligatory. A few logo tees, maybe a hiking short, tossed onto the website while everyone waited for the real excitement of fall skiwear launches. But over the past few years, something has shifted. More and more mountain brands are building year-round identities and the summer collections are no longer an afterthought. They’re becoming compelling extensions of the worlds these brands have already created in winter.

The most interesting ones don’t just swap ski pants for bike shorts. They preserve the same emotional pull: the fantasy, the styling perspective, the lifestyle aspiration!

SENIQ just launched its first-ever print (+ first-ever collab!) this morning with athlete/artist Kellyn Wilson of called The Strange Garden. The print is a weathered vintage gingham in a soft green-meets-early-grey-blue that somehow feels both nostalgic and technical at once. The three-piece capsule includes the Dirtpop Trek Jacket, Tectonic Pant, and Trailmix Skort, all designed to blur the line between performance gear and everyday styling. Think trail functionality paired with feminine silhouettes and thoughtful styling details that feel equally at home hiking, gardening, or grabbing coffee afterward. I’m especially obsessed with the contrast of the sweet gingham against SENIQ’s signature technical fabrics. As excited as I am to wear the skort on-mountain, I also can’t wait to style it with a baby tee + sandals for around town :) SENIQ founders Valentina Thompson + Madi Hilson were my first Substack interview and it’s the coolest thing ever to see their growth!

Halfdays also dropped its summer collection a couple weeks back, with a campaign titled Summer Has Range and it does! This collection feels less “hiking girl” and more movement-focused in the broadest sense: pieces designed for women who move between workouts, errands, outdoors, and travel without wanting to fully costume-change for each. The Ynes Tank, with its lettuce-edge detailing and smocked fabric, was an immediate favorite, as was the Julie Quarter Zip in an incredibly soft ribbed knit (perfect for a mid layer). I’ve noticed several women recently in Solidcore and Barry’s wearing Halfdays tanks/shorts for their workouts which has been super cool to see. Halfdays CEO/co-founder talks often about the growing overlap between outdoor + activewear, and this collection really leans into that shift. These are pieces that feel just as natural on a trail as they do walking into pilates.

Peak Performance has taken things in a slightly different direction by leaning into golf which is very interesting to me. The collection includes technical polos, skirts, dresses, and a shell short-sleeve anorak that feels unexpectedly chic for the course. It still carries the clean Scandinavian sport aesthetic the brand is known for, of course.

I think what’s most interesting about all of this is that ski brands are starting to realize they don’t need to disappear for eight months of the year. The strongest ones are building complete lifestyle ecosystems now, not just winter uniforms. And increasingly, the summer collections are becoming influential in shaping a brand’s identity. Now we just need some warmer weather!

An interview with Ken Fulk, interior designer + creative director.

If you’ve been here since last Memorial Day, you already know this one. If you’re newer to Slopeside – hi, welcome!

Ken Fulk is one of those people who’s really difficult to categorize. Interior designer is technically accurate but wildly undersells it – he’s more of a world-builder. Over the past 25 years he’s worked on homes, hotels, private jets, and restaurants for tech titans, musicians, and Pulitzer winners alike, with a signature theatrical flair that makes everything he touches feel like it has a story behind it. He’s the creative mind behind The Goodtime Hotel in Miami (with Pharrell), Creative Director at Major Food Group (Carbone, etc.), and co-founder of Felix Roasting Co, which if you’ve been to the Aspen outpost inside Hotel Jerome, you already understand why it made this newsletter.

The New York Times profiled him last May, which felt like perfect timing – we’d just talked mountain design, alpine aesthetics, and how he breathes fresh life into traditional rustic tropes. In the off-season, I like to turn my attention around to other corners of mountain life that are also exciting to me, like interior design, so here’s Ken!

A quick note on cadence: in the off-season Slopeside slows down but you can expect a few reads throughout the summer!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

But this is a happy letter!! There’s still snow (a teensy bit). And there are still days (however numbered) left to squeeze something out of this season. So today, we’re shifting gears: how to make the absolute most of the time we have left, whether that’s a long weekend, a last-minute trip, or just a few final laps before it all melts.

Chairlift Chatter

• A federal antitrust class action lawsuit filed this week accuses Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company of operating an illegal duopoly, alleging the ski giants deliberately inflated single-day lift ticket prices to push skiers toward purchasing their Epic and Ikon season passes. The suit seeks both financial damages and a court order to restore fair competition, arguing that nearly all major destination ski resorts are now owned by or tied to one of the two companies, leaving consumers with little meaningful choice. Veryyy interested to see how this plays out.

• Resorts are closing… in March. More on this below but in the past few days Taos, Aspen’s Buttermilk, Telluride, and many others have announced closing dates in the next week or two. Many others have announced significant terrain closures. Le sigh.

• Slightly obsessed with the Stratton Mountain pond skim being sponsored by Grillo’s Pickles. This weekend! Free pickles!

• Auberge Resorts announced their new Steamboat project – a property called The Stockman that’s set to debut in 2030. Renderings look beautiful, obviously.

• Tomorrowland Winter is currently happening in the French Alps and it looks sick.

Spring skiing is a ~mindset~

This winter has been cooked. Historically bad. The kind of season where you check the snow report, close the app, reopen it two minutes later like it might’ve refreshed into a miracle. Sadly it never did.

BUT trips are booked. Flights are nonrefundable. And for a lot of us, mentally clocking out of ski season in March feels like giving up halfway through a good book. So you go anyway. But here’s the reframe: spring skiing was never about the skiing alone. It’s about being in the mountains without the pressure to optimize every second around conditions. The urgency is gone. The rules loosen. And suddenly, the trip opens up in a way peak winter never allows!

Also, it’s the only time all season you can skip a run, take off your boots, and not feel like you’re committing a financial crime against your lift ticket/season pass. So if you’re going, go all in on the actual experience.

Ski early. Quit early. Feel great about both!!!
Spring snow runs on a schedule. It softens, it shines, it gives you a brief, glorious window and then it’s done. Get out there early, take your laps, and call it by late morning. This isn’t laziness, it’s expertise. There’s nothing noble about surviving mashed potato snow for three extra hours (your ACLs will also thank you).

Set up an all-time tailgate situation.
Bring the pop-up grill and a good speaker. Set up lawn chairs. Take on the role as Chief Vibes Officer of the parking lot. Bonus points for creativity.

Reallyyy lean into the long lunch.
Not a sad, rushed base lodge situation. A real lunch. Sun on your face, helmet off, maybe something you ~wouldn’t normally order~. Stay a while.

Succumb to an overpriced on-mountain experience.
This may be popping into the on-mountain Veuve Cliquot yurt for a $42 glass of champagne. This may be going to the ‘nicer’ sit-down restaurant for lunch that you’d usually never consider. Tis the season!

Go for a walk (or hike!) that isn’t to a lift.
Trails start to open, paths reappear, and suddenly you can experience the mountains without a pass scan. It’s quieter, a little muddy, occasionally spectacular. A different version of the same place.

Do the things you’ve been ignoring all season.
The cute coffee shop. The gallery. The store you always say you’ll pop into “next time.” The olive oil shop that every mountain town seems to have (side note: I did confirm it is a nationwide chain which removed some of the whimsy for me!).

Hot springs, sometimes.
Typically a very interesting cast of characters frequents these spots but usually never not worth it.

Try a different gear entirely.
Rent a bike and find the paved path that goes through town! Most mountain towns will rent bikes/e-bikes this time of year for a bargain.

Stay out later than you planned.
Après stretches. The sun hangs on. People linger. Spring has a way of turning “one drink” into a full afternoon into accidentally making friends with the table next to you. Let it!

Spring skiing is about adjusting the expectations, keeping the standards high for everything else, and simply enjoying the fact that (at the very least) you have a fab change of scenery!

Deer Valley doubled! An update from the front lines!

As most of you know by now, Deer Valley Resort pulled off one of the most ambitious expansions in modern US skiing this season – nearly doubling its terrain. As in, they literally added an entire new mountain. Which is kind of insane when you think about it – this isn't a few new runs and a press release, this is Deer Valley saying "what if we just... had twice the mountain." It worked!

Longtime readers know this is, unapologetically, a Deer Valley fan account. It’s where I grew up skiing. My mom was a mountain host. It’s still the gold standard for on-mountain experience in the US (the grooming, the service, the food – all absurdly good). And, in a full-circle moment, it’s where I’m getting married this fall. So I went in with expectations!

I spent a week skiing DV this month, and the strangest part was that I felt like a beginner again. Not in ability, but in orientation. I got lost constantly. Took wrong turns. Ended up on lifts I didn’t recognize, staring out at terrain that didn’t exist (to me) a season ago. It was disorienting in the best way!

There’s something rare about knowing a mountain so intimately – every cat track, every sneaky powder stash, every bailout route – and then suddenly having that map erased. The expansion doesn’t just add acreage; it resets your relationship to the place. You stop skiing on autopilot. You explore again! That’s the magic!

The new terrain (and lifts) open up entire zones that feel less trafficked, more expansive, and honestly a bit more Western in scale – longer runs, wider spacing, fewer chokepoints. It stretches the mountain out in a way that makes even busy days feel calmer. It’s not perfect yet. There are moments where the seams show like a cat track that feels like a connector more than a destination and unexpected lift locations that you zoom past. But you can feel the mountain still settling into itself.

What impressed me most is that they didn’t lose the thing that makes Deer Valley, Deer Valley. The expansion could’ve diluted the experience. Instead, it extends it. The attention to detail is still there. The pacing still feels intentional. You’re still, somehow, being taken care of, even while you’re a little bit lost.

Much more detail in my interview with the team earlier this season here:

A quick note on cadence: as always, Slopeside slows as the season winds down – and this year, that shift may come a bit sooner than usual. But we’ll be back before you know it, just in time for summer!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Chairlift Chatter

• Ski pass wars are back. The annual ski pass arms race has officially begun. Both the Epic Pass and Ikon Pass announced 2026–27 pricing this week and there are a few notable changes.

  • You’re in luck if you’re a Gen Z! Epic is rolling out a new 20% discount for riders aged 13-30, dropping the price from $1,089 to $869. Meanwhile, Ikon’s youth pricing remains competitive: skiers aged 23–28 can pick up an Ikon Base Pass for $750 – about $199 less than the normal price.

  • Ikon introduces a weather safety net. Clearly aware that some skiers are scarred from this season’s snow struggles, Ikon is offering added flexibility. Passholders who haven’t scanned their pass by January 15 can request a 100% refund. If you’ve scanned once, you’re still eligible for a 50% refund. I do appreciate this new policy.

  • A few new destinations. Ikon also added three Midwest resorts to the pass, continuing its steady expansion into more regional ski markets.

• Aspen's Ajax lift area is getting a major makeover. After more than a decade of planning, development is officially underway at the mountain's historic base. The $350M “Chalet Alpina” project (spanning 2½ city blocks) will bring a new ski lift closer to downtown, a luxury hotel and residences, a restaurant, and a ski museum inside restored historic chalet buildings, plus a new public plaza. Ground broke in late 2025, with completion expected by 2029. The Aman Group is also involved, though details remain under wraps. As expected, not everyone in town is thrilled about it.

• I spent last weekend in Breckenridge and came back with a few new discoveries: a favorite new mountain town bar and a standout bakery. We don’t gatekeep around here so here you go: El Perro Negro opened a few weeks ago on Main St and has fantastic cocktails (read: margaritas) + great vibes. Breck needed a spot like this. Also, Threefold Bakery is relatively new and absolutely worth a stop. The cinnamon rolls, scones, morning buns (honestly, everything) are fantastic.
  

  
  Full Breck guide from last season below!

  
  

• WSJ published a piece on Chuck Horning (the longtime owner of Telluride) and his shortcomings. Worth a read.

• Olympian Birk Ruud continues to be a legend, even on cross country skis.

The Great On-Mountain Waffle* Ranking

I really took one for the team here and set out on an incredibly important piece of investigative journalism: finding the best on-mountain waffles in the US. After evaluating options through a very specific set of criteria, I’m thrilled to share my findings.

The (obvious) winner! Corbet’s Cabin - Jackson Hole, WY

Crisp yet soft: 10/10 | Vibes: 100/10 | Altitude Bonus: 🔥🔥🔥

Perched at the very tippy top of Jackson Hole, Corbet’s Cabin isn’t just a waffle hut – it’s a pilgrimage accessed by tram. On cold mornings it doubles as a survival bunker when it’s -6° and the wind is ripping across Rendezvous Mountain.

Go classic with brown sugar or Nutella, or lean fully into chaotic good with peanut butter and bacon. At nearly two miles above sea level, everything tastes better.

The Runner Up! Waffle Cabin - Winter Park, CO

Crisp yet soft: 9/10 | Vibes: Smells amazing always | Altitude Bonus: 🔥

I have to be honest with you. I was slightly devastated to learn that Waffle Cabin is actually a chain. Mostly East Coast. Which means the waffles I’ve been fiercely loyal to at Winter Park are the exact same waffles skiers in Vermont have been eating at Okemo for years.

They’re still excellent. A proper Liège waffle – brioche dough with Belgian pearl sugar that caramelizes as it cooks. Crisp edges, buttery interior, and the unmistakable smell drifting across the base area that can derail even the most disciplined skier.

The Pancake Interruption! Bonnie’s - Aspen, CO

Pancake fluff factor: 10/10 | Vibes: Classic Aspen | Altitude Bonus: 🔥🔥

I realize this is a waffle ranking. But rules are made to be broken when the pancakes are this good.

Bonnie’s (the beloved mid-mountain institution on Aspen Mountain) is famous for its oatmeal pancakes, and for good reason. They’re fluffy, golden, and served in a cozy dining room that feels like a time capsule from old Aspen. On a sunny day, the move is to take them out to the deck for sweeping views of the Elk Mountains.

Sometimes the best waffle is… a pancake!!!!

Perhaps we need a full on-mountain brekky roundup because I haven’t even broached the topic of breakfast burritos yet!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

We’re in the final days of the Olympics, which feels mildly alarming because I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do with my evenings after Sunday. It’s been the most fun couple of weeks. I forgot how much I love winter Olympic years!

Before diving in, I’m holding the victims of the Lake Tahoe avalanche in my heart. A sobering reminder that the mountains we love so deeply operate on their own terms. And that winter, for all its beauty, is powerful and unpredictable.

Chairlift Chatter, Olympics Edition

A few of my favorite moments this week:

• Mikaela Shiffrin absolutely swept the slalom course. She set the record for the largest margin of victory in any Olympic alpine event since 1998. The last 7 Olympic women's slalom margins combined were 1.51 seconds – Mikaela’s was 1.50 seconds. GOAT!

• The men’s Big Air program has been one of my favorite things to watch. Mac Forehand (proudly repping "the frosty peaks of Fairfield, CT") landed tricks that had never been done in competition before and took silver. IMHO he deserved the gold.

• Speaking of big air, the way the athletes get to the top of the course is wild.

• Alysa Liu with the comeback of the century. After stepping away from the sport, she returned in 2024 and skated her way to Olympic gold in women’s singles. The first US women’s figure skating gold in 24 years! You could feel her joy radiating through the screen. A jolt of fresh energy for the sport!

• Monobob. My new favorite word. Elana Meyers Taylor became the most decorated Black athlete in winter Olympics history. Loved watching both her and Kaillie Humphries dominating the course. Talk about bobSLAY :)

• Eileen Gu clapping back at a reporter. It’s the laugh for me. You go girl!

• Team USA hockey is on fire! The women’s hockey team won the gold after beating Canada 2-1 in overtime. And the men’s team beat Sweden 2-1 in overtime in the quarterfinals.

• Brazil won its first-ever Winter Olympic gold thanks to Lucas Pinheiro Braathen crushing the men's giant slalom. This was super cool to watch.

• Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo may be the GOAT of winter sports? The Norwegian cross-country skier won his 10th career Olympic gold medal this week, making him the most decorated Winter Olympian in history. He won 5 golds at a single Games. Insane.

• The head ice technician for curling doing his thing.

• Freestyle skier Nick Goepper skiing in jeans during training.

• The animals of the Olympics! Mountain goats, dogs, and raccoons have joined in on the festivities.

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

It’s the best time of the decade – the Winter Olympics are here!!! For the next two weeks, I’ll be glued to the TV at every possible moment, happily rediscovering my deep and abiding love for ice dancing, curling, luge, skeleton, and every other beautifully niche winter sport.

And don’t get me started on the NBC hometown-tour segments – the childhood footage, the proud parents, the tiny local rinks. *tears*

Still holding out hope that ski ballet makes its triumphant return someday, maybe 2030.

Friend of the letter watched the entire Opening Ceremony (an act of stamina that deserves its own medal) and wrote a fab piece on everything she observed re: Olympic fashion. Worth a read!

The Sweat Lookbook

Olympic Fashion is Back, Baby!

Happy Winter Olympics to all who celebrate. I’ll admit, the snowy version of the Games always falls a little flat for me compared to its showy summer cousin. But in this existentially bleak February, I’m not about to look a gift (fire) horse in the mouth…

Read more

5 months ago · 45 likes · 12 comments · Lee Glandorf

A few of my favorite moments so far:

• Women’s downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson's twin talents: her fearless racing and her hand-knitted headbands she makes for each race!

• The Quad God, Ilia Malinin. Specifically his on-ice backflip.

• Mexico’s alpine skier Sarah Schleper is making history at her 7th Olympic Games and this time, she’s racing alongside her son, Lasse Gaxiola. They’re the first mother + son ever to compete in the same Olympics!

• Norweigan skiathlon gold medalist Johannes Høsflot Klæbo absolutely crushing the uphill sprint with a sub 6 minute mile pace. Insane!

• The supernatural knees of moguls athletes. S/O gold medalist Liz Lemley!

• Figure skaters Evan Bates and Madison Chock. Partners on ice and in life for over 11 years. Adorable. Madison is also an insanely talented costume designer, and this year she was tapped to design not just her own outfits but costumes for other competitors too.

• The unbothered steeze of freestyle athletes. Googles under helmets. Slut strands out.

• Curling, just overall. I still don't fully understand the strategy, but I'm captivated by the furious sweeping, the stone's slow glide, and the tension on the ice. I recently learned that all curling stones come from the same single manufacturer on an island in Scotland.

• Luge women's doubles making its debut this Olympics. About time.

• Sibling synergy! Sweden’s curling siblings + Slovenia's ski jumping siblings both competed together this year.

• Olympic rings shaped pasta served in the Olympic Village. Wish they sold this.

The Annual Love Edit 💌

It’s almost Valentine’s Day! Long-time readers might know this is my favorite holiday. I love love! The more pink + red, hearts, and candy messages, the better. We could all use the extra joy. I’ll take any excuse for a day that gives us permission to celebrate the people, feelings, rituals, and small things we adore.

So, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, here’s my annual edit of things I love that make winter even better. Some new, some tried-and-true.

1. Getting in a hot tub (or piping hot shower) after a ski day.

2. Making homemade marshmallows for your hot chocolate! Store-bought will never hit the same again.

3. Friends with ski houses :) :)

4. The Yardsale Day Bag. I know I won’t shut up about it, but it’s really upleveled my ski weekend packing game. Everything fits, nothing gets forgotten.

5. O’Keeffe’s Working Hands hand cream. I was introduced to this product by my best friend’s dad who is a lifelong Alaskan and the most rugged man I know. If your hands are falling off your body in the winter because of dry skin, this is a nonnegotiable and in my bag at all times.

6. Seeing 2-5 year olds ripping down the mountain on 70cm skis. Nothing in the world cuter!

7. A shoe that’s squishy, fluffy, or warm to put on after boots. Bonus points if it hits all three categories.

8. First tracks on a powder day (or fresh corduroy) when you have the entire run to yourself for approximately 15 glorious seconds before everyone else shows up.

9. Keeping a can of cinnamon rolls in the fridge for a snow day. One eaten on the first snow day of the year brings good snow karma. Unfortunately, the ritual didn’t seem to work as well this year, but not giving up on the tradition.

10. A good pair of fuzzy socks for peak winter lounging.

Happy ♥️ Day to all!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Chairlift Chatter

• The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics will officially be underway tomorrow. All eyes will be on Lindsey Vonn who is still competing despite rupturing her ACL a few days ago (insane). Here’s how to watch:

• Ski in, ski out lunch at Balthazar in NYC.

• Deer Valley is sweetening its record terrain expansion this winter with discounted lift tickets and $2 bowls of its famous turkey chili. Half-day ticket prices will match the number of runs open – 132 runs means $132. As the resort approaches full buildout, both lift tickets and chili will cap at $202 and $2.02, respectively. Love this.

• Moncler Grenoble took over Aspen to debut their Fall/Winter 26 collection. Every guest and model was transported via snowmobile to the show. Sick.

• The former Mount Storm Ski Area in NY is for sale. 88 acres! Panoramic views! Only 1.5 hour drive from Manhattan! $2.95M!

Every skier has likely experienced boot drama. A pressure point drilling into your ankle bone by run three. The rental boots so loose you’re steering with your knees instead of your feet.

For over 40 years, Park City brothers Bob and Russ Shay have been on a mission to fix what they believe is skiing’s most painful, most ignored problem: the thing strapped to your feet.

Surefoot’s approach is super technical. Their proprietary foot scanner measures your foot in 538 places using pressure-sensitive rubber pegs, creating a 3D map that gets milled into a custom footbed. They match your foot to one of five liner types. Then they inject gel-like material into the liner and mold it around your unique geometry. The whole process takes about an hour.

The once-tiny operation now has 29 locations worldwide – from Courchevel to Lake Tahoe to NYC. Ski Magazine’s Andy Bigford called it simply: “Surefoot has done more to keep skiers happy than any retail store in the world.”

But Bob Shay didn’t set out to build a retail empire. He just wanted his feet to stop hurting. What started as a college student jerry-rigging foam into his race boots became a four-decade obsession with solving a problem the industry had accepted as unsolvable.

I caught up with Bob to talk about completely innovating a space that didn’t know it needed disruption and his controversial take on what’s actually killing the sport.

An Interview with Surefoot Founder, Bob Shay.

What was the exact moment you realized ski boots were the biggest unsolved problem in skiing?

It was my senior year in college at University of Utah, standing in line to pay tuition on the last day before penalties kicked in. My brother and I grew up ski racing on the East Coast, then moved to Utah. Everyone I knew who ski raced had problems with their boots. My feet hurt constantly – they’re very wide and square, and standard boots just didn’t match.

Standing in that long line, I was thinking: I really don’t want to get a regular job and work for someone. I kept coming back to how much I loved skiing and how much my feet hurt, and how I’d learned to modify boots for myself and my friends. That was the moment I realized there might be a business here – that people really suffer from ski boots. That was over 40 years ago, a completely different landscape in terms of innovation and gear.

How did you land on the jerry-rigged solutions you started experimenting with?

The first breakthrough came from orthotics. At the time, footbeds were very crude in skiing. A friend and I got this kit and tried making orthotics to put in boots. We didn’t do a great job – they weren’t comfortable. But what happened was interesting: I’d always had pain in the same area on the bottom of my foot. When I put those crude orthotics in, the pain moved to a different spot. I thought, “Wow, I can fix that.” That’s really how it started.

Can you walk us through the Surefoot process for creating a custom boot?

We’ve developed so many components over the years. Here’s how it works now:

First, we take a 3D scan of your foot that shows everything – arch height, width, every measurement. We have a database that compares your foot to millions of others, so we immediately know if you have a high instep, low instep, medium width, whatever.

Second, the orthotics. This is such an important foundation. We put you on a machine where a highly trained technician aligns your foot into a neutral position – the strongest position for your body, starting with your feet. The machine takes an imprint using pressure to feel the soft tissue of your foot. That goes into a CAD/CAM milling machine, and we carve out your orthotic.

Then we match your foot to the liner. We have five different liner types. We match the shell to your foot. Then we put the orthotic inside the custom liner and mold it around your foot.

The whole process is actually quite quick. It takes about an hour to make a completely custom boot.

And my favorite component: you can also add heated liners!

Yes! We invented the first transferable ski boot heating system over 30 years ago, called Winter Heat. Now we've integrated it directly into the boot – it's built into the liner with 10 heat settings and can be controlled via Bluetooth. They're honestly amazing. There's no reason for your feet to be cold skiing anymore. I can easily be out on a zero-degree day, all day, and keep my feet warm.

Custom fitting seems like part science, part art. How much of a great fit comes from technology versus the intuition of expert boot fitters?

That’s an interesting question. About 20 years ago, I realized the system wasn’t working – it wasn’t getting better. So we set about totally changing it.

If you go to any Surefoot, the average manager tenure is 18 years. We have people who’ve been with us forever. But what we really changed was moving away from this “strange art” of fiddling with boots. It came down to the fact that the available tools weren’t working. People were still suffering and having to come back four or five times.

We made it very science-based and technology-driven. It’s specific: you do this for this type of person. And we give our fitters equipment that actually makes a difference.

It’s really a combination of the person and the technology, but the end result comes from all the new technology we use. That’s what makes it so much better.

Surefoot has scanned millions of feet. What's the most surprising pattern you've learned about how skiers' feet differ from normal footwear assumptions?

We’re fortunate to own not just Surefoot, but also a group of athletic shoe stores in New York City and LA, so we have about 3.7 million scans total.

One thing we’ve found: skiers are athletes. They’ve done more athletic things, so their feet are generally in pretty good shape.

But we also learned that there used to be this pattern in every ski shop – someone would say, “Oh, this is hurting the ball of my foot,” and they’d just expand the boot. Expand, expand, expand. From our data, we know you don’t need to expand the boot most of the time. That was a huge revelation.

You've worked with many elite skiers – Bode Miller, Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin. What have you learned from working at that level that applies to casual skiers?

Athletes will come in and spend the time to get their boots perfectly dialed in, but they typically know what they need and don’t need much help. The majority of recreational skiers do! And it’s really worth it, especially for young skiers.

A skier recently told me he got orthotics from us about two years ago. He noticed how his foot doesn’t pronate as much anymore, doesn’t collapse, from using them.

The biggest thing is: we know how to put your foot into the position that the best skiers in the world want to be in. And that can help you be a better skier too.

Over 40+ years, which principles from those early DIY days still guide Surefoot today?

Fitting ski boots, getting them to be perfect, is very demanding. And here’s why: every person who skis is an absolute expert about their ski boots. If there’s something wrong, they feel it.

We’ve always said, right from day one: we’re ski boot specialists, and we better be ski boot specialists. Everybody who works at Surefoot knows the goal is to put you in the best fitting, best performing ski boot you’ve ever had. That rings true today. Every single day we do that.

Can you describe a moment when you realized the real impact of what you'd built?

I had a friend bring three people into the store to get fitted. One of them had never owned boots before – she’d always rented. We rode up the lift together, skied down, and near the bottom in this flat section, I stopped and watched her making turns in two inches of fresh snow. Beautiful turns. When she hit the flats, she threw her hands in the air, skied up to me and said, “Oh my God, I cannot believe the difference. I can ski so much better in these boots.”

Because she was newer to skiing, a lower-level skier, it really changed what we did at Surefoot. We started making products for every level of skier – not just experts, but for everyone. It’s made a huge difference in people’s lives, because rental boots are terrible. They’re the worst thing for skiing. They hurt people so much, they hurt the sport so much.

If I could do anything in the sport, it would be to stop rental boots from being used, because of how much they hurt skiers. I was recently with someone who rented skis for $110 a day. It’s insane. That’s like renting a car and paying $5,000 a day when you look at the value. So many people come, don’t enjoy it because of painful rental boots, and then leave the sport.

You've expanded into running and other sports. How does ski boot fitting influence how you think about performance footwear more broadly?

I used to run a lot to stay in shape for skiing. When we got into the running business about 12-13 years ago, we were already having all kinds of athletes come to Surefoot who weren’t skiers: pro golfers, runners, bike racers, even Tour de France winners.

It really surprised me how much we knew about feet and running. We introduced all our systems into the run stores – orthotic fabrication, everything. It’s really almost identical to what we do with ski boots. The same principles apply.

It’s been a great experience. Now we’ve even started our own line of footwear made specifically to fit orthotics and help people have their bodies aligned. It’s all integrated into the same thing.

What’s on the horizon for Surefoot?

Our biggest goal is to make Surefoot available to every skier. The products we have are so much better than regular products. We use all the brand name shells, then we make the inside of the boot, and it makes such a difference.

We also have almost 400 doctors and podiatrists who use our orthotic system to make orthotics for their patients. All combined, every day we get up thinking about how we can make it better – make the products better.

I ask every Slopeside interview subject – what’s your favorite mountain to ski?!

That’s a tricky question. I’m very fortunate to say that I’ve skied everywhere I’ve ever wanted to ski, so it’s hard to pick one place.

If I had to pick in North America, I’d say the Wasatch Front here in Utah – notice how I didn’t say just one resort. We get to ski all of them!

Worldwide, I’d say Verbier in Switzerland, and Las Leñas in Argentina. Those are my favorite places in the world to ski.

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

For those also horrified about what’s going on in our country, I wanted to share the 5 Calls app. It provides contact info and ready-made scripts to help you call your representatives about current issues in an informed, effective way. I’ve been making my 5 calls every day and it only takes a few minutes. If phone calls feel intimidating, you can call after hours to leave a voicemail with your name, number, and address – it still counts.

Chairlift Chatter

• Kind of obsessed with the triplets on the Jamaican Olympic Ski Team.

• The great NYC snowstorm came and went! Shaun White took advantage of the opportunity.

• Gen Alpha kids started this treend but it’s very important that adults join in on the fun too.

• This is the type of investigative journalism I’m interested in. Aka the optimal way to pee while wearing a ski suit.

A Slopeside Guide to Jackson Hole, Wyoming

On my latest trip to Jackson last week, I found myself wondering about the “Hole” part of Jackson Hole. Turns out the town is named after trapper Davey Jackson, who settled there in the 1820s, and “hole” is old trapper slang for a high-altitude mountain valley. Originally “Jackson’s Hole,” the possessive eventually got dropped. Filing this fun fact away for later.

There’s something magnetic about this place that keeps pulling me back year after year. Maybe it’s the country’s best airport – where you’re greeted by crystal-clear Teton views on landing (bluebird days only) and complimentary mimosas at baggage claim. Or maybe it’s the authentic Mountain West character that actually feels like stepping into cowboy country. World-class skiing, jaw-dropping views, surprisingly excellent dining, and shops that don’t feel like tourist traps certainly don’t hurt either.

There’s a ruggedness here (a wild, untamed quality that refuses to be polished away) that makes it one of my favorite places on earth.

Where To Ski

Jackson is one of the best and most challenging mountains in the world. Here's the thing they don't advertise: a blue run at Jackson is typically a black elsewhere. There's insane expert terrain, but beginners don’t panic! While limited, beginner runs do exist.

• Groomers: The groomers on Teton and Après Vous lifts are my favorites, specifically Kemmerer, Wide Open, and Werner. These are rippable, (somewhat) steep groomers that feel long and glorious. Gros Ventre and Sundance also deserve mention for their top-to-bottom nature – perfect for a first run of the morning on fresh corduroy.

• Off-Piste: Oh man, where to begin. The terrain off the tram is unmatched. There's a reason for that tram line – Rendezvous Bowl on a powder day is insanely great. Slightly further down are the famous Hobacks (South, Middle, and North) that are also the most fun when the snow cooperates. Sadly the conditions weren't ideal on this recent trip, but this is some of my favorite terrain in the world. Washakie and Grizzly Glades off Teton lift are also wonderful when snow is good. If you're an expert++ skier, there's always the option to brave Corbet's Couloir. But if you’re not feeling it, this season there's a Corbet’s livestream that's endlessly entertaining.

• Lunch on-mountain: Corbet's Cabin serves the highest waffles in the US at 10,450 feet! The novelty! Rendezvous Lodge and Casper Lodge both have classic ski lodge food (read: overpriced chicken tenders), but Casper has more of a ~vibe~ aka their bar sells jell-o shots.

Where To Stay

For a group ski trip, Airbnb or VRBO is typically the best option, and that rings true in Jackson. I’m not a gatekeeper, so I’ll share this amazing property management company we used to rent a house – perfect location, beautiful finishes, incredible hot tub. Can’t wait to stay there again. For hotels, The Wort is historic and centrally located. I’ve heard wonderful things about both Rusty Parrot Lodge and Cloudveil. In Teton Village, you’ll find more luxury options like Caldera House (stunning, with amazing food and beverage programs) and Four Seasons – both ski in/out.

The one downside of Jackson: town is ~25 minutes from Teton Village (where the mountain is). I always prefer staying in town to walk to dinner and shops, but that means figuring out mountain transport. The public bus system is reliable if slow (I swear the “express” bus made 7+ stops), but it’s $3, so you can’t complain. Uber is actually quite prominent and while expensive, there are plenty of XL cars that’ll take you and your skis.

Where To Eat, Drink, and Be Merry (mainly in town!)

• Coe Tavern: My new favorite spot! Feels like you’re in the coziest cabin, and while the interiors are absolutely charming (sconces, the chicest upholstery, rustic flair), the food and drinks are even better.

• Snake River Grill: Rustic + elevated American fare, something for everyone. Also a great spot for dinner at the bar.

• Local: Steakhouse with mountain flair. Great steaks + very cold martinis.

• Bin22: Wine bar + small plates. Great for a pre-dinner glass and snack or a 1-2 person dinner. Not a group spot.

• Glorietta: Solid Italian spot, great for groups. Fabulous cocktails.

• Teton Tiger: Asian fusion spot that’s vibe-y and fun for groups. Feels slightly expensive for what it is, but alas.

• Jackson Drug: Solid spot for lunch (or dinner), though I prefer their lunch vibe. Good burgers + milkshakes.

• D.O.G.: Best breakfast burritos ever. Perfect for a pre-ski brekky. Even a group of Texans were impressed.

• Persephone Bakery: The best (and maybe only?) bakery in town. Excellent pastries, but I also love their lunch menu.

• The Bunnery: Classic breakfast option, known for their cinnamon buns.

• Snake River Brewing: Unrelated to the Grill. Wyoming’s oldest brewery with wonderful beer and excellent food (classic pub fare but better than you’d expect from a brewery).

• Million Dollar Cowboy Bar: An iconic establishment. Live country music. Saddle bar seats. Cash-only cover. A must-visit.

• Mangy Moose: The après spot at the mountain. Incredibly good vibes, usually with live music. Their seat-yourself policy can lead to frustration – finding a table at peak afternoon hours might be the most challenging part of your trip.

• Handle Bar: The bar/restaurant at the Four Seasons at the base of the mountain. Everything costs one million dollars, but the menu is solid and drinks are great. They sometimes have a DJ outside on the patio with firepits. Very pleasant all around!

I brought my favorite new Halfdays Hedy Belted Puffer Jacket + Isabel Bib in “Glazed Cherry” on this trip and am slightly obsessed with this color and silhouette. And kept me toasty in subzero temps. Ft. Skida buff + Yardsale poles!

Pocket Pick of the Week

A new section spotlighting the few things actually worth carrying in your jacket with you!

Walkie talkies. Inspired by my friends Jordan + Camille who bring them on every ski trip. Equal parts hilarious and genius when you're trying to meet up with your crew with zero cell service. 10-4s are mandatory, phonetic alphabet strongly encouraged.

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Anyway, please enjoy the video below for a necessary hit of dopamine.

Chairlift Chatter

• This is the type of collaboration I’m excited about: Ore Ida potatoes and Fischer Skis.

• For those looking for love! Chairlift speed dating is back at Alyeska this Valentine’s Day.

• Ski runs are back on Google Maps. After a few years off, the feature returns with fresh satellite imagery, updated trail maps, and real-time lift and lodge layouts at the US’s most popular resorts.

• Skincare goes skiing!

  • Supergoop is the official SPF partner of Alterra Resorts (Ikon Pass destinations) for the next four years. This already has come in handy for me when I forgot pocket sunscreen in Steamboat last weekend and was able to buy a Supergoop mini on the fly yay.

  • First Aid Beauty is the official skincare of Team USA at the Olympics. I don’t know much about this brand but seems interesting.

  • Salt & Stone came to Aspen last week for a full on-mountain takeover. I’m most excited by the reusable hand warmers they gave out.

  • Rhode is popping up at Big Sky in a couple of weeks. Cryptic announcement but very interested to learn more.

• And so does Sumo Citrus?! Really just an elite fruit in every dimension. I look forward to Sumo season every year. This activation feels insanely random in the best way.

• Ever wonder how a snow cat is assembled?

• It’s giving Lady Gaga.

Lodge Lizards: Ski Culture, Minus the Skis

A couple years ago, spinal surgery kept me off skis for the season. At first, I was obviously incredibly bummed – watching everyone else load up for powder days while I was stuck in recovery. Then somewhere around month three, sitting by a fireplace with my second hot chocolate of the day, I realized I was actually having a great time.

That winter turned into something unexpected: mornings reading in quiet corners, long afternoons watching the mountain from warm windows, spa appointments booked without guilt, chitchats with other non-skiers who’d been doing this all along. I’d stumbled into what a lot of people already know but rarely admit – ski towns offer a completely different experience if you’re not spending all day on the mountain.

When Telluride’s ski patrol went on strike recently (they reached an agreement and the resort is back open TG!), a whole cohort got involuntarily initiated into this truth. Suddenly faced with closed lifts and open time, they had to reckon with an essential question: what’s a ski town for when you’re not skiing?

The answer, it turns out, is everything else.

Some of you have always known this. You’ve been booking the trips, enjoying the towns, and politely declining the 8am first-chair peer pressure. You’re not injured or lazy or missing out… you’re just operating on a different frequency. There’s a whole parallel experience happening in these towns that has nothing to do with chairlifts or ability levels.

This is a practical guide for that. Whether you’re injured, uninterested, or simply just prefer being warm, here’s what ski towns offer when you skip the slopes. We call you the Lodge Lizards.

Settle in at the lodge

The art of lodge dwelling is simple: secure a seat near a real fireplace and abandon all timelines. Look for chairs you sink into, menus that invite grazing, and staff who understand that ordering slowly is the point. Read half a book. People watch. Order something small, then something really unnecessary. The best lodges are designed for lingering so use them as intended.

The best spots for Lodge Lizards

A useful secret: you don’t need a room key to enjoy a lovely lodge/lobby lounge that’s likely out of your price range – just good instincts and the confidence to sit down and stay awhile. These places quietly welcome professional lingerers.

River Run Lodge, Sun Valley, Idaho – Cozy and comfortable. Plenty of seating and an easy rendezvous point for skier friends drifting in for lunch. Best for solo readers.

Four Seasons, Jackson Hole, Wyoming – Cowboy luxury. A dramatic fireplace, excellent lobby bar, and Handle Bar next door for food that holds its own. Best for social lingerers.

Stein Eriksen Lodge, Park City, Utah – Norwegian-inspired warmth with a true living-room feel. Ideal for long afternoons that end in the spa. Best for long lunches.

Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch, Beaver Creek, Colorado – Grand, old-school alpine drama. Expensive everything (as expected), but the fireplace and scale make it worth settling in. Best for finishing a crossword with a hot beverage.

Madeline Hotel, Telluride, Colorado – Impeccably designed lobby with a bar that encourages staying put. Excellent furniture, excellent lighting, excellent people watching. Best for quiet lounging.

The Little Nell, Aspen, Colorado – The spa situation alone makes it the perfect spot to post up. Outdoor heated pools where you can watch skiers walk by while you’re in 98-degree water. Fantastic dining options. Very luxe. Best for spa-goers (and people watching).

Try low-commitment, high-return winter activities

Snowmobiling

High reward, barely any technique required. You get speed, scenery, and cold air without commitment to real gear.

Tubing

The most underrated winter activity and possibly the most honest. No skill required and maximum chaos guaranteed. Perfect for groups and maintaining an unserious vibe.

Snowshoeing

Slow + scenic. And a surprisingly great workout. Ideal if you want movement without performance.

Cross-country skiing

Quietly harder than downhill skiing, which no one tells you until you’re half a mile in and your thighs are screaming. But the trails are peaceful, the gear is less intimidating, and the pace allows for chitchatting.

Take yourself on a hot chocolate crawl

Order the “house” version everywhere you stop. Extra points for real melted chocolate, house-made marshmallows, the option to spike it, or a view of the mountain while it cools just enough to drink.

Book a spa day

Schedule treatments for when the mountain is busiest. You’ll likely get day access to the pool, hot tub, sauna, etc. A highly enjoyable way to spend the day.

Be the MVP and secure the après table

Every ski group needs this person. This is the Lodge Lizard’s quiet contribution and arguably the most important role of all. Select après highlights linked below.

So if you find yourself in a ski town this winter without skis (or without the desire to use them) consider yourself properly initiated. There’s a quieter version of the season waiting just inside the lodge doors. Grab a seat. Order slowly. Stay awhile!!!

Pocket Pick of the Week

A new section spotlighting the few things actually worth carrying in your jacket with you!

Chocolate Liqueurs (aka adult magic pocket). Incredibly delightful around 2pm. A real crowd-pleaser.

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

My heart’s been with the victims, families, and entire ski community of Crans-Montana. This video is beautiful.

Chairlift Chatter

• Telluride is (still) closed as the ski patrol strike hits day 13 – right in the heart of peak season. Patrollers are asking for $24/hour (about $150k total over three years), well below the $29/hour industry average, and resort owner Chuck Horning, a billionaire with sole control of the mountain, isn’t budging. A now-viral video of replacement patrollers struggling on beginner terrain only underscored what’s at stake when patroller experience is treated as expendable. Nearby mountains are showing solidarity: Monarch Mountain is offering free three-day passes to affected Telluride employees and guests, and Silverton Mountain is discounting lift tickets by 25% off through end of January, so if you had a trip planned, it’s not all a loss!

• Uber launched Uber Ski in the US, a seasonal option that lets riders reserve vehicles large enough for 4 people and their ski/snowboard gear, available through March at major ski destinations. They also rolled out a partnership with Vail Resorts, allowing Epic Passes to be purchased directly in the Uber app.

• If you’ve ever wondered how the lines get drawn on an Olympic superpipe.

• Very into Arc’teryx’s activations at Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort in Nagano, Japan.

• A dream liftmate.

J. Crew Has Entered the Olympic Chat

J.Crew has officially entered the Olympic conversation, unveiling a 26-piece apparel collection with US Ski & Snowboard ahead of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. It’s the first chapter of a three year partnership (earlier coverage here), and one that feels less like a bid for Olympic relevance and more like a recommitment to something the brand has always quietly done well: après ski as lifestyle, not sport.

Rooted in alpine culture and deep archival research (both J.Crew’s iconic catalog imagery and US Ski & Snowboard’s trove of vintage emblems and Olympic patches) the collection leans heavily into nostalgia. Retro typography, red white + blue striping, intarsia cashmere landscapes, merino layers, fleece, lounge pieces, and easy graphic tees dominate the lineup. With the exception of two refined performance jackets developed with Kappa, this is explicitly not technical gear. As J.Crew CEO Libby Wadle put it plainly: “It’s not performance… It’s intentionally planned to be worn on the mountain and off the mountain, après ski. It’s very, very Americana.”

In a category often defined by elite access, expense, and technical credibility, J.Crew isn’t trying to outfit you for the downhill – it’s offering a version of ski culture you can participate in regardless of ability. Prices range from $49 to $498, and the emotional center of the collection lives far closer to the lodge than the start gate.

The accompanying campaign, “Alpine People”, reinforces that ethos. Shot in Austria and featuring a wide range of athletes (including Olympians and X Games medalists) the tone is light, optimistic, and intentionally unserious. Think Wes Anderson dropped onto the slopes in the 70s (love). J.Crew won’t have an on-the-ground presence at the Games themselves, but the campaign and planned activations feel designed to build cultural momentum rather than Olympic spectacle.

In contrast to Ralph Lauren’s long-standing, ceremonial grip on Team USA (or recent fashion-forward ski collaborations chasing futurism and sex appeal) J.Crew’s approach is refreshingly domestic. This is chalet core stripped of aspiration anxiety. The clothes don’t ask you to perform, qualify, or belong to an elite tier of the sport. They ask you to show up, warm, and comfortable. Maybeee even with a hot drink in hand!

In a moment when skiing and snowboarding are becoming increasingly central to culture, J.Crew’s bet is that the feeling of the mountains is enough. And judging by how naturally this collection slots into the brand’s DNA, it’s a reminder that sometimes the most compelling ski style isn’t about pushing the sport forward – it’s about making it feel familiar again.

The collection launches today on jcrew.com and in select stores.

2026 Ins + Outs

Ins:

• first chair

• taking lessons (+ tipping your instructor)

• wearing cute outfits on-mountain because outfit ≠ skill level

• knowing your DIN setting

• long lunches

• respectfully yielding to uphill skiers

• chatting with strangers on the lift

• admitting you’re a fair-weather skier

• magic pocket

• getting your bindings checked annually

• very niche, very fun chairlift snacks: pocket pasta, shucked oysters (see above), caviar bumps, etc.

• sunny groomer laps after a storm

• two more, skip the last (ending the day before you’re exhausted)

Outs:

• any type of boot drama

• skiing through/skipping lunch

• stopping in the middle of a run (especially right below a blind roller)

• trying to ski with more than 3 other people

• tucking your base layers into your ski boots (just a sock should go in there!)

• not wearing a helmet

• listening to music while skiing

• being weird about putting the bar down if people on your chair want to

• bragging about your vert(ical feet skied) instead of how much fun you had

• gate-keeping insider intel aka where the best snow is

Pocket Pick of the Week

A new section spotlighting the few things actually worth carrying in your jacket with you!

Good Weather Skin The One Daily Sun Cream

Thanks to a few melanoma scares over the years, I’m obsessive about sunscreen and this is the one I’ve been reaching for lately – a brand that’s new to me! It’s a zinc-based mineral formula with solid UVA/UVB protection, but without the heavy/chalky feel that usually comes with it. The texture is smooth, doesn’t feel greasy under a buff or helmet, and doesn’t get weird in cold temps (important).

It’s small enough to live in a jacket pocket, and the pump applicator makes it easy to reapply on lift rides (which means you’ll actually use it) on both bluebird and storm days!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Over the past few years, OpenSnow has become my most-used winter app. Constantly refreshing it won’t conjure a storm, unfortunately, but it remains the most useful way to make sense of whatever winter is doing. Incredibly helpful for everyone from fair-weather skiers to those deep in the backcountry. If you missed last year’s interview with OpenSnow founding meteorologist Joel Gratz, it’s worth revisiting.

Happy holidays + thank you (as always) for reading!

Chairlift Chatter

• A rare housing win in Steamboat! More than 100 locals are moving into a new $93.5M apartment complex after the project was pivoted from luxury rentals to below-market housing for full-time workers. No income caps, just proof you work in the valley. Tysm to Mark Stevens (Steamboat local and venture capitalist) for funding the project.

• Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn exemplifying GOAT behavior, as per usual.

• Killington’s vibe is facing a makeover: luxury condos, spas, and a glossy base village are coming to compete in the ski industry’s luxury arms race. Locals are (obviously) unamused.

• The good old days ($40 Jackson lift tickets). Also loving the web design here.

• Big Gigantic is playing a free concert at Winter Park on January 10. If you missed the mountain town music coverage a couple weeks back, you’ll want to check that out.

• Columbia and Kith are joining forces. Details haven’t been released yet but the capsule was developed and shot in Niseko, Japan. Interested to see more.

The Accoutrement Edition

Aside from the obvious big things you need to get on the slopes (skis/board, boots, pants/jacket), there’s a quieter category of ski essentials that rarely make the packing list, but somehow always make the day.

These are the small, slightly unnecessary, deeply personal items that live at the edges of skiing. They don’t make you faster. They won’t save you in rough weather conditions. But they do make skiing more fun, more personal, and occasionally more functional.

We’re calling this critical ski accoutrement. This letter catalogs the best of it. And since I decided to skip a gift guide this year, consider this its placeholder.

Ski Sunnies

Spring skiing, bluebird groomers, lift-served laps. This is sunglasses territory. They’re about confidence, nonchalance, and a willingness to trade perfect visibility for pure vibe. The faster looking, the better.

Running or cycling glasses can also work well here – just make sure they’re polarized and wrap around enough to keep the snow glare at bay.

1. Sunski - Classic glacier sunnies. Perfect for extra sun protection. Has a magnetic removable sun blocking system.

2. District Vision - A runner sunnie that works just as well. Technical design with adjustable features.

3. Izipizi - Another glacier look, made for mountaineering but great in-bounds too.

4. Julbo - Panoramic wide lens view. Flexible nose grip + temples. 100% UVA/B protection.

5. Vuarnet - Stylish yet ultra functional. Highest absorption of visible light and harmful blue light in this list.

6. Pit Viper - The OG of ski sunnies. The lens flips up which makes you look and feel extra fast.

Beanies That Live in Pockets

We’re always wearing a helmet, so this is the secondary head warmer. The one that earns its keep off the lift. For lunch. For après. For parking-lot boot changes. For surprise wind. For the drive home when your hair has fully surrendered.

This beanie lives in a jacket pocket, a backpack, or even the cupholder of your car. Thin enough to stash without looking like a Michelin man, pom-free for easy portability (though I do love a good pom), and perfectly capable of hiding any bad hair moments.

1. Arc’teryx Bird Head Toque - Prepare yourself for a slight tangent here. Like all good things, fashion eventually adopted the functional toque. The Arc’teryx beanie officially crossed over – so much so that it earned its own NYT Style section write-up, courtesy of Timothée Chalamet and the broader gorpcore narrative. Subsequently, it’s sold out everywhere and going for 5x the original price on eBay.

   
   Walk into any coffee shop in Williamsburg between December and March and I guarantee you’ll spot at least three.

2. The North Face Big Box Beanie - A classic for a reason.

3. Halfdays Merino Beanie - Love the new ribbed colorways. Cute and functional.

4. Skida High Pile Fleece Hat - Slightly bulkier but warm and novelty.

5. Gigi Pip Merino Wool Beanie - Great colors and perfect for this use case.

6. Coal Uniform Beanie - Another classic. Perfect thickness to stash in a pocket.

Patches (a personal branding moment)

Patches are storytelling devices. A quiet flex. A way to say I’ve been around without saying anything at all. You can procure these at local ski shops (the more obscure, the better), ski swaps, random mountain towns you visited once. NoSo is an incredible brand with fun designs!

Sew them onto: Old jackets with rips, new jackets with no rips but needs ~panache~, duffels/gear bags that have survived multiple airlines.

Ski Pole Flair

Custom Pole Baskets

Custom pole baskets are deeply unnecessary and therefore extremely correct.

There’s an Etsy seller called Fun Baskets doing some of the most innovative work in this category!

Stoke Tracks is a new-to-me company that offers animal track baskets. Incredibly fun! They’re also completely biodegradable.

Powder Bunnies has some fun options to zhuzh up your poles.

Our friends at Yardsale also offer a la carte powder baskets for deep days.

Bedazzled Poles

If you’re a DIY type, Amazon glitter tape does the trick!

@daniqueschoonveld_DIY 💗✨🪩 Make your own glitter poles!! The best DIY-thing I’ve ever done 😍💗 I’ve been skiing with these glitter poles for a year now and I got sooo many questions about where to buy them… while it’s actually “just” glitter tape 🤭 To be very honest, I saw this idea from one of my ski instructor examiners last year and immediately knew I wanted the same. And now I honestly can’t ski without them anymore, they’re the cutest and always make me happy on the slopes ✨

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Ski Straps

Clipstic has created the “paperclip of skiing.” It’s a strap that holds your skis and poles together as one unit for seamless transporting. Highly functional.

Boot charms

Mix + match is in. Different colored laces on each shoe? Encouraged. Fabric laces? Absolutely. Charms are having a major moment too. The more customized, the better. If we’re going to spend all day in ski boots, they might as well have some personality. Let’s make our boots more fun. Here’s a tutorial.

These small, slightly unnecessary items are what make a day on the slopes feel like yours. They don’t make you faster or save you in tough conditions, but they make you smile on the lift, at lunch, and in the parking lot. Pack them + personalize them. The accoutrement is where the fun lives!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

If you’re already a veteran (and most of you trusty readers are), consider this your cue to forward it to the friend who’s been circling the idea of a ski weekend with you for years but hasn’t quite found the courage to say yes.

Chairlift Chatter

• Vail Resorts discounted lift tickets by 30% at 12 of its top resorts. You just have to purchase your ticket at least four weeks in advance. Gotta take what we can get at this point.

• As of November 1st this year, it’s now illegal to ski in Italy without a helmet. Wonderful!

• The North Face x SKIMS collab returns for its second season. Technical outerwear meets signature SKIMS fit and polish. This year’s capsule expands into kidswear and debuts a more refined palette, with new tones like Kyanite and Gunmetal. I really like the cropped puffer. The campaign was shot in the Chilean mountains and also features writer Kellyn Wilson.

• Halfdays launched a collab with Parks Project. Its the brand’s first ever print and is a topographic design of Rocky Mountain National Park. I respect the bold bet here and the colors play very well together. Excited to see this print on the mountain!

A Beginner’s Guide to Not Panicking on Your First Ski Trip

If it feels like all your friends have been skiing since they were basically embryos and you’re over here googling “skiing tutorials,” this one’s for you.

Nothing brings me more joy than hearing someone is taking the plunge on their first ski trip, because the truth is: the hardest part is simply showing up. We celebrate all abilities around here!! Regardless of whether you’re sending it down a double-black or spending forty minutes learning how to walk in ski boots.

Still, getting into skiing can feel a bit like joining a secret society where everyone mysteriously knows the handshake. There’s gear to rent (or buy? or borrow?), mountains to choose, unwritten chairlift etiquette to decode, and that persistent fear of becoming the person yardsaling down the bunny hill while small children effortlessly lap you.

This guide is here to fix that. Think of it as the friend who actually wants to help. Not the one who chirps “just point your skis downhill!” before disappearing onto a double-black while you’re still trying to figure out which foot goes in which boot.

Where to Go

Not all ski resorts are beginner-friendly, and choosing the wrong one is like learning to swim by being thrown into the ocean during a storm. You want mellow terrain, good instructors, and a place that doesn’t make you feel like an imposter in borrowed pants.

East Coast

• Okemo (Vermont) - The ideal starter mountain. Long, gentle greens, immaculate grooming, and a layout that won’t trick you into a black by accident. If skiing had training wheels, they’d look like Okemo.

• Stratton (Vermont) - Perfect for families. Good variety, cute village, and the kind of mountain where no one is judging.

West Coast

• Northstar (Tahoe) - Purpose-built for progression. The beginner area is separated from the chaos of expert skiers flying past you. And the village is walkable + charming.

Rockies

• Park City (Utah) - Massive resort, tons of beginner terrain, and the town is five minutes away. Utah snow really is magic – drier, softer, and much kinder to new skiers.

• Breckenridge (Colorado) - A sweetheart of a mountain for beginners. And you can walk straight into town when your legs decide they’re done for the day.

• Beaver Creek (Colorado) - Rolling groomers, very family-friendly, and fun on-mountain amenities (read: a candy cabin when you need an afternoon sugar high to keep going).

If money isn’t an object: Deer Valley (Utah) - The Ritz-Carlton of ski resorts. Immaculate grooming, limited lift tickets, ski valets, and the calm that comes from a snowboard-free environment (controversial take, but honestly great for beginners).

Skip these for now: Jackson Hole, Crested Butte, Telluride, Alta, Snowbird. Absolutely iconic. Absolutely not where you should learn. Limited beginner terrain!

When to Go (Timing is Everything)

Short answer: January or early March.
Avoid Christmas and Presidents’ Day unless you’re actively studying crowd psychology.

December (pre-holiday): Cheap-ish, unpredictable snow.
Christmas week: Chaos.
January: Sweet spot. Great snow, reasonable crowds.
February: Best conditions, also the busiest. Presidents’ Day is insane.
March: Early March = lovely. Late March = slushy, sunny, extremely fun if you like a softer landing.

The Gear Situation (Do Not Buy Everything)

This is where beginners accidentally light money on fire. Do not buy a full ski setup before you even know if you enjoy this sport.

Rent These

Skis, boots, and poles. Every resort rents them, and local shops are often cheaper. They’ll fit you properly and adjust your bindings so you don’t eject randomly. If your boots hurt, you can swap them (a luxury no purchase offers).

Pro tip: Rent the night before if possible. Don’t burn half of your ski day in a rental line!

Buy These

Real ski socks. Get actual ski socks (Smartwool, Point6, Darn Tough). They’re taller, cushioned in specific zones, and moisture-wicking. Regular cotton socks will bunch up in your boots, give you blisters, and leave your feet cold and clammy. You need 2-3 pairs minimum because you’re going to want fresh ones every day. We don’t subscribe to sock drama around here!!

Base layers. Synthetic or merino wool. Not cotton. Cotton traps moisture and turns into a cold, sweaty disaster. You need a top and bottom base layer that will wick sweat away from your skin. Smartwool, Icebreaker, and Uniqlo Heattech are all solid and not overly $$.

Neck gaiter/buff. Mandatory on windy days.

Good gloves. Do not cheap out here. Your hands will be miserable in $20 gloves. Look for waterproof, insulated gloves.

Rent or Borrow if Possible

Jacket and pants. These are expensive. For your first trip, try to borrow from friends. If you buy, look for sales at REI, Backcountry, or Evo. Make sure they’re actually waterproof (not just water-resistant) and insulated. Scroll through previous Slopeside letters for tons of recos!

Goggles. Some rental packages include these. If buying, get two different lens tints if you can (one for sunny days, one for flat light).

Helmet. Always rentable but when you commit to the sport, make this your first purchase.

What You Can Get Away With

Your regular winter coat and snow pants might work for your first day if the weather’s nice and it’s not snowing. But the second things get wet or windy, you’re going to regret it. Same with warm socks you already own – they’ll work for one day to see if you even like skiing, but after that, invest in the real thing.

Invest in Lessons

Here’s a hard truth: your experienced friend cannot teach you to ski. They learned when they were five, have forgotten the actual mechanics, and will eventually take you somewhere terrifying (I have been guilty of this – allegedly).

Group Lesson: You’re with 4-8 other beginners and an instructor. This is the more budget-friendly option and it’s honestly perfectly fine for your first day.

Private Lesson: 1:1 instruction. You learn faster, get personalized feedback, and can go at your own pace. Absolutely worth it if you can afford it or if you’re going with a partner and can split the cost of a semi-private.

Unwritten Rules You Need to Know

Lift Etiquette!

• Fill in all the spots on the chair. You will end up sitting with strangers. This is completely normal. If someone asks “can we join you?” just say yes and shuffle over.

• Loading the chair. Wait for the person in front of you to clear the loading zone, then ski or walk into position. Look over your shoulder for the chair coming around. When it hits the back of your legs, sit down. Don’t jump, don’t reach back and grab it, just sit. The chair will catch you.

• Safety bar. Once everyone’s seated, someone will likely ask to pull the safety bar down. Don’t be the person who refuses to put it down because you think it makes you look tough.

• Unloading. When you see the “unload here” sign, lift the safety bar, put your ski tips up, and push yourself forward off the chair as you reach the ramp. Stand up and ski away from the unloading area immediately so the people behind you don’t crash into you. If you fall right off the lift, get out of the way FAST!

On-Mountain Right of Way

• The downhill skier always has the right of way. If someone is below you on the slope, it’s your responsibility to avoid them, not theirs to get out of your way. They can’t see you coming – you can see them.

• Look uphill before you enter a trail or merge from the side. Just like merging onto a highway, you need to check that you’re not cutting someone off.

• Don’t stop in stupid places. Middle of a narrow cat track? Terrible. Right below a blind rollover where people can’t see you until they’re on top of you? Recipe for disaster. Pull off to the side, out of the flow of traffic.

• If you’re stopped and someone crashes near you, always stop. Check if they’re okay and help them gather their gear.

The Green Circle Myth: A green at one mountain can be a blue at another. Trail ratings are relative. Start mellow and work your way up.

Avoiding Common First-Timer Mistakes

Wearing too many layers. You will overheat. Start simple: base layer + mid-layer + jacket.

Skiing until your legs give out. Day one is not the day to test your limits. Leave a little gas in the tank.

Letting your friends drag you onto harder terrain. Their idea of “easy” is not your idea of easy. Split up if needed.

Not drinking enough water. Altitude sneaks up on you!

Skipping sunscreen. Even on cloudy days. Don’t skip this!!

Being too hard on yourself. Everyone looks awkward at first. Everyone falls. Even the best skiers looked like Bambi on ice their first day.

I’ve tried to cover the essentials here, but if I missed anything, plz drop your best tips for the beginner crew!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Chairlift Chatter

• Resort openings have been delayed across the board. A few recent storms have finally dusted the Rockies with snow (most mountains are still only trending around 30-50% of normal snowfall), but the Pacific Northwest is still waiting for its first real cover.

• BTS from Snowbird. The NYT published a piece called “The Secret Life of a Ski Resort” featuring a behind the scenes look on how Snowbird operates – from grooming to patrolling. Interesting read!

• Hard Pack ski magazine is hosting a launch party. If you’re in NYC on Dec 9, go hang with Zach + the Hard Pack crew to get your hands on the new issue. (read more about Hard Pack in our interview from last year!)

  

Skip Coachella. The Real Party’s at 9,000 Feet.

I wrote about this last season, but it’s even more evident now: the ski town music scene isn’t just growing… it’s stabilizing into its own fully fledged circuit. What began as resorts trying to capture a little European après energy has evolved into something distinct, with major artists consistently routing their winter schedules through the mountains. These shows aren’t one-off novelties anymore – they’re becoming anchor dates.

EDM’s relationship with ski towns, in particular, has intensified. And the dynamics behind it are pretty logical. Artists get intimate, high-energy rooms that feel different from the standard arena loop. Resorts extend the revenue life of their season. Fans get a built-in justification for another mountain weekend. The early days (SnowGlobe’s unruly Tahoe winters and Powabunga’s brief Fyre-adjacent wobble) have given way to a more predictable and professionalized model.

It also reflects a broader shift in how people are choosing to experience live music post-pandemic. Destination-driven shows win out over generic stadium nights. Smaller venues create a kind of scarcity and immediacy that big tours can’t replicate. And there is genuinely something compelling about seeing someone like John Summit play while everyone is still buzzing from skiing all day.

Despite all of this chatter, I still maintain some of the best mountain beats come courtesy of DJ Don Woodbury (Utah’s own, holding court all winter at the St. Regis Deer Valley’s Vintage Room) and Littlefoot (the Breckenridge T Bar’s resident vibe curator).

Here’s a look at this winter’s ski town festival lineup.

• John Summit’s Experts Only tour returns. The current house music golden boy is bringing his winter tour back to Whistler (March 14-15) and Vail (March 21-22). I am slightly salty that presale tix sold out in 0.2 seconds so Mr. Summit, if you’re reading this, I am a big fan.

• Sofi Tukker hits Vail. The duo brings their high-energy winter set to Vail on December 13 for one night only.

• The Snow Lodge in Aspen. The cold-weather sister to The Surf Lodge in Montauk returns this season with a stacked roster: Diplo, Marshmello, Blondish, Seth Troxler.

• Palm Tree Music Festival is back in Aspen this February. Produced by Kygo (who is also headlining), this two-day festival features Calvin Harris, Sammy Virji, Blondish, and others.

• X Games beats. Boulder local Disco Lines and Alesso will soundtrack this year’s Aspen competition in January.

• Belly Up stacks its winter slate. Iconic venue Belly Up has an impressive winter lineup, with Diplo, The Chainsmokers, LCD Soundsystem, and Two Friends among the standouts.

• Tahoe Live returns to Palisades. Alison Wonderland, Porter Robinson, and Zeds Dead headline next weekend’s festival.

For a ‘more banjo, less bass’ vibe…

• Winter Wondergrass is back again. The last weekend of February brings peak mountain bluegrass back to Steamboat.

• The Revivalists hit the winter circuit. Shows slated for Aspen, Jackson, and Beaver Creek.

• Jackson Hole’s Rendezvous Festival returns. No headliners announced yet but the price tag remains unbeatable (free).

• Mat Kearney revives his slope shows. Back again with stripped-down winter stops in Steamboat, Jackson, and Ketchum.

Nike x Jacquemus Joins Fashion’s Technical Ski Revolution

Add another name to the list of luxury brands going all-in on skiwear: Jacquemus just launched an 18-piece après ski collection with Nike. It’s built around the same thing that’s suddenly non-negotiable for fashion brands touching the slopes – technical credibility.

This isn’t Jacquemus slapping logos on puffer jackets and calling it ski-inspired. The collection centers on triple-layer GORE-TEX jackets and pants engineered for actual mountain conditions. The standout two-in-one jacket pairs a waterproof shell with a zip-in Primaloft-insulated bomber – the kind of thoughtful layering system that matters when you’re transitioning from lift lines to lodge cocktails.

What makes this collaboration interesting is the dynamic: Nike brings the technical legitimacy (performance fabrics, weather protection, athlete-tested design), while Jacquemus brings the fashion credibility. It’s the inverse of what Gucci just did with Head – same recognition that you can’t fake functionality, just approached from the opposite direction.

The aesthetic splits the difference between Jacquemus’ signature ‘80s-inspired rounded tailoring and actual mountain performance. Black and pale neon green colorways. Generous cuts that reference vintage ski fashion without sacrificing function. Water-repellant jumpsuits, stirrup leggings, technical menswear – pieces that work on slopes and at après ski without feeling like costume changes.

Jacquemus has been building toward this since opening a winter pop-up in Courchevel in 2023. The designer even partnered with French brand Lacroix to create matching skis and goggles, showing the same commitment to actual equipment we’re seeing from Balenciaga and Hermès.

The collection launched November 26 at Jacquemus stores and dropped yesterday at Nike retailers. Fashion’s message to the mountain is getting clearer: we’re not just visiting anymore. We’re suiting up. Please report back if you or anyone you know purchased pieces from this collection!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Chairlift Chatter

• It’s an unseasonably warm start to the season. Ugh. With resorts pushing back opening days, it’s officially time to break out every snow-summoning ritual you know: wearing pajamas inside out, flushing ice cubes down the toilet, throwing a trail map in the freezer, stacking pennies on the windowsill.

• For NYC readers, a new workout concept just debuted that uses ski-inspired machines for a full body workout. Please report back if you try this!

• AC Milan soccer x Rossignol. The Serie A football club launched a new skiwear collection alongside Rossignol this week. The collection features both a lifestyle collection and performance gear. V interesting collab, especially ahead of the Olympics.

There’s a weird hierarchy in ski gear. Skiers will research skis for months, agonize over boot fitters, and color-coordinate their entire outfit. But helmets? Most of us grab whatever’s cheap, whatever fits okay, and then forget about it for ten years. It’s the piece of gear protecting your brain yet it’s treated like an afterthought.

Lizzie Shilko was frustrated by this. She’d progressed from midwest bunny hills to charging Colorado steeps, but she was still wearing the same helmet she bought in middle school. She had an a-ha moment on a ski trip in Taos that led her to walk away from management consulting, tear apart helmets in her apartment, and launch Revi – a new brand built on the belief that skiers deserve better. I caught up with Lizzie to talk about disrupting an industry that hasn’t been disrupted, building a brand from scratch with zero funding, and why she’s throwing helmet launch parties.

An Interview with Revi Founder, Lizzie Shilko.

Most people don’t wake up one day and decide to disrupt the ski helmet industry. What was your “I have to do this” moment?

I’ve been a lifelong skier – I started on tiny icy bunny hills in Minnesota where my home mountain didn’t even have a chair lift, just a tow rope. I moved to Colorado five years ago while working in management consulting and was skiing like crazy on weekends. I kept progressing as a skier, but I was still wearing the same helmet I bought in middle school.

There was this moment skiing in Taos when I asked my friends on a chairlift, “Does anyone actually like their helmet?” No one had anything good to say. I left Taos, bought a bunch of helmets from the local shop, tore them apart, and started interviewing strangers on chairlifts about what they liked or hated about theirs. I realized people will buy five pairs of skis but still wear a helmet from 2010 they found in a garage. It’s the most important piece of gear, yet somehow the most neglected.

That frustration, combined with this belief that skiers deserve better, is what sparked Revi.

If this inspires someone to replace their old helmet with one that’s safe and comfortable, that’s mission accomplished.

What does the team behind Revi look like right now?

We’re a small but mighty team and 100% bootstrapped. The hardest part was finding people who complement your skillset. There was a point where I was talking conceptually about creating an amazing helmet with no logo, no funding – our name was even Revel, not Revi – just trying to convince people I’m serious.

It’s the head of design and myself running the show, with support from fractional PR, legal, and accounting. I reply to every email, plan every event, see every comment, and pack every order. Starting anything is humbling but also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.

How did you approach product design and development with a consulting background?

A lot of humility and a lot of Google. I knew I couldn’t design a helmet in PowerPoint! So I focused on what I’m good at: process, research, determining requirements, consumer insight. Then I built a tiny, mighty team around me: an engineer who understood helmet tech, and eventually my head of design who could translate vision into actual product.

In the early days, my apartment was filled with boxes of sample helmets from manufacturers. We 3D-printed ventilation concepts, express-shipped prototypes back and forth, and iterated nonstop. Once the shape and structure were established, we worked on making the helmet feel like Revi – the markings, interior details, reflective elements, and of course the colors… the hardest part! We spent two straight weeks on color theory and endless debates about shades and combinations. Color seems small, but it’s so important.

Walk us through what makes a Revi helmet different. What were the non-negotiables?

I didn’t want to compromise on anything. Technically, the helmet uses a hybrid shell, which is standard for freeride/recreational skiing. But what really sets it apart is the inside — specifically our ESA shock-absorption system (an integrated impact-management system engineered to absorb and disperse energy across its structure). Most helmets use basic EPS foam which compresses once, then stops absorbing energy. Not ideal for most crashes. We added ESA to all the “hot spots” to address directional and rotational forces without adding bulk. It’s incredibly lightweight and balanced.

From there, safety was table stakes. My friends and family ski in these helmets, I ski in this helmet. There was no world where I’d cut corners. Once we nailed the engineering, I focused on the part I believe actually sets the helmet apart: the fit and comfort.

We have an ultra-plush liner, unique ear pads that eliminate pressure points, audio compatibility, active ventilation, and magnetic buckles. Every tiny detail matters — even the internal engraving, reflective hits, and the Aspen Highlands coordinates on the back (Lizzie’s favorite mountain!).

And then, of course, the colors. I wanted ski helmets to feel exciting. Skiing is expressive and your helmet should be too. I used to describe Revi as the “Away luggage of ski helmets” – before Away, no one cared about luggage. Suddenly it could be stylish and joyful. Why not helmets?

My dream is for people to match their kit to their helmet, not the other way around.

How do you prove to skiers that a helmet from a new brand is actually safe?

Helmet safety is probably the topic I’m most passionate about, even if people glaze over when I talk about ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards. I actually went to observe all of our testing firsthand and it’s wild.

Revi helmets pass both US (ASTM) and EU certification. The process includes:

• Dropping the helmet from significant heights at multiple angles onto edged surfaces

• Measuring how much force transfers to a headform sensor inside the helmet

• Puncture testing vents and shell areas

• Strap tensile testing to ensure it won’t rip off under extreme force

Watching your helmets get repeatedly destroyed is emotionally painful, but also thrilling because you see the engineering perform!

We also emphasize fit as a core safety component. The safest helmet is the one that fits properly and that you actually wear.

Transparency matters, so we publish all our testing data on the website. If you want to geek out, it’s all there.

The ski helmet market has established giants like Smith, POC, and Giro. How are you differentiating Revi and convincing skiers to trust a new brand?

No one has really challenged the ski helmet market. If you look at Virginia Tech safety testing, many big brands’ popular models have very low rankings. (More to come soon on Revi’s Virginia Tech testing.)

It’s not just about the product – it’s about sharing the story and bringing joy back. We’re truly skiing in these ourselves and when you give us feedback, we’re actually listening and co-creating together. Unlike the big brands, I reply to every message. There are real humans behind this skiing alongside you on the chairlift.

While the helmet is clearly your hero product, can you tell us more about your lens technology and goggle system?

I wasn’t frustrated with goggles the way I was with helmets. The goggle space is crowded — a new company seems to pop up every day. But I was adamant that our helmet needed a perfectly fitting, seamless goggle option.

There’s generally a universal fit across brands, but I wanted to create the ideal pairing: wide field of view, high-contrast lenses, magnetic swapping, and a clean silhouette that aligns with Revi.

The one feature I had to create was the storm lens. I had a whiteout day in Steamboat a few years back… I literally couldn’t see out of my goggles and ended up skiing without them, my eyes crying from the wind the whole way down. I swore if I ever made goggles, I’d make a clear, high-contrast lens specifically for storms. That became our transparent storm lens.

It all goes back to solving real problems skiers have.

Most heritage ski brands feel invisible on the mountain. You’re taking a completely different approach with Revi’s community strategy. Tell us about that.

For me, it starts with recognizing that skiing is deeply personal. Community-building has always been part of who I am, so it felt natural to bring that energy into Revi. Why not make helmets fun? Why not create moments that feel joyful and a little loud?

That’s why we’re hosting community events (like our December 6th launch party at A-Basin!) where people can touch the product, meet each other, and feel part of something being built in real time.

Co-creation is also a huge piece of our philosophy. I talk to athletes almost daily about what they’d change or improve. I collaborate with artists on graphics and design ideas. We’re building this with – and for – the ski community.

And supporting young Colorado athletes has become an unexpectedly meaningful part of the journey. We’ve given helmets to the Eldora junior ski team, and we sponsor riders like Warren Doyle from Fort Collins and Olympian Aaron Blunck from Gunnison. It’s about cheering on the next generation and bringing excitement back to a piece of gear most people overlook.

It’s year one! What’s the dream for year two and beyond?

I’m passionate about the hard goods space and solving problems for mountain athletes. I’m focused on listening: what are people missing on the mountain? And lots more merch which has been creating so much excitement!

Where can people shop Revi?

Directly from our website. That’s the best way to support us!! Use code COMMUNITY25 for 25% off your first purchase as a thank you to the community.

I ask every Slopeside interview subject – what’s your favorite mountain and what’s in your ski bag?!

Highlands in Aspen! I’ve had amazing memories with friends dominating that bowl. Steamboat gets a notable mention for the immaculate vibes and trips spent there with my family.

In my ski bag: always Uncrustables and Nerd Gummy Clusters. We need the fuel so we don’t stop!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Chairlift Chatter

• The 2025 World Ski Awards crowned Val Thorens as the world’s best ski resort. American mountains were largely shut out – another reminder that when it comes to global ski culture, Europe usually still sets the standard.

• Some resorts have a secret weapon: snow farming. Sun Peaks just rolled back their mats, revealing a winter stockpile that’s very impressive.

• Canada Goose has a new ambassador for their winter collection. It’s Willie Nelson.

Where the streets meet the slopes.

Peak Performance brings street skiing to London.

(the newest voice of ) shared some BTS of this event with us! To launch its first signature pro collection with freeskiing phenom (and Red Bull athlete) Max Palm, Peak Performance dumped 30 tons of snow into London’s White Grounds Skatepark. A dozen pros sessioned a custom setup – 6-foot rail, wall ride, motorized winch for speed. The crowd pressed in to watch. Max Palm’s signature jacket sold out across North America and the event reminded us that the sport’s energy doesn’t need altitude to thrive.

Ruby Hill Railyard is back again this year.

Across the pond in Denver… Winter Park Resort hauled the mountain to the city again, transforming Denver’s Ruby Hill Park into an urban ski playground known as Ruby Hill Rail Yard. Just a couple miles from downtown, it’s a place where kids and locals alike can try skiing or riding for the first time (for free!), no lift ticket (or mountain drive) required. Powered entirely by volunteers, it’s a small but powerful reminder of what access can look like when the community builds it together. Love this.

Cold Weather, Hot Collabs

One of the best parts of winter is watching the unexpected brand mashups that surface once the temperatures drop. This past week alone brought three standout (and very different) footwear collaborations worth noting.

Halfdays x Hoka

Halfdays teamed up with Hoka for limited-edition colorways of the puffer-style Kaha 2 Frost Moc GTX. The shoe come in Halfdays’ signature palettes (amethyst/glazed cherry + oat milk/spiked cocoa) and are rated to withstand temps down to -25°F. I’ve been fully on board with the puffer-shoe movement these past few seasons, so I’ll be setting an alarm for the launch tomorrow morning.

Sorel x Barbour

Sorel and Barbour reimagined the legendary Caribou Boot through a distinctly British lens. Outfitted with GORE-TEX waterproof fabric and a corduroy collar, the result is, in their words, “an emblem of craftsmanship that bridges mountain resilience with British sophistication.” It’s exactlyyy the kind of boot you could wear from après to afternoon tea.

Moon Boot x Guest in Residence

Moon Boot loves a collab. The brand joined forces with Gigi Hadid’s knitwear brand Guest in Residence on a mens + womens capsule that combines Moon Boot’s iconic silhouettes with GIR’s cozy knit textures.

The Pre-Season Gear Maintenance You’re Definitely Procrastinating

It’s mid-November. Resorts are opening. Your skis are still exactly where you left them last March – edges dull, bases dry, caked in spring grime. Your base layers are buried in a drawer under a pile of summer clothes. And yet, you’ll inevitably wait until the morning of your first ski day to scramble and get it all together.

I see you. I am you.

Here’s the gear maintenance you need to do before opening day:

Skis & Bindings: The Non-Negotiables

Get a tune, or at least sharpen your edges.
Even if you only ski a handful of days a season, your skis need some love. If you finished the year in spring slush and rock fields, your edges are toast and your bases are parched. A proper tune runs about $40–$60 at most shops and includes edge sharpening, base repair, and a fresh wax. Turnaround is usually 24–48 hours but pre-season rush means you should get in now.

Have your bindings tested.
This is the one thing you truly can’t skip. Bindings should be tested annually by a certified tech to make sure they release when they should (and don’t when they shouldn’t). Springs weaken, settings drift, and if your bindings are pushing a decade, they might just retire themselves, with or without you attached.

Most shops charge $15–$20 for a binding test, often free with a tune. Make the appointment. Your ACLs will thank you.

Boots: Stop Ignoring the Problem

If your boots hurt, hurt worse as the day goes on, or require two pairs of socks to feel passable – you have a boot problem. Sadly, it won’t solve itself and nothing ruins a day like boot drama.

See a bootfitter. A shell check and minor punch runs $50-$100 and can completely change your season. If your boots are packed out (aka you’re swimming in them with the buckles cranked), you need new liners or new boots. There’s no shortcut here. Surefoot is my top choice for any and all boot-related situations.

Outerwear: Make It Actually Waterproof Again

That premium Gore-Tex jacket you justified as an investment piece? It’s only waterproof if you maintain it. The DWR (durable water repellent) coating wears off with use, which is why you probably spent half of last season damp and wondering why your “waterproof” jacket betrayed you.

Wash and re-waterproof your outerwear. Use a tech wash like Nikwax or Grangers, then apply a spray-on or wash-in waterproofing treatment. The whole process takes about 30 minutes and brings your jacket back to life. Suddenly that $400 shell feels like new again.

While you’re at it, check zippers and patch small tears with gear tape or NoSo patches.

The Stuff You Forget About

Your helmet has an expiration date.
Helmets degrade over time, typically lasting 3-5 years even without a crash. Check the manufacture date inside. If it’s past its prime or has taken a hit – replace it. This is not where you save money.
(Come back next week for a very exciting helmet feature!)

Your goggles deserve better.
If you’ve been wiping them with your gloves all season, the anti-fog coating is probably crying for help. Gently rinse the exterior of your lenses with lukewarm (never hot) water, then pat dry with a microfiber cloth. Don’t touch the inside lens when wet, that’s how you ruin the coating.

If they still fog no matter what you do, the coating’s gone. Time for new lenses or new goggles. And def get a goggle case! Loose in your bag = scratch city.

Glove inventory.
Go find all your gloves. You probably have multiple mismatched singles scattered across closets and coat pockets. Assess what’s actually functional (no holes, working closures, still waterproof) and figure out what you need to replace. At minimum, you need one warm pair and one lighter spring pair.

What You Can Do This Weekend

Short on time or motivation? Prioritize these:

• Drop skis off for a tune and binding test

• Assess your boot situation (and book a fitter if needed)

• Check your helmet’s manufacture date

• Wash and re-waterproof outerwear

• Clean goggle lenses

• Round up and assess gloves

• Try on all your gear to see what’s missing

Everything else can wait until after your first few days on snow. But these basics will save you from easily preventable frustration :)

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Today’s letter is ostensibly about fashion. But even if you think you don’t care about Gucci or Balenciaga or $18,000 skis, stick with me. Because what these luxury brands are doing on the mountain right now reveals something unexpected: ski culture has enough power now to make fashion meet it on its own terms.

Chairlift Chatter

• Resorts are opening!!! Colorado is kicking things off early this year – Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, and Winter Park all opened before November. Keystone snagged the coveted “first to open” title by 17 hours, a spot Arapahoe Basin usually guards fiercely.

• Team USA’s 2026 Olympic outfits are here. Nike unveiled a new tech innovation: the Therma-FIT Air Milano Jacket, which they’re calling their “most technically engineered garment of its kind.” The dual-layer design uses the same air technology found in Nike sneakers, allowing athletes to inflate or deflate the jacket to fine-tune warmth – from hoodie-soft to mid-weight puffer insulation. I’d like one please!

• Ed Ruscha brings his “Mountain” series to Aspen Snowmass’s Art in Unexpected Places program as this year’s lift ticket artist. I love that they do this.

Luxury Goes Alpine: Why the World’s Top Fashion Houses Are Suddenly Obsessed with Ski

Fashion is finally being forced to take skiing seriously. And that tells us something interesting about ski culture’s power.

This week, three of the biggest names in luxury (Gucci, Balenciaga, and Hermès) launched major ski collections. But here’s what makes this different from the usual parade of logo beanies and fur-trimmed parkas: these brands can’t fake it anymore.

For decades, fashion treated skiing like a aesthetic – a vibe to borrow for winter campaigns. You’d see models draped over furs in ski lodges, holding poles they’d never use, wearing jackets that looked great but would fail spectacularly in actual weather. The mountain was a backdrop. The skiing was incidental.

Something has shifted. These new collections aren’t just inspired by skiing. They’re built for it. And the reason why says something important about where ski culture sits right now.

Gucci: The Credibility Test

Gucci’s “Altitude” collection is their first proper technical ski line, and they didn’t phone it in. Three-layer breathable membranes. Gore-Tex-level waterproofing. Heat-sealed seams. Integrated ski-pass pockets. These are details that only matter if you’re actually spending hours on the mountain in variable conditions.

To launch it, they tapped Jannik Sinner – the Italian tennis star who grew up ski racing before switching sports. Someone who actually knows what a pair of skis should do.

But the real tell? Gucci partnered with Head (the 73-year-old Austrian ski equipment manufacturer) to produce co-branded skis, poles, helmets, and boots. Not decorative fashion skis. Actual functional equipment that Head is putting their name on.

This isn’t Gucci doing skiing a favor by paying attention to it. This is Gucci recognizing they need credibility they can’t manufacture themselves. They need Head’s legitimacy. They need someone who actually grew up on skis. They need gear that works.

Balenciaga: Streetwear Meets Slopes

Leave it to Balenciaga to approach skiing like it’s a dystopian streetwear fantasy. They shot their ski campaign in the streets of Paris and wiped their entire Instagram to make room for the launch. Very on-brand.

But the gear itself is genuinely technical: parkas with integrated ventilation, cargo ski pants (surprisingly cool), ski pass holders, battery-saving pockets, articulated knees. The kind of details you’d find on Arc’teryx or Patagonia, but filtered through Balenciaga’s glitchy, oversized, slightly dystopian aesthetic. It’s streetwear meets a future where everyone dresses like they’re extras in a Blade Runner remake set in Chamonix.

They’re also making their own (no partnerships) equipment: snowboards, skis, helmets, and poles.

Here’s the interesting question: Will Balenciaga’s core audience (the streetwear kids who turned chunky Triple S sneakers into a cultural moment) actually show up at ski resorts?

Because if they do, that changes something about who’s on the mountain and what ski culture looks like. New audiences don’t just adopt existing culture. They reshape it. Sometimes that’s good. Sometimes it’s complicated. But it’s never neutral.

Hermès: Craftsmanship Carved in Wood

Hermès took a completely different route: they made $18,600 skis.

Each pair is made in France with ash wood cores sourced from the Vercors massif in the French Alps. The topsheet is hand-applied sycamore veneer decorated with artist Evan Hecox’s alpine motif. They’re engineered to perform like racing skis – stable at speed, responsive across variable conditions – and they come in Hermès’ iconic orange box.

Yes, they’re absurdly expensive. But they’re also a statement about craft. The same maison that hand-stitches Birkin bags and makes saddles for horses applied that same artisanal rigor to alpine equipment. They’re treating skis the way serious skiers treat skis: as precision instruments that matter.

In a world of disposable gear and planned obsolescence, there’s something almost defiant about making skis this way. You can dismiss it as excess, but you can’t dismiss the underlying premise: that skis are worth this level of craft and attention.

What This Actually Means for Ski Culture

The fact that Gucci needs Head’s credibility, that Balenciaga has to build real equipment, that Hermès is engineering race-worthy skis – it all points to the same thing: skiing has enough cultural power now that fashion brands can’t just borrow the aesthetic. They have to engage with the real thing.

Maybe it’s younger luxury consumers who actually care about function and authenticity. Maybe it’s social media making it impossible to fake competence. Maybe it’s the rise of ski influencers and athletes who can call out BS immediately. Whatever the reason, technical legitimacy is now required.

Which means skiing is dictating terms to fashion, not the other way around.

But here’s the complication: when major fashion brands commit this hard, they’re not just following culture – they’re shaping it. They’re targeting St. Moritz, Zermatt, Aspen, Jackson Hole. The elite resorts where the money already is. Does this accelerate skiing’s stratification and make certain mountains even more exclusive? Or does it bring unexpected new audiences to the sport (streetwear kids, fashion people, urban crowds who’ve never considered skiing) and diversify who’s on the mountain even as it raises the price of entry?

I don’t have the answer. But what’s undeniable is this: fashion (an industry built on image and surface) is being forced to respect skiing as something real. You can see it in every partnership, every technical spec, every piece of actual equipment these brands are producing.

Fashion isn’t colonizing skiing. Fashion is meeting skiing on skiing’s terms. And that says something kind of powerful about where ski culture sits right now.

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Yes, people love to roast it as the “bougiest” mountain, prohibitively expensive, beginner-only terrain. And they’re not entirely wrong about the price tag. But the Ikon Pass has democratized access, and the terrain is excellent. You just have to know where to look.

Beyond the skiing, there’s the Deer Valley Difference: staff members (probably a friend’s parent who’s worked there for decades) offering to carry your skis. Food that rivals actual restaurants. Complimentary ski valet. Pristinely groomed runs. Heated chairlifts. Unbeatable views. The list is long and specific.

But here’s the real news: Deer Valley is about to double in size. Nearly 100 new runs, 10 new lifts, and the all-new East Village are transforming the resort through their “Expanded Excellence” project – positioning it as one of the largest ski areas in North America while somehow maintaining that signature polish. I sat down with Director of Communications, Emily Summers (celebrating her 20th year there, naturally) to discuss the expansion’s origins, the philosophy behind scaling up without selling out, and what this era means for the future.

An Interview with Deer Valley’s Director of Communications, Emily Summers.

Emily, let’s start with you — what’s your role and how long have you been with Deer Valley?
I’m the Director of Communications and this winter will be my 20th season at Deer Valley. It’s a big milestone! I started back in 2006 when the resort was still family-owned.

Let’s dive into the big news: doubling the skiable terrain. What was the “aha moment” that set this massive expansion in motion?
It’s funny, that “aha moment” has been a long time coming. The idea’s been around for years, even back when Deer Valley was family-owned. There was always this aspirational vision of expanding onto the ridge lines in our backyard. But the real momentum started with a 2000s land exchange involving military recreation land, then accelerated in 2017 when Extell Development Company purchased the land east of Deer Valley for what was being called Mayflower Mountain Resort. In August 2023, Deer Valley officially became the operator — that’s when things really clicked. We’ve been involved in mountain construction, installing lifts, and aligning design plans ever since. It’s been two years of incredible progress, and the first new terrain opened last year.

Expanding that dramatically is huge. How do you preserve the intimate, luxury experience Deer Valley is known for while dramatically scaling up?
That was our biggest question, too. The “Deer Valley Difference” is something guests feel but can’t always define. To help articulate it, we actually worked with an agency to formalize our culture and values: attention to detail, exceptional service, and genuine care. Those principles guide how we train and grow our team — which has nearly doubled in size for this expansion. And of course, we’re maintaining our ski-only policy and continuing to manage skier capacity carefully. We’ll never compromise the on-mountain experience.

Some say Deer Valley doesn’t offer much for experts (to that I say – you just don’t know where to look!). Will the expansion bring more advanced terrain into the mix?
That’s one of my favorite myths to bust. The expansion literally adds a second Deer Valley — we’re going from 2,000 to more than 4,300 acres in total now. We’ll still have great green and blue terrain, but there’s a lot of new advanced skiing, especially in areas like Mayflower Bowl and Redemption Ridge. With nearly 100 new runs, there’s terrain for everyone, but plenty for experts to discover, too.

Which new runs are you most excited for people to discover?
Redemption Ridge is a big one. And the run everyone’s talking about is Green Monster — almost five miles long, one of the longest runs in North America. It’s this gorgeous, high-alpine cruiser that’s going to become legendary. It’s perfect for families or breaking it into segments. Mountain Monarch will be another standout. I think these are the runs that will become iconic over time.

The new East Village looks beautiful. What can guests expect there?
The East Village is being developed by Extell — they’re building out the hotels and retail while we operate the mountain. The Grand Hyatt is already open, and one really special feature is that 25% of its rooms are reserved at a reduced rate for active military members, veterans, and their families. The Four Seasons is also on the horizon, and across the highway there’s the Marcella project with the Tiger Woods–designed golf course. The whole area will have a true full-service village feel, which is new for Deer Valley.

Beyond the visible lifts and runs, what behind-the-scenes upgrades (like infrastructure or sustainability efforts) are part of this project?
There are a lot! We’ve doubled snowmaking capacity with a fully automated system — it uses less water and energy while producing snow more efficiently. Guests won’t see it, but our team feels the difference every day. It’s a huge leap forward for both performance and sustainability.

I have to ask about grooming — Deer Valley’s corduroy is famous. Do you actually have a proprietary grooming technique?
Ha! People love to say that. I wouldn’t call it proprietary, it’s just more of an obsession. Our grooming team takes pride in perfection. They’ll literally radio each other to finish a section together so every inch of a run is consistent. That attention to detail is part of our DNA.

With this expansion, Deer Valley becomes one of the largest ski resorts in North America. How does that shift your place in Utah and the broader ski world?
I think it actually strengthens our role in Utah more than anything. The new access via Highway 40 makes it easier for locals to reach us (no more road closures or parking constraints) and the Ikon Pass has also opened the door for a lot of Utah skiers who might not have come here before. So while we’re growing globally, we’re becoming even more connected to our home state.

Sometimes I ski Deer Valley just for the food (30 years of turkey chili + those giant chocolate chip cookies will do that to a person!) Will the expansion bring any new signature dishes or dining experiences?
Yes! We’re introducing several new dining experiences, both on the mountain and in the new East Village. The Park Peak Lodge will open soon at the summit – a stunning multi-level space with panoramic views. We’re also continuing our Taste of Luxury series, which brings Michelin-starred chefs from around the world to collaborate with our culinary team. It’s an incredible way to elevate the guest experience while offering our staff invaluable hands-on training. And of course, après continues to evolve: from Chute Eleven, our champagne yurt and DJ series, to the reimagined Sticky Wicket, a vintage ski-themed après lounge that’s quickly become a favorite.

You’ve been with Deer Valley for 20 years! What do the next 20 look like?
To me, this expansion fulfills the original vision of Deer Valley’s founders — realizing the mountain’s full potential. We’re also preparing to host our second Olympics in 2034, which is incredible. We’ll use the same venues as 2002, but now with this expanded footprint. It feels like we’re honoring our legacy while stepping into the next chapter. Our president always says, “How do you take something that’s great and make it even better?” That’s the challenge we’re embracing every day.

I have to ask — the skiers-only policy. Still holding strong?
Still holding strong. Deer Valley opened in 1981 with a clear focus on service and hospitality, like a five-star hotel on snow. When snowboarding came along, we just never adopted it. Over time, that decision became part of our identity. Now it’s something guests actually choose us for… that pure ski experience, the calm, the culture. It’s nostalgic, and it’s ours.

Finally, I ask all Slopeside interview subjects – what’s your favorite place to ski and why? (I’d assume DV! In that case, your favorite run?)
It’s definitely Deer Valley. On a powder day, you’ll find me in Ontario Bowl. Lately, my favorite days are the ones I spend with my daughter on Last Chance, showing her the Bear House on the side of the run. Those are the special moments that really capture what Deer Valley’s all about.

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

This is mainly a newsletter about winter but we celebrate seasons around here too. In that spirit, it feels like my civic duty to share the best pumpkin bread recipe on the market. I, too, fall for influencers claiming theirs is the ultimate, but Sally just knows something the others don’t: how to make the GOAT of all pumpkin breads. (thanks to my future MIL for the recipe!)

Today’s letter is a ~visual~ one, buckle up!

Chairlift Chatter

• Likely hitting screens soon: ski mountaineer Jim Morrison made the first descent of Mt. Everest’s Hornbein Couloir, captured on film by Jimmy Chin. Some people are just built differently.

• Very into Atomic’s FW25 collection launch party florals.

• Park City reclaimed the longest shotski title, taking it back from Breckenridge last year.

• Moon Boot has succumbed to the Jibbitz effect.

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As promised, we’re continuing our spotlight on this season’s standout skiwear launches and today’s feature is JORDE. You might remember my interview with Co-founder Jordan Watts last year, when her debut collection put the brand firmly on the map. JORDE just unveiled its second ski collection, a refined evolution that balances polish with purpose. I caught up with Jordan to talk through what’s new — here’s our quick conversation:

Second collections are often where brands really find their footing. What lessons from your debut year shaped how you approached this season’s designs?
I completely agree! I loved our first collection (and the Ruby color went viral), but I designed each colorway individually instead of as a full story. This year, I focused on cohesion – picking colors that worked together and tying them with white trims and ankle patches. I also added some flair with our new lacquer fabric on the Nell Vest. I’m so proud of how Winter 25-26 came together and so happy we’re back for another season!

This season introduces some exciting new pieces – a bib, an insulated pant, and a vest. What inspired those additions? Were they sparked by feedback from your community or by your own days on the mountain?
It’s crazy to me that we started with only three styles! The Reese bib bridges the gap between the Lennon pant and Minka (formerly Lottie) Suit – something playful but not as bold as a one-piece. The first prototype felt flat until my co-founder (and fiancé) Jackson suggested adding stripes, which completely changed it.

The Nell Vest extends JORDE into fall and spring, and it layers perfectly over the Minka Suit for après. The Palmer insulated pant came from our wholesale partners’ requests – I’d avoided insulated styles since they can feel bulky, but after several iterations, we nailed the fit.

Baselayers are having a major moment right now and I’m thrilled to see you expanding into them! What made this the right time to launch the Zuri Baselayer, and are there any other categories you’re eager to explore next?
Well, mainly it was for myself – it felt wrong to wear a JORDE set without a matching baselayer! I’m very particular about baselayers so we went with 100% merino wool: soft, breathable, moisture-wicking, and temperature-regulating. We also launched beanies in the same fabric, which I’m obsessed with.

Next season, we’re expanding merino into après-ski and early fall pieces and if all goes to plan, a new category’s coming for SS26 :)

Let’s talk color – Apricot and Buttermilk aren’t shades you often spot on the slopes but they’re so fun. What drew you to those unexpected tones?
They’re our sunset colors! Buttermilk (named after Aspen Mountain) was the first hue I envisioned, followed by Ink, and then the white trims. Apricot was inspired by a pair of orange FRAME leather overalls I own (the color was called “Kumquat”). I thought a softer, pastel take with white trim would be so cute. Very creamsicle chic.

Our wholesale partners leaned toward Ink, Ice, and Gondola, so Buttermilk and Apricot became limited edition, but they’re still two of my favorites.

What’s next for JORDE this season? Any pop-ups, collaborations, or events in the works? And for readers ready to shop – where can they find the new collection?
We’ll be back in Aspen on December 27 for a launch party at O2, plus shopping events in Vermont, Dallas, and Big Sky. Dates to come on IG!

shopjorde.com is the best place to shop but REVOLVE is launching its first JORDE drop in early November with an exclusive colorway, alongside Backcountry, Bloomingdale’s, and Nordstrom!

What’s your favorite JORDE piece from this season?
The Minka Suit in Ice. When samples arrived last October, I was starstruck – the soft baby blue with the contrasted belt is the most beautiful combo, and the new hood completes it. I can’t wait to wear it on my ski bachelorette!

Readers can use code SLOPESIDE on JORDE’s website for 10% off.

The Art of Vintage Ski Posters

Before Instagram, there were ski posters – part travel ad, part art form. Hand-painted proof that skiing wasn’t just a sport; it was a lifestyle, ideally in wool trousers and a perfectly angled hat (helmets were optional back then). I’ve dug up some of the US’ best from the ’40s–’70s with skiers gliding weightlessly and colors so bold they verge on propaganda. These weren’t just ads, they were selling the dream of winter itself.

Ski posters began in Europe in the late 19th century, when skiing became a recreational thrill. Swiss, Austrian, French, and Italian artists turned alpine adventure into art, using vibrant colors, stylized figures, and dynamic compositions. The 1920s–’50s were the golden age: St. Moritz, Chamonix, Kitzbühel, Cortina – each poster capturing the glamour and culture of its region.

By the ’60s and ’70s, American resorts like Sun Valley, Aspen, and Vail embraced bold, geometric, abstract designs that emphasized energy and adventure over elegance.

Today, vintage ski posters are collectible treasures — a reminder that skiing has always been as much about imagination and style as it is about snow!! As the season kicks off, here’s a look at the past to get us excited.

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

This week, Halfdays Co-Founder & CEO walks us through the brand’s new winter collection, which launches today. She invited me into the Halfdays office last week for an early preview, and spoiler: it’s really good.

For those unfamiliar, Halfdays is an Olympian-founded, Colorado-based brand redefining what modern mountainwear looks like. Designed through a women-first lens, their products blend technical performance with effortless style, built to take you from powder turns to après with confidence.

For too long, women’s ski gear meant choosing between highly technical (but unflattering) legacy brands or stylish European labels that cost more than your season pass. Halfdays has shown you don’t have to compromise: a bubblegum pink-colored puffer can have the same technical specs while actually fitting like the clothes women want to wear. Coming off a whirlwind few years – expansion into year-round categories, a fresh $10M Series A announcement, a flagship store in Denver, and plenty more on the horizon – the brand has built real momentum (and proven there’s appetite) for skiwear that’s both smart and stylish.

What sets Halfdays apart, though, isn’t just the product – it’s the community they’ve cultivated around it. The brand has leaned into the communal nature of mountain culture in a way that feels genuinely grassroots rather than manufactured. Their external Slack channel has over 6,000 customers and brand enthusiasts who are constantly planning ski trips, connecting for mountain meetups, and sharing gear recommendations. Monthly programming ranges from walk clubs in partnership with Hoka to on-mountain ski days throughout the winter. Last night’s winter launch party at their Denver flagship exemplified this energy: over 50 people queued up before doors opened, the neighboring upscale restaurant served bespoke Halfdays cocktails inspired by the new collection (including a glazed cherry margarita), and inside was a flurry of fitting room chaos as women left clutching reusable butter-yellow totes and branded water bottles. It’s the kind of authentic, community-led growth reminiscent of Outdoor Voices in its heyday – rare to see done this well today. It’s proof that when you solve a real problem (great gear that actually fits) and build genuine connections, the community becomes your biggest asset.

I sat down with Ariana to talk through the new collection and how Halfdays continues to reframe what mountainwear can be.

An Interview with Halfdays Co-Founder & CEO Ariana Ferwerda.

What motivated you to start Halfdays?
I had just moved to Colorado and couldn’t find ski gear that was both stylish and functional. Everything felt overly technical, masculine, or just really expensive. When I met my co-founder, former Olympian Kiley McKinnon, we immediately bonded over the same frustration. She told me she’d competed in the 2018 Olympics wearing men’s skiwear – a clear sign of how overlooked women are in the outdoor space. We started Halfdays to change that: to create products that perform like the best technical brands while actually reflecting how women want to dress – something you feel confident wearing on and off the mountain.

What was the core inspiration behind this collection, and how has it evolved from past seasons?
Last winter, our top-selling color was Spiked Cocoa, which felt very aligned with where fashion was trending, along with butter yellow. From day one, Halfdays has always drawn inspiration from a variety of places like ready-to-wear fashion, mid-century design, and even vintage Porsches.

This season, the theme is girls trip. Think skiing with friends, après moments, and lots of femininity. The collection feels playful and confident, with standout shades like Glazed Cherry (a deep wine color) and Amethyst (millennial pink). Maroon tones are huge right now, so we really leaned into that, while keeping everything rooted in fashion and ready-to-wear style.

Any standout pieces or new fabric innovations you’re particularly excited about?
This season is about bringing fresh energy to our fan-favorite silhouettes. We introduced a new shiny ripstop fabric (our first with a subtle sheen) available in Glazed Cherry and Nuthatch (a camel-like brown). It’s more technical, yet still elevated and fun.

We also revamped our best-selling Johnson Top and Sophia Legging base layers, introducing a ribbed two-toned version in Glazed Cherry/Amethyst and Spiked Cocoa/Oat Milk. The same ribbed texture carries through to our beanies and accessories.

Our Hedy Belted Puffer has also become a brand favorite – it’s like if the Georgie and Aston jackets had a baby. We expanded it into new colorways after last year’s limited drop sold out. Some seasonal hues like Forget-Me-Not (a light blue) and Spiked Cocoa are now becoming core colors alongside Black, Oat Milk, Navy, and Spritz.

Halfdays was built on the idea of blending style with performance. How do you think about form and function living together as one?
From day one, we’ve had to challenge the perception that if something’s pink or looks chic, it can’t be technical – which just isn’t true. You can absolutely have a stylish silhouette with the same performance properties as an Arc’teryx jacket.

Fit is our top priority. Women want ski gear that flatters and feels like their style, not something bulky or unflattering. We pull inspiration from everyday silhouettes (wide-leg pants, denim, legging) and translate them for the mountain.

Of course, everything is still highly technical: PrimaLoft insulation, waterproof YKK zippers, fully taped seams. If you line up our specs next to legacy brands, we match or exceed them. The difference is ours just fit better.

What are you hearing from your community about what they want most in skiwear?
Versatility. Skiwear is a big investment, and people want pieces they can wear beyond the slopes. Jackets like the Georgie, Aston, and Hedy are designed with removable hoods and powder skirts, so they transition seamlessly to town or après.

Customers also love our pocket design (functional without being bulky) and that thoughtful simplicity really resonates.

Speaking of community, a lot of brands talk about it, but few actually invest in it the way Halfdays has (the Slack channel, the monthly events, meetups, public launch parties). What made you decide early on that community needed to be a core pillar of the business, not just a marketing tactic?
It really came out of the customer research we did before launching. We interviewed and surveyed over 200 women and kept hearing the same thing: there’s a massive barrier to entry in ski culture. It feels expert-only, insiders-only – this intimidating mountain mentality that keeps people out. Women would tell us things like, “My husband’s family are huge skiers, but I haven’t been since I was 16 and I don’t want to look like I don’t know what I’m doing – so I’m just not going to ski.” That was super sad to hear because skiing is such an incredible lifelong sport.

So community became the solution to breaking down those barriers. Everything we do – from products that feel more approachable in fit, style, and price point, to not overcomplicating our fabrications or descriptions, to the events and activations – it’s all designed to make women feel like they belong on the mountain. We’re not just selling products; we’re creating the welcoming entry point that didn’t exist before.

Who is the Halfdays woman?!
Our core customer is a city girl – New York is our top market, followed by Brooklyn, LA, San Francisco, and Dallas. She travels to ski, cares about what she’s wearing, and wants her mountain wardrobe to reflect her personal style. She’s building a small capsule of ski outfits.

We also see a younger Gen Z customer who’s more price-sensitive (maybe buying her first kit) so we offer more approachable entry sets like the Lawrence Jacket and Alessandra Pant. On the other end, we have a luxury customer buying multiple sets and stocking her guest rooms with extra base layers at Yellowstone Club.

We’re lucky to sit at this unique intersection: in some retailers we’re next to luxury brands like Bogner and Perfect Moment, and in others, Columbia or The North Face.

What’s your personal favorite Halfdays piece?
The Hedy Belted Puffer paired with the Isabel Soft Shell Bib and our new two-toned ribbed base layers!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned as a founder in the outdoor industry?
In our first four years, we intentionally didn’t hire anyone from the outdoor industry. It kept us from inheriting outdated thinking and let us build something entirely new.

My biggest takeaway: trust your instincts. Every time we’ve ignored our gut in favor of “expert advice,” it’s led us away from what makes Halfdays special. Innovation comes from trusting your vision.

For a million more founder lessons and brand building tips, Ariana’s newsletter covers it all!

over & out

hot takes, cold places, and an inside scoop on brand building— straight from my notes app to yours

By Ariana Ferwerda

And finally, I ask every interview subject on Slopeside… what’s your favorite mountain to ski?!
Telluride. I just love the vibe of the mountain. And sitting outside at Alpino Vino (pictured below!). It’s so beautiful and serene and hard to get to which makes it special!

You can explore the new collection at Halfdays.com, at their Denver store, or at select stockists – and readers can use code SLOPESIDE for 15% off online through 10/31.

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Chairlift Chatter

• Epic and Ikon pass prices are on the rise. If you’re still deciding which ski pass to get this season, the clock is ticking. Epic pass prices went up last night and Ikon pass prices go up tomorrow. Highly recommend checking out this site that compares passes and has a price calculator.

• To mark its 30th anniversary, merino wool brand Icebreaker is bringing a pond skim to… London. Real snow. Right by Tower Bridge.

• Girl Winter Film Tour is back again this season! And coming to a city near you. It’s the best way to get stoked about the ski season from a refreshing (female-forward) point of view.

• Ever wanted Bob Ross’ Northern Lights painting from Season 8, Episode 13 on a pair of skis? Bob Ross x J Skis collab is back!

• Kellyn Wilson of partnered with Skida to debut their new scarflette. It’s microfleece and has about a million different applications. More accessories like this please!

The Art of Schlepping

I consider myself to have mastered the art of schlepping. This lifestyle began in my 20s, living in NYC, where my days blurred seamlessly from the gym → the office → nighttime festivities → home – as they do in those parts.

Forgot non-workout shoes for the rest of the day? Oh well, guess I’m wearing my very unaesthetic Hokas with my cute work outfit. (Actually, shoutout to my old roommates for meeting me at the subway with a change of shoes on multiple occasions!) Forgot mascara? Oh well, I’m serving “tired 12 year old boy” today.

My most vivid memories (and nightmares) are those of hopping on the L train, schlepping cross-town to my office with no fewer than three bags at any given time (bonus points if it’s raining and you’re managing an umbrella or your AirPod falls out in a crammed subway car with your crazy lady amount of bags). Or commuting to my (now) fiancé’s place before we lived together – same story, different destination.

But the ultimate schlep? Packing for a local trip.

You know the one… you’re not flying, so you don’t have to limit yourself to a suitcase (bless), but you’re still driving a few hours, so naturally, you need all your belongings. This is when the devil on my shoulder chimes in: “bring the full-size products! bring your own blow dryer! bring the full-size steamer! three shoe changes per day bc why not! no need to try on outfits in advance, just bring the whole closet!”

The car is at capacity, but it’s fineeeeee – you’re driving!

My system is an organized chaos situation: a Patagonia Black Hole Duffel for workout clothes and layers, an LL Bean Boat and Tote for miscellaneous catch-all items (toiletries, shoes, snacks), way too many BAGGU bags for overflow, and a handful of hanging clothes I don’t want wrinkled. It all works – until I’m making three-plus trips from the car to unload (or performing a deeply embarrassing balancing act in front of a hotel bellman).

Recently, though, my friends at Yardsale may have changed the game. (Check out last year’s interview with Yardsale here!) They just launched their new Day Bag and I can confidently say: my schlepping life has been transformed.

I tested it this past weekend in Telluride and already feel like I’ve leveled up. The features are impressive and deeply satisfying, like a travel-ready bento box where everything has a home:

• Internal magnetic divider to separate things like a ski helmet, groceries, gym clothes, or anything else

• Mesh water bottle sleeve

• Protected laptop sleeve with magnetic closure

• Suitcase sleeve for easy transport

• Internal zipper pocket for valuables

• Sleeping bag–style cinch closure

• Waterproof

• Magnetic pockets (!!!)

It’s one of those rare bags that feels designed for real life. Finally, something built for the chaos of actual humans who spill coffee, overpack snacks, bring full-size products, and forget their chargers. Very excited to use this in one million ways: during ski season to transport small, loose items (helmet, goggles, mittens, buffs), using as a second personal item that fits on top of my carry-on while flying, and of course for a road trip.

In other bag news… The North Face recently dropped a collab with Danish fashion brand Cecilie Bahnsen featuring a duffel and a smaller “clutch”. It’s a really lovely blend of TNF’s rugged, water-resistant Base Camp DNA and Cecilie’s delicate design language – 3D floral appliqués and flower-shaped cord pulls. Especially in this military green colorway.

I’m also intrigued by Db’s new Utility Tote – a utilitarian hybrid that lands somewhere between a backpack and a briefcase. It’s waterproof, includes a padded laptop sleeve, and feels built for real life (commuting, travel, or both). Given the brand’s Danish roots, I’m guessing it was designed with biking to work in mind. I love the shape and silhouette.

Schlepping will always be part of my DNA but at least now we have some chic options! Have a fav schlepping bag? Drop it in the comments.

See you next week!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌

Consider this your curtain raise on Winter 25/26… what the big brands are rolling out, the trends that’ll trickle into lift lines, and some other bits + bobs.

Chairlift Chatter

• Snow is falling in the Rockies!!! It’s also peak fall foliage – these two things combined really scratch an itch in my brain.

• If you have an elite chocolate chip cookie recipe, it’s your time to shine at Beaver Creek.

• For the NYC crew, Gwyneth Goes Skiing is coming to you in a few weeks.

A Curtain Raise on Winter 25/26!

For new readers: I started Slopeside after years of being a go-to “winter friend.” Every ski season my phone lights up with the same texts: Where should I go skiing? Where should I stay? Where should I buy ski gear? Who is making new and fun styles? Growing up in Park City and Alaska, I’ve basically been training for this role my whole life.

The thing is, skiwear has gotten way more exciting lately. The space is evolving quickly and I couldn’t be happier. Some of the most interesting new brands are rethinking what skiwear can be: where form and function can finally coexist. Why not wear a super colorful set on the mountain? Who said you have to blend in? Extra points if you’re a killer skier, flying past the boys in the chicest outfit on the hill. I’m over the tired trope that good skiers dress boring and beginners wear the fun stuff. The fun stuff is for everyone!

Over the next couple of months, we’re diving into the latest skiwear as brands (both legacy and upstart) start unveiling their 25/26 collections. First up: three of the big names – Goldbergh, Bogner, and Perfect Moment.

A sneak peek into what we’re already seeing:

• animal print

• stripes – racing stripes specifically

• fuzzycore™ (shearling is still v hot)

• 80s influence

• camo on camo on camo

• ombré

• a belted silhouette

• base layers are finally fun

• contrast piping + stitching

Goldbergh

Goldbergh gave Slopeside an exclusive preview into the new collection ahead of their October 1 launch.

Let’s talk about these loud animal prints. One thing about me: I love an animal print. I always have and always will so am obviously extra excited that it’s back in trend. I’m sure we’ll see some gals rocking the matching sets but personally, I’d love to pair this snakeskin puffer with a solid (even black) pant or the print pant with a solid puffer. Same goes for the leopard print. It’s a fun and refreshing style - keep your eyes peeled for more of this.

Monochromatic looks are also making the rounds again this season (no shock there), but what’s interesting this year is the color influence and silhouette – Goldbergh’s newest collection feels straight out of the 80s. I’m very into this cobalt blue.

And… leg warmers?! I’d love to see a real-world application of this pant with a ski boot underneath (feels bulky) but I like the innovation of the pant silhouette.

And stripes. LOTS of stripes. Particularly ~racing stripes~. Call it the Formula 1 effect? We might.

Fuzzycore is here for good. The fluffier, the better. Preferably paired with a tighter pant to avoid a head-to-toe Yeti look.

I said it last winter and I’ll say it again – it’s about time for fun base layers!!! I love a print so I’m especially excited to see Goldbergh having some fun here.

Bogner

Bogner, the German legacy house, framed its new collection around the theme “Mountain Rovers”. Their take: nomadic skiers chasing not just the best snow, but also the après, the scene, the culture. “Quiet luxury with an adventurous streak” – clean monochrome on-piste; soft palettes and luxe textures off.

Where it gets more playful is Fire+Ice (Bogner’s streetwear inspired ski line). This season, the line leans hard into camo and abstract prints - a la James Bond Spectre winter camo.

I am really into this black/beige/brown print and like that it’s offered in both a down jacket and shearling mid layer.

Bogner does a first layer really well. Breathable and high-performance yet thick enough and still flattering. These things will last forever. The first colorway may be giving throwback Limited Too vibes, but pink/brown and blue/brown palettes are back in.

Outside of the ski collection, there are also some exciting winter pieces like hybrid jackets + interesting midlayer textures. Bogner is also betting on alternative puffer applications like a down trouser and puffer skirt. It’s worth noting that middle age women in Alaska have been wearing puffer skirts since I lived there in high school (17+ years ago) and they do keep your booty warm, but curious what the target demo is here.

Perfect Moment

Perfect Moment debuted their new ski collection and it looks like they’ve doubled down on the houndstooth motif they’ve been focused on for the past couple of years. They’ve also taken a big swing at off-mountain pieces, including expanding their merino wool sweater collection, knit pieces, beanies, goggles, and headbands. With the brand’s current price point, betting on lower ticket items does make sense and has echoes of the strategy other well-known brands employ (Chanel selling makeup).

They also have leaned into ombré which is fun – I’d like to see further applications of these colorways.

Belted looks are also back which may be controversial. Love a snatched look but this silhouette can be tricky, especially when in a puffed application.

Lastly, Perfect Moment continues to pioneer the charge of making base layers fun!

Stay tuned for more brand profiles, deep dives with founders/designers, and all things winter!!!

If you enjoy this letter, please share with friends! Feel free to respond here with ski-related intel, new products you’re loving, or just to say hi. Thanks for reading 💌