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It’s mid-February in the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl and one of the only families in town is patiently waiting for their turn to board the gondola. If you didn’t see the cameras and lights, you might not notice that two members of the family are Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, casually blending into the line of skiers, which is composed of both hired extras and actual vacationers.

They preach the gospel of NASTAR.

Since before Sundance Mountain Resort was established in 1969, back when the ski area was known as Timp Haven Ski Resort, Jerry Hill has been maintaining the slopes of Mount Timpanogos.

While lurking past closing hours in the mountain resort parking lot has always been the domain of the dirtbag, more ski areas are bringing the practice of overnight stays out of the shadows—and some are downright embracing the car-bound camp movement. This focus on ski resort winter camping, which accommodates visitors of lesser means—as well as nomadic adventurers—is a refreshing step back from the luxury demographic. that the ski industry habitually targets.

With about a foot of snow expected in some parts of Vermont heading into the weekend, ski resorts and lodges are gearing up for some prime riding conditions. 

In 2017, one of Eric Peitzsch’s close friends died in an avalanche while skiing in Glacier National Park. His friend was 36 years old and an experienced backcountry skier.

More than a half-dozen world-class ski resorts are less than 100 miles west of Denver. The trouble is that they're also some of the most popular — and there's really only one road to get to them: the dreaded Interstate 70.

Boston investment firm Arctaris Impact Fund completed a reported $6.5 million acquisition of Saddleback Mountain ski area from the Berry family on Friday afternoon.

On a recent morning, a line of cars stretched from the Crystal Mountain Resort parking lots, down the Mount Rainier foothills, and all the way to the town of Auburn, 57 miles away. Welcome to a weekend powder day at Washington’s biggest ski area.

The country’s first human-powered ski area opens next month near Kremmling.

Japan’s ski resorts are suffering through one of the worst snow seasons on record, disappointing locals and foreign tourists and jeopardizing the country’s budding reputation as an international ski destination.

On the northern island of Hokkaido, where resorts like Niseko are known for reliable, fresh powder, the snow failed to fall in December and remains scant in the new year. In Sapporo, ski competitions have been canceled and the city is trucking in snow for its annual snow festival. December’s snowfall there was the lowest since the Japan Meteorological Agency began keeping records in 1961.

At resorts farther south, conditions are worse. In Nagano, site of the 1998 Winter Olympics, skiers dodge wide patches of grass on the slopes. In Zao, where Japanese kids usually squeal over ‘snow monsters’ created by sticky downfalls that cover trees, there are few to be found. Niigata, setting for the classic novel “Snow Country,’’ has had a quarter of its usual accumulation.

In the snowiest area of Minnesota, on the slopes of the Sawtooth Hills that rise above Lake Superior, a small group of skiers make waves in otherwise untrammeled drifts.

They call themselves Superior Highland Backcountry and they are having a blast doing something most Minnesotans have never heard of.

The idea is to hike or ski uphill in wild areas — or up mountains if you have them — and then ski back down, on specialized equipment that can grip on the way uphill and glide on the way down. You ski between trees, around rocks, over humps and bumps usually through powdery, unpacked snow. The sport is huge in western mountain states, growing in Vermont and the east and in its infancy on the hills of Minnesota's Arrowhead region between Finland and Lutsen.

Winter brings renewed wonder when locals and visitors alike take to the trails at Glenwood Springs’ own Sunlight Mountain ski resort.

Nearly 200 miles south of Denver, near the New Mexico border in a picturesque valley on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo range, a long-shuttered ski area is showing hopeful signs of life.

A “never-ever” before skier, 17-year-old Cherish Jenkins, went gliding down the ski and snowboard learning area at the National Winter Activity Center, natural as could be.

Snow bikes have been offered at ski resorts out West for 20 years but have just reached Maine. The winter bikes are for rent at Sugarloaf and Sunday River.

An hour's drive from Bozeman, Big Sky Ski Resort is one of the largest in North America, but there's plenty to do around here for non-skiers too and the majestic mountain scenery will take your breath away.

A self-induced challenge to climb then ski down all 110 of Vermont's major mountains led Spencer Crispe to places he describes as some of "the best-kept secrets" — and where he was able to do some of most enjoyable skiing of his life.

"Vermont is just so beautiful," he said. "It just reaffirmed, in my opinion, how beautiful the state is and how suited a lot of the terrain is for backcountry skiing and whatnot."

Crispe, a local attorney and West Brattleboro resident who is a ninth-generation Vermonter, finished the challenge Jan. 5 at Middle Jay after four winters of skiing. He had already skied a bunch of the mountains and climbed all 110 during non-winter months.

"I was like, maybe I could climb them in winter, which would be a cool challenge, and ski

 Read the full story at BrattleboroReformer.com

The U.S. ski resort industry started with a bunch of mustachioed dudes focused on uphill transportation. 

To visit America's newest ski resort, follow the Jersey Turnpike, exit at MetLife Stadium and Meadowlands Racetrack, and head next door to American Dream.

Which, of course, is a mall.