LOCALS’ MOUNTAINS-What is a “locals’ mountain”? It is a smaller ski area that does not have the infrastructure of lifts and hotel beds, nor the advertising budget to attract the large multinational clientele of a world class resort. Hence, the customer base is one of regional or local skiers, usually frequenting the mountain almost exclusively on weekends. What these areas often do have is a great mountain and powder in abundance and every bit as good as the snow in the world class ski resorts...without the hordes of customers. In recent years, resourceful ski journalists and adventurous ski bums traversed afield of their conventional hangouts to discover such locals’ areas as La Grave, France and Alagna, Italy, but for every La Grave, there are certainly scores of undiscovered gems, waiting to be uncovered. This article looks at the pros and cons of locals’ areas, and takes a look at five locals’ mountains, Mt. Bachelor, Oregon; Wolf Creek, Colorado; St. Foy, France; Montgenevre, France; and Bardonecchia, Italy.

OFF-PISTE GUIDE TO THE ALPS-This article gives a short synopsis of some of the most famous and best Alpine areas for off-piste skiing. Included here are summaries and tips about off-piste skiing in Chamonix, St. Anton and the Arlberg, Verbier, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Tignes-Val D’Isere, the Dolomites, La Grave, Alagna, and Andermatt. It also includes a side bar of facts and figures in a nutshell.

SEVEN OFF-PISTE WONDERS-This is a composite article that features short summaries of seven of the best powder paradises in the world. The areas featured here are Alta, Utah; Stuben, Austria; Wolf Creek, Colorado; Alagna, Italy; Andermatt, Switzerland; Nozawa Onsen, Japan, and Disentis, Switzerland.

SKI AND BEACH GUIDE-There are a handful of geographical locations in the world to which God has been overly generous, blessing them with a sunny seacoast, and snow capped mountains both in near enough proximity to each other to allow a person to enjoy the pleasures of each, both on the same day. This article gives special attention to the ski and non-ski possibilities of the Andalucia area in Spain, where one can ski in the Sierra Nevadas, just a short hop from the Costa del Sol. The essay also features the entertainment and beach mecca of Los Angeles, which has no less than ten ski areas just a short drive from the city center. Other sections are also devoted to Saklikent, Turkey; Faraya, Lebanon; Mt. Parnassos, Greece, Mt. Etna, Italy, and Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus.

SKIING AROUND THE WORLD-This is a compilation of my most memorable ski experiences. This story begins as in autumn as I wait impatiently for the arrival of winter. I empty a bottle of schnapps and reminisce about my favorite ski memories. This article begins with an unforgettable powder day in St. Anton. It then moves to the Southern Hemisphere, skiing the volcanos of central Chile. Next on the agenda is Asia, skiing first descents with Sylvain Saudan in the Himalayas of Kashmir. The beauty of Nordic skiing is represented twice, first skiing the spectacular Gangnesaksla, a couloir near Narvik that descends straight to the sea, and also skiing couloirs down to the fjord in Isafjördur, Iceland. The feature finishes with a funny experience in Palendöken, Turkey, in which we got lost skiing off-piste, and ended up at a house of ill repute at the end of a dead end canyon.

SKIING BEYOND THE ALPS-A GLOBAL VIEW-This is a hypothetical year round plan for skiers who wish to take advantage of the entire globe in pursuit of adventure beyond the realm of the tried and true resorts that their local charter company has been packaging for them for decades. The article features a brief summary of skiing in twelve different countries, suggesting Parnassos, Greece in January; Faraya-Mzaar, Lebanon in February; Palandöken, Turkey in March; April in Iceland; May in Narvik, Norway; June in Timberline, Oregon; July in Portillo, Chile; August in Las Lenas, Argentina; September in Treble Cone, New Zealand; October in Chacaltaya, Bolivia; November in Chimbulak, Kazakhstan; and December in the Slovak ski resort of Jasna.

THE BEST SKI RESORT IN THE WORLD-Of course, it is impossible to determine one resort as the best in the world. One must consider snow quality, the mountain, the scenery, the atmosphere, the prices, and a host of other categories. No ski resort can be number-one in all these different sectors. This article fantasizes a ski magazine with limitless resources that sends me around the world on a $100,000 retainer to find the dream resort. The fantasy continues as I create a composite resort, combining snow from Utah, mountains from Chamonix, atmosphere from Austria, and prices from Chacaltaya, Bolivia. There is also a side bar listing my top choices in all categories.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SKIING IN THE WORLD-This article has emphasis on photos from my choice of the ten most spectacular ski areas. The article includes a brief description of each area, and describes the physical features that merit its choice in my top ten. The areas include: Chamonix, the volcanoes of central Chile, Heavenly Valley in California, the Dolomites, the Chugach Mountains of Alaska, the Tien Shan mountains of Kazakhstan, the volcanoes of Oregon, northeastern Iceland, Narvik, Norway, and Stranda, Norway.

THE OUTER LIMITS OF THE SKI GALAXY-This article visits eight remote ski-areas around the world. Included here are short pieces about Las Lenas, Argentina; Chacaltaya, Bolivia; the volcano country of Chile; Gulmarg, India; Isafjördur, Iceland; Jasna, Slovakia; Gudauri, Georgia; and Palendöken, Turkey.

THE SKI JUNKIE’S GLACIER GUIDE TO YEAR AROUND SKIING-This is a special guide designed to be carried at all times by ski addicts. In case of severe withdrawal pain, during the off-season, the afflicted can refer to this handy guide to find the nearest and most appropriate glacier for his skiing pleasure. The article explains how, in recent years, the trend has been away from summer skiing on glaciers, while more people are skiing these all year round ski regions in spring, to take advantage of the touring possibilities, and in fall to jump start their season. The glacier areas have also become more important in the last ten years, because they have provided snow security during the many poor winters of the recent past. The article features Hintertux, Pitztal, and the Kitschsteinhorn, in Austria, Tignes and Chamonix in France, Alagna in Italy, Zermatt in Switzerland, Stryn in Norway, and Mt. Hood in the U.S. with honorable mentions to various other glacial areas.