The snow guns are blowing overtime at Loveland and A-basin and a new ski and snowboard season is almost upon us. Are you ready? We have picked out the gear that we plan on bringing up to the hill this winter to up our game and keep us cozy while we chase those powder dreams.
TWO SNOWBOARDS
1. Weston Riva
Founded in the funky town of Minturn with Vail as its testing grounds, this Colorado snowboard brand set out to make a women-specific ride with all the guts and pop of its mens’ models. The Riva does just that: The stiff directional board can hold a heelside on the steeps but still levitates in the pow, making it the ideal choice for women who want to ackle all that Colorado’s big mountains can toss at them. $548; westonsnowboards.com
2. Burton Skeleton Key
This men’s stick also melds camber and edge-hold abilty for a ride that can take on all the variety of big Colorado resorts—a bonafide quiver-of-one. $500; burton.com
FOUR SKIS
3. Völkl M5 Mantra
We traveled all the way to Solden, Austria last fall to hop on the latest iteration of the German brand’s steadfast freeride ripper. We were not disappointed. A wood core and two layers of titanal make the ski supple yet able to engage at will. It’s an ideal weapon for day-to-day missions up in Summit County. $699; voelkl.com
4. DPS Alchemist Uschi 87
The women’s vesrion of DPS’ frontside charger proves stiff and agile at speed but also has enough rocker and play to it that its fun in soft stiff. Obvioulsy, it excels seeking out stashes in tricky terrain. $1,300; dpsskis.com
5. Black Crows Orb
We are big fans of this Chamonix-based brand who buiilds skis for unabashed big lines. But at 91mm underfoot, the trusty Orb rails on the piste thanks to two long, thin sheets of titanal that give these sticks some serious power. $660; black-crows.com
6. Head Kore 99
Head’s all-around-the-mountain slayer drives smooh and confident no matter the conditions. A lightweight Karuba wood core gives the ski lots of pop and you won’t mind tossing it over your shoulder for short boo-tpack missions—or mount it as an AT ski and it can work as both resort ski and the occassional tour horse. $699; head.com
THREE BOOTS
7. Salomon QST Access 90
This no-nonsense boot won’t smash you toes but it still can summon the power to drive big skis with precision or rail into groomer turns. It’s an especially nice option for bros with bigger dogs. $350; salomon.com
8. Dynafit Hoji Pro Tour
Meet the ultimate touring machine. Dynafit’s much heralded boot represents five years of work, research and testing by skier Eric “Hoji” Hjorleifson and Low Tech inventor Fritz Barthel. The result is a boot lock system that works with a single shell rather than two pieces. It battens down like an alpine boot for descents but provides surprising, comfortable flex on the ups. $800; dynafit.com
9. Burton Photon Step On Bundle
Burton’s boot-to-binding system is all about ease and comfort. Ideal for riders who don’t want to futz with bindings, it still offers up plenty of stabilty when you step into the plate and head downhill. $400; burton.com
THREE JACKETS
10. Arc’teryx Women’s Sentinel LT
This full three-layer Gore-Tex shell sports just enough style that it can pull double duty with after-ski cocktals and shopping. Inside, the Gore C-Knit backer fabric feels soft enough that you forget it can withstand full punishment on the lifts or skiing through a blowing storm. $649; arcteryx.com
11. Helly Hansen Alpha Shell Jacket
The simple but effective shell is always a welcome layer up at the resort. This waerproof/breathable piece won’t overheat you while keeping out the worst of the elements. $475; hellyhansen.com
12. Flylow Ronan
Built with ultra-light 20D Stretch Taffeta and 80 grams of Polartec Power Fill, this comfy midlayer is the jacket you will also end up wearing all the time when you are not up on the hill. It’s windproof and water-resistant and features a big front pocket. Put all that together, and you have the perfect mountain companion, super-casual yet able to punch its weight when the weather get rough. $255; flylowgear com
TWO BIBS
13. Flylow Sphinx bIB
Flylow’s female designers undrstand exactly what women want. Providing plenty fo protection up the chest and back, this wateproof/breathable bib is insulated enough to keep out the chill of a long winter day on the mountain, without overheating or making you look ridiculously puffed out. $50; flylowgear.com
14. Outdoor Research Hemispheres
Bibs can be sexy. At least that’s how we feel about these technical coveralls built from GoreFabric with Stretch Technology. Translation: This fabric offers roughly four times the stretch of other waterproof pants. We could get into the science behind that claim, but let’s just skip to the chase: They provide all th bundling of bibs but can withstand instense athletic movement. $599; outdoorrseearch.com
ONE HELMET
15. Sweet Protection Switcher
Norwegian brand Sweet Protection focuses on high-tech innovation. Case in point, The Switcher features a whopping 22 one-hand adjustable vents, so you can adjust your head temperature to that perfct mellow. When it comes to protcting that noggin, the Advanced Hybrid construction combines in-mold and hard-shell technologies to cut down the weight and a MIPS system helps prevent concussion should you crash. $220; sweetprotection.com
ONE PAIR OF GOGGLES
16. Zeal Hatchet
No goggle we tested gave us as much full, wide open vision as Zeal’s optically tapered cylindrical lens. But it does not stop there. The brand’s new vertical Rail Lock System lets you slide those lenses up to swap them out (rather than mess with popping them out). You can even vent them halfway when you are on a hot and sweaty boot pack. $159; zealoptics.com
ONE PAIR OF GLOVES
17. Ortovox Swisswool Freeride Gloves
Made with incredibly soft merino wool inside, these gloves not only keep your digits toasty, they also allow for better dexterity, so you don’t have to take them off to make adjustments on the mountain. $140; ortovox.com
ONE SET OF SKINS
18. Pomoca Climb Pro S-Glide
Skins ate the resort? You ahd better believe it. Toss them in your pack for th chance to access stashes inbounds or out the gates. You can cout on these babies staying nice and sticky long enough for an extended hut trip—but they also feature a glide treatment that keeps them from slogging up when you are sliding forward. That all adds up to less time messing about on the skin track and more time beating your friends to the freshies. $200; pomoca.com
TWO BAGS
19. Sport Tube 60L Toaster Elite
Let us introduce you to our new best buddy. We never thought much about a luxury like a heated boot bag—until we tried one. First, let’s point out that this big cube can swallow up a lot of gear, so that we simply keep it stocked and ready to go in the ealry hours. But the real kicker comes when we plug it in, and those boots, gloves, mid-layers and other essential gear is nice and toasty warm on a frigid morning. $250; sportube.com
20. Osprey Transporter Wheeled Duffel 120
Headed on a big trip? Here’s the roller bag you will want to use to haul all of your stuff to powder heavens lik Targhee Jackson, or even Japan. This bag can take some serious abuse: The oversized wheeld will roll over anything from cobbles to dirt and the TPU-coated nylon ensures everytng inside stays dry. Add in excellent oragnization inside and you have the perfect bag for big adventures. $290; osprey.com
TWO VICES
21. Willie’s Reserve Vape Cartridge
Why pack when someone will do it for you? These vape cartridges contain pure CO2 cannabis distillate with cannabis derived terpenes. Plus, the brand makes an art of cannabis—after all it’s a company founded from the vision of good old cannabis-loving Willie Nlson himself. williesreserve.com
22. Upslope Blood Orange Saison
Finally, when it’s time to sit back and tell stories about that big day on the hill, we like to support our friendd at Uplsope brwing Not only do they live a lifestyle based on outdoor adventure as well as a love of brewing fine suds, they alos began this journey with us, founded almost 10 years ago here in Boulder, Colorado, at the same time as Elevation Outdoors magazine. The seasonal Blood Orange Siason adds some tropical warmth to our winter sipping routine. upslopebrewing.com
