Now that it’s post-Labor Day, you can’t shake a stick without seeing a forecast for the coming ski season. NOAA, Farmer’s Almanac, The Weather Channel, Accuweather…these are only a few; there are tons of predictions around.  And though all of us would love to know exactly what the coming winter will bring, I’m filled with questions. How accurate are these forecasts? What can I expect in the season ahead? And more importantly, WILL IT SNOW? The post A chat with Joel Gratz, OpenSnow founder and chief meteorologist appeared first on The Ski Diva.

As you can imagine, I get a lot of emails from people asking me all sorts of questions. So chalk it up to laziness, chalk it up to efficiency, I thought I’d handle all my replies here in one shot. Here we go — answers to the most common questions that crop up in my… The post You have questions, I have answers. appeared first on The Ski Diva.

Before Donna Weinbrecht won the first gold medal in freestyle skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics, there was Hilary Engisch-Klein. (You can read my 2012 interview with Donna here.) Hilary is being inducted into the US Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame this year for good reason: she completely dominated the World Cup mogul series… The post A chat with Hilary Engisch-Klein, 2018 inductee to the US Ski Hall of Fame appeared first on The Ski Diva.

Sometimes you run across someone whose accomplishments are so extraordinary that it’s hard to believe one person could’ve done them all. Yet with Christy Mahon, I’ve found exactly that. Christy exhibits a combination of fearlessness, athleticism, and tenacity that’s hard to match. In 2010, she became the first woman to ski all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot… The post A chat with Christy Mahon, record-breaking ski mountaineer. appeared first on The Ski Diva.

For many of us, skiing is a head game. Get past the fear, and suddenly things become a lot easier. So who better to talk to about this than Mermer Blakeslee, the ski industry’s recognized fear expert and author of In the Yikes! Zone: A Conversation With Fear . The post A chat about fear with fear expert Mermer Blakeslee. appeared first on The Ski Diva.

How many countries have you skied in? One? Two? Maybe, just maybe three or four? What would you say if I told you I’ve come across someone who’s skied in fifteen countries in just one year? Incredible, right? But that’s just what 27-year old Laura Davies did. In August, 2016, Laura did what most of us only dream about: she left a corporate job in Denver, Colorado, and embarked on what anyone would call the ski trip of a lifetime. The post A chat with Laura Davies, or how to ski 15 countries in one year appeared first on The Ski Diva.

There’s nothing unusual about female ski instructors. And women in resort human resources, marketing, communications, and sales? Common as dirt. But women general managers are a somewhat rarer breed. According to statistics from the National Ski Areas Association [NSAA], there are only about 20 to 30 nationwide. It’s more or less a boys’ club. All this is about to change. The post A chat with Kelly Pawlak, new president of the National Ski Areas Association appeared first on The Ski Diva.

We all know that food can make a huge difference in the way you feel. Eat crap and you feel like, well, crap. So it stands to reason that this would carry over to skiing. We may own the best gear and hit the hottest slopes, but if we haven’t fueled up the right way before, during, and after skiing, we won’t be able to ski to our full potential. It’s as simple as that. The post Nutrition Tips for Skiers: Eat Smart, Ski More appeared first on The Ski Diva.

When Montana Tourism contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in talking to Montana born-and-raised Rachel Pohl, a 24 year old skier and artist who resides in Bozeman, I said of course. Rachel is a ripping skier who finds inspiration in the Montana backcountry. The post A Chat with Rachel Pohl, where Skiing and Art Intersect appeared first on The Ski Diva.

Whenever you drive around ski country, no matter what the state, you can’t help but encounter a defunct ski area or two. This is no surprise. Since the 1980’s, roughly 33% of ski areas in the US have gone out of business, and few have any hope of ever coming back. Sad, I know. Many of these were smaller, more affordable places that were great for families and beginners. They also provided something larger resorts generally lack: a measure of character and community involvement that goes to the heart of what skiing is all about. The post How a Community Saved a Small Ski Area: Mount Ascutney, Vermont appeared first on…