Ski Canada Winter 2024

In the fall, while on a tour of the Völkl factory in Straubing, Germany, I only shut down the manufacturing line once. Accidentally. I think guide Maximilian was being polite when he explained that the invisible laser beams keep one safe from robotic arms, conveyors and spinning things. It’s not the first time my curiosity, and my camera, have landed me in trouble. But with a recent €3-million investment in robots, it was pretty obvious the lasers were protection from me, more than for me. In total, 430 employees work around the clock in three shifts. Despite the impressive automation, there is still far more hand-made production than one would think in the modern, 16,000-square-metre plant. For instance, only eight Völkl employees are allowed to handbend ski tips—and only two…

SHORT TURNS Among a crowd devoted to looking cool in all conditions, Revelstoke’s Katie Burrell has made her name doing the opposite. On her Instagram channel, @katieburrelltv, she spent six years playing for laughs, celebrating the flailer who tries to keep up with gnarcore companions. Burrell’s cringey takes from deep within mountain culture are an outlet for anyone who has ever had to be (trigger alert) the weakest skier in a group. It’s garnered her a growing and devoted audience of people who love where they live and play, identify strongly with the culture, but rarely see their own experiences reflected back at them in the movies, ads or events. Now Burrell has gone Hollywood with Weak Layers, a full-length feature film that debuted at mountain film festivals last fall.…

Ryidar’s new LinkLens Pro 2 are at the forefront of smart goggle tech. These second-gen goggles have two open speakers that deliver music and audio to listeners without covering the ears, allowing skiers to remain better aware of background noise (like fast-approaching yahoos). The goggles also include noise-cancelling microphones, single-ear mode, voice assistant activation, prolonged battery life, a UV 400 magnetic double-wall lens and glove- and mitten-friendly buttons. The result: superior music listening and crystal-clear calling while skiing. $260, ryidar.com Mergers and acquisitions in ski communities might have been Intrawest’s play in the 1990s but in 2024 Ontario that game belongs to Freed Corp. The Toronto-based developer became the largest owner-operator of hotel and resort communities in Canada in December with the $300-million acquisition of Skyline Investments’ remaining resort portfolio.…

In a move that bucks industry trends, decision-makers at B.C.’s Fernie Alpine Resort have deliberately reduced intermediate terrain. They have their reasons. A kilometre above Fernie’s base, the exposed lines and steep chutes of Polar Peak have long tempted experts—skiers started bootpacking it for bragging rights in the 1970s. In 2012, Fernie built a chair to the top. According to accepted wisdom, there had to be an easy way down. So the resort worked against Mother Nature by trying to maintain a switchback cat track down from the peak. But that happened to be the area with the highest danger of avalanches, meaning it wasn’t safe to open the cat track much of the time. With the established “easy way down” closed, resort operations decided no one could be allowed…

Back by popular demand: gonzo musical Gwyneth Goes Skiing, a highly British send-up of Gwyneth Paltrow’s viral ski court battle against optometrist Terry Sanderson in 2023. Transforming the U.K. stage into Deer Valley, Utah, the fringe farce by queer theatre group Awkward Productions was extended at London’s Pleasance Theatre this winter after Rolling Stone and The New York Times caught wind and came through with rave reviews. Audiences got in on the joke. The production billed itself as “a story of love, betrayal and skiing—where you are the jury.” Pleasance.co.uk…

SHORT TURNS Nick Jones had 14 years of experience skiing the continent’s biggest resort when he joined a Facebook page for Whistler-Blackcomb skiers last autumn. Ever the helpful type, Jones found himself answering a lot of repeat questions. Apparently there was a hunger for certain types of information. One year, 50 maps, 70 photos and 270 pages later, Nick’s Ski Resort Guidebook for Whistler-Blackcomb is on shelves. The book borrows screenshots from Fatmaps, which allows for in-depth treatments of more than 200 runs in 19 areas defined and deciphered by Jones. A 2-D trailmap has little hope of fully representing 3,300 hectares of skiable terrain spread over the two mountains. Jones accepts the challenge. Skiers curious about the layout of Harmony Bowl, for instance, can delve into the 16 pages…