Alps A

Snowbound? Be safe and aware of mother nature.

A movie where an avalanche suddenly comes out of nowhere, apparently completely outside the realm of feasible human prediction, might seem believable, but in reality avalanches occur as a result of a number of wide ranging natural and man-made factors, and with experience and luck the signs can sometimes be read in time; some of these signs can be predicted hours in advance, others may arrive all too suddenly, triggered by naive snowboarding practice or simple ignorance. Experts agree on More

Buying ski gear

There’s no doubt about it. Skiing and snowboarding, like sports such as rockclimbing or cycling, require you to fork out for quite a bit of specialized gear, clothing, and equipment. Here’s a list of some of the basic equipment you’ll need before setting out on the slopes.

Skis and ski poles. This one’s pretty self-explanatory, because you won’t get far without them. If you’re a beginner, or a casual skier, you might want to rent skis for your trip, More

Tips for the budget-conscious skier

While skiing and snowboarding can be expensive sports—after all, all that specialized gear and clothing and cabin hire can really start to add up—there’s no reason that this absolutely has to be the case. Savvy snow-lovers have a variety of options to whittle down the costs of their winter hobby.

Budget gear. Keep an eye out for budget gear by brands that produce high quality products. Some that come to mind are Lands’ End, LL Bean, and Columbia Sportswear. More