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Will It Be a Big Year?(p. 44)

Record amounts of snow fell last season both east and west. Which is why every skier we know is rehashing glory days like a fat quarterback at his 10-year high school reunion. So will it be big again? Skiing Magazine asked a number of meteorologists, astrologers, and barbers from around the country for their predictions. >>>Read Now

Three License Plates We’d Like to See (p. 46)

This year, Utah replaced its classic “Ski Utah” license plate with the newer, more extreme “Life Elevated” tags. We’re fine with the change. The new plates still boast of the “Greatest Snow on Earth” – Utah’s tagline for years – but it got us thinking: Why don’t other Western states have their own ski-specific plates? Here are three deserving candidates. >>>Read Now

The Crime: Putting Bubbly On a Pedestal (p. 47)

New Year's is coming up. Whistler Blackcomb's Director of Bars, Mike Varrin, describes the best way to celebrate with champagne. >>>Read Now

Ode to the Streetlight (p. 48)

Not all weather gauges have fancy meteorological names. >>>Read Now

Dropping the Gloves: Is Ski Racing Irrelevant? (p. 50)

A Lycra fan and a big-mountain snob go head-to-head. >>>Read Now

Untracked Line: The Fjords of Norway (p. 58)

Travel to a land with 220 peaks, snow-covered from sea to summit, for six days of guided skiing. >>>Read Now

Get Schooled: Survive a Nasty Traverse (p. 64)

Absorb bumps with your knees and don’t stop. Skier Rachael Burks shows you how. >>>Read Now

Get Schooled: Slay a Pillow Line (p. 66)

Check your speed or you’ll go face-first. Freeskier Ian McIntosh shows you how. >>>Read Now

Best Gear of the Year (p. 69)

Here are 51 of our favorite things – skis, boots, an alarm clock, a helmet, beer, and other stuff we use and swear by. Some of it’s new this season; some of it has been around for awhile. All of it is awesome.

>>>Part 1

>>>Part 2

The Year’s Best Shots (p. 90)

Ski photography is changing. Images are moodier, with more focal tweaks, more color variability, and more lighting artistry. The vast majority of photographers shoot digitally now. And the level of creativity has soared. Blame it on software like Photoshop, which has enabled photographers to communicate strange nuances and unusual light. It’s not all about bluebird skies anymore. Many in the old school say these shots have become “digital art.” We disagree. Don’t get us wrong – we still enjoy a bluebird day shot on slide film. But the freedom photographers have discovered through postproduction work lets them capture the heart of the moment – the turns, the mountains, and the bigger picture – unlike ever before. This image gallery features our picks for the best photos of the year. >>>Read Now

Punked (p. 106)

The pranks have involved explosives, goats, mannequins, doughnuts, and nudity. Each year on April Fools’ Day, the Snowbird and Alta patrollers punk each other, sometimes spawning real panic and organized rescue. Is this the year they get busted? >>>Read Now

Running from Babylon (p. 116)

You may not have heard of one of the world’s best ski mountaineers. But Ptor Spricenieks, armed with a new sponsor and personal ambition, couldn’t care less. Inside his strange and crucial journey. >>>Read Now

Dropping In: Livestock Stampedes (p. 144)

Rope drops bring out the competitive bastards in all of us. >>>Read Now