Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • In This Issue
  • Ontario

Tapping our Nearcountry: ML Blue Mountains Winter Issue Out Now

  • January 10, 2022
  • Ned Morgan
Total
1
Shares
1
0
0
0
0
0
Total
1
Shares
Share 1
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

In the winter ’22 issue of ML Blue Mountains, we tap our nearcountry. Heading into our third winter in the pandemic’s shadow, close-to-home adventures are now de rigueur. And practice makes perfect.

Surf-Beach-Georgian-Bay-Ontario-Colin-Field-photo
Aaron Philips, Georgian Bay. Photo: Colin Field

In this issue, we look back at a dicey ice rescue on Georgian Bay, immortalize local landscapes with Cameron Lawrence, learn how to better manage anxiety, and hold a mirror to nature. We also go winter-camping during lockdown, share tips on winter’s finest gear, explain why some of us are bad Canadians, and more.

MLBMWinter22Cover
Cover photo: Taylor Rowlands at Blue. Colin Field


Winter Neditorial: Skiing with Purpose

A few years ago I acquired a pair of odd skis—very short and wide, sometimes called “ski shoes.” Their manufacturer traces a lineage to the Altai mountains, where China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge. This is the ancient homeland of Altaic peoples who were probably the world’s first skiers. Chinese archaeologists have dated cave paintings in northern Xinjiang province depicting hunters on skis at roughly 10,000 years old.

Based on a traditional design among many still in use in the Altai region (some short, some long, but all equipped with horsehair skins for grip and universal bindings so you can strap in your regular winter boots), your heel is free but the binding keeps it secure when turning telemark-style on the downslope.

These skis are not meant for speed. (The skins slow your descent a little, allowing you to maintain more control.) But what you lose in speed you gain in diversity of application, because you can explore places otherwise difficult or impossible to access on XC or touring skis. And they hold a major advantage over snowshoes, as you can float atop the snowpack and go downhill as easily as up. 

They’re not for everybody. They’re too wide for a groomed trail. And don’t bring them to a resort. You won’t even make it across the piste to drop into the backside glades without bobbing and weaving like the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, because these skis have zero camber. They’re made for deep snow only. 

Altai mountains china young skiers Jordan Manley photo
Young skiers in Hemu (also known as Khom), a village in the Altai mountains, northern Xinjiang, China. “For me, this photograph and time spent with those kids was about the very question of hope and whether or not traditional skiing would perpetuate in Hemu in a modern world, a modern China,” says photographer Jordan Manley. “Since our 2016 visit, the reports I’ve gotten back from Hemu have been very troubling regarding China’s treatment of the Kazak, Tuvan, and Mongol community there (coinciding with all the news about the Uyghur genocide). Hopefully traditional skiing there survives in spite of it all.” photo: jordan manley

While the resort shutdown took up more than half of last winter in Ontario, these skis proved their worth. Their heritage as ancient tools of transportation—designed to propel you through every permutation of a snowbound landscape—shone anew when COVID crowds hungry for accessible terrain forced us deeper into areas previously deemed unskiable.

Out in the back corner of a nature reserve where I was unlikely to see any other people, the troubles at large in the world seemed suddenly small. When the leafless maple and beech trees creaked in the wind and spindrift snow formed a brilliant haze against the sun, I felt that maybe humanity wasn’t doomed, in spite of numerous signs to the contrary. At least we haven’t wrecked this sizeable hunk of biosphere yet, I said to myself. The shared desire that led people to set aside this nature reserve in perpetuity instead of slicing it up for short-term profit is itself encouraging. As long as that desire isn’t snuffed out, there’s hope for us as a species.

MLBMWinter22

I kept skiing, gliding through cedar groves, over submerged logs and escarpment whalebacks. I sped into a gulley then back up the other side, kicking toward the lip as I lost momentum. Perhaps hatred, greed and ignorance are slowly ebbing away, I thought as I flew over a frozen creek, making way for a reintegration of humanity and nature—battered, ragged but strengthened by past struggles.

On that day the snowbound forest manifested bliss and redemption. More than that, it felt like a compassionate entity unto itself, one capable of swallowing up humanity’s failure and misery, transforming the lot into hope and resilience.

That’s where my skis led me last winter. I’ll look for more of the same this winter. At worst, if The Walking Dead comes true and the next pandemic reduces most of us to zombies, I have the ideal workhorse sticks for long, secretive backcountry missions. My apocalypse-ready skis may not be fast, but hopefully the zombies aren’t, either. 

–Ned Morgan, Editor

Check out the online issue here. For Ontario print-issue pickup locations, check with our local advertisers. High-traffic pickup locations include Blue Mountain Resort and Blue Mountain Village, The Collingwood Brewery, Collingwood Loblaws, Hardwood Ski & Bike, Minds Alive Collingwood, Kamikaze Bikes, The Cheese Gallery, Market on Marsh, Scandinave Spa, Skiis & Biikes Collingwood, Sporting Life Collingwood and Thornbury Foodland.

Podcast Launch: Live it Up with Mountain Life
Total
1
Shares
Share 1
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Blue Mountains
  • ML Blue Mountains
  • Mountain Life Ontario
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • winter Ontario
  • winter sports
Ned Morgan

Previous Article
Axed-Blue-Mountain-Village-Rothmedia_12022021_Web-1112
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Ontario
  • Stay & Play

Axed in the Village

  • January 9, 2022
  • Mountain Life Media
View Post
Next Article
Chad-Sayers-BW-MATTIAS-FREDRIKSSON
  • Ambassadors
  • Skiing
  • Trips & Expeditions

Exposure: Chad Sayers Talks Life on Two Planks

  • January 11, 2022
  • Mountain Life Media
View Post
You May Also Like
Ryan-Osman-ontario-splitboarding
View Post
  • Ontario
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

Off-Piste ON

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 6, 2023
Skiis-and-Biikes
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Ontario
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

Skiis & Biikes Looks to the Future

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 6, 2023
Mountain-Life-Blue-Mountains-stack-winter-2023
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • Ontario
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Trips & Expeditions

ML Blue Mountains Winter-Spring ’23 Issue Out Now

  • Ned Morgan
  • January 6, 2023
Mountain-Life-Blue-Mountains-Ontario-collage-photos
View Post
  • Ontario
  • Photography

Gallery: Fall and Winter in Ontario

  • Mountain Life Media
  • November 14, 2022
Colin-Field_weekender-ride-fall-colours-Ontario-crop
View Post
  • Mountain Biking
  • Ontario

The Weekender Ride

  • Mountain Life Media
  • November 10, 2022
Heli-Ride-Mark-Gallup
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • In This Issue
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Photography
  • Trips & Expeditions

ML Coast Mountains Fall/Winter 2022-23 Out Now

  • Mountain Life Media
  • November 4, 2022
Greenman-Acres-Cannabis-farm-Colin-Field-drone
View Post
  • Food & Drink
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Ontario

Green Tsunami: Behind the Scenes at an Organic Cannabis Farm

  • Mountain Life Media
  • November 3, 2022
Action-Takers-Mountain-Life-Ontario
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • Ontario
  • Paddling
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

The Action-Takers

  • Mountain Life Media
  • October 20, 2022
Featured Posts
  • 1
    End of an Era: Another Double Chair Bites the Dust
    • March 28, 2023
  • Skiing at Hudson Bay Mountain in Smithers 2
    Where Eagles Dare
    • March 27, 2023
  • Mountain-Life-20th-showreel 3
    20 Years of ML
    • March 24, 2023
  • Mustang-Survival-WOMENS-HELIX-CCS 4
    Gear Shed: Our End-of-Winter Picks
    • March 23, 2023
  • natural-selection-Redbull 5
    Friday Flick: Natural Selection Tour Highlights
    • March 17, 2023
RECENT POSTS
  • Powder-Highway-BC-ski
    Powder Highway Revisited
    • March 21, 2023
  • AleTrailsSouthernInterior_Vernon_MikeGamble_LookoutTrail_BenHaggarPhoto
    Ale Trails: Southern Interior Part 1, Vernon + Shuswap
    • March 20, 2023
  • Elements-Outfitters-Filson-cabin
    Elements Outfitters Partners with SALTS to Protect Alberta’s Incredible Landscapes
    • March 16, 2023
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
No one called me Feet Banks back in 1987. In those days, most people called me by my given name—except for my ski buddies, to whom I was known by the most badass moniker to ever schuss the slopes: Twinkle Toes.
We’re celebrating 20 Years of Mountain Life!
From The Gear Shed: Last Monday was the official start of spring, but we know there’s still some winter to be shredded. So ML staff and partners have picked the latest jackets, lanterns, bindings, mugs and drysuits for winter-spring.
Exploring the sights around beautiful Sutton, Quebec with ML creator @adv_bird ❄️🫶
Back on the road with three generations, dancing lifties, best-on-planet pizza and elusive-but-exquisite pow days.
Live It Up EP 24 is out now!
The Southern Interior region of BC holds an ecological cross-section of the province with alpine meadows, arid Douglas fir grasslands, damp cedar and hemlock forests of the Columbia Mountains and the warm expanse of Shuswap Lake.
Do Not Disturb mode activated ✅ #mountainlifer
Conceived by superhuman snowboarder @travisrice, the @naturalselection Tour highlights earth’s premier riders, from big-mountain mavens to Olympians, all competing on the most stoketastic—and unpredictable—terrain known to humankind.
Built upon a shared desire to enjoy, respect, and advocate for Alberta’s incredible landscapes, it was a natural fit for @elementsoutfitters to work with a local conservation organization @saltslandtrust to highlight the province’s rugged beauty and outdoor apparel to match.
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

No one called me Feet Banks back in 1987. In those days, most people called me by my given name—except for my ski buddies, to whom I was known by the most badass moniker to ever schuss the slopes: Twinkle Toes.
We’re celebrating 20 Years of Mountain Life!
From The Gear Shed: Last Monday was the official start of spring, but we know there’s still some winter to be shredded. So ML staff and partners have picked the latest jackets, lanterns, bindings, mugs and drysuits for winter-spring.
Exploring the sights around beautiful Sutton, Quebec with ML creator @adv_bird ❄️🫶
Back on the road with three generations, dancing lifties, best-on-planet pizza and elusive-but-exquisite pow days.
Live It Up EP 24 is out now!
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.