Snowshoeing has been around for hundreds of year. Back in the early days it was a means of transportation, getting from one place to another in deep winter snow. Today it is still a good source of travel but it has become more than that, it has grown into a winter sport. A winter sport with all the elements of a sporting event; racing, exercise, and snowboarders use them to ascend peaks for the thrill of the ride down.

One of the fastest growing demographics in snowshoeing is women, with an astounding 40.9 percent of all snowshoeing enthusiasts. It is a great way to burn calories, exercise the legs, arms, heart and lungs with a minimum risk of injury. In a typical outing a snowshoe workout can burn 45 percent more calories than walking or running at the same pace, these figures were gathered and published by Ski Industries of America.

While many Lake Tahoe skiers turn their nose up at snowshoeing, when the upper mountain ski lifts are on wind hold and cabin fever starts to set in it’s a good time to breakout the the snowshoes and some expandable poles and head for the woods.

There are different types of snowshoes on the market. The most popular category is designed for the recreational snowshoer. These snowshoes work best on flat or slightly rolling terrain, they are not recommended for steep ascent or descents. They are perfect for beginners and tend to be very affordable.

The second category of snowshoes are built for aerobic or fitness use. Runners turn to snowshoeing in the winter because it is a great way to stay in shape when snow is on the ground, making it difficult to run. This type of snowshoe is built light weight and shorter in length and not as wide as some of the others. Runners and cross-trainers will likely use their snowshoes on a packed surface enabling them to elongate their stride and run at a runner’s pace.

Last but not least, are the backcountry/hiking snowshoes. Most backcountry skiers really don’t need snowshoes to approach their skiing destination, but for snowboarder they are an absolute necessity. The snowshoes that land in this category are built tough, lightweight, longer and wider, resulting in better flotation and easier climbing.

The price range on snowshoes ranges anywhere from $100 to $300. There are also shops, just like Granite Chief Ski & Mountain Shop, that rent snowshoes.

If you are thinking about trying snowshoeing stop by our ski and snowshoe rental department and demo a pair. You can also purchase Atlas snowshoes from our online ski shop.

Lake Tahoe has many nordic ski areas and downhill ski areas that have trail for snowshoeing. Squaw Valley sets set tracks and ski skating lanes in the meadow that are great for snowshoers. Northstar has groomed areas specially designated for snowshoeing, Tahoe City Nordic, Tahoe Donner Nordic, and Royal Gorge Nordic all have trails to accommodate snowshoeing. Lake Tahoe seems to have it all, skiing and snowshoeing!

Baffin Island: A Skier’s Journey EP2 [Season 2] from Jordan Manley Photography on Vimeo.

by Herb Manning

As corporate investment companies buy up America’s ski areas core skiers are faced with a multitude of changes at their favorite ski resorts. Because I live in Squaw Valley this article is based on the ski area I call home and I used to call the workplace, though this is a trend across the country.

I started my Squaw Valley ski business 36 years ago. Like most young ski bums I wanted to find a way to make a living doing something that would enable me to spend my life in the mountains of Lake Tahoe. Granite Chief started out as tuning and repair center only open in the afternoon, (ski all day-work all night), but as the years went by my business grew into a full service Lake Tahoe ski shop, ski tuning, boot fitting, rentals & demos, and of course retail. It was a dream comes true; I was able to quit my job with the fire department and earn a good living doing what I loved.

Until recently Squaw Valley Ski Resort was privately owned by Alex Cushing. Alex always claimed he was in the up lifting business, taking people to the top of one of the finest ski mountains in the country, maybe even the world. He left the retail business side of things in the hands of locals like me and it worked pretty well for a lot of years. After Alex passed away the ski area went through many changes, but none as radical as the changes that we are now seeing and experiencing.

I try to be fair minded about the challenges the new owners of Squaw Valley are faced with. Like any business they’re in it to make money, that’s the bottom line and every business has one. We’ve already seen vast improvements, the tearing down of the old deserving buildings and the rise of new ones. The plan is more than a face lift, it is a plan to become a world class destination ski resort and it is just over the proverbial horizon. Squaw Valley is going to have the best lift service, state of the art snow making and grooming. Ski instructors are finally going to make the money they deserve and to a certain extent the skiers are going to get a state of the art ski area with all the amenities, the only thing missing will be the locally owned ski shop.

Last year after 35 years of doing business in Squaw Valley we had to face the fact that the rents, the controls on what we could retail and the fact that our new landlord was also going to be our competition was more than we were willing to sign up for. It’s true that Andy Wirth tried to find a better space for us but it was also true that they are a big, all business corporation. We have a history in Squaw and we’ve seen the bad years, those seemingly endless droughts. In the old days the valley landlords, the Poulsens and the Cushings worked with the business community so we could all pull through and hit it again the next year. You can’t expect that kind of cooperation from the modern corporate ski area.

I guess for skiers it’s a trade off, these big guys like KSL have the money to make all the needed improvements, but on the other hand little guys like Granite Chief, Blue Coyote, and most recently Squaw Valley Sports Shop are priced out. That sounds terrible I know, but what would you do if you could make more money selling skis and skiwear then you could by collecting rent? Believe me I’m not happy about it, but I get it.

I do believe that the core Squaw Valley skiers are going to miss walking into their locally owned Lake Tahoe ski shop at the base of the mountain and get the the kind of year after year personal recognition and service, but that’s the way it is. That’s the new American ski area, you’re just going to have to jump in your car and drive to your shop to see your boot fitter, your ski tuner, your favorite ski shop staff. Don’t forget your local ski shop whoever and wherever they are.

by Treas Manning

Ever notice that most ski shops carry the same brands? As a retailer you have to have them, The North Face, Arc Teryx, Marmot, Spyder, Orage, and the likes. Let’s face it; these brands are the big hitters, the high volume skiwear lines that we all have come to love and as retailers we can’t live without them. At the same time it is really refreshing to run across a small manufacturer with a niche lineup of totally different, cool looking stuff. Skiwear you won’t find on the guy next to you in the mob at the bottom of KT on a powder morning.

As a skiwear and mountaineering apparel buyer, I’m always looking for that new, independent brand. The last couple of years a company called FlyLow has caught my eye. There was something different; the color pallet, the fit, the young entrepreneurs that were busy hustling the buyers as we walked by their trade-show booth. These guys looked like they just pounded a lap down Silverado or Alta Zero. Their skiwear designs revealed their passion for skiing and hinted, I just pulled these pants and this jacket out of the back of my Toyota Forerunner and they look quite good. You’ve probably seen the type, trend setters without being trendy.

Though I liked what I saw, I felt like they still had a ways to go. My biggest concerns at that first showing were too many exposed zippers, and being a little over priced for using fabric laminate alternatives to Gore-Tex. Pricing is a typical problem for small skiwear start ups, they aren’t doing enough volume to demand lower production costs.

Putting together this winter’s buy I really felt like FlyLow was right there, able to compete side by side with the big boys. The fabrics, though not Gore-Tex, are 20/20mm waterproof breathable. It’s not that Gore-Tex is so much better than some of the new waterproof laminates, but that Gore-Tex has an intense set of design standards. In other words, your garment has to be waterproof by design before you can produce it using Gore-Tex. The guys nailed the waterproof by design issues and were able to keep their costs in line by using alternative laminates. They nailed it without trading off function and that “core skier”, I’m better that you” look.

FlyLow was established by a couple of college friends, Greg Steen and Dan Abrams. Their story was much like some of the diehard skiers that work in our back shop, “we live to ski”, doesn’t matter if we’re frontside or backcountry; Greg and Dan found they spent equal time at both. Spending a lot of time hiking, whether in the backcountry or at the resort, they found themselves wearing mountaineering gear because it is so much lighter than traditional skiwear. The problem is that mountaineering apparel, in particular jackets, tend to run narrow with a trim fit. Skiers need freedom of movement and they need to be able to layer up on the descent. It also needs to be rugged and durable. That’s when it came to them to design and build skiwear that is light enough and tough enough for the backcountry, at the same time roomy enough for skiing and of course tumbling.

As a skiwear buyer I find it gratifying to offer a new, fresh line that my core customers haven’t seen before. You know the ones, unintentional trend setters that don’t want to be trendy.

Stop by our ski shop and apparel store in Truckee or go to our online ski shop and check out FlyLow. It’s not a big line but it is definitely a line that is getting positive reviews from our core skiing customers.

Remember, ski fast and FlyLow. GraniteChief.com