Stio: An Inside Look at a Gear Startup
Stephen Sullivan — or “Sulli” to his friends — simply loves creating stuff. For instance, he spent a whole summer constructing his kids’ tree house. In the outdoor gear business, the Colorado native devoted 13 years to creating the Cloudveil line. Started in 1997 with business partner and ski buddy Brian Cousins, Sullivan’s first foray into… Read the rest of the post!
Air travel is disorienting. This is why, given the chance like the one that the Mountain Collective pass offers, I’ll drive anywhere. After our last day at Alta, Sesko dropped me off at SLC International Airport, and as he drove into the salt flats of western Utah, I slung my boots over my shoulder and… Read the rest of the post!
This past Winter, many of you lived out your dreams of skiing and riding at four legendary resorts on one badass pass with The Mountain Collective: Alta, Aspen/Snowmass, Jackson Hole and Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows. You might’ve skied the Baldy Chutes at Alta. Or maybe you’ve explored Burnt Mountain for the first time at Aspen/Snowmass. Perhaps… Read the rest of the post!
The Mountain Collective Chronicles, Chapter 7: The Road to Zion
If you ski and hike all day in subzero temperatures and skin-shattering winds, and if you manage to make it back to a warm lodge and a cold beer, it’s hard to feel anything but delusional joy. This alchemy of endorphins and emotions is what makes apres-ski, and at Jackson Hole, they take this leisure… Read the rest of the post!
Jackson Hole humbles you. Before you even get on the snow, before you reach the top of Rendezvous Peak and are carried out of the tram by a surging mob of helmeted speed freaks, you realize that this mountain is not like other mountains. In the early morning in Teton Village, the windows shook in… Read the rest of the post!
It was dark and late and a glass of whiskey was waiting for us somewhere in Jackson, Wyoming. There was no moonlight, and as we drove the side-streets on the south side of town, I could barely make out the white trails of Snow King. I knew the local ski hill was up there somewhere,… Read the rest of the post!
The Mountain Collective Chronicles, Chapter 4: The Lonely Road
Driving 507 miles in a single day is not, in the broader context of human history, a great endeavor. But when you’re in the middle of moving your life across North America in the back of a Subaru, driving 507 miles in the wrong direction is a serious detour. As Sesko and I headed… Read the rest of the post!
The Mountain Collective Chronicles, Chapter 2: Searching for Aspen
The first thing I saw was the wok. Granted, there is nothing quite like walking off a plane in a distant city and meeting an old friend at the curbside. Brother Sesko looked happy behind the wheel of his Subaru, like only a man driving free into the mountains can. His 188 Line Prophets with… Read the rest of the post!
The Mountain Collective Chronicles, Chapter 1: The Call
Editor’s Note: Liftopia travel bloggers Michael Ames and Michael Sesko have just embarked on the road trip of a lifetime. In a mere two weeks, they’ll be hitting up all four Mountain Collective resorts: Aspen/Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Alta and Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows. They’ll be documenting their journey right here on the Liftopia blog in a… Read the rest of the post!
Introducing the Best in the West Tour
Have you ever dreamed of skiing and riding some of the most renowned and sought after ski areas in the Western United States? If so, you’re not the only one. Matt Gibson, one of the newest members of the Liftopia blog team and writer behind About.com‘s snowboarding guide, and photographer Emilie Warden are making their ski… Read the rest of the post!
