Plake says he’s “luckiest person in the world” after surviving terrifying avalanche in Nepal that killed his climbing partners

Glen Plake is no stranger to risk; he’s spent a lifetime on the edge as a backcountry skier who has toured the world’s most remote and challenging terrain.

But even Plake was stunned by the terrifying turn of events that occurred at his encampment 20,000 feet up Mount Manaslu in the Himalayas of northern Nepal, where he and his skiing partners were attempting to become the first team to climb and then ski the world’s eighth highest peak without oxygen.

Before they could make the attempt, an avalanche tore through the camp at 22,960 feet early Sunday (Sept. 23), sending Plake tumbling more than 800 feet down the mountain still entangled in his sleeping bag. Although Plake survived, 8 have died and 3 remain missing, including his two climbing partners. Read the first day story.

Since then, Plake has climbed down and shared his experience with the Associated Press and spoken with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.  Watch the video.

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Tim Ryan, the “voice” of skiing, has retired

Tim Ryan, who’s been announcing World Cup ski races since 1978, has decided to hang it up.

The Canadian-born announcer has covered racing at three Olympic Games. Learn more in this story from SkiRacing.com.

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Athletes, fans turn to Facebook to plead for return of skicross and boardercross at Winter X Games

X Games athletes and fans are coming together on social media in an effort to bring skiercross and boardercross events back to the 2013 Winter X Games in Aspen.

Much of the effort is focused on the Facebook page,  “Bring Back the X Course to Winter X Games,” created by Olympic skiercross racer Chris Del Bosco, his sister Heather Centurioni and six-time X Games boardercross gold medalist Nate Holland. Read more in the Aspen Daily News.

Skier X and Snowboarder X were dropped as events for the upcoming Winter X Games back in August, even though the event has ALWAYS been a part of the X Games AND it’s an Olympic sport. Past medalists, such as Aspen’s Casey Puckett, were understandably disappointed. Here’s what Casey had to say to the Aspen Daily News.

Read the story to learn more. And happily, they didn’t rule out the event’s return.

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Lindsey Vonn’s goal for the World Cup season? How about topping 2,000 points?

You’ve got to hand it to Lindsey Vonn.

The superstar skier isn’t interested in resting on her laurels. Doesn’t matter if she’s won multiple overall titles in World Cup competition and a gold medal at the Olympics. Vonn wants more.

What more could the defending world champ want? In this Denver Post interview, among other things, she sets her sights on becoming the all-time World Cup leader in victories (10 wins will do it) and the first woman to reach 2,000 points in a season (she missed by 20 points this past season).

And there’s lots more, including the “dating” rumors that have dogged Vonn since the end of her marriage to Thomas Vonn at the beginning of last season.  Read more.

 Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for even more.

Here’s how much snow will fall in the 2012-2013 ski and snowboard season

UPDATE, OCT. 4: They’re making snow in Colorado!. Look.

Believe it: Opening day in the 2012-13 season is about a month away in Colorado.

While there has been a smattering of small snowfalls in the extreme high elevations of the state, no meaningful storms have hit the ground yet. But that got us thinking: What kind of snow season can we expect? So we turned to a few of the experts to see what they’re thinking. Not surprisingly, no one’s quite certain.

As always, all eyes are on the El Nino (or La Nina) weather pattern for 2012-13. Experts say that this year it’s El Nino, meaning warmer than usual water temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean, which affects weather patterns and often produces more snowfall. But how much? That depends on OTHER variables.

Here are some links to season forecasts, followed by a list of opening days at Colorado resorts:

• Powderchasers: There’s a possibility of slightly higher than normal moisture in some Western States. Learn more.
• The Farmer’s Almamac: They have a secret formula for deriving this prediction, which is “predicting that winter will return to some.” Find out where.
• Accuweather: The experts definitely see snow in their forecast. Find out how much.

Opening days at Colorado resorts, all dates subject to change, depending on conditions:

• Mid-October: Loveland, Arapahoe Basin.
• Nov. 2: Wolf Creek, Copper Mountain, Keystone.
• Nov. 9: Breckenridge.
• Nov. 14: Winter Park.
• Nov. 16: Vail, Eldora.
• Nov. 21: Beaver Creek, Steamboat, Monarch, Crested Butte.
• Nov. 22: Telluride, Aspen Mountain, Snowmass, Ski Cooper.
• Nov. 23: Purgatory.
• Dec. 1: Silverton, Howelsen.
• Dec. 5: Echo Mountain.
• Dec. 7: Sunlight.
• Dec. 8: Aspen Highlands.
• Dec. 12: Ski Granby Ranch.
• Dec. 15: Buttermilk.

 Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for even more.

Breckenridge skier wins historic Olympic slopestyle qualifying event in Argentina

Keri Herman

Let’s hear it for Keri Herman of Breckenridge. Not only did the member of the U.S. Freeskiing team win an FIS World Cup slopestyle competition recently in Argentina, she also made history.

That’s right, history, because Herman’s win came in the first qualifying event for the Sochi, Russia 2014 Olympic Winter Games, where slopestyle (and halfpipe skiing) will make their debut.

Find out who joined Herman and the date of the next qualifying event, which will be the Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix at Copper Mountain. Read more.

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Amazing ski film featuring Treadways, EVOC Sports team will fire you up for the season

Are you ready to ski (or ride)? You will be after watching this insane short film of the EVOC Sports North America Ski Team from the 2012 season.

Dave Treadway

Daryl and Dave Treadway (two of our awesome Swany athletes) along with Matt Elliott, do it all in this edit shot in Whistler: cliff jumping, somersaults, twists, deep powder skiing, perfect landings, big crashes, terrifying POV looking down steeps to a cliff, extreme big mountain skiing … in other words, it looked like a ball.

And to give credit where credit is due, it was produced by Dendrite Studios and presented by EVOC Sports. 

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Find the best new gear for skiers and snowboarders in 2012 Gear Guides

Who cares if we haven’t had a big snowstorm in the high country? We have a blizzard of information right now about the best ski and snowboard gear to buy for the new season.

Check out the following gear guides for editor’s picks of the top skis, snowboards, helmets, poles, boots, coats and so much more.

And you KNOW you’ll need gloves, so check out this Arctic Toaster review by Shayboarder, the influential snowboarding blogger, as well as these other reviews of great Swany gloves and mitts.

Find the top gear for skiers:

• Skiing Magazine
• Freeskier Gear Guide
• Powder Magazine lists its 15 favorite powder skis.

Find the top gear for snowboarders:

• Snowboarder Guide
• Transworld Gear Guide

Have we missed a guide? Comment below and share a link so we can add it to this list.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter for even more.

Watch Lindsey Vonn relive her gold medal downhill run at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

With the next Winter Olympics just two years off in Sochi, it’s fun to look back two years to the 2010 Winter Games, when Lindsey Vonn became the first American woman to win gold in the downhill.

Check out this great video, which combines an interview with Lindsey with photos and video to help re-create the dramatic moment.

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Tyler Hamilton’s book, ‘The Secret Race,’ reveals the doping underbelly of professional bike racing

Tyler Hamilton discussed his book on Today.

UPDATE (Jan. 18): Lance Armstrong admits to using performance enhancing drugs in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. Read More.

OCT. 16: The Secret Race has been nominated for the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year prize. Learn more in this story from Cycling News.

USADA REPORT: U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released its doping evidence against Lance Armstrong. Read the evidence.

Perhaps you saw Tyler Hamilton on the Today show this week, where he discussed The Secret Race, his confessional book about his life in bike racing before and after he tested positive in 2004 for having someone else’s blood in his system.

The details of the book can be harsh, notes Outside Magazine, which conducted a fascinating Q&A with Hamilton. For example: after Hamilton transfuses blood that has gone bad, he experiences a severe toxic reaction, urinates bright red blood,  but keeps racing. The book also undercuts the argument that, just because someone has passed a drug test, he or she is clean.

Read the Outside Magazine Q&A with Tyler Hamilton.

Hamilton also spoke with the Denver Post and told them he felt “vindicated” by Lance Armstrong’s recent decision not to fight the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency case against him. Find out why.

Swany Gloves is dedicated to bringing you the best of outdoor adventure. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.