The dream: soon to be replaced with images of skiing pow.

I hope the recurring dream isn’t a self-fulfilling prophecy. Skiing is in and crutches are out. And by “out”, I mean not hip, not acceptable, not this year. But still, I keep having the vision of myself back upon them--just like last year after ACL surgery in September.

No, this year, the return of La Nina, will be the return of Molly Baker skiing pow all season long. And I will be skiing with my friends. Most of my girlfriends live in snowy places, such as Utah, Colorado, and Alaska, not the small, male dominated town of Glacier, Washington. Luckily I have been invited to coach at this year’s women’s alpine touring clinic, January 6 to 9, hosted by North Cascades Mountain Guides. It’s going to be an all ladies ski adventure. Just the way a lot of ladies like it.

The ladies: insert faces of your friends here.

And you can count me in on that group of women who likes skiing with other gals. While living in Salt Lake City and living with a group of skier chicks, we frequently had packages addressed to the “Extreme Estrogen Establishment.” Although most of the “extreme” came from the one female resident who dabbled in ski base-jumping, we all had our way to contribute.

The team: AMGA ski mountaineering guide Anne Keller shows the ladies how it's done.

The women’s alpine touring clinic will focus on the ways in which a few different women can contribute--rescue knowledge, backcountry travel skills, and freeskiing technique will all be covered. Ranging from the expertise knowledge of AMGA ski mountaineering guide Anne Keller and Crystal Mountain patroller Erica Engle to the freeskiing influence of Emily Grady and myself, we will wrap-it-up “extreme estrogen establishment” style. Please come join us--space is limited to only 12 women.

The setting: The North Cascades.

While those in the northern hemisphere have been reading reports, crossing their fingers, and pushing mountain bikes up for their last descents before winter, some skiers are still enjoying the snow down south. One of them is Zack Giffin and he shows us what happens when you don't have time for catching up on the weather via Internet. Here is his report on the snow in Chile and Argentina.

Black Diamond athlete Zack Giffin skiing in Chile from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

Praying for the Niña everyone is talking about.

The film set.

Preparing for making movies.

The director, athlete, editor, and sound guy.

Hi Rachael,

You are an awesome skier. But what do you do to get even better? What advice would you give other girls to become better? Girls have in general less power, but more rhythm and feeling. Could you not develop girl’s skiing in a direction that used your advantages and make the boys think "Wow that was cool; wonder if I can do it?" Keep on rocking!!! Cheese.

-Anders Norin

Wow Cheese. This is an interesting question: The idea that biological differences between women and men enable men a “power” advantage and women a “rhythm” advantage; and therefore how would women use this advantage to move feminine advancement in a different direction…

I might argue that there are many more men out there that have “rhythm” and “feel” better than women. . . Have you seen Pep Fujas ski? Dylan Hood? Sage Cattabriga? Those guys make skiing look like a dance. I don’t know any women that look that rhythmic or have as good a snow feeling as those guys? But I do think that the women in the ski industry that dance - do so better than the men ?, so maybe there could be an advantage--- let's keep that in mind:)  --I think we  just need to keep on truckin’ without inhibition and reservation:

Women shouldn’t be discouraged by biological differences. Yes, they exist- however they should be encouraged to pursue “power” as much as pursuing powder. Just because the biological make-up of women is different than men doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t aim for greatness in any athletic field.  Greatness is wherever your passion is—aim high—see how it goes.

So answering the initial question: Q.) What do I do to get better? A.) I keep working hard. I stay active in the summer, I train hard in the fall, I’m never satisfied with the status quo, I’m always looking to push myself so that I can get better – and LEARN something every day that I ski.

Why do you find me so attractive?

- Matt Niederhauser

Oh Matt, I find you so attractive because you are a one-man wolf pack.

Hey Rachael!
You're totally rad and I was wondering when and if you ever plan on coming over to shred the east coast so you can entice me to huck off something bigger than 5 feet? Keep rocking girl you’re a total inspiration to 30yr old skier girls like me!

-Sharon Jones

Holy east coast batman. Hell yeah, I’ll head out there some time. I hear it’s awesome. I’d love to go experience the east coast in the winter. Problem is that in the kickass winter months…it’s grindstone zone for putting together a segment worth filming--however if I head out there and shred… I’m counting on you to show me around your zone. We’ll for sure find some stuff to jump off… it’s my fav thing to do.

Dear Rachael,

Just read the article about you in Ski Journal. My question is: If you ever break up with Rich, would you consider going out with me? Thanks, and tell Molly Baker I think she's hot too.

-Ryan Schmeeding

Schmeeding, of course I would consider dating you if Rich and I ever broke up. Until then, we need to hook you up with one of the fine women of the ski industry. Ladies—he’s hot, fun, single, great skier /surfer/fisherman, and has a great taste for wine and good food…his van smells of mahogany and leather bound books I can get you his number if you’re interested … J Molly- Ryan is awesome…

Note to Rachael: Oh, I know Mr. Schmeeding. And although I whimper at the smell of mahogany and faint at the sight of a man with leather bound books, there is one caveat: He doesn't have a sense of humor.

What is your favorite fruit?

-Julian Carr

Peaches, pears, plums, and pomegranates.

It is the simple stuff we sometimes don't know about our best friends, Julian. Thanks for asking.

Staying for a week in the Gran Hotel Termas de Chillan, slippers, multi-course meals, and a spa all included, left me with a feeling that something was missing. It was not until I arrived in Argentina, crammed into a hacienda with six other skiers, including four of us in one bedroom, that I realized what it was: Authenticity. Whether generational or cultural (speaking of skiing culture, not American), this is what I seek. And after modestly searching and ridding myself of the rigid sterility of a five star hotel, authenticity is exactly what I have found in this nook of South America known as San Carlos de Bariloche.

Papas fritas, bife de lomo, chocolate, and vino abundantly grace any visitor to Argentina. Brazil imports all their beef from here and honestly, I will forever shun any American raised cow. Grass-fed is the standard and all naturally raised entrees are served in epic proportions. Paired with ensalada completa and a glass of wine, one can easily forget they are here to ski, incapacitated by severe symptoms of a food coma.   

But morning always comes and along with it, skiing. Cerro Catedral, the main ski area in the region, supplies the North American skier with a steady, but gradual drain on the pocketbook; tickets are $150 pesos, or about $40 dollars per person. As far as skiing and terrain, Cerro Catedral is on par. Spires, steep slopes, and couloirs litter the resort and surrounding backcountry. It just doesn’t always have enough snow. Luckily, this year, the Santa Rosa favored this part of South America, leaving other ski areas with the dusty residue found at the bottom of any notable Argentinean wine. Literally. If you haven’t seen photos of Las Lenas prior to the one and only 12 inch storm that hit last week, dirt and dust are the only two words to accurately describe the scene.

In Bariloche we experienced the other end of the spectrum, an abundance of snow. Lifts have been dug out. But it is still South America and there are still rocks. “Dry docking” takes on a whole new meaning, especially for those of us from the Pacific Northwest. With myself, photographer Grant Gunderson, and athletes Zack Giffin, and Angeli VanLaanen, we navigated the rocks, sometimes skiing over them, but more often in between them. The reward at the end of the day is always dinner.

Tonight I may order beef or beef. When in Rome, right? My cholesterol may be rising as my cheeks redden with another glass of wine, knowing that I will probably not sleep much tonight after dancing at the local disco, but at least when my head crashes on the dirty pillow of my four person sleeping hole I will be thinking and feeling “autentico.”

Bariloche is the place to be this August. Chile is dry, New Zealand doused with rain, and Lenas has more teeth than Shark Week. Last week, a system moved through that dumped four feet at mid-mountain.

Winds kept the upper mountain closed as another system moved in two days ago and proved to be even bigger than the first. The usual rain in the valley was replaced by a heavy snow, unlike anything to hit Bariloche this season.

Rumors are circulating that as of this morning, there may be upwards of 10 feet at the top of Cerro Catedral. The forecast is showing clear skies and cold temps for the weekend. The athletes and filmers are gearing up for what looks to be the weekend of the year here in Bariloche. ---Jack Pollner

Perfect timing for our group. We have our fingers crossed that all of our gear makes it across the border. Ten feet of new snow shouldn't be navigated on rentals. Photos and stories from Bariloche, the Santa Rosa's golden child of 2010, on the way.

The four person crew, including Grant Gunderson, Zack Giffin, Angeli VanLaanen, and myself, has skied, danced, struggled with our Spanish, soaked in the hot springs of Termas de Chillan, stayed out shooting until sunset, and seen friends from our home ski areas all the way down here south of the equator. The ski community sure does make the world a small place.

Zack and Grant waiting for our bus in Santiago.

Our first stop in Chile, Termas de Chillan, has provided pow, bluebird, and a lot of wind. Currently, a storm is dumping around 50 centimeters on this Chilean destination and we will be here to reap the benefits--if the wind doesn't blow it all away.

Angeli enjoying the sun and snow.

Tickets are a mere $40 and for lunch you can enjoy two carne empanadas for $7; not bad for the traveling ski bum. Also, most lunch stops blast nothing but the most dance-worthy American hip-hop and disco. We're calling it Club Lunch.

Zack and Grant refusing to dance and planning instead on just eating lunch.

And, if there isn't a chance to dance at lunch, there is always dinner.

Zack Giffin and myself trying to keep up with the Chileans.

If you look closely, a sunset booter can be seen. The snow was less than ideal, but the scenery made up for the knee pain.

More photos and stories on the way. We have only touched the proverbial tip of the icebergp. Argentina, here we come!

Ruedi Beglinger is a professional member of the Swiss, Canadian, and International Mountain Guide Associations. His resume lists several mountaineering, alpine rock, sport climbing, and ice climbing first ascents. He was also involved in the avalanche that killed pro snowboarder Craig Kelly and six others. Beglinger's experiences in the mountains, both positive and negative, offer an important perspective to ski bums, athletes, weekend warriors, and other specimens enamored with mountains and snow.

"A Life Ascending" follows Ruedi and his family while dealing with the repercussions and realizations of the deadly slide near Revelstoke, British Columbia. Living on a remote glacier in the Selkirks of British Columbia with his wife and two daughters, Ruedi makes daily affirmations about his choice to remain in a sometimes hostile environment. As he says, "Regardless of how much you know, you cannot make the mountains safe."

But regardless of the risk, Ruedi, along with so many other skiers and mountaineers, remains dependent on the energy he receives from the mountains: "I believe mountains have energy in them which gets passed on to us as we travel in them."

Check out the trailer and the site for "A Life Ascending." Enjoy.

As reported by our friends at SASS: "On the day of the storm, skiers awoke to a gray and rainy day in the valley. While many were weary of what was awaiting them on the hill, the coaches hustled everyone out the door and onto the bus. They knew that with nearly 5,000 feet of elevation difference between the hotel and the top of Cerro Catedral there would be an incredible amount of snow on the hill.

The top was socked in and grey, the skiers ran hot laps in the Gondola Trees and Condor. Once the skies cleared, skiers moved to Laguna to hit the lines they had been scoping earlier in the week. The photos do all the talking."

Memo: In the summer, go to South America. Yeah, the winter may not be too distant, but traveling south is a necessary component of a skier's sanity.

If you are already on your way to the skiing deprivation nut house, check out this video of SASS's Miles Clark sending it South America style.

Miles Clark slaying Cerro Catedral during SASS Session 1

In 2004, John Sang Wilbur came up with the idea of opening a summer ski and snowboard camp in Las Lenas, Argentina. Six years later, SASS is now located in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina and is the largest ski and snowboard training program south of the equator. They offer coaching, Spanish and snow safety classes, and college credit through a partnership with Sierra Nevada College of Lake Tahoe--and the South American winter is in full swing.

James Heim  loving life in Laguna. Photo: Ben Girardi

Head Counselor Lucas Moore saving some pow for the clients. Photo: Ben Girardi

Pro coaches include Michelle Parker, James Heim, Garret Russell and Dash Longe. For 2010, Skylar Holgate, head snowboard guide at Silverton Mountain, is running the snow safety side of things and is joined by Travis “T-Bird” Eliason (also of Silverton Mountain) and Miles Clark, who has come to Bariloche via Squaw.

New for this year are two sustainability projects. Professional skier Mark Abma founded 1Step in 2009 with the mission to mobilize the ski community to lesson their impact on the planet. Mark is down in Argentina helping SASS lower their impact on the area by building a compost bin, constructing a greenhouse made of recycled plastic bottles, and building a biodiesel reactor to help fuel SASS's transportation, with the hope of transferring the technology to a local organization at the end of the season.


Michelle Parker holding up a section of a wall of the plastic bottle greenhouse.

Much respect to Mark and crew for getting involved in more than just the skiing down in Bariloche. If you've ever thought about skiing South America, now's the time--hasta pronto.

Before the A.M.G.A, American guidelines for mountain guiding certification remained murky. Guides traveling throughout the country and the world now rest assured that their training has been conventional. The new Canadian and American avalanche danger scale will acheive a similar standardization. Guides, patrollers, and recreationalists will all use the same ratings; a scale which should eliminate uncertainty.

With travel advice, the danger level, likelihood of avalanches, plus size and distribution information, the new danger scale should make all backcountry travelers more educated, so they are making better decisions.

“It was especially encouraging to work closely with our Canadian colleagues to come up with a unified scale.  This will only help in our efforts to promote avalanche forecasting consistency and to improve safety for the many people who recreate in the backcountry in both countries” according to Karl Birkeland, the U.S. lead on the project and an Avalanche Scientist with the USDA Forest Service National Avalanche Center.

So this year when you travel up to Whistler, eh, the information will be presented identically to the Yankee version you follow back home in Gnarsville, U.S.A.