Here you can find out more about PowderMania and what's behind it...PG: Do you systematically travel to new areas or is it about enjoying the best spots in the best conditions for you?
Patrick: There are various aspects. Firstly, the chance to get fresh snow. I travel far or even very far for that. It can be an area that is already known, especially if there is a lot of fresh snow, as it is very helpful to know where the good runs are. But if there is not much fresh snow, I am almost only interested in new areas. Depending on the size, a new one or two every day. This is then the basis for deciding whether I want to go back to one or the other area when there is fresh snow.
PG: How many ski days and how many powder days have you experienced?
Patrick: I don't know exactly anymore. Depending on the winter and snow conditions, I ski 50 to 70 or sometimes even 100 days. This includes the early and late season in Switzerland. Powder days are also very different from year to year. I will probably never break the record in 2006 when I had 20 powder days in a row and during the entire safari there were 32 days with fresh snow and a total of 35 ski days. In total over all those years, there must have been several hundred powder days.
PG: Is there a favorite country and a top spot for you? And if so, will you tell the PG users about it?
Patrick: Hmm, this question makes my head spin every time. The most frequently asked question when I meet someone for the first time is definitely: What is the best, most beautiful, steepest, etc. area that you know. I think everyone has their favorite areas. I can't answer the question with a single name.
Jackson Hole in Wyoming is one of the best when it has fresh snow, but horror when it's been two days too warm. "All" south-facing and becomes an ice hell - and with this statement I'll probably get into trouble with the marketing guy from Jackson Hole again...
Revelstoke in British Columbia: A new area that's been open for two years: Endless challenging forest runs, endless vertical meters (by US and Canadian standards).
Snowbird in Utah, for the "best snow on earth" as they claim. Not always true - but often!
But then also Verbier, St. Anton and many others.
PowderMania.com - the website for snow safaris Many years ago, I had already traveled to more than 50 ski resorts on my snow safaris and I had created an Excel spread sheet to record the most important information about the resorts. Some colleagues then kept urging me to do something with it. Then the pictures were added and the idea of a website was the logical consequence. It all sounded very simple at first and I thought it was a small thing. With a delay of two years and an effort that seems never-ending, PowderMania.com went online this summer. There is still a lot to do. New features and more content are in the works. There are currently around 140 ski resorts and new ones are added every winter... The next snow safari with regular blogs starts on 01.01.2010 and lasts until the beginning of April... So it's worth taking a look!
