2021 Chillfactor Magazine Preview

The Future of Skiing

The theme for this issue is the future of skiing. COVID has been a tough time for many but it has also been a time of acceleration. The future seems closer than ever. All the prophecies of techno-philosophers are coming true. In this future focused issue we look at 5 visions for the future of Australian skiing, one vision for each of the big five ski resorts. We explore how we can and should be skiing in Australia in generations to come.  

We hear about the northern winter that just was and how it was like no other and what this means for the future of overseas skiing and the ski industry as a whole. Few Aussies were overseas to experience a pandemic powder day but we found a few. Nat Segal shares her experience of sampling the finest powder in Revelstoke. Tim Sanderson tells us about the empty slopes in Austria. And, some things never change. Niseko’s nipple deep powder and Jackson Hole’s expansive backcountry garnish this fine suite of stories. 

In August locked down Melbournians asked “If it snows on a mountain and there’s no one there to ski it, did it really snow at all?”

Australia’s 2020 season was one that many will never forget. Victoria’s resorts were abandoned by the day tripper and transformed into ski touring paradises. Was this a glimpse of the future? We tell the stories of the Buller Lock-in and Hotham’s Desertification. We also show Watsons Crags like you’ve always dreamed but never seen. This place is better than Alaska they say because you don’t need to fly through LA to get there. 

To wrap up this future focused issue the Guide to Better Skiing shares 10 ski technologies still in development and explores the pros and cons of the modern ski and where they are going next. 

There are loads more stories and images beyond words in this 22nd edition of Chillfactor, which now has the sad yet humbling privilege of claiming to be the last Australian ski magazine. 

The future is now.