WINTER IS COMING
I know these three words are bandied around so much now as a phrase it has become quite cliche. It is on posters and t-shirts and ad campaigns, it’s everywhere. But now that it seems the white walkers have been destroyed does that mean winter is no longer coming? (For that 1.2% of you who have not seen Game of Thrones, I make no apologies; stop making a stand a watch it!)
If you’re reading this when the magazine came out in early June, you will have that first feeling that ‘winter is coming’. As this blistering global warmed summer fades we start to get that chill, even now as I am writing this there have been several dumps of snow on Ruapehu, and so the lottery begins; will it be an early season, will it be late, shall I book accommodation in the school holidays, is it worth buying new skis or shall I just trash my old ones while the runs are still too skinny? This lottery really is about expectations and it is one of those magical things that makes snow sports so captivating. You are always waiting for that perfect day, that day when all the stars are aligned; the bad weather brings the snow, followed by the right amount of cold, the right amount of sunshine, then a lack of queues, no wind etc etc. Once in a while you get that perfect day, that perfect hit and like any addict it keeps bringing you back for more.
‘Winter is coming,’ it is inevitable. Sooner or later the snow will fall but it is that internal excitement, the constant awareness of the weather, making outlandish, non-substantiated predictions that make it all the more precious.
Here at Ski and Snow we like to think we are part of that feeling of ‘winter is coming.’ When you see Ski and Snow on the bookshelves or in your hotel room or it arrives in the mail, it’s like a herald that the fun is about to begin. This issue is full of everything that is new for the 2019 season; what to buy, what to ride, where to ride, where to stay and some great editorial. A big thanks to everyone involved; including our two Gateway students, Megan Prentice and Liam McLaren, who have been working hard on both editorial and design this issue. We want to wish you all a wonderful snow season.
Cheers, Steve Dickinson (Editor)