TCR | April 14, 2026 — Last Call, First Turns

Published April 14, 2026

April 14, 2026

The Forecast

The Forecast

Last Call, First Turns

It's the penultimate day at most major resorts, and instead of eulogies, we're getting plot twists. Natural Selection Ski goes live from Alaska tonight at 7 p.m. ET — the biggest backcountry freestyle event of the season, broadcasting from terrain that makes your home mountain look like a bunny hill. Meanwhile, Black Mountain in New Hampshire just declared it's skiing to Memorial Day, which is the kind of small-mountain audacity that keeps this sport honest. The PNW pulled 36 centimeters in the last 24 hours and has more coming. Jackson's looking at 23 centimeters by midweek. Even Jay Peak is out there carving spring corn through the trees like it's nobody's business. Tomorrow the gates close at a lot of places. Today, though? Today there's still skiing to be done, and the mountains aren't finished talking.

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Fresh Tracks

◆ Powder Magazine

5 Predictions for Natural Selection Ski 2026 — Tonight's the Night

The biggest backcountry freestyle event in skiing goes live from Alaska tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Powder breaks down the field, the format, and why this thing has become appointment viewing for anyone who cares about real skiing on real terrain.

◆ Powder Magazine

"Our Second Season Starts Now" — Black Mountain Aims for Memorial Day

While mega-resorts pull the plug on schedule, this little New Hampshire mountain is declaring war on the calendar. Black Mountain's GM says they're nowhere near done, and says they have the snowmaking infrastructure to back it up. Small-mountain energy at its finest.

Anna Gibson Sets Possible Women's Winter FKT on the Teton Crest

◆ Teton Gravity Research

Anna Gibson Sets Possible Women's Winter FKT on the Teton Crest

Most people take three days to backpack the 35-mile Teton Crest Trail in summer. Anna Gibson did it on skis in winter, pushing through the kind of conditions that would send most of us back to the trailhead. Quiet, serious ski mountaineering in the truest sense.

Would You Hike to Ski This?

★ Matchstick Productions

Would You Hike to Ski This?

Logan Pehota earning turns in the high alpine and reminding everyone that even professionals suffer on the bootpack. Spring touring distilled into 60 seconds.

The Edit

No qualifying full-length ski film dropped in today's brief. Rather than shoehorn a Short or a Reel into this slot, we're leaving The Edit dark today. If you need something to watch tonight, Natural Selection Ski is streaming live from Alaska at 7 p.m. ET — that's the film event of the week, and it's happening in real time.

Off-Piste

🔹 Natural Selection Ski goes live tonight. The backcountry freestyle event broadcasts from Alaska at 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET. Last year's debut was a revelation — an Alaskan face, a stacked roster, and the kind of riding that doesn't happen in a halfpipe. Expect more of the same, only bigger. Powder

🔹 One season. 58 resorts. Evie Ho retired from a 40-year nursing career and spent the entire 2025-26 season on a ski safari, racking up 58 resort visits in a single winter. The lift-tag collection alone is a work of art. SnowBrains

🔹 Clayton Goff is shooting ski content on 16mm film. The filmmaker's campaign for Sweet Hat Co. blends classic cars and analog film stock into something that feels like a time capsule from a better decade. In an era of 4K drone shots, choosing grain is a statement. TGR

🔹 It ain't over in Riksgränsen. Oslo Jib Club's Bmack and Slarsen are in northern Sweden's spring backcountry, proving that Scandinavia's season has its own timeline. Midnight sun laps are just getting started. Downdays

Dropping

Black Crows Vena Cor — The biggest gear story out of Black Crows for 26-27 is this completely new model that traces its lineage to the Mirus Cor carving machine but goes its own way. It's built to be the do-everything freeride ski that doesn't compromise on edge hold or playfulness — a "wild bird" designed for all terrain, from groomers to variable spring crud. If you've been looking for a one-ski quiver from a brand that actually understands mountain culture, this is worth tracking.

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Conditions Check

Pacific Northwest mixed

A 36cm dump in the last 24 hours with another 7cm in the three-day forecast and temps running -8°C to -1°C — that's real snow on minimal base, so open terrain will be limited but what's there is fresh. →

Rockies closed

Colorado is essentially zeroed out — no base depth, no meaningful snowfall in the forecast, and Utah's Cottonwoods are reading 0cm on the ground with only a dusting expected midweek. →

Northern Rockies / Interior BC mixed

Jackson is sitting on minimal base but has 23cm in the three-day forecast with temps from -7°C to 1°C; Revelstoke picked up 14cm in 24 hours on a near-zero base — storm snow is coming but coverage remains thin. →

Northeast spring

Jay Peak is skiing spring corn through the trees and Killington's Superstar will grind into May — temps are warm (4°C to 19°C) and there's no new snow coming, but on-the-ground reports say conditions are genuinely good for the diehards. →

Europe thin

The Alps are down to 1-2cm base across France, Switzerland, and Austria with zero snowfall in the forecast; glacier operations and high-altitude terrain are the only game left, with cold temps (-5°C to -1°C) at least keeping what's there from vanishing. →

Japan closed

Zero snow depth across both Hokkaido and Honshu with temps running 4°C to 17°C and nothing in the forecast — the book is closed until next December. →

Tomorrow's the last day at a lot of places. Make it count — or don't. The mountains will be here when you get back.

The Conditions Report

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