TCR | May 01, 2026 — Unrailistic Is Live and the Season Refuses to Die

May 01, 2026

The Forecast

Unrailistic Is Live and the Season Refuses to Die

Happy May Day. Jesper Tjäder's Red Bull Unrailistic goes live today in Åre, Sweden — a rail contest so architecturally ambitious it makes most park setups look like furniture assembly — and Scandinavia is backing it up with 28 centimeters in the last week and 13 more in the three-day forecast. Meanwhile, Colorado got 20 centimeters in the last seven days and both A-Basin and Copper Mountain are sending it into closing weekend with fresh snow on the ground and the kind of send-it energy that only exists when the clock is running out. Snowbird just announced a May 10 closing date, giving Utah one more full week of spring turns. Killington's Superstar Showdown — a bell-to-bell endurance race dreamed up by Jim Ryan and Madison Ostergren — sold out in record time for May 16, which tells you everything about the appetite for skiing right now. And at Mt. Hood Skibowl, a chairlift maintenance accident killed one worker and injured another yesterday, a grim reminder that the infrastructure holding this sport together demands as much respect as the mountains themselves. The season is small. The intensity is not.

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Fresh Tracks

◆ Teton Gravity Research

Killington's Superstar Showdown Sold Out in Record Time

Jim Ryan and Madison Ostergren are hosting a bell-to-bell downhill endurance race on Killington's Superstar on May 16, and the thing sold out faster than anyone expected. It's not a slush bumps novelty event — it's a legitimate test of who can ski the most vertical in a day on the East Coast's most stubborn trail.

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◆ Powder Magazine

Colorado Gets a Late-Season Refresh Right Before the Curtain Call

A-Basin and Copper Mountain both picked up fresh snow heading into closing weekend. After a season that was questionable from the jump, Summit County is going out on its own terms.

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★ Teton Gravity Research

Clayton Vila's Wall Ride Has Been Living Rent-Free Since 2014

Clayton Vila spotted this wall ride while filming Paradise Awaits over a decade ago and committed it to memory until he could put something down on it. The kind of obsessive terrain-reading that separates good skiers from great ones.

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◆ Powder Magazine

California Ski Passes and Other Mysteries Found at Stratton's Clean-Up Day

When the snow melts, the evidence stays. Stratton's annual clean-up day turned up California ski passes in Vermont, which is either a great travel story or a cry for help.

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The Edit

Level 1's SuperUnknown series is the proving ground — the place where unknown skiers become known. For the 23rd edition, they handed cameras to four filmers across North America and let them build their own recap edits. Nick Thucydides' cut is the standout: raw, stylistically distinct, and full of the kind of skiing that hasn't been polished by a marketing team yet. This is where the next generation of ski film talent comes from, and it's worth your fifteen minutes.

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@Level 1 Productions · @Nick Thucydides

Off-Piste

🔹 Snowbird announced a May 10 closing date for the 2025–26 season. That gives Utah another full week-plus of spring turns on what's been a resilient late-season snowpack. SnowBrains

🔹 Red Bull Unrailistic goes live today in Åre, Sweden. Jesper Tjäder's signature rail event is back for its third edition, streaming live from Nationalarenan. If you want to watch people do impossible things on metal, this is your afternoon. Downdays

🔹 A maintenance accident at Mt. Hood Skibowl killed one worker and injured another. A work carrier fell from the Upper Bowl chair during off-season maintenance Thursday morning. Clackamas County Sheriff's Office is investigating. A sobering reminder of the risk behind the infrastructure we take for granted. Lift Blog

🔹 Gunstock Mountain Resort announced $4.5 million in upgrades for 2026. The New Hampshire resort is in phase two of a $9 million two-year plan, with lift, snowmaking, and facility improvements on deck for the offseason. Unofficial Networks

Dropping

SKI FORUM 2026 — Tokyo, May 23–24 — Not a product per se, but if you're gear-obsessed and anywhere near Japan this month, SKI FORUM is the annual hands-on expo where you can actually touch next season's skis, boots, and outerwear before anyone else. Held at Belle Salle Kanda in Tokyo, manufacturer reps are on hand to talk shop — think of it as a test-drive event for everything hitting shelves in October. If you've ever made a four-figure gear purchase based on a blurry photo and a spec sheet, this is the antidote.

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Conditions Check

Pacific Northwest closed

Zero snow depth, zero new snow, and temps running 5–14°C — the PNW season is done outside of Mt. Hood's summer operations. →

Rockies spring

Colorado picked up 20cm in the last week and Utah got 18cm; A-Basin and Copper close this weekend on a high note, Snowbird runs through May 10 — temps from -6°C to 9°C keeping things skiable at elevation. →

Northern Rockies / Interior BC thin

Jackson and Big Sky saw 9cm in the last week but only 1cm base depth remains with temps hitting 6°C — lift-served skiing is essentially over, backcountry pockets only. →

Northeast spring

Killington's Superstar is open and grinding moguls into May; Jay Peak is skiing corn in the trees with excellent spring conditions — temps -3°C to 6°C with 4cm in the three-day forecast. →

Europe mixed

Glacier skiing on thin coverage across the Alps at 1cm base; Scandinavia is the bright spot with 28cm in the last week, 13cm more expected, and temps hovering around freezing — Riksgränsen and Narvik still earning turns under the midnight sun. →

Japan closed

Zero new snow across Hokkaido and Honshu with temps 4–12°C — the Japanese season is wrapped for 2025–26. →

May skiing isn't the end of something. It's the part where only the real ones are left.

The Conditions Report

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