TCR | October 06, 2026 — The Strava Outlaws Blitz the Middle Teton, Faction Drops Its Trailer, and Finland Has Two Resorts Running

October 06, 2026

The Forecast

The Strava Outlaws hit the Middle Teton

Jim Ryan and Madison Ostergren — the self-proclaimed Strava Outlaws — just set a new speed record on the Middle Teton's Ellingwood Couloir, car-to-car, moving through terrain that would make most people sit down and reconsider their choices. These two have been quietly building a reputation as the fastest human-powered skier-mountaineers in the Tetons, and the Ellingwood line is not a place where you want to be anything less than precise. Meanwhile, Finland now has two resorts spinning lifts: Levi and Ruka both opened this morning on stockpiled snow, committing to seven-month seasons that'll run through May. Faction just released the official trailer for its 26/27 Global Film Tour — three short films, premieres already rolling — and the Andes continue to exist in a parallel dimension where winter refuses to end. Valle Nevado: 574 centimeters. That's not a typo. Tuesday has teeth.

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Fresh Tracks

◆ Powder Magazine

The Strava Outlaws Set a Speed Record on the Middle Teton's Ellingwood Couloir

Jim Ryan and Madison Rose Ostergren are becoming the Teton Range's most compelling speed duo. Their car-to-car blitz of the Ellingwood Couloir is the kind of thing that looks casual on Strava and terrifying in person.

Read →

◆ InTheSnow

Finland's 26/27 Season Is Already Running — Levi and Ruka Open for Seven Months

Levi and Ruka opened today on recycled snow from last season, and they're not closing until May. The Finns have turned snowfarming into a competitive advantage, and the rest of Europe is still in t-shirts.

Read →

★ TGR

Stinius Skjøtskift's Cork 3 Into Bottomless Japan Powder

Clean rotation, deep landing, zero hesitation. Stinius finds a natural hit in Japan and makes the kind of decision the rest of us only make in our heads.

Watch →

◆ Stab Magazine

Swatch Nines Surf: Are We About to See Three Rails on One Wave?

The Swatch Nines surf event is back for year three, and the progression curve at Waco is getting vertical. Boardslides in surfing still feel like a glitch in the matrix, and they're already talking about triple-feature rail setups.

Read →

The Edit

TGR just dropped the full Japan segment from Actually, It Is Rocket Science, and it delivers exactly what you'd expect from Maggie Voisin, Teal Harle, and Nick McNutt turned loose in Japan's bottomless powder cycle. This isn't a highlight reel — it's a full segment with the storm stacking, the tree runs getting deeper, the food interludes earning their screen time, and three riders operating at completely different frequencies somehow making it all feel cohesive. TGR's Japan footage has always been a benchmark, and this one holds the standard.

Watch →

@Teton Gravity Research

Off-Piste

🎬 Faction Skis just dropped the official trailer for its 26/27 Global Film Tour — three short films, premieres already rolling through cities worldwide. The tour hits its stride October 10. Find your nearest screening at Watch the trailer.

💰 Mountain Capital Partners is offering $9 lift tickets at all nine of its U.S. resorts this winter — tens of thousands of them across Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oregon. That's not a typo either. SnowBrains

⛷️ Snowland Ski Area in central Utah — a nonprofit hill that reopened last winter after 40-plus years of silence — says construction on its new Ridgeline Surface Lift begins this month. Small-mountain skiing refuses to die. Unofficial Networks

🏔️ FIS met in Geneva this week to map out growth plans for freestyle disciplines ahead of the 2030 Olympic cycle. Expect format tweaks and expanded qualifying pathways across slopestyle, halfpipe, and big air. SnowBrains

Dropping

Salomon's S/LAB Shift Alpha BOA takes the top-of-the-line Shift freeride boot and adds a BOA closure to the lower shell — meaning you get the downhill performance that made the Shift series the go-to for serious tourers who refuse to sacrifice on the descent, plus one-handed micro-adjustability mid-run. It's the boot for people who want a 130-flex freeride weapon that can still walk uphill without destroying their shins. If you're in the market for a boot that does both things well instead of one thing perfectly, this is the benchmark.

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Conditions Check

Chile good

Valle Nevado holds a staggering 574cm base, Portillo at 267cm, La Parva at 246cm — all open and skiing on deep mid-season coverage with the Andes winter refusing to quit. →

Argentina mixed

Las Leñas is sitting on a solid 224cm base, but Chapelco is down to 3cm — the season is winding down unevenly across Argentine Patagonia. →

New Zealand thin

Treble Cone shows 0cm base but remains listed as open — late-season operations on whatever coverage remains at elevation. →

Australia closed

Perisher is closed, Falls Creek and Thredbo report 0cm base — the Australian season is done. →

Oregon / Summer thin

Timberline shows 0cm base but remains open on the Palmer Snowfield — limited summer laps for the dedicated. →

Alps — Summer thin

Zermatt shows 8cm base and is open for glacier skiing; Hintertux is open at 0cm reported — high-altitude holdouts only. →

574 centimeters is not a base depth. It's a lifestyle.

The Conditions Report

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