Baby, it’s cold outside!

OK, OK. We all know that when we talk about winter in Northern Nevada, we aren’t only talking about the period from Dec. 21 to March 20. We’re talking about the snow-flyin’ season. This year, we got dumped on on Halloween, and if El Niño cooperates, we may have “winter” through the middle of May.

For our annual Winter Guide this year, we decided to look for innovative methods for enjoying the chilly season. It seems there are as many ways to enjoy gravity and frictionless motion as there are ways to fasten boards to your feet. It’s not just downhill or cross-country these days, it’s variations like cross-country skate-skiing, urban snowboarding and teleboarding. Does horseback riding leap into your mind when the snow flies? It does for some Northern Nevada athletes.

We’ve even got something for the traditionalists out there: nabe. Maybe it’s not an American tradition, but Japanese folks eat this delicious, hearty stew every winter.

How to drive in snow, a quick directory to the local alpine and cross-country ski areas—it’s all here. So, gather around the table for a bit of sukiyaki or strap on those boards and hit the mountains, but be sure to bundle up because baby, it’s cold outside, and it isn’t going to warm up for a very long time.

Winter guide
Calendar of events

Like downhill waterskiing
Teleboarding is still new enough to draw looks

Street warriors
Urban snowboarding takes cunning, courage

Claim jumpers
Equestrians take it indoors when winter comes

Faster than the speed of snow
Cross-country skate-skiing helps practitioners stay fit in winter

Life in the slow lane
Tips for driving in the snow that could save your life

It’s about tradition
Nabe is a Japanese winter dish

Ski Resort directory