Bye Bye Freeze!

[skier666]

I remember the first issue of Boards in Motion and Freeze. I was SUPER STOKED!!! I was sadened by the BIM departure, and thought Freeze did a great job early on, but in the last year or so...IMO it turned to crap...not because it was mostly jibbing, but like Greydon Clark said....it really wasn't great to read...it seemed to target 12-14 year olds.

"2 Freesking" Mag out of Europe was really sick....I had a subscription and then I got a letter a month ago saying that the response from the ski industry was weak this year so they ceased operations, meaning not enough advertising.

SKI = Super Sucks
SKIING = Getting OK
Couloir = Great for what it is...sick backcountry madness
POWDER = ITS BACK!!!
SBC SKIER = POWDER's CANADIAN BRO
NZ SKIER = Great but only 2 issues, if we're lucky
Powderhound = Aussie mag, 1 issue with hot chicks
Telemark skier = great terrain, sweet pics, and good articles......better than last year for sure

The Euro mags are cool as well, but hell, I can't get those

[boobookitty]

I think it is sad that Freeze can't make it, but Freeskier can. If anyone posting here actually reads Freeze and has read it over the past few years, you'd have to say they've been on an upswing. They have a really strong voice and can say things about the sport and the industry that a lot of other mags can't.

I'm not in their demographic anymore, but I always get a good laugh and the quality seemed to be improving. In comparison, I usually don't take much away from reading an issue of Freeskier.

Guess it's time for Pow to really step up. Pretty soon it'll just be them and SBC Skier. Eh?

[skier666]

...I forgot about Freeskier. I agree I don't come away with anything when skimming that one at the newstand.

...As for Freeze, I do enjoy the Brad Holmes page. Its actually pretty funny in its own skiing type of humor.

[Pow Master]

Disappointing indeed, but not as disappointing as losing Axis. I'll take photography and content over brad holmes fart jokes any day.

Long live Powder!

Word.

I was/am the target market for Freeze (19 here) and I felt that it was too juvenile. There was very little content that was interesting in my eyes. Maybe its interesting to PrePubescent kids, but it all seemed childish and petty to me.

Even through all of that I enjoyed the pictures and different take on the scene it gave me. It will be missed.

[wookalar]

that's too bad. I rarely read it anymore, but it gave a few folks I know some of their first opportunities. Oh well....

[ddsnake]

That sucks . I've always liked Freeze.
Powder and Skier are sweet ,but the rest (not including Couloir) suck. I don't even consider Ski or Skiing "skier's" magazines- they are magazines for people who might like to go on a skiing vacation- they contain no information or entertainment value at all for a real skier.

[Clack]

I'll second some respect for Boards in Motion. Great mag for it's time. A bigger loss imho.

[splat]

I wrote a few pieces for FREEZE when they first started up. It was a good place for writing with a little attitude. But when Micah told me it didn't matter much what was written and to keep it short because their readers didn't do much more than look at the pics, I was bummed. Because the skiing experience is not trying to be a superstar by emulating tricks, having an attitude, and playing asshole. Although I loved the fact it was a venue for a certain market segment, I could not support the dumbing down of the masses because being a dumbass punk was the cool trend. That's just bringing the city to the mountains. I feel that when there is no differentiation between city life and mountain life, it will be to everyone's detriment.

[freshies]

I feel that when there is no differentiation between city life and mountain life, it will be to everyone's detriment.

agreed! living a dual life between city and mountains, I apprecriate what ea/ has to offer. the "mountain town/skiing/outdoors vibe" is special to me (and many others I would assume), and keeps me sane. i dislike this blurring of cultures, etc, esp. the whole "street" vibe younger riders are trying to perpetuate. but, maybe i am just getting old and boring....

[Greydon Clark]

...I forgot about Freeskier. I agree I don't come away with anything when skimming that one at the newstand.

Freeskier is worse than Ski and Skiing, as, IMO, it champions everything that is lame and corny about skiing and the associated “lifestyle”. Jesus Christ, they have FASHION spreads. If I wanted tips on what clothes to wear I’d buy GQ. I bet 90% of subscribers to Freeskier have frosted hair and wear turtle necks without a sense of self-depreciating irony.

Telemark skier = great terrain, shitty layout.

I have high hopes for Telemark Skier, but right now it is not capturing the essence of the funky niche sport it chronicles.

[midget]

If anyone needs a good laugh then go over to newschoolers.com and in their ski gabber forum, check out the posts about Freeze going down. It's pretty amusing......then again any time you look through the posts on newschoolers, it's pretty funny.

[m1e448]

I hope we don't see an influx of kids from their forums here.

Nah, they are all over Newschoolers.

[Skier10322]

then again any time you look through the posts on newschoolers, it's pretty funny.

So true... However there is a place in the industry for a site like that.

Plus they may have some of the best ski industry news of any site out there.

[skier666]

Telemark skier = great terrain, shitty layout.

Now that I think about it....I need to look at it again....I'll put a hold on the "shitty" part of it. The mag is definitely not on the level of say "Couloir"....but I did buy my first issue last week, and years past it didn't interest me in the slightest when skimming to decide whether to purchase.

[AntiSoCalSkier]

I bet 90% of subscribers to Freeskier have frosted hair and wear turtle necks without a sense of self-depreciating irony.

I'm supposed to have a sense of self-depreciating irony when I wear a turtleneck? Uh oh. I've been wearing them for years because they seem to work OK as a cheap base layer. I guess I didn't get the memo.

[boobookitty]

Plus they may have some of the best ski industry news of any site out there.

True dat. Ironically, those guys are pretty damn smart over there. It's not your usual ski mag, but if you look at mags like Snowboarder and Snowboarding, they're flip-throughs. They cater to younger crowds who want to see what's cool, not read about it. That's OK. Those kids are the future and they buy lots of stuff that keeps the industry growing and progressing. Their parents have a lot of money. Those kids lose their mag, seems like the industry loses $$$.

[splat]

I'm supposed to have a sense of self-depreciating irony when I wear a turtleneck? Uh oh.

Sure, but look at the bright side: You can write that irony off at tax time.

[Dexter Rutecki]

The Open was entirely a Freeze property. Unless one of the event promotions companies picks up the ball, or SKIING takes it over, it's likely done.

And the MSP movie tour, at least here on the EC, was a Freeze venture.

[BakerBoy]

So true... However there is a place in the industry for a site like that.

Plus they may have some of the best ski industry news of any site out there.

Lemme guess, that's because you write part of it teddy?

[powderhound]

dude that sucks

[Lynx]

i may be a bigger fan of powder than freeze....but it's definately a sad day in skiing to see them go under. each mag has their place for sure. but maybe this gives room for an axis-type to come back.....or maybe freeskier will not have to be skiing's maxim anymore just to be different.... or. . SBC? more issues per year?? more in the US? please?

[skier666]

The new issue of Telemark Skier is pretty cool....

Loads of articles and the layout is definitely not shitty....edited my earlier post.

[gramps]

Wow, everyone should look at that newschoolers.com site for about 5 or 10 minutes - just to appreciate this place a little more. Everyone's a self-promoter over there. I saw about 5 plugs for upstart ski companies, and about 3 plugs for unknown movies in my 10 minute visit - all thrown randomly into posts...

As for Freeze - I thought that thing was so cool back in high school in Phoenix, it was something special for a kid who had skiing on the brain. It really kept the flame burning for me through the dry spells in AZ - a magazine where I didn't have to read about apres-ski, or the selection of restaurants at a resort. It let me know that there were people my age out there who lived for the sport. I outgrew it pretty much immediately when I got to college and Utah, but I still remember how much I liked it. It's really a shame to see it go.