One of my favorite things to do is flip through old issues of Powder. With this being our 40th anniversary, it's something I've had a lot of occasion to do lately. It usually starts out as a 15-minute search for something, and breaks down into a half-day of flipping through old magazines, interrupted periodically by me walking into someone else's office to say, "check this out!" After all, why should I be the only one wasting my day in nostalgiaville?

I've learned a thing or two from flipping through these old issues. For one, I've learned that everything—and I mean everything—was sexier in the 70s. I was also reminded that snowboards used to have ropes and that Sorels were once billed as the perfect boots for riding them. And that, before the iPod or even the Walkman, there was a contraption called the Astraltune, which was essentially a car stereo with headphones that you wore on your chest. And that, judging from the smiles below bushy mustaches, people had just as much fun on skis then as they do now.

I also came to realize, however, that there is no better time to be a skier. We can now listen to music through our helmets on a device about the size of a domino. We have 16-din alpine bindings that disengage for hiking uphill and 130-flex boots with a walk mode, as well as complete touring set ups that weigh less than the first mobile phone. Heli skiing is not only more prevalent than ever, it's relatively affordable. We have chairlifts that get up to the top of a mountain in 8 minutes and skis perfectly designed for whatever we want them to do. Equipment aside, the excitement, energy and all-around fun level of skiing seems to be hitting an all-time high.

As we enter our 40th anniversary year, we are intent on celebrating the rich heritage that got us to where we are— Powder as a magazine, and skiing as a sport. But in doing so, we would be remiss if we were not keeping a keen vision on the future as well. We have no idea what the next 40 years will hold. But after looking at the last 40 years, I can assure you it will be unbelievable.

—Derek Taylor