The History of Powder Magazine

In 1972, two brothers launched the first issue of Powder magazine from an old cabin in Ketchum, Idaho. Jake and Dave Moe (aka Captain Powder) were tired of the same old stories coming from the traditional ski media at the time. Most of it was based on racing and skier technique in between liquor ads. The editorial, they believed, had little substance for a growing segment of skiers who were disinterested in material wealth and the elitist culture that had surrounded the popular view of skiing. Surrounded as they were in Sun Valley by a strong community of powder hounds, ski bums, and the era’s first hot doggers, the Moes wanted to create an annual “portfolio of the other ski experience.”

Thirty-seven years later, that original mission still holds true. Editors have come and gone, trends have changed both on the hill and in the ways in which people access the medium, but Powder is still about that “other ski experience.” It stands for every kid who ever dreams of being in a ski movie or conquering the biggest face at his or her home mountain. For every college grad who decides to forego a “real job” in order to live on a couch and ski 100 days a year. Or anyone who ever dreams about going to Chamonix or Alaska—or finding a new line right in their backyard. For 37 years, Powder has been more than a magazine: It is an ideal that crosses generational lines and geographic boundaries, understood by anyone who has ever been touched by the freedom of skiing. –Matt Hansen, Senior Editor, February 2009

Notable moments in Powder’s history:

Winter 1972-73: Powder to the People Enterprises launches the first issue of Powder in Sun Valley. The cover is a black-and-white artistic rendering of four skiers on the moon, the planet earth and stars serving as the backdrop. “Skiing’s just another way to walk on the Earth. Just another way to be light upon the Earth,” remembers the Captain. The issue was 32 pages long. Newsstand copies sold for 79 cents.

Fall 1975: Powder goes to three issues per year. Subscriptions are three bucks.

1976: The Moes sell Powder to Surfer Publications, located in San Juan Capistrano, California—just a few miles from the beach. The magazine’s headquarters move into an airport hangar-turned-office on a street called Calle Aviador, where it remains to this day.

Winter/Spring 1976: The magazine publishes a story on page 50 titled “A Winter What?” The opening spread shows Dimitrije Milovich arcing though Utah powder on a Winter Stick. Author Gene Hensley writes: “It did somewhat resemble a surfboard except it didn’t appear to be much over five feet in length, and it also had a roughed surface, not at all conducive to bare feet.” Snowboarding begins.

November 1979:

Tom Carter and Allan Bard write and photograph a story called “Free Skiing.”

October 1981: “Extreme Skiing” appears as a roof blurb on the magazine’s cover. Inside, Chamonix legend Patrick Vallencant is profiled, followed by a story titled, “Ski to Die,” a portrait of steep skiers at Squaw Valley. Huge spread eagles off of Palisades? Bet your ass there is.

September 1983: Tim Petrick, future VP of Global Sales for K2, becomes the magazine’s Technical Editor. He would later server as Associate Publisher.

November 1983: Tom Carter and Allan Bard author a piece about their historic Redline Traverse, a three-week 200-mile backcountry tour across the crest of the Sierras.

July 4, 1985: Captain Powder “water walks” on floating skis within a half mile of the Statue of Liberty.

1987: Steve Casimiro is hired as Associate Editor. He became Editor in 1989, and went on to lead the magazine through one of its most successful periods. His Intros set the standard by which all future editors would be judged.

May 1992: David Reddick is hired as Photo editor, a position he still holds.

Summer 1992: Murray Wais, future co-founder of Matchstick Productions, is an intern. Other notable interns that would follow include: editors Keith Carlsen, Steve Metcalf, and Derek Taylor; staff editors Porter Fox, Tess Weaver and Johnny Stifter; big mountain pro Ingrid Backstrom; photo editor of The Ski Journal Grant Gunderson; and Jake Bogoch, who took over the reigns at Skiing mag in 2008.

November 1996: Readers are greeted with a cover showing Janne Aikio soaring above a quarterpipe in Riksgransen, Sweden, announcing “The Next Big Thing.” The era of “newschool” begins.

February 1998: Jeremy Nobis is shown ripping an Alaska face on the cover, performing what would become known as “the turn that shocked the world.”

Spring 1999: Powder launches Superpark, the industry’s first terrain park event designated for skiers. The event would spawn several copycats from both the skiing and snowboarding industries.

August 2000: Powdermag.com launches. The domain Powder.com was not available at the time because it was being used by a European “adult” site. Frequent users of Powdermag.com’s “chatter” become known as the Powder Maggots.

September 2004: Powder launches a redesign with an oversized trim size. The cover, shot by Photo Editor David Reddick, is of Marc-Andre Belliveau hitting a sculpted ice cone feature in Bulgaria. The main blurb—“Powderstroika”—was a clever, if confusing, take on Mikhail Gorbachev’s politics, but there was no mistaking the magazine’s continued focus on photography and literary excellence.

September 2008: Powder adopts a paper that is (finally) made of 100-percent recycled materials.