Strings Music Festival Blog

With the record breaking 27 inches of Champagne Powder that fell at Steamboat Ski Area Sunday night and the additional 21+ inches of snow that have fallen since then, all anyone can talk about around here is snow.

But when eight people are crammed into every gondola cabin and the lift lines are the biggest I’ve ever seen, it might be necessary to tune out the crowds. The best way to do that? Music.

Whether it’s Pandora, Spotify, or your favorite iTunes playlist, more and more people have started skiing with music. In fact, the whole industry has incorporated music technology into their ski gear. You can now buy helmets with speakers in the ear pads, gloves that are touch screen friendly, and jackets with special pockets and features to store and use your electronics on the slope.

For years, many have expressed safety concerns regarding music on the mountain. Listening to music reduces your ability to hear, which can put you at a greater risk for an accident. Not to mention being rude to your friends on the chairlift. But earHero claims to have the safest solution for listening to music while skiing.

The earHerosport earpiece is small enough that it doesn’t block the entire ear canal. This way you can still hear the powder whooshing under your skis or your buddy calling, “yo bro, that was sick!” Of course it’s still possible that you may injure your ear canal in a fall, so perhaps a music compatible helmet is still the best bet.

Despite safety concerns, more than 50% of people waiting for the gondola were tuned into their music, according to my quick pole over the past few mornings. As I’ve mentioned before, music may actually enhance your athletic ability. Some people said listening to music while riding helps them “find the spaces between the trees,” while others say, “I think about the song instead of how bad my legs hurt.”

So what are all these powder hounds listening to? Here are some tunes that were part of playlists this morning.