So buy a helmet; they’re more affordable than body armor, and available at any ski shop. (Over at Ski Market, head protection sells for $70 to $120.) And go wild! Visit the Sticker Junkie Web site (stickerjunkie.com), where, for $25, you can design your own bumper-style vinyl stickers and have 100 delivered to your door. The British Delarge Sticker Machine Web site (delarge.co.uk/stickermachine) lets you design and print your own stickers free of charge, and offers custom snowboard graphics as well (delarge.co.uk/boards).
The relentless awakener
a/k/a Oregon Scientific Deluxe 7 Alarm Clock and Weather Center ($104)
Have you ever planned a great ski day, woken up late, taken too much time to eat breakfast, and finally trudged outside only to find the snow already melting? If so, you — and those backcountry warriors who aren’t dependent on snow-making machines — might want to check out this product. The Oregon Scientific Deluxe 7 alarm clock will go off one hour earlier than intended if the temperature drops a certain amount or if snow is forecasted over night. Sure, you may not like waking up early. But if you’re missing the snow, you’re missing the point. The exhumer
a/k/a the RECCO Avalanche Rescue System
Last but not least, reflect with pride. Many new ski jackets, boots, and helmets come with imbedded RECCO reflectors — part of a passive avalanche recovery system — that transmit signals (no human action required) to let rescuers know where you’re buried if you’re caught in a snow-slide. The reflectors are inconspicuous and weigh less than four grams. Whether you need this protection depends on what kind of skiing you’re planning to do, and where; the product is generally more popular out West. Check for this feature when buying outerwear, then find out if the area you’re skiing subscribes to the RECCO technology.
Related:
Chills and thrills, The other side of the mountain, Steep, More 
- Chills and thrills
Heading north in winter is counter-instinctual. The mere thought of it elicits a warning from the dark parts of your lizard brain. It’s cold. It’s icy. There’s no food.
- The other side of the mountain
If you don’t ski or snowboard, winter is the longest, loneliest season.
- Steep
“Mountains have the last say,” explains his stoic wife. “Sometimes they swallow you up.”
- Stars on snow
Anyone who’s spent a day skidding along the ice-plagued trails of a New England ski resort knows that the snow around here can be hard to love.
- Insane fun
You don't have to go to the Rockies or the Alps or jump out of a helicopter skis-first to get a chilling thrill this winter.
- If we had our way . . .
However tempting, I do not wish for movie stars.
- If looks could thrill
The world of snow sports merges with the world of art in completely unique way.
- The poseur’s guide to skiing and riding
My life as a poseur began when I joined an after-school skiing and snowboarding club my sophomore year of high school.
- Technically improved
Snow sports shred the space-time continuum this winter, with new styles that push technological boundaries for form and function.
- Life on the level
At the tippity-top of my teetering list of irrational neurosis? Skiing, of course.
- Downhill economy
Thrills, generally speaking, aren't cheap.
- Less
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Lifestyle Features
, Science and Technology, Technology, Sports, More
, Science and Technology, Technology, Sports, Audio and Video Devices, Consumer Electronics, Electronics, Snowboarding, Winter Sports, Digital Music Players, Skiing, Less
