It's spring now and you're probably missing powder. So are we. Here's a way to re-live the pow days from this past winter. Jackson Hole-based skier Tim Swartz, a Flylow and Fat-ypus Skis athlete, put out this edit of his season. Assuming you don't get dizzy from POV footage, it's well worth watching. It was originally posted over with our friends at EarlyUps.com.

Back in the day, Flylow started as a telemark clothing company and while we've expanded our horizons since then, our roots still lie in the old-school world of three-pin bindings. But of course, this being the age of social media, the word "Pin" now has a whole new meaning. If you haven't explored Pinterest yet (and hey, we don't blame you: It's hard to keep up), now might be the time, since Flylow recently signed up for an account. You can check out our Pinterest page here. And if you still want more of Flylow on social media, of course we have a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, and an Instagram account (@flylowgear). Happy socializing.

A crew of Flylow friends, athletes and founders recently went on a hut trip to Tahoe's Lost Trail Lodge, which is a four-mile backcountry skin from the town of Truckee, California. To call it a "hut trip" is probably a misnomer. The lodge sleeps 20 -- in beds, with sheet and blankets (no sleeping bags and Thermarests here) -- and comes with a professional-grade kitchen, several jacuzzi tubs, a piano and quiver of fiddles for impromptu backcountry jam sessions.

Just out the door from the lodge lies endless backcountry terrain that stretches from the backside of Sugar Bowl ski area to the Pacific Crest Trail and beyond. We spent two days there enjoying some mighty fine Sierra corn. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Two years after his older brother Lars won the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour stop at Snowbird, Utah, Silas Chickering-Ayers took the top spot in the men's finals at last weekend's big-mountain competition. Although Silas has been a top contender on the Tour since he bumped up from the junior league to the adult division last year, with a few podium finishes, this is his first win.

Silas and Lars, both Flylow-sponsored athletes, grew up skiing at Mad River Glen, Vermont. In his final run at Snowbird, he threw a big left-side 360 through the Fields of Glory. Lars was unable to compete due to injury.

"Despite the hard conditions I knew everyone would be skiing hard and that I had to send it and stay on my feet," said Silas Chickering-Ayers. "It couldn't have gone better."

Check out the full coverage of the event at Powder Magazine's website.

It’s a well-known fact that this winter has started off slow for us skiers in the lower 48. While it was easier to cope with the lack of snow before Christmas, once the New Year hit, I decided it was time to take action and seek out snow. While some have traveled to Alaska, Canada, Europe, and Japan, I didn’t quite have that time or budget, so after scouring the weather and finding a willing ski partner, we headed north: first stop central Oregon.

Busting out of Tahoe on the 1^st day of 2012, it was eerily warm, we made quick time up to the Oregon border where we saw our first dusting of snow on one of the higher passes east of Shasta. We rolled into Bend that evening and met up with some local skiers who were injured, but gave us some beta. The next morning, we headed up to Mt. Tumalo, a quick backcountry jaunt across from Mt. Bachelor. It was windy, but the skies were mostly clear. A mellow skin amongst the trees led us to the summit where we could witness the wind piling the snow into the northeast facing bowl. “Game on” we thought as we transitioned, did a quick snow assessment and dropped in. The first powder turns of the season -- so effortless and fun. We skinned back up for five more laps, upping the ante each time and connecting with a local professional skier and photographer. Small cliffs, then doubles, then a 30-footer, and finally a few flips off a natural kicker; we finished the day with high fives, snow on our goggles, and some new friends (all photos by Court Brock).

a windy skin

small hits to warm up

oh yeah, that's the stuff!

big hits with deep landings

stoke rubbing off! time to throw some backies!

We headed back to Bend to refuel and plan our next destination and ended up at Deschutes Brewery where the atmosphere was buzzing from a combination of locals night (1/2 off!), the Ducks playing in the Rose Bowl, and the fact that it was the last night open for a few months and they were planning on knocking the wall down that evening to kick off the remodel. The Bend locals seemed to welcome us and we even found a place to crash for the night and hatched a plan for the next day -- central Oregon was paying off so far, why leave a good thing?

The next morning we headed to the Three Creeks Sno Park to access the Tam McArthur Rim. We knew it was a long approach on a snow-covered road best done by snowmobile. We also knew there were yurts back there, but they were booked last time we checked. So the plan was to head up there, skin out to the base of the ridge, waving down a snowmobile for a tow if possible, and then ski out the road that evening by headlamp. Until we met Shane, who runs the Three Sisters Backcountry Huts on the road in. He had a group book both huts, but there were five no shows and one heading out that day. He offered us a ride in to the yurts and the chance to stay there for free. He even went back to our truck and got our sleeping bags and a change of clothes for us while we were out skiing! We couldn’t believe our luck so far in Oregon.

With our new friends, we headed up to the top of Tam McArthur Rim and checked out a zone called the Playground. It had great terrain and soft snow. With a rare windless day in the Cascades, we decided to leave the group and do a more scenic tour of the Sisters Range and headed out to ski Broken Hand and Ball Butte. It was a slog, but a beautiful one.

heading out to Broken Top (Photo by Court)

chalky snow on Broken Hand

skiing amid a volcano sunset

making the most of the short days and good snow

With no snow to even tour on in Tahoe, it was just what we needed -- a full day out in the mountains. Back at the yurts, we enjoyed a gourmet meal prepared by our new friends.

the beautiful three sisters yurt

The next day we focused on objectives closer to the hut, hitting a sunny line in the morning and numerous lines in the Playground -- skiing and skinning until our legs gave out on any landings we tried.

sunny soft lines on Tam McArthur

last round of soft turns in the Playground

Skiing out the 5.5-mile road was quick and we thanked Shane in the parking lot for a memorable time and headed back to Bend for a quick soak in the Turkish baths before the long drive back to Tahoe. Both of us were reluctant to leave since there was still great snow out there and central Oregon had treated us so well, but it was time to get back to Tahoe. But right before we crossed the border back into California, I had to make one last stop -- to buy a lottery ticket in Oregon because that is how lucky skiing powder with friends in beautiful places makes you feel. —Meghan Kelly

Still haven't done your holiday shopping yet? Don't worry, we're here to help. For the skiers and snowboarders on your list, here are a few suggestions for affordable gifts they're sure to love more than that itchy sweater you were considering buying them. We had to throw in a few Flylow items because, well, we make good stuff and we can't help ourselves.

At $25 a pop, Kiehls Cross Terrain 50 SPF sunscreen isn't exactly cheap, but it's the toughest face protector we've found for preventing sunburn, windburn and all the other torture your face endures during a day on the mountain.

One more way to prevent sunburn and frostbite? A face mask. Ditch the super dorky balaklava and neck gaiter and opt for one with style, like Outdoor Technology's $8.95 Yowi.

This Flylow hat is handmade by our friend Luke, who crochets these beanies from Durango, Colorado. You won't find a cozier, softer or more affordable handmade hat anywhere.

We'd prefer to ski powder all the time and never have to tune our edges, but unfortunately, there's not always powder to be found. If you're ripping groomers at the resort or tackling an icy ski mountaineering descent, you'll want sharp skis. Try Dakine's Edge Tuner.

Buying lift tickets online and in advance is the best way to save and there's no site that does that better than Liftopia.com. They sell gift cards from $20 to $500 that have no fees, no expiration dates and can be used to purchase lift tickets at ski resorts all over the country.

Got a friend with cold hands? Get them our tough-looking but super warm Oven Mitt.

For hut trips and tailgate après ski, it's nice to tuck a flask of whiskey in your backcountry pack. Why not give the gift of a cool-looking, handmade flask?

Every fall little companies like Flylow and our friends at Trew have to wait patiently for our gear to arrive. We make ends meet with Ramen, dinner at our parents houses and we think about when the gear will finally get here. Some times there are delays because larger companies take precedence over our orders, or maybe things happen like a horrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan that cause delays at the YKK zipper factory (amongst more pressing issues for them of course). Or sometimes the shortage in cotton slows down the production of our nylon or a snow storm in Denver keeps the train from getting to town on time or... you get the point. We try so hard to get the gear to fit right, work right and look right. And in the end sometimes it just does not show up on time.

50% of our inventory was shipped via air this season for all of the above reasons. But, the mother load just rolled in. So the back order tags on our website will get lifted and we are officially, fully open for business!

So, we are sorry for any delays. They delay is over!

See below, Flylow's Director of Operations Molly Miner checking inventory. Welcome to work Molly!

Here is our Dynamic Individual, Ben Hitch, crushing order for all you good people.

I am in Seattle, sitting in a hot tub playing angry birds on my Iphone. Just kidding (kind of).

-Dan

Well, it is that time of year again.  When the magazines we all love reveal their decisions as to what gear is the best performing and looking in their minds.  What most people may not know it that this process began 10 months ago before our trade shows.  And is followed up with a lot of testing and Fedexing gear to and from the magazine offices.

One of the most important and well respected gear guides is the coveted Outside Magazine Winter Gear Guide.  To be mentioned in this mag is an honor.  to be mentioned two times (as we were this year) is down right flattering.

So thanks for givings us a shot again this year Outside, we will keep trying to make the gear better for you next year too!

Event Director Rodrigo Vera diagrams the route...

FlyLow Athlete Claire Smallwood recently won for the women atAVALANCHA EN EL VOLCAN in Pucón, Chile, a race down an active volcano.

The general idea of the competition came from years of Pucón locals hiking and skiing the 9,341 foot volcano Villarrica. It's often on the tick list of ski travelers from all over the world. It offers at least a 5000 foot descent from any of its aspects. Vera hopes that in the future the contest will offer categories of timed ascent/descent, as well as to include other "tour stops" with contests on Chile's other iconic volcanoes in the area: LLaima, Lonquimay, Osorno, and perhaps the crown jewel (not for the faint at heart), Lanín on the border between Argentina and Chile.

My whole role in the whole thing was quite rad, actually! I was asked by Vera to be the marketing director for the event. I learned a ton about CHILE in the process and my Spanish got a lot better. Here I am doing the athlete check-in the morning of the event.

The mass ascension up the volcano

The event was designed so that everyone would have a chance to see the course before racing down at mach 10. Some people boot-packed, others chose to skin. The idea was to take tons of time to let the snow warm up a bit and make sure no one was super fatigued for the race down.

The view into the crater...

The top of the volcano was sunny and stinky! The sulphuric fumes made everyone cough and my eyes even burned a little the next day. A bandana was pretty useful, but nonetheless, an incredible experience to be that close to MAGMA!

Above is me doing a  last-minute scrape on my skis to ensure the smooth ride down. I knew the snow at the finish line was going to be super sticky!

The first rider about to drop in...

And coming into a screaming stop at the finish!

Have you read your FlyLow tag lately? It says to drink cold beer. Check! 

Thanks to Newen Beer there was tons of cold ones waiting for the riders at the finish line. Federico Nekis won for the snowboaders, Chopo Diaz won for the male skiers, and I won for the ladies!

Super huge thanks to all the sponsors who made this event possible:
PATAGONIA - GRASSAU - ENJOY - HOSTEL ETNICO - Rossignol - Newen - Redbull - BCA - Aguaventura - Philippe Botueille (Director de Seguridad) Whiteworld Adventures - Mun. Pucón - Conaf - SheJumps.org

Flylow's growth and new designs have raised a lot of eyebrows over the past few months. After our most recent success winning the Something Independent Entrepreneurs Award last week we were ready for the final round of the Rising Stars fashion show.

To get the gist of the situation we defer to Denver Post's Sarah Brown:
"It seems that just about anyone with a good idea and a sewing machine is whipping up a fashion business in Colorado these days. They are creating leather bags and wedding gowns, 1930s-inspired sport coats and fine jewelry, to name a few.

But to make a success of it, style entrepreneurs have to have a well-defined market and a solid plan to reach it. A number of those who are showing such promise have caught the attention of Fashion Group International of Denver, which on Saturday presents its biennial Rising Star awards. FGI, a group of fashion professionals in retail, manufacturing and related industries, solicited entries in the competition last spring and selected 13 companies it felt have the potential to build national business."

We were flattered to be invited to participate in this new competition, and although we did not win this time, it was a great experience and provided us with great exposure.