"Powder Days" sheds light on Colorado's ski industry

At its core, the story of skiing reflects the narrative of America — at least through the eyes of veteran ski journalist and former Arapahoe Basin ski patroller Heather Hansman.

Driving the news: This week, Hansman published "Powder Days," a nonfiction book about the past, present and future of the sport and the people who devote their lives to sliding the slopes.

• Roughly half the book takes place in Colorado as Hansman dives deep into the risk of ski bumming at a time when environmental pressures, economic inequality and the rapid commercialization of resorts are putting the sport’s future increasingly in doubt.

What she's saying: "What surprised me" in the reporting process "is this way that skiing can be a lens to look at so many different parts of society and parts of how we make choices,​​" she said Thursday evening at Tattered Cover on Colfax during her first book signing.

• "How do we grow? How do we make things equitable? What’s the future going to look like with climate change? Skiing can be such a compression of those factors," she said.

The bottom line: The growth of the ski industry symbolizes a microcosm of what's happening across the country as we all wrestle with what it means to "live the dream," Hansman highlights.