R.I.P. Freeze

December 1, 2004 7:37 PM

Freeze is dead. Approach the wall in your B-boy stance, meaning gorilla steez for all you new-school punks: knees bent, arms forward, like you’re going to hit a mogul kicker. Freeze, arguably Transworld's hippest volume, will cease publication in January after 8 years covering new-school skiing, leaving a gaping void. Where will you turn for step-by-step instructions if you're trying to go Wallride To Fakie Rock. Worse: where will you turn for Liftie of the Month?
posted by RockyChrysler (12 comments total)

There is always Freeskier, although it is far inferior to Freeze. No more Liftie of the Month? Tragic.
posted by alpinist at 8:38 PM on December 1, 2004

Man, there are like a million ski magazines. When Transworld cut Snowboard Life, all riders over 16 were left with nothing. Nothing except bitter memories...
posted by hammurderer at 9:07 PM on December 1, 2004

Don't real women ski anymore? Those girls are without exception some of the tackiest I've seen this side of the other side of Third Avenue. Sample quote: Favorite movie: Top Gun.

Says it all.
posted by adamgreenfield at 9:24 PM on December 1, 2004

Surprise? TransWorld Media (Time/Warner operated) mucked up enough at Transwrold Skateboarding so that most everyone on staff quit and started their own VERY good The Skateboard Mag. Anyone familiar with the inside scoop?
posted by bluno at 10:07 PM on December 1, 2004

and some others quit to start another Action Sports Group planning to go head to head with TW Business and TW Snow.
posted by 5bux at 11:52 PM on December 1, 2004

transworld skateboarding used to be the "thinking skaters" magazine...great articles/interviews, fine photography, and more content than you could shake a stick at. now it's what? 95% ads? transworld expanded into various niches(ie, freeze) to try and sell even more ad space. all about money...at least freeze had interesting content, but let's be honest. skiing is a rich man's sport. freeze pushes a lifestyle that is the opposite of the standard "drive my awd mercedes with the top off the line thule rack filled with the hottest skis of the season to jackson hole for a little skiing...and a whole lot of consumerism.(don't forget to wear the hottest gear...last years marker jacket is so last year) this is the demographic that the ski companies want to get to. articles on how to ski without buying a lift ticket and product showcases filled with stuff by independent companies are not going to sell the new $2000.00 skis with a computer chip that reacts to your inability to actually carve a smooth turn. powder and skiing are the prime examples of this...mindless ski porn disguised as an informed periodical filled with ads for overpriced lodging and even more overpriced skis. i buy my skis on ebay when they are the year before the year before's model. my ski parka is from sierra trading post (40% off retail price) and i never stay in a "chalet" when i go skiing...and i could give a s___ if my skis have a "brain". oh well, one less magazine...maybe they are going out of business because i never buy it, i read it at the bookstore...and i never run to the ski shop to buy the newest gear i see in it...as a matter of fact, i never run to the ski store. it's all my fault...and the fault of people like me. sorry transworld. maybe you can start a dirtboarding mag or something...maybe those guys have some cash.
posted by cloudstastemetallic at 7:08 AM on December 2, 2004

I was working a ski show a couple of weeks ago and they were giving away free copies of freeze and I had one at my booth. The girl in the booth next to me was like "I'm soooo bored." So I say "Here, read this Freeze Magazine or something". She says "I wouldn't wipe my ass with Freeze".

Ouch.
posted by trbrts at 8:10 AM on December 2, 2004

I was the managing editor of Transworld Skateboarding in the late 1980s. I'm not to blame is all I'm saying.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 12:05 PM on December 2, 2004

It's beyond me why anyone would read anything other than SBC Skier.
posted by alexwoods at 2:32 PM on December 2, 2004

Me, I'm going to Slednecks. ..heh.
posted by BrodieShadeTree at 2:52 PM on December 2, 2004

Odd timing for this post, this was announced some time ago.

Alexwoods, indeed Skier is all we're left now it seems.

I loved Freeze. I have a subscription (which looks like a poor investment now) and a drawer full of back issues. I remember when I first saw it thinking that someone had finally made a skiing magazine for me.
It's a sad day, they did start a new movement (if you can apply that term here) in skiing.
posted by sinical at 6:27 PM on December 2, 2004

Odd timing for this post, this was announced some time ago.

yeah. sorry 'bout the belatedness of the first link... but alas, i honestly did just stumble across it the day i posted it up... search revealed no notice of it in the mefi archives.
posted by RockyChrysler at 11:44 AM on December 3, 2004