Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from an article titled 25 Things to Do Before The End of the World in the upcoming 2025 issue of PLAYBOY. Preorder a copy before it hits newsstands here.
THE CLIMATE CRISIS is no fun for skiers. In the United States alone, the average season over the past half century is down by five to seven days. So whether it’s a solo expedition, a guided backcountry blast with the boys, or a family trip to a full-fledged resort, now’s the time to book the ultimate powder trip.
UNITED STATES: If you love steeps but hate crowds, try a national park. Beartooth Powder Guides in Cooke City, Montana, takes skiers of all levels into Yellowstone and the surrounding ranges. At night, you and your buddies can hoist some celebratory drinks before crashing in your yurt.
CANADA: A similar experience, but with plusher accommodations, is Canada’s Baldface, a former site for the Natural Selection Tour. By day, it’s snowcat touring and powder laps in southern British Columbia’s Valhalla Range. By night, think massage and sauna.
FRANCE: Zermatt and St. Moritz are obvious luxe picks in the Alps, but with global warming hammering Switzerland’s resorts, take the family instead to Courchevel in the French Alps for massive terrain, reliable snow, and fantastic cuisine.
JAPAN: If you don’t want to be surrounded by a thousand Australians crashing Niseko for spring break, check out Stealth Backcountry. You’ll relax in its 60-year-old Japanese farmhouse (nicknamed “the powder dojo”) between backcountry tours around Hokkaido, not to mention all the onsen (hot springs) and sushi you can take. — ROSECRANS BALDWIN
CAN FRIENDS BE LOVERS? In theory, sure. In practice, it’s complicated. The stakes are high. There are many minefields. But like espresso and martinis, sometimes friendship and sex can go together. As a sexpert who’s drawn to steamy and impossible relationships myself, here’s how I would proceed.
READ THE ROOM. This doesn’t have to be a good idea, but it has to be within the realms of healthy and appropriate. In other words, if your friend is married and monogamous and has never expressed interest in straying—I would not go there. If your friend is struggling with their mental health or real life problems, wait until they’re feeling centered again.
SET THE STAGE. You gotta let your friend know you’re a great fuck. The straightforward approach is to say, “You know, I have a magical [insert preferred word for dick/ pussy here], right?” I mean, who’s going to be mad about that? The slicker way might be a throwaway line about a recent relationship, like “He/she/they were really into the sex. They couldn’t get enough. That always happens with me!” By the way, if that’s a stretch and you’re not even sure you’re a good hookup, consider this a moment of sexual manifestation.
ESTABLISH THE PERMISSION STRUCTURE. Get cocktails at a tight bar where you know your knees will touch. Binge Bravo together on a cozy couch. A wave of passion might overcome both of you, but most likely you’re going to have to put it out there. Be honest, direct, and confident. For example: “I want to kiss you. It does not have to change our friendship. If it feels weird, we can stop, but I actually think it’s going to feel really good.”
START SLOW. Then—if you get the green light—you kiss. And you’ll see how natural and wonderful, or weird and cringe, it all feels. I hope your sexual connection is ridiculously hot. If it is, congrats: You’re now in an FWB situation. Cool! But how do you actually manage the friendship and the fucking?
BUCKLE UP. I asked my friend Bailey, who is newly sleeping with her good friend, about the maintenance of it all. “You have to stare jealousy in the eye, right away,” she says. “You have to figure out how to handle hearing about your FWB’s dating and sex life, because that’s the reality. You’re both still single, ya know?” This is where you might need to remind yourself that this is one of your favorite humans, who you happen to be sleeping with, and wish them as much pleasure and self-discovery as possible. Remember, you get what you give.
HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY. The most probable glitch is that one of you will catch feelings and push to become a couple-couple, and then it’s awkward and potentially fatal. All you can do to preempt that pitfall is promise each other (and mean it) that if things get murky in the attachment department, you have the right to reboot the friendship, with no more benefits, and take the temperature way down. Maybe you can come up with a code word that signals “start over.”
STAY COOL. Look, an FWB doesn’t come with a playbook. The dynamic simply requires honest communication. Before they attended a mutual friend’s recent party together, Bailey and her FWB discussed what they were comfortable with. Their decision? “Do our own thing,” she says. “Flirt with whoever we wanted to…keep our little fling private…stay firmly in friend zone.” That night, there was no drama. In fact, “if anything, our sexy secret added some heat.” Which Bailey harnessed for a hookup with… another dude, whom she is also friends with. —ALYSSA SHELASKY