The Mountain Why: Cody Townsend, Michelle Parker and Bjarne Salén find answers on the road
For the last two years, Cody Townsend has been on a mission to ski all 50 lines listed in the book Fifty Classic Ski Descents in North America. Then in March 2020, Covid-19 hit and states instituted stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions, and Townsend had to get creative in order to ski some of those lines before the snow melted. The Mountain Why, a film released December 2020, tells the story of how Townsend devised “a plan to travel safely, away from people.”
Utah Records its First Avalanche Death on Historically Fatal Slope
Utah recorded its first avalanche fatality of the 2020/21 season last week. On Friday, January 8, Kevin Jack Steuterman, 31-year-old snowboarder from Clinton, Utah, was caught, carried and buried in … [Read More...]
Solving for Z: Zahan Billimoria Balances Risk and Reward
Zahan Billimoria, better known as Z, is a Jackson, Wyoming-based mountain guide with an extensive résumé. He’s guiding seasoned athletes and professional skiers alike. He’s guided for Teton Gravity … [Read More...]
Travel Wisely: How to safely explore and enjoy the backcountry through a global pandemic
With Covid-19 still spreading across the globe, the only answer to the question, “What happens next?” seems to be “Who knows?” Ski resorts are just one example of a disrupted industry, and while a … [Read More...]
Four fatalities recorded in single weekend, amid “especially dangerous” avalanche conditions
The U.S. recorded its first four avalanche fatalities of the 2020/21 season over the weekend, amid what the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) is calling “especially dangerous” avalanche … [Read More...]
Alone in the Andes
Gliding along the crest of the ridge in the bright spring sun, Jorge Kozulj and his partner look down at Argentina’s Bariloche lake district. They are alone in the Andes. Instead of managing the needs … [Read More...]
Gearbox: Goggles
Editors’ Choice: Anon M4 Backcountry skiing often requires sacrificing style for functionality. Luckily, Burton’s goggle and eyewear company, Anon Optics, finds the balance between the two with … [Read More...]
Gearbox: Helmets
Editors' Choice: Petzl Sirocco They say the best helmet is the one you’ll wear. And for skiers who climb and climbers who ski, the dual-certified Petzl Sirocco gives no excuses to leave your … [Read More...]
Gearbox: In-Vesting in Off Season Training
It's no secret that ski touring is physically demanding. More fitness equals more fun—both breaking trail uphill and cranking powder down. Because the best ski tours last for at least a few hours, … [Read More...]
Travel Wisely: How to safely explore and enjoy the backcountry through a global pandemic
With Covid-19 still spreading across the globe, the only answer to the question, “What happens next?” seems to be “Who knows?” Ski resorts are just one example of a disrupted industry, and while a … [Read More...]
Mountain Skills: Streamline the Ride
The word efficiency gets used excessively these days. Everything has to be more efficient: cars, computers, factories and, yes, even splitboarders. Over the past several years, splitboard technology … [Read More...]
Mountain Skills: Managing Risk and Responsibility
In 2014, SnowSport Industries America (SIA) estimated that there were three million backcountry users out there, and industry professionals started to worry about the repercussions of a crowded … [Read More...]
Mountain Account: Unstable Intuition
In April 2013, photographer Chris Christie and three friends ventured north of Pemberton, B.C. to Sun God Mountain and its popular, steep, north-facing terrain. The group split up, and after observing … [Read More...]
Mountain Skills: Set a Plan and Stick to It
You’ve been playing it safe all day. Even though the avalanche bulletin called out “Considerable” hazard for the day (natural avalanches are possible and human-triggered are likely), you haven’t … [Read More...]
Hips Don’t Lie: How a solid foundation leads to strong skinning
In 2014, when Exum guide and longtime skimo competitor Janelle Smiley entered a hospital for double hip surgeries, she worried she might never skin again. She and her husband Mark, an internationally … [Read More...]
Mountain Skills: Essential Education
The list of skills and knowledge needed to get into the mountains is never ending. In fact, it’s subject matter that numerous careers are built on, but safe and efficient backcountry travel … [Read More...]
Mountain Skills: Take the time to be prepared for early season turns
It’s late fall and many mountains throughout the U.S. have seen some decent early season snow. As a result, stoke is high and people are itching to ski. Not many ski areas are open yet, however, and … [Read More...]
Higher Learning: The nuances of how, when, where and why to take a course
Two Marches back, as I stood on the edge of the frozen Bell Lake in Montana’s Tobacco Root Mountains, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be. Together with a half dozen no-longer-strangers, I … [Read More...]
Quick Pits Part II: How pits help with in-the-field decision-making
In Sarah Carpenter’s article, The Dos and Don’ts of Quick Pits, released last month, she explains the benefits of a quick pit as a tool to gain a “focused assessment of snowpack in [a] particular … [Read More...]
