Risk Reflection: Teaching avalanche education through Vermont’s pandemic restrictions
On a snowy January weekend, I took my AIARE Level 1 course with Petra Cliffs’ co-owner Steve Charest, who has been an AIARE course provider since 2009. Local Covid restrictions made this year’s courses different from any others Charest has taught over the past decade, and Charest’s Vermont-based courses were unlike others in the country. Throughout the winter, the state had some of the most restrictive regulations in the country.
Mountain Account: From Sluffs to Slides
On November 23, 2020, skier and filmmaker Nikolai Schirmer took a day off from filming to visit some familiar terrain near his home in Tromsø, Norway, which also happened to be the first area he’d … [Read More...]
Summer Storage: Maintain Your Beacon, Shovel, Probe and Airbag in the Off Season
Most tips for summer storage serve as practical time-savers: clean, waterproofed gear and waxed skis make it that much quicker to get on the skintrack when the snow starts falling again. But for … [Read More...]
Ski Mountaineer Dies in Crevasse Fall in Alaska’s Denali National Park
On Monday, May 3, 28-year-old Mason Stansfield of Ouray, Colorado, died while skiing the Eldridge Glacier in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Stansfield was an experienced ski mountaineering … [Read More...]
Tools of the Trade: When, where and how to use your ice axe, crampons and rope
Jackson, Wyoming-based internationally-certified guide Mike Poborsky has three basic considerations when planning for a day out: Is the mountain going to fall on him? Will he fall into the mountain? … [Read More...]
Free Spirit: A Tribute to Luca Pandolfi
As backcountry skiers and riders, we’re understandably keen to study avalanche fatalities, so that we may learn from them and avoid the same fate. But rarely do we analyze a life—particularly a life … [Read More...]
Gearbox: Five tools for touring on high
Black Diamond Equipment Whippet A pole and an ice axe in one, the Whippet is nothing new to Black Diamond’s lineup. But that’s not to say it isn’t worth its 2 lb. per pair weight (picks … [Read More...]
Gearbox: Ortovox Diract Voice
As an avalanche instructor, I spend a lot of time calling out directions to my students: “Zig-zag until you find a signal! Follow the arrows! Make sure the numbers are going down! Get lower to the … [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...]
Tools of the Trade: When, where and how to use your ice axe, crampons and rope
Jackson, Wyoming-based internationally-certified guide Mike Poborsky has three basic considerations when planning for a day out: Is the mountain going to fall on him? Will he fall into the mountain? … [Read More...]
The Art of the Sufferfest: How to make the worst ski days into the best memories
Photographer Andrew Strain tests his luck by bringing his date, Alix MacKay, on a bushwacking adventure with a three-inch snow base. [Photo] Andrew Strain So, you want to be a ski mountaineer? … [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...]
