Seven Outdoor Books to Add to Your Library
Having crested the solstice, we’re past the deepest days of winter, but it still gets dark pretty early right now. If you’re looking for something other than streaming TV shows to occupy the several hours of darkness before bed, we’ve got some book recommendations. Outdoor publishers filled bookstore shelves with new titles at the end of last year with narrative nonfiction, detailed guidebooks and skills guides. For rest days and trip planning, these books have you covered.
Mad Men: Drew Hardesty on the past, present and future of the Utah Avalanche Center
Johnny Lyons straight lines it south after triggering an avalanche in the early-season snowpack of Colorado’s Gore Range. [Photo] Jeff Cricco In 2014, the Utah Avalanche Center hosted a … [Read More...]
Colorado skier dies in Front Range avalanche
In Colorado’s first avalanche fatality of the 2021/22 season, a man died in a slide around 2 p.m. on December 24 on the southeast end of South Diamond Peak near Cameron Pass in the Front Range. The … [Read More...]
Wisdom: Liz Riggs Meder Shares the Skintrack
While completing her master’s degree in education from the University of Washington, Liz Riggs Meder took a chance, approaching Tom Murphy, the founder of the American Institute for Avalanche Research … [Read More...]
Mountain Skills: Professional vs. Recreational Avalanche Training…what’s in it for me?
This winter, avalanche education in the U.S. is evolving. The old system of Level 1, 2, 3 is currently being replaced with two options: a recreational track and one geared toward professionals. The … [Read More...]
Victims in eastern Idaho avalanche identified as two local high schoolers
Two avalanche fatalities occurred Friday, December 17, in Idaho’s Big Hole Mountains near Driggs. The Teton County, Idaho, Sheriff’s Office received a call at approximately 2:49 p.m. Friday of a … [Read More...]
Gearbox: There and Back Again
Five skins for going the distance—and a reglue service to test time, not patience Black Diamond Equipment Ascension The Ascension name dates back to the first North American-made skins … [Read More...]
Gearbox: Packing for Anything
Editors' Choice: Scott Patrol E1 30L The Tech: Available this year in a 30L short length for smaller individuals, Scott’s Patrol E1 relies on the Alpride E1 airbag technology: an electronic … [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...]
Mountain Skills: Professional vs. Recreational Avalanche Training…what’s in it for me?
This winter, avalanche education in the U.S. is evolving. The old system of Level 1, 2, 3 is currently being replaced with two options: a recreational track and one geared toward professionals. The … [Read More...]
Mountain Skills: The “Hell yes, or no way” approach to terrain management
Moderator Margaret Wheeler leads a panel with Montana State University professor Jerry Johnson, Matt Hansen of the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation, and Sawtooth Avalanche Center forecaster … [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...]
Mountain Skills: How To Become A Better Ski Partner
“Hey. Great to hear from you. I’m out skiing—with partners—and I’m about to drop into a couloir. I’ll call you tomorrow!” With that, Forrest McCarthy, an Exum Mountain Guide who’s guided from the … [Read More...]
Mountain Skills: Planning a trip to an offbeat location requires more than Google
Chamonix. Hokkaido. Portillo. Certain locations are synonymous with international ski travel, meaning resources for trip planning are as plentiful as some places can be crowded. But what about … [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...]
