Backstory: Sunbowl Retreat
Whether on cross-country or backcountry skis, I enjoy the beauty and quietness of simply being out there—but there are other aspects even more compelling, which rouse more primal, visceral and satisfying feelings within me. Sitting at my desk, I thought of the past weekend, when Mike and I went to Lassen Volcanic National Park, with its jagged peaks amid ancient volcanic remnants.
The Last Hill Until the Next One
Alpine starts have a buffer built into them. Rising a few minutes late is no problem. A half-hour’s delay is fine if you’re planning to hustle. Some individuals will even allow an hour. But missing a … [Read More...]
Backstory: Brown Shorts By Night
The snow of the surrounding mountains shoots back rays of the setting sun. Yellow, red and then purple. I’m amazed at the variety of colors in the sky and reflecting on the snow. Everything seems … [Read More...]
Beer Guide 2018: Porters, stouts and lighter styles to transition from deep days to endless spring tours and tailgates
Beer may not make skinning faster or descending smoother—well, maybe for some it does—but it's pretty much guaranteed to make post-ski hangouts a bit more lively. And with the right brews, you may … [Read More...]
Backstory: The Struggle for Enlightenment
As a young medical student at the University of Colorado, I would often visit the bookstore during lunch, perusing shelves of anatomy atlases and medical textbooks. One day, I happened upon Ski the … [Read More...]
The Spearhead Doctorate: JD Hare traverses from the mountains to the blueberry patch and back
He may spend the summer months tending blueberry bushes, but JD Hare is far from being put out to pasture. In 1996, at age 18, Hare came achingly close to ascending Canada’s tallest peak, Mt. Logan, … [Read More...]
Gearbox: With their Procline and X-Alp boots, Arc’teryx and Salomon rethink walk-mode mobility
Certain technologies have a way of interrupting the status quo. Such disrupters are often so simple that consumers wonder why nothing like it existed earlier. They change the way we work and play, … [Read More...]
Gearbox: An Editors’ Choice powder setup
For many, sliding through endless, untouched slopes of powder is the ultimate motivation behind ski touring. It’s what fills our autumn dreams and validates any amount of sweat, distance or effort. … [Read More...]
Gearbox: Four poles that balance avy safety and skinning comfort
Small as they are, pole straps can be a divisive piece of gear. Anti-strap advocates know that they’re overwhelmingly dangerous as anchors in avalanches or tree wells and as shoulder-separating … [Read More...]
Gearbox: An Editors’ Choice steep-skiing setup
Creating the ideal steep-skiing setup isn’t an easy feat. The gear, after all, must offer specialized and polarized traits to handle the ascent and descent with equal aplomb. Skis and boots shouldn’t … [Read More...]
Mountain Skills: Looking beyond instability
If you’ve taken an avalanche safety course—and if you haven’t, you should consider it—then you likely have it hammered into you’re brain that you must be constantly vigilant to changing conditions, … [Read More...]
Mountain Skills: Anticipating Point Release Avalanches
This article was originally publish in April, 2015. As the spring approaches, many of us turn our attention to steeper, more technical lines higher in the mountains. The layers of snow that formed … [Read More...]
2018 Testers’ Choice: Dana Allen’s picks
Testing skis for the Backcountry Magazine Gear Guide can be a grueling endeavor—with hours upon hours of hot powder laps, edge-to-edge action on groomers, the occasional crud-busting run, and of … [Read More...]
2018 Testers’ Choice: Gavin Cooper’s picks
Testing skis for the Backcountry Magazine Gear Guide can be a grueling endeavor—with hours upon hours of hot powder laps, edge-to-edge action on groomers, the occasional crud-busting run, and of … [Read More...]
2018 Testers’ Choice: Becca Cooper’s Picks
Testing skis for the Backcountry Magazine Gear Guide can be a grueling endeavor—with hours upon hours of hot powder laps, edge-to-edge action on groomers, the occasional crud-busting run, and of … [Read More...]
2018 Testers’ Choice: Matteo Campbell’s picks
Testing skis for the Backcountry Magazine Gear Guide can be a grueling endeavor—with hours upon hours of hot powder laps, edge-to-edge action on groomers, the occasional crud-busting run, and of … [Read More...]
2018 Testers’ Choice: Cat Ambrose’s Picks
Testing skis for the Backcountry Magazine Gear Guide can be a grueling endeavor—with hours upon hours of hot powder laps, edge-to-edge action on groomers, the occasional crud-busting run, and of … [Read More...]
It’s what’s on the inside that counts: A Master Bootfitter’s guide to footbeds and liners
We last chatted with Board-certified pedorthist Bob Egeland just before the 2018 Powder Mountain Gear Test Week to hear about the ABCs of bootfitting. In our conversation, he elaborated on the three … [Read More...]
Board Test Week wraps up in Colorado
Sitting in the Monarch Cat Skiing yurt, seven testers laced up boots and turned on beacons when first-year tester Alex Spectorsky spoke up. “So, how’s the snow?” he asked the Monarch … [Read More...]
Board Test Week’s Peaks and Valleys
Despite the early wake up after three full days of testing boards, rumors of snowfall and significant amounts of cold-brew coffee fueled Monday morning’s stoke on the fourth day of Board Test Week. … [Read More...]
Gallery: Gear Test Week 2018
A few short weeks ago, more than 40 testers converged on the sunny slopes of Powder Mountain, Utah for Gear Test Week 2018. Along for the ride was photographer Matt Kiedaisch, who documented each day, … [Read More...]
How Romp Skis crafted the ultimate one-quiver backcountry tool
At 2018 Gear Test Week, 40 testers put more than 200 pairs of skis, 70 pairs of boots and every pair of backcountry bindings through the ringer. But one particular product stood above all the rest—and … [Read More...]
