Backcountry Basecamp Dispatch: The Backmobile

Ten hours into the white knuckle, whiteout drive from Jackson Hole to Denver en route to the Crested Butte GORE-TEX Backcountry Basecamp a light came on, accompanied by a discomforting ding. With two kids in tow and 5,000 lbs. of gear in the trailer, that little check-engine icon frayed some already frayed nerves.

Tried & New: Black Diamond Patrol

If you’ve ever patrolled, chances are you used leather gloves. Once you’ve had a leather glove, nothing else comes close to its fit and function. I got this sample pair of the Black Diamond Patrol back in 2006 or ’07. As a former patroller, I value a glove with a lotta leather. You beat the […]

Solitude’s Backtracks program 10 years after….

While the number of resorts offering a guided backcountry experience continues to grow, one program remains unique: At Utah’s Solitude Resort patrollers literally cross the line, doubling as guides in their Backtracks program. It started in 2003 and in early February of that year editor Adam Howard joined line patroller and lead guide Ian Reddell […]

Remembering the fallen of Colorado’s Sheep Creek Avalanche

There’s nothing that drives home just how small the backcountry community is more than a tragedy. So when I heard the vague radio report on Sunday morning of Saturday’s catastrophic avalanche that claimed five young men near Loveland, Colo., there was little doubt a text or phone call was soon to follow. By noon, there it […]

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