In 2001 Backcountry ran its first-ever review of splitboards, with the apt cover line, “Backcountry Bording: Dealing with the Uphill.” The review included the Burton Split and the Voilé Split Decision, but despite the exciting new technology, tester Jenny Ader cautioned consumers.
Throwback Thursday: Avalanche Airbags
Avalanches have always been a hazard in the backcountry, and our response to sliding snow has constantly evolved. But the most recent life-saving tool, the avalanche airbag, might be older than you think. The first airbag was introduced in 1985 by ABS founder Peter Aschauer. Backcountry first covered the technology in January 1997, Issue 10.
Snow Shooter: Mattias Fredriksson
Mattias Fredriksson is a jack-of-all-trades. He’s worked as an editor, had his own magazine and is now a professional photographer with almost 400 cover images to his name. This September, Fredriksson will add another shot to his already impressive portfolio: the cover of Backcountry’s 2015 Gear Guide.
Throwback Thursday: Stump Classics
In the late ’80s and early ’90s, ski films meant big hair, Iron Crosses and rock music. And Greg Stump was the master of them all. The New York Times called Stump “a maverick film maker in the ski business,” and The Atlantic wrote, “Stump… does not make G-rated, safe-and-sane ski travelogues with elevator music. What he does make are wildly original, nonstop ski action films with comic and dramatic subplots and original scores.”
Snow Shooter: Chris Christie
Don’t worry; New Jersey’s governor hasn’t taken up photography. This Chris Christie, a resident of Squamish, B.C., has a penchant for stouts and big ski lines, and he doesn’t take being a photographer lightly.
Snow Shooter: Reuben Krabbe
Growing up on the prairies of Calgary, Reuben Krabbe marks his move to the mountains of Whistler, B.C. as one of the defining moments in his photography career. He’s a towering six feet four inches, which means he ducks when entering most ski huts, but that hasn’t stopped him from capturing the passion at the core of our sport.
Throwback Thursday: Remembering Carl Skoog
To most people, the late Carl Skoog was known as a talented skier, mountaineer and photographer. His skills in the mountains made him a role model for many, and his images were featured nine times on the cover of Backcountry. To the people who knew him best, Skoog was more than just a great skier with an eye for photography—he was a loyal friend, compassionate teacher and clean-living lover of life.
Snow Shooter: Bruno Long
Put Bruno Long in Rogers Pass (his favorite place to shoot and ski), and all he needs is a camera and a pair of skis to be happy. Long’s biggest weakness? Being so obsessed with photography that, he says, his friends tell him, “Dude, you’ve got to lay off. You’ve got to shut your brain off.”
Throwback Thursday: The Premier Issue
No matter how many GoPro Xtreme YouTube videos you watch this week at work, you’ll never find something as effortlessly cool as the good looks and badass hop turns the ’90s brought us.
Snow Shooter: Photographer Cody Downard
Having grown up in Kansas, Cody Downard loves mountains like only those once deprived of them can. We caught Downard in between shoots for advice on photos and life. His suggestion to guys in their 20s? Get a Pomeranian.
