Backcountry Magazine’s Gear Test Week, our annual pilgrimage to Powder Mountain, Utah, kicks off with more than 40 testers evaluating over 200 skis and 100 AT and telemark boots for five days to create next fall’s 2015 Gear Guide.
2015 Gear Tester Profile: Marla Bailey
Marla (a.k.a. Cookie) Bailey is a veteran tester, a ripping tele skier and wife of the king of testers, Shaggy Bailey. She’s the first to compliment your turns or your pooper, but the truth is her skiing is the prettiest of all. Cookie is a “must” on your ski partner list, and if you’re lucky […]
2015 Gear Test Week Video Dispatch: Day One
On Day 1 of Backcountry Magazine’s Gear Test Week, the crew of testers pulled out the fat skis. With eight inches of fresh snow, anxious testers grabbed skis, adjusted bindings and hit the slopes and backcountry at Powder Mountain quicker than Shaggy fowling the resort’s bathroom.
The Road to Basecamp: AIARE, the Anthracites and Fresh Turns
The American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) and Backcountry Magazine have been longtime partners. We caught up with Program Director Ben Pritchett and Operations Director Tom Murphy to talk Colorado snowpack, Backcountry Basecamp and catch a few turns in between. Headquartered in Gunnison, Colo. these guys are constantly assessing Colorado’s complex Continental snowpack. We […]
Backcountry Magazine announces Basecamp lineup for Crested Butte, Colo.
Mount Crested Butte, Colo. —(for immediate release) — On the second stop of its nationwide backcountry education tour—the GORE-TEX Backcountry Magazine Basecamp—has teamed up with Patagonia, Crested Butte Mountain Guides, Crested Butte Avalanche Center and AIARE, and a host of other sponsors, at Crested Butte Mountain Resort on March 15-16 for a celebration of all […]
Backcountry Basecamp Tour 2014
Backcountry Magazine, in association with Gore-Tex, Patagonia and Marmot is proud to announce its nationwide backcountry skiing and snowboarding tour. Featuring education, safety, and the latest gear, Backcountry Basecamp will visit some of the most iconic ski resorts in the country to bring the backcountry to the masses.
2014 Editors’ Choice Awards – Skis
This year we tested more than 200 skis from 30-plus brands. And it was the most innovative ski crop yet, with brands like DPS getting 3D and the money zone (100-112mm underfoot) exploding with refined shapes and lighter weights. Here’s just a teaser of this year’s Editors’ Choice winning skis. To see the full reviews, […]
The Voile Vector BC: A Game Changer
We received prototypes of Voile’s new Vector BC mounted with their rejuvenated 3-Pin Cable Telemark Binding a couple of weeks after we reviewed the innovative crop of wide, waxless skis available last year. The oversize fish-scale graphics gave it away: Voile has launched a waxless Vector. And save for the base, it’s a Vector—the 2012 Editors’ Choice winner—in every other way.
