Earlier this year, we reported on a trend across the western United States of a depth hoar layer that, for many regions and avalanche forecasting centers, was a cause for concern. A month later, the primary concern for avalanches has shifted to a focus on ones of the wetter variety in many locations.
Patagonia releases book: Tools for Grassroots Activists
FEBRUARY 16. Patagonia has announced the release of a new book, Patagonia’s Tools for Grassroots Activists: Best Practices for Success in the Environmental Movement, marketed as a written counterpart to Patagonia’s Tools Conference. The Tools Conference is an event activists have attended since 1994 to learn how to apply advocacy techniques for environmental issues with the same savvy for-profit organizations, such as Patagonia, use to market clothes to consumers.
Hybrid Travel: The upward trend in heli-assisted touring
The benefits of human-powered backcountry travel are undeniable—you skin, you sweat, you burn off that Philly Cheesesteak from last night and delight in earning every inch of covered ground. But sometimes, you just want to catch a ride to the top, and for that, heli-bump touring balances exploration on foot with the efficiency of speedy access to secluded landscapes.
Boardroom: Franco Snowshapes gets quantum with snowboard design
Mikey Franco has lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for 26 years. He started teaching snowboarding the first year he moved to town, and has been a guide for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for 16 years. Franco recently took on a second job, snowboard manufacturing. He wanted to take the knowledge he had collected from years of guiding and teaching—watching people ride and listening to their terrain and conditions preferences—and integrate it into boards that were custom made for the rider.
Vertfest 2016: Alpental ski area
It is February, and the ninth annual Vertfest event hosted by the Northwest Avalanche Center has begun. Last weekend brought Vertfest to Mt. Bachelor, and this coming weekend, more festivities will be held at Alpental ski area. The list of events for February 13 and 14 includes an uphill-downhill randonee race, avalanche awareness, steep […]
Skiing on a high avy danger day
Until last week, Associate Editor Lucy Higgins and I had never traveled in the backcountry on a high avalanche danger day. It was not something I wanted to check off my bucket list, and neither of us dared to self-guide during conditions like those seen last Tuesday in Crested Butte, Colorado. But on that day, as part of a Dynafit press trip, Lucy and I were scheduled to head into the surrounding backcountry with Donny Roth of Irwin Guides.
Five killed in avalanche in the Austrian Alps
WATTENTAL VALLEY, AUSTRIA. This past Saturday, February 6, 20 skiers from the Czech Republic were caught in an avalanche in the western region of Tyrol. Five suffered fatal injuries, reports The Guardian.
Working for the Weekend: Presidential Spring
The latest episode of Ski The East’s backcountry series Working For The Weekend, “Presidential Spring,” might be the thirst quencher for parched East Coast snow enthusiasts. In the episode, Ben Leoni—a lawyer from Portland who spends his two days of freedom from the daily grind skiing with similarly job afflicted friends—travels to Mt. Washington to ski some technical, less traveled lines on the famous peak.
Boardroom: an interview with Christine Feleki, aspiring female splitboard guide
An aspiring splitboard guide from Canmore, Alberta, Christine Feleki is working over the next few months to gain the experience needed to pass her final guide exam. In a world where there are not many splitboard guides, and even fewer female splitboard guides, Feleki has put in the time honing the art of knuckle-dragger guiding and terrain management. Now, she’s on track to become a fully certified guide.
From Axes to Jackets: SIA Snow Show 2016 gear highlights
SIA 2016 was full of new toys and fun gear for the snowier months. Associate Editor Lucy Higgins and Assistant Editor Louise Lintilhac scoped the halls of the Denver Convention Center looking for the latest backcountry invention to grace the slopes in the winter of 2016/17. Here are some highlights, from jackets to avalanche shovels. Patagonia’s […]
