At nine-months old, Vasu Sojitra contracted septicemia, an infection that caused a blood clot in his right leg. “So they had to amputate it,” Vasu says. “I don’t remember it. I’m just completely used to it…it’s a lifestyle now.” Skiing is part of Vasu’s lifestyle, too, and he skis the backcountry 20 or so days […]
Shadowing Andreas Fransson: Lessons Learned in Chamonix
Andreas Fransson is defining modern extreme skiing. And the 30-year-old Chamonix, France transplant from Sweden brings to the sport wisdom of mountain men twice his age. In the October issue, Managing Editor Tyler Cohen travels to Chamonix to shadow Fransson for three days. There, he found a whole lot more than he could cram into […]
First Look: Powderwhore’s “Elevation”
“There’s the act of skiing, but then there’s the whole act of discovery,” Andrew McLean says in the opening segment of Powderwhore’s new film, “Elevation.” “There’s just this sense of exploration that you can’t get anywhere else,” McLean adds. And that statement holds true for much of “Elevation.”
Tried & New: MontBell U.L. Super Spiral Down Hugger 0
A good cold-weather sleeping bag should compress to the size of a cantaloupe; it should be true to its temperature rating; easy to get in and out of and cinch well enough to keep cold out and warmth in. Beyond that, a sleeping bag is pretty simple. MontBell, however, would beg to differ.
Backcountry Bibliotheca
“The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it,” British academic James Bryce once said. Clearly he was talking about the hefty tomes and thoughtful prose of backcountry skiing literature. After all, I don’t recommend hauling some handbook up the skintrack. Instead, read up, reread and carry […]
Tried & New: Smith I/O
Have you ever really loved a pair of goggles? Like, when they got scratched, did you mope the same as when you blew an edge? Or were you once unable to sleep, antsy with…
Tried & New: Smith Vantage
A helmet is a necessity in the northeast—and not just because Mom says so but because we ski mostly in hardwood forests tighter than slalom courses.
Good Friday: A Mt. Washington Trifecta
Not three days off the red-eye flight, my alarm squawked to life at 4:30 a.m. My throat was scratchy like sandpaper; my back was tied like a rubber-band ball; and my right foot throbbed for one reason or another. But Cyril’s e-mail the night before was simple: “Dodge’s is in.” Dodge’s Drop, a variation off […]
Invernada, In-Nirvana
Invernada. It means wintered, as in The Wintered Valley—La Valle Invernada. And in this remote region of the Chilean Cordillera, Fred Marmsater, Donny Roth and I sought winter last September among 12,000-foot volcanoes that dominate the skyline. Here’s a gallery from the trip, and read about the full expedition in the February/March issue feature, “Invernada.” […]
Garuka Bars: Our Favorite Energy Bar
Over dinner several years back, my friend Mike started telling me about these energy bars that he had been making. He raved about them, saying they tasted better than anything you could buy because they were made with raw Vermont honey. And he said he was going to start selling them. Fast-forward to last winter, […]
