Jeffersonville, Vt. Following its 20th anniversary season, Backcountry Magazine announces that Tyler Cohen has been promoted to Editor in Chief, and Louise Lintilhac joins the team as Assistant Editor.
In The Shop: Tuning Essentials
Any skier or rider worth a fraction of his or her weight in edge filings and wax scrapings needs a few decent shop tools. After all, skiing variable OB conditions and constantly applying and removing skins can be hell on your bases, edges and bindings. And your “hook up” at the shop would honestly prefer cash to beer. Here’s a selection of our favorite tuning, mounting and shop gear that has come across our workbench.
Photo Gallery: Celebrating Independence
“May was an unreal month,” says Vail, Colo.-based photographer Jeff Cricco, who estimates the state’s high peaks received more than 100 inches throughout the month. And when he drove up Independence Pass, which tops 12,095 feet between Twin Lakes and Aspen, the sight in late May was stunning. “Usually those mountains, even mid-winter, have a lot of rock showing,” Cricco says. “But all you could see were massive faces with no rock. It very much felt like we were driving in Alaska.”
Black Diamond Issues Voluntary JetForce Airbag Recall
Announced today, Black Diamond has issued a voluntary recall of all first-generation JetForce avalanche airbags backpacks. Black Diamond is encouraging all JetForce owners to visit jetforcerecall.com for information regarding returning packs for a required firmware update. According to Black Diamond, in a limited number of cases, the JetForce packs sold by BD, Pieps and POC […]
Avatech to Offer SP2 Probe, Web and Mobile Updates
Avatech, the maker of avalanche safety tools, plans to offer an updated Smartprobe this winter, alongside updates to their Avanet web platform. The Park City, Utah-based startup of MIT whiz kids launched their brand last fall with a smartprobe, dubbed the SP1, and their Avanet observation-sharing website.
Photo Gallery: Endless Spring
“May finally brought massive amounts of snow and winter weather to Colorado,” says Boulder-based photographer Fredrik Marmsater. Numerous upslope storms filled in the Front Range, bringing the snowpack from low-tide conditions to around 150-percent of normal. For his part, Marmsater calls it one of the best springs in recent memory.
BC Banter: Avy Closes Independence Pass, Centennial Skiers Complete 100th Descent and Colorado Cancels Summer
Avalanche Temporarily Closes Independence Pass LAKE COUNTY, COLO. An avalanche occurred just east of the Independence Pass summit on Tuesday, May 26, according to 9News. The slide, which resulted from a cornice fall, closed the road in both directions and was cleared by the Colorado Department of Transportation. On Thursday afternoon, another slide closed the Pass […]
Photo Gallery: Colorado’s Deepest Month
“Since the beginning of May, parts of Colorado have received over three feet of new snow, especially at higher elevations,” says Front Range-based photographer Casey Day. And, he adds, after a winter filled with hit-or-miss storms, skiers are rejoicing across Colorado and fully embracing mid-winter powder conditions in the backcountry this spring. “Multiday upslope storms rolled in one after the next, providing endless supply of moisture. We always seem to have great conditions in the spring here in Colorado, but it’s been years since we’ve had this much snow this late in the season.” Here’s a gallery from Colorado’s deep May, as seen through Casey Day’s lens.
Mt. Moran Avalanche Claims Two
An avalanche on Sunday on Mt. Moran, Wyo. claimed its second life late Tuesday night. According to the Jackson Hole New and Guide, Stephen Adamson Jr. died at 10:34 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19 at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. Jackson resident Luke Lynch, 39, died in the Sunday avalanche.
The Kickstep Project: Chapter Three
Here’s the third installment of photographer Greg Stafford’s Kickstep Project, a three-part video series documenting Alaskan locals’ quest for powder in a dismal snow year. In the third chapter, The West Ridge, a group of five skiers head back to Kickstep Mountain, where they find and rip the turns they’ve been looking for all winter. The Kickstep Project […]
