Avalanche Canada Adds Crowdsourcing Feature to App Revelstoke, B.C. Avalanche Canada—previously known as the Canadian Avalanche Centre—added a significant update to their free avalanche app, available for Android and iPhone. The upgrade allows users to post real-time observations, photos and comments via the crowdsourced Mountain Information Network (MIN). These geo-tagged MIN postings display on both […]
Book Beta: Andy Sovick on his guidebooks, Project Zero and protecting local spots
Andy Sovick, Colorado native and owner of the guidebook company Off-Piste Ski Atlas LLC, has produced two books since 2013, “The Essential Guidebook for Backcountry Skiing: Crested Butte” and the same titled book for Silverton. In his books, he’s careful to strike the balance between helping skiers explore the backcountry and spilling local secrets. “Instead of talking about keeping places a secret, we should be talking about how to keep everyone traveling well, smart and safe,” Sovick says. “It’s only going to get more crowded, whether or not there’s guidebooks.”
Salomon and Atomic to Launch Safety-Focused “Mountain Academy”
At last month’s Outdoor Retailer trade show, Salomon and Atomic announced plans to launch an online, backcountry education platform dubbed Mountain Academy. The program, set to debut at the end of this summer, will feature online courses and videos focusing on backcountry and avalanche safety and created in conjunction with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), Avalanche Canada and U.S.-based avalanche centers.
Scarpa Issues Voluntary F1 Evo Recall
Today, Italian AT and telemark boot manufacturer SCARPA issued a voluntary recall for their new F1 Evo ski boot. The AT boot features SCARPA’s patented “Tronic System,” which automatically switches from walk to ski mode when engaged in a pin-tech binding. According to SCARPA, under certain conditions, the mechanism can unexpectedly switch from ski to walk mode while locked into a binding. For the full details on the recall, here’s the official word from SCARPA.
BC Banter: Avalanche in French Alps Kills Six, Vertfest Backcountry Festival, The East’s Epic Weather, SIA Snow Show
Six experienced French skiers—four men and two women, between ages 50 and 70—were killed in a massive avalanche while traversing alpine terrain on the border of Italy and France on January 24. “When they set off, the sky was clear and the risk of avalanche estimated at 3 out of 5,” Haute-Alpes chief officer Pierre Besnard told the British news outlet, Mirror. Their bodies were recovered early the following morning at 8,000 feet, reports International Business Times.
“American Dave” Rosenbarger killed by Mont Blanc Avalanche
Extreme skier Dave Rosenbarger, known throughout Chamonix, France as “American Dave,” was killed by an avalanche on Friday, January 23. The 38-year-old Oregon native was caught, buried and injured in an avalanche on the Helbronner on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif. He was reportedly skiing with three friends at the time of the avalanche and later died of injuries at an undisclosed hospital.
Upstaging Coachella: Mayor Steve Skadron Plans Aspen Uphill Festival
Aspen, despite its Gucci shops, is still holding on to its mountain town roots. Part of that effort is thanks to the work of Mayor Steve Skadron, who this year, is introducing Aspen’s first uphill-themed festival. The event, which will take place February 27 and 28 around the town’s popular Power of Four Skimo Race, is designed to spur economic development without any physical construction. “My goal is to foster a business culture, so that Aspen is the nexus for uphill research and development,” Skadron says.
Mountain Skills: Jill Fredston on 20 years of education, safety and snow science
Jill Fredston, 56, is a longtime avalanche forecaster and educator in Alaska who coauthored “Snow Sense” with her husband and fellow avalanche guru, Doug Fesler. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation on 20 years of education, safety and snow science.
BC Banter: Snowboarder Narrowly Avoids Hatcher Pass Slide, Avalanche Centers Release Forecasting Apps, Upcoming Trade Shows
He heard the slope pop, let out a brief squeal and continued. The slope cracked again, and with snow breaking apart under his boots, 30-year-old snowboarder Greg Hugunin—with his helmet cam capturing the moment—made a 45-degree turn to safety.
Reviewed: Peter Kray’s “The God of Skiing”
The God of Skiing is a reverent, ribald, realistic mixture of fact, fiction and fantasy about what some refer to as the sport of skiing but which high priests and devoted acolytes alike know as a way of life. Peter Kray is a beautiful, insightful and devoted writer, and what I can’t resist thinking of as The Book of Kray is among the very best books about the spirit and practice of skiing as a way of life ever written.
