In 1977, on Baldy Mountain in Breckenridge, I made my first telemark turn, and I was hooked. After much labor and practice, I made my second turn a few years later.
Video: The Controller
“You can study snow all you want, but if you want to understand it, you’ve got to be out there in the mountains,” says Kevin Fogolin, an avalanche consultant who works with hydroelectric companies and other utilities to forecast, monitor and control for avalanches. In March 2009, the helicopter in which Fogolin was flying was taken down by an avalanche, and his harrowing story is captured in Mike Douglas’s new documentary SNOWMAN. Here’s an excerpt from the film, equal parts footage of pow skiing and immensely terrifying avalanches.
The Professor of Powder: Jim Steenburgh skis and forecasts the Greatest Snow on Earth
For the past 20 years, Jim Steenburgh has had two things on his mind—meteorology and ski touring. After receiving his PhD from the University of Washington in 1995, Steenburgh took his interest in mountain weather and climate to the University of Utah’s Atmospheric Sciences Department—where he is now a professor—and into the Wasatch Mountains. “Having weather eyes can be pretty useful in the backcountry,” Steenburgh says. “And I see so much stuff when I’m out ski touring that I don’t understand. It helps plant seeds for future research projects.”
Backstory: Outerspace
As early winter light spills over the North Cascades of Washington, dawn touches the heights of our little valleys. Eastward, my view stretches toward the silhouetted, ragged edges of an untrammeled landscape, snow draping everything. Gazing toward the near-solstice sun on this December morning, I bask in the knowledge that no roads interrupt the expanse to our east for almost 50 miles: nothing between us and the rising sun but true Cascadian wilderness.
Biff America: On Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a favored holiday in ski country. It marked the beginning of the ski season, the time of year around which our entire existence revolves. And there’s so much to be thankful for.
Over the Hill: The Wilderness Act Turns 50
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law on September 3, 1964, protecting 9.1 million acres as The National Wilderness Preservation System. This year marks the Wilderness Act’s 50th anniversary, which means 50 years of undeveloped, unmechanized and untracked terrain.
Video: Avalanche Expert Bruce Tremper on Risk
“I will never be as confident in my avalanche skills as I was when I was in my early 20s,” Bruce Tremper says with a short chuckle and teeth-showing grin. Tremper has held the position as the Utah Avalanche Center Director since 1986 and is the author of Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain and Avalanche Essentials. In this video, he admits that overconfidence and ego played strong roles in decision making in his earlier days and motivated him to get too close to dangerous cornices and ski terrain he wouldn’t descend today.
Buffalo, N.Y. Receives Colossal Snowstorm, Protect Our Winters Visits D.C., Black Diamond Issues Whippet Recall, Japan’s new backcountry project
This week two storms—combined with the lake effect off the Great Lakes—pummeled the Northeast. Artic winds blowing over unfrozen Lake Erie pulled a wall of moisture into the sky, converted it to light, fluffy snow and dumped more than 60 inches along a 130-mile stretch of I-90, extending from Erie to Buffalo. Roofs collapsed. People were trapped and needed rescue, and cars were abandoned.
Cover Story: The Icons
I like this image because it’s completely unique from the typical photo shown on the cover of ski magazines. One look, and you can see the intensity, feel the frigid air and really get an intimate look at a true backcountry skier. This image is like no other cover I can remember, which makes it my favorite. I like something totally unexpected and uncommon, and it keeps me engaged and thinking.
Mountain Skills: Budgeting Time for Success
Do you always carry a headlamp when skiing in the backcountry? Find yourself using it a little too often? Then you might want to figure out why you’re always late. Understanding how long it takes to travel through the mountains will help you summit more peaks, ski more powder, not be pushing it as darkness looms and get home when your friends and family expect you. Here are some techniques from a hypothetical outing that you can apply to your tours and adapt to your needs.
