Smugglers’ Notch, Vt. (for immediate release) – On the third stop of its nationwide backcountry education tour the GORE-TEX Backcountry Magazine Basecamp will team up with Outdoor Gear Exchange and Vermont-based apparel brand Mammut at Smugglers’ Notch Resort this weekend, March 29-30, for a celebration of all things backcountry. The Basecamp opens its yurt-based event first […]
Back to the Butte: 2015 Board Test
Backcountry Magazine’s annual Board Test kicks off on Monday, attracting riders to Crested Butte, Colorado from across the country for a week of testing next year’s boards, boots and bindings. Fortunately, Mother Nature has favored Crested Butte this winter, and the mountain is open with wall-to-wall fun and technical terrain.
2015 GEAR TEST WEEK DAY 5 DISPATCH
A rough day skiing is better than no skiing at all. After the bleary eyes left behind from the “Progressive Party” finally subsided, testers hit the slopes once again and finished off the rest of the boots and skis, completing the 11th Annual Gear Test Week. The warmest day of the test made for perfect spring […]
2015 GEAR TEST WEEK DAY 4 DISPATCH
Day four of Gear Test Week was full-on spring skiing—hard corduroy groomers and chundery woods that softened to corny utopia in the afternoon. Testers continued to give a solid effort, some of whom busted out a dozen or more skis and tested a handful of boots. With three days of testing under everyone’s belts, the […]
2015 Gear Tester Profile: Jason Layh
With a thick Australian accent, Jason Layh is one of our most seasoned testers. He was recruited during the Couloir Magazine gear test days and carried over to our Gear Test Week when Couloir merged with Backcountry in 2007. Layh chased winter storms for most of his twenties before finally settling down in the Tahoe area. Name: Jason […]
2015 GEAR TESTER PROFILE: Richard “Woody” Wood
On the ride up Highway 158 to Utah’s Powder Mountain Resort, you pass a 1,200-acre skiing zone known as Powder Country. Skiers can ride from the top of the resort down to the road and get shuttled back up. That’s where veteran bus driver Richard “Woody” Wood comes in. Woody has been sitting in the […]
2015 GEAR TEST WEEK DAY 3 DISPATCH
For the third day in a row testers took advantage of cat rides up Lightning Ridge in their continuous hunt for shaded pow. The sun continued to shine, taking its toll on snow conditions, but determined testers found hidden pockets of fresh on northern aspects. By the end of the day testers pushed around soft […]
2015 GEAR TEST WEEK DAY 2 DISPATCH
On day two of Backcountry’s Gear Test Week, the tool of the day was sunscreen. A few low-hanging clouds drifted around the sky, but the sun was in full force. Big globs of white gew were passed out and beards and skin were pasted. Once everyone was lathered up, a posse of testers snuck out […]
2015 Gear Test Week Day 1 Dispatch
They were calling for a trace of snow last night at Powder Mountain, Utah. But that trace was a quick eight last night, and it’s the snow all the testers are talking about. You can feel the anxiety building on the bus ride to Powder Mountain; no one is sitting still in their seats. Outside, […]
2015 Gear Tester Profile: Marla Bailey
Marla (a.k.a. Cookie) Bailey is a veteran tester, a ripping tele skier and wife of the king of testers, Shaggy Bailey. She’s the first to compliment your turns or your pooper, but the truth is her skiing is the prettiest of all. Cookie is a “must” on your ski partner list, and if you’re lucky […]
