Announced today, the U.S. Forest Service has closed all Forest Service land within the Cutler River Drainage of New Hampshire’s Presidential Range. This closure affects the entirety of the classic spring-skiing terrain of Tuckerman Ravine and Hillman’s Highway, as well as Huntington Ravine and Gulf of Slides. The unprecedented action expands on Monday’s closure of the Headwall section of the Tuckerman Ravine Trail and was enacted in response to safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to these accidents, and in light of resort closures and the strain being placed on the healthcare system by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Utah Avalanche Center (UAC) is urging backcountry users to make more conservative decisions in the mountains.

When I drove up Utah’s Cottonwood Canyons this past Saturday, parking lots were a zoo—more so than usual, that is. Stickered Subarus and trucks cozied up mirror to mirror. Groups of diehards and new users alike spilled out into the Wasatch’s infamously well-beaten network of skintracks. And with greenlit avalanche conditions and a balmy weather […]

Toilet paper and canned goods aren’t the only commodities flying off the shelves in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Vail Resorts’ stock fell along with the rest of the market, and as ski resorts across the nation closed for the season earlier this month, the demand for touring setups has spiked. “Ski resorts […]

Over the last week, ski resorts closed en masse due to concerns and restrictions related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). A few, however, will still let you skin uphill. But remember: It’s a go-at-your-own-risk affair, with no rescue services available and no avalanche mitigation at closed resorts. When ski resorts across the country announced mass […]

Last weekend I was on a ski retreat deep in Washington’s Central Cascades. I found myself talking with another group of skiers who happened to be nurses from my small town of Leavenworth, Washington. I joked with them about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), asking what all the hype was about. On the way back to […]

Phrases like “inbounds backcountry” and “sidecountry” are frequently tossed around by resort-goers, referencing terrain they view somewhere in between proper backcountry and controlled resort territory. But according to patrollers and avy educators, both terms should be eliminated and these zones approached with a backcountry mentality. “We don’t have ‘inbounds backcountry,’” says Doug Richmond, Patrol Director […]

You’ve heard of Lyngen and Lofoten. You’ve seen pictures of sailboats bobbing in the Arctic beneath staggering lines that rush to the sea like the Grinch dropping in on Whoville. But go even farther north and there’s a forgotten range that even many Norwegians don’t visit. And for the natives of this place, that’s just fine. No guidebooks, no waypoints. Just local knowledge, a skipper and unlimited access to the prettiest range you’ve never heard of.