Sam Coffey, a well-known skier from Aspen, Colo. and an industry representative who’d worked with brands like Salomon and Strafe, died unexpectedly on Monday. Coffey, the son of longtime Snowmass housing director Joe Coffey, was 29.
Backstory: Baby Steps
It’s two in the morning, and our breath has frozen in sheets on the inside of the 4Runner’s windows. I’m unsure if I’m awake from the biting cold or from my excitement for tomorrow’s objective. We’re the only car in Summit County, Colorado’s Mayflower Gulch, where four inches of snow fell earlier tonight. As I […]
All-Day Warmth: New and advanced synthetics offer lighter weights and breathability
Skinning is typically a sweaty affair where a lightweight baselayer and a thin shell will most often suffice. But some days—when the tempo is slow, the wind is blowing or the temperature hovers around zero—require a little extra warmth. Insulation-makers have honed in on this need, introducing new synthetics meant to offer warmth and exceptional breathability. These layers, intended for all-day wear, are soft to the hand and stretchy with a sweatshirt-like feel. But they’re also among the most technical pieces of insulation out there.
In Memoriam: Richard “Woody” Wood, Powder Mountain’s Legendary Driver
Backcountry’s extended Gear Test Week family lost its greatest legend earlier this week. Richard “Woody” Wood, Powder Mountain, Utah’s smiling, steady-handed, always-punctual bus driver, passed away on Monday. He was 81.
Fanfare: Scott and Alpride take the avalanche airbag to a futuristic level
The inner workings of Scott’s new supercapacitor-powered avalanche airbag sound like something out of Back to the Future. And while the Backcountry Patrol AP 30 doesn’t have the time-travel capabilities of Dr. Emmett Brown’s DeLorean (thanks to its flux capacitor), this pack is more travel-capable than many airbags.
Craig Gordon: The Know-Before-You-Go Guy
“I saw [KBYG] as a long-term thing,” Gordon says. “Sometimes, if I’m at a grocery store or a summer concert, someone now in their late 20s, early 30s will be like, ‘Hey, dude. I went to your KBYG presentation. Now my kid tells me that they went to it, too.’”
Tom Murphy, Karl Klassen & Jean Pavillard: American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) Founders
Today, the acronym AIARE (“airy”) is practically a proprietary eponym—like Kleenex or Spandex—for an avalanche courses. Less than two decades ago, however, there was very little that was standard in American avalanche education. Tom Murphy, Karl Klassen and Jean Pavillard would change that.
Margaret Wheeler: America’s Second Female IFMGA Guide
As of 2016, women accounted for roughly 11 percent of those certified through the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). It’s a strikingly small percentage, but one that, through the efforts of Margaret Wheeler, is showing promise of an uptick.
Ed & Dolores LaChapelle: Prolific Authors and Avalanche Avant-Garde
As Ed delved into a life deep in snow science and innovation, Dolores, a lifelong mountaineer, forged ahead in her own right. She’d grown up in Denver, had stood atop all of Colorado’s 14,000-foot summits by age 20 and had joined Ed in Davos, Switzerland before the pair had settled in Alta. There, she’d claimed the first descent of Baldy Chute in 1956.
Montgomery Atwater: Father of U.S. Avalanche Work
Early in life, Montgomery Atwater’s aspirations weren’t to work with snow and avalanches. In fact, after graduating from Harvard in 1926 with a degree in English literature, the Oregon native began writing works of nonfiction. But World War II brought Atwater, who went by the nickname Monty, to Colorado’s Camp Hale where he’d join the 10th Mountain Division.
