Lose the weight, keep the performance—it’s an intention that brands have long been striving for. And while finding the pinnacle of ounces saved to oomph retained may be as Sisyphean as skinning in plug boots and Alpine Trekkers, many testers say skis are finally hitting the right performance-to-weight mark. “The lighter, touring-focused skis are getting […]
The Sweet Spot Gets Sweeter: Which underfoot width is best for everything?
Not that long ago, a mid-fat ski meant something in the realm of 85 mm underfoot. Over the last decade, that measurement has swelled as eccentric and experimental skis of exponential girth hit the market. While 85 mm may never again be average, the sweet spot in skis is becoming codified.
Light and Free: Freeride skis catch a weight-saving wave
The Gear Guide used to have an unofficial 10-lb. limit. We wouldn’t consider heavier skis. They flat out would not make the cut, and even the most freeride-focused testers would begrudge those portly profiles. But things have changed.
Journey Lines: Splitboard mountaineer Josh Jespersen transitions from seeking vert to finding community in his new project
To really find the backcountry goods in a new zone, insider knowledge pays off; you need to immerse yourself in a group of skiers and riders who call a place home. And, Aspen, one town on my checklist of places to explore close to home, is a place where the locals prove a stereotype wrong. A visitor might assume the Aspen community to be reserved and cliquish, but in my experience exploring the town’s surrounding Elk Mountains, I’ve found that reputation to be perpetuated by outsiders.
Finer Points: Five-point sidecut and the art of the taper
Even though antique skis are thought to be completely straight, a hint of sidecut has graced ski design since Norway’s early telemark skiers of the 1880s. The subtle one- to three-millimeter sidecut of old underwent a dramatic advancement in the early ’90s with the boom of turn-centric hourglass-shapes. And all that changed again about a decade back, with the introduction of a new sidecut concept that’s now almost ubiquitous in backcountry skis.
Backcountry Events Bulletin: November 2018
Across the U.S., late October and early November 2018 have brought winter weather, and early season turns are becoming the norm. To generate stoke and avalanche awareness for the quickly approaching winter season, backcountry alliances and avalanche centers are hosting a wide variety of parties, film festivals and education series—here’s the lineup for November 2018 events.
Grassroots Glades
Holly Knox has been managing recreational opportunities as a Green Mountain National Forest District Recreation Program Manager for the last decade, a time when the number of backcountry skiers seemingly multiplied overnight. With 400,000 acres of national forest stretching through central and southern Vermont, and many different groups vying for space to recreate, Knox has plenty of work cut out for herself, focusing her efforts on the Rochester and Middlebury Districts. But after spearheading the country’s first backcountry ski zone of its kind, she clearly has it all under control. Here’s what Knox had to say about her recent effort with Vermont’s glades.
A Cinderella Story: how to find the best-fitting boot for winter 2019
It’s a brave new world of AT boot design on the winter 2019 skintrack, but with options like shell moldability, four buckles or no buckles, flex ratings up to 130 and weights ringing in at a scant 3.9 lbs., picking the right boot for conditions and terrain can be as hard as finding your soulmate on Tinder.
Connecting the Spots
In 2016, R.J. Thompson struck up a conversation with the then-executive director for Vermont’s Catamount Trail Association, Amy Kelsey. What started as a discussion about a potential yurt in Stowe, Vt.’s Nebraska Notch transformed into Kelsey connecting Thompson with Devon Littlefield, a Mainer-turned-Vermonter also curious about the lack of cohesive backcountry accommodations in the state.
Testers’ Choice: John Lauer’s Picks
From carving smooth powder turns to busting through crud and shredding corduroy, each tester aims to test eight products per day, a task that provided us with more than 1,100 individual reviews to craft the 2019 Gear Guide, available now and packed with tester feedback.
