Gear Test Week 2018 has come to an end, and all 40 testers, 200 skis and 70 boots have made their way back home for the remainder of the season. For the editors at Backcountry Magazine, the work to compile tester comments and reviews for the 2018 Gear Guide is just beginning, but this upcoming issue is fueled by memories of a week of fun, sun and a heck of a lot of shredding at Powder Mountain, Utah.
2018 Gear Test Preview: Bindings
With Backcountry Magazine’s 2018 Gear Test kicking off tomorrow, we’re looking ahead to the latest in skis, boots and bindings that are rolling in to Powder Mountain today. Each year, to make sure we’re testing the most contemporary gear, we operate under a simple rule: Only first- and second-year skis, boots and bindings, or older models with construction updates, are eligible […]
Wisdom: Bruce Engelhard on Walking the Walk
For the past three decades, Bruce Engelhard has been teaching avalanche courses and ski guiding in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. In that time, he’s learned that the mountains always win—but even so, there are ways to manage risk and decision making to keep getting out there and to keep tragedy at bay. And this weekend, Engelhard is […]
Wisdom: Nancy Bockino Practices Patience
Nancy Bockino keeps really busy. Her work takes her between Teton County Search and Rescue, teaching avalanche courses, guiding for Exum Mountain Guides and researching high-elevation pines in Grand Teton National Park. How does she balance it all? Patience, she says, plus a passion for the mountains.
2018 Gear Test Preview: Five Skis to Stir Up the Lineup
Next week, for the 10th year running, Backcountry Magazine staff and over 50 testers are heading to Powder Mountain, Utah to ride and test the latest in skis, boots and bindings as part of the 2018 Gear Test. And to make sure that we’re testing the most contemporary gear, we operate under a simple rule: Only first- and second-year skis, […]
Reggae Turns: How two Vermont skiers are reshaping backcountry terrain throughout the state
Nestled in the mountains of central Vermont, the sleepy town of Rochester is usually a brief, 10-second view out the window for anyone passing through. But long volunteer hours from Rochester-area residents like Angus McCusker and Zac Freeman are giving visitors a reason to linger in town—and the surrounding woods.
Mt. Washington’s Cogs of Change: How a future hotel on New England’s highest peak could affect the East Coast bc mecca
In late 2016, it was announced by Wayne Presby, owner and operator of Mt. Washington’s cog railway for the past 34 years, that a new mid-mountain hotel might be added to the iconic mountain’s viewshed—potentially impacting access to the mountain’s much-loved ski lines.
Snowpack List: Avalanche assessments from around the U.S., Week of February 26
Windslab seems to be the snowpack story for winter 2017, with a layer cake of instabilities forming in many places across the west. With slabs on slabs on slabs, skiers can trigger deep avalanches if one weak layer steps down to the many others lurking beneath.
Just Walk Away: Caroline Gleich’s summit bid on New Zealand’s Mount Dixon and Mount Cook
A few hours before dawn in early November 2016, Caroline Gleich adjusted her gear inside the long bunkroom of the Plateau Hut in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand. Nearby, Seth Orton and Cody Hughes, Gleich’s friends from Salt Lake, and Anna Keeling, a veteran New Zealand mountain guide, and Rob Lea, Gleich’s boyfriend, did the same. The sky was clear and the summit of Cook loomed in the distance.
Ski Mountaineering Skills with Andrew McLean: Bad Habits
In the last episode, Andrew McLean takes a page from Ms. Post and cracks down on skintrack etiquette to keep everyone on their best backcountry behavior.
