Evan Steven is an IFMGA-certified mountain guide based out of British Columbia, where he works for half the year at his family-owned touring hut and guiding operation, Valhalla Mountain Touring. He and his wife, Jasmine Caton, guide human-powered adventures for months at a time, with thousands upon thousands of vertical feet logged over the course of a season.

FEBRUARY 22. A new device called the Beartooth, intended to be paired with a smartphone, is now available for purchase. The Beartooth serves as an off-grid phone accessory that is marketed as a communication and navigation tool.

Climber and skier Jason Torlano has called Yosemite home since childhood. And he’s in it for the long haul, noting that it has allowed him to see and interpret his natural surroundings in creative ways. Recently, he decided to attempt a rarely skiable line called the Super Couloir that is a section of the bigger line, Slipping into the Void. And because Torlano keeps an eye on home conditions, he was able to take advantage of the snow-filled line.

Earlier this year, we reported on a trend across the western United States of a depth hoar layer that, for many regions and avalanche forecasting centers, was a cause for concern. A month later, the primary concern for avalanches has shifted to a focus on ones of the wetter variety in many locations.

FEBRUARY 16. Patagonia has announced the release of a new book, Patagonia’s Tools for Grassroots Activists: Best Practices for Success in the Environmental Movement, marketed as a written counterpart to Patagonia’s Tools Conference. The Tools Conference is an event activists have attended since 1994 to learn how to apply advocacy techniques for environmental issues with the same savvy for-profit organizations, such as Patagonia, use to market clothes to consumers.