A bluebird day on Monday gave way to clouds and fresh snow Tuesday night into Wednesday, much to the delight of the Board Test Week crew. And after a quick dawn patrol into the mountains on Tuesday morning, testers arrived back at Crested Butte ready to put more splits through the paces.
Remembering Mitch Weber, Founder of Telemarktips.com
This past weekend, Mitch Weber, a man known for his writings and musings on the website Telemarktips.com, passed away two days before his 60th birthday after an extended fight with cancer. Weber is survived by his wife Laurie, daughter Allison, son Neil and step-son JT. Craig Dostie, founder of Couloir Magazine and a senior editor of Backcountry, wrote […]
Avalanche Canada releases public avalanche alert for this week
In Canada this week, the avalanche conditions are cause for growing concern among forecasters in the western region, with warming temps posing the primary threat to backcountry safety. Avalanche Canada has officially released a special public avalanche warning to all backcountry users.
The Price of Paradise: Backcountry users struggle with strict enforcement of Mt. Rainier National Park’s winter access
From mid-November to mid-April, a gate controls access to Paradise from Longmire—elevation 2,761 feet. The 20-minute ride up is surreal in the best kind of Pacific Northwestern way, as towering pines and neon green mosses give way to Hokkaido-sized roadside canyons of snow and the Tatoosh Range’s jagged alpine, all capped by the glacier-encrusted crown jewel of 14,410-foot Mt. Rainier.
2017 Board Test Week: Testers New And Old
All week long in Crested Butte, Colo., some 40 testers will run countless snowboards, boots and bindings through the test paces, down the resort and up and down in the backcountry. Among those 40 testers, a core crew of a dozen riders who have traveled from across the country will test from bell to bell […]
A snowpack seasonal disorder: forecasts in late March reflect both winter and spring-like conditions
As we near the end of March, spring-like weather is hitting certain areas of the west. But along with tailgate season comes a heightened risk of wet avalanches and concerns for melt-freeze layers that can lead to other dangers in the snowpack, such as slab avalanches. Meanwhile, other areas are experiencing heavy, fresh snowfall and high winds, which have produced […]
2017 Board Test Week: Pre-Test Dispatch
Nearly a foot of snow fell on Crested Butte Mountain Resort over the weekend, and while the mercury will spike today, more snow is in store for the 2017 Board Test. “We’re looking at ideal conditions for all-mountain board testing,” said Test Director Adam Broderick. “We usually get a few days of firmer conditions and pow later in the week, and that’s what’s on the books for this week.”
The Impromptu Reverse: 2016 Grand Traverse Recap
Max Taam and John Gaston of Aspen, Colo., were crowned winners of the 19th-annual GORE-TEX Grand Traverse. But they—and some 200 other teams—didn’t arrive in their hometown of Aspen after racing through the night from Crested Butte as expected. Instead, they completed the fourth-ever so-called Grand Reverse in a time of 6:30:18.
Aspen-bound: 19th Annual Grand Traverse Is A Go
“Might as well cut to the chase,” Grand Traverse Race Director Andrew Arell said to begin this year’s pre-race meeting. “We’re going over to Aspen!” With that, the 550 racers packed into Crested Butte’s Grand Ballroom at Mountaineer Square erupted with applause and cheers.
Gear Test Week: Photo Review
It is not every year that we are lucky enough to have incredible snow conditions during our Gear Test Week, held annually at Powder Mountain, Utah. This year, the snow gods must have taken pity on us—having to live through the worst winter the East Coast has seen in a long time—and so presented us with powder that gave way to blue skies.
