The sound of avalanche control bombs rang in the break of day on Sunday at Backcountry Basecamp. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort reported five new inches of snow overnight and crowds were lined up for tram laps early in the morning. With fully booked guided tours and another day of demos during day two of Basecamp, skiers and riders were able to explore sidecountry terrain and learn about avalanche safety from Jackson Hole Mountain Guides and AIARE certified instructors.
Jackson Hole Basecamp: Day 1 Dispatch
The Jackson Hole, Wyo. Backcountry Basecamp stop started with mild weather and overcast skies. It was a busy weekend for the resort, with a recorded 59 inches of new snow falling between Jan. 12 and 21. The recent storm drew big crowds, and as a part of the Basecamp schedule of events, guided tours were offered with Jackson Hole Mountain guides where participants could get out-of-bounds and away from the bustle. Groups left through the backcountry gates after avalanche safety debriefings to find fresh turns.
Alpenglow Mountain Festival: a community gathers to celebrate the backcountry
Alpenglow Sports of Tahoe City, Calif., is looking forward to hosting the upcoming Alpenglow Mountain Festival for its third consecutive year this February. Festival organizer and owner of Alpenglow Sports, Brendan Madigan, is excited for another opportunity to bring together the outdoor community of the greater Tahoe area to celebrate backcountry travel.
Jackson Hole Avalanche Kills Splitboarder
JACKSON, WYO. A splitboarder hiking on pyramid path, located in the southern part of the Teton Range off Pyramid Peak, was killed in an avalanche yesterday, January 19. The splitboarder and Jackson resident, identified as Jed Wesley Foster, 30, was caught in a slide estimated to be roughly two feet deep at the crown, according to the Bridger Teton Avalanche Center. The avalanche carried Foster approximately 1,800 feet.
Solitude Basecamp: Day 2 Dispatch
Sunday at the Backcountry Basecamp at Solitude Mountain Resort began much like the day before, with new snow and avalanche blasting. But the sky quickly cleared and temperatures warmed as the basecamp village came to life beside Solitude’s Last Chance Lodge. Free demos and avalanche education continued through the day, along with guided tours across Big Cottonwood Canyon and across Twin Lakes Reservoir. Here’s a gallery from the day as we kick off Day 3 at Solitude before packing it up and heading to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort next weekend.
Solitude Basecamp: Day 1 Dispatch
It’s often a good sign when you wake to the sounds of avalanche blasting. That’s how Day One at the Solitude Mountain Resort stop of the GORE-TEX Backcountry Basecamp began. Some eight inches of snow fell the night before, but in the backcountry, where John from Utah Mountain Adventures led free backcountry tours, the light-density […]
Vertical Limit: Can a kid from Mass. top Greg Hill’s two-million-foot record?
Early in the summer, Aaron Rice set two long-term goals. The first was to jump into the mountain-fed creek that meandered behind the house where he was living in Stowe, Vt. every single day for the duration of the season. While exhilarating, meeting that goal won’t be nearly as demanding, mentally or physically, as his second. Over the next year, beginning on December 1, Rice plans to climb and ski 2.5-million vertical feet, which would top the two-million-foot record set by Greg Hill in 2010. “You’ll never regret jumping in,” says Rice of the creek that’s a metaphor for his larger ambition. “But it’s never easy, either.”
Mountain Skills: Be Ready With Team and Routine
Teamwork in the mountains is paramount, but it can take many years to develop relationships with trustworthy backcountry partners to the point where you form a routine that serves as a backcountry safety net. Jeff Dostie, my Tour Camp co-guide for Points North Heli-Adventures (PNH) in Cordova, Alaska is someone I have grown to rely on. Through our relationship, we have developed a routine that we use to keep our clients and ourselves safe.
Skins on, skins off
There are more ways to peel and store a pair of climbing skins than there are crayons in a coloring box. From one-legged skimo race transitions to the casual posthole option, discovering your preferred skin-removal technique is akin to finding your true identity as a backcountry skier. This transitional soul searching can be quick, or […]
Hot smoke, cold smoke: Wildfires burn both ways on the heels of a destructive season in the Northwest
“What pictures will never give you is the smell of the smoke,” says Stefan Hood, a Forest Protection Technician and backcountry skier from Houston, British Columbia. “You’re smelling the organics of the soil burning, and you’re smelling trees [that] are on fire. That kind of smoke permeates everything. It permeates your clothes and your hair; everything ends up taking on that scent.”
