AMGA ANNOUNCES ALEX KOSSEFF AS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOULDER, COLO. The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) announced Alex Kosseff as its new Executive Director. Kosseff begins his post this week at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market show in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kosseff—an experienced outdoor educator and bestselling author of the AMC Guide to Outdoor Leadership—cut his teeth in entrepreneurship when he founded the Outdoor Safety Institute five […]
In The Shop: Tuning Essentials
Any skier or rider worth a fraction of his or her weight in edge filings and wax scrapings needs a few decent shop tools. After all, skiing variable OB conditions and constantly applying and removing skins can be hell on your bases, edges and bindings. And your “hook up” at the shop would honestly prefer cash to beer. Here’s a selection of our favorite tuning, mounting and shop gear that has come across our workbench.
BC Banter: Colorado Avalanche Information Center seeks forecasters, snow falls in Montana and New Zealand avalanche kills two
Colorado Avalanche Information Center Seeks Forecaster BOULDER, COLO. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) is hiring. Posted this week on avalanche.org, CAIC is seeking a permanent, part-time forecaster to work alongside their statewide team of weather and avalanche forecasters. Eligible applicants must have two years professional forecasting experience, web experience and a college degree in […]
Summer Stashes: Grizzly Peak, Colorado
“Grizzly is about the most classic summer ski in the Colorado Rockies. This year it’s as good as it has ever been in my life growing up in Aspen,” says ski mountaineer Mike Marolt of Aspen, Colo., who skied Grizzly peak on July 16.
BC Banter: Verb Cabin Releases “Places To Go” Trailer, American Alpine Institute Announces Guide Like Liz Scholarship Recipients, Flylow Drops Lifestyle Line and DPS Partners with POW
Last November, Backcountry contributor Jim Harris fractured several vertebrae while practicing with a kite to cross the Southern Patagonia Ice Cap, an accident that left him with a loss of movement in his lower body. Now, VerbCabin, a Tahoe-based multimedia group, is telling Jim’s story of strength, courage and perseverance. The short documentary is due out this fall, and the trailer dropped this week.
Summer Stashes: Beartooth Pass, Montana
By this point in the summer, photographs of steep South American couloirs and idyllic New Zealand peaks are probably filtering through your Instagram feed. With sweltering summer heat and the end of Fourth of July festivities, you may have admitted defeat, tossed your skis into the closet and traded them in for your mountain bike. But rest […]
Backstory: The Last Time I Saw Him
Two guys from California stood at the front desk of the Lake Louise Alpine Centre and International Hostel in Banff, Alberta at 7 a.m., ready to go. They even had their tele boots on, chomping to get out into the fresh pow that had been falling for days in the Canadian Rockies. They impatiently scanned […]
BC Banter: Patagonia Debuts Responsibly Sourced Merino Layers, Silverton Proposes Terrain Modification, DPS Launches Dreamtime Preorder and RASTA Kicks off Fundraiser
Patagonia Debuts New, Responsibly Sourced Merino Layers VENTURA, CALIF. Patagonia announced yesterday the launch of their new, Merino Air Baselayer that combines sustainably sourced merino wool with a new manufacturing technology. The apparel brand says the merino wool is sourced directly from the Patagonian grasslands, where ranchers use regenerative agricultural practices to promote ecosystem health. The wool is then treated with Patagonia’s proprietary air-jet process to […]
Summer Stashes: Fourth of July Bowl
By this point in the summer, photographs of steep South American couloirs and idyllic New Zealand peaks are probably filtering through your Instagram feed. With sweltering summer heat and the end of Fourth of July festivities, you may have admitted defeat, tossed your skis into the closet and traded them in for your mountain bike. But rest […]
Vermont’s Rochester Area Sports Trail Alliance Seeks Funds to Develop Glades
Vermont’s Rochester Area Sports Trail Alliance (RASTA), a pilot chapter of the Catamount Trail Association, has launched a summer fundraising campaign to support their backcountry initiatives throughout the Braintree Mountain Forest. With fundraising help, the organization plans to construct a parking lot, renovate the existing Bell Gates backcountry cabin, build a trailhead kiosk and further develop glades throughout the forest.
